Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

Analysis

Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum is a registered charity in England and Wales, based in Tetbury. It was registered in December 1985, 41 years ago. Its declared purposes cover environment/conservation/heritage, which this site groups under environment and conservation. Legally it is a charitable company (Companies House number 04965522). It says it makes grants to organisations.

In the financial year ending December 2025, Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum reported income of £3.0m and spending of £2.6m, spending 89% of its income. Across the 5 years on record, from December 2021 to December 2025, income grew from £1.9m to £3.0m (+58%), an average of +12% a year. The sharpest change came in the year to December 2025, when income rose by 23%. Over the whole period it spent 94% of the income it received.

Among 4,574 England and Wales charities whose main cause is environment and conservation and that reported income, Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum sits at the 97th percentile: it is larger than about 97% 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 Groundwork North Wales (£2.9m), The Herefordshire Wildlife Trust Limited (£3.0m) and Groundwork South and North Tyneside Limited (£2.9m).

In its latest detailed accounts, income came from charitable activities 58%, trading 22%, donations and legacies 19% and investments 1.8%. Gifts in wills alone brought in £236k. Charitable activities took 73% of spending and raising funds 27%. Grants to other organisations totalled £446k. Reserves of £431k would cover about 2 months of spending at that rate. It employed 13 people.