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← National Centre For Universities and Business

2025-03-31-accounts

REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 03465914 REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1066956

Report of the Trustees and Audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 for National Centre for Universities and Business

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS

CONTENTS Page
Report of the Trustees 1-13
Independent Auditor's Report 26
Statement of Financial Activities 30
Balance Sheet 31
Statement of Cash flows 32
Notes to the Accounts 33-44

NATIONAL CENTRE FOR UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS

The Trustees, who are also directors of the Charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 March 2025. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association, the requirements of a directors’ report as required under company law, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

03465914 (United Kingdom)

Registered Charity number

1066956 (England and Wales)

Registered office

DC. 115 The Clarence Centre 6 St George’s Circus London SE1 6FE

Trustees

David Brown Professor Jean-Noël Ezingeard William Samuel Hugh Laidlaw (Chairman) Robert Rabone Professor David Roy Sandbach OBE Professor Trevor McMillan OBE Professor Judith Petts CBE (retired September 2024) Sir Jonathan Symonds Sir John Manzoni Adele Every Professor Ian White

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REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS (continued)

Company Secretary & Chief Executive Officer

Dr John Joseph Marshall

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane, London EC1Y 0TG

Bankers

CAF Bank Limited 25 Kings Hill Avenue West Malling Kent ME19 4JQ

Metro Bank 120 Cheapside London EC2V 7JB

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STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

1. Structure and governance

The Charity is controlled by its governing documents, a memorandum and articles of association and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees of the charitable company (The Charity) are its Trustees for the purposes of charitable law and throughout this report are collectively referred to as the Trustees. For the purposes of Company Law, Trustees are the Directors of the Charity. The Trustees serving during the year and since the year end are given on page 1.

A Chief Executive is appointed by the Board to manage the day-to-day operation of the Charity.

1.1 Trustee selection, appointment and competence

Trustees are selected via a formal recruitment process. Trustee appointments are made by the general agreement of the Board of Trustees. Trustees are inducted into the Charity by the Chair and members of the Executive Team including an overview of the Charitable Articles, principal activities and governance responsibilities.

The Board does not conduct a formal annual review of board members although discussions are held on the approaching retirement of current members. New Trustees are provided with an introduction and induction through meetings with the Chair of Trustees, the Chief Executive and senior members of staff.

1.2 Investment Powers

Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Charity has the power to make any investments which the Trustees see fit. As a practical matter such investments have been confined to those that clearly meet the Charity’s aims and objectives.

1.3 Charitable Objects

NCUB exists for the advancement of education, training, research and all kinds of learning by the fostering and promotion of mutual understanding, co-operation and support both in the UK and overseas between educational institutions and industry and commerce.

2. Aims and Objectives

NCUB is an independent and not-for-profit membership organisation that exists to help policy makers, businesses and universities work together to build a prosperous future through education, research and innovation.

NCUB is a strategic, cross-sector network linking universities, business and Government that provides the platform for members to engage on areas of opportunity. NCUB is a trusted expert on areas of policy important to university-business collaboration and has its own digital portfolio and analytics expertise.

Our strength lies in our independence as a charity funded through subscriptions and public grants. By developing, supporting, and promoting world-class collaboration between universities and businesses across the UK, we help find practical ways of harnessing the talent being developed in our universities and the UK’s strength in research and development for the benefit of the nation’s economy and society. We focus on work where we know we can have a positive public impact. In 2023/24, we agreed three strategic goals with our Board to focus on the outcomes all our work should strive to achieve over the next five years to 31 March 2029. The table below sets out these goals and supporting objectives.

