## **The Friars, Aylesford**
**Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements**
Year ended 31 December 2022
Charity Registration Number 1068518
Company Registration Number 03487590 (England and Wales)
## **Contents**
## **Reports**
|Reference and administrative details of||
|---|---|
|the charity, its trustees and its advisers|1|
|Trustees’ report|2|
|Independent auditor’s report|33|
|**Financial statements**||
|Consolidated statement of||
|financial activities|37|
|Balance sheets|38|
|Consolidated statement of cash flows|39|
|Principal accounting policies|40|
|Notes to the financial statements|45|
The Friars, Aylesford
**Reference and administrative details of the Charity, its Trustees and its advisers**
|**Trustees**|Rev Brendan Grady, O. Carm.|
|---|---|
||Rev Patrick O’Keeffe, O. Carm.|
||Rev Francis Kemsley, O.Carm.|
||Isabel Bodunrin|
|**Advisers to the Trustees**|Mr Jonathan Louth|
||Mrs Jan Wilkinson|
||Mr Simon Howell|
|**Secretary**|Mrs Clare Abbotson|
|**Registered office**|The Friars|
||Aylesford|
||Kent|
||ME20 7BX|
|**Charity registration number**|1068518|
|**Company registration number**|03487590 (England and Wales)|
|**Auditor**|Buzzacott LLP|
||130 Wood Street|
||London|
||EC2V 6DL|
|**Principal bankers**|The Royal Bank of Scotland plc|
||62/63 Threadneedle Street|
||London|
||EC2R 8LA|
|**Solicitors**|Pothecary Witham Weld|
||84 Eccleston Square|
||London|
||SW1V 1PX|
The Friars, Aylesford **1**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **FOREWORD**
We entered 2022 looking forward to a better year ahead as the Covid 19 pandemic slipped into the rear-view mirror. We were on the verge of learning to live with Covid 19 and its impact then we got one of the toughest financial years in memory. Double digit inflation driven by high food and fuel prices and the impact of the war in Ukraine meant that the defining financial phrase of 2022 was “the cost-of-living crisis”. Our energy costs more than doubled and the team had to look at various cost saving ideas. Despite the challenges of the year, I am pleased to share that our financial results were on par with pre-pandemic results.
The trading subsidiary Aylesford Priory Limited made a small profit of £10,849 and the charity The Friars, Aylesford made a surplus of £187,528 giving a combined positive contribution of £198,377.
I am immensely proud of the team who worked hard despite the severe management shortages and the tough and prudent decisions made to lower our staff and general costs.
We were fortunate again this year to receive grants from the Catholic Trust for England and Wales (CaTEW) to continue with our roof project. We also received a small Omicron Hospitality and Leisure Grant from Tonbridge and Malling Borough Council. There were a few generous benefactors who made donations towards specific projects on the Shrine. We finally replaced the 25-year-old boiler and laundry equipment and continued with our guestroom refurbishment.
We continue to live in challenging and uncertain times, and we will do everything possible so that The Friars continues to be a place of welcome and service to all.
Looking ahead, the budget for 2023 is very ambitious but I remain quietly confident that our dedicated and hardworking team and volunteers will continue to rise to the challenge. Our volunteer numbers are dwindling as they get older, and it is our mission to attract younger members into the volunteer fold.
One of our key priorities for 2023 is to ensure that all staff are being supported and are well trained so that they are more effective in their job roles and work smarter not harder.
We want to achieve a positive and meaningful change for all staff, and I am deeply grateful to my immediate team and the Board of Directors and advisors for their support.
I would like to thank all volunteers, donors, supporters and the Carmelite Friars Community for their hard work and dedication to our cause, for sharing in our values and commitment to working together to achieve better outcomes for The Friars.
Finally, my sincere appreciation goes to members of the Board of Trustees, directors and advisors who work tirelessly and devote their time sharing their wisdom and expertise to help drive the charity forward.
Pearl Nyafli
Operations & Business Development Manager
The Friars, Aylesford **2**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
The Trustees, who are the directors for the purposes of company law, are pleased to present their statutory report together with the consolidated financial statements of The Friars, Aylesford (the “Charity”) and its subsidiary Aylesford Priory Limited for the year ended 31 December 2022. This report has been prepared in accordance with part VI of the Charities Act 2011.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 40 to 44 of the attached financial statements and comply with the charitable company’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, applicable laws and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice, applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
These financial statements consolidate the activities of The Friars, Aylesford and its wholly owned subsidiary Aylesford Priory Limited. The subsidiary company, which manages the commercial activities, has been trading since 1 January 2010.
