Friends First

Analysis

Friends First is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Hove. It was registered in November 2002, 24 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, the prevention or relief of poverty and accommodation/housing, which this site groups under poverty relief. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 04402061). It says it provides human resources, provides buildings/facilities/open space and provides services.

In the financial year ending August 2025, Friends First reported income of £132k and spending of £132k, spending 100% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from August 2021 to August 2025, income grew from £91k to £132k (+45%), an average of +9.8% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to August 2022, when income rose by 37%. Over the whole period it spent 96% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, Friends First sits at the 70th percentile: it is larger than about 70% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 75th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Redeemed Christian Church of God: Chapel of Grace Bradford (£132k), Zedoko Vochessed Ltd (£132k) and The Goldcrest Foundation (£132k).