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NCUB shapes a prosperous future by helping to make the UK more:

NCUB shapes a prosperous future by helping to make the UK more: NCUB shapes a prosperous future by helping to make the UK more: NCUB shapes a prosperous future by helping to make the UK more: NCUB shapes a prosperous future by helping to make the UK more:
Strategic Goals Innovative
We strengthen
connections between
businesses and
universities to turn ideas
into transformative
innovations by shaping UK
policyandpractice.
Competitive
We help policy makers make
the UK a more competitive
destination for business R&D.		 Prepared
We build collective
understanding and a coordinated
response to a world that is
rapidly changing.
Strategic
Objectives		 Work with policy makers
to achieve the national
coordination, supportive
policies and funding
needed to create a
successful, joined-up
innovation system.
 Convene businesses,
universities and policy makers
to, together, identify the
funding, policies and practices
needed to sustainably grow
and evolve the UK’s world-
leading research base and R&D
workforce.
Deliver insights from businesses
and universities on major
strategic drivers of change and
how the UK must respond
Support universities and
more businesses to
collaborate on research
and innovation by
identifying barriers to
collaboration,
recommending ways to
improve practices and
sharing inspiring stories.		 Identify and advocate
measures that the UK should
take to attract greater private
R&D investment to all parts of
the UK.		 Provide practical
recommendations to enhance a
partnership between businesses,
universities and others to
understand and respond to
rapidly changing skills needs.

To achieve these goals we undertake the following activities:

Inform: We gather information, evidence and data on the latest trends, developments and influences on the state of collaboration across the UK and beyond

Influence: We strategically convene business and university leaders to identify challenge and generate ideas that may lead to solutions.

Inspire: We showcase the mutual benefits, value and return of collaboration to businesses, universities and to the UK.

To deliver effectively and collaboratively, we have clear values as an organisation:

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3. Significant Activities

Our activities and impact against each of our strategic goals in 2024/25 are summarised below. Strategic Goal 1: Innovative - strengthen connections between businesses and universities to turn ideas into transformative innovations by shaping UK policy and practice.

Business-university collaboration is the driving force behind the UK’s skills, research and innovation ecosystem. To build a stronger, more resilient knowledge economy, it’s vital to deepen and expand these interactions. In 2024/25, NCUB played a crucial role in this effort, monitoring collaboration levels, shaping policy, and showcasing high-impact partnerships that inspire others.

Throughout 2024/25 NCUB:

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Strategic Goal 2: Competitive - help policy makers make the UK a more competitive destination for business R&D.

The UK aims to become a world leader in research and innovation to boost the competitiveness of the UK economy, create jobs and benefit society. To achieve this, the government took the important first step to strengthen the research performed by universities and public research institutions by raising public research funding.

Throughout 2024/25 NCUB:

Strategic Goal 3: Prepared - build collective understanding and a coordinated response to a world that is rapidly changing

The world is seeing exponential growth in technological capabilities, with far reaching implications for the economy and society. Through our diverse network of senior business and university leaders, we have a unique role to play in understanding the changes coming, what they mean and how the UK needs to respond.

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In recent years, we have put a spotlight on the importance of people, skills and training, arguing that government initiative to date has not matched the scale and importance of the change required.

In 2024/25 NCUB:

4. Public Benefit

We fully complied with the requirements for a public benefit statement – this was approved at our Trustees’ meeting in 2008 and is listed below for compliance purposes. There are demonstrable benefits to the public from our work. Our mission advances the public good by:

  1. Facilitating a dialogue between businesses, universities and colleges so that individual learners of all ages can be better informed on the benefits of higher level learning including enhanced employability and personal good, cultural understanding and their development as global citizens as well as how such learning and understanding can advance the wider social cohesion of the UK;

  2. Advancing research and knowledge and our understanding of how knowledge can address global issues and enhance the UK’s productivity and competitiveness;

  3. Influencing the Government and its agencies so that policies can better achieve these aims, be more efficient and effective;

  4. Seeking to ensure that the UK has an internationally competitive system of higher education without which enhanced national prosperity and social cohesion will not be achieved.

The Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, the Trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set.