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The Friars, Aylesford
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## **Historic Overview**
Aylesford Priory, better known as The Friars, first came into the hands of the Carmelites in 1242. There are a number of medieval buildings still standing that are Grade I listed. They include two walks of the Cloisters, the Cloister Chapel, Priors’ Hall, and Pilgrims’ Hall which still provide hospitality to guests and pilgrims. One building provides accommodation to a community of Carmelite Friars. The Community returned in 1949 after leaving at the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1538. A new Gothic style outdoor Shrine was built. Work began in 1958. It has a fine collection of religious modern art and was recently Grade II* listed.
Aylesford Priory is now a 44 acre site of significant religious and historical interest, attracting around 100,000 to 120,000 visitors in a typical year. At its heart is a major religious shrine, the Shrine of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and St Simon Stock. The open air Marian shrine has a wide piazza which has room for up to 6,000 pilgrims, and a series of five linked chapels of varying sizes.
The Friars, Aylesford **3**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Historic Overview** (continued)
Our surviving medieval buildings are now partly used as a home to some members (friars) of the Carmelite Community, the remainder forming part of our hospitality facilities, our guest house and conference suite, which with additional newer buildings can now accommodate up to 100 overnight visitors. The site also has a tea room and a gift shop located in a refurbished 16th century thatched barn, and some auxiliary buildings which are offered for rental to individuals and local businesses.
From 1949 Aylesford Priory formed a part of a Carmelite Charitable Trust, which covered England and Wales. However, in 1997, the management of Aylesford Priory was devolved to a separate charitable company, The Friars, Aylesford. The ownership of the site and buildings remains with the overall charity, namely the Carmelite Charitable Trust but the administration, the maintenance and the development of the site and the management of the commercial activities have been entrusted to The Friars, Aylesford, and its wholly owned subsidiary company, Aylesford Priory Limited formed in 2010.
## **Objectives and Activities**
The purpose of The Friars, Aylesford, as set out in the Memorandum of Association, is primarily to maintain and develop the Aylesford Priory site as a Marian shrine and retreat/conference centre at the service of the Roman Catholic community as well as other churches, people of other faiths, groups and individuals who wish to use the facilities. The trustees have given careful consideration to how activities of The Friars meet their statutory duty and have considered the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. This report sets out how our activities benefit those who visit The Friars, Aylesford Priory, as well as the local and wider community affected by our presence and outreach activities.
## **Our Vision**
A meeting place and centre of Christian spirituality with a Carmelite community at its heart; a space where people of all ages and all faiths and none, will find a welcome, where the sacred is expressed through prayer, the arts and nature.
_Be still and know that I am God (Ps 46.10)_
## **Our Mission**
- To work in partnership with others
- To be inclusive
- To act responsibly as stewards of the buildings and the physical environment
- To be accountable to all our stakeholders
**Our Values** _Love one another as I have loved you (Jn 15.12)_
The Friars, Aylesford **4**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Our Objectives**
- Such charitable purposes which advance the Roman Catholic religion in any part of Great Britain.
- To promote for the benefit of the public the restoration, presentation and maintenance of the historic buildings, amenities and grounds of The Friars, Aylesford.
## **Our Ethos**
- We derive our values from the life, message and teachings of Jesus Christ and our inspiration comes from our models, the prophet Elijah, the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints of the Carmelite Family.
- The basis of our work is an expression of our commitment to serve the people through friendship, hospitality and a desire to live out the values that Christ preached.
## **Principal Activities**
We are pleased to report that The Friars, Aylesford principal activities fully met our key objectives of partnership, inclusivity, stewardship, and accountability.
## _**Commercial Trading (Aylesford Priory Limited)**_
Aylesford Priory Limited, Company Registration Number 6740190 (England & Wales), is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Friars, Aylesford. The company’s principal activity is to provide a profit on commercial activities at Aylesford Priory to financially support:
- The pastoral activity of the Charity
- The promotion of the benefit to the public
- The restoration, presentation and maintenance of the historic buildings, amenities and grounds of The Friars, Aylesford
The trading activity is primarily the provision of conference facilities, guests’ catering and accommodation, events and sale of books, gifts, and refreshments.
