# **Including Annual Report and Accounts 2024/25**
## **TABLE OF CONTENTS**
|**Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive**|**3**|
|---|---|
|**Report of the Board of Trustees**|**4**|
|Objectives and strategy|**5**|
|Highlights from 2024/25|**7**|
|Financial review|**26**|
|**Report of the Independent Auditor**|**34**|
|Statement of financial activities|**39**|
|Balance sheet|**40**|
|Statement of cash flows|**41**|
|Notes to the financial statements|**42**|
|**Acknowledgements**|**52**|
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Impact Report 2024/25 Welcome from our Chair and Chief Executive
## **WELCOME FROM OUR CHAIR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE**
As Rewilding Britain marks an incredible first decade, we celebrate a year of growth, diversity and deeper impact. With the climate and biodiversity crises intensifying before our eyes, our mission – to see 30% of Britain’s land and seas rewilding – feels more urgent, and more relevant, than ever. Across the country, momentum is building: our recent polling revealed 83% public support for rewilding, and a diverse array of voices – from policymakers to academics to practitioners – are increasingly keen to work with us at the heart of this growing movement.
In 2024 we stepped into a far more visible public campaigning role. We mobilised thousands of people during the general election campaign through the launch of our Rewilding Manifesto – a bold policy platform to achieve 30% rewilding on land and sea by 2030. We played a pivotal role in the Restore Nature Now rally when 60,000 people joined the UK’s largest ever march for nature. These efforts have strengthened our relationships with activists, politicians, donors and communities, laying a powerful foundation for future political action and ambitious fundraising that will enable us to deliver our vision.
Our advocacy team is expanding and now includes specialists in marine rewilding and Welsh policy, which means that our voice is being heard more clearly than ever on key issues. This year, our expertise has been sought on everything from marine governance to national ‘nature’ recovery targets, and we’ve been invited to give evidence in Parliament several times. Our persistent campaign for licensed wild beaver releases in England came to fruition when Westminster legislators amended the law following a high-profile push that we coordinated.
We’ve also accelerated rewilding directly in all three nations via our unique funding streams, through which 71 projects have been awarded a total of £1.1m since we began. This year, we granted our third £100,000 Rewilding Challenge Fund to one of the UK’s largest communityled marine projects. We also supported 24 initiatives through our Rewilding Innovation Fund – demonstrating our ongoing commitment to ambitious, landscape-scale nature recovery.
Our Rewilding Network – now over 1,000 members strong – continues to be the beating heart of the movement, connecting practitioners through knowledge exchange, peer learning, story sharing and data collection. This community turns vision into action, testing bold ideas and shaping the future of rewilding in Britain. Working with the Network we’ve taken major strides in tracking rewilding’s impact through our developing Rewilding Monitoring Framework – evidence vital for adapting, learning and demonstrating to policymakers and funders the transformative power of rewilding for people, nature and climate.
Yet with just 1% of Britain’s land and seas currently rewilding, our work has only just begun. During the year we launched a new five-year strategy – shaped by stakeholders across the board – designed to push boundaries, spark imagination and deliver lasting change. Only by shifting public thinking, influencing decision-makers and driving innovation on the ground can we restore nature at scale, and build a future in which people and the wild thrive together.
To all who’ve supported us over this past decade: thank you. You’ve made this transformation possible – and we hope you’ll be with us as we begin our next chapter.
**Rebecca Wrigley** Chief Executive Rewilding Britain
**Justin Albert** Chair Rewilding Britain
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Impact Report 2024/25 Report of the Board of Trustees
## **OBJECTIVES AND STRATEGY**
The Trustees of Rewilding Britain present their Annual Report for the year ended 31 March 2025 together with the financial statements for that period. The financial statements comply with Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS102) and the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP2015).
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
Our charitable objectives are:
To promote for the benefit of the public the improvement and conservation of the physical and natural environment in Britain by advancing the restoration of ecosystems and biological diversity.
To advance the education of the public in the restoration, conservation and improvement of the physical and natural environment.
## **2030 STRATEGIC AIMS**
Our ambition is to see a massive upscaling of nature’s recovery across at least 30% of Britain’s land and sea by 2030, supporting natural forest and woodland, peatlands, rivers, moorlands, saltmarshes and healthy seas, as well as sustainable green economies and rural communities.
A transition towards 30% rewilding will support large-scale ecosystem restoration, boost carbon drawdown and help the UK and devolved governments to meet existing nature and climate commitments.
Rewilding Britain’s strategy in the period ending 31 March 2025 was focused on catalysing change on the ground and ensuring that rewilding’s systemic approach is supported through progressive policy and legislation. We will achieve this through scaling up and connecting rewilding, alongside mainstreaming rewilding for the benefit of people and nature.
The Trustees have referred to the guidance from the Charity Commission on public benefit in producing this report and when reviewing our aims and objectives and planning our future activities. In particular, the Trustees have considered how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.
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## **OUR VISION**
Rewilding is flourishing across Britain — reconnecting us with the natural world, sustaining communities and tackling the climate emergency and the extinction crisis.
## **OUR MISSION**
To champion rewilding in Britain — acting as a catalyst for debate and action, and demonstrating the power of working with nature to tackle the climate emergency and the extinction crisis.
## **2030 OVERALL AIMS**
Our ambition is to see a massive upscaling of nature’s recovery across at least 30% of Britain’s land and sea by 2030, supporting natural forest and woodland, peatlands, rivers, moorlands, saltmarshes and healthy seas, as well as sustainable green economies and rural communities.
## SCALING UP & CONNECTING REWILDING
By 2030 rewilding will restore and reinstate as wide a range of natural processes, habitats and species as possible – native forest, peatland, moorland, heath, wetland, grassland, salt marsh, kelp beds, seagrass and living reefs – with no loss of productive farmland.
We will inspire and empower Britain’s largest landowners to commit to rewilding within a mosaic of smaller rewilding sites, providing connectivity between core areas, linking land and marine areas, and connecting with the heart of our cities.
## MAINSTREAMING REWILDING
By 2030 we will see an inspiring, diverse mosaic of habitats and species across our land and at sea that allows nature to flourish while delivering significant benefits for people – including opportunities for green local economies; healthier air, water and soils; and better health and wellbeing.
By propelling rewilding into the mainstream we will achieve the necessary support from both legislation and funding to ensure a wilder future. Through integrated government policies and legislation as well as greater private and public funding mechanisms we will drive and incentivise land and marine use change.
## NATURE FOR PEOPLE
People are at the heart of rewilding. We will help to empower and inspire individuals, groups and communities to transition towards rewilding.
Evidence from rewilders will demonstrate that nature-based economies increasingly provide alternative income streams and livelihoods as part of a just transition for rural and coastal communities.
By 2030 we will see communities leading, shaping and benefiting from rewilding where they are, as part of a growing movement that supports, learns about and derives multiple advantages from rewilding.
## **2025 KEY OBJECTIVES**
## **1 2 3 4 5** SCALING UP GROWING THE PROTECTED AREAS AND ENABLING BUILDING REWILDING MOVEMENT NATIONAL PARKS POLICY ENGAGEMENT
Britain’s largest Rewilding Network public, NGO and members are private landowners supported to (not yet part of the increase the Rewilding Network) rewilding area to make a commitment 300k ha land and and are in the 200k ha marine process of rewilding and to move up the at least 200k ha, rewilding spectrum. working in line with our rewilding principles.
At least a quarter of all protected areas and national parks (land and marine) commit at least 50% of their areas to nature recovery, including 10% core rewilding.
Key legislation and Public support for policy changes rewilding is growing enable, incentivise and broadening, with and provide funding a diverse range of for rewilding. people getting more actively involved in the rewilding movement.
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HIGHLIGHTS-
FROM
2024125
Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **SCALING UP REWILDING**
To scale up and connect rewilding, to restore and reinstate as wide a range of natural processes, habitats and species as possible.
**This year we’ve awarded funding to a rewilding project with huge potential to scale up, collaborated with large-scale institutional landowners across the three nations, and made progress in measuring the impact of rewilding across Britain.**
## **SCALING UP AT SEA**
in the spring, and leading a session on the importance of funding seascape rewilding at the Marine Funders Network in April. Throughout the year we’ve made sure that Rewilding Britain has had a presence at the most significant marine restoration conferences across Britain, where we’ve met with practitioners, decision-makers and other stakeholders, and furthered our collaborative approach.
We were proud to award the third round of our annual Rewilding Challenge Fund this year to an inspirational marine project, the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST), based off the Isle of Arran. This £100,000 fund, given to the project showing the most potential for scaling up rewilding, is helping to kickstart an ambitious new chapter for this trailblazing, community-driven initiative (see p13).
Over the past 12 months we’ve ramped up our emphasis on scaling up marine rewilding in our advocacy and external communications work – presenting our vision for marine rewilding at the Citizen Zoo rewilding conference we sponsored
## **ADVISING NATIONAL LANDOWNERS ACROSS BRITAIN**
A number of national landowners have been eager to engage our expertise in delivering rewilding and nature recovery over the past year, including the National Trust, Scouts and the Crown Estate, with the latter naming us as a stakeholder in their new nature recovery strategy. We’ve also engaged with the Forestry Commission and Forestry England, supporting the development of Forestry England’s Forest Wilding programme (see box, below) and welcoming four of its projects into the Rewilding Network.
