The University of Copenhagen (KU) has revealed it is prepared to purchase its own buildings for about 9 billion kroner, a university press release has revealed.
In what could become one of the biggest real estate deals in Danish history, the university wants to do away with expensive renting costs for buildings that house the university's 40,000 students and 9,000 members of staff.
”The leading universities in the world own their buildings, like DTU and CBS do,” Nils Strandberg Pedersen, the chairman of the KU board, said in a press release. ”It is a prerequisite to enter into a co-operation with industry and attract research groups, thus competing internationally in research.”
”If we own our buildings, we will become more dynamic in relation to the decor and renovation of laboratories and rooms, and that is essential in order to become competitive.”
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Waste of funds and talent
Pedersen underlined that renting, renovation and restructuring projects often become slow and unnecessarily complicated, leading to a waste of resources and talent.
Owning the buildings means that the university can build close contact with the researchers and students who use the buildings on a daily basis, and do so more quickly and cheaply.
As of now, KU pays a rent to the state that is at least 20 percent over the market price.
