Case Study

Greenhouse, working with Nina & Co, was commissioned to carry out an independent review of commercial services across both organisations. The brief was to assess how existing outlets, spaces and trading activities could better support student experience, strengthen financial performance and create a more coherent commercial approach across campus.

Our work combined stakeholder interviews, outlet visits, mystery shopping, student and staff research, documentary review and sector benchmarking. This gave RHUL and RHSU a detailed picture of how their services were performing, how they were experienced by students and staff, and where the strongest opportunities lay for improvement and closer collaboration.

The final report highlighted practical opportunities around pricing, service quality, marketing, merchandising, outlet positioning and the future use of social spaces, while also pointing to the need for stronger business planning and a more joined-up relationship between the University and Students’ Union.

Stephen McAuliffe, Executive Director of People and Business Services at Royal Holloway, scored the service 10/10 and described the work as “a professional team delivering well”, while Tony Logan, RHSU Chief Executive, said the team “were responsive to all stakeholders, working with us to ensure our student research and staff feedback was representative. The comprehensive report identified a range of actions and longer-term goals that are enabling respective teams to make positive changes to services, whilst also enabling more strategic conversations related to collaborative projects that will benefit all Royal Holloway students.”