Expect short to medium term bullish conditions in UK China education sector

According to official UK government data, applications from Chinese students to UK universities has grown by a robust 30% year-on-year. Notably, the UCAS university admissions agency reported that Chinese undergraduate application volumes had almost hit the 20,000 mark, up from 15,240 in 2018. In fact, the real figure could be considerably higher as a portion of Chinese applicants will not go through the UCAS system. With the sector doubling in size over the past 10 years, these most recent data further underscore the already bullish outlook on this investment theme

Adding some context, China is already the biggest source of international to UK universities, growing from 43,500 students in 2008 to 106,530 in 2018. Of these, 60,460 were postgraduate and 46,070 were at undergraduate level. University of Manchester has become a well-established brand in China, with the largest population of Chinese students in Europe with approximately 5,000 students out of a total 40,000.

Assessing the key drivers of future growth, we see the UK as the natural beneficiary of the prolonged trade tensions between China and the United States. With no end in sight, we expect increasing numbers of students opt for a British university over an American one, likely adding momentum to this strong investment story well into the next decade.