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2025-08-31-accounts

THE MARRIAGE FOUNDATION

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31 AUGUST 2025

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 08002851 (England and Wales)

Charity Registration Number 1150453

CONTENTS PAGE
Members of the Board and professional advisers 1
Summary of Vision, Aims and Activities 2
Chairman’s Statement 3
Trustees’ Annual Report 5
Independent examiner's report to the members 9
Statement of financial activities (incorporating the
income and expenditure account) 10
Balance sheet 11
Notes to the financial statements 12

Page 1

THE MARRIAGE FOUNDATION COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

MEMBERS OF THE BOARD AND PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS

Registered charity name The Marriage Foundation
Charity number 1150453
Company registration number 08002851
Registered office Queen Elizabeth Building
Temple
London
EC4Y 9BS
Business Address PO Box 3014
Romford
RM7 1TX
Tel: 07916 697531
Email: info@marriagefoundation.org.uk
Web: www.marriagefoundation.org.uk
Trustees Sir Paul Coleridge
William Coleridge
Pamela Collis
Alice Coleridge
Dr Andrea Taylor-Cummings
Jonathan Taylor-Cummings
Lady Elionor Bailey
Executive Director Michaela Hyde
Independent examiner Siobhan Temple CA(SA), ACMA
277 Sheen Lane
London
SW14 8RN
Bankers National Westminster Bank Plc
56 St. Andrews Street
Cambridge
CB2 3DA
Patrons Baroness Butler-Sloss
Baroness Deech
Baroness Shackleton
Lady Toulson

Page 2

The Marriage Foundation

Summary of Vision, Aims and Activities

Our Vision

We want to see fewer relationships breaking down and more people forming healthy stable relationships. This would mean:

We believe that marriage is the key constituent to more stable relationships, and that marriages can be strengthened and supported to survive difficult times. That’s why our mission is to be the national champion for marriage.

Our core aims and objectives

Our charitable objects and activities are set out in full in the Trustees’ annual report. In summary our core aims, objectives and activities are

To be a powerful independent voice restoring confidence in marriage. Using the best and latest research, we:

Our aims

  1. To see the aspiration of a life-long, fulfilling marriage as an attainable goal for all, especially our young people

  2. To see a society that thrives because stable marriage (or formal commitment) becomes the first choice for all couples

  3. To halt the current declining marriage rate because marriage is the single most effective key to reducing family breakdown

What do we do?

  1. Marriage Foundation confronts and challenges the status quo. By undertaking, publishing and broadcasting ground-breaking research we heighten public, media and government awareness and understanding of the scale of the national tragedy of family breakdown and its causes.

  2. Through collaboration and partnering with a wide range of like-minded organisations we advocate effective remedies and signpost people to them.

Page 3

The Marriage Foundation

Chairman’s Statement

Chairman’s Statement for the Year 2024/2025

This year has been especially challenging because during the year all of the key players had to face close family bereavement. Nevertheless, their customary dedication has ensured that our vitally important work continued as before. And the year once again has been set against a volatile political and cultural backdrop. Inevitably the issues of family dysfunction and breakdown, despite their known and accepted consequences for children and society, continue to be ignored or at best receive scant attention from policymakers of all political persuasions. In such an environment, we have to work harder than ever to make “the voice of marriage” heard. It is a constant reminder that sustained progress will only come through our dogged, persistent commitment supported by clarity of evidence.

During the year we published a series of briefing papers involving detailed longitudinal analysis of statistical data often from eg. The Office for National Statistics. These analyses enable us to continue making our core case for marriage while also highlighting areas of growing concern; the continuing decline of marriage among younger generations, the widening “marriage gap” between richer and poorer households, and the sheer scale of family breakdown mostly driven by the rising rate of informal uncommitted relationships. The concurrent problem of the high proportion of children no longer growing up with both natural parents is especially concerning .

But it is not all doom and gloom; there are also encouraging developments. The most recent divorce statistics continue the now established trend of long term decline. Marriages entered into nowadays mostly last a lifetime despite the media’s unstinting attempts to paint a far gloomier picture. Similarly there is no evidence of any divorce surge following the introduction of the “no fault” divorce system . Rates remain at historically low levels reinforcing the position we have consistently taken: that making the legal process less destructive does not and will not lead to increased divorce or undermine the institution of marriage.

