THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC
The objects of the College shall be to advance the Art of Music and promote the study of andeducation in music and musical instruction and research of the highest standard and such otherrelated academic subjects as the College may consider appropriate in the United Kingdom ofGreat Britain and Northern Ireland and elsewhere throughout the world.
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus for the year of £10.7m, with unrestricted reserves standing at £60.3m and net cash of £15.4m. The trustees confirmed that there is no material uncertainty regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, supported by a five-year financial forecast and stress tests.
What the accounts disclose
“policy to maintain operating cash in a range of 60 to 120 days”
“The total amount of donations received without conditions from Trustees and other related parties was £624,063” — page 58
“The scheme showed a small actuarial deficit of £87k at the end of the year” — page 8
“RCM has a 100% holding in RCM Business Enterprises Limited (RCM BEL)” — page 52
Corporate structure
- Trading subsidiary: RCM BUSINESS ENTERPRISES LIMITED Companies House 08750265
- The company has a loan from its parent company RCM of £1,710,822 (2024: £1,945,696 implied by creditors note 4/5 context, though explicit 2024 loan figure not in note 5, note 4 shows long term debtors/creditors relationship). Note 5 explicitly states the borrowing from parent.
Funders the charity credits
- ABRSM
- Amaryllis Fleming Foundation
- The Estate of Sue Balston
- The Estate of George Frederick Burgan
- The Estate of Basil Coleman
- Victor Ford Foundation on behalf of Ramona & Trevor Swale
- The Croucher Hong Kong Charitable Trust
- The Estate of Christopher Hogwood CBE HonDMus
- Kingdom Music Education Group
- Sandro & Rena Lavery HonRCM
- The Leverhulme Trust
- The National Lottery Heritage Fund
- Geoffrey Richards HonRCM & Valerie Richards
- The Estate of Neville Wathen
Property (HM Land Registry)
Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/07/2025)
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (22/04/2024)
- Received assets from another charity (05/11/2019)
Trustees
- LORD BLACK OF BRENTWOODchair
- Baroness Veronica Fleet CBE
- Catherine Clarke
- DUNCAN OWEN
- Duncan Gareth Owen
- Geoffrey Richards
- Ingrid Pearson
- James Williams LVO FRCM
- Jamie Njoku-Goodwin
- Kevin Porter
- Nadine Thompson
- Nandkishore Patel
- Olivia Hancock
- Patricia Rozario OBE
- Paula Walter
- Peter Holgate
- Professor Shirley J Thompson OBE
- Richard Goulding
- Sarah Hanratty
- Sir Guy Weston HonRCM
- Stefan Grant
Income and spending
| Financial year end | Income | Spending |
|---|---|---|
| 31/07/2025 | £41.1m | £37.8m |
| 31/07/2024 | £37.1m | £31.2m |
| 31/07/2023 | £33.3m | £32.4m |
| 31/07/2022 | £32.5m | £33.0m |
| 31/07/2021 | £28.6m | £26.7m |
Common questions
Is THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a surplus for the year of £10.7m, with unrestricted reserves standing at £60.3m and net cash of £15.4m. The trustees confirmed that there is no material uncertainty regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, supported by a five-year financial forecast and stress tests. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by MHA Audit Services LLP.
Who funds THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC?
Funders whose own accounts filings name THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC as a grant recipient include THE LEVERHULME TRUST, L G HARRIS TRUST, THE LONDON WOMEN'S CLINIC FOUNDATION, NEW GENERATION EUROPE FOUNDATION, THE REED FOUNDATION.
Known funders
Government & lottery funding
| Funder | Date | Amount | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| UK government | 31/03/2023 | £33k | Bringing early instruments to life through 3D modelling |
| St Giles & St George | 14/04/2022 | £2k | Grant to Royal College of Music |
| The Mercers' Company | 12/05/2020 | £3k | Covid-19 Rapid Response Fund Grant |
| The National Lottery Heritage Fund | 17/11/2015 | £3.8m | "More Music: Re-imagining the Royal College of Music Museum" |
| The National Lottery Heritage Fund | 05/03/2014 | £10k | "Singing a Song in a Foreign Land: oral history project" |
| The National Lottery Heritage Fund | 29/11/1999 | £18k | "Danloux, Portrait of Jan Ladislav Dussek - Acquisition" |
Funders of similar charities
| Funder | Similar charities funded | Amount to them |
|---|---|---|
| G M MORRISON CHARITABLE TRUST | 2 | £22k |
| THE HOBSON CHARITY LIMITED | 2 | £19k |
| THE CHAMPNISS FOUNDATION | 1 | — |
| THE GATSBY CHARITABLE FOUNDATION | 1 | £6.0m |
| THE THOMPSON FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST | 1 | £1.3m |
| GAMBLEAWARE | 1 | £351k |
| BACKSTAGE TRUST | 1 | £300k |
| THE ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION | 1 | £254k |
Charities like this
- THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ORGANISTS
- THE ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC ENDOWMENT FUND
- THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS
- THE ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC AWARDS FUND
- ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC
- THE ROYAL SCHOOL OF CHURCH MUSIC
Side by side with its peers
| Charity | Income | Top pay band | Staff >£60k | Reserves vs policy | Fundraising cost | Going concern |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF MUSIC | £41.1m | — | — | unclear | — | no doubt |
| THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF ORGANISTS | £523k | — | — | unclear | — | no doubt |
| THE ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC ENDOWMENT FUND | £4.0m | — | 0 | unclear | — | no doubt |
| THE ROYAL COLLEGE OF GENERAL PRACTITIONERS | £53.7m | — | — | unclear | — | no doubt |
| THE ROYAL NORTHERN COLLEGE OF MUSIC AWARDS FUND | £1.9m | — | 0 | above | — | no doubt |
| ROYAL ACADEMY OF MUSIC | £33.2m | — | — | unclear | 14.3% | no doubt |