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THE CITY LITERARY INSTITUTE

Registered charity 803007 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as CITY LIT, THE CITY LIT

PROVIDE LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES TO OVER 50,000 PEOPLE A YEAR. OFFER GUIDANCE & GIVE FINANCIAL SUPPORT. HELP ADULTS TRANSFORM THEIR LIVES THROUGH LEARNING FROM BASIC SKILLS IN ENGLISH AND MATHS TO SKILLS FOR WORK, FROM PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ENRICHMENT, PROFESSIONAL ADVANCEMENT OR CAREER CHANGE.

Causes: Education/training · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£21.3m
Latest spending
£21.3m
Registered
1990
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the Institute incurred an operating deficit of £199,000 for the year ended 31 July 2025, resulting in a total net asset balance of £7,185,000. Per the trustees' report, the Institute faces stretched finances due to government funding cuts and increased costs, though it has been moved out of formal financial intervention. The Board confirms the Institute remains a going concern, supported by confirmed future funding and significant freehold asset values.

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

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: financial headroom in the event of any financial shock (held: £7.2m)
“Our sector and its financial model which relies on a significant amount of statutory funding, does not lend itself to the accumulation of free reserves in the short to medium term. However, the Governing Body recognises its responsibility to have financial headroom in the event of any financial shock.” — page 19
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Governors' insurance
“The Institute also pays for Governors' Liability Insurance as part of a combined business policy. The notional cost of this was £1,267.” — page 73
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

In the news

Recent coverage mentioning this charity by name (automated match; headlines belong to their publishers).

Property (HM Land Registry)

3 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (1 freehold). All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/07/2025)

Total income
£21.3m
Total spending
£21.3m
Reserves (reported)
£0
Employees
662

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (98% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 0.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Throughout London

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/07/2025£21.3m£21.3m
31/07/2024£19.9m£20.0m
31/07/2023£18.3m£19.2m
31/07/2022£18.1m£18.3m
31/07/2021£18.7m£19.8m

Common questions

Is THE CITY LITERARY INSTITUTE financially healthy?

Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the Institute incurred an operating deficit of £199,000 for the year ended 31 July 2025, resulting in a total net asset balance of £7,185,000. Per the trustees' report, the Institute faces stretched finances due to government funding cuts and increased costs, though it has been moved out of formal financial intervention. The Board confirms the Institute remains a going concern, supported by confirmed future funding and significant freehold asset values. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Buzzacott Audit LLP.

Who funds THE CITY LITERARY INSTITUTE?

Funders whose own accounts filings name THE CITY LITERARY INSTITUTE as a grant recipient include ROYAL FEMALE SCHOOL OF ART FOUNDATION.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
ROYAL FEMALE SCHOOL OF ART FOUNDATIONFY2024£17k
ROYAL FEMALE SCHOOL OF ART FOUNDATIONFY2025£10kGrant funding of activities
ROYAL FEMALE SCHOOL OF ART FOUNDATIONFY2023£8k

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.

FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
THE NUFFIELD FOUNDATION1£299k
THE HEALTH FOUNDATION1£75k
THE FEDERATION OF GROUNDWORK TRUSTS1£66k
THE CARPENTERS COMPANY CHARITABLE TRUST1£40k
THE DE LASZLO FOUNDATION1£35k
THE PILGRIM TRUST1£32k
THE PAUL MELLON CENTRE FOR STUDIES IN BRITISH ART1£30k
THE VANDERVELL FOUNDATION1£28k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with WORKING MEN'S COLLEGE CORPORATION.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
THE CITY LITERARY INSTITUTE£21.3m——unclear—no doubt
WORKING MEN'S COLLEGE CORPORATION FY2025£7.6m—12unclear—no doubt
THE CENTRE FOR LITERACY IN PRIMARY EDUCATION FY2025£1.0m£60,000 - £69,9991below—no doubt
THE BISHOPSGATE FOUNDATION FY2025£1.6m——unclear—no doubt
THE CITY AND GUILDS OF LONDON INSTITUTE FY2025£174.8m——below—no doubt
NATIONAL LEARNING AND WORK INSTITUTE FY2025£5.1m——above—no doubt

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