BLUE CROSS

Registered charity 224392 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE BLUE CROSS, THE BLUE CROSS (INCORPORATING OUR DUMB FRIENDS LEAGUE) · listed website unreachable when last crawled · also registered in Scotland as SC040154 (OSCR)

Latest income
£50.6m
Latest spending
£50.7m
Registered
1965
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that Blue Cross ended the financial year with a net loss of £0.3m, driven by an operating loss and investment portfolio losses, though legacy income reached a record high. The charity holds unrestricted free reserves of £51.4m and liquid unrestricted reserves of £25.9m, which the trustees consider sufficient to cover planned operating losses and strategic investments over the next few years. While the charity anticipates operational deficits in 2025 and 2026, it maintains a going concern status with adequate resources to continue operations for at least twelve months.

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £150,001 - £160,000 — above the median for charities its size (£125k)
The ratio of remuneration at December 2024 of the highest paid employee (£155,813pa) to the average remuneration of employees (£28,002pa) was 5.56 times
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Settlement payment to former COO Kelly Grellier.
Kelly Grellier, Chief Operating Officer, left employment of Blue Cross in January 2023. The charity paid a settlement payment of £30k. — page 62
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Blue Cross Trading Company Limited, Blue Cross D&B Limited
The charity has two subsidiary undertakings, Blue Cross Trading Company Limited and Blue Cross D&B Limited. — page 37
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by BDO LLP.

Year-over-year changes

Comparing this charity’s FY2023 and FY2024 accounts as analysed by this site.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Blue Cross (matched by registered charity number).

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

Total income
£50.6m
Total spending
£50.7m
Cost of raising funds
£13.4m
Reserves (reported)
£51.4m
Employees
893

Reported reserves equal ~12.2 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees

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

Operates in: Ireland · Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£50.6m£50.7m
31/12/2023£44.0m£44.6m
31/12/2022£45.9m£41.2m
31/12/2021£37.5m£37.3m
31/12/2020£36.0m£35.9m

Common questions

Is BLUE CROSS financially healthy?

The accounts state that Blue Cross ended the financial year with a net loss of £0.3m, driven by an operating loss and investment portfolio losses, though legacy income reached a record high. The charity holds unrestricted free reserves of £51.4m and liquid unrestricted reserves of £25.9m, which the trustees consider sufficient to cover planned operating losses and strategic investments over the next few years. While the charity anticipates operational deficits in 2025 and 2026, it maintains a going concern status with adequate resources to continue operations for at least twelve months. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by BDO LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of BLUE CROSS earn?

Per its FY2024 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £150,001 - £160,000 band.

Who funds BLUE CROSS?

Funders whose own accounts filings name BLUE CROSS as a grant recipient include THE PENNIES FOUNDATION, THE SERTH AND GATES CHARITY, SIR PETER O'SULLEVAN CHARITABLE TRUST, PHILIP BREEZE WILL TRUST, ARBUTHNOTT CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

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

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
PROJECT GIVING BACK1£324k

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