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The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust

Charity rating & review

53/100 Clarity Score · 3 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Verified · Charity Commission data
53 /100

Clarity score

Poor

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Quick answer

Is The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust a good charity?

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust scores 53/100 (3 stars, Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its Charity Commission filings. Its latest accounts year is 2024 (£12m total income, 68% of spending on charitable activities). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Salisbury · UK-wide · SP6 1EF Reg 1112023 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

Mission

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust is a registered charity (no. 1112023) working in animals across the United Kingdom. Its latest Charity Commission filing directs 68% of spending to charitable activities, holding roughly 2 months of reserves, though its recent accounts were filed late. Reported income has been growing (≈11% a year). CharityCompare's Clarity Score rates the organisation only from public Charity Commission accounts — accountability, financial health, efficiency and community support — not the quality or impact of its programmes.

In short: THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST scores 53 out of 100 (3 stars). 68% average program spend (3-year average). Review the pillar breakdown below.

Overview

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust has a Clarity Score of 53 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars, Poor). Charity Commission registration number 1112023. Status: Registered. Primary cause area: Animals. Latest accounts year 2024: total income £12m, with 68% of expenditure on charitable activities. Accounts filing: late. Reserves: approximately 2 months of operating costs. 3 filing concern(s) noted on this profile. Scores are independent and based on official filings — not a donation recommendation.

Data from Charity Commission register, last updated .

Overall score

53/100

3★ · Poor

Cause spend

68%

3-yr avg · charitable activities

Accountability

63/100

Finance beacon

Income

£12m

Latest year 2024

Reserves

2 mo

Months of running costs

Accounts filing

Late

Check register

£3.3 raised per £1 fundraising (3-yr avg) · 33% overhead · Website on register · Confidence: medium

How THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST compares

Clarity Score percentile against similar UK charities — the share of peers THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST scores higher than.

Income band (£10m+)4thpercentile

Scores higher than 4% of 943 charities in its income band · 53/100 vs 77 peer average (marker).

Animals charities6thpercentile

Scores higher than 6% of 370 charities in this cause · 53/100 vs 78 peer average (marker).

Data & confidence

Source
Charity Commission (E&W)
Accounts year
2024
Filing date
Profile reviewed

Medium confidence — some data missing or late

Scores reflect the latest annual accounts on the register. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons require information beyond public filings.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Sources: Charity Commission for England and Wales, Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and Charity Commission for Northern Ireland. Open Government Licence v3.0 .

Beacon report

Detailed accountability and finance metrics from Charity Commission filings — structured for transparency in our four-beacon report.

Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

63/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST
Metric Score Value
Filing history (5 years)

100% on-time over five years = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more = 0 pts.

0% 0/15 pts
Trustee oversight

Three or more trustees on the register = 15 pts, scaled down for fewer (governance red flag below three).

100% 20 trustees · 15/15 pts
Declared policies

Safeguarding (4) · conflict of interest (3) · volunteer management (3) — from Charity Commission annual return.

100% 10/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

67/100

Financial Health metrics for THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST
Metric Score Value
Reserves (months of cash)

3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years (hoarding) = 0 pts.

67% 2 months · 10/15 pts
Income stability / growth

+20% or more over the window = 10 pts · flat = 5 pts · −20% or worse = 0 pts, scaled between.

60% 6/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets

0% liabilities-to-assets = 5 pts, scaling down to 0 pts at 60%+ debt.

80% 13% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

40/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

90%+ on charitable activities = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 50% or below.

50% 68% · 5/10 pts (3-year average)
Fundraising efficiency

≤10p to raise £1 = full marks, scaling down to 0 pts at 40p or above (fundraising cost ÷ income).

30% 31p per £1 income · 3/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

0/100

Community Support metrics for THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

Volunteers at 2x staff or more = full marks · no volunteers = 0 pts, scaled between.

0% Not reported · 0/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

Clarity Score

53/100 total · Poor · 3 of 5 stars

Four pillars (40 + 30 + 20 + 10 points) from Charity Commission filings — see methodology for full weightings.

63/100
Accountability & Transparency
67/100
Financial Health
40/100
Financial Efficiency
0/100
Community Support

Accountability & Transparency

Baseline trust from filing discipline, board oversight, and declared governance policies.

63/100

Filing history (5 years)0/15 pts
Trustee oversight20 trustees · 15/15 pts
Declared policies10/10 pts

Financial Health

Stability and solvency — reserves, revenue trend, and debt from Charity Commission accounts.

67/100

Reserves (months of cash)2 months · 10/15 pts
Income stability / growth6/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets13% · 4/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

How efficiently funds reach the cause — program spend and fundraising cost ratios.

40/100

Program expense ratio68% · 5/10 pts (3-year average)
Fundraising efficiency31p per £1 income · 3/10 pts (3-year average)

Community Support

Grassroots backing from Charity Commission workforce data — volunteers vs paid staff.

0/100

Volunteer-to-staff ratioNot reported · 0/10 pts

Revenue & expenses

Latest filed year 2024 · Source: Charity Commission annual accounts

THE GAME AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION TRUST revenue and expenses for 2024
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £12m
Total expenditure £12m
Charitable activities £8.1m 69%
Fundraising £3.7m 31%
Governance & admin £162k 1%
69%On charitable activities

Where the money goes

Latest accounts (2024) · £12m spent

  • Charitable activities69%
  • Fundraising31%
  • Governance1%

Trust indicators

Pulled from the Charity Commission register — filing behaviour, board size, and workforce where reported.

