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CENTRE FOR CITIES

Registered charity 1119841 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · Wikidata: Q5062375 · Wikipedia

To promote education for the public benefit in issues of economics and public policy in relation to cities and towns in the United Kingdom and elsewhere in the world and to promote for the public benefit research in the aforementioned fields and to publish the useful results of such research.

Objects

TO PROMOTE EDUCATION FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT IN ISSUES OF ECONOMICS AND PUBLIC POLICY IN RELATION TO CITIES AND TOWNS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND ELSEWHERE IN THE WORLD AND TO PROMOTE FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT RESEARCH IN THE AFOREMENTIONED FIELDS AND TO PUBLISH THE USEFUL RESULTS OF SUCH SEARCHES.

Area of benefit: NATIONAL AND OVERSEAS

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

Causes: Education/training · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Southwark, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Latest income
£1.6m
Latest spending
£1.7m
Registered
2007
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The charity reported a deficit of £80,850 for the year ended 31 December 2025, resulting in a decrease in unrestricted reserves to £973,774. This reserve level is below the stated policy target of maintaining at least six months of operating costs. The accounts state that the charity has confirmed core funding for 2026-2028 and considers itself a going concern with adequate resources for the foreseeable future.

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

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £120,001 and above — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median £70k)
“Employees earning above £120,001 1 1” — page 26
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Employees paid over £60,000: 6
“Employees earning between £60,001 - £70,000 2 1 Employees earning between £70,001 - £80,000 2 1 Employees earning between £80,001 - £90,000 - 4 Employees earning between £90,001 - £100,000 1 - Employees earning between £100,001 - £120,000 - 1 Employees earning above £120,001 1 1” — page 26
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Largest income source: Gatsby Charitable Foundation (69% of income)
“Our main source of income was a core grant from the Gatsby Charitable Foundation. In 2025, we received £1,100,000 (2024: £1,300,000 which included a one-off grant supplement). The grant represented 69 per cent of all our revenues.” — page 7
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy
“Free reserves held on 31 December 2025 were £973,774 (2024: £1,058,392), down by £84,618.” — page 7
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: One trustee serves on the Board of the Gatsby Foundation, which is the charity's main donor.
“In the current year, one trustee currently also serves on the Board of the Gatsby Foundation.” — page 10
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Chariot House Limited. Discloses 6 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

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

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: £373,196 — contracts £73,250 (5), grants £299,946 (1); 23% of the £1,588,114 total gross income on the same return
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 6 (£60,001–£70,000: 2; £70,001–£80,000: 2; £90,001–£100,000: 1; £120,001–£130,000: 1)

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

  • Government income: £350,950 — contracts £5,000 (1), grants £345,950 (1); 18% of the £1,923,328 total gross income on the same return
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 6 (£60,001–£70,000: 1; £70,001–£80,000: 1; £80,001–£90,000: 2; £110,001–£120,000: 1; £120,001–£130,000: 1)

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

  • Government income: £491,032 — contracts £2,500 (1), grants £488,532 (1); 26% of the £1,878,873 total gross income on the same return
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 6 (£60,001–£70,000: 1; £70,001–£80,000: 1; £80,001–£90,000: 2; £90,001–£100,000: 1; £110,001–£120,000: 1)

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

Corporate structure

Leadership, per the charity’s website

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.

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

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

Total income
£1.6m
Total spending
£1.7m
Reserves (reported)
£974k
Employees
19

Reported reserves equal ~7.0 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (69% 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: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2025£1.6m£1.7m
31/12/2024£1.9m£1.8m
31/12/2023£1.9m£1.7m
31/12/2022£1.8m£2.0m
31/12/2021£1.7m£1.7m

Common questions

Is CENTRE FOR CITIES financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The charity reported a deficit of £80,850 for the year ended 31 December 2025, resulting in a decrease in unrestricted reserves to £973,774. This reserve level is below the stated policy target of maintaining at least six months of operating costs. The accounts state that the charity has confirmed core funding for 2026-2028 and considers itself a going concern with adequate resources for the foreseeable future. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Chariot House Limited.

What does the highest-paid employee of CENTRE FOR CITIES earn?

Per its FY2025 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £120,001 and above band, and 6 employees earned over £60,000.

Who funds CENTRE FOR CITIES?

Funders whose own accounts filings name CENTRE FOR CITIES as a grant recipient include THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION.

Shared trustees with funders

Register facts shown side by side: a person serves as trustee of both this charity and a funder whose accounts record grants to it. Shared trusteeship is lawful and common; well-run charities manage it through declared-interest procedures.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2024£1.3mTowards core costs.
THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2025£1.1mTowards core costs.
THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2022£1.1mTowards core costs.
THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2023£1.1mTowards core costs.
THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2021£1.1mTowards core costs.

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
TRUST FOR LONDON2£101k
THE DHL UK FOUNDATION1£455k
THE J J CHARITABLE TRUST1£400k
E B M CHARITABLE TRUST1£200k
FRIENDS PROVIDENT CHARITABLE FOUNDATION1£56k
DRAPERS CHARITABLE FUND1£40k
JOSEPH ROWNTREE FOUNDATION1£36k
UBS UK Donor-Advised Foundation1£32k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with CENTRE FOR LONDON.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
CENTRE FOR CITIES£1.6m£120,001 and above6below—no doubt
CENTRE FOR LONDON FY2025£645k£90,000 - £100,0001below3.7%no doubt
THE LEADERSHIP CENTRE FOR LOCAL GOVERNMENT FY2025£1.9m——unclear—no doubt
THE CENTRE FOR SOCIAL POLICY STUDIES FY2025£132k—0below150000.0%no doubt
CENTRE FOR OUTCOMES OF CARE FY2025£105k—0unclear—no doubt
PERSPECTIVES ON SYSTEMS, SOULS AND SOCIETY FY2024£296k——within—no doubt

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