## **SUPPORTING WILDER FORESTS**
We’ve supported the development of Forestry England’s trailblazing Wild Kielder project in Northumberland. The 6,000haplus project is part of the organisation’s Forest Wilding programme and will focus on restoring natural processes, creating a wild zone within the wider commercial forest estate.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **BUILDING THE EVIDENCE FOR REWILDING**
Our ambitious project to create the UK’s first comprehensive set of metrics for measuring the ecological, social and economic dimensions of rewilding has made great progress. Developed in association with a highly experienced advisory group, The Rewilding Monitoring Framework will enable projects to systematically measure and demonstrate their impact – helping unlock financial support and expanding initiatives for the benefit of nature, people and the economy.
This year, we trialled the ecological dimension of the Framework with Rewilding Network members and funded in-depth testing at five pilot sites in partnership with Queen Mary University of London and the British Trust for Ornithology. This has allowed us to hone monitoring methods, including drone-based LiDAR surveys and bioacoustic data collection. We also held follow-up workshops with practitioners and academics to gather expert input on the most appropriate social and economic indicators to monitor rewilding, helping build the full picture for our finished Framework, which will be published in 2026.
The Framework is already attracting interest from a number of public bodies and land-owning charities, which are keen to explore its potential for supporting and aligning with their own monitoring efforts.
## **AT A GLANCE**
## **£100,000**
awarded through the Rewilding Challenge Fund
**256** large-scale rewilding projects in the Rewilding Network
**4**
Forestry England projects in the Rewilding Network
## **INFLUENCING ECOLOGICAL RESEARCH**
As we build Rewilding Britain’s credibility in this area our influence on rewilding research increases. Our research scientist, who sits on the committee of the British Ecological Society’s Rewilding Special Interest Group, was this year invited to deliver the keynote speech for the rewilding thematic session at the Society’s annual meeting, the largest ecology conference in Europe. We’re increasingly being approached to co-supervise MSc and PhD studentships, allowing us to shape academic research. Team members have also co-authored three peer-reviewed papers.
**3** peer-reviewed papers published
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **GROWING THE MOVEMENT**
Rewilding projects are supported through the Rewilding Network to increase the scale and ambition of nature recovery.
**As the Rewilding Network expands to more than 1,000 members we’re deepening our work with this community of trailblazers across Britain, facilitating effective knowledge exchange and gathering data, evidence and stories that can help galvanise change.**
During two inspiring days members shared challenges and solutions, joined field trips to local rewilding sites and even spotted whitetailed eagles from a boat in Poole Harbour. Talks spanned everything from species reintroductions and monitoring to river restoration and working with communities.
## **BUILDING ON NETWORK GROWTH**
In December, we proudly reached a milestone: 1,000 members in the Rewilding Network – a vibrant, growing community of rewilders transforming land and sea across Britain. From trailblazing projects such as Knepp Estate in Sussex to bold community-led efforts in Scotland’s Tarras Valley, this Network now includes over 250 larger-scale initiatives, all driving change from the ground up.
This year we also kicked off a new series of technical site visits with a hands-on day at Wicken Fen in Cambridgeshire, where National Trust staff shared insights into reintroducing semi-wild Konik ponies – complete with sparring stallions.
To deepen peer-to-peer exchange we launched focused working groups on key challenges, including species reintroductions, forestry, the Environmental Land Management scheme and urban rewilding – catalysing collaboration and practical solutions across the Network.
This year, we’ve doubled down on making the Network as impactful as possible. A full review, member survey and in-depth feedback sessions led to a transformed supporter experience: a revitalised peer forum, a streamlined onboarding process, and a dynamic plan to produce practical tools that help rewilders tackle everything from legislation to large herbivore reintroductions.
With these upgrades in place and the team better equipped to support members, we’re now shifting gears – ready to grow the Network further and reach new audiences.
## **A POWERFUL COMMUNITY IN ACTION**
On World Rewilding Day (20 March 2025), over 50 members managing large-scale rewilding sites (40ha+) gathered in Dorset for our third annual Network Gathering.
**10**
Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **GATHERING EVIDENCE FOR REWILDING**
We’re working to build a stronger, clearer picture of rewilding’s ecological, social and economic impact (see p9 for more on our Rewilding Monitoring Framework). While we’ve already gathered data manually from hundreds of sites for a number of years, we’ve now begun developing an online platform through which members can easily contribute key insights – such as number of jobs created, volunteering opportunities, rewilding interventions and species reintroductions. It will also help projects assess where they sit on our rewilding ‘spectrum’ and identify next steps to scale up nature recovery.
## **LEVERAGING POLICY CHANGE**
Working alongside rewilding innovators across Britain gives us a powerful platform on which to share stories – and drive change. This year, with us, Network members have hosted visits from politicians at their sites, helping demonstrate to decision-makers the impact those projects are having and in some cases resulting in them advocating for stronger policy measures to support rewilding (see p20).
When marine-based members of the Network flagged urgent barriers to community-led seascape restoration we felt it was time to take public action. Teaming up with Blue Marine Foundation we produced a policy briefing for parliamentarians that led to Defra inviting case studies from our Network to help inform their forthcoming reform of marine licensing.
## **AT A GLANCE**
**1,005** land-based members in the Rewilding Network, rewilding 187,253ha of land
**24**
local rewilding networks in the Rewilding Network
**40**
marine members in the Rewilding Network, rewilding 506km2 of seabed
**12** webinars supporting rewilding practitioners
## **EXPERT GRAZING GUIDANCE**
Network members frequently ask about introducing native herbivores to restore ecological processes, which can increase biodiversity, address climate breakdown and provide access to agri-environment subsidies. Identifying suitable absent species, such as pigs, cattle, wild ponies, beavers, bison and elk, can be challenging. This year, we put together the most up-to-date guidance on this area – including costs, regulations and personal advice from fellow practitioners – into a unique and comprehensive publication for rewilders.
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REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS — REWILDING BRITAIN — MARCH 2024
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## **IN FOCUS FUNDING THE ACCELERATION OF REWILDING**
**Rewilding Britain is helping scale up nature’s recovery by directly funding rewilding projects across the three nations. While rewilders are taking huge strides – from restoring habitats to creating green jobs – many face confusing funding systems, limited government support and a disconnect between projects and potential funders.**
That’s where our funding comes in. To date, we’ve awarded **£1.1 million to 71 projects** , playing a crucial role in scaling up nature’s recovery across Britain. A full list of recipients is on p14.
## **THE MULTIPLIER EFFECT**
Our support has been instrumental in helping projects unlock much more. This year alone:
**Wilder Doddington** used our seed funding to successfully apply for **£1.9m** from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, and gained further public funding.
**West Dorset Wilding** went on to obtain a government **Landscape Recovery Scheme** grant.
**Nevis Nature Network** secured **£100k+** from NatureScot.
## **BACKING NEW IDEAS: THE REWILDING INOVATION FUND**
The UK’s first dedicated rewilding fund is sparking fresh thinking and tackling key barriers. This financial year we supported 24 new projects, from species feasibility studies and evidence-building to tech trials and youth engagement.
**Tor to Shore** leveraged our support to help secure **£265k** from the National Lottery – with potential for **£3m+** more.
**The Dartmoor Nature Alliance** used our funding to secure additional investment from the Devon Environment Fund.
One of the two funding rounds had a particular focus on connecting young people with nature – supporting projects such as the UK’s only youthled rewilding summit, outdoor classrooms in ancient woodland and rewilding initiatives at Scout centres for young people.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **SCALING UP AMBITION: THE REWILDING CHALLENGE FUND**
**Awarding £100,000 over two years, this fund backs one seascape- or landscape-scale (1,000ha+) project annually to deliver big, lasting impact and to share learnings with our Network.**
## **INTRODUCING COAST**
In 2025 we awarded the two-year funding to Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) for its new initiative, Communities and the Sea: Exploring our Coastal Waters. The project builds on COAST’s work in Lamlash Bay and South Arran Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and is looking to extend efforts to the less-protected northern waters. This is community action at seascape scale – backed by science, driven by the people and designed to last.
The grant supports the strengthening of partnerships with local communities, marine businesses and researchers, and enables COAST to showcase Arran’s community-led model for marine restoration. Throughout the project the team will survey seabed habitats, engage communities beyond the protected zone, and promote stewardship that benefits nature, climate, the economy and people.
## **ONE YEAR ON: SUSSEX BAY**
Sussex Bay, the 2024 Challenge Fund recipient, is a partnership involving over 200 groups and organisations aiming for a healthy marine
ecosystem along 100 miles of coastline, from Selsey Bill to Camber Sands. The project is a fantastic example of the potential of communitydriven local marine governance.
Over the past year it has brought more people from all walks of life closer to their coastal waters, has worked with stakeholders who depend on the marine environment, including the local fishing community, and has developed a blueprint that sets out the next steps to reconnect people with the marine environment and restore biodiversity along this busy coast.
## **TWO YEARS ON: WILDER BLEAN**
Our first two-year Rewilding Challenge Fund grant, awarded in 2023, supported Wilder Blean, an ambitious effort to rewild tens of thousands of hectares across southeast England. Through the Rewilding Challenge Fund the project is transforming Blean woodland into a connected, resilient network, enhancing biodiversity and natural processes and shaping a thriving, sustainable landscape for people and wildlife.
Now at the end of the grant period, the project has laid strong foundations for long-term impact, including: building a sustainable funding model, forming youth and community groups, mapping habitat connectivity in partnership with the RSPB and Woodland Trust, developing nature-based enterprise strategies and looking at future species reintroductions.
**IN FUNDING COAST, WE’RE BACKING COMMUNITY ACTION AT SEASCAPE SCALE.**
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **INVESTING FOR IMPACT**
Beyond our main funds, we’ve also supported:
**Wildwood Trust’s** wildcat captive breeding programme – advancing reintroduction science.
the **Lynx to Scotland** feasibility work – exploring the return of lynx to the Highlands.
