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Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd

97 /100

Clarity score

Exceptional

Charity accounts, evidence & financial rating

97/100 Clarity Score · 5 stars · Charity Commission filings · How we score

Register checked 4 October 2026 · latest accounts 2025

Official regulator data
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Quick answer

Is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd a good charity?

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd scores 97/100 (5 stars, Exceptional) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, calculated from its UK regulator filings. Its latest accounts year is 2025 (£655k total income, 85% cause spend, 3-yr avg). This reflects financial transparency and stewardship on paper — not the real-world impact of its programmes. See the full breakdown.

Income

£655k

Accounts 2025-12-31

Spending

£827k

Accounts 2025-12-31

Charitable activities

85%

3-yr avg · share of spending

Accounts filing

On time

Charity Commission

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Plymouth · PL26 7JF Reg 1093691 Registered charity Official website Charity Commission register

What does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd do?

A centre of excellence in Cornwall providing a range of expert care,support and therapies for those living with Multiple Sclerosis and other neurological conditions;and for their families and their friends

Activities reported by the charity on the official register · extract . This is separate from the accounts data used for its rating.

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How much does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd raise and spend?

Accounts period 2025-01-01 to 2025-12-31 · Source: Charity Commission filings

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd revenue and expenses for 2025
Category Amount % of spend
Total income £655k —
Total expenditure £827k —
Charitable activities £666k 80%
Fundraising £162k 20%
Reported governance £20k 2%

Governance can already be allocated within other expenditure categories. It is not a separate measure of all administration costs; do not add these rows without checking the accounts notes.

What changed in Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd’s latest accounts?

Reported totals for 2025 compared with 2024. Changes can reflect the accounting period, restricted grants or restructuring as well as the charity’s work.

Income change
−41.2%
£1.1m → £655k
Spending change
+17.0%
£707k → £827k
Charitable activities share
−7.1 pp
88% → 80% · percentage points

These are annual figures. The Clarity Score may use averages across several disclosed years. Source: official accounts.

80%On charitable activities

Where does the money go?

Latest accounts (2025) · £827k spent

  • Charitable activities80%
  • Fundraising20%

Charities usually allocate governance costs across their other spending categories, and these reported figures add up to more than total spending, so governance is not drawn as a separate slice. The accounts table shows it separately.

From the annual return

What does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd pay its staff, and where does its money come from?

Answers Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd gave in its annual return to the Charity Commission for the year ending 31 December 2025, plus its register entry. These are the charity's own disclosures, not part of the Clarity Score.

How much are Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's highest-paid staff paid?

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports no employees paid more than £60,000.

The register reports headcounts in salary bands, not names. The chief executive's pay is normally disclosed in the remuneration note of the trustees' annual report.

Where does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's money come from?

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd reported £655k total income for the year ending 31 December 2025. The largest sources were trading and fundraising events £236k (36%), donations and legacies £216k (33%), charitable activities £182k (28%). Legacies (gifts in wills) contributed £74k.

  • Trading and fundraising events £236k · 36%
  • Donations and legacies £216k · 33%
  • Charitable activities (fees and contracts) £182k · 28%
  • Investments £17k · 3%
  • Other income £3,852 · 1%

Cash at year end: £508k · unrestricted funds: £3.1m · restricted funds: £171k. Restricted funds can only be spent on purposes set by the donor.

Can I claim Gift Aid, and are the trustees paid?

The register records Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration. Work out your Gift Aid

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

Registration details

Registered as a charity
Company number
04460611 (Companies House)
Also known as
The Merlin Project
Previous names on the register
The Cornwall Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre LTD; Merlin Ms Centre LTD
Where it says it operates
Cornwall

Source: Charity Commission register and annual return data, Open Government Licence v3.0. A blank answer in the return is shown as not reported, never as “no”.

How have Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's finances changed over five years?

Income fell 13% from £749k in 2021 to £655k in 2025; spending was £827k in 2025.

