Despite the wheelbarrows of cash deposited at the entrance to FErret’s burrow each week by this esteemed organ, he can’t help but look longingly at the pay packets of most college principals.

While the acid test of pay excess in many professions is whether someone’s salary amounts to more than that received by the prime minister (currently £143,462, for the record), this would be a pretty run-of-the-mill figure when it comes to college leadership.

All the same, the package of “circa £150,000” on offer at Nescot (North East Surrey College of Technology to those of you who shy away from acronyms) sounds mighty tempting.

Or does it? After all, isn’t Nescot the college that, according to the latest Skills Funding Agency (SFA) accounts, recently had the best-paid principal in the land, one Sunaina Mann?

Indeed, Nescot was left in the embarrassing situation of having to admit that the official SFA figure published in March wasn’t high enough. It turned out that Ms Mann actually received £363,000 in 2014-15 - more than double the £150,000 that she had taken home the previous year.

The only explanation offered by the college at the time was that the role also included responsibility for the Jeddah College of Excellence in Saudi Arabia. Ah, in that case almost a grand a day is perfectly reasonable then.

The story took another twist when Ms Mann left Nescot in June, after allegations that her husband had been paid almost £200,000 through a contract related to the Saudi college. Ms Mann insisted there was no wrongdoing. In any case, the salary on offer for Ms Mann’s successor in Surrey has dropped back to less than half of her 2014-15 earnings.

Whether this is down to Nescot’s need to cut costs or simply a desire to stay out of the headlines, FErret couldn’t possibly comment.

FEnancial support

While area reviews were being wheeled out across the country, one of the main carrots thrust under colleges’ noses by the government to encourage them to rush into shotgun marriages with one another was the prospect of generous financial support.

As well as “transition grants” of £100,000 to support changes recommended by the reviews (primarily by paying for consultants and external support), a “restructuring facility”, understood to be worth £500 million, was made available. So how much has been spent so far? According to the latest official documents stuffed into FErret’s paw, up to the end of August, 43 transition grant applications with a total value just under £3 million had been approved.

In addition, the transactions unit of the SFA was working with 40 colleges in relation to potential funding applications.

Any colleges requiring further expert advice are recommended to contact FErret Mergers and Acquisitions’ head office in Nigeria, and ensure they have their credit card details to hand.

Share your gossip, scandal and intrigue with FErret by emailing ferret@tesglobal.com