2023-08-31-accounts

National Centre for Circus Arts

Annual Report and Financial Statements

Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 2553293 (England and Wales)

Charity registration number 1001839 (England and Wales)

Contents

Reports

Reports
Reference and administrative information	1
Welcome from the Chair	3
Trustees report	5
Independent report on the
financial statements	26
Financial statements
Consolidated statement of financial
activities	31
Balance sheets	32
Consolidated statement of cash flows	33
Principal accounting policies	35
Notes to the financial statements	40

National Centre for Circus Arts

Reference and administrative information

Board Members	Alison King, Chair
	Cameron Brookhouse
	Brett Carron
	Nimisha Carver (from 11 July 2023)
	Kate Cavelle
	Mark Friend
	Sue James (until 11 November 2022)
	Elizabeth (Betsy) Lynch (until 11 November 2022)
	Sean Lynskey
	Tarun Nagpal (until 11 November 2022)
	Maureen Nicholas (from 11 July 2023)
	Thomas Nowacki (until 11 November 2022)
	Diana Salazar
	Darshak Shah
	Stuart Smith
	Paul Steggall
	William Underhill
	Esther Wallington
	Rachael Williams
Senior Management Team	Kate White Chief Executive
	Dan Cowdrill Commercial Director
	Froniga Lambert Chief Operating Officer (until 20
	September 2023)
	Glen Stewart ~~D~~irector of Professional Development
Registered address	Coronet Street
	London
	N1 6HD
Company registration number	2553293 (registered in England & Wales)
Charity registration number	1006927
Auditor	Buzzacott LLP
	130 Wood Street
	London
	EC2V 6DL
Bankers	Co-operative Bank
	80 Cornhill
	London
	EC1V 3NJ

National Centre for Circus Arts 1

Reference and administrative information

Solicitors

Slaughter and May One Bunhill Row London EC1Y 8YY Shoosmiths No.1 Bow Churchyard London EC4M 9DQ

National Centre for Circus Arts 2

Welcome from the Chair

This year has been a real challenge for the National Centre with the shocking loss of Arts reduction in funding, to be removed from the portfolio completely has been a real blow. ACE funding allowed the organisation to fulfil so many of our aims and objectives, not least in supporting circus artists and small circus companies at whatever stage of their development. Being able to offer heavily subsidised space for creation and training has been a core feature in how we can offer sector support and build capacity for circus and we know without it many artists will suffer.

The board of trustees immediately worked with the senior management team unfortunately having to create year on year savings to mitigate the loss. As so often is the way in arts organisations where people are a key resource and operating costs are already managed so tightly with few variables, we had to embark on a process of redundancies. Always so difficult in a small organisation where people work so closely together, however the process was conducted with care and consideration and is now completed. The team have managed to retain activity levels and have examined working practices to try and find truly innovative ways to continue to deliver our amazing programmes of work for participants at all levels and stages of their circus journeys.

We finally said farewell to the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama who have been such an oasis of support as we have learned about higher education over the years. The closure of CDD took us into our first year of independent registration and all that entails and we have enjoyed sharing practice and creating a really mutually supportive relationship with the other ex-CDD schools who are taking their own next steps. In this first year we were fortunate to be awarded Specialist Performing Arts Funding from the Office for Students, recognising the additional costs of delivery of such a specialist course. The team has engaged with sector support organisations such as Guild HE who offer expertise and lobbying for small specialist institutions and have helped as we gain confidence navigating the multiple relationships with the many regulators and stakeholders within higher education.

National Centre and away at Jacksons Lane and seeing the work in action is a huge motivator for us all. In December 2022 Underbelly gave a night in their Christmas Spiegaltent in Leicester Square, for graduates and students to perform their own individual pieces as a the west end created an extraordinary evening for the company and audiences alike.

Late in December 2022 the National Centre was the subject of an article in The Stage newspaper where allegations of historic inappropriate relationships between former students and teachers, racism, and inadequate reporting pathways were made. An initial internal investigation was followed by an external independent review where neither found any evidence to corroborate the allegations. Safeguarding processes were tested and found to be means we continue to develop our systems for staff and student support throughout the organisation.

National Centre for Circus Arts 3

Welcome from the Chair

Once again, we have successfully added to our trustee cohort during the year and welcome two new members who bring us even more diverse expertise and experience. With the challenges faced by the organisation this year it has been wonderful to rely on the support of a group of such committed colleagues who have all played a part in how we navigate our way towards a positive future. I know the senior management team will join me in thanking all our trustees for the time and wisdom they have invested in the organisation.

I also personally want to thank the senior management, team, staff, and teachers for all their hard work, to all of them and the students thank you for bearing with us through this transition and difficult time.

While the world still feels a little bleak, it is fair to say that the National Centre, on a daily basis, is home to a community where creation, innovation and just a little spark of magic, help to make the world a better place. We nurture talent and aim to give confidence, support and a place to belong for our students, staff, professional members, recreational participants, audiences and all those who love this remarkable art form.

Alison King

Chair of the Board

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Trustees

The Trustees, who are also the directors of the company for the purposes of the Companies Act, submit their annual report and audited financial statements for the period ended 31 August 2023 which have been prepared in compliance with the current statutory requirements, The Office for Students (OfS) accounts direction, The Charities SORP (FRS

Objectives of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee governed by articles of association and was established on 30 October 1990. In October 2013 revised Articles of Association were approved by the Charity Commission and the Board of Trustees.

Our objective, as set out in the Articles of Association, is to advance the education of the public in the Arts and to advance the Arts in each case with particular but not exclusive reference to the Circus Arts.

for the organisation and the sector:

We support circus as it matures and is ever more widely recognised as a dynamic, relevant and important part of the arts and cultural life of the UK. We deliver excellent circus arts training to support the development of the next generation of world-class circus artists. We support and collaborate with circus artists and companies throughout their careers to embed professional standards in teaching, facilities and the creation and presentation of circus to reach new audiences and participants with relevant, challenging and engaging work. We continue to grow our reach and relevance through the development of revenue-generating

This enables us to build on our role as sector leader and continue to push the boundaries of

We are:

Ambitious and willing to take risks

We are ambitious for ourselves and our art form even in challenging times. With high professional standards and an expert community, we are adept at mitigating risk and safeguarding participants while allowing them to challenge themselves and explore the myriad physical and creative possibilities of circus. This, along with robust reflection and evaluation participants of all ages and stages on their own circus journeys, to take bigger physical and creative risks. Our status as a Higher Education Provider demonstrates our ambition to be able to drive forward the development of formal education in circus arts, coupled with a strategic Access and Participation Plan to offer even more opportunities for a wide range of participants from previously underrepresented groups. Students and participants on all programmes bring with them their own ambitions and creative visions and we support, guide, advise and challenge them to ensure we are always at the forefront of development in circus.

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Objectives of the charity (continued)

Inclusive and accessible

We are not fearful of the unknown and have a solid track record of innovation. The anarchic nature of circus means it appeals to a broad range of people and we are committed to ensuring we meet the needs of our sector by being inclusive, open and accessible to everyone. We work hard to make sure all our staff, students, partners and stakeholders feel comfortable and able to work and create in the very best way possible. We make sure there are spaces available for discussion and debate around issues of current concern, not least how we can support the management of mental health within our community. Where we lack specialist expertise we engage with others to help us to ask the right questions. We continually seek to act to disrupt and change so we can achieve our objective of being a truly diverse and open organisation.

Environmentally aware and sustainable

From our impact on individual participants and our own community of artists to our wider responsibility that comes from our leadership role in the sector, we are committed for the long term and strive to ensure our organisation is resilient and sustainable. We operate a mixed economy model and demonstrate a truly entrepreneurial spirit to ensure our business can survive and thrive in our ever-changing world. In our home building in Hoxton we have adopted an environmental plan to ensure we use our building efficiently, monitoring our energy usage, making use of schemes that are available to us to support our ambitions around the reduction of our carbon footprint year on year.

Public benefit statement

The National Centre for Circus Arts has been providing public benefit by enabling the creation of excellent and innovative circus for almost thirty years. Every year we involve thousands of people in the physical challenges and artistic pleasures of Circus Arts. In shaping our objectives for the year and planning our activities, the trustees have considered the Charity charit

Our diverse range of work includes our BA degreefirst), which is supported by a structured training programme for under-18s and professional development opportunities for aspiring and established performers. Adults and young people can enjoy recreational classes and people of all ages can attend performances. We also run highly regarded workshops, away-days and team building events for the corporate community. Over the last decade we have been developing our creation and production capabilities and have been working in partnership to make work that can tour regionally, nationally and internationally. Our emphasis is always on collaborative and partnership working.

