Macmillan Cancer Support’s income increased by almost £23m last year due to a record single legacy donation, new figures show.
The cancer charity’s income increased to a record high of £268.4m in the year to the end of December 2025, up from £245.5m in the previous 12 months, according to its latest accounts.
Macmillan received the £22.4m individual gift from George Gerald Kingsland Smith “to express his appreciation for the kindness and support he saw his mother receive from Macmillan nurses in the late 1990s”, the charity’s accounts say.
The charity’s legacy income rose to £129.3m in 2025, compared with the £106.1m it recorded in 2024.
Macmillan received 23 gifts worth more than £500,000 totalling £42.2m in 2025, compared with an average of £14.2m over the past five years, the accounts say.
Fundraising income at Macmillan was £265.4m in 2025, up from the £239.7m recorded in 2024.
The accounts say: “2025 saw a far better than planned fundraising income result, due to some areas of one-off income, as well as successful growth across our fundraising portfolio.
“Macmillan continues to operate in a challenging external environment with rising costs, increased demand for services, and a difficult funding landscape.
“With 99 per cent of our income coming from public fundraising activities, it is thanks to the incredible generosity and commitment of our supporters that we generated a total fundraised income of £265.4m, contributing to our overall income total of £268.4m.”
Macmillan’s total costs decreased to £175.1m in 2025 compared with the £225.9m the charity recorded in 2024.
The charity had an in-year charitable costs figure of £104.2m, down from the £150.4m recorded in 2024.
Macmillan’s charitable cash paid out figure was £145.2m in 2025, down from £182.8m in the previous 12 months.
“Our 2025 charitable expenditure is lower than planned, reflecting that it took longer to accelerate spend in the new strategic areas, together with a change in the way we commit charitable funds under the new strategy,” the accounts say.
“Despite the reduction in charitable expenditure, charitable cash paid out in 2025 remained high at £145.2m as we continued to make payments on commitments from previous years.”
Macmillan’s general reserves totalled £117.2m in 2025, an increase of £96.2m from 2024, while total reserves were £133.9m up from £39.3m previously.
The charity’s average staff count decreased to 1,364 employees in 2025 compared with the 1,697 figure recorded in 2024.
Total staff costs at Macmillan decreased to £76.4m, down from the £100m figure in 2024, while wages and salary costs dropped to £59.7, from £71.9m.
Macmillan made 156 redundancies as part of a cost-saving restructuring in 2024.
The charity’s redundancy and termination costs were £374,000 in 2025 compared with £7.6m recorded in 2024.
“Following our organisational restructure in 2024, we looked closely at how we work to ensure we continue to deliver the greatest possible impact for people living with cancer while operating with fewer resources,” the accounts say.
“As part of this, we created a comprehensive map of the processes that underpin how Macmillan operates.
“This work is helping us to identify where processes can be simplified, where colleagues spend unnecessary time navigating complexity, and where partners experience friction when working with us.
“In 2026, we will continue to implement improvements in the areas that matter most for impact and collaboration, including streamlining our grant processes so that partners can access funding and support more easily.”