HISTORY OF ADVERTISING TRUST

Registered charity 276194 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as HAT, HAT ARCHIVE

The History of Advertising Trust is the largest archive of UK advertising material in the world and is an educational Trust formed in 1976, becoming a registered charity in 1978. It encourages and subsidises the study of UK advertising and brand communications. Through HAT Archive, it rescues, preserves and conserves the industry's history and its best work.

Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Environment/conservation/heritage · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£452k
Latest spending
£392k
Registered
1978
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity recorded a surplus of £59,139 for the year ended 31 December 2025, with total revenue increasing to £451,984. Per the trustees' report, free reserves (general fund) stood at £88,508, which is below the stated policy target of £90,000, although total unrestricted funds including designated heritage assets were significantly higher.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: three months of unrestricted expenditure (held: £89k)
“Ideally, HAT should aim to retain a reserve of £90,000 as an emergency contingency fund (equal to 3 months' worth of known costs).”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts independently examined (not a full audit). Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — History of Advertising Trust (matched by registered charity number).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Norfolk

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2025£452k£392k
31/12/2024£352k£341k
31/12/2023£320k£316k
31/12/2022£311k£350k
31/12/2021£345k£326k

Common questions

Is HISTORY OF ADVERTISING TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity recorded a surplus of £59,139 for the year ended 31 December 2025, with total revenue increasing to £451,984. Per the trustees' report, free reserves (general fund) stood at £88,508, which is below the stated policy target of £90,000, although total unrestricted funds including designated heritage assets were significantly higher. Its FY2025 accounts were independently examined.

Who funds HISTORY OF ADVERTISING TRUST?

Funders whose own accounts filings name HISTORY OF ADVERTISING TRUST as a grant recipient include THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF MARKETING CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
THE CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF MARKETING CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£6kGrants payable

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund24/05/2019£6k"Victorian Trade Cards"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund22/08/2017£8k"'Inspiring Minds' in conversation with creative legends"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund14/07/2009£50k"AD:Mission: The integration of The History of Advertising Trust's archive collections with 14-19 learning programmes in Norfolk and Suffolk"

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 THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES TRUST.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
HISTORY OF ADVERTISING TRUST£452k—0unclear—no doubt
THE NATIONAL ARCHIVES TRUST FY2025£374kOver £60,0001unclear—no doubt
MUSEUM OF BRANDS FY2024£784k—0below—no doubt
COLLECTIONS TRUST FY2025£535k——unclear—no doubt
THE IHR TRUST FY2025£195k—0unclear—no doubt
MONEY ADVICE TRUST FY2025£19.9m£140,000 - £149,999—unclear—no doubt

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