The Commission has warned charities that with increasing pressure to deliver and limited resources available to the sector, collaboration between charities can improve service provision.

“There are many charities which could do more for their users by sharing expertise and experience through collaborative working. In some cases, charities may want to take this through to a merger,” said Commission chief executive Andrew Hind.

Hind added that the guidance was aimed at small to medium sized charities and offered an introduction to the issue for those charities interested in exploring collaboration, setting out the different types of partnership and merger.

The guidance can be downloaded from the Charity Commission’s website at www.charitycommission.gov.uk