MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK)

Registered charity 1026588 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as M S F U K, MSF (UK)

Latest income
£95.3m
Latest spending
£89.8m
Registered
1993
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that MSF UK reported a surplus of £5.6 million for the year ended 31 December 2024, with total income increasing by 12 per cent to £95.3 million. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves stood at £5.5 million, which is slightly above the stated policy target of £5.0 million. The charity maintains that its level of ongoing support from committed donors and unrestricted reserves secures it for the foreseeable future.

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £100,001 - £110,000 — below the median for charities its size (£125k)
The highest-paid gross salary of MSF UK is the Executive Director at £108,574. — page 74
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Employees paid over £60,000: 32
There are 32 employees with total compensation over £60,000; eight are members of MSF UK’s Committee of Directors, who are judged to be key management personnel. — page 74
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: two months of budgeted HQ expenditure or two months of budgeted legacy and major gift income (held: £5.5m)
The trustees have agreed that MSF UK will aim to hold reserves equal to the lower of (a) and (b) below: a. Two months of budgeted legacy and major gift income b. Two months of budgeted Head Quarters (HQ) expenditure — page 51
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Payments to trustees: Chair: £45,013; Vice-Chair: payment for OCA Council role
With the exception of the Chair, who receives a monthly payment in compensation for part of their time, and the Vice-Chair, who receives a payment in compensation for their significant role on the OCA Council, our trustees are volunteers and do not otherwise receive remuneration for their governance work. — page 48
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Grants to related MSF entities
In 2024, MSF UK made grants to MSF Holland (in its role as host of OCA); to MSF Belgium, which hosts OCB; and to MSF France, which hosts Operational Centre Paris (OCP). OCA, OCB and OCP used these funds to implement and continue medical humanitarian projects and support social mission costs at OCA. — page 39
The charity’s sole investment is £1 (100 per cent of the share capital) in MSF Enterprises Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. The charity has not prepared consolidated accounts, as the subsidiary has no assets and is dormant. — page 65
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Subsidiary company
In 2024, MSF UK made grants to MSF Holland (in its role as host of OCA); to MSF Belgium, which hosts OCB; and to MSF France, which hosts Operational Centre Paris (OCP). OCA, OCB and OCP used these funds to implement and continue medical humanitarian projects and support social mission costs at OCA. — page 39
The charity’s sole investment is £1 (100 per cent of the share capital) in MSF Enterprises Limited, a company incorporated in England and Wales. The charity has not prepared consolidated accounts, as the subsidiary has no assets and is dormant. — page 65
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by BDO LLP.

Year-over-year changes

Comparing this charity’s FY2023 and FY2024 accounts as analysed by this site.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Medecins Sans Frontieres / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) (matched by registered charity number).

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income
£95.3m
Total spending
£89.8m
Cost of raising funds
£13.9m
Reserves (reported)
£5.6m
Employees
225

Reported reserves equal ~0.7 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Afghanistan · Bangladesh · Burma · Chad · Congo (Democratic Republic) · Ethiopia · Guinea · Haiti · India · Indonesia · Iraq · Italy

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£95.3m£89.8m
31/12/2023£85.3m£84.0m
31/12/2022£76.8m£77.0m
31/12/2021£68.0m£71.9m
31/12/2020£72.7m£69.4m

Common questions

Is MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) financially healthy?

The accounts state that MSF UK reported a surplus of £5.6 million for the year ended 31 December 2024, with total income increasing by 12 per cent to £95.3 million. Per the trustees' report, unrestricted reserves stood at £5.5 million, which is slightly above the stated policy target of £5.0 million. The charity maintains that its level of ongoing support from committed donors and unrestricted reserves secures it for the foreseeable future. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by BDO LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) earn?

Per its FY2024 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £100,001 - £110,000 band, and 32 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK)?

Funders whose own accounts filings name MEDECINS SANS FRONTIERES (UK) as a grant recipient include THE MASTER CHARITABLE TRUST, THE TAYLOR FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE ORR MACKINTOSH FOUNDATION LIMITED, THE CONSTANCE TRAVIS CHARITABLE TRUST, THE RAYNE FOUNDATION.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
Postcode Lottery10/02/2025£2.0mRegular Grant 2025
Postcode Lottery10/02/2025£100kExtra Award 2025
Postcode Lottery01/12/2023£1.5mRegular Grant 2024
Postcode Lottery28/02/2023£1.4mRegular Grant 2023
Postcode Lottery09/02/2022£1.0mRegular Grant 2022
Postcode Lottery09/02/2022£250kSpecial Award - Charity Gala 2022

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

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Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with MEDICAL MISSION INTERNATIONAL (UK).