COUNCIL FOR BRITISH RESEARCH IN THE LEVANT

Registered charity 1073015 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The Company is established as a Learned Society to advance public education through promoting research in the humanities, social sciences and related subjects in the countries of the Levant, and the dissemination of the useful results of such research.

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Latest income

£766k

Latest spending

£816k

Registered

1998

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a deficit in its general fund of £77,674 for the year ended 31 March 2025, leaving unrestricted reserves of £311,122. The trustees note that free reserves of £266,612 are above their stated policy target of approximately £200,000, which represents four months of normal expenditure. However, the auditors have identified a material uncertainty regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern due to an outstanding employment claim with an unknown financial exposure.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £70,001 - £80,000 — in the top quarter for charities its size (median £60k)

“In 2025, no employees received remuneration over £60,000 (2024: Nil). During the year, two CBRL Directors were employed consecutively and the second CBRL Director salary's full year equivalent was in the £70,000 to £80,000 band.” — page 33

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Employees paid over £60,000: 1

“In 2025, no employees received remuneration over £60,000 (2024: Nil). During the year, two CBRL Directors were employed consecutively and the second CBRL Director salary's full year equivalent was in the £70,000 to £80,000 band.” — page 33

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Seymour Taylor Ltd. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

Total income

£766k

Total spending

£816k

Cost of raising funds

£80k

Reserves (reported)

£267k

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~3.9 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 5.2 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (80% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 10.4% of total income — above the median for charities its size (4.9%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

John Shakeshaftchair
Dr Carmen Ting
Dr Kamal Badreshany
Dr Noam Leschem
Dr Robert Bewley
Graham Philip
Ivan Kotev
Kate Seabrook
Professor Louise Anne Martin
Professor Simon Paul Mabon
Sean Michael Hird
Timothy Alexander Insoll
Tom Thomson · trustee of 1 other charity

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/03/2025	£766k	£816k
31/03/2024	£891k	£857k
31/03/2023	£850k	£962k
31/03/2022	£837k	£911k
31/03/2021	£895k	£895k

Common questions

Is COUNCIL FOR BRITISH RESEARCH IN THE LEVANT financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a deficit in its general fund of £77,674 for the year ended 31 March 2025, leaving unrestricted reserves of £311,122. The trustees note that free reserves of £266,612 are above their stated policy target of approximately £200,000, which represents four months of normal expenditure. However, the auditors have identified a material uncertainty regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern due to an outstanding employment claim with an unknown financial exposure. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Seymour Taylor Ltd.

What does the highest-paid employee of COUNCIL FOR BRITISH RESEARCH IN THE LEVANT earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £70,001 - £80,000 band, and 1 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds COUNCIL FOR BRITISH RESEARCH IN THE LEVANT?

Funders whose own accounts filings name COUNCIL FOR BRITISH RESEARCH IN THE LEVANT as a grant recipient include THE BRITISH ACADEMY FOR THE PROMOTION OF HISTORICAL PHILOSOPHICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL STUDIES, ALTAJIR TRUST.

Known funders

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

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
THE BRITISH ACADEMY FOR THE PROMOTION OF HISTORICAL PHILOSOPHICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL STUDIES	FY2023	£847k	British International Research Institutes
THE BRITISH ACADEMY FOR THE PROMOTION OF HISTORICAL PHILOSOPHICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL STUDIES	FY2022	£775k
THE BRITISH ACADEMY FOR THE PROMOTION OF HISTORICAL PHILOSOPHICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL STUDIES	FY2024	£746k	Grants to institutions
THE BRITISH ACADEMY FOR THE PROMOTION OF HISTORICAL PHILOSOPHICAL AND PHILOLOGICAL STUDIES	FY2025	£635k	British International Research Institutes
ALTAJIR TRUST	FY2022	£10k
ALTAJIR TRUST	FY2023	£10k
ALTAJIR TRUST	FY2024	£10k
ALTAJIR TRUST	FY2021	£5k
ALTAJIR TRUST	FY2025	£0

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.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	1	£4.6m
JOFFE CHARITABLE TRUST CIO	1	£151k
THE JOSEPH ROWNTREE CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£148k
DAVID AND ELAINE POTTER FOUNDATION	1	£20k
INTERNATIONAL ALERT	1	£19k
THE NATIONAL MANUSCRIPTS CONSERVATION TRUST	1	£18k
JUSTICE FOR JOURNALISTS FOUNDATION	1	£8k
THE LECHE TRUST	1	£5k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON.

SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON income £2.6m
A M QATTAN FOUNDATION income £2.6m
THE CENTRE FOR LEBANESE STUDIES income £1.3m
THE MODERN HUMANITIES RESEARCH ASSOCIATION income £748k
WRITERS AND SCHOLARS EDUCATIONAL TRUST income £1.3m
BRITISH SOCIETY FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES income £141k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
COUNCIL FOR BRITISH RESEARCH IN THE LEVANT	£766k	£70,001 - £80,000	1	unclear	—	no doubt
SOCIETY OF ANTIQUARIES OF LONDON FY2025	£2.6m	—	—	below	—	no doubt
A M QATTAN FOUNDATION FY2025	£2.6m	—	—	above	—	no doubt
THE CENTRE FOR LEBANESE STUDIES FY2024	£1.3m	$125,652 - $138,216	—	unclear	—	no doubt
THE MODERN HUMANITIES RESEARCH ASSOCIATION FY2025	£748k	—	—	above	—	no doubt
WRITERS AND SCHOLARS EDUCATIONAL TRUST FY2025	£1.3m	—	—	above	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.