The previous chief executive of the Charity Commission has been appointed chair of Voluntary Services Overseas UK, as VSO International reveals its income has risen by 20 per cent in 2013.

Sam Younger will officially take up the role of international board vice chair and UK board chair of VSO after its international board meeting in November. He replaces Andrew Cubie, who will come to the end of his three year tenure as chair in November.

VSO International’s income is up from £57m to £68.8m, with its income from legacies growing by 75 per cent and its individual giving programme up by 17 per cent.

Since April 2011, VSO has been working to reducing the proportion of its annual expenditure spent on overheads from 14 per cent to 10 per cent , the charity said. It met that target through actions which included moving VSO’s global headquarters from Putney to Kingston upon Thames, Surrey.

Amanda Bringans, director of global fundraising and communications at VSO said: “The news that VSO has made such a significant increase in income year on year is testimony to the commitment by staff and partners worldwide to cut costs and diversify our funding base where possible.”