**five pilot sites** helping test our developing Rewilding Monitoring Framework (see p9) – trialling innovative methods such as dronebased LiDAR and bioacoustic monitoring.
## **PROJECTS FUNDED BY REWILDING BRITAIN IN 2024/2025**
The following projects have received support to further their rewilding aspirations through our strategic funding programmes.
Allowing young people to immerse themselves in nature
Assessing the possibility of reintroducing golden eagles
Bringing back Britain’s largest ever bird, the Dalmatian Pelican
Building partnerships to restore nature in Lochaber
Communities and the Sea: Exploring our Coastal Waters
Creating a living classroom for schools in Scotland
Dartmoor Nature Alliance
Exploring the return of bison to south England Gathering support for a Wilder Western Dales
Helping communities shape their relationship with nature in Somerset
Helping to bring elk back to the Norfolk fens
Highlighting the power of communities in rewilding
Introducing nature-based land management solutions in southern Scotland
Kickstarting rewilding at Gartcharron
Lynx to Scotland
Planning for Nature Recovery in East Devon Researching stork reintroductions in London Restoring Atlantic temperate rainforest on the Isle of Mull
Restoring nature to enhance outdoor Scout adventures
Reuniting European elk and beavers in England Rewilding the Scottish Highlands with beavers
Supporting deer mediation in the Scottish Highlands
Supporting more young people in rewilding through internships
Telling the history of the lynx in Britain to young people
The Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST)
Transforming education through outdoor classrooms
Upscaling seagrass restoration in Cornwall
Wildwood Trust’s wildcat breeding and research
Working towards a wilder Wye River catchment
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **PROTECTED AREAS AND NATIONAL PARKS**
At least a quarter of all protected areas and national parks are committed to rewilding.
**We’ve maintained our pressure on governments to make national parks and protected areas wilder, urged politicians to ensure that protection for MPAs is genuine, and this year funded rewilding initiatives in three national parks.**
and to speak for thousands of coastal rewilders across Britain, we called for a ban on bottom trawling within MPAs. Our ask was picked up and quoted by the Committee in its recommendation to ban this destructive practice – a significant factor in the UK Government’s proposal later in the year to outlaw it in England’s offshore MPAs.
## **A VISION FOR MARINE PROTECTED AREAS**
Now that we have a dedicated marine specialist on the Rewilding Britain team, we’ve been able to up the ante on calling for genuine protection for MPAs. With the Scottish Rewilding Alliance and Wildlife and Countryside Link we’ve responded to several consultations on MPAs, marine restoration and marine spatial planning. When we were invited to give evidence to the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee in March 2025
## **ADVOCATING FOR SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL PARKS**
Through the Scottish Rewilding Alliance we’ve been working hard to champion the idea that national parks should have nature recovery as their priority and have pushed hard through our advocacy and communications activities for this premise to be enshrined in the forthcoming Natural Environment Bill.
. **WE CALLED FOR A BAN ON BOTTOM TRAWLING** | **WITHIN MARINE PROTECTED AREAS WHEN** a= **WE WERE INVITED TO GIVE EVIDENCE IN** ") os *. ¥ **PARLIAMENT ON BEHALF OF THOUSANDS OF COASTAL REWILDERS ACROSS BRITAIN.**
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **ENGAGING ACROSS THE REGIONS ON NATIONAL PARKS**
## **AT A GLANCE**
In Wales, with our Wales Rewilding Policy and Advocacy Lead in place, we’ve been having fruitful conversations with the Bannau Brycheiniog (formerly Brecon Beacons) National Park Authority to encourage it to support nature restoration at scale as part of its management plans. In England, we’ve been putting our efforts into Dartmoor National Park, where we’ve given seed funding to support the formation of the Dartmoor Nature Alliance.
This diverse alliance – including ecologists (among them our CEO and one of our Trustees), landowners, farmers and park users – is restoring nature and supporting local communities in Dartmoor National Park. It’s rapidly becoming a key voice in the area, issuing policy statements and hosting workshops. Our seed funding also helped secure a Devon Environment Fund grant to launch Bringing Dartmoor Back to Life, a project uniting and empowering local advocates around a shared vision for nature recovery in the park.
**3**
consultations submitted on Marine Protected Areas
**34**
Rewilding Network sites located in national parks, covering 53,175ha
**3**
national park initiatives funded
## **FUNDING INNOVATION IN NATIONAL PARKS**
Through our Rewilding Innovation Fund this year we’re supporting two forward-thinking projects that are unlocking further rewilding in national parks.
**The Call of the Wild at Hadrian’s Wall** is supporting Northumberland Wildlife Trust’s Hadrian’s Wall: Recovering Nature project, enhancing community engagement through innovative technology. Acoustic recording devices are being used to monitor wildlife in real time, offering visitors a unique window on the area’s rich ecosystems. By using soundscape technology the project is deepening understanding of environmental change and forging stronger connections between people and nature.
**Reviving Exmoor’s Heartlands** is a landscape-scale nature recovery and rewilding project restoring natural processes to the central moorlands of Exmoor National Park in Devon. Our funding is supporting a prioritisation exercise for species reintroductions, including the much-loved water vole and the charismatic whitetailed eagle.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **ENABLING POLICY**
Key legislation and policy changes enable, incentivise and provide funding for rewilding.
**We’ve strengthened our policy and advocacy work across the three nations and it’s clear that Rewilding Britain’s expertise is increasingly being sought at policymaking level on issues from ‘meeting’ nature recovery targets to marine governance.**
## **A CLEAR WIN FOR BEAVERS**
A major policy success this year was the lifting of restrictions on wild beaver releases in England. We’ve backed this from the start and have spotlighted reintroduction efforts by Network members. When progress stalled in early 2025 we led a high-profile campaign, coordinating NGOs, farmers, landowners, corporations and water companies, and gained strong media coverage. This prompted positive government action, and the first legal release of Eurasian beavers into the wild in England followed in March 2025. This took place at Purbeck Heath Super National Nature Reserve in Dorset, part of our Rewilding Network.
## **MAKING HEADWAY IN WALES**
Through our new Wales Rewilding Policy and Advocacy Lead we’re shaping a strategy to scale up rewilding in Wales. As a new member of Wales Environment Link we’ve brought rewilding into key discussions and are drafting a public statement for the Welsh Government. We’ve also presented to the Welsh Government’s biodiversity team, had questions raised in the Senedd, secured our first plenary mention and begun engaging with MSs and MPs.
## **DEEPENING ADVOCACY IN SCOTLAND**
In December 2024, as part of the Scottish Rewilding Alliance (SRA), we presented proposals to create the first Rewilding Nation – following strong public and influencer backing. This campaign provides a model for an impactful 2026 Scottish Parliament election effort, aiming to secure more rewilding advocates than ever.
Our work with the SRA – through consultations, MSP collaboration and site visits – has helped raise rewilding’s profile at Holyrood. It’s ensured that rewilding is part of the debate around new laws, including the Land Reform Bill, Environment Bill and Agriculture and Rural Communities Act. We successfully influenced the latter through key amendments.
## **HOW WE’RE REWILDING FINANCE**
Launched at a Holyrood reception in June 2024, our Rewilding Finance report sets out a vision for scaling up high-integrity nature finance in Britain, featuring case studies from the Rewilding Network. It has sparked valuable conversations across government, land and marine management, business and finance – driving collaboration on systemic, equitable investment models for largescale rewilding.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **UNIQUE OPPORTUNITY WITH LAND USE FRAMEWORK**
When the UK Government launched its first Land Use Framework for England vision we seized the chance to respond and rally public support. In April, we submitted a detailed consultation response urging the government to go beyond the limited area of land considered under the proposals and adopt a bolder vision: restoring nature across 30% of Britain by 2030. Over 6,000 supporters joined our campaign, sending a clear message to policymakers.
## **AN INVITE TO THE TABLE**
Rewilding Britain is increasingly being asked to provide rewilding expertise in a policy context. This year alone we were invited to:
give evidence to the UK Parliament’s Environmental Audit Committee on marine rewilding and community regeneration;
join a Government roundtable on marine targets, following our response to an Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) investigation;
present to the All-Party Parliamentary Group for the Environment – of which we’re now a member – on the OEP’s nature targets report, which led to a key meeting with the OEP’s Chief Scientist.
## **AT A GLANCE**
**16+** consultation responses
**6** rewilding site visits
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4
party conferences attended
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**4**
parliamentary events hosted in Scotland and England
## **CALLING FOR WILDER SEAS**
To address the urgent need to rewild our seas we partnered with the Marine Conservation Society to produce Wilder Seas a blueprint for ocean recovery. It was launched at a Westminster reception ahead of World Oceans Day, and outlines eight practical recommendations to revive sea life and support coastal communities – from protecting blue carbon to banning toxic pollutants. Illustrated with real-life examples from the Rewilding Network and beyond, it calls for simple but vital government action to transform our oceans.
19
**IN FOCUS THE REWILDING MANIFESTO** ¥ **CAMPAIGN**
**In the 2024 general election campaign we mobilised thousands of people by launching the Rewilding Manifesto – a bold policy platform to achieve 30% rewilding on land and sea by 2030.**
As a result, over 18,700 supporters joined our campaign and contacted their local candidates, asking them to commit to our manifesto; more than 3,300 also sent letters to their newly elected MPs. We also sent every MP and every peer a hard copy of the manifesto. The campaign sent a clear message to the government, strengthened our relationship with supporters and opened up important conversations with MPs about rewilding.