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Our work benefits all sections of the society in the UK and potentially outside the UK; we do not focus on any social group or geographical area. We try to be reflective of the whole spectrum of British businesses and universities. . One of our key aims is to enhance awareness of the wider benefits of higher level of learning so that all can aspire and all who are capable participate. We seek to be international and open in our dialogue and consider that this helps our work to be balanced, informed and evidence-based.

5. Objectives and Activities

5.1 Fundraising activities

Factors outside the control of the Charity do have a bearing on our financial position at any one point in time. We endeavour to minimise the risk through securing a rolling (not time-bound) funding commitments from our members. The Trustees have actively helped us attract new members who also care about the UK having a world-class system of higher education that meets the needs of businesses and students.

5.2 Fundraising Policy

The Charity does not engage in public fundraising and does not use professional fundraisers or commercial participators. During the current or prior year there was no non-compliance of fundraising regulations and codes and the Charity received no complaints relating to its fundraising practice.

5.3 Financial Review and Results

The financial performance and position of the Charity is summarised in the Statement of Financial Activities and Balance Sheet set out on page 17 and 18. Total income for the year amounted to £2,942,495 (2024 - £3,026,907). Total expenditure was £3,109,499 (2024 - £3,076,854) giving an overall net decrease in funds of £167,004 (2024: decrease in funds of £49,947). This deficit is consistent with our planned budgets and the Charity's Reserves Policy as set out in 5.8 below.

Key income streams for the Charity include annual donations from supporting businesses and universities and public funding from Research England.

On the expenditure side, the Charity’s main costs relate to the delivery of its core projects, operational overheads, and staffing. Investments are made in supporting strategic initiatives that further its charitable objectives, as well as in maintaining the infrastructure and expertise necessary to influence policy and practice.

The Trustees maintain a proactive approach to cost management, ensuring that expenditure aligns closely with the Charity’s aims and maximises the impact of every pound received.

Project income was received from Research England. As this funding relates to specific project work, it has been treated as restricted.

5.4 Investment policy

Our policy is to invest the majority of our funds with the CAF Bank which provides both security and flexibility of access.

5.5 Funding Sources

A major element of our funding comes from the annual donations that our supporting companies, universities and other organisations make to NCUB as a registered Charity. Another major element of our funding comes from Research England which is treated as restricted income. This enables us to recover some of our overheads and costs on the projects we undertake. We earn interest on the funds we have on deposits at the banks. Wherever possible we continue to increase the amount of our project income and resulting contribution to overheads in absolute terms and as a proportion of total income.

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5.6 Going Concern

The Trustees have acknowledged the latest guidance on going concern. The Charity has sufficient financial resources to sustain their level of activity and has no external debt. The Trustees believe that Charity is well placed to manage its risks successfully and have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. There are no material uncertainties about the Charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

5.7 Remuneration Policy

The Charity’s pay rate is reviewed annually by the Board to take account of cost-of-living increases, with any changes to the pay rates becoming effective from 1st April of each year.

The Charity sets the pay of its staff and key management personnel using industry benchmarks, performance reviews and appraisals. The Board approves any annual increases and any changes to the Chief Executive’s salary.

5.8 Reserves Policy

The Charity’s reserves policy is reviewed annually and was last updated in March 2025. The reserves policy requires:

Reserves to be maintained at a level which ensures that at least 3 months of NCUB’s fixed costs could continue during a period of unforeseen difficulty. For the current financial year, three months of fixed costs for 2025-26 would equate to £600,000. This amount is invested in a readily realisable form.

Over the last few years NCUB has built up reserves from unrestricted income sources. It has ensured that there are minimum reserve levels of at least £600,000 in place. As the balance of funding sources changes between Research England funding and membership subscriptions we will continue to review this reserves level.

At the 31 March 2025 the free reserves of the Charity, defined as unrestricted funds less fixed assets used with the Charity’s business, were £834,842 (2024: £992,734) which is in excess of the target policy. Our intention would be to bring the Charity’s reserve funds closer to the Minimum Reserves Level over the next year and expect to use the funds for longer term development purposes rather than operating costs. A deficit budget of £100, 000 was agreed for 2025/26.