£0 £500k £1.0m £1.5m £2.0m 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 Income 2021: £749k Spending 2021: £456k Cause spend 2021: £398k Income 2022: £685k Spending 2022: £578k Cause spend 2022: £504k Income 2023: £531k Spending 2023: £677k Cause spend 2023: £598k Income 2024: £1.1m Spending 2024: £707k Cause spend 2024: £619k Income 2025: £655k Spending 2025: £827k Cause spend 2025: £666k
  • Income
  • Spending
  • Cause spend
Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd income and spending by accounts year
Year Income Spending Charitable activities
2025 £655k £827k £666k
2024 £1.1m £707k £619k
2023 £531k £677k £598k
2022 £685k £578k £504k
2021 £749k £456k £398k

Cause spend is plotted only when the filing discloses a split · Source: Charity Commission filings

Financial context

How do its finances compare with similar charities?

Compare Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd with 184 other disability charities in our detailed dataset: the same regulator, £500k–£1m income band and accounts ending in 2025. Each period covers 50–54 weeks. These are reference points, not targets or a ranking of impact.

Swipe across the table to see the peer median and coverage.

Latest annual figures, accounts ending 2025-12-31. Peer medians exclude this charity; the median is the middle value.
MeasureThis charityPeer medianPeer coverage
Annual income £655k £700k 184 of 184
Annual spending £827k £708k 184 of 184
Charitable activities share 80.5% 94.6% 172 of 184

The annual spending share can differ from the multi-year average shown elsewhere. Missing disclosures are excluded, never counted as zero. We show a median only with at least ten peer disclosures. Different year-end months, restricted funding and delivery models can still limit comparisons.

How does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd compare?

The share of each group scoring at or below Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd, including tied scores. A group matched on cause, income band and accounts year appears when at least ten records qualify. Broader groups below may mix reporting periods and operating models. Groups include this charity; percentiles measure our financial rating, not impact.

Same cause, income band and accounts year (2025) 92ndpercentile

Scores at or above 92% of 190 charities with the same primary cause, income band and latest accounts year · 97/100 vs 82 peer average.

Income band (£500k–£1m) 94thpercentile

Scores at or above 94% of 2,127 charities in its income band · 97/100 vs 78 peer average.

Disability charities 96thpercentile

Scores at or above 96% of 702 charities in this cause · 97/100 vs 76 peer average.

Where Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd sits

The causes this charity is classified under, and other charities working nearby.

Evidence and interpretation

What the evidence says about Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd

In 2025, reported income was £654,965 and expenditure was £827,107. Expenditure exceeded income by £172,142. This annual balance is not the charity’s available cash or unrestricted reserves.

More financial context

Income fell 41.2% compared with 2024. Read the accounts notes for restricted grants, legacies and one-off receipts before treating the movement as a trend.

Calculated from our dated accounts dataset, refreshed 2026-09-06. This is not an audit or a manual review of every filing. Original register and accounts · How calculations work.

Find the right support

Who it supports and how to access its work

Reported beneficiaries: Children/young People; People With Disabilities.

How it works: Provides Human Resources; Provides Buildings/facilities/open Space; Provides Services; Provides Advocacy/advice/information; Other Charitable Activities.

Use the official contact details to check eligibility, referrals, waiting lists and current service coverage. Broad register classifications and a contact address do not confirm that a particular service is available to you.

Explore source-checked support routes

Classifications supplied to the register; extract 2026-10-04. Register contact and activity details · Website listed for this charity

Look beyond the score

Results and impact evidence

We have not added a source-checked programme outcome for this charity. That is a gap in this profile, not evidence that the charity has no impact. Its annual report may contain results that have not been assessed here.

Reported grants to institutions: £0 (2025-12-31). This is spending reported in the annual return, not a measure of beneficiary outcomes or an open grant opportunity. It may already be included in charitable expenditure. Check the source accounts.

What these results can tell you

Counts of services delivered describe activity. They do not by themselves establish lasting change, what would have happened without the programme, or cost-effectiveness. Results with different definitions, populations or years should not be ranked against each other.

How to judge charity impact evidence

What is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's Beacon report?

