The Anvil Trust Limited

Analysis

The Anvil Trust Limited is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Basingstoke. It was registered in March 1994, 32 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes, education/training, arts/culture/heritage/science and economic/community development/employment, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 02720007). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space and provides services.

In the financial year ending March 2025, The Anvil Trust Limited reported income of £6.9m and spending of £7.3m, spending 105% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £2.0m to £6.9m (+247%), an average of +36% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2022, when income rose by 97%. Over the whole period it spent 100% of the income it received.

Among 17,634 England and Wales charities whose main cause is arts, culture, heritage and science and that reported income, The Anvil Trust Limited sits at the 99th percentile: it is larger than about 99% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 98th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Hay Festival Foundation Ltd (£6.9m), We the Curious Limited (£7.0m) and The British Museum Friends (£6.9m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 89%, donations and legacies 9.1% and investments 1.5%. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 2.0%. Reserves of £1.9m would cover about 3 months of spending at that rate. It employed 151 people.