We are engaged in activity that significantly contributes to the cultural life of the UK by:

producing exceptional artists who shape the future of the Circus Arts;

• developing potential and creativity through world-class higher education vocational training;

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Public benefit statement (continued)

• finding and nurturing young artists;

• supporting the cultural infrastructure;

• fuelling development in the creative industries; and

providing national and international leadership in Circus Arts.

We take our responsibility to provide public benefit very seriously and we welcome the scrutiny that statutory funding relationships expect. This has encouraged us to raise standards and to continue to challenge ourselves. It ensures we gather evidence to back up our claims to excellence. We continue to report against various criteria to our major statutory stakeholder, the Office for Students.

ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE

Equality, diversity and inclusion

The Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Committee is made up of non-teaching and teaching staff, trustees, circus artists and students, and is co-chaired by Ali King, the Chair of the Board of trustees and Kaveh Rahnama, a circus performer/teacher. It met four times in the 2022-23 actions this year include:

• recognised by NCCA, through social media and dressing of the Reception area.

• Developing a strategy around the promotional photography we commission and use.

• Having an accessibility audit of our Coronet Street building conducted by Graeae.

• Engaging with the Black Lives Natter Circus event, scheduled for 2024.

Key focus for 2023/24

• Establish how the Committee can usefully and most effectively support the implementation of our Access & Participation Plan.

• Continue to ensure we are collecting good data on our users, so we know where we need to make improvements.

• Hold another on-site community event.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Environmental sustainability

We have a long commitment to environmental sustainability, and we have been working with generate almost 6,000 kwh per year of electricity. This is equivalent to 2 months electricity usage in an average UK household. 100% of our electricity and gas supply is from renewable sources and our Environmental Policy commits us to reducing our carbon emissions by 5% year-on-year. We recycle plastic, glass, paper, food waste, cardboard, electrical waste and avoid landfill as much as possible. Our environmental commitment forms part of our induction for all new staff and students, and our staff Environmental Sustainability Action Group ensures measures are both practical and realistic in reducing on-site carbon emissions.

In 2022/23 we continued to use Pilio as planned and proceeded with steps to stop the purchase of single use plastics for internal events. With external events efforts are made to more difficult. Efforts to switch to LED lighting across the site has also stalled due to the organisational restructure but will return as an aim in the new financial year.

Key focus for 2023/24

• Implement the Green Book, which is an initiative around sustainability in events, with a view to this being a recommendation of sustainable behaviour to those hiring our space for events.

• 50% of site to have energy efficient LED lighting and PIR sensors where appropriate.

• Implement a programme of planting on site that works to support biodiversity and use the roof more effectively.

• nergy use; carbon

• emissions.

Higher education achievements and challenges

Although we were eagerly awaiting the arrival of our 2023-24 cohort of 65 students, we took ents arriving. This year alongside all the important information sharing and updates for teachers, we ran a session for all teachers from across the organisation looking at neurodiversity. James McCambridge, our Teacher Education Manager, delivered a very engaging session that was thought provoking and useful. We are seeing a sharp increase in students with neurodivergent more support and guidance on how best to support the variation in the student group.

From the 65 students who arrived on day one, there were 27 in the new first year, 24 in the second year, and 14 in the BA year. 49 students were UK fee payers and 16 on international fees.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Higher education achievements and challenges (continued)

This year was our first year as an Independent Higher Education Institution. Across all levels of the organisation, we have been working hard to ensure we were prepared for this moment. Froniga Lambert, our COO, took on the oversight of our compliance and reporting deadlines. It is worth noting the significance of this step for the organisation and just how successfully we managed our first year of independence.

With data collection and reporting being such an important element of our OfS registration, we decided to retain the services of Imran Sheikh as our Data Manager. Imran was the Data Manager for the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. We currently share his time with two of the other ex-CDD schools. He works closely with the Degree Administration team on the collection and submission of all OfS data requirements, Stevie Taylor, our Head of Higher Education Administration and Student support worked with Imran to ensure our systems of data collection have been efficient and as simple as possible to reduce the likelihood of errors and unnecessary workload.

We proudly returned all data on time and in compliance with OfS requirements.

Student engagement across the year was excellent, the degree Strand Managers worked as the beginning of the year being difficult in terms of teacher availability. We believe this to be due to the number of teachers who moved from London or changed career during Covid. On top of that, September to December is our busiest time for building hires, which has become a crucial part of our financial stability. The degree team did an amazing job to relocate students and teachers to alternative venues so learning activity could continue.

Early into the first term we started planning for our two ensemble productions. For the first time, we were trialling running both the Foundation Degree ensemble and the BA ensemble in the same term. This presented some challenges around staffing of the technical and creative teams. However, it did mean that far fewer classes needed to be scheduled as two out of the three-year groups were in production. Overall, it was a positive change to have the ensembles close together and we have decided to run it that way again next year. The foundation degree show was directed by Lydia Harper. Lydia graduated from NCCA in 2013. Outside of NCCA, Lydia has a successful career as a circus director and is currently working as an a great success. Lydia, with the support of her creative team, dressed the Combustion Chamber as a cityscape. With audience members seated around three sides of the room, the students had the opportunity to perform in a space that felt very much like a version of the classic circus r . The show ran Wednesday to Saturday with both an evening and matinee show on the Saturday. Each show played to near capacity audiences with a total of 576 tickets sold across the run.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Higher education achievements and challenges (continued)

Our BA ensemble was directed by Catherine Boot Artistic Director of the c t Sit . The performances were presented at Jacksons Lane. Despite the small stage area, the students all remained on stage for a significant part of the show giving a true ensemble experience. As with most years, the Foundation Degree and BA positive audience feedback. This highlights depth and diversity of the creatives we work with and the versatility of our student groups. Again, we saw almost sell-out audiences for every performance.

The BA devised show is a highlight of the year for everyone. For the second year running we had the Combustion Chamber set out with cabaret chairs and tables. This was a popular design last year creating a huge stage space with terrific sight lines for audiences. Without the restrictions of spacing due to Covid, we were able to increase our capacity and could respond to huge audience demand for tickets. The show was opened again this year by an ensemble piece by the first-year students. The was choreographed and directed by our Strand opening to the show giving us all an exciting glimpse of what is to come as they continue their studies. The BA students were as amazing as always. The devised pieces are culmination of their three years at the school. They did themselves proud and showed how ready they all were to embark on careers as professional artists.

We had excellent student retention with no drop outs or failures to complete across the year. This is an enormous credit to the support structures in place to help students through both the academic and physical challenges of the course. Our Student Support Manager had a very busy year but clearly was very effective in her role. Equally, a lot of support was put in place around injury prevention and management. We do provide external physiotherapy support for students with more complex physical issues which need to be medicalised but the focus on physical health education and support offered internally has really paid off as students learn

As part of the ongoing development of the course, major course modifications for the first year of the Foundation Degree were submitted and approved through Kent University. The changes have been designed to clarify the progression across the three years of the course and to reduce the number of assessment points throughout the year. The team has worked tirelessly to create these new modules that will increase student understanding and engagement and to ensure the course stays current and appropriate for the ever-changing performing arts sector.

As part of the rewrite process, we had proposed the addition of another Strand Manager. This would have given us four posts and would have meant one manager for each of the four course stands. However, due to the low number of applications when the post was advertised and uncertainty around funding, we have withdrawn the fourth post. This has meant that Adrian Porter, the Head of Higher Education Delivery, and the three current Strand Managers have had to absorb this work. However, with the changes being made to the structure of the course through the re-write process, the team feels they are creating and seeing efficiencies meaning the workload is manageable.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Higher education achievements and challenges (continued)

Our involvement with FEDEC continues to be a valuable resource. Adrian Porter and Martha Harrison have been involved in the SPEAK OUT event which took place in Paris. The event facilitated discussion around the prevention of discrimination and gender-based violence in the circus and street arts sector.

We are also active participants in the RIGGERS project. As with most FEDEC events, RIGGERS workshops bring together expertise from circus schools around the world to share us rigging and safety. The project aims to establish systems and techniques to ensure safety and support circus innovation and for materials to then be shared across the international circus network.

Applications for the 2023-2024 academic year opened in October and unfortunately, we received a lower number of applications in comparison with previous years. However, despite this, the quality of the candidates was high and we were able to offer enough places to give us a full first year intake for 2023-24.

Academic Results

We had another year of exceptional academic results. 14 of 14 students graduated from the BA programme. We had two lower class seconds, eight upper second class and four first class degrees awarded.

Specialist Performing Arts Fund

This was the first year that we were in receipt of the Specialist Performing Arts Fund, a new funding stream from the Office for Students. With this additional £300,000, we have been able to continue with the level of delivery and quality of student experience that we established over many years within the Conservatoire of Dance and Drama. The money was specifically used to maintain the high number of student contact hours with our highly specialised and experienced teachers. Funding also goes towards our student support provision and ensuring students have access to the specific equipment need for their chosen disciplines. This fund will be in place for another four years.

