Barnardo’s has seen its total income increase by 11 per cent to £285.8m, according to its annual accounts for the year 2013/14.

Total spending was £278m, up from £252m the previous year. But despite the charity spending less than it earned, total funds on the charity’s balance sheet decreased slightly from £21.4m to £21.3m.

This was mainly because of an increase in the charity's pension deficit, which is up by £8.1m to £95.9m.

Barnardo’s increase in income is largely down to the sale of property which is “surplus to Barnardo’s operational requirements” through its subsidiary Barnardo Developments Ltd. Income from development and sale of properties was £21.5m, up from £4.1m in 2013.

Barnardo’s plan to sell off property that it no longer needs is expected to continue into 2014/15.

The total number of employees at Barnardo’s went up by 64 people, to 8,254. CEO Javed Khan is the charity’s highest-paid employee, earning £165,000 a year.

The charity holds free reserves of £40.6m, within its target range of £36m to £48m. The reserves are looked at before pension liability, the charity says, because “this is a long-term liability and there is an agreed plan to eliminate it over time”.

Tony Cohen, the charity's chair, wrote: "Barnardo’s has been reorganising its services across the UK so that they can better serve local needs, manage the complex problems that vulnerable children and their families face, and promote best practice.

"We are already seeing the benefit in our increasing ability to help the most vulnerable."