St Mark's Hospital Foundation

What St Mark's Hospital Foundation does

St Mark's Hospital Foundation is a registered UK charity (no. 1140930) founded in 1835 that functions as the fundraising and innovation arm of St Mark's Hospital, the UK's national bowel hospital. The foundation's stated purpose is to support cutting-edge research, education, and clinical innovation in the treatment and management of bowel disease. Its core activities include funding up to 30 Research Fellows at any one time, delivering medical training programmes that reach more than 1,200 healthcare professionals annually, and developing pioneering clinical techniques such as the TASER and FLEX procedures (introduced into practice in 2014) and the Surgical Robotics Research Programme launched in 2018 using a da Vinci Xi system (over £800,000 in donor funding; more than 400 robotic operations performed and 60+ visiting surgeons trained).

The organisation does not sell medical services; it generates income through donations, corporate partnerships (Selph, Yakult, Tesco), trust and foundation grants, legacy giving, branded merchandise, and education income from St Mark's Academic Institute (£622,596 reported in FY2024). Total income for the year ended 31 March 2024 was £2,645,904 (up 23% year-on-year), with charitable expenditure of £2,865,968. The foundation receives no government or NHS funding and is entirely dependent on voluntary contributions.

Its technology stack is research-oriented: the foundation maintains the world's oldest and largest Polyposis Registry, a near-100-year tumor sample archive, and a partnered AI capability — the Eureka AI Color Mapping System (real-time computer vision over live surgical video), the ICAN project (predictive ML for IBD-related cancer risk), the Boomers study (ML analysis comparing archived and current tumor samples to understand early-onset bowel cancer), and Dr Gita Lingam's AI for Crohn's disease management (2025 John Nicholls Prize for Research). Customer-facing digital surfaces include the foundation website (donations, fundraising campaigns, publications), an online merchandise shop, and a YouTube/social media presence; impact is distributed primarily through clinical practice at St Mark's Hospital and education delivered to the global medical community, including the FROG international surgical study spanning 38 active sites across 18 countries.

Name

St Mark's Hospital Foundation

Legal name

St Mark's Hospital Foundation

Website

https://stmarkshospitalfoundation.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1835

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

St Mark's Hospital Foundation is a registered UK charity (no. 1140930), founded in 1835, that funds research, education, and innovation at St Mark's Hospital, the UK's national bowel hospital. It supports pioneering surgical techniques, AI-assisted surgery, and the training of 1,200+ healthcare professionals annually, raising £2.6M in FY2024.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charitable Medical Research Foundation

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

Keywords

• Colorectal research funding
• Bowel disease charity
• Medical education programs
• Charitable fundraising
• Colorectal surgery training

Headquarters

HQ city

Harrow

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Individual donations, one-off and regular gifts, collected through online platforms, cheques, and charity vouchers. Includes support from fundraising events and community challenges.
2. Corporate Partnerships: Partnerships with corporate sponsors including Selph (donating % of qFIT test profits), Yakult (annual donations since 2018), and others. Includes skills sharing, charity of the year nominations, and fundraising events.
3. Trust and Foundation Grants: Funding from charitable trusts and foundations including Tesco Bags of Help (£4,000 grant) and The Red Lion Group (£3,000 donation). Supports research, training, and medical equipment.
4. Legacy Gifts: Gifts in wills to the Foundation, with donors receiving automatic membership to the 'All Out for St Mark's' exclusive group with social events and exclusive access benefits.
5. Merchandise Sales: Sale of branded merchandise including mugs (£8), t-shirts (£12), fleeces (£30), and water bottles. All proceeds support research, education, and innovation at St Mark's.
6. Education and Training: Income from St Mark's Academic Institute including postgraduate teaching and signature conferences, generating £622,596 in the latest reported year.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

St Mark's Hospital Foundation raises and distributes charitable funds to support research, training and education in bowel disease at St Mark's Hospital, the UK's national bowel hospital. It underwrites research fellowships, medical training and conferences, pioneering colorectal techniques such as the da Vinci Xi Surgical Robotics Programme and the Eureka AI surgical mapping system, and sells branded merchandise whose proceeds fund the charity's activities. The Foundation receives no government or NHS funding and depends on individual donations, corporate partnerships, trust and foundation grants, and legacy gifts.

