ST Clare Hospice’s charity shops are among the most profitable in the country - and that’s official!

The hospice has seven shops - including one in Saffron Walden - all of which rely on donations of saleable items from hundreds of people who regularly support their local hospice.

Now, thanks to the generosity of the people who donate items and the customers who visit the shops, St Clare has been confirmed as having the highest profit per shop per week of all 36 hospices which feature in the Charity Finance Charity Shops Survey 2012.

Of some 74 charities which took part in the survey - including several national charities - St Clare achieved the third highest profit per shop per week overall, being beaten to the number one spot by one national organisation and one charity much smaller than St Clare.

Louise Hamilton, the hospice’s retail sales manager, said: “We are absolutely thrilled with this achievement. The St Clare shop teams, staff and volunteers alike work really hard processing goods donated to us by the public.

“I strongly believe we owe it to our donors and patients to make as much money as we possibly can from the goods we are given. Goods donated in one location may be sent to another to achieve a better price and we manage our associated retail costs very carefully to ensure as much of the income raised by shops can be spent directly on patient care.”

She added: “We have to thank our local community for its amazing ongoing support, our donors, customers and volunteers. It’s their generosity that has enabled us to make a real difference to the lives of so many local people at a time when they most need it.”

• St Clare Hospice provides specialist care for people living with life-limiting illnesses in west Essex and east Herts border area. The charity cares for patients and their families, providing physical, social, psychological and spiritual support.

St Clare Hospice’s annual running costs total �2.8m, 70 per cent of which comes from voluntary income.