  • Accounts filed on time

    Filing status: late

  • Trustee board size (3–12)

    20 trustees on the Charity Commission register

Fundraising Regulator

Status not yet checked

Separate from our financial scores — shows whether the charity follows the Code of Fundraising Practice.

Check Fundraising Regulator →

Official register

Reg 1112023

Full trustee list, accounts, and regulatory history on the Charity Commission.

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • DAVID MAYHEW CBE since 2012
  • The Rt Hom James Paice MP since 2013
  • John Shields since 2013
  • Stephen Peter Morant since 2016
  • STEPHEN JOHN OAKLEY CATLIN since 2018
  • Jeremy Paul Godsmark Finnis since 2018
  • Jeremy Simon Young since 2020
  • Juliet Elizabeth Gibbs since 2021
  • Preben Prebensen since 2021
  • Robert Goodwill since 2021
  • Bernard Taylor CBE DL since 2021
  • Peter Misselbrook since 2021
How we score charities +

The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK Charity Commission data. Four pillars — Accountability & Transparency (40), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10) — each scored on a continuous scale, not pass/fail cutoffs. A statutory inquiry sets the score to 0 automatically.

Full methodology →

Accountability & Transparency

Scored from filings

40 points — filing history (15), trustee oversight (15, scaling up to a board of three or more), declared policies (10).

Financial Health

Scored from filings

30 points — reserves (15, full marks 3–24 months, tapering on both sides), income stability (10), liabilities to assets (5, scaling down as debt rises).

Financial Efficiency

Scored from filings

20 points — program expense ratio and fundraising cost, each on a graduated scale (not a single cutoff). Kept at 20% of the total: financial-ratio scoring alone is not a reliable effectiveness signal (see "why not just an overhead ratio?" below).

Community Support

Scored from filings

10 points — volunteer-to-staff ratio from Charity Commission workforce data, scaling continuously up to a 2:1 ratio.

Overall score

Sum of all pillar points. Display stars map the 0–100 score onto a familiar 5★ scale (≈20 points per star): 90–100 → 5★, 70–89 → 4★, 50–69 → 3★, 30–49 → 2★, 1–29 → 1★.

Five-year trends

£0k £3000k £6000k £9000k £12000k 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Income 2020: £7,729k Spending 2020: £7,124k Cause spend 2020: £5,132k Income 2021: £9,345k Spending 2021: £7,902k Cause spend 2021: £5,489k Income 2022: £11,129k Spending 2022: £9,630k Cause spend 2022: £6,638k Income 2023: £11,003k Spending 2023: £11,064k Cause spend 2023: £7,384k Income 2024: £11,597k Spending 2024: £11,795k Cause spend 2024: £8,142k
  • Income
  • Spending
  • Cause spend

Values in £ thousands · Cause spend plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission accounts

Key facts

Overall score
53/100 (3★)
Income
£12m
Cause spend
68% of expenditure
Reg number
1112023
Scope
UK-wide
Reserves
2 months
Trustees
20
Accounts year
2024
Filing
late

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Red flags

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust a good charity? +

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust scores 53 out of 100 (3 stars — Poor) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its Charity Commission filings. Around 68% of its spending goes to charitable activities and its accounts are late. That reflects how transparent and financially healthy it looks on paper — it does not measure the real-world impact of its work, so treat it as one factor alongside the cause you care about. CharityCompare never tells you where to donate.

Is The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust a legitimate charity? +

Yes — The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales under registration number 1112023. You can verify the entry on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/1112023

What is The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's charity rating? +

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust scores 53 out of 100 on CharityCompare (3 stars — Poor). The Clarity Score V1 sums four pillars from Charity Commission filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10).

How much of my donation reaches The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust? +

According to its 2024 Charity Commission filing, 68% of The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's total spending went to charitable activities (3-yr avg across disclosed years). That is the closest official figure to "how much of your donation reaches the cause" — it is an average across all spending in the filing, not a pound-by-pound breakdown of an individual gift.

What are The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's overheads? +

According to its 2024 Charity Commission filing, fundraising costs were about 32% of total expenditure and combined overheads (fundraising plus governance) were about 33% of total expenditure at The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust. The filings CharityCompare uses do not publish CEO or senior-staff pay, so we cannot say what The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's chief executive is paid — where disclosure rules apply, senior pay appears in the trustees' annual report on the Charity Commission register.

How much income does The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust receive? +

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust reported £12m total income in its 2024 accounts, based on Charity Commission filings. Five-year trend: growing.

Are The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's accounts up to date? +

Filing status: late (last filing 2026-06-24). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust based? +

The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust is listed at Salisbury · UK-wide · SP6 1EF and operates UK-wide, focused on animals.

How does CharityCompare score The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust? +

We analyse Charity Commission annual accounts using three-year averages for program expense, fundraising efficiency, and overhead (disclosed years only); working capital from reserves vs average expenditure; liabilities-to-assets from the latest balance sheet when available. Impact, leadership, and culture beacons are not yet assessed from public data alone. See our methodology for weights and thresholds. CharityCompare is free for donors, takes no commission on donations, and scores cannot be bought.

How often is this page updated? +

This profile was last updated on 17 July 2026 from the latest Charity Commission data available to CharityCompare, and The Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust's most recent accounts cover 2024. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.