5.9 Risk Management

The Charity has a risk register which is reviewed throughout the year by the Executive and annually by the Board of Trustees.

The major risks facing the Charity are:

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network that we leverage to underpin our work as well as through the provision of more digital services to our members and funders. This aspect of our work will become increasingly important, with the organisation evolving to take greater strategic advantage of our unique membership.

5.10 Plans for future periods

Our work in 2024/25 lays an important foundation for the work that continues into 2025/26 against the same three strategic goal: Innovative, competitive and prepared.

As we developed the proposed NCUB work plan for 2025/26, we carefully considered this strategic context so that we are genuinely focussed on our best understanding of the greatest opportunities and barriers to progress. NCUB’s position as a representative of both universities and businesses, as well as its relationship with UKRI, means that we are uniquely positioned to help shape a positive economic growth vision and an effective policy framework to achieve it. As a small organisation we do need to be razor sharp in our focus and appropriately balance time spent developing evidence and recommendation versus time spent achieving impact.

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Specific projects planned for 2025/26 include:

Future Skills Inquiry : In recent years, the UK has announced a variety of initiatives aimed at bolstering its research and innovation systems. However, the nation has yet to fully address the profound impact technological advancements are having on the evolving demands of education and training systems. In response, NCUB will launch the highly anticipated Future Skills Inquiry, a comprehensive and crucial investigation into the actions that policymakers must take, in collaboration with businesses, universities, and other stakeholders, to meet the demands of future skills. This inquiry will be a critical step away from fragmented policies, driving the UK toward a unified and strategic approach to future-proofing its workforce.

Taskforce – Business-Led R&D : As part of its ongoing commitment to strengthening the UK’s R&D capabilities, NCUB has engaged with businesses to assess how the UK can enhance its levels of private sector R&D investment. NCUB’s recent Taskforce focused on the UK’s competitive position for attracting business R&D investment, providing decisive recommendations that will aim to elevate business R&D growth to levels on par with leading global competitors. Over 2025/26, NCUB will be dedicated to translating these recommendations into tangible impact, supporting their implementation to benefit the entire ecosystem.

Creating the Foundation for a Strong and Collaborative University Sector : UK universities are under immense financial strain, facing a complex web of challenges including a 12-year freeze in domestic tuition fees, a decline in international student enrolments, and an underfunding of the full economic cost of research. These pressures have profound implications for collaboration between the higher education sector and others, including businesses. NCUB is set to examine the impact of these financial strains on university-business collaboration and will put forward bold, yet realistic proposals for reform that are both effective and politically palatable.

State of the Relationship : In the coming year, NCUB will enhance its State of the Relationship (SoR) report, ensuring that it evolves into a dynamic tool that tracks the UK’s competitiveness in comparison to other nations. The report will transition from a static document into an interactive, online resource that provides real-time insights. Recognising that some forms of collaboration are difficult to quantify due to data limitations, NCUB will work proactively to address these gaps through primary data collection, insights from members, and potentially, international stakeholders, introducing a comparative international element to the analysis.

Leveraging Devolution for University-Business-Driven Growth : The shift towards local economic growth models in the UK presents significant opportunities for local development. NCUB will investigate how this shift is reshaping the landscape of skills, research, and innovation and will work to ensure that these changes are strategically harnessed to strengthen the UK’s university-business collaboration. By focusing on devolution, NCUB will guide efforts to align local growth with national innovation goals, fostering an environment conducive to sustainable, long-term economic development.

6. Statement of Trustee responsibilities

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the National Centre for Universities and Business for the purposes of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ annual report and financial statement in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (UK GAAP). Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period.

