THE WOODLAND TRUST

Registered charity 294344 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as COED CADW, THE WOODLAND TRUST IN NORTHERN IRELAND, THE WOODLAND TRUST SCOTLAND · also registered in Scotland as SC038885 (OSCR)

Our Objects are to conserve restore & re-establish trees & in particular broad leaved trees, plants and all forms of wildlife & thereby to secure & enhance the enjoyment by the public of the natural environment.Our vision is a UK rich in native woods & trees for people & wildlife. Life's better with trees strengthening the role of woods & trees in our landscapes & rekindling our love of them.

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

Latest income
£89.4m
Latest spending
£72.4m
Registered
1986
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that total income rose by 6% to £89.4m, with a net surplus of £16.9m after investment losses. Free reserves stood at £41.8m, representing 5.7 months of budgeted expenditure, which aligns with the charity's policy target of six months' cover. The charity holds significant restricted funds, primarily in woods and land assets, and maintains sufficient liquidity to navigate economic uncertainties.

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

What the accounts disclose

Largest income source: Legacies (27% of income)
“Gifts left in wills continue to be the biggest source of our income (27%) at £24.1m” — page 57
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Fundraising cost ratio: 17.3% of fundraised income, as disclosed
“For every £1 spent on fundraising, we raised £5.78 in return (2023/24: £5.40).” — page 59
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy (held: £41.8m; policy: six months of budgeted expenditure)
“Free reserves for the year ended 31 May 2025 were £41.8m (2023/24: £38.5m), representing 5.7 months of total budgeted expenditure for 2025/26, which is in line with the Trust’s reserve policy of six months budgeted expenditure.” — page 56
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustees made combined donations of £1k (2023/24: £1k). There were no other related party transactions during the year to 31 May 2025.
“Please refer to note 18 (page 89) for details of transactions between the Woodland Trust and its subsidiaries, Trustees made combined donations of £1k (2023/24: £1k). There were no other related party transactions during the year to 31 May 2025.” — page 74
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Woodland Trust (Enterprises) Limited, Woodland Trust Farming Limited
“The Trust has two wholly owned trading subsidiaries: Woodland Trust (Enterprises) Limited (company no. 2296645) and Woodland Trust Farming Limited (company no. 6360791).” — page 45
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Haysmac LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Year-over-year changes

Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Woodland Trust (matched by registered charity number).

Funders the charity credits

Named as funders/supporters on the charity’s own website (the charity’s claim, distinct from accounts-verified grants).

Property (HM Land Registry)

1,301 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (1218 freehold); recorded price paid £11.4m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Trustpilot: Woodland Trust scores 3.8/5 from 57 reviews (source) — reviews usually concern the charity’s shops or services, not its charitable performance.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook (581,402 likes) · instagram (472K followers)

Advertised salaries (public job ads)

Roles this charity has advertised on CharityJob, matched on the exact employer name. A different source from the statutory pay bands above: these are asking salaries for vacancies, not what anyone was paid.

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/05/2025)

Total income
£89.4m
Total spending
£72.4m
Cost of raising funds
£11.1m
Reserves (reported)
£41.8m
Employees
568

Reported reserves equal ~6.9 months of spending — above the median for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 12.4% of total income — above the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Gibraltar · Guernsey · Isle Of Man · Jersey · Northern Ireland · Scotland · Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/05/2025£89.4m£72.4m
31/05/2024£84.2m£71.6m
31/05/2023£82.5m£69.5m
31/05/2022£76.4m£68.6m
31/05/2021£87.5m£70.1m

Common questions

Is THE WOODLAND TRUST financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that total income rose by 6% to £89.4m, with a net surplus of £16.9m after investment losses. Free reserves stood at £41.8m, representing 5.7 months of budgeted expenditure, which aligns with the charity's policy target of six months' cover. The charity holds significant restricted funds, primarily in woods and land assets, and maintains sufficient liquidity to navigate economic uncertainties. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Haysmac LLP.