## **INVITING POLITICIANS TO GO WILD**
We believe one of the most powerful ways to grasp the value of rewilding is to see thriving, wild landscapes where wildlife is returning and communities are embracing new, diverse opportunities for work, recreation and connection with nature. That’s why we’ve built on these early dialogues by taking keen MPs and MSPs on guided tours of Rewilding Network sites to witness nature restoration first-hand.
Other politicians have met with our CEO in one-to-one meetings at Westminster to learn about rewilding’s transformative impact. These combined efforts have led to public endorsements, parliamentary questions, debate contributions and growing political pressure for action on rewilding.
## **REWILDING JOINS THE PARTY**
We used our debut appearances at the autumn political party conferences as an opportunity to further engage politicians with our manifesto and to put rewilding firmly on their agendas. We presented at the Green Liberal Democrats conference and hosted or participated in fringe events at all three major conferences (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrat), ran an exhibition stand at the Labour Party conference, led a marine session and a beach comb, and joined panel debates. Support for the manifesto was palpable, with many MPs pledging their support. We even held a very positive rewilding conversation with the Environment Secretary.
**THE REWILDING MANIFESTO CAMPAIGN HAS STRENGTHENED OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH SUPPORTERS AND OPENED UP IMPORTANT CONVERSATIONS WITH MPS ABOUT REWILDING.**
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **BUILDING ENGAGEMENT**
Public support for rewilding is growing and broadening, with a diverse range of people getting more actively involved in the rewilding movement.
**As support for rewilding hits 83% across Britain we’ve taken our public campaigning to a new level this year, mobilising supporters to make their voices heard and laying the foundations for a deeper relationship with activists and donors.**
## **PROVING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR REWILDING**
Ahead of party conference season we carried out YouGov polling that demonstrated growing public support for rewilding. At 83%, that support represented an increase since 2021, when our previous polling showed that 81% of the public supported rewilding. Through national media coverage of the polling story the new figures helped build our credibility and increase the visibility of rewilding.
## **MOBILISING SUPPORTERS TO PUSH FOR CHANGE**
up the political agenda. It galvanised more than 18,700 people to sign our Rewilding Manifesto petition ahead of the general election (more on p20) and made the complex Land Use Framework consultation accessible and engaging, prompting over 6,000 supporters to message the UK Government about this issue. This surge in advocacy campaigning has strengthened our supporter relationships and laid a strong foundation to help deliver change.
To reach a wider audience and pool skills and resources, we’ve been campaigning collaboratively with allies across the environment sector. A good example was the Restore Nature Now march in June 2024, when over 60,000 people joined the UK’s largest ever nature march. As an early supporter of the event we helped in its planning, shaped policy asks, mobilised our supporters to join us on the day and had two members of staff speaking on stage alongside major NGOs. All of this gave us strong visibility and a chance to share our 30% rewilding vision with a mass audience.
Our public campaigning reached new heights this year, rallying thousands to push rewilding
## **RAISING VITAL FUNDS FOR REWILDING**
Despite a challenging environment our fundraising efforts led to us raising almost £585,000 from more than 3,500 individuals this year – helping further our mission to unlock and scale up rewilding across Britain.
This year, our two appeals raised impressive match-funded totals: over £100,000 in autumn for Rewilding Britain’s policy and advocacy work following our high-profile Rewilding Manifesto campaign, and more than £208,000 in spring through the Big Give Green Match Fund for the Rewilding Nation Campaign, run by the Scottish Rewilding Alliance, of which we are a member.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **REACHING MILLIONS WITH OUR MESSAGE OF HOPE**
Our campaigns and communications this year have succeeded in getting key rewilding messages out to millions more people. We reached 272,000 people through 360,000 website visits, have 197,000 followers on social media and have 55,000 newsletter subscribers. We also reached hundreds of thousands of people through more than 3,000 media articles.
Our creative content toolkit has two powerful new additions: the _Rewilding Times_ newspaper, filled with inspiring stories from across the movement, proved a popular resource at party political conferences; and our Rewilding Journeys illustration vividly depicts how a landscape can be transformed through rewilding — showcasing natural processes, returning species, sustainable economic activity and how communities can reconnect with nature.
## **STAKEHOLDER STRATEGIC RESEARCH**
We gathered a wide range of views – from landowners, communities, NGOs, government, businesses and Rewilding Network members – on the future of rewilding in Britain to help shape our new five-year strategy (see p25). This input has been vital in developing our strategic framework, building trust with stakeholders and opening new relationships and markets. As part of this, we surveyed 114 Rewilding Network members (a representative sample of our 1,000+ members), held focus groups with 22 attendees and conducted in-depth interviews with 22 participants.
## **AT A GLANCE**
**18,798** signatures on our Rewilding Manifesto petition
**360,000** website visits newsletter subscribers **55,000 197,000** LS followers on social media
**3,000+** media articles
**3,500+** individuals donated
**22**
Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **INVESTING IN OUR PEOPLE AND SYSTEMS**
Strengthened fundraising, governance and internal organisational development supports the achievement of our mission.
**Rewilding Britain has significantly scaled up operations to meet our aspirations over the past decade, and this year we’ve continued to invest in the people and systems that will enable us to deliver for rewilding on an even greater scale.**
## **GROWING OUR DELIVERY TEAM**
Continuing our growth trajectory from the past few years we again increased our headcount significantly this year – from 25 to 32 staff (from 21.25 to 28.45 FTE). The new roles have enabled us to: strengthen our ability to influence policy and large landowners, through a Wales Rewilding Policy and Advocacy Lead and a Rewilding Landscape Manager; better engage our audiences and communicate our impact, through our first Impact and Evaluation Manager and Social Media and Digital Assistant; and continue development of our supporting infrastructure, through an IT Operations Manager and Corporate Partnership Manager.
## **WELCOMING NEW TRUSTEES**
We also welcomed four new Trustees in June 2024, including a new Chair, having said goodbye to our former Chair in December 2024 after six fruitful years. The new Trustees were chosen specifically to increase the diversity of voices in the rewilding movement and to enable us to draw on specialist skills and experience of political influencing. Turn to p32 to see the full list of Trustees.
## **REVIEWING OUR PAY AND BENEFITS**
To deliver our ambitious strategy by continuing to attract amazing talent from across Britain, we comprehensively reviewed our pay and benefits. As a result we have a transparent approach to pay, and the confidence that our flexibility as an employer and our benefits package are among the strongest offerings for organisations of our size in the sector.
## **EMBARKING ON AN EEDI JOURNEY**
This year we invested in efforts to become a more equitable, equal, diverse and inclusive organisation. With the support of sector-leading experts Full Colour, we involved all staff and Trustees in a yearlong conversation about our values and culture.
This gave us a clear vision for the kind of organisation we want to be, where we have strengths we can build on, and where we need to learn more to develop greater opportunities for equality, equity, diversity and inclusion. If we’re to move towards normalising rewilding within the mainstream narrative and enabling an expansion of rewilding across Britain, it’s essential that we develop an internal culture that allows us to engage externally in a way that resonates with a greater diversity of people.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **CONSOLIDATING FOR CYBER SECURITY**
We were delighted to be awarded the first level of Cyber Essentials Accreditation in January 2025. The data-gathering process to prepare for this external assessment has strengthened our systematic understanding of the organisation’s IT estate, significantly improving our ability to ensure data security and deliver continuous improvement.
## **STRENGTHENING KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT**
As an organisation with a systems transformation mission we know that the better we connect our knowledge across different teams and areas of work, the greater our impact. Better knowledge management is vital, whether it’s how we steward our stakeholders through our online journeys or how we measure the impact we’re having in furthering rewilding. Two projects contributed to this in 2024/25: the further rolling out of our customer relationship management system to all teams; and the development of our first comprehensive impact framework.
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AT A GLANCE
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28%
increase in staff
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4
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**24**
Impact Report 2024/25 Highlights from 2024/25
## **LOOKING AHEAD**
We recognise that achieving our ambition means focusing our efforts on creating the conditions that catalyse rewilding at the scale we need. With this in mind we’ve developed a five-year strategy that pushes boundaries, sparks imagination and fosters real, lasting change.
We believe that it’s only by shifting public thinking, influencing decision-makers and innovating practice on the ground that we can restore nature at scale, creating a future in which people and the wild thrive side by side. That’s why we’ve developed Wild by Nature: our strategy for change 2025–2030.
Delivering our ambitious strategy requires a stable footing, so these four objectives are underpinned by a fifth enabling objective: to strengthen our foundations. As demand for rewilding increases we will support the growth of a well-resourced, skilled, diverse and adaptable team. For truly transformative rewilding action we need to grow our annual income by 25%, to £3 million by 2030 to scale up rewilding.
As we celebrate 10 years as Rewilding Britain, we hope you will join us for our next 10.
We co-created this vision with input from hundreds of people across the rewilding movement, from our staff and Trustees to policymakers, businesses and land/marine managers. In doing so we have grounded bold ambition in practical real-world solutions.
Our four 2030 objectives take a systems change approach that aims to: reframe the public narrative and **normalise rewilding** as part of how we see the future of our land and sea; reshape the structures of power so that policies, financing and legislation **enable rewilding** as a mainstream approach; and nurture rewilding in practice by supporting a growing movement of rewilders to **innovate** and **scale up** its work as a powerful, collective force for change.
**25**
EVIEW
Impact Report 2024/25 Financial review
Our financial strategy in 2024/25 was to maximise our charitable impact by spending down on our charitable reserves. As a result we set a budgeted deficit for the year ended 31 March 2025 of £679,000.
