SIGHT RESEARCH UK
The relief of sickness and the promotion of good health for the public benefit by funding and supporting research into the causes and treatment of eye disease and blindness and publishing and disseminating the useful results thereof.
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported a net income of £253,955 for the year ended 30 June 2025, with total unrestricted reserves of £956,691 and a designated Impact Protection Fund of £1,000,000. The trustees confirmed that the charity has sufficient resources to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months, supported by a cash balance of £941,817 and investment assets valued at £2,198,626.
What the accounts disclose
“Legacy income came in at £592,860 this year, representing our highest income stream and 68% of our total income for 2024-25.” — page 12
“The Trustees do not propose to change our reserves level from £1,000,000. The agreed reserves policy can sustain one year of research funding and charity operation, even if income generation halts entirely.” — page 5
“Trustees Dolores Conroy and John Greenwood are employees of University College London. Sight Research UK has committed to fund reseachers at the institution. At 30 June 2025 the total commitment outstanding to University College London was £280,178 (2024: £288,807). Two new grants were awarded to University College London during the year totalling £29,919 (2024: 3 grants, £288,807). Given the close working relationship with University College London, neither trustee was involved in the decision process to award any of these grants. In the prior year Trustee Richard Lee (resigned 10 November 2023) was an employee of both University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital. At 30 June 2024 the total commitment outstanding to Moorfields Eye Hospital was £25,384 and no new grants were awarded in the year. During the year, trustees and their close families donated a total of £995 to the charity during the year (2024: £Nil). A total of £800 of these donations were restricted to research into any vision condition.” — page 41
Year-over-year changes
- Reserves position vs the charity's own policy moved from "above" (FY2024) to "below" (FY2025).
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 30/06/2025)
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (05/05/2020)
Trustees
- Carol Margaret Elizabeth Mayochair
- Antonia Seymour
- Clive Ian Hetherington
- Dr Dolores Conroy
- John Richard Swarbrick
- Professor Barbara Pierscionek
- Professor John Greenwood PhD
- Robert Drewett
- Serena Salvatore
- Simon Bowker
Income and spending
| Financial year end | Income | Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 30/06/2025 | £871k | £694k |
| 30/06/2024 | £803k | £814k |
| 30/06/2023 | £390k | £356k |
| 30/06/2022 | £826k | £414k |
| 30/06/2021 | £425k | £611k |
Common questions
Is SIGHT RESEARCH UK financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net income of £253,955 for the year ended 30 June 2025, with total unrestricted reserves of £956,691 and a designated Impact Protection Fund of £1,000,000. The trustees confirmed that the charity has sufficient resources to continue as a going concern for at least 12 months, supported by a cash balance of £941,817 and investment assets valued at £2,198,626. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Godfrey Wilson Limited.
Who funds SIGHT RESEARCH UK?
Funders whose own accounts filings name SIGHT RESEARCH UK as a grant recipient include THE JAMES TUDOR FOUNDATION, MIVA FOUNDATION, T F C FROST CHARITABLE TRUST, ROBERT LUFF FOUNDATION LIMITED, THE REED FOUNDATION.
Known funders
Funders of similar charities
| Funder | Similar charities funded | Amount to them |
|---|---|---|
| THE INMAN CHARITY | 3 | £21k |
| THE OAKDALE TRUST | 3 | £6k |
| THOMAS POCKLINGTON TRUST | 2 | £525k |
| CHRISTOS LAZARI FOUNDATION | 2 | £72k |
| THE WILL CHARITABLE TRUST | 2 | £30k |
| KATHLEEN BERYL SLEIGH CHARITABLE TRUST | 2 | £25k |
| THE BARBOUR FOUNDATION | 2 | £12k |
| THE CATHERINE COOKSON CHARITABLE TRUST | 2 | £3k |
Charities like this
Side by side with its peers
| Charity | Income | Top pay band | Staff >£60k | Reserves vs policy | Fundraising cost | Going concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SIGHT RESEARCH UK | £871k | — | 0 | below | — | no doubt |
| EYEHOPE | £103k | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| RETINA UK | £2.2m | £90,000 - £100,000 | — | unclear | 17.0% | no doubt |
| SIGHT FOR LIFE TRUST | £775k | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| SECOND SIGHT | £388k | — | 0 | above | — | no doubt |
| Fight for Sight | £7.4m | — | — | above | — | no doubt |