London. While the Heritage Loto, in France, brings in 25 to 30 million euros per year for the Stéphane Bern Mission, in the United Kingdom the National Lottery distributes annual envelopes of around 380 million pounds (€444 million, or approximately 17% more in euros at the current rate). It is true that the system is very different across the Channel, where the system is powered by all the Lottery games and not by an annual operation dedicated to heritage. THE good causes (“good causes”) receive a share of National Lottery revenue (around 23%), then distributed between several sectors – heritage, arts, sport and social action – with the National Lottery Heritage Fund receiving 20% of this envelope. The NLHF is therefore the leading funder of heritage in the United Kingdom.
Climate adaptation, one of the priorities
For 2026-2029, the NLHF plans 1.46 billion pounds (€1.7 billion) of investments, compared to 1.245 billion in the latest version of the 2023-2026 plan, an increase of around 17%. He expects Lottery revenues to increase from 1.089 billion in the previous cycle to 1.423 billion in the next (+ 31%). This sharp increase is based on forecasts communicated by Allwyn, operator of the National Lottery since 2024 (the equivalent of our Française des jeux), as part of an agreement designed in particular to increase the sums donated to “good causes”.
The bulk of the windfall is distributed through the National Lottery Heritage Grants window, open to projects of 10,000 to 10 million pounds (€11,600 to €11.6 million): or between 359 and 386 million pounds per year. In 2024-2025, 157 million pounds (€183 million) were allocated to buildings and monuments, 90 million to museums, libraries and archives, 68 million to landscapes, 30 million to cultures and memories.
But the NLHF is no longer content with responding to so-called “window” requests. Since the previous three-year plan, it has mobilized 134 million pounds (€156 million) for initiatives it initiated. Among the priorities of the 2026-2029 plan are now explicitly heritage in danger and climate adaptation. The NLHF also wants to involve young people more, by supporting their participation in heritage projects, their access to careers in the sector and initiatives designed with them rather than simply for them.
The new plan finally provides for a so-called “flexible” envelope of 233 million pounds, or nearly 16% of the 1.46 billion programmed over three years. Unlike the credits already allocated to calls for projects or strategic initiatives, this reserve is not earmarked. It should enable the National Lottery Heritage Fund to respond to emerging needs or priorities arising during the period 2026-2029.
