Disability charities merge to create £40m ‘large but local provider’

Two charities that support people with disabilities in the southwest of England, have merged.

The combined income of Milestones Trust, which supports people in Somerset, Bristol, Bath and South Gloucestershire and White Horse Care Trust, which helps those in Swindon and Wiltshire, is just under £40m.

The merged organisation will support around 530 people across more than 80 services in the southwest. The combined workforce is more than 1,100.

Both formed around three decades ago amid a programme of long stay hospital closures by Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, with Milestones launching in 1986 and White Horse in 1990.

According to the charities register Milestones has 876 employees and 182 volunteers and had total income of £29.7m for the financial year ending March 2023. The bulk of this (£28m) is from 100 government contracts with a further £426,000 from a government grant.

Meanwhile, White Horse Care Trust’s income and spending for the financial year ending March 2024 was £10.2m. Most of this (£10.1m) is from 77 government contracts.

The newly merged charity will operate as Milestones Trust, whose chief executive Hilary Crowhurst said the move “strengthens both” organisations’ services “ensuring our long-term stability and sustainability.

“By merging, we can expand the reach of the excellent services and support that both Milestones Trust and White Horse Care Trust are known for, establishing our merged organisation as a trusted ‘large but local’ provider in the southwest,” Crowhurst added.

“Our combined organisation is better able to deliver long-term and sustainable services to support even more people and I’m pleased to welcome our new colleagues and the people supported in Swindon and Wiltshire into our Trust.”

White Horse Care Trust chief executive Erica Price said: “Our top priority has been to ensure a smooth and seamless transition for our colleagues, those we support, and
their families.”

She added that the merger “will open new possibilities for growth and development for our colleagues and those we support”.