Cancer Research UK (CRUK) has reported a deficit of £8.1m after seeing its expenditure rise by more than £50m last year.
CRUK’s income also fell by £35m to £684m in the year to March 2024, according to its newly filed accounts, due to a decline in legacy income.
The charity’s higher expenditure was driven by an investment in its fundraising and retail operations.
CRUK also spent £133m on raising funds in 2023-24, a £24m increase on the previous year’s total of £109m.
“The higher expenditure this year reflects our investment in supporter-focused digital transformation (which will lead to future income growth) and refreshing our brand, as well as the costs associated with the biennial Stand Up To Cancer campaign and increased market-driven wage inflation,” the accounts read.
It also spent £127m on raising funds from trading activities, around a £20m increase on the year prior.
“To drive our record trading income, we opened nine new stores and expanded our online marketplaces (such as eBay) to sell donated items,” the accounts read.
“We also experienced significant increases in the cost of energy and the national minimum wage.”
Rise in retail income
In 2022-23, CRUK received a single gift worth £44m, left in a will to the charity. The donation allowed the charity to report its highest annual income in five years (£719m).
Last year, legacies at CRUK declined by £30m overall, but at £230m this remained its largest single source of income
Donations and events also remained the second-highest source of income at £232m, a £3m increase on the year before.
Meanwhile, CRUK’s overall trading income was £134m in 2023-24, an increase of £8m on the year before.
CRUK’s 549 high-street charity shops and 31 superstores generated over £119m in donated sales, new goods, cash donations, gift aid income and more.
Event registrations and merchandise raised a further £14m.
£173m staff costs
CRUK spent £173m on its employees in 2024, an increase of £18m on the year prior.
The charity group had 4,879 employees on average during the year, 288 more than the year prior, with 153 more people working on fundraising and trading at the charity.
Its number of high earners also increased, with 312 staff making more than £60,000, 51 more than the year before.
The highest-earning employee at CRUK was chief executive Michelle Mitchell, who was paid a basic salary of around £276,000, an increase from £254,000 in 2022-23.
CEO: Giving continues despite ‘tough economic times’
In the report, Mitchell thanked CRUK supporters for continuing to donate to its cause in spite of the difficult economic climate caused by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis.
“Thank you to our generous supporters who donated £463m in tough economic times,” she said.
“Although we exceeded our fundraising budget, the total was lower than last year when we received a particularly generous £44m gift. We appreciate every penny raised for our life-saving cancer research.”
Mitchell added that CRUK was “deeply concerned about the current situation being faced by cancer patients across the UK”.
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