Knowledge Exchange Fund

This year we were in receipt of the Knowledge Exchange Fund which was provided by Research England. This fund was only available for 2021-22 and 2022-23. We only became eligible in 2022-23 once we became an independent HEI. The fund was to help educational organisations to rebuild after Covid, create partnerships and to engage in knowledge exchange. We directed the majority of the funds towards developing and promoting our commercial circus activity to introduce new participants and audiences to our art form. We created a series of promotional and educational video resources with the hope of attracting more participants into our programmes and to offer online learning opportunities for audiences on a national and international level. The fund also contributed to our National Youth Circus Event which brings groups from all around the country for the purpose of learning and teaching. The event gives youth participants and their teachers the opportunity to experience classes at the National Centre, arguably the top circus training facility in the UK, and to understand the wealth of opportunity there is for careers in the circus sector.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Teaching Excellence Framework

For 2022-23 we retained our Gold TEF status as a transition year after leaving CDD. We needed to reapply during the year and await to hear our banding for 2023-24. Stevie Taylor our Head of Academic Administration and Student Support did a huge amount of work on the submission compiling data and evidence. The implication of the TEF award beyond the reputational impact is the ability to charge £9,250 as opposed to £9,000 for UK home fee students. In the new system any institution awarded at least a bronze is eligible for the higher fee rate. We were delighted when at the end of the academic year we were provisionally told that we have been awarded TEF Silver.

Key focus for 2023/24

• Submission of major course amendments for the second year of the foundation degree by January 2024

• Develop a relationship with Vivafest circus festival in Las Vegas to support and encourage applications for the Degree from American artists.

• Review physiotherapy provision and administrative processes associated with booking

Artist development

Throughout the year we saw a strong and consistent growth in the number of members of our Open Training programme. It has been positive to see so many new faces joining the professional membership programme. Stefano Di Renzo has done an excellent job of supporting our artists and representing the professionals within the organisation. We have continued to offer a number of workshops and seminars throughout the year. Stefano had direct communication with the members to understand what their needs and desires for further professional development were and what workshops we could facilitate to provide appropriate support. We had a number of practical sessions which are always popular as well as more discussion-based sessions around topics such as circus producing and funding. When space allows, an offer will go out to the degree students for them to join the workshops, encouraging networking and first steps into professional relationships.

Cycle 2 of the Jerwood Circus Residencies happened in the first term of the year. It was another very successful programme this year. The application and selection process were exceptionally well run. It was encouraging to see the number of applications and the level of creativity and innovation that was presented.

Our aim for the second cycle of the programme was to encourage applications from people from backgrounds marginalised in circus. We had a number of applications fitting these criteria including applications from neurodivergent artists.

The Jerwood Arts residencies are a hugely important programme for us and add much needed resource to the creation of new circus in the UK. The programme allows us to realise the potential of the facilities and support staff at the National Centre for the direct benefit for circus artists.

Although we currently do not have funding in place for next year, we have been in discussion with Jerwood Arts and are waiting for applications to open in 2023/24.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Artist development

Key focus for 2023/24

• Continue to grow members in the Open Training Programme.

• Reapply for funding through Jerwood Arts in 2023/24

• Develop relationships with circus festivals and venues to develop possible performing opportunities for artists and graduates.

Youth development, outreach and support for teachers

Similar to the challenges we saw on the Degree programme, we started the new academic year with a shortage of teaching staff. All staff worked hard to cover classes where possible but we were struggling for consistency in class delivery. The teachers that were available were often having to make quick changes to class plans to cover gaps in teaching staff. However, after a recruitment drive for teachers and the return of some of our regular teachers back into London, we started to find some stability.

Both the London Youth Circus programme and the Centre for Advanced Training provision started positively. We enrolled 21 students across the three levels of LYC. We struggled to recruit as many internal (London based) CAT students as we would have liked although we did recruit new external students into the programmes at our partner schools across the UK.

collaboratively with our local neighbours Hoxton Hall to enhance their summer school offer by bringing their young participants to the National Centre to try circus for the very first time. At the end of that week, the CAT show was performed in Hoxton Hall to an enthusiastic audience. The project was the beginning of what we are sure will be an important and mutually beneficial relationship with a local arts organisation.

The most popular event of the year for the Learning and Participation team is the National Youth Circus event. This year, it was held in April. We had 66 young people attend and 34 adult teaching staff who had their own programme of professional development activity, accompanying the young people. The team have perfected the planning and delivery of the event so when the weekend comes it is hugely enjoyable for everyone. This year we were able to purchase tickets to take everyone to see Circa, an Australian circus company that were playing on the Southbank. For many of the young people it was their first time to London so it was an important and memorable evening for them to visit such a prestigious venue in the capital.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Youth development, outreach and support for teachers (continued)

This year, we launched two new outreach initiatives as part of our Access and Participation Plan. CircusSpire is a weekly after school club we re running in two local secondary schools: Stoke Newington and Clapton Girls. In phase two of the programme students were invited to attend a weekly class at NCCA from January to July with the ultimate aim of offering places onto the London Youth Circus. At the end of the year, we had eight students independently apply for and gain places on LYC. This has probably been one of the most effective programmes in terms of engagement and retention of young people from global majority and low socio-economic backgrounds.

CircUnity is a project which aims to create robust partnerships with local community groups who have identified under-represented participants, and who are seeking participatory opportunities with accessibility barriers removed. It aimed to bridge the gap between our oneoff community outreach workshops and enrolment on our youth and degree programmes. CircUnity delivered a 3-day circus intensive during October half term (linking into Black History Month) and then delivered follow up workshops with each attending community group. Again, big strides have been made in the work done by the L&P managers in establishing supported by Mimbre & Tramshed/ St Marga ve will take place at Tramshed in Bethnal Green.

Key focus for 2023-24

• Continue to embed the widening participation strategy and evaluate and refine the APP which will need to be rewritten and submitted to the OfS in Spring or Summer 2024

• Prepare CAT and LYC students for further study.

Safeguarding, staff support and mental health first aid

During 2022/23 the National Centre has conducted a holistic review of our working practices relating to safeguarding, mental health first aid and staff support. Driven by our understanding of the impact of the pandemic and how this has changed our approach to work and to how our students live and study with us, we have been keen to ensure our policies and practices remain fit for purpose.

In the autumn of 2022, allegations of historic inappropriate relationships between former students and teachers, racism, and inadequate reporting pathways were made when an article was published in The Stage newspaper. This came as a huge shock to the organisation as upon an initial internal investigation, there were no recorded grievances or complaints made at the time. An external independent review into the allegations and into our own safeguarding processes was undertaken, however, and it was felt that the procedures in place were appropriate and no evidence was found to corroborate the allegations.

The process was obviously unsettling and of concern and as result, we have put in additional measures to ensure that any future instances, should they arise, can be reported in a safe and timely way. This includes setting up an anonymous reporting system that circumvents the senior management team and goes to straight the Audit Committee of the board.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Safeguarding, staff support and mental health first aid (continued)

The safeguarding group, comprising seven members of the staff team all trained in safeguarding, meets monthly to share any concerns and to ensure appropriate training is being delivered throughout the year for all staff, as well as reviewing and keeping our current safeguarding policy and processes up to date.

designed by The Old Vic. This scheme provides dedicated and trained members of staff to help signpost anyone who feels they need support to the most appropriate resources and internal processes. This scheme is due to launch in Autumn 2023 and complements our existing team of Mental Health First Aiders, who are again staff trained specifically to offer first stage support to colleagues and students who may be struggling with their mental health.

Key focus for 2023-24

• To launch and evaluate year one of the Guardians scheme

• Review our safeguarding policy and benchmark against best practice examples in the sector.

• Create a register of all staff to ensure everyone is trained or have refresher training for safeguarding at least every three years.

Corporate and commercial work

The commercial team saw significant growth well beyond the original target and ambition for the year. Where a 30% increase in venue hire was hoped for always the largest segment of commercial activity by the end of the year an increase of just under 64% was achieved, taking venue hire turnover to £535,000 (a record amount) compared to £325,000 in the year 2021-22. This source of income is of huge importance to the organisation and it was, therefore, encouraging to see this bounce back post-pandemic. Delivering this activity does come with challenges, however, as other core activity has to be paused or relocated to accommodate it. Over the year the venue team worked hard to ensure that disruption was kept to a minimum and these efforts will be taken into future years.

There was also an aim to increase the income from corporate workshops and consultancy. £40,000.

In relation to the recreational programme, there was a target to increase the number of participant places across both the adult and youth programmes from 585 to 640 and to reach an overall occupancy for both programmes of 85%. Growth here was positive and although by the start of the third term, total places were short of the target at 605, overall occupancy sat at 92%. When based on income, this saw a total income just short £320,000 compared to an income of £285,000 in the previous year. This meant an overall growth of 12%.

