Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Limited

Analysis

Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Limited is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Worcestershire. It was registered in July 2002, 24 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 04341280). It says it acts as an umbrella or resource body.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Limited reported income of £1.6m and spending of £926k, leaving 42% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from June 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £1.5m to £1.6m (+7.0%), an average of +1.7% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to June 2023, when income rose by 88%. Over the whole period it spent 77% 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, Severn Valley Railway Charitable Trust Limited sits at the 96th percentile: it is larger than about 96% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 95th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Seven Stories, the National Centre for Children's Books (£1.6m), Buxton Civic Association Limited (£1.6m) and The Bishopsgate Foundation (£1.6m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 96% and investments 4.1%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £1.3m. Charitable activities took 88% of spending and raising funds 9.8%. Reserves of £1.5m would cover about 19 months of spending at that rate.