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The paper examines universities as anchor institutions in the context of a major upheaval in the funding of English higher education. The various components of these changes are combined into a multivariate indicator of institutional vulnerability for universities in England. This is then linked to a classification of university cities to identify the most vulnerable institutions in the most vulnerable places with the greatest dependence on higher education. The paper concludes with a discussion of the need for sensitivity to issues of place in any forthcoming restructuring of English higher education arising from the funding changes.