## _**Daily visitors**_
We continue to live by our vision **:** “a meeting place and centre of Christian spirituality with a Carmelite community at its heart; a space where people of all ages and all faiths and none, will find a welcome, where the sacred is expressed through prayer, the arts and nature”. We provide free access 365 days a year to all visitors of any age or nationality to enjoy our place of peace, our venue for gathering, our community of prayer. In 2022, we saw local visitor numbers increase. This is the firsttime post-pandemic that these numbers have risen.
## **Visitors enjoying a picnic on the lawn**
The Friars, Aylesford **5**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Principal Activities** (continued)
## _**Pilgrimages**_
After the restrictions were lifted, 2022 saw the return of most of our regular pilgrimages and we hosted 19 pilgrimages. At the start of the season, numbers were fewer than in pre-covid seasons, with organisers citing the fact that some elderly and vulnerable pilgrims were still reluctant to travel by coach or public transport. However, by September, pilgrimages were closer to their usual numbers. Bookings for 2023 have returned to pre-Covid figures with some 22 pilgrimages booked.
The Polish Pilgrimage continues to be one of the biggest which attracted almost 2,000 people. Other pilgrimages included the Tamils, Italian, Divine Mercy, Caribbean, Goan, Filipino, Kerala Catholic Chaplaincy and Knights of St Columba.
**Syro-Malabar Procession of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in May**
The Friars, Aylesford **6**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Principal Activities** (continued)
## _**Pilgrimages** (continued)_
**The Southwark Union of Catholic Mothers Pilgrimage presided by Archbishop Wilson**
In October, we were privileged to be one of the 52 venues in the UK to host The Relics of St. Bernadette of Lourdes. This was a five-day event and attended by thousands of visitors. This event brought people together and it was all about community and sharing our faith. Visitors were able to venerate the relics, light a candle and receive the Lourdes water. Father Francis Kemsley, Prior of Aylesford, said: “Saints are ordinary people who live extraordinary lives, and we are inspired by their presence, by their dedication and by their prayer. Many people have encountered something, something unique, that will allow them to continue with hope and the expectation that God is with them even in the darkest moments of their lives”. The Relics travelled 11,500 miles on the road and over 500 kilos of petitions were delivered to Lourdes.
The Friars, Aylesford **7**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
**Principal Activities** (continued)
_**Pilgrimages** (continued)_
**Night procession along the Rosary Way**
**Veneration of the Relics**
The Friars, Aylesford **8**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Principal Activities** (continued)
## _**Pilgrimages** (continued)_
## _**Educational tour groups**_
We offer educational tours for groups covering the history of the Carmelite Order here at Aylesford, the artwork, and the development of Aylesford Priory. These tours are of interest to historical, art and other educational groups and we often welcome foreign groups visiting the UK.
## _**Schools programme**_
We have a schools programme, offering guidelines and resources to support teachers and other adults who bring groups of children and young people to Aylesford. In 2022, the number of schools bringing pupils for day retreats remained steady at 14. Schools with larger numbers often hired the North Barn as their base for the day. The “welcome from a friar” slot at the start of their visit continues to be very popular. Most schools join the 12 noon Mass with just 3 schools having their own Mass or liturgy. School Chaplains and teachers report that reduced school budgets and significantly increased transport costs are a real pressure but the number of schools visiting in 2022 was the same as for 2021. Some of the information provided during these visits is linked to the National Curriculum or Religious Education programmes of study. The programme has been designed to support spiritual, moral, social, and cultural education.
The English School of Mongolia was here in June and stayed for two weeks. They gave a performance “Oklahoma” which was enjoyed by several visitors.
The Friars, Aylesford **9**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Principal Activities** (continued)
## _**Schools programme** (continued)_
**Fr. Ged giving a tour to pilgrims**
## _**Outreach programme for schools and young adults**_
Two multi-school events proved very popular in 2022. On Thursday 23 June, the Southwark Education Commission organised an event of all Kent Primary Schools called “One Mind, One Heart” when nearly 1,000 pupils and their teachers held a Eucharistic Liturgy on the Main Shrine.
Later in the year, on 29 September, the Kent Catholic Schools Partnership organised a Mass for 1,200 pupils who filled the entire Main Shrine (see drone photo below). The principal
celebrant was Archbishop John Wilson.
**Aerial view of Kent Catholic Schools Mass on the Main Shrine on 29 September**
The Friars, Aylesford **10**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Principal Activities** (continued)
## _**Retreats**_
In 2022, 64 groups made retreats and visits of various kinds to The Friars ranging from parish Confirmation and RCIA groups, and special interest groups such as Art Societies, National Trust parties and University groups.
