The Westminster Abbey Trust

Analysis

The Westminster Abbey Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in October 2006, 20 years ago. Its declared purposes cover religious activities and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under religion. Legally it is a charitable trust. It says it makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending September 2025, The Westminster Abbey Trust reported income of £3.1m and spending of £310k, leaving 90% of income unspent that year. Across the 5 years on record, from September 2021 to September 2025, income grew from £1.2m to £3.1m (+169%), an average of +28% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to September 2024, when income rose by 376%. Over the whole period it spent 28% of the income it received.

Among 20,496 England and Wales charities whose main cause is religion and that reported income, The Westminster Abbey Trust sits at the 99th percentile: it is larger than about 99% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 97th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Trinity College Bristol Limited (£3.1m), St Paul's Theological Centre (£3.1m) and The Royal Foundation of St Katharine (£3.1m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 99% and investments 1.4%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £10k. Charitable activities took 96% of spending and raising funds 2.2%. Grants to other organisations totalled £297k. Reserves of £1.1m would cover about 42 months of spending at that rate. It employed 2 people.