A children’s hospice charity has seen “significant benefits” of its recent move to a new head office Dorset, with more than 100 members of staff working at the site.
Julia’s House, which provides Dorset and Wiltshire children’s hospices, told Civil Society that 101 of its staff had moved from two smaller leased office spaces last month.
The charity earlier announced the move made after one office lease ended and the other neared completion “with no certainty of renewal”.
Julia’s House discussed the move for about 18 months, the charity said.
Its Wimborne headquarters is leased and has 54 desk spaces for its care, fundraising, HR, finance and IT teams, some of whom work remotely.
The move was made from two offices in the same town, in part, to reduce property costs and provide a more efficient workspace, the charity said.
Hannah-May Tatton, Julia’s House HR director, told Civil Society today that the transfer had led to operational gains.
“We're already seeing really significant benefits of the move,” she said. “Not having to run two separate buildings is definitely a clear cost-saving for us.”
“We always felt like we were camping everywhere else we were,” Tatton added, remarking that morale had also been improved as staff can better collaborate in one space.
Previously announcing the transition in mid-July, Julia’s House chief executive Martin Edwards said: “We’re so excited to have moved into our new head office.
“Being under one roof including our care team will bring us all closer together, enabling better sharing of information and ultimately enhance the vital care we provide to local children and families,” he said in an Instagram post.
As part of its plans for 2026 and beyond, Julia’s House said it would seek to withstand budget deficits by facilitating “agile staff working”, its 2025 accounts reveal.
‘Generous legacy’
Julia’s House reported an income of £12.2m in 2025, above its expenditure of £10.9m, the charity’s first surplus in three years.
The charity spent £409,000 on premises rent in 2025, above its 2024 figure of £393,000.
Its 2025 accounts reveal that the charity made six redundancies and did not renew 17 vacancies to “lessen predicted budget deficits from 2026-28”.
Staff costs remained relatively flat at £6.69m in 2025, with 246 employees overall at the charity.
The charity added that it would have been in significant deficit in 2025 if not for “one generous legacy” gift.
Some £6.68m came in from donations and legacies in 2025, nearly £2m above its fundraised income of £4.86m in 2024.
“Financial deficits are expected for at least the next three years due to the economic climate,” its trustees’ report stated.
Julia’s House began as a home-based care service in 2013 and opened its first hospice in 2017.
It was founded by Mike Wise in honour of his friend Julia Perks, a paediatric nurse who died from cancer in 1997.