From 15 to 19 August, we hosted the Summer Silence Retreat. This was led by Sister Felicity Young O.S.U.
We offer a place of retreat for individuals and groups. Members of the Carmelite Community (the friars) often work alongside groups that come to stay at The Friars, Aylesford and individuals are welcome to join community worship. As well as this work, the friars organise a few retreats each year which are open to anyone who wishes to participate. We successfully ran a series of Lent Talks each Saturday from 5 March to 9 April.
People who have experienced bereavement are encouraged to participate in the “Grief and Loss” retreats which are held throughout the year. We grieve, remember, hope, and give thanks for our loved ones in the light of the Resurrection of Jesus.
## _**Fundraising activities**_
The eyes of the world were directed to Ukraine. With over one million refugees in Poland and other countries, we realised Ukraine would require long term help. That is why we created a help fund for their residents.
There was also an Easter collection purposely for Ukraine and a donation of £6,000 was made. Ukraine is still very much in our prayers. It is worth noting that Carmelite sisters were involved in helping the Ukrainians and all their convents were open and ready to welcome refugees.
To maintain the historic buildings at The Friars and to financially support the free pastoral offers to visitors, there is a continued programme of fundraising events. These include Summer and Christmas fayres, musical and dramatic productions. We do not use professional fundraisers or participators. The Summer and Christmas Fayres remained our biggest fundraising activity and in 2022 they brought in a combined income of more than £50k.
The Friars, Aylesford **11**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Principal Activities** (continued)
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Fundraising activities (continued)
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**Birds of Prey Display at Summer Fayre 2022**
**Summer fayre**
The Friars, Aylesford **12**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Principal Activities** (continued)
## _**Fundraising activities** (continued)_
**100+ Club –** This is a great way of supporting The Friars. A special thank you to Mike and Judy Collins for the many years they have run this club.
Not only do we fundraise for our charity The Friars, but we also fundraise to support other charities like CAFOD and Mary’s Meals which are charities that support poverty in countries around the world. We also collected food for Maidstone Christian Care Food Bank, a charity that supports the homeless and needy.
## **Volunteers**
Volunteers play a crucial role in the running of The Friars and without their support we would be unable to operate in the way we do today. We are extremely grateful to all our volunteers who give their time and invaluable support year in year out. Many of our volunteers have been helping for many years and continue to be an integral part of The Friars. Among the regular worshipping community at The Friars, volunteers support us at social events and fundraising activities. In 2022, we had over 30 volunteers helping with the maintenance of the grounds and gardens, chapels, and events.
Here is what one volunteer Judy Collins said about why she volunteers:
_“The reason we volunteer is to support The Friars (the Carmelites). We do this in various ways such as Fund Raising: - this includes helping at the Summer and Christmas Fayres, running The Friars Lottery (the monthly draw) organising group lunches which support The Friars hospitality business. We also organise an annual Harvest Lunch which raises funds for CAFOD._
_I have been a member of the choir for 17 years which gives me great pleasure, I am also involved in choosing the music for weekly Mass. The choir is a lovely social group and hopefully what we do enhances the Mass._
_The Friars is of great importance to us for our faith and socially where we have made many lovely friends. We hope this continues for many years to come.”_
We also have the gardening group and Hugh McKearney wrote on their behalf:
_In 2010, the Volunteer Gardening Group was formed and expertly directed by Jayne Hoose, with the aim of constructing and maintaining a Peace Garden, in addition to other gardening duties in the Aylesford Friary._
_After thirteen years it remains a companionable, welcoming, therapeutic multinational group, (French, Austrian, Czech, Polish, Irish, English) age-ranged from the gainfully employed to the gently ageing retired, enthused by the continued, resolute desire to nurture and care for quiet areas frequented and admired by grateful pilgrims and visitors, who encourage us to prolong our delightful and varied tasks for as long as God permits, in a rare, peaceful and spiritual haven away from the frantic, turbulent world outside._
_The Peace Garden is a nondenominational enclosure secluded by long high twelfth century walls secreted beyond the Archway of the Gatehouse of the same period. The garden is a quiet, relaxing area for peaceful reflection and silent contemplation, constructed on the four elements; the five gardens are reflected, horticulturally, by a variety of plants and shrubs representing fire, wind, and water._
The Friars, Aylesford **13**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
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Volunteers (continued)
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We also hosted volunteers from Europe who helped in our Catering and Estates department. These international volunteers come here to improve their English and learn some life skills and we are grateful for their support.
