NATIONAL GROCERS BENEVOLENT FUND
Registered charity 1095897 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as CARAVAN, GROCERYAID · also registered in Scotland as SC039255 (OSCR)
We tackle hardship amongst those who have worked or are working in the grocery trade, whether in manufacturing, distribution, wholesale or retail. We give financial help via regular and one-off crisis grants, and supply essential household items and independent living aids. We offer practical and emotional support for a wide range of personal and welfare issues via our 24/7 helpline and website.
Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus of £4.8 million, driven by a £5.6 million transfer from the Tobacco Trade Charity, while unrestricted funds showed a modest deficit of £0.1 million. Free reserves stood at £11.4 million, which is above the stated policy minimum of £6 million, and the trustees confirmed adequate resources to continue as a going concern.
Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Employees paid over £60,000: 10
“There were 10 employees (2024: 9 employees) with emoluments above £60,000 per annum.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: £6 million (held: £11.4m)
“a minimum level of £6M of reserves is sufficient to cover the current worst-case scenario”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: GroceryAid Trading Limited
“The Charity has a wholly owned trading subsidiary which is incorporated in the U.K., GroceryAid Trading Limited” — page 9
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Moore Kingston Smith LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.
Year-over-year changes
- Employees paid over £60,000: 9 (FY2024) → 10 (FY2025).
Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.
Leadership, per the charity’s website
- Rami Baitiéh — President (source)
Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.
Funders the charity credits
Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).
- Waitrose & Partners — “The Waitrose & Partners Garden Party is one of the most inspiring and hotly anticipated events of the calendar, with 1,500 guests gathering …” (source page)
Property (HM Land Registry)
2 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (2 freehold); recorded price paid £519k. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£13.8m
Reserves (reported)
£11.4m
Reported reserves equal ~6.1 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (72% 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: 50.7% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 3.8%) (benchmarks).
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (24/08/2022) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (25/03/2022) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (16/08/2013) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Alexander Hodge
- Alison Cheung
- Antony Lorman · trustee of 2 other charities
- DAWOOD PERVEZ · trustee of 1 other charity
- Gareth Francis Helm
- HELEN MARY TUCKER
- Hayley Tatum
- Helen Elizabeth Murray
- Johanna Dickinson
- LORRAINE DENISE HENDLE
- Laia Collazos Amat
- Mark McKenzie
- Richard Crampton
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales
Income and spending
Common questions
Is NATIONAL GROCERS BENEVOLENT FUND financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus of £4.8 million, driven by a £5.6 million transfer from the Tobacco Trade Charity, while unrestricted funds showed a modest deficit of £0.1 million. Free reserves stood at £11.4 million, which is above the stated policy minimum of £6 million, and the trustees confirmed adequate resources to continue as a going concern. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Moore Kingston Smith LLP.
Who funds NATIONAL GROCERS BENEVOLENT FUND?
Funders whose own accounts filings name NATIONAL GROCERS BENEVOLENT FUND as a grant recipient include LEVERHULME TRADE CHARITIES TRUST.
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).
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.
Charities like this
Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE GROCERS' CHARITY.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.