Trust for London

Analysis

Trust for London is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in London. It was registered in October 1962, 64 years ago. Its declared purposes cover the prevention or relief of poverty, economic/community development/employment and human rights/religious or racial harmony/equality or diversity, which this site groups under poverty relief. It says it makes grants to organisations, provides advocacy/advice/information and sponsors or undertakes research.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Trust for London reported income of £10.7m and spending of £16.1m, spending 151% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £9.4m to £10.7m (+13%), an average of +3.2% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2022, when income rose by 42%. Over the whole period it spent 236% of the income it received.

Among 15,276 England and Wales charities whose main cause is poverty relief and that reported income, Trust for London 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 99th percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include St Martins Housing Trust (£10.6m), Honeycomb Charitable Services Limited (£10.7m) and Wycliffe UK Limited (£10.5m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from investments 72%, donations and legacies 20% and charitable activities 5.6%. Charitable activities took 91% of spending and raising funds 7.6%. Grants to other organisations totalled £11.8m. It employed 26 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.