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THE SOCIETY FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY

Registered charity 273795 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as S E B

THE SOCIETY PROMOTES EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY WITHIN THE INTERNATIONAL SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY AND SOCIETY. THE SOCIETY'S ACTIVITIES INCLUDE ORGANISATION AND SPONSORSHIP OF CONFERENCES; THE PUBLICATION AND DISSEMINATION OF SCIENTIFIC LITERATURE; EDUCATION, CAREERS AND POLICY WORK; THE ADMINISTRATION OF TRAVEL GRANTS; MEMBERSHIP TO EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY RESEARCHERS.

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

Latest income
£2.9m
Latest spending
£2.3m
Registered
1977
Accounts read
FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity held free reserves of £3.8 million, which the trustees consider sufficient to meet two years of operating costs. The charity reported a net income increase for the year, driven by growth in investment returns and journal income, despite a decline in membership subscription revenue.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £3.8m; policy: 2 years' operating costs)
“At 31 December 2024, the charity held free reserves totalling £3.8M (2023: £3.6M). The free reserves held represent 1 years and 10 months operating expenditure. The trustees are satisfied with the level of free reserves held as at the 31 December 2024, as this meets the requirement of 2 years' operating costs”
Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

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.

Official officers record.

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

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

Total income
£2.9m
Total spending
£2.3m
Cost of raising funds
£38k
Reserves (reported)
£3.8m
Employees
15

Reported reserves equal ~19.4 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (94% 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: 1.3% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2024£2.9m£2.3m
31/12/2023£2.9m£2.7m
31/12/2022£2.6m£2.2m
31/12/2021£3.1m£2.3m
31/12/2020£2.6m£1.6m

Common questions

Is THE SOCIETY FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity held free reserves of £3.8 million, which the trustees consider sufficient to meet two years of operating costs. The charity reported a net income increase for the year, driven by growth in investment returns and journal income, despite a decline in membership subscription revenue. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP.

Who funds THE SOCIETY FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE SOCIETY FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY as a grant recipient include THE COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTS.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTSFY2025£73kTravel & Travelling Fellowships
THE COMPANY OF BIOLOGISTSFY2024£38kTravel & Travelling Fellowships

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 HEALTH FOUNDATION1£150k
THE NUFFIELD FOUNDATION1£66k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE GENETICS SOCIETY.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE SOCIETY FOR EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY£2.9m——below—no doubt
THE GENETICS SOCIETY FY2024£530k—0above—no doubt
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL SOCIETY FY2024£4.8m——above—no doubt
BRITISH SOCIETY FOR CELL BIOLOGY FY2024£126k—0unclear—no doubt
THE ROYAL ECONOMIC SOCIETY FY2024£2.4m——above—no doubt
ECONOMIC HISTORY SOCIETY FY2025£397k—0unclear—no doubt

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