Dogs Trust saw its net assets jump from £130m to £141m last year, thanks in part to an "exceptional" VAT rebate of £6.5m, its latest set of accounts reveal. 

The figure was categorised by the charity as an “exceptional income” and comes as a result of a VAT recovery that the charity was seeking from HMRC "for some time", a spokeswoman for the charity told Civil Society News.

The report stated: “During the year review of the VAT recovery methodology of the charity was carried out. As a result, the charity recovered VAT relating to amounts previously deemed irrecoverable in the periods 2011 to 2015. This item is outside the normal activities of the charity and therefore is classified as an exceptional item”.

The charity outlined in its reserve policy that it plans to use the funds for the maintenance of its rehoming centre development fund, funds for tangible fixed assets, its special project fund and its rehoming centre base fund.

The accounts also reveal that the charity’s total income was just under £90m for the year – an increase of £1.7m from the previous year. The majority of the year’s income came from legacy donations - £80.5m.

Expenditure was also up – from £84m to £85m over the year, with an increased spend on the charity’s trading activities.

The also charity received a boost to its fixed investment assets of £13.9m – up to £85.5m during the year.