Canterbury Theatre and Festival Trust

Analysis

Canterbury Theatre and Festival Trust is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Canterbury. It was registered in March 1980, 46 years ago. Its declared purposes cover education/training and arts/culture/heritage/science, which this site groups under arts, culture, heritage and science. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 01480595). It says it makes grants to organisations, provides human resources and provides services.

In the financial year ending March 2026, Canterbury Theatre and Festival Trust reported income of £579k and spending of £677k, spending 117% of what it took in. Across the 5 years on record, from March 2022 to March 2026, income grew from £454k to £579k (+28%), an average of +6.3% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to March 2023, when income rose by 37%. Over the whole period it spent 109% 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, Canterbury Theatre and Festival Trust sits at the 93rd percentile: it is larger than about 93% of them. Against every charity in England and Wales with reported income it ranks in the 91st percentile. Charities of a similar size with the same main cause include Ouseburn Farm Charity Limited (£579k), Caius House (£579k) and The Annals of Botany Company (£578k).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 64%, donations and legacies 20% and trading 16%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £25k. Charitable activities took 98% of spending and raising funds 0.5%. Reserves of £364k would cover about 6 months of spending at that rate. It employed 6 people.