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ACHIEVEMENT AND PERFORMANCE (continued)

Corporate and commercial work (continued)

Key focus for 2023-24

• Ensure that the venue hire operation and ability to generate income in the region of £550,000 is maintained with as little disruption as possible.

• Continue to increase the uptake of corporate workshops and consultancy across all types of offer.

• Develop the recreational programme further to ensure that participant places can reach 640, coupled with further increases in occupancy. Through this increase in places and some changes to the way that concessions are offered, the income target for 2023/24 will sit at £380,000

Fundraising

Fundraising efforts have faced difficulty in this financial year as several factors impacted the ability to hit target. This mainly focussed around the sudden cost of living crisis and increase in interest rates hitting in October of 2022 and the ensuing nervousness of larger trusts and foundations to make grants to lesser known organisations. Although considerable relationship building took place and several bids were made around support for the Access and Participation plan, success was limited.

Two notable donations were made, however, from a private individual and another from the philanthropic arm of Allen and Overy. In addition to this, smaller individual donations remained consistent with previous years.

This financial year also saw the end of two longer term supported projects. The first was the end of the Jerwood Residencies project, supporting circus artists to develop new work through hire of the spaces here at the National Centre. The other was the end of the three-year Children in Need supported Sensory Circus project, delivering bespoke recreational circus activity for children with autism and additional needs. Both projects have been a huge success and feedback from the funders has so far been positive

Key focus for 2023-24

• Explore project funding through Arts Council England now that the National Centre is no longer a National Portfolio Organisation.

• Prioritise funding for the APP as a whole, or constituent elements of it.

• Explore a continued relationship with the Jerwood Foundation or seek alternative support for a project supporting the creation and development of new circus.

• Seek an extension to the Sensory Circus project from Children in Need or through alternative funders.

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STRATEGIC REPORT

Financial review

Income

With the help of the ACE transition funding as well as the OfS specialist art provider funding our income mix has remained robust in the 2022-23 period.

Income from our core Higher Education activity improved further mainly as a result of the retention of international students. In addition, our Commercial and Recreational income has also continued to grow from 2021-22 (£858k) to £1.04m.

The following table clearly illustrates these patterns.

Higher Education Non-HE Grants & Donations Commercial & Recreational Total Income	2022-23 2021-22 2020-21 44% 42% 37% 19% 26% 57% 37% 32% 6%
	100% 100% 100%
	£3.11m £2.66m £2.78m

2022-23 income

----- Start of picture text -----
Higher Education Non HE Grants & Donations Commercial & Recreational
----- End of picture text -----

Total Unrestricted income remained at 92% (2022: 92%).

Results for the year

With inflation at an all- time high as well as the loss of ACE funding, 2022-23 required cost savings to be put into place resulting in a restructure of organisational roles. Along with this the organisation also extended its accounting year to a 13-month period This led us to anticipate a deficit of £147k in our forecasts but we are showing an actual surplus of £111k. One off transactions such as the release of holiday accruals built up over the Covid years have been released in this year contributing to the surplus shown.

National Centre for Circus Arts 17

Trustees

Period ended 31 August 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Financial review (continued)

Results for the year (continued)

The following graph illustrates our financial history over the past five years:

----- Start of picture text -----
Financial Results 2018-19 to 2022-23
3200 250
3100 200
3000 150
2900 100
2800 50
2700 0
2600 -50
2500 -100
2400 -150
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
Total Income Surplus/ -Deficit
----- End of picture text -----

Balance sheet and liquidity

At the year-end, the charity together with its two trading subsidiaries had net current assets of £286k (2022 £230k) and remained very liquid.

In 2021-22 we drew down a £200k Loan with our mainstream bankers, the Cooperative Bank; out of caution due to the pandemic. We have not needed to utilise this loan and we are in the process of negotiating an overdraft facility to replace the loan having been twice rejected.

Net of the remaining balance of this Loan, our Cash Balances at 31st August 2023 totalled £578k (2022: £613k) which predominantly represented the Unrestricted Funds on 31st August 2023 ( see below)

Unrestricted funds

As a matter of policy, each year the Trustees review the value of reserves held in cash and cash equivalents that are not restricted or designated to any particular purpose. We also consider our exposure to the risk of any significant loss of income or unforeseen cost. A decline in income is the major risk that these reserves mitigate against and we recognise that current threats from the economic climate, market conditions and, particularly for us at this time, changes in public sector funding. We also account for expected expenditure on upcoming capital projects.

The Unrestricted funds are intended to ensure we could maintain core operations for a period of at least three months in very difficult circumstances. The Board target for this General Reserve at 31st August 2023 was £519k.

National Centre for Circus Arts 18

Trustees

Period ended 31 August 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Financial review (continued)

Unrestricted funds (continued)

As a result of the £111k Surplus in the year, Unrestricted reserves increased to £656k at 31st target, our Budget for 202324 predicts that the Unrestricted funds will be further reduced by a Deficit that year as we adjust to the withdrawal of key public sector teaching grants and the loss of the ACE NPO grant.

----- Start of picture text -----
Liquidity and Unrestricted funds 2018-19 to 2022-23
800 1000
800
600
600
400
400
200
200
0 0
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23
Axis Title
Liquidity Unrestricted Funds
Liquidity
Unrestricted Funds
----- End of picture text -----

Going concern

In light of the above and having considered in detail the Budget for 2023-24 and the Projection for 2024-25 and particularly their cash flows, the Trustees consider it appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going-concern basis.

Subsidiary Companies: Review of activities

The two companies are wholly owned subsidiaries of the charity; trading profits are distributed to the charity to support our charitable objectives.

Circus Space Property Company Limited

The Property Company holds the 150-year lease of the three phases of the Hoxton site.

It is through the Property Company that we manage the letting of space for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in our small office units and to companies using the Creation Studio to make and rehearse work. This revenue stream has seen a return to normal operation postpandemic.

National Centre for Circus Arts 19

Period ended 31 August 2023

Trustees

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Subsidiary Companies: Review of activities (continued)

Circus Space Property Company Limited (continued) In 2022-2023

• 8 artists/companies have spent time free of charge in the Creation Studio, equating to 9 days given as support in kind at a commercial value of approximately £4,500.

• 30 circus artists or companies have collectively spent 86 days in the Creation Studio at a supported rate, equating to a subsidy of approximately £23,000.

• 92% occupancy has been achieved across the year of the 11 units that make up the Energy Centre.

Circus Space Events Limited

It is through the Events Company that we manage corporate and private training workshops, consultancy and the hires of our large training spaces and courtyard for major events. There has been a healthy resurgence in business. Over the year there were eleven large scale hires resulting in an income of £535,000.

In addition to this, corporate workshops saw 10 workshops or private sessions taking place generating just under £20,000.

Our consultancy efforts saw us work with eight separate clients generating just over £15,000.

Principal risks and uncertainties

We have a rigorous approach to risk management and risk is identified and discussed throughout the organisation with the Trustees, via the Audit subcommittee which receives quarterly information for scrutiny and reports to the Board of Trustees

We have identified the following as significant risks:

Funding and economic risks

As detailed in the Financial Review above, we rely considerably on grant funding, in large part via the Office for Students and until recently Arts Council England, both of which funding streams are subject to regular review. We also receive significant income via Higher Education student fees and a small change in student numbers has a substantial financial impact. In addition, we raise funds via our biennial Gala, from trusts & foundations and individuals, and from our commercial activities.

With the transitional funding offered by the Arts Council having ended in October 2023, the organisation has implemented cost reduction plans which has resulted in an organisational restructure whilst also seeking income from other funding sources in order to remain financially viable and to mitigate the risk of being overly reliant on one funding provider.

National Centre for Circus Arts 20

Period ended 31 August 2023

Trustees

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Principal risks and uncertainties (continued)

Funding and economic risks (continued)

Raising funds from trusts, foundations and individuals has been affected by the current cost of living crisis and funders have changed priorities which has made success in this area difficult. We are, however, still presenting a case-for-support that will highlight the societal and health and wellbeing impacts of circus, alongside the creative ones, to ensure the widest appeal to potential funders and donors.

The Commercial Directorate continues to be crucial in bringing in additional income that mitigates the risks from precarious statutory funding and hiring out our Coronet Street building for corporate events continues to be an important source of revenue. There is further scope for recreational courses & classes, and additional income streams such as casting & consultancy continue to grow.

Student numbers

We aim to grow Higher Education student numbers steadily over the next 4 years. However, there are a number of risks:

• Not attracting a suitable pool of applicants: The Marketing team is creating a revamping of the Higher Education prospectus and will be undertaking more active promotion of our Higher Education course.

• We are developing a relationship with a circus festival in Las Vegas in response to the increased interest we have seen from American applicants.

• Students do not take up offered places: although we did receive more applications from European students than expected now they are required post Brexit to pay international fees, we still had some applicants that were unable to accept their places having misunderstood the impact on student fees. We are ensuring the funding situation for EU students is made very clear in the new prospectus and other literature and events relating to student recruitment.

