U3A IN LONDON

Registered charity 288434 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

Provision of educational and leisure activities for retired and semi-retired men and women.

Objects

THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC AND IN PARTICULAR OLDER MEN AND WOMEN IN THE GREATER LONDON AREA.

Area of benefit: THE GREATER LONDON AREA.

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

Causes: Education/training · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£157k

Latest spending

£206k

Registered

1984

Accounts read

FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £125,000 for the year ended 31 August 2025, driven by a significant drop in legacy income and higher expenditure. Despite this, the charity maintains substantial unrestricted reserves of £821,000 and a designated fund of £1,450,000, which the trustees consider sufficient to cover future accommodation needs and running costs without relying on uncertain legacies.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: reserves needed to help secure the charity's needs for accommodation in future years, to cover unforeseen circumstances and to provide income to supplement the charity's membership income and thus help cover the charity's running costs without relying on legacies and exceptional donations (held: £821k)

“The charity's policy is to set aside as a designated fund the reserves needed to help secure the charity's needs for accommodation in future years, to cover unforeseen circumstances and to provide income to supplement the charity's membership income and thus help cover the charity's running costs without relying on legacies and exceptional donations”

Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Knox Cropper LLP. Discloses 5 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.

Bullying and harassment policy and procedures
Complaints handling
Complaints policy and procedures
Conflicting interests
Engaging external speakers at charity events policy and procedures
Financial reserves policy and procedures
Internal charity financial controls policy and procedures
Internal risk management policy and procedures
Investing charity funds policy and procedures
Investment
Risk management
Safeguarding policy and procedures
Safeguarding vulnerable beneficiaries
Serious incident reporting policy and procedures
Social media policy and procedures
Trustee conflicts of interest policy and procedures
Trustee expenses policy and procedures
Volunteer management

Corporate structure

Registered company of the charity Companies House 01752272

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.

KANAL, Sanjay — director, appointed 23/03/2026on trustee list
MOSS, Andrew Gary — director, appointed 30/01/2026on trustee list
CHURBA, Raquel Silvia — director, appointed 30/01/2026on trustee list
HEATON, Robert Barnard — director, appointed 31/03/2025on trustee list
SMITH, David Graham — director, appointed 31/03/2025on trustee list
TILFORD, Maureen, Dr — director, appointed 31/03/2025on trustee list
ARTHUR, Richard Andrew — director, appointed 20/03/2023on trustee list
KORGAONKAR, Gillian — director, appointed 16/05/2022on trustee list
SOBER, Anthony Lionel — director, appointed 27/03/2017on trustee list
MACCI, Mushtakali Mohamed — secretary, appointed 15/11/2023

Official officers record.

Trustees · trustee networks

ANTHONY LIONEL SOBER
Andrew Gary Moss
David Graham Smith
Dr Maureen Tilford
Gillian Korgaonkar
Raquel Silvia Churba
Richard Andrew Arthur
Robert Barnard Heaton
Sanjay Kanal

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

Operates in: Throughout London

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/08/2025	£157k	£206k
31/08/2024	£245k	£200k
31/08/2023	£297k	£193k
31/08/2022	£222k	£196k
31/08/2021	£430k	£175k

Common questions

Is U3A IN LONDON financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £125,000 for the year ended 31 August 2025, driven by a significant drop in legacy income and higher expenditure. Despite this, the charity maintains substantial unrestricted reserves of £821,000 and a designated fund of £1,450,000, which the trustees consider sufficient to cover future accommodation needs and running costs without relying on uncertain legacies. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Knox Cropper LLP.

Government & lottery funding

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

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
The National Lottery Community Fund	02/06/2008	£10k	Updating and Improving Learning Aids

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.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM FRIENDS	1	£822k
THE NUFFIELD FOUNDATION	1	£246k
KUSUMA TRUST UK	1	£130k
THE DULVERTON TRUST	1	£40k
SWEATY BETTY FOUNDATION	1	£37k
THE FINNIS SCOTT FOUNDATION	1	£750

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with LHA LONDON LTD.

LHA LONDON LTD income £19.8m
LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENT ASSOCIATION income £2.5m
CAUSEWAY EDUCATION LTD income £772k
EUROPEAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT income £1.1m
THORNBURY U3A income £141k
LONDON TRANSPORT MUSEUM LIMITED income £19.9m

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
U3A IN LONDON	£157k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
LHA LONDON LTD FY2025	£19.8m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
LONDON BUSINESS SCHOOL STUDENT ASSOCIATION FY2025	£2.5m	—	0	within	—	no doubt
CAUSEWAY EDUCATION LTD FY2025	£772k	—	—	above	—	no doubt
EUROPEAN COLLEGE OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT FY2025	£1.1m	£90,001 - £100,000	—	above	—	no doubt
THORNBURY U3A FY2025	£141k	—	0	above	—	no doubt

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