Highbury College principal charged £150,000 to corporate credit card

Highbury College’s Stella Mbubaegbu is under the spotlight with corporate credit card receipts revealing spending equivalent to £82 a day between 2014-2018. Costs cover travel, accommodation, stationery, gifts and books.

In that period the principal took 30 flights, with prices ranging from £200 to more than £6,000, and her total travel expenses come to more than £70,000. Many of the flights appear to be first class.

In that time accommodation costs come to more than £60,000 – with the receipts showing Ms Mbubaegbu stayed in luxury – sometimes four-star but mostly five-star – hotels all over America, in Canada, Dubai, China, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Saudi Arabia. There is also a bill from the Portsmouth Marriott Hotel, which is just 10 minutes from the college.

The latest revelations come from receipts obtained by magazine FEWeek under freedom of information laws. The Cosham college tried to block the information being made public but the Information Commissioner’s Office ruled it should be released.

It comes as minutes from a governors’ meeting reveal Ms Mbubaegbu warned the 2019/20 budget would be the ‘hardest for many years’ and added: ‘There was a very limited safety net if cash ran out.’

Such are the financial pressures that the chair of governors, Tim Mason, ‘wished to explore’ merging with Portsmouth College, with his opposite number ‘open to’ the suggestion but there are no plans to do so.

The spending has shocked union leaders as in just 15 days in July last year Ms Mbubaegbu spent £1,611.82 on her college card, which has a £20,000 limit.