Employment charity the Shaw Trust has recorded a financial surplus in its most recent financial year, turning around a deficit sustained in the previous period.
Accounts for the year ended 31 August 2024 show that the Shaw Trust recorded a total income of £316m, up from £302m in 2022-23, while its expenditure reduced from £316m to £289m year on year.
The growth in income was mainly driven by the Shaw Education Trust, a wholly owned subsidiary operating as a multi-academy trust, “increasing its revenue by £30.6m through additional academies with associated donations of property”, the accounts say.
Financial performance
During the year under review, charitable expenditure at the Shaw Trust totalled £287m, a reduction from £314m in the prior year.
This was mainly due to a “reduction in the level of activity within unrestricted contracts but also reflects our focus on efficiencies and automation, both in frontline and central services, so as to improve margins and maximise the resilience of the organisation against external changes”, according to the accounts.
The trust’s free reserves increased to £29m last year (2023: £20.4m), mostly due to a “strong operating performance and demand for Shaw Trust’s services”.
“The current target is to build up the reserves to a level able to sustain a range of two to four months of costs (being approx. £29-58m) whilst still being able to support and invest in the activities of the Shaw Trust Foundation (the visible and accountable rallying point for the charitable purpose and activity in our organisation).”
Income from the trust’s 32 charity shops stood at £2.9m last year, compared with £3.29m in 2023, against total outgoing resources of £2.47m (2023: £2.18m).
The Shaw Trust is the largest provider of the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) Work and Health Programme, holding a 30% market share.
Last year, funding from the DWP amounted to £41.8m, a decrease from the £52.6m earned in 2023.
The group employed an average of 5,124 people (2023: 5,268) and spent £158m on wages and salaries in both 2023 and 2024.
It spent £826,000 on redundancy payments, compared with £570,000 in 2023, the accounts read.
‘We’re pleased with the progress we’ve made’
Olly Benzecry, chair of the Shaw Trust, said: “We’re pleased with the progress that Shaw Trust has made over the last year, against a background of uncertainty in the economic, social and commissioning landscape, we have delivered high quality programmes and continued to hone our services to be true to our mission, to help individuals facing barriers to work and social inclusion to achieve their full potential, and to multiply our social impact by delivering innovative system-change partnerships and programmes.”
Benzecry added: “In a competitive and evolving commissioning environment, we’ve increased momentum, building strategic partnerships, retaining contracts, and working successfully with new commissioners.
“Financially, we exceeded our surplus target, giving us the capacity to invest, build long-term resilience and reward our people.”
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