Total income for the year was £2,405,550 (2023/24: £2,359,050).
Unrestricted income for the year was £1,881,394 (2023/24: £2,056,666). Of this, £928,800 was donated by trusts and foundations, £289,369 came from regular and one-off donations (including Gift Aid), £186,513 from major donors and £413,113 from corporate donations.
After expenditure of £2,446,890 we recorded a deficit of £565,496 on unrestricted funds, including designated funds (2023/24: surplus of £399,012), before transfers of £695 (2023/24: 4,290). Unrestricted funds decreased from £1,863,791 to £1,298,990 (2023/24: increase from £1,469,069 to £1,863,791).
Incoming resources relating to restricted funds totalled £523,156 for the year (2023/24: £302,384), and after expenditure of £407,604 (2023/24: £415,603) and transfers of £695 (2023/24: £4,290) resulted in an increase in restricted funds of £114,857 (2023/24: decrease of £108,929). Total restricted funds as of 31 March 2025 were £239,511 (31 March 2024: £124,654) (see note 12 to the accounts).
During the year the Finance and Risk Committee met quarterly, with the remit to assist the Board in its duty to supervise the broad direction of our charity’s financial affairs, governance and major operating risks. The Committee comprises Francis Smith (Treasurer), George Levvy (Chair to 11 December 2024), Justin Albert (Chair from 11 December 2024), Priyanka Khandelwal (Trustee), Marian Carson (Chief Operating Officer), Richard Miller (Head of Finance) and Kate Barclay (Director of Fundraising).
## **HOW WE’RE FUNDED**
## **WHERE THE MONEY GOES**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2.6%
52.8%
12.2% 40.5%
20.3%
17.4%
10.4%
29.9%
13.9%
Charitable trusts and foundations £1,269,087 Scaling up rewilding £1,156,937
Regular and one-off donations £333,982 Enabling policy context £852,177
Major philanthropic donations £250,356 Building engagement £497,762
Corporate donations £487,526 Raising funds £347,618
Brand licence fees and merchandise £1,333
Investments £62,204
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**27**
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A five-year strategy has been prepared for the period to 31 March 2030 together with a detailed budget for the period to 31 March 2026 to deliver the charity’s activities, paid for from anticipated income and accumulated funds. The Board understands its obligation to apply income to Rewilding Britain’s charitable objectives as soon as practicable. Our reserves policy and our target reserves levels are reviewed annually by our Trustee Board.
The charity has created designated funds as part of its planned growth in expenditure in our budget. The designated funds are specifically to provide a boost to strategic rewilding projects, to support the grant-giving impacts of the Innovation Fund and the Challenge Fund, and to support other key areas of intended additional investment. Expenditure, including transfers, against these designated funds in the year ended 31 March 2025 was £342,000 (2023/24: £118,000).
Our current policy is to hold unrestricted reserves of £725,000 as the charity grows its scope and operations. Given the rapid growth period we are in, this target level will be reviewed more frequently. The policy will reflect the Trustees’ appraisal of working capital requirements, the risks in Rewilding Britain’s sources of budgeted income, and an allowance for the growth in expenditure and funding for key strategic investments during the next planning cycle.
Free reserves remaining at 31 March 2025 excluding designated reserves was £870,000 (2023/24: £1,093,000).
In line with our strategy, with the aim to upscale rewilding and increase impact, our budget for the year ended 31 March 2026 has planned for further expenditure in excess of income (i.e. deficit) in order to draw down on our free reserves towards our target level. The intention is that the reserves policy will be met, and that any remaining buffer – if income allows – will serve a dynamic role affording increased resilience during a period of growth and change.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Financial review
## **FUNDRAISING APPROACH AND PERFORMANCE**
Amid another economically challenging year, our growing numbers of supporters have continued to show their generosity, making more than 6,000 donations over the year. Their ongoing commitment and support enabled us to increase the impact of rewilding and to invest in an ambitious future for upscaling rewilding across Britain in line with our vision.
We ran two appeals over the year – to fund the Scotland: A Rewilding Nation campaign and to fund our Force for Nature campaign to give greater resources to our policy and advocacy work. These campaigns raised over £310,000 and we are very grateful to the hundreds of supporters who backed us.
The most significant level of growth can be seen in the growing value of corporate partners, trusts and foundations. At any one time we expect to be working with around 35 major funding partners and more than 80 active corporate partners.
Thanks to the support of trusts and foundations, grant-giving bodies, corporate partners and highvalue supporters, Rewilding Britain secured around £1,881,000 of unrestricted income and £523,000 of restricted income.
An ambitious fundraising strategy aims to increase major gifts to support our ambitious strategy in the next five years, with particular emphasis on the areas of philanthropy and legacies, meeting corporate environmental, social and governance (ESG) requirements, and investing in new business development. This is helping to increase the effectiveness of our fundraising activity to enable more rewilding to be supported.
Rewilding Britain is committed to ensuring that fundraising activities are carried out in an ethical manner and adheres to the new Code of Fundraising Practice as set out by the Fundraising Regulator. Rewilding Britain carries out due diligence and has agreements in place with corporate partners and commercial participants. We have received no complaints about our fundraising in the year ended 31 March 2025.
With our generous supporters and partners by our side we can continue to be independent, agile and effective over the coming year and long into the future.
**29**
Impact Report 2024/25 Financial review
## **RISK MANAGEMENT**
The Board recognises its responsibilities in terms of managing risk and has systems in place to ensure that the risks faced by the charity are identified, assessed, managed and monitored.
Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team are guided by the risk appetite policy, using a risk register to assess risk regularly. Current material risks have been formally reviewed by the Finance and Risk Committee at each quarterly meeting during the year. The Board considers the gross risk before taking into account the internal and external controls and the residual net risk after these internal and external controls are applied.
The major external risks continue to relate to the UK political situation, global unrest and conflict, and the cost of living crisis, which is unhelpfully polarising the environment against food production.
We plan to ensure that balanced, evidence-led discussion demonstrates that rewilding has no negative impact on food production both in the UK and globally. There is particular risk that commitments may be weakened with negative knock-on effects for rewilding. Our internal controls are intended to manage rather than eliminate risks and to give reasonable rather than absolute reassurances.
We now identify risk by area of strategic objective, so that individual teams and projects play a part in identifying these. We can then assign risk owners.
Where the residual risk score is higher than our target risk, as defined by our risk appetite statements, we identify further initiatives and actions to reduce the risk to an acceptable level.
**30**
Impact Report 2024/25 Financial review
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
Rewilding Britain was founded in 2014 as a charitable incorporated organisation (CIO). It is registered in England and Wales (charity no. 1159373) and Scotland (charity no. SC045685). Its registered office is The Courtyard, Shoreham Road, Upper Beeding, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3TN. It is governed by its constitution adopted on 27 August 2014 and amended on 4 April 2022 and 18 September 2024. The members of the Trustee Board are Trustees under charity law.
## **BOARD OF TRUSTEES**
Trustees are recruited in accordance with our constitution. In selecting individuals for appointment as Trustees, the charity Trustees must have regard to the skills, knowledge and experience needed for the effective administration of the charity. All members of the Board have role descriptions and take part in induction programmes, training and development as appropriate.
The Board is made up of at least three and not more than twelve Trustees including the Chair. All Board members serve a three-year term of office and can be re-elected for further terms of three years. The Board has formed two sub-committees (Finance and Risk, and Governance and Nominations) with a remit to meet on a quarterly basis (the members of each are indicated on p32).
We would like to thank our retiring Trustees for the generous contribution they have made to the growth and impact of Rewilding Britain as they come to the end of their terms of service. We offer a warm welcome to our new Trustees, recruited to help the charity as it enters the next phase of its development.
## **STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES**
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP (SORP 2015 (FRS 102));
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue to operate.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity, and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the provisions of the charity’s constitution. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and for taking reasonable steps to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.
The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
The following statements have been affirmed by each of the charity’s Trustees:
- so far as each Trustee is aware, there is no relevant information (i.e. information needed by the charity’s independent examiner in connection with preparing their report) of which the independent examiner is unaware;
- each Trustee has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Trustee to make themselves aware of any relevant information and to establish that the charity’s independent examiner is aware of that information.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Financial review
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS**
**Registered charity name** Rewilding Britain
**Charity registration numbers** 1159373 (England and Wales), SC045685 (Scotland)
## **MANAGEMENT**
The Board delegates responsibility for the day-to-day management of Rewilding Britain to our Chief Executive, Rebecca Wrigley, and her Senior Leadership Team (see p33).
## **THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES**
The present office holders and any past office holders who served during the year, and to the date of signing this report, are listed below. Trustees who form part of sub-committees are indicated as follows: Finance and Risk (F&R) and Governance and Nominations (GNC).
|Justin Albert|appointed 12 June 2024, Chair from 11 December 2024, F&R, GNC|
|---|---|
|Harry Barton||
|Beth Collier|appointed 12 June 2024|
|John Cook|appointed 12 June 2024|
|Rachel Evatt|GNC, Vice-chair from 11 June 2025|
|Elaine Gilligan|resigned 11 June 2025|
|Priyanka Khandelwal|F&R|
|George Levvy|resigned as Trustee and Chair on 11 December 2024, F&R, GNC|
|Francis Smith|Treasurer, Company Secretary, F&R, Vice-chair to 11 June 2025|
|Rachel Solomon Williams|appointed 12 June 2024|
|David Tudor||
|Nick Wilkinson|GNC|
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Impact Report 2024/25 Financial review
## **SENIOR LEADERSHIP TEAM**
The day-to-day management is delegated to our Chief Executive, Rebecca Wrigley, and her Senior Leadership Team.
|Kate Barclay|Director of Fundraising|
|---|---|
|Marian Carson|Chief Operating Officer|
|Kevin Cumming|Rewilding Director|
|Richard Miller|Director of Finance|
|Kim Somerville|Communications and Engagement Director|
|Rebecca Wrigley|Chief Executive|
## **PROFESSIONAL ADVISERS**
A list of Rewilding Britain’s professional advisers appears on p51.
