Cobalt Health
Analysis
Cobalt Health is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Cheltenham. It was registered in February 2002, 24 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and the advancement of health or saving of lives, which this site groups under health and saving lives. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 04366596). It says it makes grants to organisations, provides buildings/facilities/open space and provides services.
In the financial year ending March 2025, Cobalt Health reported income of £28.2m and spending of £28.7m, spending 102% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2021 to March 2025, income grew from £21.7m to £28.2m (+30%), an average of +6.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income rose by 17%. Over the whole period it spent 93% of the income it received.
Among 24,651 England and Wales charities whose main cause is health and saving lives and that reported income, Cobalt Health 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 100th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy Charitable Trust (£28.2m), The Pears Family Charitable Foundation (£28.5m) and Birtenshaw (£28.1m).
In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 96% and donations and legacies 2.8%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £564k. Charitable activities took 99% of spending and raising funds 1.2%. Reserves of £4.4m would cover about 2 months of spending at that rate. It employed 182 people.
Income and spending
Where the income comes from
- Donations 0.8%
- Legacies 2.0%
- Charitable activities 96%
- Investments 0.6%
- Other 1.1%
In the charity's own words
The Charity works, in collaboration with the National Health Service and other bodies, to prevent, detect, diagnose and treat or alleviate cancers and other life limiting disease/injury. It does this by providing:1) funding to support local NHS oncological and allied services2) a Cancer Prevention and Education Service3) an MRI scanning service4) a PET-CT service5) funding of research
Similar-sized charities, same cause
| Charity | Location | Income |
|---|---|---|
| The National Centre for Young People with Epilepsy Charitable Trust | Lingfield | £28.2m |
| The Pears Family Charitable Foundation | London | £28.5m |
| Birtenshaw | Bolton | £28.1m |
| Everybody Health & Leisure | Altrincham | £28.7m |