THE NATIONAL FOREST COMPANY

Registered charity 1166563 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as NFC

The National Forest Company works to conserve, protect and enhance the environment in general and specifically in the National Forest, for public benefit; in particular woodland creation & management; promotion of urban and rural regeneration and training, education and research.

Objects

FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT, THE CONSERVATION, PROTECTION AND IMPROVEMENT OF THE PHYSICAL AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT SO AS TO SECURE AND ENHANCE THE ENJOYMENT BY THE PUBLIC OF THE SAME, IN PARTICULAR BUT WITHOUT LIMITATION TO:(A) WOODLAND CREATION AND MANAGEMENT GENERALLY, AND IN PARTICULAR IN THE AREA OF THE NATIONAL FOREST, FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE GENERAL IMPROVEMENT OF LAND OR FOR THE ENVIRONMENT;(B) THE PROMOTION OF URBAN AND RURAL REGENERATION BY THE MAINTENANCE, IMPROVEMENT OR PROVISION OF PUBLIC AMENITIES; THE PROVISION OF RECREATIONAL FACILITIES FOR THE PUBLIC AT LARGE OR THOSE WHO BY REASON OF THEIR YOUTH, AGE, INFIRMITY OR DISABLEMENT, FINANCIAL HARDSHIP OR SOCIAL AND ECONOMIC CIRCUMSTANCES, HAVE NEED OF SUCH FACILITIES; AND THE PROTECTION OR CONSERVATION OF THE ENVIRONMENT; AND(C) THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION IN THE ENVIRONMENT AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT THROUGH THE PROMOTION OF TRAINING AND EDUCATION AND THE UNDERTAKING AND PUBLISHING OF RESEARCH.FOR THE PURPOSE OF THE OBJECTS, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MEANS “DEVELOPMENT WHICH MEETS THE NEEDS OF THE PRESENT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ABILITY OF FUTURE GENERATIONS TO MEET THEIR OWN NEEDS”.

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

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives · Environment/conservation/heritage · Economic/community Development/employment · Human Rights/religious Or Racial Harmony/equality Or Diversity · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: North West Leicestershire, East Midlands, England (from the postcode on the register)

Financial health, per its FY2026 accounts

The accounts state that total income increased to £11.21m, driven largely by government grants from Defra, while unrestricted free reserves stood at £1.45m, which is below the stated policy target of £1.55m. The charity reported a net positive movement in funds of £993k and confirmed it is a going concern with adequate resources for at least 12 months.

Automated summary of the FY2026 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Comptroller and Auditor General. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

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.

• Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
• Complaints handling
• Complaints policy and procedures
• Conflicting interests
• Financial reserves policy and procedures
• Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
• Internal risk management policy and procedures
• Investing charity funds policy and procedures
• Paying staff
• Risk management
• Safeguarding policy and procedures
• Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
• Social media policy and procedures
• Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
• Trustee expenses policy and procedures
• Volunteer management

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.

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

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

• Reappointments to National Forest Company gov.uk · 08/04/2013
• Appointments to the National Forest Company gov.uk · 25/03/2011

Corporate structure

• Registered company of the charity Companies House 02991970
• Trading subsidiary: NATIONAL FOREST ENTERPRISES LIMITED Companies House 03601510 · Financial health read from its filings
• Trading subsidiary: THE FOREST EXPERIENCE LIMITED Companies House 03601522

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — The National Forest (matched by registered charity number).

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.

• CAMBRIDGE, Beth — director, appointed 01/01/2026on trustee list
• HOOPER-SMITH, Emma Jane Louise — director, appointed 01/01/2026on trustee list
• ORSI, Paul — director, appointed 01/01/2026on trustee list
• LOCKHART, John Alexander — director, appointed 01/01/2026on trustee list
• ROBINSON, Matthew Brett — director, appointed 01/01/2023on trustee list
• GADSDEN, Ruth — director, appointed 01/01/2023on trustee list
• COATES, Penelope Ann — director, appointed 01/04/2022on trustee list
• JENKINS, Anne Elizabeth — director, appointed 01/01/2021on trustee list
• EVERITT, John Neil — director, appointed 05/01/2015on trustee list
• EDMONDSON, Craig — secretary, appointed 06/05/2025

Official officers record.

Property (HM Land Registry)

46 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (46 freehold); recorded price paid £105k. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

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

Advertised salaries (public job ads)

Roles this charity has advertised on CharityJob, matched on the exact employer name. A different source from the statutory pay bands above: these are asking salaries for vacancies, not what anyone was paid.

• Executive Assistant to the Chief Executive — £38,465 per year · Multiple Locations (Hybrid) · posted 5 days ago (seen 04/11/2026)

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2026)

Reported reserves equal ~1.7 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (84% 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: 6.7% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.7%) (benchmarks).

Register events

• Received assets from another charity (02/03/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

• Dr Anthony Ballancechair
• Anne Elizabeth Jenkins
• Beth Cambridge
• Emma Hooper-Smith
• JOHN NEIL EVERITT
• John Lockhart
• Matthew Brett Robinson
• Paul Orsi
• Penelope Ann Coates · trustee of 1 other charity
• Ruth Gadsden

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Common questions

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.

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with FOREST PEOPLES PROGRAMME.

• FOREST PEOPLES PROGRAMME income £9.6m
• COMMONWEALTH FORESTRY ASSOCIATION income £66k
• THE PROFOREST INITIATIVE income £2.6m
• THE ROYAL FORESTRY SOCIETY income £1.0m
• NEW FOREST TRUST income £84k
• MERSEY FOREST FOUNDATION income £124k

Side by side with its peers

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