The Science Museum Group’s total income has increased by £18m to £128m, according to its newly filed accounts, matching pre-pandemic levels despite visitor numbers remaining lower.
A 17% increase on the year before (£110m), Science Museum Group’s accounts for the year ending March 2023 cite a “stronger than expected recovery within our retail offering and corporate event income” which led to increased profit.
This signifies a return to the charity’s income from before the pandemic, as accounts show its overall income for 2019-20 was £128m, which then fell by 35% to £83.6m in 2020-21.
For the financial year ending March 2023, the charity saw 63% of its income come from grant in aid from the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
Donations and legacies increased by £5.6m to £13.6m in 2022–23, with the charity citing increased visitor levels as promoting more specific donations. Overall, income from donations, grants and sponsors accounted for 19% (£24.4m) of the charity’s total income for the year.
The charity’s trading income grew by more than £8m to £20.1m after the complete reopening of its sites and resumption of catering, retail and event experiences.
Visitor numbers up by a million
Sites within the Science Museum Group returned to seven-days-a-week opening in July 2022. This saw the group’s visitor numbers grow by over a million in a year period from 2.3 million to 3.1 million visitors.
Ticket income reflected this change as it increased by £2.2m to £4.0m in 2022-23.
This is still well below pre-pandemic levels, with the charity’s pre-Covid-19 three-year average calculated at 5.2 million visitors.
The charity said the reopening of the sites “had a positive impact on the group’s ability to generate income across nearly all its income streams, as well as increasing its core expenditure levels”.
Its expenditure increased by a quarter on the previous financial year to £113m. 82% of the charity’s non-capital expenditure was spent on its charitable objectives.
The accounts state: “Over the long term, the Group’s return to its past operating model depends on a recovery in visitor numbers and continued consumer confidence in the face of increasing cost-of-living challenges and significant inflation of core operating costs.”
Staff costs
Staff numbers increased by 128 to 1,070 in the financial year 2022-23, with 35 more working in visitor services and another 31 in its science, education and communication departments.
Science Museum Group spent a total of £38.9m on staff costs for 2022-23, an increase of more than £5m on the year prior.
Trustees received no remuneration for their services but their travel and subsistence expenses amounted to £15,000. This has more than doubled on the year prior, when these costs were £6,000.
“Costs were higher than in 2021–22 owing to seven day opening and return to normal travel patterns,” the accounts read.
The number of staff earning over £60,000 a year increased by 10 people from 43 to 52.
In 2022-23, the highest earner made between £180,000 and £190,000, up from between £130,000 and £140,000 the year before.
The combined total remuneration for director Ian Blatchford and chief operating officer Shri Mukanagiri was £378,000 for the year.
