Royal Hospital Chelsea Appeal Limited

Analysis

Royal Hospital Chelsea Appeal Limited is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in July 1999, 27 years ago. Its declared purposes cover general charitable purposes and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 03701005). It says it makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending March 2025, Royal Hospital Chelsea Appeal Limited reported income of £9.1m and spending of £13.0m, spending 143% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £6.4m to £9.1m (+41%), an average of +9.0% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income rose by 55%. Over the whole period it spent 103% 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, Royal Hospital Chelsea Appeal Limited sits at the 99th 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 99th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Hampshire Cultural Trust (£9.1m), The University of Notre Dame (USA) in England (£9.2m) and Rendcomb College Foundation (£9.1m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 50% and trading 50%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £669k. Charitable activities took 81% of spending and raising funds 3.6%. Reserves of £704k would cover about 1 months of spending at that rate.