A beacon of education for a new generation
Higher education is under real pressure - from funding models to policy change. Greenwich is financially resilient, but we're not complacent. We've set a bold ambition to become the best modern university in the UK by 2030, and in February 2026 we confirmed a landmark partnership with the University of Kent, forming the London and South East University Group. Greenwich keeps its own name, identity and student community throughout.
To deliver on that ambition, we need to invest now in the buildings and facilities our students need, starting with Devonport House.
A permanent home for a different kind of business school
Greenwich Business School is one of the largest in London, home to over 7,000 students from more than 140 countries. It's a school built on the belief that business education should be open, connected and rooted in the real world - through partnerships with organisations including Google, Citi, EY, PwC and JP Morgan, and a legacy of industry placements stretching back to the 1930s.
Devonport House will give that model a permanent home - minutes from Canary Wharf, with technology-rich labs and flexible teaching spaces designed for students, faculty and industry to work side by side, not apart.
By supporting this project, funders will help develop the next generation of innovators, entrepreneurs and ethical leaders in the heart of Greenwich.
The plan for Devonport House
Devonport House is a Grade II listed former nurses' home and conference hotel on our Old Royal Naval College campus. Bristol-based architects Stride Treglown, working with international conservation specialists Purcell, have designed a sensitive restoration and extension: an L-shaped, three-storey addition wrapped around the historic building, connected by a glazed internal street that keeps the original façade centre stage.
Inside, listed wood-panelled rooms, staircases and fireplaces will be carefully restored, while upper floors are reworked for modern seminar and office space with improved natural light. The project is targeting BREEAM Excellent and supports the University's Net Zero by 2030 commitment through low-carbon energy, solar generation and smart building management.
Devonport House's setting is central to this campaign's ambition. Located on a UNESCO World Heritage Site in maritime Greenwich, and just minutes from Canary Wharf, one of the world's leading financial and business districts, the building connects centuries of history with direct access to London's industry heartland - a foundation for both the heritage and social mobility themes that follow.
Planning permission was granted in March 2025, with support from major heritage, civic and cultural stakeholders. At £100 million, it's the most significant capital project in the University's history and, at £75 million already committed by the University, philanthropy is what will let it deliver its full promise.
Our three campaign themes
Heritage & connection to place
Devonport House sits within the Old Royal Naval College, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Restoring it is a rare chance to give a landmark building new life and a permanent place in Greenwich's next chapter, echoing a university history that stretches back to Woolwich Polytechnic in 1890, and to being an early pioneer of the sandwich placement year in the 1930s. Read more.
Social mobility
Social mobility sits at the heart of Greenwich's identity. Over half our students join us via non-traditional routes - BTECs, Access courses, Foundation years. Almost 60% of our students are from ethnically diverse backgrounds, and 58% come from the most deprived neighbourhoods in the country. Devonport House will give more of these talented, determined students a place to flourish, whatever their background. Read more.
Digital innovation & applied learning
Devonport House will bring together sector-leading teaching, applied research and strong employer engagement - including a simulated city trading room alongside our existing Bloomberg Financial Trading Floor and Digital Marketing Suite. The aim isn't just to keep pace with a world reshaped by AI and data, but to prepare graduates who can shape it, with judgement and responsibility as well as digital fluency. Read more.