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

Accountability & Transparency

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

100/100

Accountability & Transparency metrics for Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd
Metric Score Value
Filing history (5 years)

No recorded lateness in available history = 15 pts · one late filing = 5 pts · two or more or unknown status = 0 pts. Missing data is not proof of late filing.

100% 15/15 pts
Trustee oversight

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

100% 8 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.

100/100

Financial Health metrics for Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd
Metric Score Value
Reserves (months of expenditure)

3–24 months = full marks, tapering on both sides · 0 months or 4+ years = 0 pts. Reserves are not necessarily cash; needs vary by operating model.

100% 5 months · 15/15 pts
Income stability / growth

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

100% 10/10 pts · 3-year average
Liabilities to assets

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

100% 1% · 5/5 pts

Financial Efficiency

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

85/100

Financial Efficiency metrics for Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd
Metric Score Value
Program expense ratio

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

90% 85% · 9/10 pts (3-year average)
Fundraising efficiency

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

80% 16p per £1 income · 8/10 pts (3-year average, disclosed years)

Community Support

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

100/100

Community Support metrics for Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd
Metric Score Value
Volunteer-to-staff ratio

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

100% 60 volunteers / 20 staff · 10/10 pts

How we calculate beacon scores →

What trust indicators does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd have?

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

  • Accounts filed on time

    up to date · last filing

  • Trustee board size (3–12)

    8 trustees on the Charity Commission register

  • Workforce on register

    20 employees · 60 volunteers (3:1 volunteer-to-staff)

Fundraising Regulator

Status not yet checked

Separate from our financial scores. Registration records a commitment to the Code of Fundraising Practice; it does not certify every fundraising activity.

Check Fundraising Regulator →

Official register

Reg 1093691

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

View on Charity Commission →

Trustees & officers

  • Dr Emma Campbell since 2014
  • Michael James since 2013
  • Tom Sneddon Chair · since 2019
  • Michael Allan Ward since 2020
  • Tracey Phillips since 2024
  • Rachel Foster since 2024
  • Steven Mark Hicks since 2024
  • Katie Harland since 2025

How reliable is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's data?

Source
Charity Commission (England & Wales)
Accounts year
2025
Filing date
Data refreshed

High confidence — complete filing data

Scores reflect the accounts in our dated data extract. The live register may contain newer filings. Clarity Score measures how clearly the charity accounts for money in those filings — not programme impact.

Check the current register entry · Report a data correction

Financial source extract: 2026-09-06. Organisation identifier: 3992596. Method version: 1.1. View method changes.

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 .

Your donation decision

What should you check before donating to Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd?

  1. 1. Match the name and charity number

    Check 1093691 on the official register. A real charity number alone does not prove that a fundraiser or appeal is authentic.

    Verify the registration →
  2. 2. Read the accounts in context

    Our latest accounts data covers 2025. Compare the accounts period, spending and reserves. An administration cost ratio alone cannot tell you how effective a charity is.

    Explore the financial evidence →
  3. 3. Look for evidence of results

    Read the trustees’ annual report for activities, outcomes and limitations. The Clarity Score measures public reporting; it does not establish the impact of a donation.

    How to read charity accounts →
  4. 4. Compare charities serving your cause

    Compare up to four charities, check the dates behind their figures, and decide which work you want to support. Complete your donation through a verified charity channel.

    Start a comparison with Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd →
How we score charities +

The Clarity Score is a 100-point rating from UK regulator filings (Charity Commission for England and Wales, OSCR and CCNI). 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 use the same bands as the labels: 90–100 → 5★ Exceptional; 75–89 → 4★ Good; 60–74 → 3★ Needs improvement; 1–59 → 2★ Poor; 0 → not rated.

How can you share Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's rating?

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How do you add Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's rating to your site?

Free to use — a lightweight HTML badge or an embeddable score widget, each linking back to this independent profile and our methodology.

What red flags does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd have?

Frequently asked questions

Common questions about Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's rating, finances, and Charity Commission status.