Approved by the Trustees on 17 September 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
## **Justin Albert**
Chair Rewilding Britain
33
# * **INDEPENDENT**
**34**
Impact Report 2024/25 Report of the Independent Auditor
Year ended 31 March 2025
We have audited the financial statements of Rewilding Britain (the ‘charitable incorporated organisation’) for the year ended 31 March 2025. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102. The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable incorporated organisation’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).
## **BASIS FOR OPINION**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable incorporated organisation in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **CONCLUSIONS RELATING TO GOING CONCERN**
In auditing the financial statements we have concluded that the Trustees use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable incorporated organisation’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **OTHER INFORMATION**
The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
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Impact Report 2024/25 Report of the Independent Auditor
Year ended 31 March 2025
## **OPINIONS ON OTHER MATTERS PRESCRIBED BY THE CHARITIES ACT 2011**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
the information given in the Trustees’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the Trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of Trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## **RESPONSIBILITIES OF TRUSTEES**
## **MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT BY EXCEPTION**
In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable incorporated organisation and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable incorporated organisation’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable incorporated organisation or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
**36**
Impact Report 2024/25 Report of the Independent auditor
Year ended 31 March 2025
## **AUDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/ Audit-and-assurance/Standards-and-guidance/ Standards-and-guidance-for-auditors/Auditorsresponsibilities-for-audit/Description-of-auditorsresponsibilities-for-audit.aspx. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
## **EXTENT TO WHICH THE AUDIT WAS CONSIDERED CAPABLE OF DETECTING IRREGULARITIES, INCLUDING FRAUD**
The objectives of our audit, in respect to fraud, are: to identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud; to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud, through designing and implementing appropriate responses; and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit. However, the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both those charged with governance of the entity and its management.
Our approach was as follows:
through discussion with the trustees and other management (as required by auditing standards), and discussed with the trustees and other management the policies and procedures regarding compliance with laws and regulations (see below);
- We identified the following areas as those most likely to have such an effect: health and safety; General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR); fraud; bribery and corruption; and employment law. Auditing standards limit the required audit procedures to identify noncompliance with these laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. The identified actual or suspected non-compliance was not sufficiently significant to our audit to result in our response being identified as a key audit matter;
- We considered the legal and regulatory frameworks directly applicable to the financial statements reporting framework (FRS 102 and the Charities Act 2011) and the relevant tax compliance regulations in the UK;
- We considered the nature of the charity’s operations, the control environment and financial performance;
- We communicated identified laws and regulations throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit;
- We considered the procedures and controls that the charity has established to address risks identified, or that otherwise prevent, deter and detect fraud; and how senior management monitors those procedures and controls.
Based on this understanding we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations. Where the risk was considered to be higher, we performed audit procedures to address each identified fraud risk. These procedures included: testing manual journals; reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation; performing analytical procedures; and enquiring of management, and were designed to provide reasonable assurance that the financial statements were free from fraud or error.
- We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our general sector experience, and
37
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations (irregularities) is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely it is that the inherently limited procedures required by auditing standards would identify it. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. We are not responsible for preventing noncompliance and cannot be expected to detect noncompliance with all laws and regulations.
## **USE OF OUR REPORT**
This report is made solely to the charitable incorporated organisation’s members, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable incorporated organisation’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable incorporated organisation and the charitable incorporated organisation’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report or for the opinions we have formed.
Mark Cummins FCCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of TC Group Statutory Auditors Office: Steyning
Dated: 17 September 2025
38
Statement of financial activities
Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
|Notes
**Income from**
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Investments
**Total**
**Expenditure on**
4
Raising funds
Charitable activities
**Total**
**Net income/(expenditure)**
Transfer between funds
12
**Net movement in funds**
**Reconciliation of funds:**
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
**889,057**
**930,133**
**62,204**
**1,881,394**
**347,618**
**2,099,272**
**2,446,890**
**(565,496)**
**695**
**(564,801)**
**1,863,791**
**1,298,990**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**
**182,869**
**340,287**
**-**
**523,156**
**-**
**407,604**
**407,604**
**115,552**
**(695)**
**114,857**
**124,654**
**239,511**|**2024/25**
**Total**
**£**
**1,071,926**
**1,270,420**
**62,204**
**2,404,550**
**347,618**
**2,506,876**
**2,854,494**
**(449,944)**
**-**
**(449,944)**
**1,988,445**
**1,538,501**|2023/24
Total
£
1,250,044
1,047,959
61,047|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||2,359,050|
|||||241,455
1,831,802|
|||||2,073,257|
||||||
|||||285,793|
||||||
|||||-|
||||||
|||||285,793|
||||||
|||||1,702,652|
||||||
|||||1,988,445|
All of the charity’s activities are continuing.
There are no gains and losses other than those shown above. The notes on p42—51 form part of these financial statements.
39
Balance sheet As at 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **BALANCE SHEET YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
||**2025**|**2025**|2024|
|---|---|---|---|
||Notes|**£**|£|
|**CURRENT ASSETS**||||
|Debtors|9|**360,141**|446,437|
|Cash at bank and in hand||**1,857,367**|2,032,168|
|_Total current assets_||**2,217,508**|2,478,605|
|**Liabilities**||||
|Creditors: amounts falling due within one year|10|**(679,007)**|(490,160)|
|_Net current assets_||**1,538,501**|1,988,445|
|_Total assets less current liabilities_||**1,538,501**|1,988,445|
|||||
|**Total net assets**||**1,538,501**|1,988,445|
|**The funds of the charity:**||||
|Unrestricted funds|12|**1,298,990**|1,863,791|
|Restricted funds|12|**239,511**|124,654|
|**Total charity funds**||**1,538,501**|1,988,445|
The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the board and were signed on its behalf on 17 September 2025 by:
.........................................................
## Justin Albert Chair
The notes on p42 —51 form part of these financial statements.
40
Statement of cash flow Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
|**Cash flows from operating activities:**|Note:|**2024/25**|2023/24|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|£|
|**Net cash provided/(absorbed) by operating activities (see Table 1)**||**(237,005)**|416,572|
|**Net cash provided by investing activities (interest receivable)**||**62,204**|61,047|
|**Increase/(decrease) in cash**||**(174,801)**|477,619|
|**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**||||
|**Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April 2024 (see Table 2)**||**2,032,168**|1,554,549|
|**Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March 2025 (see Table 2)**||**1,857,367**|2,032,168|
|||**2024/25**|2023/24|
|||**£**|£|
|**Table 1: Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from**||||
|**operating activities**||||
|**Net income/(expenditure) for the year Adjustments for:**||**(449,944)**|285,793|
|(Increase)/decrease in debtors|9|**86,296**|44,522|
|Increase/(decrease) in creditors|10|**188,847**|147,304|
|Investment income (interest receivable)||**(62,204)**|(61,047)|
|**Net cash provided/(absorbed) by operating activities**||**(237,005)**|416,572|
|**Table 2: Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**||||
|||**2025**|2024|
|||**£**|£|
|Cash in hand||**1,857,367**|2,032,168|
|**Total cash and cash equivalents**||**1,857,367**|2,032,168|
41
www.rewildingbritain.org.uk
Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
## **1. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
## **a) Basis of accounting and statement of compliance**
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice for Charities (SORP 2019 (FRS 102)), and applicable accounting standards (FRS102).
## Rewilding Britain is a public benefit entity.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound.
After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. There are no material uncertainties about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern and as such, the going concern basis has been adopted for the preparation of these financial statements.
The principal accounting policies and estimation techniques are as follows:
## **b) Income**
Voluntary income and grants receivable are recognised when the amount can be accurately quantified, it becomes probable that the income will be received, and the charity becomes entitled to the income.
Investment income is accounted for on an accruals basis.
## **c) Fund accounting**
Restricted funds are those whose use is restricted by the conditions imposed by the donors.
Unrestricted funds are those that are available for the general advancement of Rewilding Britain’s objectives.
## **d) Allocation of costs**
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis when a liability is incurred. Overheads and support costs have been allocated to the cost headings in the Statement of Financial Activities as follows:
An estimate of staff time spent on each activity during the year, together with the individual’s salary cost, has been used to calculate the actual cost of staff time spent on each activity.
Support costs include the costs of premises, human resources, IT and governance. These have been allocated to our charitable activities and fundraising on the basis of the percentage usage estimated for each activity.
## **e) Charitable activities**
Charitable activity costs include all expenditure incurred in direct pursuit of Rewilding Britain’s charitable objectives.
## **f) Grant expenditure**
Grant expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis when the recipient has a valid expectation that they will receive the grant. This is typically when the grant offer is formally communicated in writing, and any conditions attaching to the grant that are within the control of the recipient have been met. Grant payable balances at the end of the year related to the grant expenditure accrued for the particular grant recipient, less any cash payments made to the respective recipient.
42
www.rewildingbritain.org.uk
Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **g) VAT**
Rewilding Britain is not VAT registered. Costs include VAT where applicable.
