St John Ambulance has reported a £5m drop in its annual income in its latest accounts.
The health charity’s income for the financial year ending 31 December 2025 was £102m, down 4.6% from the 2024 total of £107m.
Its income from charitable activities dropped by £1.8m, but that this was offset by an 11% increase in fundraising income, which grew to £16.7m.
The fundraised income rise was driven by a 25% increase in legacies to £5m in 2025, including a large single endowment of £3.1m.
It recorded a £700,000 increase in other donations and gifts to £11.4m in 2025.
Overall, the charity said that the most significant contributor to the year-on-year income reduction was a lower net gain on disposable assets, £3.5m in 2025 compared to £7.8m in 2024.
St John Ambulance nevertheless achieved a net operating surplus of £1.3m, following a net deficit of £2.5m in the previous financial year.
The charity described the surplus as “a significant improvement year-on-year” and cited “disciplined financial management, operational changes and a continued focus on cost control across the organisation” as drivers behind the surplus.
End of NHS contract
Commercial training, its largest income generating charitable activity, grew by just over £2m in 2025 to £48.5m.
However, the end of its NHS England ambulance auxiliary contract in June last year had a “significant impact” on the charity’s activity, contributing to a £2.6m reduction in its “urgent and emergency care” income.
St John Ambulance also saw its income from the sale of medical supplies including public access defibrillators and first aid supplies reduced by 9% to £9.6m, down from 2024’s figure of £10.5m.
The charity added that “although income fell, our net operating margin before allocated support costs improved”.
Expenditure down
St John Ambulance reported that its expenditure fell to £100m in 2025, a reduction from the 2024 total of £106m.
Operating costs across the charity’s estate declined as the charity continued to focus on “building a resilient operating model”.
St John Ambulance recorded a total of 1,290 employees (1,111 full-time equivalent) for 2025, almost 200 people down on the previous year.
This comes after it announced in 2023 that it would making redundancies and downsizing by 10%, which continued into 2024.
Staff costs for 2025 stood at £45.7m, a decrease on the previous year’s total of £46.6m.
However, the decreases in salaries and pension costs were offset by a rise in social security costs from £3.8m in 2024 to £4.5m in 2025.
