Wellcome, the wealthiest charity in the UK, has reported that its investments grew to £37.6bn last year after declining by £1bn in value the year before.
The charity’s investment portfolio rose by around £800m in the year to September 2024 after reporting its lowest annual return since 2008 in 2022-23.
Julia Gillard, chair of the charity’s board of governors, said: “The portfolio has successfully weathered a challenging period of high inflation, rising interest rates and market volatility.
“The team deserves credit for thinking long-term and protecting our strong financial position.
“This leaves us well placed to move confidently forward with our charitable mission to benefit from science’s potential to improve health and save lives.”
Its expenditure on charitable activities including scientific research was £1.6bn in 2023-24, a decrease from £1.7bn in 2022-23 when several major multi-year commitments were renewed or initiated.
Decade-long spending commitment
The charity said its spending is consistent with its plan to allocate £16bn over the decade to 2032 to support research and science to address global mental health, infectious disease and climate issues.
Gillard said: “This year, impacts from Wellcome’s work include a new treatment for schizophrenia, the first-ever vaccine for the infectious disease chikungunya, and our new funding scheme for researchers from under-represented backgrounds in UK research to progress their careers.
“Advances made by researchers we fund – and which we hope will have a health impact in years to come – include insights into liver regeneration, drivers of autoimmune diseases, and a neural map of an adult fly’s brain which will help unlock new knowledge about how our own brains work.
“We are well on track with our plan to spend £16bn between 2022 and 2032 on supporting science to solve the urgent health challenges facing everyone.”
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