THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS

Registered charity 210252 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as ICE · also registered in Scotland as SC038629 (OSCR)

The ICE is a international membership organisation that exists to promote and advance civil engineering around the world. Civil Engineers design, build and maintain roads, railways, airports, ports, power stations, flood defences, water and waste systems. Where possible they seek to minimise society's impact on the environment and look for more sustainable ways of meeting our needs.

Causes: Education/training · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£43.0m
Latest spending
£46.6m
Registered
1963
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the Group reported a net expenditure of £2,660k for the year, resulting in a decrease in total net assets. However, the trustees confirm that free reserves of £20,087k exceeded the stated policy target range of £12.0m to £15.0m, and the institution maintains adequate liquidity with freely available cash and investments standing at £30,387k.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Employees paid over £60,000: 11
“For the Group, 11 employees (2023: 14) and for Charity seven employees (2023: nine) were deferred members of the defined benefit scheme, for those in the bandings above £60k.” — page 73
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Largest income source: Membership subscriptions and other fees (37% of income)
“Membership subscriptions and other fees £15.9m (2023: 15.2m)” — page 44
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: £12.0m to £15.0m (held: £20.1m)
“Based on this analysis, the Trustees confirmed the target range for free unallocated reserves should remain at £12.0m to £15.0m in November 2024” — page 46
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Lewis Barlow, a trustee, provided tutoring and course development services to ICE Training (a division of TTL). TTL was charged £10,660 for these services.
“Lewis Barlow is a trustee of the institution who has provided tutoring and course development services to ICE Training, a division of TTL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the institution. In 2024, TTL was charged £10,660 (2023: £15,701) by Mr Barlow for these services.” — page 75
“Liz Waugh is a trustee of the institution and a director of Coast Communications & Marketing Limited. During the year the institution made a payment of £nil (2023: £65) to Coast Communications & Marketing Limited for costs incurred on the institution’s behalf related to the renewal of internet domain names.” — page 75
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Liz Waugh, a trustee, is a director of Coast Communications & Marketing Limited. The institution made a payment of £nil (2023: £65) to the company for domain name costs.
“Lewis Barlow is a trustee of the institution who has provided tutoring and course development services to ICE Training, a division of TTL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the institution. In 2024, TTL was charged £10,660 (2023: £15,701) by Mr Barlow for these services.” — page 75
“Liz Waugh is a trustee of the institution and a director of Coast Communications & Marketing Limited. During the year the institution made a payment of £nil (2023: £65) to Coast Communications & Marketing Limited for costs incurred on the institution’s behalf related to the renewal of internet domain names.” — page 75
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustees donated £102 to the Charity during the year.
“Lewis Barlow is a trustee of the institution who has provided tutoring and course development services to ICE Training, a division of TTL, a wholly owned subsidiary of the institution. In 2024, TTL was charged £10,660 (2023: £15,701) by Mr Barlow for these services.” — page 75
“Liz Waugh is a trustee of the institution and a director of Coast Communications & Marketing Limited. During the year the institution made a payment of £nil (2023: £65) to Coast Communications & Marketing Limited for costs incurred on the institution’s behalf related to the renewal of internet domain names.” — page 75
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by HaysMac LLP. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

THOMAS TELFORD LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts
  • Turnover: £24.7m
  • Profit before tax: £5.5m
  • Donated/gift-aided to the charity: £5.5m
  • 6,714k owed to group undertakings (Note 10)
“Qualifying charitable donations to the Company to its parent in respect of the year total £5,474k (2024: £5,130k).”

Public-sector contracts awarded

From the official Contracts Finder and Find a Tender notices (supplier matched by exact registered name). Contract income is distinct from grants.

BuyerContractAwardedValue
Defra CommercialReservoir Panel Engineers Supply and Capacity17/12/2025£189k

Property (HM Land Registry)

4 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (2 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

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

Total income
£43.0m
Total spending
£46.6m
Cost of raising funds
£15.5m
Reserves (reported)
£20.1m
Employees
355

Reported reserves equal ~5.2 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Other trading activities (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: 36.0% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 3.8%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Australia · Hong Kong · Malaysia · Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales · United Arab Emirates

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£43.0m£46.6m
31/12/2023£42.7m£41.1m
31/12/2022£40.4m£37.4m
31/12/2021£35.0m£29.8m
31/12/2020£33.1m£30.7m

Common questions

Is THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the Group reported a net expenditure of £2,660k for the year, resulting in a decrease in total net assets. However, the trustees confirm that free reserves of £20,087k exceeded the stated policy target range of £12.0m to £15.0m, and the institution maintains adequate liquidity with freely available cash and investments standing at £30,387k. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by HaysMac LLP.

Who funds THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS as a grant recipient include Friends of the Nations' Libraries.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
Friends of the Nations' LibrariesFY2025£6kAcquisition of the notebook of James Brindley

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund18/02/1999£20k"Engineering - Both String and Pearls"

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.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
THE ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY BOARD1£11.8m

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE INSTITUTION OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERS£43.0m—11above—no doubt
THE INSTITUTION OF CHEMICAL ENGINEERS FY2025£10.6m——unclear—no doubt
CHARTERED INSTITUTION OF CIVIL ENGINEERING SURVEYORS FY2025£1.3m——unclear—no doubt
INSTITUTE OF DEMOLITION ENGINEERS FY2025£189k—0unclear—no doubt
ICE BENEVOLENT FUND FY2025£1.7m—1unclear—no doubt
ENGINEERING INTEGRITY SOCIETY FY2026£116k—0unclear—no doubt

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