The number of legacy bequests to charity has increased by 7 per cent since last year, research from Legacy Futures has found.

New figures from the legacy giving consultancy’s Legacy Monitor shows that the number of Legacy bequests has risen by 7 per cent since last year, reaching 62,100 bequests in the year to the end of June. 

The legacy income reported by the consortium of 81 charities monitored by the benchmarking programme, which account for nearly half of the UK charity legacy market, was £1.84bn in 2023/24 – up by slightly more than 1 per cent on the previous year.

The consultancy said this growth was primarily driven by continuing improvements in the probate process at HM Courts and Tribunals Service, which is processing more grants than applications and is reducing a longstanding backlog of cases.

The average gift value for residual gifts has dropped by 2.5 per cent since last year, falling to £64,400, which Legacy Futures said was due to the cooling housing market.

The research also found that fixed monetary gift values had remained static, as they had done for the past year.

Ashley Rowthorn, chief executive of Legacy Futures, said: “Looking ahead, the increase in bequests from probate and a more optimistic outlook on house prices lead us to expect the legacy market to remain resilient, with modest growth through the rest of 2024.

“This is encouraging news for the charity sector, which has faced significant challenges in recent years due to the cost-of-living crisis and delays in probate. The stability we’re seeing in the legacy giving forecast enables charities to plan more confidently for the future, making decisions and laying out strategies with a degree of insight into how legacies are predicted to perform."

The growth in legacy bequests continues an ongoing trend – in June, Legacy Futures said its benchmarking research had found that legacy bequests had reached a “record high” as the probate backlog declined.

The research comes after the membership body the Institute of Legacy Management announced the upcoming launch of its first Love Your Legacy Manager campaign, which urges charity chief executives and senior managers to improve their relationships with their legacy managers.