## **The Gardening Group**
We also have the Pastoral Team which has transformed into a regular Prayer Group and will continue to support the pastoral ministry of The Friars. The Team, which includes five volunteers, meets regularly to help plan and support retreat programmes and enhance the pilgrim experience. The group members develop prayer opportunities, pilgrim tours and ways to improve the pastoral areas of the site.
We are privileged to have a small number of professionally qualified lay advisors who hold honorary positions and regularly attend Trustees’ meetings for The Friars and Directors’ meetings for its subsidiary trading company Aylesford Priory Limited.
Once again, the trustees would wish to record their recognition of the professionalism and commitment of all their staff, volunteers, advisors, and the individual members of the Carmelite Community. Their dedication and positive approach are very much appreciated.
The Friars, Aylesford **14**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Achievements and Performance in 2022**
The Friars, Aylesford had a reasonably good year, and this is illustrated in the table below:
|**_What we said we would do in 2022_**|**_What we did in 2022_**|
|---|---|
|1. Deliver the agreed 2022 budget.|The Group made a combined profit of £198,377
with Aylesford Priory Limited making a profit of
£10,849 and the Charity making a surplus of
£187,527.|
|2. Continue to invest in specific priority
capital and maintenance projects
approved by the board to be funded by
the accumulated reserves brought
forward from 2021.|In 2022, the restoration of the Shrine was
completed. The drainage and roofs were
repaired, and the statue of our lady was
regilded. This included the painting of the
shrine, restoration artwork on the Main Shrine
and in St Anne’s Chapel.|
|3. Develop a three-year business plan
and a more formalised reserves policy.|This was deferred to 2023.|
|4. To collaborate with CCT regarding
the Province plans for the
development of a new Young Peoples’
programme in the Gatehouse and
walled garden|We are developing a residential volunteer
community based at The Friars. The vision for
the project comes from our desire to accompany
and collaborate with young people, to share our
experience and Carmelite story, and to journey
together in finding new ways to live and share in
the mission of the Province. Each year we aim
to offer an experience of community, service,
prayer, and formation to young adults from
different countries and backgrounds. The new
team will also provide face to face programmes
for visiting groups and engage with aspects of
the day-to-day life of Aylesford Priory.|
The Friars, Aylesford **15**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Fulfilling our mission 2022**
## _**Working in partnership with others**_
As mentioned under our principal activities, The Friars remains an important retreat and pilgrimage centre. Many different groups come to pray and worship at the Shrine.
The Friars, Aylesford continues to play host to the Aylesford Farmers’ Market, the Vintage Motorcycle Rally, The All-Ford Car Show, The Kit Customer American Car Show and The Woodturners’ Exhibition.
In June, we had a visit from the Society of St Vincent de Paul. The St Vincent de Paul Society is a lay Catholic organisation that aspires to love the gospel message by serving Christ in the poor with love, respect, justice, hope, and joy, and by working to shape a more just and compassionate society.
## **Society of St Vincent de Paul who visited in June**
The Friars hosted The Changeling Theatre Company once again and they performed Othello in the month of July.
We continued to work with Maidstone Churches Winter Shelter programme, which provides shelter for the homeless in winter months by laundering their bed linen.
As part of our ecumenical involvement, we continued to welcome the different groups, have mass, give tours, and hear confessions. One of the Carmelite friars is a chaplain to a local Catholic school and another friar sits on the Rochester Cathedral council.
## _**Be inclusive**_
Classes offered by Aylesford Pottery were on the rise this year. They continued to offer classes to groups with learning disabilities such as Emotional Behaviour Disorder, Pottery classes have increased so much so that there are plans to expand their buildings to accommodate more students.
The Friars, Aylesford **16**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Fulfilling our mission 2022** (continued)
## _**Be inclusive** (continued)_
The Brocard Room has continued to be a very popular regular meeting place for Aylesford Scouts, school groups, the Syro -Malabar group, the Enamellers and Woodturners.
We are pleased to continue to support The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) who have been offered a much bigger room as their numbers have increased.
Our guesthouse continued to welcome people from all walks of life, from all backgrounds, abilities, ages, and faiths and none. We continued to host mindfulness training groups, such as yoga and reiki groups.
The Spiritual Direction group has also been offered a room for their training. As their needs grow, the need for more break-out rooms has become a challenge, but we remain hopeful of meeting their requirements.
We continued to support our local schools by welcoming four students for work experience who all enjoyed their time working in the different departments of The Friars.
