NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL BOTANY TRUST

Registered charity 1144528 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Our mission is to provide independent science-based research & information. We support NIAB (Charity No:1064230) through the provision of facilities & funding to support the provision of information & advice to farmers, growers & educators; A programme of public good plant breeding; crop variety performance trials & laboratory testing; education & training.

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£2.1m

Latest spending

£5.2m

Registered

2011

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £3.5 million for the 18-month period ended September 2025, resulting in a decrease in total reserves from £48.1 million to £44.6 million. The trustees confirmed that the charity has adequate resources to continue as a going concern for at least twelve months, despite reporting net current liabilities of £5.9 million. The charity holds £39.0 million in unrestricted reserves, which the trustees deem appropriate given current commitments and anticipated land disposals.

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

What the accounts disclose

Payments to trustees: Chair received £6,000 honorarium; 5 Trustees received £3,800 in meeting attendance fees.

“The Chair received an honorarium of £6,000 (2024- £4,000). Five Trustees were paid meeting attendance fees totaling £3,800 (2024 - 4 Trustees £2,200).”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

Registered company of the charity Companies House 07823588

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.

LATHAM, John Robert — director, appointed 09/01/2024on trustee list
WYNN, Philip Graham — director, appointed 09/01/2024on trustee list
GODFREY, James Eric — director, appointed 16/11/2022not on trustee list
MACDONALD, Richard Auld — director, appointed 08/12/2020on trustee list
SPRAGGINS, Mark — secretary, appointed 04/07/2024

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

14 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (14 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 28/09/2025)

Total income

£2.1m

Total spending

£5.2m

Reserves (reported)

£39.0m

Employees

Reported reserves equal ~90.3 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Investments (56% 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 (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Received assets from another charity (21/02/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (19/08/2022) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

James Eric Godfrey OBE
John Robert Latham
PHILIP GRAHAM WYNN · trustee of 2 other charities
Richard Auld MacDonald · trustee of 1 other charity

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
28/09/2025	£2.1m	£5.2m
29/03/2024	£1.5m	£3.0m
29/03/2023	£1.2m	£2.7m
29/03/2022	£1.8m	£5.3m
29/03/2021	£4.1m	£3.0m

Common questions

Is NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL BOTANY TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £3.5 million for the 18-month period ended September 2025, resulting in a decrease in total reserves from £48.1 million to £44.6 million. The trustees confirmed that the charity has adequate resources to continue as a going concern for at least twelve months, despite reporting net current liabilities of £5.9 million. The charity holds £39.0 million in unrestricted reserves, which the trustees deem appropriate given current commitments and anticipated land disposals. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP.

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.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
CLAN TRUST LIMITED	2	£32k
SOCIETE GENERALE UK FOUNDATION	1	£650k
LAWES AGRICULTURAL TRUST	1	£593k
DARTINGTON CATTLE BREEDING TRUST	1	£59k
THE NFU MUTUAL CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£57k
YORKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY	1	£56k
CHK Foundation	1	£10k
FELIX THORNLEY COBBOLD AGRICULTURAL TRUST	1	£8k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with NIAB.

NIAB income £48.0m
ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH LIMITED income £29.3m
JOHN INNES FOUNDATION income £1.7m
THE BURWARTON AND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY LIMITED income £352k
Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust income £804k
BRITISH SOCIETY FOR PLANT PATHOLOGY income £405k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF AGRICULTURAL BOTANY TRUST	£2.1m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
NIAB FY2024	£48.0m	£190,001 - £200,000	—	unclear	—	no doubt
ROTHAMSTED RESEARCH LIMITED FY2025	£29.3m	—	—	above	—	material uncertainty
JOHN INNES FOUNDATION FY2025	£1.7m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE BURWARTON AND DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY LIMITED FY2025	£352k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
Nuffield Farming Scholarships Trust FY2025	£804k	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt

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