MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY

Registered charity 1139257 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as MS SOCIETY · listed website unreachable when last crawled · also registered in Scotland as SC041990 (OSCR)

Latest income
£29.8m
Latest spending
£32.8m
Registered
2010
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that total income rose to £29.8m while expenditure increased to £32.8m, resulting in a net deficit for the year. The charity reports adequate financial resources and a strong cash flow position, with reserves held at £6.2m, which aligns with its short-term policy despite being below the longer-term target range. The trustees confirm the organization is well-placed to manage business risks and continue as a going concern.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: 10 weeks to 14 weeks plus designated fund (held: £6.2m)
Our long term aspiration is to maintain reserves within a policy range of a lower limit of 10 weeks of planned expenditure and an upper limit which is calculated as follows: 14 weeks planned expenditure plus the balance of the designated fund for research included in reserves. — page 26
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Costs paid to MS International Federation (MSIF) where a trustee and director hold positions.
Vicky Annis (Director of Corporate Services) is the treasurer of the MS International Federation (MSIF) and Nick Moberly (Chief Executive) is a trustee. In 2024 £208k (2023: £94k) of costs relating to the annual subscription fee and The May 50k were paid to MSIF. — page 56
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: MSS (Trading) Limited
The Multiple Sclerosis Society is the sole shareholder, owning two shares, in MSS (Trading) Limited, company number 02895015. — page 37
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by HaysMac LLP.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Multiple Sclerosis Society (matched by registered charity number).

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income
£29.8m
Total spending
£32.8m
Cost of raising funds
£10.2m
Reserves (reported)
£6.2m
Employees
296

Reported reserves equal ~2.3 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees

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

Operates in: Guernsey · Isle Of Man · Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£29.8m£32.8m
31/12/2023£27.7m£30.4m
31/12/2022£26.9m£27.7m
31/12/2021£29.4m£24.8m
31/12/2020£20.5m£23.5m

Common questions

Is MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY financially healthy?

The accounts state that total income rose to £29.8m while expenditure increased to £32.8m, resulting in a net deficit for the year. The charity reports adequate financial resources and a strong cash flow position, with reserves held at £6.2m, which aligns with its short-term policy despite being below the longer-term target range. The trustees confirm the organization is well-placed to manage business risks and continue as a going concern. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by HaysMac LLP.

Who funds MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY?

Funders whose own accounts filings name MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS SOCIETY as a grant recipient include THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST, DAVID & RUTH LEWIS FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST, THE HARAMEAD TRUST, THE BATCHWORTH TRUST, PHILIP BREEZE WILL TRUST.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmount
THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£300k
DAVID & RUTH LEWIS FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£85k
THE HARAMEAD TRUSTFY2023£75k
THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£25k
THE BATCHWORTH TRUSTFY2024£25k
PHILIP BREEZE WILL TRUSTFY2025£23k
THE PRIORY FOUNDATIONFY2025£20k
THE HARAMEAD TRUSTFY2024£20k
DAVID AND ELAINE POTTER FOUNDATIONFY2023£20k
THE ORR MACKINTOSH FOUNDATION LIMITEDFY2025£18k
THE PHILIP MARSDEN FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£11k
THE BATCHWORTH TRUSTFY2025£10k
THE JOSEPH AND LILIAN SULLY FOUNDATIONFY2024£10k
THE ROWSE FAMILY TRUSTFY2022£10k
THE JOHN COATES CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£10k
THE THREE OAKS TRUSTFY2023£10k
THE JOSEPH AND LILIAN SULLY FOUNDATIONFY2025£10k
Mercer Family Charitable FoundationFY2023£10k
THE THREE OAKS TRUSTFY2025£10k
THE JOHN COATES CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£10k
PEACOCK CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£10k
BILL BROWN'S CHARITABLE SETTLEMENT OF 1989FY2025£8k
PILKINGTON CHARITIES FUNDFY2024£7k
PILKINGTON CHARITIES FUNDFY2022£6k
THE CLARE MILNE TRUSTFY2025£5k
THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£5k
THE PHILIP MARSDEN FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£5k
THE MELETE FOUNDATIONFY2023£5k
CHRISTOS LAZARI FOUNDATIONFY2023£5k
THE PHILIP MARSDEN FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£5k
PILKINGTON CHARITIES FUNDFY2023£5k
THE GORDON GRAY TRUSTFY2022£4k
THE GUNTER CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£4k
THE TIMOTHY FRANEY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2025£3k
G M MORRISON CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£3k
THE GEORGE CADBURY TRUST (GEORGE HENRY T AND LAURENCE J CADBURY SECTIONS)FY2023£2k
THE MELETE FOUNDATIONFY2022£2k
ROCKCLIFFE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£2k
THE WALTER GUINNESS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£2k
SIR JOHN PRIESTMAN CHARITY TRUSTFY2021£2k
THE THREE OAKS TRUSTFY2024£2k
THE JEANNINE VASSILIOU CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£1k
THE WYNDHAM CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£1k
THE WYNDHAM CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£1k
THE WARWICKSHIRE MASONIC CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION LIMITEDFY2024£1k
THE GUNTER CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£1k
NORTHAMPTON MUNICIPAL CHURCH CHARITYFY2023£1k
THE CPF TRUSTFY2023£1k
THE KIP AND ALISON BERTRAM CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£1k
THE WARWICKSHIRE MASONIC CHARITABLE ASSOCIATION LIMITEDFY2021£1k

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 MULTIPLE SCLEROSIS INTERNATIONAL FEDERATION.