Is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd a good charity? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd scores 97 out of 100 (5 stars — Exceptional) on CharityCompare's Clarity Score, our independent read of its UK regulator filings. Around 85% of its spending goes to charitable activities (3-yr avg) and its accounts are up to date. 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 Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd a legitimate charity? +

The register data used for this profile lists Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd as a registered charity (charity number 1093691). Verify it on the official register: https://register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/charity-details/?regId=1093691&subId=0. Check the current entry and the identity of anyone requesting money. Registration does not verify a particular appeal; Clarity Score summarises filing transparency, not programme impact.

What is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's charity number? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's charity number is 1093691. Check that number on the official register (Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI) or this CharityCompare profile before you donate — scammers sometimes reuse real numbers on fake appeals.

What is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's charity rating? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd scores 97 out of 100 on CharityCompare (5 stars — Exceptional). The Clarity Score (method v1.1) sums four pillars from UK regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 pts), Financial Health (30), Financial Efficiency (20), and Community Support (10). Stars use the same bands as those labels — 90+ is 5★ Exceptional. It is not an impact ranking.

Does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd have reviews and complaints? +

CharityCompare does not host public user reviews for Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd. Instead you get a filing-based Clarity Score, cause spend, reserves and red flags such as late accounts (one red flag on this profile: sharp income decline). For formal complaints about a charity, contact the Charity Commission, OSCR, CCNI or the Fundraising Regulator as appropriate.

How much of my donation reaches Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, 85% of Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd'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 Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's overheads? +

Across the recent disclosed accounts used for this score, fundraising costs were about 15% of total expenditure and fundraising plus separately reported governance figures amount to about 17% of expenditure (2023–2025, disclosed years); these categories can overlap, so this is not a distinct total of all administration costs at Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd. Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports no employees paid more than £60,000. Individual salaries, including the chief executive's, are disclosed in the trustees' annual report rather than on the register.

How much income does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd receive? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd reported £655k total income in its 2025 accounts, based on UK regulator filings. Five-year trend: stable.

Are Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's accounts up to date? +

Filing status: up to date (last filing 2026-07-20). CharityCompare flags late or missing accounts separately from the financial score.

Where is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd based? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's registered contact address is in Plymouth (PL26 7JF). It tells the regulator it operates in Cornwall, with a focus on disability.

How much is Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's chief executive paid? +

The Charity Commission register does not name individual salaries. Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports no employees paid more than £60,000. Charities normally disclose the chief executive's pay, or the pay of their highest-paid staff, in the remuneration note of the trustees' annual report and accounts.

Where does Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's money come from? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd reported £655k total income for the year ending 31 December 2025. The largest sources were trading and fundraising events £236k (36%), donations and legacies £216k (33%), charitable activities £182k (28%). Legacies (gifts in wills) contributed £74k.

Can I claim Gift Aid on a donation to Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd? +

The register records Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd as registered with HMRC for Gift Aid, so a UK taxpayer can usually add 25p to every £1 they give by making a Gift Aid declaration.

Are Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's trustees paid? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's annual return for the year ending 31 December 2025 reports that no trustee received remuneration or other benefits from the charity.

What was Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd previously called? +

The register lists these previous names for Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd: The Cornwall Multiple Sclerosis Therapy Centre LTD; Merlin Ms Centre LTD.

When was Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd registered as a charity? +

Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd was entered on the register on 4 September 2002. It is also a company registered at Companies House (company number 04460611).

How does CharityCompare score Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd? +

We calculate a Clarity Score of 0–100 from four pillars in Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's regulator filings: Accountability & Transparency (40 points — filing history, trustees, policies), Financial Health (30 — reserves, income trend, debt), Financial Efficiency (20 — cause spend and fundraising cost, on a graduated scale) and Community Support (10 — volunteer-to-staff ratio). An open statutory inquiry scores 0. The score measures reporting on paper, not programme impact. 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 6 September 2026 from the latest UK regulator data available to CharityCompare, and Merlin Neuro Therapy Centre Ltd's most recent accounts cover 2025. Scores and figures refresh whenever we re-ingest the register, so the page reflects our latest data pull rather than a one-off review.