Brain Tumour Research

What Brain Tumour Research does

Brain Tumour Research is a UK-registered charity (founded 2008 and launched at the House of Commons in 2009, successor to The Diana Ford Trust registered in 2002) whose sole purpose is to fund sustainable research into brain tumours and campaign for increased national research investment. It operates a network of six Centres of Excellence at UK universities and four funded initiatives, including BRAIN UK (a national virtual brain tissue bank at the University of Southampton cataloguing over 120,000 tumour tissue samples), the Brain Tumour Research Novel Therapeutics Accelerator (BTR-NTA, in partnership with the Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission), and the Patient Research Involvement Movement (PRIME, in partnership with sister charity brainstrust). The charity has invested £37.5 million directly into research since establishment, supports 315 research personnel across its portfolio, and currently contributes to supporting 217 researchers, with a Research Strategy 2026-2031 committing £24.3 million over five years.

The organisation raises funds through diversified channels: individual donations and regular giving, community fundraising groups (70+) and challenge events (skydives, marathons, treks, Run 31 Miles in August, Walk of Hope, Wear A Hat Day), a weekly lottery operated in partnership with Unity Lotteries (£1 per entry, 50p to charity, £25,000 jackpot), corporate partnerships including a Sponsor a Day programme at £2,740 per day of research, and a legacy giving programme via Octopus Legacy. It campaigns in Westminster and the devolved nations and holds the secretariat of the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Brain Tumours (APPGBT), pursuing a public target of £35 million per year in national brain tumour research spend against the current 1% share of national cancer research funding.

Revenue is generated through charitable donations and fundraising rather than product sales; the charity is a company limited by guarantee governed by a Board of Trustees, registered in England and Wales (No. 1153487) and Scotland (No. SC046840), with headquarters in Milton Keynes. Its customer base spans three primary segments: people affected by brain tumours (patients, families, carers, served directly and via brainstrust), brain tumour researchers and academics at UK universities (grants and infrastructure), and corporate partners (charity-of-the-year, cause marketing, and research sponsorship). The charity operates a small team (headcount band 11-50) under CEO Dan Knowles, who joined in September 2023 from Oxfordshire Mind, with a leadership team that has been substantially refreshed in 2024-2026.

Name

Brain Tumour Research

Legal name

Brain Tumour Research

Website

https://braintumourresearch.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Brain Tumour Research is a UK charity funding sustainable brain tumour research through six Centres of Excellence and four funded initiatives, having invested £37.5 million since 2009, and campaigning to grow national research spend to £35 million annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Cancer Research Funding

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Brain tumour research funding
• Cancer research charity
• Medical research grants
• Charitable fundraising events
• Health policy campaigning

Headquarters

HQ city

Shenley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The charity raises funds through individual donations (one-time and regular), community fundraising events, challenge events (skydives, marathons, treks), and fundraising groups. The charity also receives donations in memory of loved ones and legacy gifts through wills.
2. Lottery: Weekly lottery game operated in partnership with Unity Lotteries. Players pay £1 per week for a unique 6-digit number. Top prize is £25,000. After prizes and admin costs, 50p of every £1 played goes towards the charity's work.
3. Corporate Partnerships: Businesses partner with the charity through corporate fundraising, charity of the year partnerships, and Cause Related Marketing. Organisations can sponsor multiple days of research at £2,740 per day.
4. Legacy Giving: Gifts in wills allow supporters to leave a legacy to the charity. The charity has partnered with Octopus Legacy to offer free will writing services to supporters who pledge a legacy.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Brain Tumour Research is a UK charity that funds a network of six Centres of Excellence and four Funded Initiatives at UK universities, including BRAIN UK (national virtual brain tissue bank), the Novel Therapeutics Accelerator (BTR-NTA), and the PRIME patient involvement programme. It raises funds through individual donations, corporate partnerships, a weekly lottery, challenge events, and legacy gifts, while campaigning in Westminster and the devolved nations to increase national research investment to £35 million per year.

Product overview

Brain Tumour Research is a UK-based charitable organisation offering a portfolio of fundraising products and services centred on its mission to find a cure for brain tumours. The core offering includes research funding through six Centres of Excellence and four Funded Initiatives, supplemented by public-facing fundraising products including the Brain Tumour Research Lottery (operated via Unity Lotteries), signature events (Walk of Hope, Run 31 Miles in August, Wear A Hat Day), challenge events (skydiving, marathons, treks), and a Sponsor a Day initiative for direct research sponsorship. Additional services include tribute pages for memorial donations, a legacy gifts programme via partnership with Octopus Legacy, and community fundraising support through regional fundraisers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Brain Tumour Research Lottery: Weekly lottery game where players pay £1 per week for a chance to win up to £25,000 jackpot, with 50p of every £1 played going towards the charity's work.

Products and services

• Brain Tumour Research Lottery

Quantifiable outcome

• 6 Centres of Excellence and 4 Funded Initiatives established
• +4 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, minor and supporting.