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In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate 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 Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Auditor

Sayer Vincent LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company’s auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

The report of the Trustees has been approved by the Trustees on 02 October 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Name Mr William Samuel Hugh Laidlaw

Title Trustee

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF NATIONAL CENTRE FOR UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of National Centre for Universities and Business (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

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 the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical 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

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going 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 National Centre for Universities and Business’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 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 other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. 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. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF NATIONAL CENTRE FOR UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

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:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ annual 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:

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities set out in the trustees’ annual report, the trustees (who are also 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 charitable company’s 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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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 auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance 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.

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. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are set out below.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF NATIONAL CENTRE FOR UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Capability of the audit in detecting irregularities

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities . This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

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INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF NATIONAL CENTRE FOR UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state 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 charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Jonathan Coyle (Senior statutory auditor)

Date: 09 October 2025

for and on behalf of Sayer Vincent LLP, Statutory Auditor 110 Golden Lane, LONDON, EC1Y 0TG

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STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (Incorporating an Income and Expenditure Account) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Unrestricted
Notes
£
Income from:
Donations
2
345,000
Investments
3
13,125
Total income
358,125
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
107,873
Charitable activities
415,373
Total expenditure
4
523,246
Net expenditure for the year
(165,121)
Transfers between funds
(1,883)
Net movement in funds
6
(167,004)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
1,019,321
Total funds carried forward
12
852,317		 Unrestricted
Notes
£
Income from:
Donations
2
345,000
Investments
3
13,125
Total income
358,125
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
107,873
Charitable activities
415,373
Total expenditure
4
523,246
Net expenditure for the year
(165,121)
Transfers between funds
(1,883)
Net movement in funds
6
(167,004)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
1,019,321
Total funds carried forward
12
852,317		 Restricted
£
2,584,370
-
2,584,370
-
2,586,253
2,586,253
(1,883)
1,883
-		 Total
2025
£
2,929,370
13,125
2,942,495
107,873
3,001,626
3,109,499
(167,004)
-
(167,004)		 Total
2024
£
3,013,158
13,749
3,026,907
109,130
2,967,724
3,076,854
(49,947)
-
(49,947)
1,019,321
852,317		 -
-		 1,019,321
852,317		 1,069,268
1,019,321

The accounts have been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing.

The statement of financial activities contains all recognised gains and losses for the year.

Movements in funds can be found in note 12.

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BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2025

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
9
Total fixed assets
Current assets
Debtors
11
Cash at bank and in hand
Total current assets
Liabilities
Creditors: Amounts falling due
within one year
12
Net current assets
Net assets
14
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds
12
Unrestricted funds
12
Total funds		 Total
2025
£
17,475
17,475
133,786
786,306
920,092
(85,250)
834,842
852,317
-
852,317
852,317		 Total
2024
£
26,587
26,587
105,922
968,991
1,074,913
(82,179)
992,734
1,019,321
-
1,019,321
1,019,321

Approved by the Trustees on 2 October 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

………………………………………….

Mr William Samuel Hugh Laidlaw Trustee

Company number: 03465914 (England and Wales)

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STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Notes
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash (used in) operating activities
15
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of fixed assets
9
Net cash (used in) investing activities
Change in cash & cash equivalents in the reporting period
Cash & cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
Cash & cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period
The only cash and cash equivalents are amounts held as bank balances.		 2025
£
(179,234)
(3,452)
(3,452)
(182,686)
968,991
786,306		 2024
£
(52,898)
(10,204)
(10,204)
(63,102)
1,032,093
968,991

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1. Accounting policies

1.1 Statutory information

The National Centre for Universities and Business is a charitable company limited by guarantee and is incorporated in the United Kingdom. The registered office address and principal place of business is Dc. 115 The Clarence Centre, 6 St. Georges Circus, London, England, SE1 6FE.

1.2 Accounting convention

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102.

The financial statements are prepared in pounds sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest pound.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

1.3 Going concern

At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

1.4 Income

Income from investments and donations have been accounted for when receivable. Contractual income is recorded when receivable.

