Two University of London member institutions have agreed to revive merger talks, more than a decade after dropping the plan.

The governing bodies of Royal Holloway, University of London and St George¡¯s, University of London said that they had agreed to progress discussions, which began this summer. ¡°The final decision on whether or not to merge is expected to be reached by the end of 2021,¡± the institutions said.

The Tooting-based medical school and the Egham-based university first announced plans for a merger in 2008, but scrapped the proposal a year later in the face of funding uncertainties driven by the?financial?crisis at the end of that decade. However, the institutions have continued to work closely together.

In a statement announcing the renewal of merger talks, the governing bodies said that they had ¡°resolved to gather views from relevant stakeholders, including members of academic board for Royal Holloway and senate for St George¡¯s, and the students¡¯ unions¡±.

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¡°From positions of strength, a merger between Royal Holloway and St George¡¯s will offer the possibility of a strong, dual excellence university, drawing on broad disciplinary strengths that will increase visibility, impact and international reach,¡± said Royal Holloway principal Paul Layzell.

¡°A merged university will be able to offer more innovative, interdisciplinary, research-enriched learning and teaching, drawing on complementary disciplinary strengths, to meet future education demand, and support an outstanding student experience.¡±

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Jenny Higham, the principal of St George¡¯s, said that a merger ¡°offers the potential to create a strong, research-intensive anchor university for the south-west of London¡±.

¡°The possibility of a merger between Royal Holloway and St George¡¯s was considered in 2009. Since then, the complementary nature of our discipline mix has grown stronger and the landscape of higher education has changed considerably,¡± she said.

¡°While there are challenges to work through, the compelling offer that a combined university would represent for today¡¯s students, together with the significant opportunities evident in our discipline complementarity, validates our decision to re-engage on the possibility of uniting our two universities.¡±

The institutions said that they had set up a joint governance group composed of their chairs and principals, members of their senior management teams and representatives of the governing body, to oversee discussions.

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chris.havergal@timeshighereducation.com