Somerset House Trust

Analysis

Somerset House Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in July 1997, 29 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, arts/culture/heritage/science and environment/conservation/heritage, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03388137). It says it provides buildings/facilities/open space and other charitable activities.

In the financial year ending March 2025, Somerset House Trust reported income of £25.3m and spending of £27.0m, spending 107% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £11.9m to £25.3m (+111%), an average of +21% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2022, when income rose by 42%. Over the whole period it spent 104% 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, Somerset House Trust sits at the 100th percentile: it is one of the largest 1% in its cause. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 100th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Stevenage Leisure (£25.1m), 11Arches (£25.4m) and Science Based Targets Initiative (£25.1m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 72%, trading 22%, donations and legacies 4.4% and investments 1.4%. Charitable activities took 88% of spending and raising funds 0.9%. Reserves of £2.0m would cover about 1 months of spending at that rate. It employed 125 people.