The Royal Institution, the science communication charity, has said it will not have to sell its London headquarters after embarking on a cost-saving and fundraising drive.
In January 2013 the charity revealed it was considering selling its headquarters, valued at £45m, after refurbishment of the building in 2008 plunged the charity into financial difficulty.
But recent accounts for the year ending September 2013 reveal the charity made an operating surplus for the first time since 2009, with income of £7.8m and spending of £3.6m.
Trustees have now ruled out selling its £45m property in Albermarle Street, Mayfair, in the near future, and are drawing up “alternative options” to repay an outstanding £2m loan, which is due in March 2015.
The charity also expects to be able to retain its heritage collection, which includes printed works, archives, images, and scientific apparatus. The collection was valued at just under £5.3m by Christies in 2011. RI did not sell any of these assets in the year to September 2013.
A future direction committee, headed by Lord Robert Winston, was set up in February 2013 to come up with a rescue plan for the charity.
In March 2013 the charity received a £4.4m grant from a European foundation and has paid back its bank loan in full. Net debt reduced from £4.9m in 2012 to £64,000 in 2013.
Voluntary income went up from just over £900,000 in 2012 to almost £4.8m in 2013, almost entirely down to £4.7m from legacies. Membership increased by almost one third to just over 4,000 – the highest number in the charity’s 214 year history.
RI saw a drop in income from trusts and foundations, from £1.2m in 2012 to £900,000 in 2013, but the trustees hope that this will change after reporting a cash surplus and removing some of its bank debt.
In 2010 it was the subject of a Charity Commission regulatory investigation after it misapplied £3.2m of restricted funds for the redevelopment of the building.
RI employed an average of 46 people in 2013. Two people earned more than £60,000 with one of those earning up to £120,000.
