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NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE

Registered charity 1078832 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q3873189 · Wikipedia · also known as NATIONAL SPACE SCIENCE CENTRE

OPERATION OF A VISITOR ATTRACTION FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION IN RELATION TO SPACE.PROVISION OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMES

Objects

THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN PARTICULAR BUT NOT EXCLUSIVELY IN RELATION TO SPACE AND PLANETARY SCIENCE, ASTROMOMY AND TECHNOLOGY AND THEIR SIGNIFICANCE TO LIFE ON EARTH

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Leicester, East Midlands, England (from the postcode on the register)

Latest income
£9.9m
Latest spending
£10.1m
Registered
2000
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that total income increased to £9,889,999, while total expenditure rose to £10,077,103, resulting in a net deficit for the year. The charity holds £6,517,998 in unrestricted funds, which the trustees consider to be in excess of their stated reserves policy target of £0.9-1.2m. The trustees confirm that the group has adequate resources to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months.

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

What the accounts disclose

Related-party transaction: East Midlands Chamber
“East Midlands Chamber £1,100 for membersip. Kevin Harris is a Non Executive Director and the Chair of the Board of the East Midlands Chamber.” — page 39
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Sayer Vincent LLP. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2025

  • Government income: £768,791 — grants £768,791 (1); 8% of the £9,889,999 total gross income on the same return
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 8 (£60,001–£70,000: 5; £70,001–£80,000: 2; £140,001–£150,000: 1)
  • Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit
  • Has a trading subsidiary

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2024

  • Government income: £943,369 — grants £943,369 (1); 11% of the £8,915,636 total gross income on the same return
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 7 (£60,001–£70,000: 4; £70,001–£80,000: 1; £80,001–£90,000: 1; £140,001–£150,000: 1)
  • Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit
  • Has a trading subsidiary

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2023

  • Government income: £519,796 — grants £519,796 (1); 6% of the £8,682,243 total gross income on the same return
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 6 (£60,001–£70,000: 3; £70,001–£80,000: 1; £80,001–£90,000: 1; £140,001–£150,000: 1)
  • Trustee benefits, answered Yes to: any trustee benefit
  • Has a trading subsidiary

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

Corporate structure

NSSC OPERATIONS LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts
  • Turnover: £4.2m
  • Profit before tax: £370k
  • Donated/gift-aided to the charity: £307k
“All available taxable profits are paid to the parent entity by way of a distribution under gift aid and a corresponding tax credit is recorded at the point of the distribution.”

Company officers (Companies House)

Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

Official officers record.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram · linkedin

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2025)

Total income
£9.9m
Total spending
£10.1m
Cost of raising funds
£3.8m
Reserves (reported)
£6.5m
Employees
152

Reported reserves equal ~7.8 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (57% 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: 38.0% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 5.3%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Norway · Scotland · South Africa · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2025£9.9m£10.1m
31/12/2024£8.9m£9.8m
31/12/2023£8.7m£9.3m
31/12/2022£7.2m£7.5m
26/12/2021£6.3m£5.7m

Common questions

Is NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that total income increased to £9,889,999, while total expenditure rose to £10,077,103, resulting in a net deficit for the year. The charity holds £6,517,998 in unrestricted funds, which the trustees consider to be in excess of their stated reserves policy target of £0.9-1.2m. The trustees confirm that the group has adequate resources to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Sayer Vincent LLP.

Who funds NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE?

Funders whose own accounts filings name NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE as a grant recipient include ROYAL COMMISSION FOR THE EXHIBITION OF 1851, THE RANDAL CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE KIRBY LAING FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
ROYAL COMMISSION FOR THE EXHIBITION OF 1851FY2024£50kOuter Solar System gallery
THE RANDAL CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2025£40kGrant to institutions
THE KIRBY LAING FOUNDATIONFY2025£20kEducation & Training

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.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
GARFIELD WESTON FOUNDATION1£225k
THE FOYLE FOUNDATION1£100k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with SPACE.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
NATIONAL SPACE CENTRE£9.9m——above—no doubt
SPACE FY2025£256k—0below—no doubt
National Centre For Universities and Business FY2026£2.8m£160,000 - £170,000—above—no doubt
THE FRIENDS OF SPACE PRESTON FY2025£64k—0above—no doubt
MANSFIELD AND SUTTON ASTRONOMICAL SOCIETY CIO FY2025£2.5m—0unclear—no doubt
THE CHARITY SERVICE LIMITED FY2025£1.3m—0below—no doubt

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