Who funds THE WOODLAND TRUST?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE WOODLAND TRUST as a grant recipient include MOONDANCE FOUNDATION, National Philanthropic Trust UK Limited, ROYAL SOCIETY OF WILDLIFE TRUSTS, THE BANISTER CHARITABLE TRUST, THE FIDELITY UK FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
MOONDANCE FOUNDATIONFY2023£2.3m
National Philanthropic Trust UK LimitedFY2022£1.0m
ROYAL SOCIETY OF WILDLIFE TRUSTSFY2022£799kBiffa Award
THE BANISTER CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£500kGrants - to institutions to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment
THE FIDELITY UK FOUNDATIONFY2024£400kTowards digital and data transformation programme to strengthen cyber security and become more data, evidence and insight led.
UBS UK Donor-Advised FoundationFY2021£400k
THE VEOLIA ENVIRONMENTAL TRUSTFY2025£350k
THE PEARS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2022£300kPears iwill Fund: Youth Re-imagined at the Woodland Trust
THE PEARS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2022£300kYouth reimagined – expanding volunteering opportunities
THE BANISTER CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£242kGrants - to institutions to promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment
GARFIELD WESTON FOUNDATIONFY2024£200kEnvironment
THE ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATIONFY2023£180k
MOONDANCE FOUNDATIONFY2022£152kEnvironment
Moto FoundationFY2024£125kEnvironmental Donation
Moto FoundationFY2025£100kDonation
Moto FoundationFY2022£100kDonation
Moto FoundationFY2023£100kEnvironmental projects
KUSUMA TRUST UKFY2023£78kHainault – A forest for the people of London and Essex
KUSUMA TRUST UKFY2025£78k
KUSUMA TRUST UKFY2024£78kHainault – A forest for the people of London and Essex
THE JOHN HORSEMAN TRUSTFY2022£75k
The Brindle FoundationFY2025£75k
THE INGRAM TRUSTFY2024£60k
THE DRW FOUNDATIONFY2024£60ksupport of the work of the Woodland Trust in Herefordshire and Shropshire
THE CONSTANCE TRAVIS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£60k
OGLESBY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£53kSmithills Moorland Improvements
Moto FoundationFY2021£50kDonation
THE CONSTANCE TRAVIS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£50k
THE RIVER FARM FOUNDATIONFY2023£50k
THE PEARS FAMILY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2024£50kYouth Re-Imagined 2023-24
THE ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATIONFY2022£50k
THE CONSTANCE TRAVIS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£50k
JOHN SWIRE 1989 CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£50k
THE FALCONER FAMILY TRUSTFY2022£43k
THE FIELDROSE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£42k
THE JOHN HORSEMAN TRUSTFY2023£35k
WILLIAM ADLINGTON CADBURY CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£31kEnvironment and Conservation
PAULINE MEREDITH CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£30k
THE REVERE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£30k
THE REVERE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£30k
THE FIELDROSE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£30k
BRCK FoundationFY2024£30kAnnual grant
RSM UK FOUNDATIONFY2024£30kDonations to charity
THE REVERE CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£25k
RSM UK FOUNDATIONFY2025£25kDonations to charity
THE DASHLIGHT FOUNDATIONFY2022£25k
THE SUNRISE (SIDMOUTH) CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£20k
THE NORTHWICK TRUSTFY2023£20k
THE INGRAM TRUSTFY2023£20kGrants paid during the year
THE INGRAM TRUSTFY2025£20k

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund26/11/2025£552k"Sherwood’s Living Legends – Conserving the Ancient and Veteran Trees of Sherwood Forest"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund27/10/2025£7k"#COED6 Cwm Mynach"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund08/10/2025£247k"Protecting Hargate Forest"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund08/05/2025£242k"Two Lads at Smithills"
Postcode Lottery25/02/2025£3.0mRegular Grant 2025
The National Lottery Heritage Fund05/12/2024£208k"Woods and Trees are for Everyone – Diversifying Volunteering at The Woodland Trust"
The National Lottery Community Fund08/10/2024£20kFaughan Valley Community Outreach Project
The National Lottery Heritage Fund06/06/2024£32k"#Coed2 Park Wood Talgarth"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund05/06/2024£12k"#COED2 Coed y Graig Newtown"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund27/03/2024£687k"Building capacity to save Scotland's rainforest"
Postcode Lottery01/12/2023£3.0mRegular Grant 2024
The National Lottery Heritage Fund07/09/2023£2.6m"Mourne Park - 500 years of undiscovered natural heritage"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund04/09/2023£38k"#COED2 Brynau and Beyond"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund30/08/2023£250k"Cefn Morfydd"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund19/05/2023£197k"Developing the Strategic Framework for the Midlands Forest Network"
Postcode Lottery07/02/2023£3.1mRegular Grant 2023
Postcode Lottery10/02/2022£3.0mRegular Grant 2022
The National Lottery Heritage Fund17/08/2020£232k"COVID19: Woodland Trust"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund17/08/2020£30k"COVID 19 - Woodland Trust (Scotland)"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund04/03/2020£2.4m"Lost Woods of the Low Weald and Downs"
Greater London Authority30/10/2019£493kGrant to The Woodland Trust
Greater London Authority25/09/2019£100kThe Woodland Trust
UK government01/04/2019£13kEAFRD - RD Measure 10 EXQ funded
UK government01/04/2019£63kState Aid Funded (Measure 08)
UK government01/04/2019£2kState Aid Funded (Measure 10)

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 WILL WOODLANDS.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE WOODLAND TRUST£89.4m——below17.3%no doubt
WILL WOODLANDS FY2025£602k—0above—no doubt
WOODLAND HERITAGE LIMITED FY2024£1.5m—0unclear—material uncertainty
WILDWOOD TRUST FY2025£4.4m£90,001 - £100,000—unclear—no doubt
THE FOREST OF MARSTON VALE TRUST FY2025£4.3m——unclear—no doubt
HAMPSHIRE AND ISLE OF WIGHT WILDLIFE TRUST FY2025£9.9m——unclear—no doubt

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