Product overview

St Mark's Hospital Foundation operates primarily as a charitable organization with its main 'product' being its website platform that facilitates donations, fundraising campaigns, and stakeholder communication. The Foundation offers several supporting products including annual publications (Annual Report, Seasonal Appeals, Re:Mark's Newsletter), the Surgical Robotics Research Programme, and a merchandise shop. These products work together to enable charitable giving, spread awareness of bowel disease research, and generate funds for cutting-edge research at St Mark's Hospital.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• St Mark's Institute for Bowel Disease: Research and clinical institute focused on bowel disease
• St Mark's Academic Institute
• All Out for St Mark's
• Re:Mark's Newsletter

Products and services

• St Mark's Shop Online storefront selling branded merchandise (mugs, t-shirts, fleeces, water bottles) to individuals, with all proceeds funding research and education at St Mark's Hospital.
• St Mark's Academic Institute (Education and Conferences) Postgraduate teaching, signature conferences, fellowship observerships and CT colonography accreditation programmes for doctors, surgeons, gastroenterologists and radiologists, hosted at the Avery Jones Education Centre and Wolfson Unit for Endoscopy.
• Surgical Robotics Research Programme Charitable-funded research and clinical service using the Da Vinci Xi surgical robot for colorectal surgery, including training fellowships and observerships for visiting surgeons.
• All Out for St Mark's Legacy Giving Programme Programme accepting gifts in wills, with donors receiving automatic membership to the 'All Out for St Mark's' exclusive group featuring social events and exclusive access benefits.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 400 robotic colorectal operations performed
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Intuitive Surgical Inc.coreTechnology or IntegrationMaker of the Da Vinci Xi surgical system. Funded 3 robotic fellowships at St Mark's and partnered on colorectal surgery robotics programme focused on colorectal applications.
• Institute of Cancer ResearchcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on 'Boomers' research programme comparing archived tumor samples from St Mark's to present day cancer cases to understand why young people are being diagnosed with bowel cancer at unprecedented levels.
• University College London HospitalsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with radiology faculty on PERFECTS programme to address variability in CT colonography scan reporting across the UK.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Cancer Research UK: The largest cancer research charity in the UK, funding multi-site and multi-cancer-type research including bowel cancer. Operates as a much larger incumbent grantmaker in an overlapping but broader disease portfolio than St Mark's specialist focus.
• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK cancer charity providing patient support, information, and funding research across all cancer types including colorectal. A broad incumbent operating across the same UK cancer fundraising space as St Mark's but with a much wider remit.

Direct peers

• Crohn's & Colitis UK: UK charity funding research and providing support for people with inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's and ulcerative colitis). Overlaps directly with St Mark's IBD research focus and patient base, with a similar donation-dependent revenue model.
• Bowel Cancer UK: UK charity exclusively focused on bowel cancer awareness, research funding, and patient support. Directly comparable to St Mark's Hospital Foundation as both raise funds and award grants for bowel disease research and education in the UK.
• The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity: Charitable arm of The Royal Marsden NHS Foundation Trust, funding cancer research, treatment innovation, and professional training. Directly comparable hospital-affiliated UK research foundation model with similar donor-driven revenue mix.
• Guts UK: UK charity funding research into digestive diseases including bowel and colorectal conditions. Closely comparable operating model of small UK-based grantmaking foundation supporting gastroenterology research and training.
• King's College Hospital Charity: Charity supporting research, education and patient care at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. Comparable London hospital-affiliated charitable foundation with similar NHS-linked medical research and training remit.
• Bowel Research UK: UK charity dedicated to funding life-changing research into bowel disease, including IBD and bowel cancer. Highly comparable mission and grantmaking focus to St Mark's Hospital Foundation in the bowel disease research niche.
• UCLH Charity: Charity supporting research and patient care at University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Existing St Mark's PERFECTS partner (radiology collaboration), making it a directly comparable hospital-research foundation in London.

Emerging players

• 40tude Curing Colon Cancer: Smaller UK charity focused on funding pioneering colon cancer research and treatment. Already an existing St Mark's partner funding PhD positions (Dr Diya Kapila/ICAN project), demonstrating highly overlapping research funding focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bowelsofstmarks
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=swHbyegkxF0
• Facebookfacebook.com/stmarkshospitalfoundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 St Mark's Hospital Foundation