Charity Accounts Intelreading the accounts so you don’t have to

THE BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY

Registered charity 281213 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

The British Ecological Society is a scientific society for all those interested in ecology. Our vision is to advance ecology and make it count. We achieve this by developing ecological science and scientists; improving the quality of education and capacity building; promoting the use of ecological science and building collaborative partnerships.

Objects

TO ADVANCE THE EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC IN THE SUBJECT OF ECOLOGY AS A BRANCH OF NATURAL SCIENCE AND TO ADVANCE AND SUPPORT RESEARCH IN THAT FIELD, AND TO DISSEMINATE THE RESULTS OF SUCH USEFUL RESEARCH.

Area of benefit: NOT DEFINED.

The charity’s charitable objects and area of benefit, quoted from its governing document as held on the Charity Commission register.

Causes: Education/training · Environment/conservation/heritage · Grant history (this charity is a funder) · website · Get email alerts

Registered contact address: Hackney, London, England (from the postcode on the register)

Latest income
£6.3m
Latest spending
£5.8m
Registered
1981
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that total income was £6.3M with a surplus of £0.4M before investment gains, resulting in total unrestricted reserves of £10.2M. The trustees confirm the Society is a going concern with no material uncertainties impacting its ability to continue operations. The charity maintains a robust financial position supported by significant investment holdings and a reserves policy designed to ensure long-term stability.

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

What the accounts disclose

Largest income source: Publishing (81% of income)
“In 2025, total income was £6.3M (£5.7M in 2024), with 81% of income from publishing.” — page 13
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: BES Trading Company Limited
“The BES holds 100% of the issued share capital of BES Trading Company Limited, a company registered in England and Wales. The sole activity of BES Trading Company Limited was to organise the 11th International Congress of Ecology in August 2013.” — page 38
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by HaysMac LLP. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Policies the charity declares

In its annual return the charity told the Commission that it has the policies listed below. This is self-declared: it is not verified by the Commission or by this site, and it is not evidence of how a policy works in practice.

From the charity’s annual return (Part A, self-declared)

Answers and figures the charity gave in Part A of its annual return to the Charity Commission. They are self-declared: not verified by the Commission or by this site. Only positive answers and figures are listed; items not listed are simply not shown.

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2025

  • Volunteers: 100
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 4 (£60,001–£70,000: 1; £80,001–£90,000: 2; £140,001–£150,000: 1)
  • Has a trading subsidiary

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2024

  • Volunteers: 100
  • Government income: £10,000 — grants £10,000 (1); under 1% of the £5,677,000 total gross income on the same return
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 4 (£60,001–£70,000: 1; £70,001–£80,000: 1; £80,001–£90,000: 1; £150,001–£200,000: 1)
  • Has a trading subsidiary

Self-declared on the annual return for the financial year ending 31/12/2023

  • Volunteers: 150
  • Employees paid over £60,000: 3 (£60,001–£70,000: 1; £70,001–£80,000: 1; £150,001–£200,000: 1)
  • Has a trading subsidiary

Source: this charity’s annual returns on the Charity Commission register.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

Corporate structure

BES TRADING COMPANY LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts
  • The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of the British Ecological Society, a company registered in England and Wales.

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.

Property (HM Land Registry)

1 registered title in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold); recorded price paid £4.6m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

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

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2025)

Total income
£6.3m
Total spending
£5.8m
Cost of raising funds
£82k
Reserves (reported)
£5.7m
Employees
41

Reported reserves equal ~11.8 months of spending — in the top quarter for charities its size (median 4.7 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (95% 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 (5.3%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/12/2025£6.3m£5.8m
31/12/2024£5.7m£5.4m
31/12/2023£5.1m£5.1m
31/12/2022£5.4m£4.5m
31/12/2021£5.4m£4.3m

Common questions

Is THE BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that total income was £6.3M with a surplus of £0.4M before investment gains, resulting in total unrestricted reserves of £10.2M. The trustees confirm the Society is a going concern with no material uncertainties impacting its ability to continue operations. The charity maintains a robust financial position supported by significant investment holdings and a reserves policy designed to ensure long-term stability. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by HaysMac LLP.

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
CLEAN AIR FUND1£96k
CHAPMAN CHARITABLE TRUST1£2k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY£6.3m——unclear—no doubt
UK CENTRE FOR ECOLOGY & HYDROLOGY FY2025£76.7m——within—no doubt
BRITISH MYCOLOGICAL SOCIETY FY2025£334k—0unclear—no doubt
ROYAL ENTOMOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF LONDON FY2026£1.6m——below—no doubt
BRITISH HYDROLOGICAL SOCIETY FY2025£203k—0unclear—no doubt
THE BRITISH ENTOMOLOGICAL AND NATURAL HISTORY SOCIETY FY2025£361k—0above—no doubt

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