Sir Peter Mathieson, Principal and Vice-Chancellor at the University of Edinburgh, repeatedly refused to support the sale of the grace-and-favour house in which he resides.
During a hearing at Holyrood’s education committee, Douglas Ross, leader of the Scottish Conservatives, asked Mathieson if he had considered selling the home in order to help towards covering the University’s reported £140m financial black hole.
Mathieson said that he would consider the move if he thought it would make a difference, but any proceeds it raised would be a “tiny contribution” of the necessary funds.
When asked if Mathieson planned to raise the idea with the University Court – the body responsible for approving funding decisions – Mathieson repeated that the decision was “not up to [him].”
Mathieson’s remuneration package includes the five-bedroom property in Regent Terrace, as well as paid utility bills and a personal driver.
In 2023, The Scotsman revealed that the property had a maintenance bill of £43,966, including over £ 1,000 spent on an eucalyptus tree.
When asked how much he was paid alongside his other benefits, Mathieson said: “I don’t carry that figure around in my head.”
Mathieson’s overall pay package – including the university’s pension scheme – totals £422,000.
Ross’ highlighting of Mathieson’s pay comes in the wake of potential forced redundancies at the University.
Senior management are looking to save £140m over 18 months in a move that has pushed staff to vote in favour of strike action.
Regent Terrace by Richard Webb is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic.