• Students drop out in-year: 22/23 had no in-year dropouts however we are very aware that student retention is still a high risk. We continue to offer some financial support and as much pastoral care as we can to assist all students to successfully complete the course and move into a professional career as a circus artist.

Compliance with higher education regulation

As an independent Higher Education Provider, we are also a designated public body. As such, we are now subject to regulation from a variety of organisations, not only the Office for Students but also bodies such as the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, Higher Education Statistical Agency and the Competition & Markets Authority, as well as having new obligations under the Freedom of Information Act.

National Centre for Circus Arts 21

Period ended 31 August 2023

Trustees

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Principal risks and uncertainties (continued)

Compliance with higher education regulation (continued)

The Chief Operating Officer has taken on a lead role in ensuring we are fully compliant in all areas, and we have engaged a Data Manager on a shared basis with two of the other former CDD schools to assist us in submitting the various data returns we are now obliged to make at points throughout the year.

Our ability to recruit and retain people with the right skills and experience is a key risk for us. During COVID many in the performing arts and associated creative industries struggled considerably, to the extent that many left the industry altogether, or moved out of London. We have seen the impacts of this in a lack of availability of circus arts teachers, and also technical production staff whom we engage on a freelance basis around student shows. We also recognise that COVID has not gone away, and that therefore sickness absence is likely to continue at a relatively high rate, especially during the winter.

Our financial situation highlighted above also makes it hard for our staff salaries to keep pace with the cost of living and inflation. We are grateful to all of our staff for their hard work and dedication, especially during the very uncertain pandemic years.

Ensuring robust governance

Our objective is to have a Trustee board that reflects the diversity of our community. We have made further progress towards this, with two new members taking up office in 22/23. As we continue with more trustee recruitment we will again be encouraging applications from underrepresented groups, particularly people from the Global Majority, but also from a broad agerange and people living with disabilities.

Our Trustee Board is mainly London based, so we hope also to recruit new members from across the UK to help us to understand and amplify the challenges faced by circus artists and companies wherever they are based.

Governance and internal control

The Trustees have identified and incorporated best practice in accordance with the Charities SORP and Charity Commission guidance.

The charity endeavours to conduct its business in accordance with the seven principles identified by the Committee on Standards in Public Life selflessness, integrity, objectivity, accountability, openness, honesty and leadership.

Our Governing Body and Academic Board each have clearly defined functions and responsibilities to oversee and manage our activities.

• a) The Governing Body is the Trustee Board, responsible for matters including finance, property and staffing of the institution. It is specifically required to determine the educational character and mission of the institution and to set its general strategic direction.

National Centre for Circus Arts 22

Period ended 31 August 2023

Trustees

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Governance and internal control (continued)

The Trustee Board has several independent advisors. The Chair is elected from among the trustees; Trustee Board meetings are attended by all members of the Senior Management Team. No members of the Trustee Board may receive remuneration for the work that they do for that body. New trustees are recruited via an open recruitment process of advertisement and interview which is overseen by the Remunerations and Nominations Committee. All trustees are given an induction into the organisation by the Chief Executive, regular performance review by the Chair of Trustees and are offered relevant training when it arises. In addition to regular subcommittee and full board meetings, the trustees meet annually for an away day to review performance and set strategy for the coming years.

• b) Subject to the overall responsibility of the Trustee Board, the Academic Board has oversight of academic affairs and draws its membership entirely from the staff and students of the charity. A nominated trustee attends Academic Board as an observer and reports back to the board of trustees. It is particularly concerned with general issues relating to the learning, teaching and research work of the charity.

The Chief Executive is the head of the charity and has a general responsibility to the Trustee Board for the organisation, direction and management of the charity. The Chief Executive is the accountable officer and, in that capacity, can be summoned to appear before the Public Accounts Committee of the House of Commons.

Although the Truste

is delegated to committees for Finance, Remuneration & Nominations, and Audit. These committees operate under specific terms of reference with all minutes being reported to the Trustee Board, and all decisions being ratified by the Trustee Board.

The Trustees delegate responsibility for setting remuneration of senior staff to the Remuneration and Nominations Committee. The committee follows a process of external benchmarking within our sector to set suitable levels of pay within our own pay structure.

A significant proportion of the membership of these committees consists of members of the Trustee Board. Co-opted staff and student members may also be eligible to serve on some of these committees, subject to the provisions of the articles. The Chair of each committee is selected from the Trustees.

The Chief Executive and senior management team exercises considerable influence over the development of the institutional strategy, the identification and planning of new developments, and shaping of the institutional ethos. The Senior Management Team all contribute in various ways to these aspects of this work but the ultimate responsibility for what is done rests with the Trustees.

The charity maintains a register of interests of the Trustees and Senior Management Team which may be consulted by arrangement with the Company Secretary.

National Centre for Circus Arts 23

Trustees

Period ended 31 August 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Governance and internal control (continued)

The systems of internal control are designed to provide reasonable, but not absolute, assurance against material misstatement or loss. These include:

A strategic plan and an annual budget approved by the Trustees.

• Regular consideration by the Trustees of financial results including variance from the approved budget.

• Delegation of authority and segregation of duties.

• An annual formal internal audit, with the resulting report and actions reviewed and approved by the Trustees. One such audit has taken place during the year.

• Identification and management of risks.

Statement of Trustees responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of the National Centre for Circus Arts for the purposes trategic Report) and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.)

Company law requires Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the charitable company and the group and of the income and expenditure, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

• observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

• make judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

• state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

• prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

National Centre for Circus Arts 24

Trustees

Period ended 31 August 2023

STRATEGIC REPORT (continued)

Statement of Trustees responsibilities (continued)

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

• and

• the Trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

The Trustees have formalised the management of risk. The risk register is developed and monitored by the Chief Executive and Senior Management. It identifies risks to the charity in terms of their severity and probability and identifies actions to be taken to mitigate the risks, identifying timescale and responsibility. The Trustees review the register annually.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

By order of the Board

Chair of the Board

National Centre for Circus Arts 25

on the financial statements 31 August 2023

I

Members of the National Centre for Circus Arts

Opinion.

We have audited the financial statements of the National Centre for Circus Arts (the charitable parent company) for the period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 which comprise the group statement of financial activities, the group and charitable parent company balance sheets, the group statement of cash flows the principal accounting policies and notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting epted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

• give a true and fair view of the state of the group affairs as at 31 August 2023 and for the period then ended;

• have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;

• the financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006;

• in all material aspects, funds received for specific purposes administered by the National Centre for Circus Arts have been applied only for the purposes for which they were received and managed in accordance with relevant legislation; and

• in all material aspects, funds from the Office for Students and Research England have been applied in accordance with the relevant terms and conditions; and

• institutions have been met.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Office for Students requires us to report to you, if in our opinion:

• Grant and fee income, as disclosed in the note to the accounts, has not been materially misstated and

• Expenditure on access and participation activities for the financial year has not been materially misstated.

National Centre for Circus Arts 26

on the financial statements 31 August 2023

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial st Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

• the infor

• purposes of company law and includes the strategic report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

National Centre for Circus Arts 27

on the financial statements 31 August 2023

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 (continued)

• and includes the strategic report, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material including the strategic report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

• adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

• the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

by law are not made; or

• we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.r

Responsibilities of trustees

the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the group ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

National Centre for Circus Arts 28

on the financial statements 31 August 2023

(continued)

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

• the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

• we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company through discussions with management, and from our knowledge and experience of the sector;

• we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the charitable company, including the Further and Higher Education Act 1992, Companies Act 2006, funding agreements with the OfS and associated funding rules, data protection legislation, antibribery, safeguarding, employment, health and safety legislation;

• we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and

• identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.

We

misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

• making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and

• considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

• To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

• performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;

• tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;

• assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in the accounting policies were indicative of potential bias; and

• used data analytics to investigate the rationale behind any significant or unusual transactions.

National Centre for Circus Arts 29

on the financial statements 31 August 2023

(continued)

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;

• reading the minutes of Trustee meetings;

• enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located

Use or our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity e to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Catherine Biscoe (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

Date: 12 December 2023

National Centre for Circus Arts 30

Consolidated statement of financial activities (including the income and expenditure account) Period ended 31 August 2023

Notes	Unrestricted funds £	Restricted funds £	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 Total funds £	Year ended 31 July 2022 Total funds £
Income from: Donations and capital grants 1 Investments Charitable activities 2 Other trading activities . Income from trading activities and other receipts 4 Total income Expenditure on: Charitable activities 5 Raising funds . Fundraising and publicity Commercial trading costs Total expenditure Net income (expenditure) Other recognised gains Tax credit 19 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	1,047,322 2,223 1,180,783 705,629	176,133	1,223,455 2,223 1,180,783 705,629	1,042,134 277 1,000,965 627,508
	2,935,957	176,133	3,112,090	2,670,884
	2,410,582 34,950 410,646	176,133	2,586,713 34,950 410,646	2,489,067 85,962 228,119
	2,856,178	176,133	3,032,309	2,803,148
	79,781 31,615		79,781 31,615	(132,264) 22,000
	111,396 545,011	2,852,427	111,396 3,397,438	(110,264) 3,507,702
	656,407	2,852,427	3,508,834	3,397,438

All of the charity activities derived from continuing operations during the above two financial periods.

