Lloyds is the top corporate giver in the UK this year, according to new research from the Directory of Social Change, with charity insurance specialist Ecclesiastical named as the eighth-biggest donor in the UK.
The Directory of Social Change’s UK Guide to Company Giving 2013/14 ranks companies based on total pre-tax donations to charity.
Lloyds, which has given £43.8m for the 2013/14 period, has had a number of successful charity partnerships. Most recently, only seven months into its two-year partnership with Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer Scotland, Lloyds Banking Group has raised £1m for the charities this year.
Ecclesiastical is the only insurer in the top-ten list. It has donated more than £55m to charitable causes in the last five years.
Group chief executive Mark Hews said: “Ecclesiastical is unique in financial services – in that all its surplus profits ultimately go to charity – and I hope that with continued support from both existing and new customers alike, we can build on this success and give back even more in the future.”
Dr Catherine Walker, head of sector trends and analysis, at the Directory of Social Change, who authored the report, added: “Total cash donations made by companies this year amounted to £470.1m. It is companies like Ecclesiastical that have a significant impact on the organisations they support and lead the trend in company giving.”
Top-ten corporate givers by UK community contribution (UK cash donations)
1 – Lloyds Banking Group £43.8m
2 – Goldman Sachs International £40.1m
3 – Tesco £25.6m
4 – Barclays £22.6m
5 – Vodafone Group £21m
6 – BHP Billiton £19.3m
7 – Santander UK £14m
8 – Ecclesiastical Insurance Group £11.7m
9 – HSBC Holdings £10.6m
10 – Diageo £10.5m