Grants and donations are recognised once entitlement and value have been confirmed in writing.

Grants and donations that are subject to donor-imposed conditions that specify the time period in which the expenditure of resources can take place are accounted for as deferred income and recognised as a liability until the relevant accounting period in which to expend the resource. Grants and donations without such pre-conditions are not deferred, even if the resources are received in advance of the expenditure on the activity funded by the grant or donation.

Membership income is recognised in full when receivable as it is not linked to the giving of future benefits.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1.5 Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the Charity to the expenditure. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.

1.5.1 Cost of raising funds

The costs of raising funds are those costs attributable to generating income for the Charity and include salary and salary related items.

1.5.2 Charitable activities

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the Charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include costs of administration, IT support, repairs and maintenance costs, etc which supports the Charity's activities. All support costs are deemed to relate to the charitable activities of the Charity.

1.5.3 Governance

This represents all costs involving public accountability of the Charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice. These costs include costs related to statutory audit and constitutional requirements together with attributable support costs. They are included as a subset of support costs and allocated to other activities in the same manner.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

The cost of tangible fixed assets is their purchase cost together with any incidental costs of acquisition. The amount at which assets are capitalised has been set at £1,000 by the Charity. Depreciation is calculated to write down the cost less estimated residual value of all tangible fixed assets by equal annual instalments over their expected useful lives. The depreciation rates applied are:

2025 2024
Fixtures, fittings and equipment: - 25% 25%

1.7 Financial instruments

The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.

Financial assets are recognised in the Charity’s statement of financial position when the Charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Financial assets are classified into specified categories. The classification depends on the nature and purpose of the financial assets and is determined at the time of recognition.

Basic financial instruments, which include trade and other receivables and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method, unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Other financial assets classified as fair value through the statement of financial activities are measured at fair value.

1.7.2 Other financial instruments

The Charity currently has no non-basic financial assets.

Pension costs relate to employer’s contributions towards the personal pension fund of employees of the Charity. These contributions are charged to the income and expenditure account as they become payable.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

1.9 Funds

1.9.1 General funds

General funds are donations and other incoming resources receivable or generated for the objects of the Charity without specified purpose.

1.9.2 Restricted funds

Restricted funds are specifically donated to the Charity where the donor has specified they be used for the benefit of a specific project or for a particular administrative cost.

1.10 Operating leases

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged to income on a straight-line basis over the term of the relevant lease except where other more systematic basis is more representative of the time pattern in which economic benefits from the lease asset are consumed.

2. a) Donations (current year)

) Donations (current year)
Unrestricted
funds
£
Donations
345,000
Grants
-
345,000
) Donations (prior year)
Unrestricted
funds
£
Donations
405,000
Grants
-
405,000		 Restricted
funds
£
-
2,584,370
2,584,370
Restricted
funds
£
-
2,608,158
2,608,158		 2025
2024
Total
Total
£
£
345,000
405,000
2,584,370
2,608,158
2,929,370
3,013,158
2024
Total
£
405,000
2,608,158
3,013,158		 2024
Total
£
405,000
2,608,158
3,013,158

2. b) Donations (prior year)

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NATIONAL CENTRE FOR UNIVERSITIES AND BUSINESS

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

3. Investment income

vestment income
2025 2024
Total Total
£ £
Bank interest 13,125 13,749

All investment income is unrestricted.