National Centre for Circus Arts 31

Balance sheets 31 August 2023

Notes	Group	Group	Charity	Charity
	31 August 2023 £	31 July 2022 £	31 August 2023 £	31 July 2022 restated £
Fixed assets Tangible assets 12 Investments 13 Debtors Amounts falling due after more than one year 15 Current assets Stock Debtors 1 Cash at bank and in hand Liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 16 Net current assets/(liabilities) Creditors: amounts falling due after one year 17 Total assets less current liabilities Funds of Restricted funds 18 Unrestricted funds Total funds	3,333,473 200	3,320,054	215,681 400	202,261 200
	3,333,673	3,320,054	216,081 3,140,092	202,461 3,140,092
	2,295 89,606 731,342	2,000 223,804 799,325	2,295 264,852 652,913	2,000 165,198 631,767
	823,243 (537,524)	1,025,129 (795,416)	920,060 (1,153,696)	798,965 (915,845)
	285,719	229,713	(233,636)	(116,880)
	(110,558)	(152,329)	(110,558)	(152,329)
	3,508,834	3,397,438	3,011,979	3,073,344
	2,852,427 656,407	2,852,427 545,011	2,852,428 159,551	2,852,427 220,917
	3,508,834	3,397,438	3,011,979	3,073,344

The financial statements on page 31 to 51 were approved by Board on and signed on its behalf by:

Chair of the Board

Chief Executive Officer

Company Limited by Guarantee

Registration Number: 02553293 (England and Wales)

National Centre for Circus Arts 32

Consolidated statement of cash flows Period ended 31 August 2023

Note	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Net cash provided by operating activities Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities A Cash flows from investing activities B Interest received Purchase of tangible assets Net cash used in investing activities Cash flows from financing activities Loan Loan repayment Change in cash and cash equivalents in the period Cash and cash equivalents at the start of the period Cash and cash equivalents at the end of theperiod D	37,996 2,224 (32,543)	(52,107) 277 (11,496)
	(30,319) (75,660)	(11,219) 186,217
	(67,983)	122,891
	799,325	676,434
	731,342	799,325

A Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities

	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Net income (expenditure) for the period (as per the statement of financial activities) Adjusted for: Depreciation charges Interest receivable Increase in investments (Increase) decrease in stock Decrease (increase) in debtors (Decrease) increase in creditors Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities	111,396 19,124 (2,224) (200) (295) 134,198 (224,003) 37,996	(110,264) 17,322 (277) 2,376 (12,008) 50,744 (52,107)

B Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

	31 August 2023 £	31 July 2022 £
Cash at bank and in hand Total cash and cash equivalents	731,342 731,342	799,325 799,325

National Centre for Circus Arts 33

Consolidated statement of cash flows Period ended 31 August 2023

C Analysis of changes in net debt

Analysis of changes in net debt
	At 1 August 2022 £	Cash flows £	At 31 August 2023 £
Cash Loans falling due within one year Loans falling due after more than one year Total	799,325	(68,083)	731,242
	(33,889) (152,329) 613,107	(8,159) 41,771 (34,471)	(42,048) (110,558) 578,636

National Centre for Circus Arts 34

Principal accounting policies 31 August 2023

Charitable company status

The charity is a company limited by guarantee. The members of the company are the Trustees as set out on page on page 1. In the event of the charity being wound up the liability on repaying the guarantee is £10 per member.

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The Charity is a public benefit entity for the purposes of FRS 102 and therefore the consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (The FRS 102 Charity SORP) issued on 1 January 2019, the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.

The financial statements are presented in sterling; amounts are rounded to the nearest pound.

Consolidation

The group accounts consolidate the accounts of National Centre for Circus Arts and its subsidiary undertakings, Circus Space Property Company Limited and Circus Space Events Limited, made up to 31 August 2023. The acquisition method of accounting has been adopted. National Centre for Circus Arts has taken advantage of the exemption in section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 from disclosing its individual statement of financial activities. The Charity only deficit (net movement in funds) was £61,366 (2022: deficit of £322,016). The results of the subsidiary entities are consolidated on a line by line basis. A summary of the results of the subsidiary entities is shown in note 13.

Going concern

The Trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern basis is appropriate and have considered possible events or conditions that might cast significant doubt on the ability of the charitable company and group to continue as a going concern. The Trustees have made this assessment for a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial projections. After making enquiries the Trustees believe that there is no material uncertainty that the charitable group will not continue to be a going concern and have concluded that there is reasonable expectation that the charitable group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

National Centre for Circus Arts 35

Principal accounting policies 31 August 2023

Income

Total income as shown in the statement of financial activities is the total income of the group. All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the Charity is entitled to the income, the receipt is probable, and the amount can be measured reliably. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

• Charitable activities are accounted for in the period to which they relate.

• Investment income is included on a receivable basis.

• Donations, grants and legacies are included in full in the statement of financial activities when receivable. Grants received in advance for specified future periods or where conditions are attached to their use which remain outside the control of the Charity are carried forward as deferred income and released when conditions for entitlement are fulfilled.

• Fees and other funding received towards the provision of training courses is recognised when the training is delivered. Income received in advance is deferred in the balance sheet and then released at the point of delivery of the related training/educational provision.

Grants

Government and local authority grants for the purchase of fixed assets are credited to restricted income when receivable. Provided there are no remaining restrictions on the use of the capital asset, the grant is released to unrestricted income when the asset is acquired as this fulfils the restriction placed by the donor on the use of the grant. Grants of a revenue nature are credited to income in the period in which they are receivable.

Expenditure

Expenditure is accounted for an on accruals basis. Direct charitable expenditure includes all costs related to the main purpose of National Centre for Circus Arts and include: costs of delivering the higher education course; youth and adult courses; and support to professional artists.

Fundraising and publicity includes all direct expenditure on publicising the work of National Centre for Circus Arts. Governance costs, which are included in the support costs, include those costs incurred in the governance of the charity and are primarily associated with regulatory requirements.

Direct costs

Direct costs are allocated to the activities for which they have been incurred.

Staff costs and support costs

Staff costs and overhead expenses are allocated to activities on the basis of staff time spent on those activities.

National Centre for Circus Arts 36

Principal accounting policies 31 August 2023

Employee costs

The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense. The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the associated expense when the Charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

Pension costs

The Charity operates a defined contribution scheme for the benefit of its employees. Contributions payable are charged to the statement of financial activities in the period they are payable.

Tangible fixed assets and depreciation

All fixed assets are stated at cost.

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its useful economic life.

Plant and equipment 10% on cost Improvements to leasehold premises 2% on cost Leasehold premises nil (see useful economic lives)

Assets with a value of less than £1,000 are not capitalised and written off in the financial statements in the period of purchase.

Stock

Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Restricted funds

Restricted funds are to be used to specified purposes as laid down by the donor.

Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds are income received or generated for the charities general purposes. Unrestricted funds at 31 July 2022, in respect of the charity only, were restated and reduced by £91,491. This was to correctly account for a late adjustment to creditors in the prior year.

Taxation

The company is a registered charity and is not liable to United Kingdom income or corporation tax on its charitable activities. Tax credits claimed under the theatre tax relief scheme are shown as a credit in the period to which it relates.

National Centre for Circus Arts 37

Principal accounting policies 31 August 2023

Operating lease commitment

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged against income on a straight-line basis over the lease term.

Financial instruments

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents include cash at banks and in hand and short-term deposits with a maturity date of three months or less.

Debtors and creditors

Debtors and creditors receivable or payable within one year of the reporting date are carried at their transaction price. Debtors and creditors that are receivable or payable in more than one year and not subject to a market rate of interest are measured at the present value of the expected future receipts or payment discounted at a market rate of interest.

Fixed asset investments

Interests in subsidiaries are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. The investments are assessed for impairment at each reporting date and any impairment losses ore reversals of impairment losses are recognised immediately in the statement of financial activities.

The Charity has provided a long term loan to its subsidiary company Circus Space Property Company Limited. The loan meets the definition of a public benefit entity concessionary loan and is such accounted for at amortised cost and reviewed annually for impairment.

Critical accounting estimates and judgements

judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an on-going basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised, if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods. The estimates and assumptions which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities are outlined below.