In an increasingly difficult media landscape, getting both our regular and more novel messages across remains a constant struggle. Structural changes within the media industry mean there is simply less space for detailed reporting and analysis. Despite this, our work continues to find its way into public discussion through national and local media outlets of all kinds, broadcast appearances, and direct engagement. A fuller account of this work is set out separately in the Research and Media report.

Harry Benson, our research director since day one of Marriage Foundation, has continued to shoulder a particularly heavy workload. Alongside a steady stream of research and media commentary, he has continued to work towards the completion of his PhD at Bristol University. This has been an unremitting slog, requiring both intellectual rigour and personal resilience. But the end of his ordeal is now in sight and we look forward to its conclusion next year. It has the capacity to be a game changer of public attitudes.

Alongside our research work, we have continued to engage with other individuals and organisations operating in related fields. During the year the team attended conferences and participated in external roundtables focused on the impact of family instability on children and on ways to strengthen family relationships. These opportunities to collaborate and exchange ideas are an

Page 4

The Marriage Foundation

Chairman’s Statement

increasingly important part of ensuring that our work remains well-informed.

Our longer-term projects have progressed, albeit more slowly than originally anticipated. The “Marriage Book”, to which I referred last year, continues to be subject to further drafting and editorial refinement. We remain determined that it will speak effectively, particularly to a younger audience, while maintaining the integrity of the evidence on which it is based.

The proposed television documentary, which has generated considerable interest, has had to be paused for the time being due to lack of production support . This is disappointing but the work has not been without value and has led to many useful new relationships and connections with individuals and organisations working to support couples and families.

So, the year has been one of steady consolidation allowing ideas to mature, projects to develop, and the groundwork for future progress to be laid. We are also just starting a major redesign of our website which is overdue.

Our highly committed team continues to deliver work of real quality and substance, consistently punching above its weight in both research and influence. This is only possible because of their dedication and, of course, the continued financial support of our committed donors and friends.

I remain, as ever, deeply grateful for that support. Without it we would be unable to function.

Sir Paul Coleridge Chairman, Marriage Foundation

Founder and Chairman of the trustees

Page 5

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended

The Trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 August 2025.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Reference and administrative details are shown in the schedule of members of the board and professional advisers on page 1 of the financial statements.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing Document and Constitution

The Marriage Foundation was incorporated under and is regulated by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 22 March 2012 and amended by special resolution registered at Companies House on 11 January 2013. The company limited by guarantee was registered as a charity by the Charity Commission on 11 January 2013.

Governance , Structure and Management

The charity is governed, on a day-to-day basis, by the Executive Director, who meets frequently with the chair of Trustees to discuss the issues affecting the charity. In establishing governance policies and procedures for the charity the Trustees have been guided by the Charity Commission’s published advice and guidance. Marriage Foundation has a small collection of Honorary Advisors, a highly skilled, dedicated, and experienced group of individuals who act in a personal capacity to support the work of the charity. The following advisors make themselves available to the charity when their support or advise is sought. These small group of individuals are as follows:

Alex Le Vey is the Director of Philanthropy and Veteran’s Health at King Edward VII’s hospital.

Dr Eli Gardner is a Clinical Child Psychologist, and the Co-founder & Executive Director of the charity Kids Matter.

Frank Young is Editorial Director at the Civitas think tank.

Nola Leach was the Chief Executive of UK Charity CARE for 17 years. She stepped down from this role in 2021 and now concentrates her time serving on several boards and mentoring women leaders across Europe.

Philippa Taylor is Director of the Institute of Faith and Culture, a graduate leadership training scheme at CARE.

Reserves Policy

It is the policy of the Trustees to hold an amount in free reserves equivalent to 3 month’s costs. The free reserves as at 31 August 2025 were £58,723.

Recruitment, Appointment and Induction of Trustees

Invitations will be extended from time to time by the existing body of Trustees to suitable qualified and experienced men and women to become new trustees. Newly appointed Trustees are provided with induction materials, including a copy of the Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company and the Trust Deed.

Page 6

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended

Internal Controls and Risk Management

The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute assurance against misstatement and loss. They include:

An annual review of the risks facing the Foundation will be conducted and considered by Trustees. They agree the strategic risks facing the organisation and measures to be adopted to mitigate those risks.