4. a) Expenditure (current year)

Staff costs
(note 7)
£
Raising funds
Fundraising costs
107,873
Charitable activities
Research and
dissemination
735,245
Member services
438,229
1,281,348
) Expenditure (prior year)
Staff costs
(note 7)
£
Raising funds
Fundraising costs
109,130
Charitable activities
Research and
dissemination
811,892
Member services
276,249
1,197,271		 Direct Support costs
costs
(note 5)
£
£
-
-
1,577,713
175,307
-
75,131
1,577,713
250,438
Direct Support costs
costs
(note 5)
£
£
-
-
1,623,634
171,486
-
84,463
1,623,634
255,949		 Total
Total
2025
2024
£
£
107,873
109,130
2,488,265
2,607,012
513,361
360,712
3,109,499
3,076,854
Total
2024
£
109,130
2,607,012
360,712
3,076,854		 Total
2024
£
109,130
2,607,012
360,712
3,076,854

4. b) Expenditure (prior year)

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

5.
Support costs
Computer costs
General office costs
Travel
Employee training and welfare costs
Rent, rates and utilities
Communications
Accountancy
Consultancy fees
Professional fees
Bank charges
Depreciation
Subscriptions
Governance costs – Auditor’s remuneration
6.
Net(expenditure)/income
Net(expenditure)/income is stated after charging:
Auditor’s remuneration (Excluding VAT)– current year
Depreciation – owned assets
7.
Staff costs
Wages and Salaries
Secondment costs
Recruitment costs
Social security costs
Pension costs
Other staff costs		 2025
£
31,780
13,605
2,225
67,088
62,173
1,173
30,786
4,355
10,781
866
12,564
682
12,360
250,438
2025
£
10,300
12,564
2025
£
1,057,065
-
57,269
112,235
49,415
5,364
1,281,348		 2024
£
28,085
11,250
5,244
68,350
65,823
5,825
31,315
4,073
8,826
545
13,494
1,359
11,760
255,949
2024
£
9,800
13,494
2024
£
956,320
80,406
-
108,188
47,127
5,230
1,197,271

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

7. Staff Costs (continued)

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

2025 2024
Average head count 19 19

The number of employees whose emoluments exceeded £60,000, excluding employer national insurance and employer pension contributions within the following bands was:

£60,000 - £70,000
£70,000 - £80,000
£90,000 - £100,000
£150,000 - £160,000		 2025
2
1
1
1
5		 2024
1
2
-
1
4

The Trustees consider the key management personnel to be all the Trustees, CEO, Head of Operations and Planning and Head of Policy and Engagement. Total remuneration including employer pension contributions and employer national insurance of these people for the year ended 31 March 2025 was £392,718 (2024: £348,485).

8. Transactions with Trustees

Trustees' expenses represents the payment or reimbursement of travel costs totalling [£269] (2024: nil]) incurred by 1 (2024: nil) member relating to attendance at meetings of the trustees.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

9. Tangible fixed assets
Fixtures, fittings
and equipment
£
Cost
As at 1 April 2024 60,115
Additions 3,452
Disposals -
As at 31 March 2025 63,567
Depreciation
As at 1 April 2024 33,528
Charge for the year 12,564
Eliminated on disposal -
As at 31 March 2025 46,092
Net book value
As at 31 March 2025 17,475
As at 31 March 2024 26,587

All of the assets above are used for charitable purposes.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

10.
Debtors
Donations receivable
Prepayments
11.
Creditors
Trade creditors
Social security and other taxes
Accruals
12.
a) Statement of funds (current year)
As at
1 April 2024
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
1,019,321
Restricted funds
Innovation Brokerage
-
Research England
-
-
Total funds
1,019,321		 2025
£
110,000
23,786
133,786
2025
£
31,501
38,489
15,260
85,250
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
£
£
£
358,125
(523,246)
(1,883)
1,499,400
(1,499,995)
595
1,084,970
(1,086,258)
1288
2,584,370
(2,568,253)
-
2,942,495
(3,109,499)
-		 2025
£
110,000
23,786
133,786
2025
£
31,501
38,489
15,260
85,250
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
£
£
£
358,125
(523,246)
(1,883)
1,499,400
(1,499,995)
595
1,084,970
(1,086,258)
1288
2,584,370
(2,568,253)
-
2,942,495
(3,109,499)
-		 2024
£
90,000
15,922
105,922
2024
£
11,975
36,266
33,928
82,179
As at
31 March
2025
£
852,317
-
-



