ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION
Registered charity 1130306 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as EMF · also registered in Scotland as SC043120 (OSCR)
To provide a vision and framework for the transition towards a restorative economy - the circular economy. To focus our activities in three areas.Education - Inspiring a generation to re-think, re-design and build a positive future;Business - Catalysing business innovation for a circular economy;.Insight - Creating a tipping point for a circular economy through thought leadership.
Causes: Education/training · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that total income decreased by 4% to £14.0m while total expenditure increased to £20.3m, resulting in a net deficit of £6.3m for the year. The Trustees confirm that unrestricted reserves of £8.6m remain within the Board's policy target of six to nine months of operating expenditure, ensuring the Charity can 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: 40
“40 employees (2024: 35) received remuneration in excess of £60,000” — page 54
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: six to nine months of operating expenditure (held: £8.6m)
“The Board’s policy is to hold free reserves equivalent to six to nine months of operating expenditure, which equate to £5.6m–£8.5m.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Services provided by Dame Ellen MacArthur via EM (IOW) Ltd.
“During the period a charge was made by EM (IOW) Ltd, a Company where Dame Ellen MacArthur is the Director and 50% shareholder, for £0 (2024: £22,500) in respect of services provided by Dame Ellen MacArthur.” — page 63
“Expenses were reimbursed to two Trustees totaling £2,965 (2024: two Trustees £6,053) in respect of home phone expenses and travel.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Reimbursement of expenses to Trustees.
“During the period a charge was made by EM (IOW) Ltd, a Company where Dame Ellen MacArthur is the Director and 50% shareholder, for £0 (2024: £22,500) in respect of services provided by Dame Ellen MacArthur.” — page 63
“Expenses were reimbursed to two Trustees totaling £2,965 (2024: two Trustees £6,053) in respect of home phone expenses and travel.”
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: 35 (FY2024) → 40 (FY2025).
Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.
In the news
Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).
Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Ellen MacArthur Foundation (matched by registered charity number).
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.
Property (HM Land Registry)
2 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): instagram · linkedin
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/08/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£645k
Reported reserves equal ~3.5 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (50% 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: 4.6% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).
- DAME ELLEN MACARTHUR · trustee of 1 other charity
- Hema Patel
- Hong-Thuy Paterson
- James Butterworth
- Michael Lebovitz
- PETER MORGAN
- PHILIP SELLWOOD
- Robert Metzke
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Isle Of Wight · Scotland
Income and spending
Common questions
Is ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that total income decreased by 4% to £14.0m while total expenditure increased to £20.3m, resulting in a net deficit of £6.3m for the year. The Trustees confirm that unrestricted reserves of £8.6m remain within the Board's policy target of six to nine months of operating expenditure, ensuring the Charity can continue as a going concern. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Moore Kingston Smith LLP.
Who funds ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION?
Funders whose own accounts filings name ELLEN MACARTHUR FOUNDATION as a grant recipient include THE ASTRA FOUNDATION.
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.
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Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.