British Heart Foundation

What British Heart Foundation does

The British Heart Foundation, founded in 1961 and headquartered in London, is the UK's largest independent funder of cardiovascular research and the nation's recognized "heart charity." BHF operates approximately 640 charity shops across the UK (with ~150 closures announced for 2026–2027), an e-commerce platform (shop.bhf.org.uk), an eBay storefront, and a defibrillator sales channel, alongside free public-facing services including the RevivR CPR-training app, Heart Matters magazine, and the Heart Helpline staffed by cardiac nurses. The charity serves a broad constituency: members of the public seeking heart health information and CPR training, donors and supporters who give money, items, or time, healthcare providers and research institutions receiving grants, and consumers purchasing affordable donated goods.

BHF's core activity is research funding at scale, with a £1 billion-plus commitment over ten years and £98.9m of net research expenditure in FY2024/25. Funded research spans AI-powered diagnostics (e.g., Oxford's heart-failure-prediction AI at 86% accuracy), regenerative medicine and gene therapy (PROTECT trial, Oxford cardiac gene therapy center co-funded with ~US$128m MRC backing over 14 years), photon-counting CT imaging (Edinburgh), genomics, and population health analytics using NHS England records across 55 million adults. The BHF Data Science Centre at Health Data Research UK, established in 2020 and renewed at £10m for five years in December 2025, functions as a national hub for accredited cardiovascular data research.

The revenue model is supporter-funded, with FY2024/25 total funds raised of £181m: legacy gifts £108.4m (60%), fundraising events £58.2m (32%), trading £3.6m, and investments £10.8m. Total spend reached £197.5m, with 72p of every £1 raised directed to the cardiovascular mission. The charity employs ~3,700 staff (concentrated in retail) and engages ~20,400 volunteers, governed by a Board of Trustees through four wholly owned trading subsidiaries including BHF Shops Limited. The organization is currently navigating a sharp retail decline—net retail profit collapsed from £18.8m to £3.6m year-on-year—while repositioning through CTO-led AI and digital transformation, community pharmacy channel pilots, and deeper clinical research partnerships.

Name

British Heart Foundation

Legal name

British Heart Foundation

Website

https://bhf.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1961

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Cardiovascular Health Charity

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Health & Medical Research Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

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

Keywords

• Cardiovascular research funding
• Charity retail shops
• Heart health information
• Medical research grants
• Health charity services

Headquarters

HQ city

Birmingham

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Legacy Gifts (Gifts in Wills): BHF receives substantial funding from legacy gifts (bequests in supporters' Wills). In 2024/25, they received £108.4m from legacies, making it the largest single revenue source.
2. Charity Retail Shops: BHF operates charity shops selling donated preloved items including furniture, clothing, books, and electrical goods. They also sell new merchandise through their online shop. Net profit from retail was £3.6m in 2024/25 (down from £18.8m in 2024).
3. Fundraising Activity: BHF raises funds through events (London to Brighton Bike Ride, marathons, swimming, trekking), corporate partnerships, community fundraising, and individual donations. Generated £58.2m in 2024/25.
4. Investments and Other Activity: BHF generates returns from its investment portfolio. Received £10.8m from investments and other activities in 2024/25.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The British Heart Foundation is the UK's largest independent funder of cardiovascular research, committing over £1 billion to research over a decade while operating the UK's largest charity retail network of approximately 640 shops. It raises funds through legacies, donations, fundraising events, and retail sales, then deploys those funds into research grants, free heart health information, CPR training, and patient support services.

Product overview

The British Heart Foundation operates as the UK's largest charity retailer and biggest independent funder of cardiovascular research. Its product portfolio consists of multiple integrated channels: an e-commerce platform (shop.bhf.org.uk) selling health monitoring devices, fitness equipment, clothing, cards, gifts, and defibrillators; approximately 640 physical charity shops across the UK; and free digital resources including CPR training via the RevivR app, the Heart Matters Magazine, and a cardiac nurse helpline. BHF also organizes fundraising events like the London to Brighton Bike Ride and publishes educational materials in multiple formats including Braille, large print, and easy read versions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BHF Shops: Charity retail shops selling donated furniture, clothing, books and other items
• RevivR
• Heart Matters
• Heart Helpline

