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
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
- Reserves position vs the charity's own policy moved from "within" (FY2024) to "below" (FY2025).
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).
- Postcode Lottery — “Support from players of the Postcode Lottery has raised over £31 million to date, planting millions of trees, investing in the next generati…” (source page)
- Pets at Home — “A thriving partnership in its seventh year with more than £1.2 million donated to protect, restore and create almost 10,000 acres of woodlan…” (source page)
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)
Cost of raising funds
£11.1m
Reserves (reported)
£41.8m
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
- Received assets from another charity (18/12/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (09/07/2025) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (24/01/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (20/09/2023) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (14/05/2021) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Received assets from another charity (12/06/2020) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
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
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.
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 WILL WOODLANDS.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.