The Kennel Club, the organisation behind iconic dog show Crufts, has slipped into the red after the cost of hosting its famous events “increased significantly” leaving it in an “extremely challenging financial situation”, according to newly-filed documents.
The charity, which has just been awarded the royal prefix by King Charles, recorded a pre-tax deficit of £798,000 in 2023, down from a pre-tax surplus of £349,000 in the year before.
This decrease in funds was despite The Kennel Club increasing its income to £22.2m from £21.9m in the year before.
It said that the deficit had been caused by a jump in the cost of putting on events, with most of its programme now running at a loss.
Despite this, The Kennel Club’s shows have continued to attract bigger crowds year-on-year. Crufts 2023 attracted 24,000 dogs and more than 155,000 visitors, with 8.7m viewers watching the live broadcast around the world.
This was up from the previous year, which saw just over 20,000 dogs and 150,000 visitors take part in Crufts.
In a statement published to Companies House, The Kennel Club said: “The cost of running events has increased significantly in recent years, with most operating at a loss.
“This has had a negative impact on operating activities and The Kennel Club’s long-term investment portfolio.
“To continue our vital work for dogs and their owners we need to protect and maximise our existing revenue streams by making our range of products and services more relevant and valued by existing customers and looking at ways of attracting more customers to The Kennel Club.
“Our core focus is, of course, the registration system. It sits at the heart of what we do financially but also has implications regarding how we demonstrate our commitment to safeguarding dog health.
“It is these twin aims that must both guide and anchor its evolution. We have built secure foundations for our longer-term transformational plans to ensure financial success.
“We continue to face an extremely challenging financial situation and have taken bold and vital steps to try and mitigate the impact – but we cannot be complacent, and we must now focus on our medium and long-term plans, as we do not have the luxury of merely maintaining the status quo.
“We will continue to make brave and progressive decisions, led by data and research, to ensure that we can continue, in the years ahead, to invest in our purpose and mission.”