THE SMILE TRAIN UK

Registered charity 1114748 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

-To relieve the suffering of children with cleft lips or palates or both;-To advance the education and training of the public, including doctors, nurses and medical support staff in all matters relating to cleft lip and palate surgery and treatment and the support of those with this condition.

Causes: Education/training · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · Disability · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£13.6m
Latest spending
£13.6m
Registered
2006
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that unrestricted reserves stood at £1.61m, which is above the trustees' stated policy target of holding between £800k and £1.3m. The group reported a net expenditure of £19,211 for the year, with total income of £13.62m and total expenditure of £13.64m.

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 — below the median for charities its size (£130k)
“One employee earned between £70,000 and £80,000 and one employee earned between £60,000 and £70,000 during the year” — page 40
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Employees paid over £60,000: 2
“One employee earned between £70,000 and £80,000 and one employee earned between £60,000 and £70,000 during the year” — page 40
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Fundraising cost ratio: 41.2% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“This year, the current fundraising performance ratio was 2.4:1, when comparing costs of £5.6m against the income raised of £13.6m.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: £800k - £1.3m (held: £1.6m)
“the Trustees have determined that it is appropriate that the Charity holds cash reserves between £800k - £1.3m to fund approximately 90 days of operational expenses.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: The Smile Train UK Trading Company Limited
“Its subsidiary undertaking, The Smile Train UK Trading Company Limited, was incorporated on 20 June 2014. The company is wholly owned” — page 22
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Crowe U.K. LLP. Discloses 6 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

Corporate structure

THE SMILE TRAIN UK TRADING COMPANY LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts
  • Profit before tax: £-3.4m
  • Creditors include £17,969,000 due to the parent charity.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Smile Train (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

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.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 30/06/2025)

Total income
£13.6m
Total spending
£13.6m
Cost of raising funds
£5.6m
Reserves (reported)
£1.6m
Employees
8

Reported reserves equal ~1.4 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 41.4% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 3.8%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Argentina · Bangladesh · Bolivia · Brazil · Bulgaria · Burma · Cambodia · Cameroon · Chile · Colombia · Congo (Democratic Republic) · Dominican Republic

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
30/06/2025£13.6m£13.6m
30/06/2024£12.3m£11.8m
30/06/2023£11.1m£10.4m
30/06/2022£10.3m£11.3m
30/06/2021£8.9m£9.0m

Common questions

Is THE SMILE TRAIN UK financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that unrestricted reserves stood at £1.61m, which is above the trustees' stated policy target of holding between £800k and £1.3m. The group reported a net expenditure of £19,211 for the year, with total income of £13.62m and total expenditure of £13.64m. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Crowe U.K. LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of THE SMILE TRAIN UK earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £70,001 - £80,000 band, and 2 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds THE SMILE TRAIN UK?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE SMILE TRAIN UK as a grant recipient include THE PAYBACK TIME TRUST, THE DU BROW CHARITY, THE ORR MACKINTOSH FOUNDATION LIMITED, THE THOMAS J HORNE MEMORIAL TRUST, THE CRANBROOK FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

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 CLEFT.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE SMILE TRAIN UK£13.6m£70,001 - £80,0002above41.2%no doubt
CLEFT FY2025£325k—0above—no doubt
OPERATION SMILE UNITED KINGDOM FY2025£7.5mabove £80K3unclear44.0%no doubt
THE CLEFT LIP AND PALATE ASSOCIATION FY2026£1.9m£60,001 - £70,0001unclear—no doubt
CURE INTERNATIONAL (UK) FY2025£461k—0below—no doubt
COPTIC MEDICAL SOCIETY UK FY2025£298k—0within—no doubt

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