- -
- 852,317

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

13. b) Statement of funds (prior year)

As at
1 April 2023
£
Unrestricted funds
General fund
1,069,268
Restricted funds
Innovation Brokerage
-
Research England
-
-
Total funds
1,069,268		 Income
Expenditure
£
£
418,749
(468,423)
1,450,800
(1,450,887)
1,157,358
(1,157,544)
2,608,158
(2,608,431)
3,026,907
(3,076,854)		 Transfers
£
(273)
87
186
-
-		 As at
31 March
2024
£
1,019,321
-
-
-
1,019,321

Restricted funds have been set up for the following purposes.

Innovation brokerage: an intelligent brokerage tool that has been created to improve the ease with which university-business collaboration can be enabled and maintained.

Research England : supports the work of the NCUB to promote, showcase and support universitybusiness collaboration.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

14. a) Analysis of net assets between funds (current year)

Fixed assets
Current assets
Creditors due within one year		 Restricted
Unrestricted
funds
funds
£
£
-
17,475
-
920,092
-
(85,250)
-
852,317		 Total
2025
£
17,475
920,092
(85,250)
852,317

14. b) Analysis of net assets between funds (prior year)

Restricted
funds
£
Tangible assets
-
Current assets
-
Creditors due within one year
-
-		 Unrestricted
funds
£
26,587
1,074,913
(82,179)
1,019,321		 Total
2024
£
26,587
1,074,913
(82,179)
1,019,321

15. Reconciliation of net expenditure to net cash flows from operating activities

Net movement in funds
Loss on disposal of investment
Add back depreciation charge
(Increase)/Decrease) in debtors
Increase/(Decrease) in creditors
Net cash (used in) operating activities		 Total
2025
£
(167,004)
-
12,563
(27,864)
3,071
(179,234)		 Total
2024
£
(49,947)
35
13,494
35,512
(51,992)
(52,898)

16. Related party transactions

During the year there were no related party transactions (2024 – nil). There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no restricted donations from related parties

NCUB Chair Mr William Samuel Hugh Laidlaw was appointed non-executive Chairman of a member organisation, AWE in January 2025.

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NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

17. Company status

The company is limited by guarantee, not having a share capital. In the event of winding up the company's members have agreed to contribute an amount of £1.

At 31 March 2025 the total of such guarantees was 11 (2024: 11).

18. Comparative statement of financial activities

Statement of Financial Activities (Incorporating the Income and Expenditure Account)

Unrestricted
funds
Notes
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
2
405,000
Investments
3
13,749
Total income
418,749
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
109,130
Charitable activities
359,293
Total resources expended
4
468,423
Net expenditure for the year
(49,674)
Transfer between funds
(273)
Net movement in funds
(49,947)
Reconciliation of Funds
Total funds brought forward
1,069,268
Total funds carried forward
13
1,019,321		 Unrestricted
funds
Notes
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
2
405,000
Investments
3
13,749
Total income
418,749
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
109,130
Charitable activities
359,293
Total resources expended
4
468,423
Net expenditure for the year
(49,674)
Transfer between funds
(273)
Net movement in funds
(49,947)
Reconciliation of Funds
Total funds brought forward
1,069,268
Total funds carried forward
13
1,019,321		 Restricted
Total funds
funds
2024
£
£
2,608,158
3,013,158
-
13,749
2,608,158
3,026,907
-
109,130
2,608,431
2,967,724
2,608,431
3,076,854
(273)
(49,947)
273
-		 Restricted
Total funds
funds
2024
£
£
2,608,158
3,013,158
-
13,749
2,608,158
3,026,907
-
109,130
2,608,431
2,967,724
2,608,431
3,076,854
(273)
(49,947)
273
-
3,026,907
109,130
2,967,724
3,076,854
(49,947)
-
(49,947) - (49,947)
1,069,268
1,019,321		 -
-
1,069,268
1,019,321

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