Two British charities have benefited from a bumper year of grants and donations by the Ikea Foundation which gave £71m towards alleviating poverty in 2012, an increase of 26 per cent on the previous year.

The Foundation of the Swedish-based furniture giant added six new partners last year, making 20 in total. Two British charities - Save the Children and Fight for Peace International - are among the new partners, the first time British-based charities have been supported by the Foundation.

Save the Children shared £8m with Unicef, raised through the Soft Toys for Education campaign with Ikea, where €1 was donated for every soft toy sold in November and Decembe.

Per Heggenes, CEO of the Ikea Foundation, said how the Foundation gives is as important as how much it gives:

“By working long-term with the right partners,” he said, “we can help drive innovation and implement lasting change, allowing us to reach and make a difference in the lives of 100 million children by 2015.”

Some 98 per cent of the Foundation's funds are spent on its programmes, with 2 per cent spend on administration. 

The Foundation has helped projects in 28 different countries last year. Projects include two with Unicef: a 10-year partnership with which the Foundation reached approximately 74 million Indian children in 2012; and the £8m Soft Toys for Education campaign, shared by Save the Children.

This time last year, the Ikea Foundation announced that it had raised £10.4m for Unicef and Save the Children.