Britten Pears Arts
Registered charity 261383 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as ALDEBURGH FOUNDATION, ALDEBURGH MUSIC, ALDEBURGH PRODUCTIONS, SNAPE MALTINGS
Artistic programming - concerts at Snape Concert Hall and other locations;Britten-Pears Young Artist Programme - performance driven masterclasses;Aldeburgh Residencies - development for established musicians;Aldeburgh Young Musicians - creative and performing projects for exceptional musicians aged 8 and 18;Learning and Inclusion - engagement with the local community on arts-based projects
Causes: Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts
The accounts state that the charity received a transformative £6.5 million gift from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, which significantly increased total income and endowment funds. While unrestricted reserves fell to £2,175k, this is below the stated policy target of £3,600k, though the trustees confirm adequate resources exist to continue operations for the foreseeable future.
Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Largest income source: Trading activities, including retail and catering (42% of income)
“Trading activities, including retail and catering 42.0%” — page 10
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £2.2m; policy: six months of projected charitable costs excluding depreciation)
“Although we have fallen short of the target at the end of 2024, the business is actively working towards ensuring that the target is met over time.” — page 15
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Snape Maltings Trading Limited, Britten Estate Limited, Elm Property Investments (Snape Maltings) Limited
“The Charity has three active wholly owned trading subsidiaries which are consolidated into the Group's accounts, Snape Maltings Trading Limited (Company Number 1519527), Britten Estate Limited (Company Number 2063909) and Elm Property Investments (Snape Maltings) Limited (Company Number 09641832).” — page 32
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by RSM UK Audit LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
Year-over-year changes
- Reserves position vs the charity's own policy moved from "above" (FY2023) to "below" (FY2024).
Comparing this charity’s FY2023 and FY2024 accounts as analysed by this site.
Property (HM Land Registry)
12 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (9 freehold); recorded price paid £2.5m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£608k
Reported reserves equal ~2.6 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, largest income source: Other trading activities (49% 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: 4.0% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (07/11/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (15/02/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (11/04/2017) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Suffolk
Income and spending
Common questions
Is Britten Pears Arts financially healthy?
Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity received a transformative £6.5 million gift from the Paul Hamlyn Foundation, which significantly increased total income and endowment funds. While unrestricted reserves fell to £2,175k, this is below the stated policy target of £3,600k, though the trustees confirm adequate resources exist to continue operations for the foreseeable future. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by RSM UK Audit LLP.
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 Saffron Music Trust.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.