The loan serves to support research facilities and the commercialisation of research results. The EIB funds will be used to part-finance improvements and new construction of a number of faculty buildings, with an emphasis on medical sciences.
The loan is part of a GBP 100 million lending programme for English universities that was established with the assistance of the Higher Education Funding Council for England. The EIB loan complements the public funds distributed by the Funding Council, including the resources for capital investment provided by the Science Research Investment Fund, under which an additional GBP 600 million is to be distributed over the next two years by the UK Government in order to modernise university research infrastructure.
By including an innovation centre in the lending programme, the EIB will facilitate the critical next stage of pure research that is the commercial development of research results. The centre will encourage the foundation of small high-tech 'spin-out' companies and contribute to a broader knowledge-based economy.
The loan was signed by EIB Vice-President Peter Sedgwick and the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Oxford, Sir Colin Lucas.
The EIB is the long-term financing arm of the European Union, supporting its policy objectives by financing sound investments. The Bank has committed itself to supporting the Union's Lisbon strategy that aims to make the EU more dynamic and competitive in the economic area and to the objective, set at the Barcelona Summit, of a 3% share of GDP in R&D.
Since the Lisbon Summit (March 2000), the EIB has granted loans totalling EUR 15.2 bn for research, development and innovation in the private and public sector, related to infrastructure or to research activity. In support of the Initiative for Growth, on which the European Council will decide this month, the Bank is ready to lend another EUR 40 bn for research, development and innovation projects in the years 2004 - 2010.