## **h) Pension schemes**
Rewilding Britain operates defined contribution pension schemes for all qualifying employees. The assets of the schemes are held in separate funds administered by independent providers.
## **i) Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost (or deemed cost) or valuation less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses. Individual items costing less than £2,500 are written off as incurred, while those costing this amount or more are capitalised as tangible fixed assets.
Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset on a systematic basis over its expected useful life as follows:
Computer equipment two years
## **j) Investments**
Fixed asset investments are stated at fair value. Realised and unrealised gains and losses on investments are dealt with in the Statement of Financial Activities.
## **l) Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term highly liquid investments. The trustees seek to use short-term deposits where possible to optimise the return on monies held at the bank and to manage cash flow.
## **m) Debtors**
Amounts owing to the charity at the balance sheet date are shown as debtors less any provisions for amounts that may prove uncollectable.
## **n) Key estimates and judgements**
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised.
The trustees do not consider that there are any critical estimates or areas of judgement that need to be brought to the attention of the readers of the financial statements.
## **o) Foreign exchange**
## **k) Creditors and provisions**
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party, and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably.
Transactions in currencies other than pounds sterling are recorded at the rates of exchange prevailing at the dates of the transactions. At each reporting end date, monetary assets and liabilities that are denominated in foreign currencies are retranslated at the rates prevailing on the reporting end date. Gains and losses arising on translation in the period are included in the Statement of Financial Activities.
43
www.rewildingbritain.org.uk
Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **2. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|Total|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**2024/25**|2023/24|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|Major personal donations|**186,513**|**63,843**|**250,356**|240,966|
|Corporate donations|**413,113**|**74,413**|**487,526**|557,860|
|Legacies|**62**|**-**|**62**|113,652|
|General donations|**289,369**|**44,613**|**333,982**|337,566|
||**889,057**|**182,869**|**1,071,926**|1,250,044|
## **3. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|Total|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Funds**|**Funds**|**2024/25**|2023/24|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|£|
|Grants from trusts and foundations|**928,800**|**340,287**|**1,269,087**|1,035,144|
|Other income|**1,333**|**-**|**1,333**|12,815|
||**930,133**|**340,287**|**1,270,420**|1,047,959|
44
www.rewildingbritain.org.uk
Impact Report 2024/25 Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
## **4. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE**
||**Staff costs**||**Other costs**||**Total**||Total|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||**2024/25**||2023/24|
||**£**||**£**||**£**||£|
|**Raising funds**||||||||
|Fundraising costs|**213,262**||**65,726**||**278,988**||189,291|
|Support costs|**31,691**||**36,939**||**68,630**||52,164|
|**Total raising funds**|**244,953**||**102,665**||**347,618**||241,455|
|**Charitable activities**||||||||
|Catalyse||||||||
|Activities undertaken directly|**256,186**||**694,874**||**951,060**||675,698|
|Support costs|**95,074**||**110,803**||**205,877**||156,491|
|**Total**|**351,260**||**805,677**||**1,156,937**||832,189|
|Influence||||||||
|Activities undertaken directly|**332,475**||**313,824**||**646,299**||415,959|
|Support costs|**95,074**||**110,804**||**205,878**||156,491|
|**Total**|**427,549**||**424,628**||**852,177**||572,450|
|Engage||||||||
|Activities undertaken directly|**151,692**||**140,193**||**291,885**||270,672|
|Support costs|**95,074**||**110,803**||**205,877**||156,491|
|**Total**|**246,766**||**250,996**||**497,762**||427,163|
|||||||||
|**Total charitable activities**|**1,025,575**||**1,481,301**||**2,506,876**||1,831,802|
|||||||||
|**Total expenditure**|**1,270,528**||**1,583,966**||**2,854,494**||2,073,257|
## **5. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION**
|**5. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2024/25**|2023/24|
||**No**|No|
|Average monthly headcount|**26**|22|
|Employee costs were as follows:|**£**|£|
|Salaries|**1,109,573**|878,675|
|National Insurance|**111,603**|81,873|
|Pension contributions|**49,352**|39,691|
||**1,270,528**|1,000,239|
45
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Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **5. EMPLOYEE INFORMATION (CONTINUED)**
Rewilding Britain has a Group Personal Pension Scheme with Aviva. Rewilding Britain contributes 4% of eligible employees’ salaries to their pension plans, with a matching option up to 6%. A total of 31 members of staff (2024: 23) were members of the Group Personal Pension Plan at the end of the year.
During the period the charity incurred staff settlement costs of £26,865 (2024: £nil).
Six employees received £60,000 or more in 2025 (2024: 2) and fell in the following banding:
||**2024/25**|2023/24|
|---|---|---|
||**No**|No|
|£60,000 —£69,999|**4**|2|
|£70,000—£79,999|**2**|-|
The Senior Leadership Team (see p33) are the key management personnel of the charity. The remuneration of key management personnel (including national Insurance contributions and employer’s pension contributions) was £424,735 (2023/24: £419,102) and was comprised of 5.4 FTE (2023/24: 5.6 FTE).
## **6. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES**
During the year the charity was controlled by the Trustees. None of the Trustees received any remuneration during the year (2023/24: none). Expenses reimbursed to Trustees during the year amounted to £2,078 (2023/24: £1,862).
## **7. AUDITOR’S REMUNERATION**
|**7. AUDITOR’S REMUNERATION**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|2024|
||**£**|£|
|Audit|**9,450**|9,000|
|Other services|**2,796**|3,588|
## **8. INVESTMENTS**
The wholly owned subsidiary, Rewilding Britain (CTC) Limited, is a company registered in England and Wales (Company number: 15396624). It was set up to operate the non-charitable activities of Rewilding Britain.
Rewilding Britain (CTC) Limited has only 100 shares of £1 in issue, which is held by Rewilding Britain.
46
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Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **9. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**
||**2025**|2024|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|Trade debtors|**7,246**|11,000|
|Prepayments and accrued income|**352,895**|435,437|
||**360,141**|446,437|
## **10. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR**
||**2025**|2024|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|£|
|Trade creditors|**184,779**|58,770|
|Grants and awards payable|**385,356**|310,506|
|Accruals|**67,206**|88,621|
|PAYE/NI payable|**33,167**|25,812|
|Other creditors|**8,499**|6,451|
||**679,007**|490,160|
Catalyse costs include the following grants made during the year, all to institutions. The figures disclosed are grants awarded with no allocated support costs.
||Grants
payable at
1 April 2024|Grants
awarded
in year|Grants drawn
down/paid|**Grants**
**payable at 31**
**March 2025**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Rewilding Innovation Fund grants|167,156|330,000|(241,799)|**255,357**|
|Rewilding Challenge Fund grants|143,350|100,000|(143,350)|**100,000**|
|Other strategic grants|-|118,071|(88,072)|**29,999**|
||310,506|548,071|(473,221)|**385,356**|
Rewilding Innovation Fund grants, up to £15,000 each, are designed to foster the ambition and scale of rewilding projects.
One Rewilding Challenge Fund grant is awarded each year totalling £100,000, with the recipient for the 2024/25 year being the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST). (2023/24: £100,000 grant awarded to Sussex Bay).
Other strategic grants are based upon identified needs or funders’ requests. During the year £70,000 was paid to support the Lynx to Scotland project. (2023/24: no material strategic grants).
47
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Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **11. ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS**
|As at 31 March 2025:|**Current**
**assets**||**Current**
**liabilities**||**Total Net**
**Assets**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**£**||**£**||**£**|
|Restricted funds (note 12)|**313,972**||**(74,461)**||**239,511**|
|Unrestricted funds|**1,903,536**||**(604,546)**||**1,298,990**|
|**At 31 March 2025**|**2,217,508**||**(679,007)**||**1,538,501**|
|As at 31 March 2024:|**Current**
**assets**||**Current**
**liabilities**||**Total Net**
**Assets**|
||£||£||£|
|Restricted funds (note 12)|295,869||(171,215)||124,654|
|Unrestricted funds|2,182,736||(318,945)||1,863,791|
|**At 31 March 2024**|2,478,605||(490,160)||1,988,445|
## **12. FUND RECONCILIATION**
## **UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**
|**UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Balance
at 1 April|Incoming
Resources|Resources
Expended|Transfers|**Balance**
**at 31 March**|
||2024||||**2025**|
||£|£|£|£|**£**|
|Unrestricted funds|1,092,603|1,881,394|(2,103,956)|-|**870,041**|
|Designated funds||||||
|Rewilding Innovation Fund|555,938||(242,934)|695|**313,699**|
|Rewilding Challenge Fund|215,250|-|(100,000)|-|**115,250**|
|**Total unrestricted funds**|1,863,791|1,881,394|(2,446,890)|695|**1,298,990**|
The Rewilding Innovation designated fund is to provide financial support to landowners looking to start rewilding projects on their land. The Rewilding Challenge designated fund is to provide recognition of projects on an annual basis.
48
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Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **12. FUND RECONCILIATION (CONTINUED)**
## **UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**
|**UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||Balance|Incoming|Resources||**Balance**|
||at 1 April|Resources|Expended|Transfers|**at 31 March**|
||2024||||**2025**|
||£|£|£|£|**£**|
|English projects|27,499|-|(13,540)|-|**13,959**|
|Scotland – A Rewilding
Nation|5,000|201,408|(131,251)|-|**75,157**|
|Rewilding Network|25,892|1,010|(26,902)|-|**-**|
|Talla Hartfell|1,900|-|(1,900)|-|**-**|
|Yearn Stane Project|1,900|-|(1,900)|-|**-**|
|Rewilding in Scotland|-|12,500|(3,272)|-|**9,228**|
|Marine rewilding|17,463|-|(17,463)|-|**-**|
|Rewilding Innovation Fund|45,000|42,808|(87,113)|(695)|**-**|
|Policy and advocacy|-|87,643|(20,246)|-|**67,397**|
|Key land areas|-|77,788|(4,018)|-|**73,770**|
|Sussex Bay|-|29,999|(29,999)|-|**-**|
|Lynx to Scotland|-|70,000|(70,000)|-|**-**|
|**Total unrestricted funds**|124,654|523,156|(407,604)|(695)|**239,511**|
The English projects fund relates to income received to support rewilding projects in England, including Wild Peak.