National Centre for Circus Arts 38

Principal accounting policies 31 August 2023

Useful economic lives

The annual depreciation charge for property, improvements to property, and plant and equipment is sensitive to changes in the estimated useful economic lives and residual values of the assts. The useful economic lives and residual values are re-assessed annually. They are amended when necessary to reflect current estimates, based on technological advancement, future investments, economic utilisation and the physical condition of the assets. See note 12 for the carrying amount of the property, improvements to property, and plant and equipment and the accounting policy for fixed assets for the useful economic lives for each class of asset.

Leasehold property has been capitalised and included in fixed assets at cost. On 19 March 2021, a professional valuation was undertaken by Pinders Professional & Consultancy Services Limited, giving a current market value of £8,350,000. This supports the view that the residual value of the leasehold building is not considered to be lower than its current carrying value in the accounts which is £3,256,667. On that basis, no further depreciation has been provided since that date. The property is reviewed annually for any potential impairment.

National Centre for Circus Arts 39

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

1 Donations and grants

Donations and grants
	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 Total £
Arts Council England Conservatoire for Dance & Drama (note 3) Jack Petchey Foundation Jerwood Leverhulme Trust Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) Sensory Circus Sundry donations Research England OfS Grant Income	377,046 98,307 18,305 193,548 360,116 1,047,322	8,060 2,485 20,015 64,500 60,674 19,400 999 176,133	377,046 106,367 2,485 20,015 64,500 60,674 19,400 18,305 193,548 361,115 1,223,455

	Unrestricted £	Restricted £	Year ended 31 July 2022 Total £
Arts Council England Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme Conservatoire for Dance & Drama (note 3) Jack Petchey Foundation Jerwood Arts Leverhulme Trust Contemporary Dance School (London) Sensory Circus Sundry donations	426,173 639 387,387 19,423 833,622	5,000 5,850 19,915 48,013 69,579 8,100 52,055 208,512	426,173 639 392,387 5,850 19,915 48,013 69,579 8,100 71,478 1,042,134

2 Income from charitable activities

Income from charitable activities
	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Fees from UK and international higher education students Audition and other fees Artists Development income Short Course income	732,380 11,112 50,469 386,822 1,180,783	623,750 7,059 31,647 338,509 1,000,965

National Centre for Circus Arts 40

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

3 Higher education funding

Until the 2022-23 accounting period the higher education income figure excluded funding receivable in the form of teaching grants from OfS through the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama:

	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £ 98,307	Year ended 31 July 2022 £ 387,387
Contributions from CDD (see note 1)

4 Other trading activities

Other trading activities
	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £ 76,749 27,769 13,250 587,861 705,629	Year ended 31 July 2022 £ 442,250 33,884 124,492 26,882 627,508
Workspace and room hire Classes, courses, and workshops Fundraising income Other income Corporate income

5 Direct charitable expenditure

Direct charitable expenditure
	Direct Costs £	Support Costs £	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 Total funds £
Artists Development Recreational Higher Education Participation and Outreach Training	53,676 315,951 798,591 175,567 63,338 1,407,123 Direct Costs £	59,907 102,131 481,818 452,461 83,273 1,179,590 Support Costs £	113,583 418,082 1,280,409 628,028 146,611 2,586,713 Year ended 31 July 2022 Total funds £
Artists Development Higher Education Participation and Outreach Training	60,969 666,652 473,007 38,371 1,238,999	228,513 490,025 485,857 45,673 1,250,068	289,482 1,156,677 958,864 84,044 2,489,067

National Centre for Circus Arts 41

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

6 Support costs and administration

	Governance £	Administration £ 26,661 392,577 76,816 416,739 76,815 989,608 Administration £	IT £ 1,217 17,915 3,505 19,017 3,505 45,159 IT £ 1,506 16,896 15,354 2,315 36,071	Operations £	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 Total £
Artists Development Higher Education Recreational Access, outreach and educational Training	889 13,086 2,561 13,892 2,561 32,989 Governance £			31,140 58,240 19,249 2,813 392 111,834 Operations £ 200,103 171,329 192,220 2,012 565,664	59,907 481,818 102,131 452,461 83,273 1,179,590 Year ended 31 July 2022 Total £ 228,513 490,025 485,857 45,673 1,250,068
Artists Development Higher Education Access, outreach and educational Training	778 8,725 11,956 1,195 22,654	26,126 293,075 266,327 40,151 625,679

7 Fundraising and publicity

Fundraising and publicity
	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Fundraising and publicity	34,950	85,962

8 Governance costs

Governance costs
	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Bank and other finance charges Professional fees	2,403 30,586 32,989	1,923 20,731 22,654

9 Access and participation

Access and participation
	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Access investment Financial support Support for disabled students Research and evaluation	125,500 101,060 2,880 3,000 232,440	16,074 128,068 144,142

National Centre for Circus Arts 42

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

10 Net income

Net income is stated after charging:

	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets Operating lease rentals audit prior year other services	19,125 51,270 19,950 2,759 8,990	17,322 61,786 11,300 9,431

11 Staff costs

Staff costs
	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension Redundancy	1,718,565 150,218 36,605 52,005 1,957,393	1,649,180 139,967 29,038 1,818,185

The average monthly number of employees during the period was as follows:

	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Tutors Administration	63 42 105	56 43 99

The average monthly number of employees includes a high number of part time staff, particularly among the highly specialised teaching disciplines. The full-time equivalents are:

	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022£
Tutors Administration	9 44 53	7 38 45

National Centre for Circus Arts 43

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

11 Staff costs (continued)

The following number of employees received salaries in excess of £60,000:

	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
£60,000 - £65,000 £65,000 - £70,000 £70,000 - £75,000 £75,000 - £80,000		2 2	1 1

Pension contributions for the above employee was £5,724 (2022: £2,641).

The National Centre for Circus Arts considers the Board of Trustees, the CEO, the COO, the Commercial Director, the Director of Professional Development and the Director of Finance as comprising the key management personnel of the charity. The total employment benefits for the five (2022: five) key management personnel was £338,857 (2022: £350,274).

Senior post-

The charity has formally adopted the Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code (2018). The CEO based on key performance indicators and regard is given to the salaries of comparable positions in the HE sector. The CEO

	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Salary Pension contributions Total emoluments	66,394 1,431 67,825	75,213 1,321 76,533

basic salary is 5.6 times that of the mean basic salary for all staff and 5.8 times if pension contributions are included. No members of staff received emoluments of £100,000 or more in the current period or comparative year.

National Centre for Circus Arts 44

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

12 Tangible assets

----- Start of picture text -----
Improvements
to leasehold Leasehold Plant &
premises premises equipment Total
Group £ £ £ £
Cost
At 1 August 2022 155,601 3,999,186 153,600 4,308,387
Additions 32,543 32,543
31 August 2023 188,144 3,999,186 153,600 4,340,930
Depreciation
At 1 August 2022 19,829 881,393 87,111 988,333
Charge for the period 3,764 15,360 19,124
At 31 August 2023 23,593 881,393 102,471 1,007,457
Net book value
At 31 August 2023 164,551 3,117,793 51,129 3,333,473
At 1 August 2022 138,884 3,117,793 69,202 3,320,054
----- End of picture text -----

The Arts Council England and The London Borough of Hackney hold various charges over aries, Circus Space Property Limited. The Arts Council England holds a debenture for any monies due to them secured over the investments and securities of the Charity.

On 19 March 2021, a professional valuation was undertaken by Pinders Professional & Consultancy Services Limited, giving a current market value of £8,350,000. This supports the view that the residual value of the leasehold building is not considered to be lower than its current carrying value in the accounts which is £3,256,667. On that basis, no further depreciation has been provided since that date. The property is reviewed annually for any potential impairment.

----- Start of picture text -----
Improvements
to leasehold Plant &
premises equipment Total
Charity £ £ £
Cost
At 1 August 2022 155,601 153,600 309,201
Additions 32,543 32,543
At 31 August 2023 188,144 153,600 341,744
Depreciation
At 1 August 2022 19,829 87,111 106,940
Charge for the period 3,763 15,360 19,123
At 31 August 2023 23,592 102,471 126,063
Net book value
At 31 August 2023 164,552 51,129 215,681
At 1 August 2022 135,772 66,489 202,261
----- End of picture text -----

National Centre for Circus Arts 45

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

13 Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments
Charity Investment in subsidiaries	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Cost At 1 August 2022 and 31 August 2023 Net book value At 31 August 2023 At 1 August 2022
	200	200
	200 200	200 200

The National Centre for Circus Arts has two wholly owned trading subsidiaries: Circus Space Events Company Limited (company number 04027679), which runs commercial events, and Circus Space Property Limited (company number 02803347) which owns the leasehold of the Coronet Street site and rents the majority of the space to National Centre for Circus Arts with smaller areas to third parties. These companies donate their distributable profits to National Centre for Circus Arts. The registered offices of both subsidiaries is Coronet Street, London. A summary of their trading results is shown below. Audited financial statements for these subsidiaries are filed annually with the Registrar of Companies.

