BUCKFAST ABBEY TRUST (HELD ICW THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY OF BENEDICTINE MONKS ESTABLISHED AT ST MARYS ABBEY BUCKFAST, DEVON)

Registered charity 232497 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

ITS PRIMARY ACTIVITY IS TO MAINTAIN AND SUPPORT THE BENEDICTINE COMMUNITY OF MONKS AT BUCKFAST ABBEY.

Causes: Religious Activities · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£14.8m

Latest spending

£15.8m

Registered

1964

Accounts read

FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £539,987 for the year, a significant improvement from the £11.7 million loss in the prior period, driven by provisions against property development investments. The trustees confirm the financial position is sound, with total net assets of £78.3 million, and note that investment reserves provide a buffer for future performance.

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

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £60,001 - £70,000 — below the median for charities its size (£130k)

“The number of employees of the Group whose emoluments amounted to over £60,000 in the year was as follows: £60,001 - £70,000 5” — page 28

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Employees paid over £60,000: 5

“The number of employees of the Group whose emoluments amounted to over £60,000 in the year was as follows: £60,001 - £70,000 5” — page 28

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Reserves policy: retain some of its surplus income ... necessary in order to secure the future ability of the Charity to support the religious community at Buckfast, and to maintain and improve the buildings and plant (held: £51.3m)

“The Trustees consider that the long-term nature of the objectives of the Charity requires that it retain some of its surplus income to hold as reserves. These reserves are necessary in order to secure the future ability of the Charity to support the religious community at Buckfast, and to maintain and improve the buildings and plant that make up the Buckfast Abbey Precinct.” — page 38

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Abbey (Design and Build) Ltd, controlled by a director of a group subsidiary, advanced interest-free cash flow loans totalling £238,000 to the charity in the previous year, repaid during that year. In the current year, £350,000 of property development consideration was paid to a company owned by a director of a group subsidiary.

“During the previous year Abbey (Design and Build) Ltd, which is controlled by a director of a group subsidiary company, advanced interest free cash flow loans totalling £238,000 to the charity. They were repaid during that year. During the year £350,000 of the consideration for a property development was paid to a company that is owned by a director of a group subsidiary company” — page 35

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by PKF Francis Clark LLP. Discloses 6 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

Trading subsidiary: DART ABBEY ENTERPRISES LIMITED Companies House 01435171 · Financial health read from its filings

DART ABBEY ENTERPRISES LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts

Turnover: £5.9m
Profit before tax: £-1.1m
Creditors include £19,410,774 owed to the parent undertaking (The Buckfast Abbey Trust).

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/10/2025)

Total income

£14.8m

Total spending

£15.8m

Cost of raising funds

£10.0m

Reserves (reported)

£52.0m

Employees

136

Reported reserves equal ~39.6 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Other trading activities (61% 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: 67.4% of total income — above the 90th percentile for charities its size (median 3.8%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

Right Rev David Roger Charlesworth OSBchair · trustee of 1 other charity
Dom Mark Andrew Prickett OSB
Dom Peter Dominic May OSB
Louise Jessica Hardy
Rev Canon Mark O'Keeffe
Very Reverend Dom Rory Daniel Smyth OSB

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

Operates in: Devon

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/10/2025	£14.8m	£15.8m
31/10/2024	£11.9m	£12.7m
31/10/2023	£11.1m	£12.4m
31/10/2022	£10.5m	£10.9m
31/10/2021	£10.0m	£10.0m

Common questions

Is BUCKFAST ABBEY TRUST (HELD ICW THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY OF BENEDICTINE MONKS ESTABLISHED AT ST MARYS ABBEY BUCKFAST, DEVON) financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net expenditure of £539,987 for the year, a significant improvement from the £11.7 million loss in the prior period, driven by provisions against property development investments. The trustees confirm the financial position is sound, with total net assets of £78.3 million, and note that investment reserves provide a buffer for future performance. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by PKF Francis Clark LLP.

What does the highest-paid employee of BUCKFAST ABBEY TRUST (HELD ICW THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY OF BENEDICTINE MONKS ESTABLISHED AT ST MARYS ABBEY BUCKFAST, DEVON) earn?

Per its FY2024 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £60,001 - £70,000 band, and 5 employees earned over £60,000.

Government & lottery funding

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

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
UK government	01/04/2021	£4k	PGW0622-CF1375 - Buckfast Abbey Fish & eel Pass 38.5K (2021) £51.5k (2122)
UK government	01/04/2021	£52k	PGW0622-CF1230 - Buckfast Abbey Fish & eel Pass 38.5K (2021) £51.5k (2122)
UK government	01/04/2020	£39k	PGW0622-CF1124 - Buckfast Abbey Fish & eel Pass 38.5K (2021) £51.5k (2122)

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
ST CECILIA'S ABBEY RYDE ISLE OF WIGHT	1	£255k
THE FOUNDATION OF ST. BENEDICT OF NURSIA	1	£133k
GOWLING WLG (UK) CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£1k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with ST MARY'S ABBEY, QUARR.

ST MARY'S ABBEY, QUARR income £1.6m
ST BENEDICT'S CENTRE income £162k
THE TRUST OF ST BENEDICT'S ABBEY EALING income £1.7m
AMPLEFORTH ABBEY income £22.2m
BELMONT ABBEY GENERAL CIO income £1.4m
TRUSTEES OF ST AUGUSTINE ABBEY RAMSGATE income £356k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
BUCKFAST ABBEY TRUST (HELD ICW THE RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY OF BENEDICTINE MONKS ESTABLISHED AT ST MARYS ABBEY BUCKFAST, DEVON)	£14.8m	£60,001 - £70,000	5	unclear	—	no doubt
ST MARY'S ABBEY, QUARR FY2024	£1.6m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
ST BENEDICT'S CENTRE FY2025	£162k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
THE TRUST OF ST BENEDICT'S ABBEY EALING FY2025	£1.7m	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
AMPLEFORTH ABBEY FY2025	£22.2m	£200,000 - £220,000	—	unclear	—	no doubt
BELMONT ABBEY GENERAL CIO FY2024	£1.4m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt

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