Products and services

• BHF Online Shop

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced UK deaths from heart and circulatory diseases by half since BHF was founded
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• University of Manchester and Manchester University NHS Foundation TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Researchers conducted the largest-ever UK randomised trial of urine test (CAT) for detecting medication non-adherence in hypertension patients. The study published in The Lancet Primary Care found hidden non-adherence affects up to one in three people with high blood pressure.
• University of OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026University of Oxford developed AI tool capable of predicting heart failure up to 5 years before onset using routine CT scans, achieving 86% accuracy. Trained on 72,000 individuals from nine NHS Trusts with ten-year follow-up data.
• SleepeezeecoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 February 2026Bed manufacturer Sleepeezee has partnered with BHF since 2017, donating £25,000 during Heart Month 2026 and having raised over £220,000 total. For every Travelodge Dreamer mattress sold through their website, £20 is donated to BHF.
• University of EdinburghcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026University of Edinburgh installed Scotland's first photon-counting CT scanner (NAEOTOM Alpha with Quantum Technology from Siemens Healthineers), jointly funded by the University and BHF. Will support cardiovascular research including SCOT-HEART 2 trial.
• Scotland's Golden Jubilee University National HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2026World's first patient received gene therapy during heart bypass operation as part of PROTECT trial, supported by Medical Research Council and BHF with infrastructure support from Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult. TIMP-3 gene delivered into vein graft to prevent graft failure.
• University of CambridgecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026University of Cambridge led obesity research analyzing NHS England electronic health records for nearly 55 million adults, showing disparities in obesity rates across England.
• Health Data Research UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Health Data Research UK collaborated on obesity research showing 4% increase in new obesity cases in 2025 vs pre-pandemic, with young adults aged 30-39 and 20-29 experiencing largest increases.
• The George InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026The George Institute collaborated on obesity research revealing substantial disparities: obesity rates in northeast England nearly six times higher than central London, with 35% higher rates among most deprived populations.
• Health Data Research UK (British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025BHF renewed its £10 million funding commitment to the British Heart Foundation Data Science Centre at HDR UK for five years. Established in 2020, the centre has reduced time for accredited scientists to access data and become a national hub for cardiovascular data research.
• Avricore HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025BHF awarded a $385,000 grant supporting Avricore Health's Inclisiran secondary-prevention pilot using the HealthTab platform within community pharmacies. The pilot was independently evaluated by UCLPartners and received attention from NHS England's Chief Pharmaceutical Officer.
• Barts Health NHS TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2025BHF-funded HealthTab platform deployed with Barts Health NHS Trust to deliver inclisiran cholesterol-lowering injections through community pharmacies in North East and North Central London, marking expansion into secondary prevention care.
• Cell and Gene Therapy CatapultcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult provides infrastructure support for the PROTECT trial (gene therapy during heart bypass), aiming to prevent graft failure and extend bypass durability.
• Charles TyrwhittcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2021Charles Tyrwhitt's Tyrwhitt Takeback clothing donation program raised over £4 million since 2021 and diverted more than 80 tonnes of clothing from landfill. Expanded nationwide online from January 2026.
• DunelmcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2016Dunelm's partnership with BHF has raised over £1 million since 2016 through donations of furniture and textiles. The initiative involves collection schemes and recycling services to divert waste and promote circular economy principles.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Others

• NHS Blood and Transplant: UK public-sector organisation involved in cardiovascular-related transplantation and blood services. Adjacent rather than competitive, but a partner/reference point in the UK cardiovascular ecosystem where BHF funds related research.

Regional players

• American Heart Association: The US equivalent heart-disease charity, with similar mission around cardiovascular research funding, CPR training and public education. Comparable mission but operates in a different geography.
• National Heart Foundation of Australia: Australia's equivalent heart charity funding cardiovascular research and public health programmes. Same disease focus and research-funding model as BHF, but operating in a different geography.

Direct peers

• Macmillan Cancer Support: Major UK health charity combining research funding with patient support services. Comparable operating model to BHF's mix of research grants and frontline supporter services.
• Cancer Research UK: Largest UK cancer research charity with similar donor-funded grantmaking model, large charity shop network, and comparable scale of research spend. Most direct comparator for BHF's structure and fundraising mechanics.
• Alzheimer's Research UK: UK charity dedicated to funding research into a single major disease area (dementia). Closely analogous disease-specific research-funding model, although at smaller scale than BHF.
• Diabetes UK: UK charity funding research and patient support for a single chronic disease. Comparable mix of research grantmaking, supporter services, and policy advocacy targeting a UK cardiovascular-comorbid condition.
• Stroke Association: UK charity focused on stroke, a major cardiovascular/circulatory condition. Directly adjacent disease focus with overlapping research priorities and supporter demographics.

Broad incumbents

• British Red Cross: Large UK charity with comparable volunteer base, retail network and fundraising scale. Not a research-focused peer but highly comparable in charity retail and volunteer-driven fundraising operations.
• Wellcome Trust: UK-based global charitable foundation funding health research at significantly larger scale. Comparable as a health-research grantmaking institution but with much broader international scope and a much larger endowment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/bhf
• Instagraminstagram.com/the_bhf
• Xx.com/thebhf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/british-heart-foundation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments11 records

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

Frequently asked questions about British Heart Foundation