• Beatson Cancer CharitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025Partnership to fund the Scottish Brain Tumour Research Centre of Excellence at the Universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow. Launched 2025, this game-changing collaboration addresses the challenge of moving laboratory discoveries into clinical testing by focusing on drug discovery and developing better disease models.
• brainstrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Sister charity partnership for PRIME (Patient Research Involvement Movement) connecting patients and caregivers with researchers to provide patient perspectives for setting up effective clinical trials. brainstrust also provides support services for brain tumour patients referenced on the charity's website.
• Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission (TJBCM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to operate the Brain Tumour Research Novel Therapeutics Accelerator (BTR-NTA), which provides research groups with promising therapeutics or devices robust review by academic and industry experts to accelerate progression to human trials.
• University of Southampton / BRAIN UKcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBRAIN UK at the University of Southampton is the world's first national virtual brain tissue bank, a unique resource for researchers. The charity funds this initiative which catalogues over 120,000 tumour tissue samples across NHS and Academic Pathology Centres in the UK.
• Medical Research Council (MRC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with MRC to fund £500,000 project at Cardiff University led by Dr Ben Newland to develop an innovative surgically-implanted drug-delivery system for glioblastoma patients.
• Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce (LSCT)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerJoined LSCT which represents cancers with five-year survival rate under 30% (lung, liver, brain, oesophageal, pancreatic, stomach). The taskforce accounts for 42% of UK cancer deaths. Partnership strengthens ability to influence increase in national research spend.
• The Neurological AllianceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition partner for influencing broader health policy changes benefiting brain tumour patients.
• One Cancer VoiceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCancer coalition working to influence policy and increase awareness.
• Cancer 52minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition partner representing rare and less common cancers.
• NCVO (National Council for Voluntary Organisations)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoalition partner for broader voluntary sector policy influence.
• Northern Ireland Cancer Charities CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDevolved nations coalition for policy influence in Northern Ireland.
• Scottish Cancer CoalitionminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDevolved nations coalition for policy influence in Scotland.
• Wales Cancer AllianceminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDevolved nations coalition for policy influence in Wales.
• Unity LotteriescoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAdministered lottery partnership providing the Brain Tumour Research Lottery platform. Unity offers fixed odds through number match game.
• Octopus LegacysupportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnered to offer free will writing services to supporters who pledge a legacy gift to the charity.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• British Heart Foundation: The UK's largest dedicated medical research charity outside cancer. Comparable in scale of research investment, multi-channel fundraising (shops, donations, legacies), and policy influence, though operating in cardiovascular disease rather than oncology.
• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK cancer charity combining fundraising, campaigning, and patient support. Comparable operating model (mass fundraising, parliamentary lobbying, partnerships) and a coalition partner in the broader cancer policy space, but focused on holistic support rather than dedicated research funding.
• Cancer Research UK: The UK's largest cancer research charity. Comparable as a research funder and policy campaigner, and the dominant incumbent in the brain tumour research field where Brain Tumour Research is a specialist challenger; CRUK's 'Cancers of Unmet Need' programme directly overlaps Brain Tumour Research's strategic focus.

Direct peers

• The Brain Tumour Charity: The UK's largest dedicated brain tumour charity, funding research and providing support. Directly comparable mission — both fund research, both campaign for awareness and government investment, both operate in the UK — but The Brain Tumour Charity is materially larger and focused on the full research-to-support pipeline, while Brain Tumour Research is concentrated on sustainable basic research at Centres of Excellence.
• Anthony Nolan: UK charity funding blood cancer and stem cell research with a dedicated research infrastructure and donor registry model. Comparable in operating a national research infrastructure with central coordination, and as a disease-specific funder with a public-affairs footprint, though focused on blood cancers rather than solid tumours.
• Blood Cancer UK: UK charity dedicated to research into blood cancers, with a focused research strategy and policy campaigning. Comparable as a disease-specific research funder operating in a low-survival, underfunded cancer niche, though smaller in scale than Brain Tumour Research.
• Pancreatic Cancer UK: Fellow Less Survivable Cancers Taskforce member and disease-specific UK research charity. Closely comparable in scale, mission (underfunded cancer, low survival, dedicated research funding), and strategy (Centres of Excellence model, parliamentary campaigning, coalition advocacy).
• Alzheimer's Research UK: UK charity dedicated to funding research into a single disease area (dementia), with a network of Research Centres and high-profile campaigning. Highly comparable in structure: a single-disease research funder, AMRC member, parliamentary advocacy, and dedicated Centres of Excellence model.

Emerging players

• Tessa Jowell Brain Cancer Mission: Mission established in memory of Dame Tessa Jowell to improve brain cancer outcomes, with which Brain Tumour Research co-operates the BTR-NTA. Overlapping objective (accelerating brain tumour research and trial access), but operating as a mission/coalition rather than a mass-membership fundraising charity.

Others

• Cancer 52: Coalition of more than 50 rare and less common cancer charities that Brain Tumour Research is a member of. Comparable as a coalition-driven policy and awareness partner; not a direct fundraising peer, but a strategic alliance that amplifies the charity's parliamentary and media reach on rare cancers.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/braintumourrsch
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/braintumourresearch
• Facebookfacebook.com/BrainTumourResearch
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/brain-tumour-research
• Instagraminstagram.com/brain_tumour_research
• TikToktiktok.com/@braintumourresearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Brain Tumour Research