Associated Bodies

Marriage Foundation was publicly launched in May 2012 and operated as a project of The Relationships Foundation (Registered charity number 1106460) until independent charity registration was achieved on 11 January 2013. The role of the Relationships Foundation in the management of the affairs of The Marriage Foundation ceased with effect from September 2018.

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES FOR THE PUBLIC BENEFIT

Objectives

The objects of Marriage Foundation, as stated in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, are:

  1. To safeguard and protect the physical and mental health of adults and children, and to prevent hardship poverty and distress, by raising awareness of the means by which successful relationships (including but not limited to married relationships) can be developed and strengthened and the breakdown of relationships avoided.

  2. To promote research into all aspects of the establishment, maintenance and development of successful relationships (including but not limited to married relationships) and to publish the useful results thereof.

  3. To promote the effectiveness and efficiency of charities concerned with the creation and maintenance of successful relationships (including but not limited to married relationships), for the benefit of the public, in particular, but not exclusively, by organising conferences and disseminating the results of relevant research.

Having had regard to the Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, the Trustees believe that the activities of Marriage Foundation deliver public benefit through:

We believe that increasing the number of healthy marriages (as opposed to less stable cohabitation) and reducing the rate of breakdown is key to this. We seek to promote better understanding of marriage in public debate, tackling the myths that discourage marriage; improve access to support and education, particularly in the early stages of relationships; and tackle the marriage gap, especially

Page 7

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended

for disadvantaged young people who are more likely to opt for less stable cohabitation.

Our work is intended to assist partner organisations and their effectiveness. We are not a direct provider of services but work closely with both local and national relationships educators, seeking to change the cultural environment within which they operate to enable far greater impact.

Activities

During the year, we continued our programme of research, media engagement and development of practical initiatives. Full details of all of these, papers and press releases, are on our constantly updated website (www.marriagefoundation.org.uk) . These are the headlines:

Research and media engagement

As well as commenting widely on the latest family statistics, we continued to produce a stream of low-cost and clearly defined pieces of research making the case for marriage. Four of our five papers this year were based on publicly available data from the Office for National Statistics, while one drew on the Millennium Cohort dataset that our research director (Harry Benson) has built for his PhD on the timing of marriage. More papers will follow publication of his doctoral thesis in June 2026.

Another tough year for media coverage. A large part of the reason is that the advertising shift from mainstream media to social media means it is harder to get stories into the newspapers. For example, in our first three years 2012-2015, we averaged six stories or mentions per year in the Sunday Times and eleven per year in the Times. In the last year, we managed half of that. Despite this, we have found ourselves mentioned in 21 national level media articles or interviews and at least 16 local news articles and interviews. Our standout appearances included a discussion of prenups on Sky News, a feature in the Sunday Times based on our analysis of divorce rates, and several nice stories in the Mail covering our research on the marriage gap, unhappy marriages, the divorce boom that wasn’t, and the scale of family breakdown. Elsewhere, we had interviews with various Christian radio stations, an article on family breakdown in Premier news, and five interviews with LBC radio.

More than half of this coverage stemmed from our active approach to promoting our research in the national media. Of our five research papers or briefing notes published during this fiscal year, four received coverage from the Mail and others. ‘Trapped in an unhappy myth’ exposed this idea as a myth. ‘The marriage gap’ highlighted how marriage has become the preserve of the better-off. ‘We need to talk about marriage’ showed the scale of family breakdown. We also produced papers on the boom in no-fault divorce that wasn’t, and collapsing marriage rates among Gen Z. All papers are available for download on our website.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The financial outturn for the year was a profit of £16,027 (2024: profit of £16,334). Free reserves at 31 August 2025 were £58,723 (2024: £42,696).

Page 8

The Marriage Foundation

Trustees’ Annual Report Year ended

RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees (who are also the directors of Marriage Foundation for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER

Siobhan Temple CA(SA), ACMA has been appointed as independent examiner for the ensuing year.

SMALL COMPANY PROVISIONS

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.

Registered office: Queen Elizabeth Building Temple London EC4Y 9BS

Signed on behalf of the Trustees

Paul Coleridge Trustee

Page 9

The Marriage Foundation

Independent Examiner’s Report Year Ended 31 August 2025

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 August 2025.