Circus Space Events Company Limited results	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Profit and loss Turnover Administrative expenses Operating profit Profit and loss reserve Brought forward at 1 August 2022 Operating profit Distribution to National Centre for Circus Arts Carried forward at 31 August 2023	565,031 (163,733)	362,093 (103,731)
	401,298	258,362
	255,501 401,298 (258,362) 398,437	(2,861) 258,362 255,501

Balance sheet	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Capital and reserves Called up share capital Total equity	514,558 48,594	204,907 125,510
	563,152 (164,615)	330,417 (74,816)
	398,537	255,601
	398,437 100 398,537	255,501 100 255,601

National Centre for Circus Arts 46

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

13 Fixed asset investments (continued)

Fixed asset investments(continued)
Circus Space Property Limited results	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Profit and loss Turnover Administrative expenses Operating profit Profit and loss reserve Brought forward at 1 August 2022 Operating profit Distribution to National Centre for Circus Arts Carried forward at 31 August 2023	159,999 (101,015)	136,194 (107,036)
	58,984	29,158
	68,590 58,984 (29,158) 98,416	48,660 29,158 (9,228) 68,590

Balance sheet	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Tangible fixed assets Debtors Cash at bank and in hand Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Net current assets Creditors: amounts falling due after more than one year Net assets Capital and reserves Called up share capital Total equity	3,117,790	3,117,790
	3,117,790 262,232 29,966	3,117,790 200,149 42,049
	292,198 (171,380)	242,198 (151,206)
	120,818	90,992
	(3,140,092)	(3,140,092)
	98,516 98,416 100 98,516	68,690 68,590 100 68,690

Charity -Listed investments

The charity holds shares in BT at cost of £200.

14 Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
31 August 2023 31 July 2022
Group Charity Group Charity
£ £ £ £
Trade debtors 9,602 183,122 79,445 37,553
Other debtors 16,463 23,789 11,859 11,859
Prepayments and accrued income 63,541 57,940 132,500 115,786
89,606 264,852 223,804 165,198
----- End of picture text -----

National Centre for Circus Arts 47

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

15 Debtors: Amounts due after more than one year

Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings	31 August 2023	31 August 2023	31 July2022 Group £ Charity £ 3,140,092
	Group £	Charity £ 3,140,092	Group £

The long-term loan has been provided to the subsidiary company Circus Space Property Company Limited and meets the definition of a public benefit entity concessionary loan as it was made to further the charitable objects of the charity. The loan is interest free. At present a repayment schedule has not been decided.

16 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

----- Start of picture text -----
31 August 2023 31 July 2022
Charity
Group Charity Group £
£ £ £ restated
Trade creditors 109,782 95,496 198,478 113,006
Social security and taxes 30,704 30,704 57,306 47,351
Other creditors 36,110 39,683 28,518 6,390
Accruals and deferred income 318,880 294,558 477,225 406,504
Amounts owed to subsidiaries 651,207 308,705
Business Interruption loan 42,048 42,048 33,889 33,889
537,524 1,153,696 795,416 915,845
----- End of picture text -----*

Deferred income reconciliation*

Deferred income in 2023 includes fees for courses and grant income relating to the next.

	Brought forward £	Added amount £	Amount released £	Carried forward £
Deferred income 2023 Deferred income 2022	187,132 196,358	208,458 187,132	(187,132) (196,358)	208,458 187,132

17 Creditors: Amounts falling due after one year

Business Interruption loan	31 August 2023	31 August 2023	31 July2022	31 July2022
	Group £ 110,558	Charity £ 110,558	Group £ 152,329	Charity £ 152,329

The Business Interruption loan is provided by Co-Operative Bank. The loan is secured by charges over the assets of the group. Interest is charged at 3.625% above Bank of England base rate.

National Centre for Circus Arts 48

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

18 Restricted funds

Group

The funds of the Charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust to be applied for specific purposes:

----- Start of picture text -----
Balance at Balance at
1 August 31 August
2022 Income Expenditure Transfers 2023
£ £ £ £ £
Capital fund
Building Development 2,850,427 2,850,427
Hackney sustainable grant 2,000 2,000
Generation fund
Department for Education 60,673 (60,673)
BBC Children in Need 19,400 (19,400)
Conservatoire for Dance & Drama 8,060 (8,060)
Jack Petchey Foundation 2,485 (2,485)
Jerwood 20,015 (20,015)
Leverhulme Trust 64,500 (64,500)
2,852,427 175,133 (175,133) 2,852,427
Balance at Balance at
1 August 31 July
2021 Income Expenditure Transfers 2022
£ £ £ £ £
Capital fund
Building Development 2,850,427 2,850,427
Hackney sustainable grant 2,000 2,000
Generation fund
Department for Education 7,100 (7,195) 95
BBC Children in Need 11,053 (12,580) 1,527
Conservatoire for Dance & Drama 57,055 (58,164) 1,109
Contemporary Dance School (London) 62,479 (63,315) 836
Jack Petchey Foundation 2,897 (3,180) 283
Jerwood 19,915 (19,915)
Leverhulme Trust 48,013 (49,036) 1,023
2,852,427 208,512 (213,385) 4,873 2,852,427
----- End of picture text -----

Capital Fund

The capital fund represents monies received from various funders for the redevelopment and refurbishment of the Coronet Street site.

Generation Fund

The Generation Fund represents monies received from various donors for discreet projects within Circus Development, Participation and Outreach and to support student learning.

National Centre for Circus Arts 49

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

19 Related party transactions

Centre for Circus Arts, see note 13 for further details.

During the period, National Centre for Circus Arts was reimbursed for salary and other expenses of £116,532 (2022: £98,660) by its subsidiary, Circus Space Events Limited. At the period end £139,838 (2022: £nil) was owed to National Centre for Circus Arts by Circus Space Event Limited and £403,073 (2022: £118,006) is owed by National Centre to Circus Space Events Limited.

National Centre for Circus Arts was reimbursed for salary and other expenses of £38,834 (2022: £43,751) by Circus Space Property Limited during the period. Circus Space Property Limited charged rent to National Centre for Circus Arts during the period of £52,741 (2022: £48,684). At the period end, £255,614 (2022: £190,699) was owed by National Centre for Circus Arts to Circus Space Property Limited and £46,121 (2022: £nil) was owed to National Centre for Circus Arts by Circus Space Property Limited.

No trustees were reimbursed for travel expenses during the year (2022: £nil).

During the year trustees made donations of £1,066 (2022: £686). Trustees also supported events by purchasing tickets totalling £186 (2022: £42,807).

During the year £1,642 (2022: £1,466) was paid to Turtle Key Art and £2,580 (2022: £Nil) was received from Turtle Key Arts, a charity in which Alison King is the CEO.

20 Theatre tax relief claim

Theatre tax relief claim
	Period from 1 August 2022 to 31 August 2023 £ 31,615	Year ended 31 July 2022 £
Tax credit in respect of theatre tax relief claim		22,000

21 Analysis of net assets by fund

----- Start of picture text -----
31 August
Unrestricted Restricted
2023
funds funds Total funds
Group £ £ £
Tangible assets 483,047 2,850,427 3,333,474
Investments 200 200
Net current assets 283,719 2,000 285,719
Long term creditors (110,558) (110,558)
656,407 2,852,427 3,508,834
Unrestricted Restricted 31 July 2022
funds funds Total funds
Group £ £ £
Tangible assets 469,627 2,850,427 3,320,054
Net current assets 227,713 2,000 229,713
Long term creditors (152,329) (152,329)
545,011 2,852,427 3,397,438
----- End of picture text -----

National Centre for Circus Arts 50

Notes to the Financial Statements Period ended 31 August 2023

21 Analysis of net assets by fund (continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
31 August
Unrestricted Restricted
2023
funds funds Total funds
Charity £ £ £
Tangible assets 216,081 216,081
Debtors greater than one year 289,665 2,850,427 3,140,092
Net current assets (liabilities) (235,637) 2,001 (233,636)
Long term creditors (110,558) (110,558)
159,551 2,852,428 3,011,979
Unrestricted Restricted 31 July 2022
funds funds Total funds
Charity - restated £ £ £
Tangible assets 202,461 202,461
Debtors greater than one year 289,665 2,850,427 3,140,092
Net current assets (liabilities) (118,880) 2,000 (116,880)
Long term creditors (152,329) (152,329)
220,917 2,852,427 3,073,344
----- End of picture text -----

22 Financial commitments

At 31 August 2023 the group held three 150-year leases on its Coronet Street site and was committed to making quarterly payments under this non-cancellable operating lease. These payments totalled £52,741 in the period to 31 August 2023.

National Centre for Circus Arts 51