The Scotland – A Rewilding Nation fund was created to support the campaign to declare Scotland a Rewilding Nation.
The Rewilding Network fund consists of funding received to build an effective, sustainable network to provide guidance, support and access to expert rewilding knowledge.
The Talla Hartfell fund relates to income received to support the Talla Hartfell rewilding project in Scotland.
The Yearn Stane Project fund relates to funds received to facilitate a project in Scotland.
The Rewilding in Scotland fund is designed to support specific rewilding projects in Scotland.
The Marine rewilding fund was established to increase rewilding in the marine environment through policy and practice.
The Rewilding Innovation Fund is to support grants payable which are designed to foster the ambition and scale of rewilding projects.
The policy and advocacy fund supports such work done by the charity in the UK parliament and devolved nations.
The key land areas fund was established to provide funding towards the post of Key Landscapes Manager, alongside associated project delivery and communications costs to upscale rewilding with major landowners and land managers across Britain.
The Sussex Bay fund supported a community engagement project as part of the wider Sussex Bay initiative.
The Lynx to Scotland fund supported the Lynx to Scotland partnership, working to return lynx to the Scottish Highlands.
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www.rewildingbritain.org.uk
Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **13. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES— YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024**
## **UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**
|**UNRESTRICTED FUNDS**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Note|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**|**Restricted**
**Funds**|**2023/24**
**Total**|
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Income from**|||||
|Donations and legacies|2|**1,115,404**|**134,640**|**1,250,044**|
|Charitable activities|3|**880,215**|**167,744**|**1,047,959**|
|Investments||**61,047**|**-**|**61,047**|
|**Total**||**2,056,666**|**302,384**|**2,359,050**|
|**Expenditure on**|4||||
|Raising funds||**241,455**|**-**|**241,455**|
|Charitable activities||**1,416,199**|**415,603**|**1,831,802**|
|**Total**||**1,657,654**|**415,603**|**2,073,257**|
||||||
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||**399,012**|**(113,219)**|**285,793**|
||||||
|Transfer between funds|12|**(4,290)**|**4,290**|**-**|
||||||
|**Net movement in funds**||**394,722**|**(108,929)**|**285,793**|
|**Reconciliation of funds:**|||||
||||||
|Total funds brought forward||**1,469,069**|**233,583**|**1,702,652**|
||||||
|Total funds carried forward||**1,863,791**|**124,654**|**1,988,445**|
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www.rewildingbritain.org.uk
Notes to the financial statement Year ended 31 March 2025
Impact Report 2024/25
## **14. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**
The only related party transactions undertaken in the years to March 2024 and March 2025 are the reimbursed Trustee expenses and transactions outlined in note 6.
## **15. TAXATION**
As a charity, Rewilding Britain is exempt from income tax to the extent that income generated is applied to the organisation’s charitable purpose.
## **16. LEGAL FORM**
Rewilding Britain is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, registered in both England & Wales and in Scotland.
## **PROFESSIONAL ADVISORS**
**Auditors**
TC Group The Courtyard Shoreham Road Upper Beeding Steyning West Sussex BN44 3TN
## **Bankers (main)**
The Co-operative Bank plc. P.O. Box 101 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP
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www.rewildingbritain.org.uk
Impact Report 2024/25 Acknowledgements
## **PARTNERS AND FUNDERS**
Rewilding the future is something we can only do together. The work of Rewilding Britain is a collective effort powered by people who share our vision of a wilder future.
We thank all of you who are supporting our work and in particular our funding partners who have gifted to us in the past year, including:
A Trail to Remember Adventuro AG Communications AKO Foundation Antitwilight Axter Ltd Big Give Trust Bloom & Wild C A Redfern Charitable Trust Campbell & Syme Ltd Consano Earth Fund Dormywood Trust Embercombe Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Explore Worldwide Fourth Wave Wines Frederick Mulder Foundation Fudge Kitchen Genevieve Sweeney Limited Green Facilities Management Ltd Helvellyn Foundation Hotelplan Inghams Inntravel Jean and Roger Miller’s Charitable Trust Kairos Philanthropy Louise Mulgrew Lua Ltd Martin Charitable Trust
Meadowsweet Mer Montanaro Asset Management Oak Foundation Oliver & Beth Wright Foundation Pakatak Paypal Giving Fund Pine Marten Press Pirhuk Ltd Pogo Charge Red Fish Reed Foundation Republic of Music RiverStone International Santa’s Lapland RVT Group ShareGift South Square Trust sString Consultancy Ltd Sutsu Terraverde The Coniston Charitable Trust The Fidelis Foundation The Roger Raymond Charitable Trust The Toms Family Charitable Trust Turnstyle Designs UBS Optimus Foundation V2 Studios
And we are proud to play a key role in numerous strategic alliances and collaborations, including:
All members of the Rewilding Network 1% for the Planet Blue Earth Summit British Ecological Society Clean Water Coalition Dartmoor Nature Alliance European Rewilding Coalition
Global Rewilding Alliance Large Herbivore Working Group Ocean Alliance against Offshore Drilling Restore Nature Now Scottish Rewilding Alliance Wales Environment Link Wildlife and Countryside Link
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Impact Report 2024/25 Image credits
## **IMAGE CREDITS**
Cover Lynx © Piotr Krzeslak/Shutterstock Page 2 Restore Nature Now march © Alex Lester
- Page 4 Dolphin © grafxart8888/iStock
- Page 5 Wild Ennerdale © Alex Hyde
- Page 6 Dundreggan landscape © James Shooter Ecologist at Cefn Garthenor © Alex Hyde Visitors at Wild Ennerdale © Alex Hyde
- Page 7 Beavers © Benny337/Shutterstock
- Page 8 Wild Kielder © Sara King
- Page 10 Network Gathering © Ruby Batt
Page 11 Cattle at Cefn Garthenor © Alex Hyde Page 12 Scouts © Scouts Page 13 Community at Lamlash Bay © COAST Page 15 Elk © Belinda Greb/Wildscreen Page 16 Diver © Howard Wood/COAST Page 17 White-tailed eagle © Mark Williams/ Wildscreen
|Page|19|Restoration Forth © Maverick Photo|
|---|---|---|
|||Agency|
|Page|20|Knepp landscape © Knepp|
|||Site visit © Sussex Bay|
|Page|21|The Only Way is Rowing © Tina Wing|
|Page|22|Labour conference © Rewilding Britain|
|Page|23|Rewilding Britain visit to Knepp ©|
|||Katherine Gulika|
|Page|24|Rewilding Britain team photo © Katherine|
|||Gulika|
|Page|25|Restore Nature Now march © Alex Lester|
|Page|26|Ancient woodland © Alex Hyde|
|Page|28|Practical work at Cefn Garthenor|
|||© Alex Hyde|
|Page|29|Scottish Rewilding Alliance (SRA) event|
|||© Colin Hattersley/SRA|
|Page|30|Worker inspecting wood ant nest|
|||© Alex Hyde|
|Page|34|White stork © Katherine Gulika|
|Page|36|Visitors at Wild Tolworth © Alex Hyde|
|Page|38|Diver and seal © Howard Wood/COAST|
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## **THINK BIG. ACT WILD JOIN THE REWILDING MOVEMENT**
Rewilding has been widely identified as a vital way to tackle global biodiversity loss and the climate crisis. Rewilding Britain has been at the forefront of this movement since 2015, and is today one of its most experienced and active participants. We remain the only organisation dedicated exclusively to rewilding across Britain. By supporting or partnering with Rewilding Britain, you will build a future filled with hope for nature, people and planet.
## **IF YOU’RE A COMPANY, TRUST, FOUNDATION OR PHILANTHROPIST**
By choosing to support Rewilding Britain you can demonstrate your belief in a future in which natural climate solutions are prioritised through championing rewilding. We offer bespoke partnerships to provide the investment opportunities and expertise needed for the large-scale transformation of our land and seas through rewilding.
## **IF YOU WISH TO LEAVE A GIFT IN YOUR WILL**
Many people who share our vision of a wilder future for people and nature choose to leave a gift in their will, after putting family and friends first. By joining them you’ll make bringing nature back to life and restoring natural living systems part of your legacy. We can give you all the support you need if you’re thinking about supporting us in this special way.
## **IF YOU CAN SUPPORT THE CAUSE**
Collaborating with others and catalysing networks of rewilders is integral to our work. We welcome support from all kinds of initiatives and experts, including research and technical institutions, rewilding projects, community-based organisations, academics and scientists, artists and entrepreneurs.
We are grateful for all financial and non-financial support. Please get in touch if you can help us build a better and wilder future for us all.
## **FIND OUT MORE rewildingbritain.org.uk/why-rewilding-britain**
Rewilding Britain is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England & Wales (no. 1159373), and Scotland (no. SCO45685). Registered office: The Courtyard, Shoreham Road, Upper Beeding, Steyning, West Sussex BN44 3TN
September 2025 © Rewilding Britain
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