UK Athletics (UKA) has reported a surplus for the year ending 31 March 2025 — the organisation’s first in several years — marking a major milestone in its plan to rebuild stability and confidence in the sport’s national governing body.

The result follows a period of significant change for UKA, including tighter cost controls, difficult internal restructuring decisions and a sharper focus on core programmes. It also reflects the success of Athletic Ventures — the joint venture between UKA, London Marathon Events and The Great Run Company — which has enabled a more collaborative and commercially resilient approach to event delivery, sponsorship and broadcast growth.

Reflecting on the results, UKA Chair Ian Beattie issued the following statement:

“I am very pleased that we are back in profit — it’s an important moment for UK Athletics and a real sign that the steps we have taken over the past two years are working. But I don’t underestimate how difficult it has been to get back to this position. It has taken hard decisions, careful management and the commitment of a great many people to turn things around.

The organisation has gone through a period of real change. We have had to make savings across every area, including redundancies and reduced support for some programmes outside the World Class Performance system. Those decisions were extremely tough and never taken lightly, but they were necessary to secure the long-term stability of the sport. We are a leaner organisation now — more streamlined and more focused on the essentials and the right culture — but we are also a stronger one as a result.

Our move into surplus is a genuine achievement, but it reflects more than just good financial management. It speaks to a new, more collaborative way of working — both internally and through our partnerships. The formation of Athletic Ventures has been key to this recovery, enabling us to share resources, reduce risk and build a sustainable commercial model that benefits the whole sport. That partnership has already brought new sponsors such as Vita Coco and Novuna, whose multi-year title agreement supports both our major events and the Great Britain & Northern Ireland team. Alongside them, our long-standing partner Nike has continued to provide unwavering and vital support throughout this period, remaining central to the turnaround, for which we are hugely grateful.

We are also grateful for the continued commitment of UK Sport, whose funding for our World Class Programme have been instrumental to supporting athletes through this period of change, and whose investment for the Los Angeles 2028 cycle will be vital as we build towards the next Olympic and Paralympic Games. We also appreciate the backing of the BBC, whose new five-year broadcast deal will ensure world-class coverage of our biggest domestic events — including the Novuna London Athletics Meet — through to 2029. Their belief in the appeal of athletics gives us real confidence in the future of the sport.

None of this means the job is done. We are still working to reduce our accumulated deficit, rebuild reserves and manage the challenges of reduced public funding and rising costs. But this is a turning point — the start of a new chapter for UKA. We are operating differently, working more collaboratively and thinking long-term. I believe we are now in a position to push on: to continue the recovery, to strengthen the sport’s foundations, and to support our athletes and coaches as we look towards the next Olympic and Paralympic cycle.

Next year brings an exciting milestone with the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham, the first major championship to be staged by Athletic Ventures. It will be a powerful showcase for the partnership model that has helped drive our recovery and a major opportunity to celebrate our athletes on home soil.

I want to thank the Board, the executive team, our partners and, above all, our staff for their professionalism and resilience during what has been a demanding period. Their commitment has made this progress possible. We still have work to do, but we have shown that UK Athletics can adapt, rebuild and thrive — and that we are on the right path.”

To view the 2024/25 audited accounts, follow this link.