Acorns Children's Hospice Trust
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is a charitable lottery operator licensed by the UKGC since March 2025. The trust holds a society lottery licence and has no enforcement history. It's an independent, UK-based charity with a strong corporate standing and a trust grade of B.
Positive Signals
- No enforcement actions recorded by the UKGC
- Fully UK-based governance with all directors resident in the United Kingdom
- Independent charity with no offshore licensing or parent company arrangements
- Continuous licence held since first granted with no revocations or suspensions
Concerns
- Recently licensed in March 2025, less than one year of UKGC licensing history
Overview
Operator Type: Charitable lottery operator
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is a Birmingham-based children's palliative care charity that obtained a UKGC society lottery licence in March 2025. The trust was incorporated in 1986 and has operated for nearly four decades supporting children with life-limiting conditions and their families across the West Midlands and beyond.
Its trust score of 78 (Grade B) reflects a clean regulatory record with no enforcement history and a fully UK-based governance structure. Both its domestic score and stability score sit at 100, which is consistent with a charity of this type: independently run, UK-headquartered, with no offshore arrangements and no prior UKGC action.
The licence is recent, granted less than a year ago, which limits the longevity component of the trust score. That said, the organisation's corporate standing earns an A+ grade, reflecting an active company status, a large board of British directors, and decades of operational history before the lottery activity began.
Where Is This Operator Based?
Understanding where an operator is based matters for regulatory accountability. UK-based operators are subject to UK courts and consumer protection laws.
This operator is headquartered in the UK and registered with Companies House. They are fully subject to UK courts, consumer protection laws, and regulatory oversight.
Licence Details
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust holds one active UKGC licence: a Society Lottery licence (granted 24 March 2025). This licence type permits registered societies, typically charities and non-profit organisations, to run lotteries where proceeds go to good causes. The licence has no expiry date recorded and has been continuously held since grant.
| Licence Type | Status | Granted |
|---|---|---|
| Society Lottery | Active |
Enforcement & Compliance History
No regulatory actions recorded.
No enforcement actions recorded.
This operator has no public enforcement actions, financial penalties, or regulatory warnings on record with the UK Gambling Commission.
Corporate Structure
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust is registered at Companies House as ACORNS CHILDREN'S HOSPICE TRUST (company number 02036103), incorporated on 10 July 1986. It's structured as a private company limited by guarantee without share capital, the standard legal form for UK charities. The company is active with its registered office at Acorns House, 103 Oak Tree Lane, Birmingham, B29 6HZ. The board comprises 16 current directors and one secretary, all of British nationality and resident in the United Kingdom. No persons with significant control are registered, which is typical for a guarantee company with no shareholders.
- Company Number
- 02036103
- Incorporated
- 10 July 1986
- Registered Address
- Acorns House 103 Oak Tree Lane, Selly Oak, Birmingham, B29 6HZ
Directors & Officers
| Name | Role | Residence | Appointed |
|---|---|---|---|
| BRADSHAW, Helen Elizabeth | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 30 September 2025 |
| GEARY, Philip Richard | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 30 September 2025 |
| SHORT, Andrew, Dr | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 5 August 2025 |
| HESLOP, Kevin | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 5 March 2024 |
| O'HARA, Gareth | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 5 March 2024 |
| EWER, Andrew Keith | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 1 January 2024 |
| O'DONOGHUE, Raymond | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 7 March 2023 |
| WATSON, Samantha Elizabeth | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 15 November 2022 |
| MADDOX, Christopher John | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 15 November 2022 |
| MUNTON, David Paul | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 15 November 2022 |
| LORKING, Sarah | secretary | — | 4 November 2021 |
| LORKING, Sarah | secretary | — | 4 November 2021 |
| BULL, Lynda Dorothy | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 11 May 2021 |
| WARIS, Bobby | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 24 March 2021 |
| LADBROOKE, Jennifer Deidre | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 20 May 2020 |
| AHMAD, Ghzala | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 31 October 2018 |
| UBHI, Amrick Singh | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 1 August 2018 |
| DAVID, Alastair Cameron | director | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 26 July 2017 |
Associated Domains
Acorns Children's Hospice Trust operates one domain associated with its UKGC licence: acorns.org.uk. The domain has been registered since 1997 and is secured with an A-grade SSL certificate issued by Sectigo RSA Domain Validation Secure Server CA, valid until May 2026. The site supports TLS 1.3. No Trustpilot reviews are recorded for this domain.
| Domain | Brand | Status | Site Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| acorns.org.uk | Acorns Children's Hospice | Active | Other |