Blind Veterans UK’s legacy income increased by more than £4m due to three large donations last year, latest accounts show.

The veterans’ sight loss charity received a trio of large legacies worth a total of £4m in the year to the end of March 2024, accounts show.

The charity said the legacies were worth £2.5m, £800,000 and £700,000.

The organisation’s voluntary income increased to £20.8m in 2023/24 from £16.6m in 2022/23 because of the rise in legacy donations, which rose from £10.5m in 2022/23 to £14.7m last year. 

But Blind Veterans UK’s overall income decreased from £38m in 2022/23 to £29.8m last year.

“The primary reason for this decline is that the previous reported income includes higher gains on disposal of properties, particularly the sale of our head office in London in 2022/23,” the charity said. “Other forms of income remain consistent.”

The charity’s employee numbers fell to 425 in 2023/24 from 481 the previous year, mainly due to a transition and redesign of the organisation, the accounts said.

“The main reason for the fall in staff numbers was this covered the period of transitioning from our previous training and rehabilitation centre in Brighton to our new centre in Rustington,” the charity said.

“This new centre is smaller and more suited to our needs today.

“This meant a reduction in total staff required by the charity.”

Blind Veterans UK also spent £1.5m on redundancies and settlements, the accounts show.

The charity said it made 95 redundancies during this period.