THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE
Registered charity 287780 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as BFI
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the BFI holds net free reserves of £8,031,000 (Group) and £6,926,000 (Charity) as of 31 March 2025, with unrestricted funds available to fund revenue initiatives and provide a reserve against unforeseen costs. The Group's total funds stood at £140,927,000, supported by a National Lottery Distribution Fund balance of £49,000,000 and cash holdings of £25,917,000. The auditor confirmed the appropriateness of the going concern basis with no material uncertainties identified.
What the accounts disclose
Reserves policy: £2,700,000 designated for Screen Culture 2033 Strategy (held: £8.0m)
“The Board of Governors have Designated £2.7m of reserves to be set aside to fund business plans to deliver the Screen Culture 2033 Strategy” — page 172
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: British Screen Finance Limited
“Some of the net free reserves are held within British Screen Finance Limited and other subsidiaries, which are wholly owned by the BFI and have distributable reserves of £1,105,000”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Comptroller and Auditor General.
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.
Funders the charity credits
Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)
Cost of raising funds
£2.9m
Reported reserves equal ~0.8 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 2.7 months; benchmarks).
Trustees
- Jay Huntchair
- Declan Keeney
- Edgar Wright
- Eleanor Whitley
- Elizabeth Karlsen
- Ganan Kanagathurai
- Hakan Orhan Kousetta
- Jane Tranter
- Laura Miele
- Mark Herbert
- Michael Birshan
- Monica Chadha
- Ryan David Prince
- Tanya Rose Cordrey
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales
Income and spending
Common questions
Is THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE financially healthy?
The accounts state that the BFI holds net free reserves of £8,031,000 (Group) and £6,926,000 (Charity) as of 31 March 2025, with unrestricted funds available to fund revenue initiatives and provide a reserve against unforeseen costs. The Group's total funds stood at £140,927,000, supported by a National Lottery Distribution Fund balance of £49,000,000 and cash holdings of £25,917,000. The auditor confirmed the appropriateness of the going concern basis with no material uncertainties identified. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Comptroller and Auditor General.
Who funds THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE?
Funders whose own accounts filings name THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE as a grant recipient include UGGLA FAMILY FOUNDATION, REUBEN FOUNDATION, THE CORDON CHARITABLE TRUST, THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST, THE CHARLES SKEY CHARITABLE TRUST.
Known funders
Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.
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 THE BRITISH FEDERATION OF FILM SOCIETIES.