The Sutton Trust

Analysis

The Sutton Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in March 2012, 14 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training, which this site groups under education and training. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 07951541). It says it makes grants to organisations, provides services and provides advocacy/advice/information.

In the financial year ending August 2025, The Sutton Trust reported income of £7.1m and spending of £7.4m, spending 105% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from August 2021 to August 2025, income grew from £6.1m to £7.1m (+15%), an average of +3.6% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to August 2023, when income rose by 22%. Over the whole period it spent 102% of the income it received.

Among 21,402 England and Wales charities whose main cause is education and training and that reported income, The Sutton Trust sits at the 98th percentile: it is larger than about 98% of them. 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 St David's College Trust (£7.0m), The Collegiate Charitable Foundation (£7.1m) and St Mary's School (Colchester) Limited (£7.0m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from donations and legacies 96% and investments 3.6%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £110k. Charitable activities took 90% of spending and raising funds 8.7%. Grants to other organisations totalled £1.3m. Reserves of £5.5m would cover about 9 months of spending at that rate. It employed 49 people.

Data notes from the register: Spending has exceeded income in each of the last three reported years, so the charity has been drawing on reserves or other funds.