RNLI has recorded an increase in its annual income after legacy donations to the charity rose by nearly £30m year-on-year.
The charity’s recently published accounts for the 2025 financial year show that it received £180m in legacies including one “notably significant” gift left in a will.
While the charity would not share the exact amount of the large gift due to the wishes of the donor, a spokesperson told Civil Society it was one of the largest it had received in recent years
“We are immensely grateful for the generous gift,” they added, “Six out of 10 RNLI rescues are only possible thanks to gifts in wills.”
Most of RNLI’s £287m income came from legacies, with money from this source increasing by £28.9m year-on-year, driving the charity’s overall increase in revenue from the £251m recorded in 2024.
The charity added that “the estimated value of future legacies notified, but neither received nor included in 2025 income, remains healthy”.
RNLI also experienced an income increase from a supporters’ donations, which rose by 6% to £75.3m in 2025.
Increased staff costs
RNLI recorded a 3% increase in its overall annual expenditure to £258m in 2025.
This includes an £10m increase in spending on charitable activities, with £9m more spent on lifeboats, property and equipment.
It wrote that “the scale of the increase in 2025 reflects a conscious focus to improve our equipment and facilities”.
RNLI’s staff costs increased by £7m to £117m in 2025, with a £6m increase in wages and salaries. It had 1,924 full-time equivalent employees at the end of 2025, a similar number to the year before.
The charity spent £1m on severance pay including £200,000 to executive team members including the charity’s former chief operating officer and director of regions, chief information officer and people director.
RNLI’s total funds increased by £51.1m during the year to £868m, which includes £150m of free reserves.
Late last year, the charity unveiled a new five-year strategy as part of its 200th anniversary celebrations. According to chief executive Peter Sparkes, this includes replacing current lifeboats with “a more modern, faster, more responsive, but slightly smaller boat”.
Earlier this month, around 50 staff members at an RNLI lifeboat manufacturing site due to close at the end of 2027 voted to strike amid a redundancy terms dispute.
