The British Heart Foundation (BHF) has recorded a more than £15m drop in its retail profits despite a record year for fundraised income.
According to the charity’s recently published 2024-25 annual report, it received £108m in legacy donations, up almost 7% from the previous year’s £101m.
Its other fundraising activities soared by 22% to £58.2m from £47.7m in 2023-24, with the increase driven by events, philanthropy and corporate partnerships, including £4.6m from a prize draw link-up with Omaze.
This pushed BHF’s overall income up by over £10m to £411m, but its costs also rose by a similar amount to £427m, meaning the charity recorded a second successive operating deficit (of £16.5m in 2024-25).
BHF’s annual retail costs increased by 5% to £230m, from £219m, driven by rises in staff pay and benefits and wider inflationary pressures, while income from its shops fell by £4m also to £230m.
This meant that BHF’s net profit from its shops fell to zero from £15.2m the year before, while it still brought in £3.7m of net fundraising trading income.
At the end of March 2025, BHF’s high-street portfolio consisted of 665 shops, with 12 new ones opening during the year while 19 closed their doors.
“We continue to manage the situation carefully, ensuring we deliver incredible value to our customers from our sustainable, community-focused retail channels,” BHF’s accounts read.
Meanwhile the charity’s online sales rose by 15% to £17m for the year, fuelled by its status as the world’s largest eBay charity retailer.
Charitable spending falls despite health activities growth
Over the 2024-25 year, BHF recorded a drop in charitable expenditure, to £146m – £10m down on 2023-24’s figures.
Research investment fell to £98.9m, from £117m, although the drop in actual grant totals was smaller, with 2024-25’s 247 awards totalling £108m against 2023-24’s £119m.
“This is due to allowances for unclaimed grants, applying a discount factor for long-term liabilities, and including BHF staff and support costs,” the annual report reads.
In contrast, BHF’s spending on health activities increased from £39.5m to £47.2m.
“This covered a range of activities in support of cardiovascular disease patients, including funding free phone access to specialist cardiac nurses via our heart helpline,” the report said.
As of 31 March 2025, BHF had total cash, deposits and investments of £346m, giving it “substantial headroom” above the £142m to £176m dictated by its reserves policy.
“As part of our strategic planning process, the trustees will continue to consider how this headroom can best be applied over the medium term to accelerate our charitable mission,” the report reads.
“While this will mostly focus on opportunities to expand our research funding capacity, trustees have approved a programme of investment in our technology infrastructure and brand to support the resilience and future growth of the organisation.”
