THE church insurer Ecclesiastical has celebrated a hugely successful 2014 by giving £23.5 million to its charitable owner, the Allchurches Trust. The donation is almost half of Ecclesiastical's three-year target of giving away £50 million by 2017.

The return to the Trust is a large increase on the previous year, when Ecclesiastical gave only £4 million.

The accounts for 2014 have not yet been released, but in 2013 the company made a pre-tax profit of £67 million.

The Allchurches Trust, set up in 1972 to promote the Christian religion, gives grants to churches, cathedrals, and religious or heritage charities. In its most recent results (2013), it distributed £6.2 million to Church of England dioceses, £1.4 million to C of E cathedrals, and £1.7 million to other church or charitable bodies.

Ecclesiastical's group chief executive, Mark Hews, said: "I'm delighted that our strong performance in 2014 has enabled us to make yet another sizeable grant for onward distribution to great charitable causes across the UK."

The company, founded in 1887, insures 97 per cent of C of E churches, as well as many Grade I and Grade II listed buildings.