RESPONSIBILITIES AND BASIS OF REPORT

As the charity's trustees of the company (who are also the directors of The Marriage Foundation for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act”). In carrying out my examination I have followed the directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S STATEMENT

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a “true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Siobhan Temple CA(SA) Independent Examiner 277 Sheen Lane London SW14 8RN

Page 10

The Marriage Foundation

Statement of Financial Activities (Incorporating the Income and Expenditure Account) Year Ended 31 August 2025

Note
INCOME
Donations & Legacies
1
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activity
2
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
NET EXPENDITURE/INCOME FOR
THE YEAR
ACCUMULATED FUNDS B/F
TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED
FORWARD
4		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total
Funds
2025
£
Total Funds
2024
£
119,354
-
119,354
103,245
119,354
-
119,354
103,245
103,327
-
103,327
86,911
103,327
-
103,327
86,911
16,027
-
16,027
16,334
42,696
-
42,696
26,362
58,723
-
58,723
42,696

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses in the year and therefore a statement of total recognised gains and losses has not been prepared.

All of the above amounts relate to continuing activities.

Page 11

The Marriage Foundation

Balance Sheet

Year Ended 31 August 2025

BALANCE SHEET 31 AUGUST 2025

CURRENT ASSETS
Note
Cash at Bank
CREDITORS amounts falling due within one year
3
NET CURRENT ASSETS
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
NET TOTAL ASSETS
FUNDS
Unrestricted Income Funds
4
TOTAL FUNDS		 2025
£
58,723
58,723
58,723
58,723
58,723
58,723
58,723		 2024
£
45,196
45,196
2,500
42,696
42,696
42,696
42,696
42,696

For the financial year ended 31 August 2025 the charity was entitled to the exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees on the 29 May 2025 and are signed on their behalf by:

SIR PAUL COLERIDGE PAMELA COLLIS

Company Registration Number: 08002851

The notes on pages 12 to 14 form part of these financial statements.

Page 12

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements Year Ended 31 August 2025

ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) and the Companies Act 2006.

The financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2025 are prepared in accordance with FRS 102, The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Going Concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as, after making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the company has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future at the time of approving the financial statements.

Income

Fund accounting

Unrestricted general funds

The charity maintains a general unrestricted fund, which represents funds which are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. Such funds may be held to finance both working capital and capital investment.

Restricted funds

Restricted funds have been provided to the charity for particular purposes and it is the policy of the board of Trustees to carefully monitor the application of those funds in accordance with the restrictions placed upon them.

Expenditure

Page 13

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements Year Ended 31 August 2025

1. DONATIONS & LEGACIES

Donations
Tax Reclaimed		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total Funds
2025
£
Total
Unrestricted
Funds
2024
£
116,840
-
116,840
101,805
2,514
-
2,514
1,440
119,354
-
119,354
103,245

2. COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Office costs
Consultancy costs
Publicity		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
Restricted
Funds
£
Total Funds
2025
£
Total
Unrestricted
Funds
2024
£
3,344
-
3,344
2,659
87,683
-
87,683
83,252
12,300
-
12,300
1,000
103,327
-
103,327
86,911

All expenses directly incurred by The Marriage Foundation are paid by The Marriage Foundation. Consultancy costs cover The Marriage Foundation’s research and media work.

Particulars of employees

There were no employees during the period.

3. CREDITORS: Amounts falling due within one year

Accruals
4. UNRESTRICTED INCOME FUNDS
Balance at
01-09-24
£
Incoming
resources
£
General Funds
42,696
119,354
Total unrestricted income
funds
42,696
119,354		 Accruals
4. UNRESTRICTED INCOME FUNDS
Balance at
01-09-24
£
Incoming
resources
£
General Funds
42,696
119,354
Total unrestricted income
funds
42,696
119,354		 2025
£
2024
£
-
2,500
-
2,500
Outgoing
resources
£
Balance at
31-08-25
£
103,327
58,723
42,696
119,354		 103,327
58,723

Page 14

The Marriage Foundation

Notes to the Financial Activities Statements

Year Ended 31 August 2025

5. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION

None of the members of the Board of Trustees received any remuneration during this year.

During the year, no Trustees received reimbursements of personal travel and subsistence expenditure.

6. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

During the year donations totalling £6,000 were received from Sir Paul Coleridge a Trustee of the charity. Donations of £1,200 were received from Pamela Collis also a Trustee of the charity.

7. COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

In the event of a winding-up of the company, the liability of the members is restricted to £1.