We continued to put our lottery funded North Barn to good use by hosting religious groups. The Woodturners also held their yearly exhibitions here, showcasing their magnificent artworks to the public. We hired the North Barn to couples for their wedding receptions and also hired it out for wakes, parties and meetings.
**Pilgrimage group using the North Barn**
We continued to host our ever-popular Mothers’ Day and Christmas lunches. We also hosted weddings, wakes and celebration parties in our 13[th] Century Pilgrims’ Hall.
The Friars, Aylesford **17**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
**Fulfilling our mission 2022** (continued)
## _**Acting responsibly as stewards of the buildings and the physical environment**_
We continue to ensure all the buildings and the site are as safe as is reasonably possible for the many visitors we welcome. The buildings are risk assessed annually, and all large events have a Duty Manager and a First Aider assigned to them.
Over the years the Carmelite Charitable Trust (CCT) has supported and promoted work with young people and young adults. In 2021, they developed a new project to offer greater support for young people and further collaboration with young adults. The project is based at The Friars and will offer programmes and support to visiting groups.
Although at a development stage the initiative has already produced resources for visiting groups and offered input and support to large ‘youth’ and school pilgrimages.
The main opportunity is an exciting new project for people aged 18 - 30. The Carmelite Charitable Trust is developing a residential volunteer community based at The Friars. The vision for the project comes from our desire to accompany and collaborate with young people, to share our experience and Carmelite experience and story, and to journey together in finding new ways to live and share in the mission of the province.
Each year an experience of community, service, prayer, and formation will be offered to young adults from different countries and backgrounds. The new team will also provide face to face programmes for visiting groups and engage with aspects of the day-to-day life of Aylesford Priory.
Proactive exploration of opportunities for collaborative partner organisations and for the improved use of the whole site continues. Talks began with the potters and upholsterers with regards to developing an artisan project which would benefit them and The Friars Aylesford.
The Estates team met four times this year and the group continued to report on significant maintenance concerns to the trustees. Mini refurbishment work began in some of the guest rooms in the New Block.
Over the last two years a major restoration of the Grade 2 * shrine has been taking place. Two government grants have enabled major repairs to the roofs and the drainage of the gothic style shrine designed by Adrian Gilbert Scott.
St. Joseph’s, the Relic Chapel and Main Shrine have all now been painted.
The restoration of the Shrine continued with St. Anne’s Chapel. Environmental monitoring, assessing why humidity and condensation occur in St Anne’s Chapel continued and the ceiling was repaired.
In May, professional art conservators patiently cleaned the sgraffito and skilfully restored it from the damage caused by rain damage. We can see the original vibrant colours for the first time in years. The soft greens used by Kossowski symbolised “ _the green freshness of Spring of Faith”._
Work was also carried out on all the confessionals and the Boys’ Sacristy.
The Friars, Aylesford **18**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Fulfilling our mission 2022** (continued)
## _**Acting responsibly as stewards of the buildings and the physical environment** (continued)_
Work has just been completed on the restoration of the statue of Our Lady of the Assumption by Michael Clark. It has dominated the shrine since it was erected on 8 September 1960. The statue received a major award from the Royal Society of British sculptors. The original wood, agba, an African hard wood, was splitting. This has been dealt with and the original gold leaf has been restored. The statue has not looked so vibrant and magnificent in years.
Later this year we hope to restore some of the ceramics along the Rosary Way including a major project on the Scapular Shrine.
We also embarked on a significant IT project, bringing internet facilities to all our conference rooms and the Shrine area.
We replaced the 25-year-old steam boiler and two pieces of laundry equipment.
**Ongoing regilding works on the statue of Our Lady**
The Friars, Aylesford **19**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
**Fulfilling our mission 2022** (continued)
_**Acting responsibly as stewards of the buildings and the physical environment** (continued)_
**The finished work on the statue of Our Lady**
The Friars, Aylesford **20**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Fulfilling our Objectives in 2022** (continued)
## _**Be accountable to all stakeholders**_
In 2022, we continued to distribute The Aylesford quarterly newsletter to over 6,000 people across the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. Many of those who receive the newsletter respond and share their views, thoughts, and aspirations for The Friars at Aylesford.
We also published and distributed the monthly Friars News for our local community and staff. Our visitors continued to share their feedback and ideas through a questionnaire which is available in all guest rooms.
We continue to communicate with our local community and visitors via our website and social media. New followers on Facebook have been keeping up to date with our supporter-facing activities, hearing about campaigns and engaging with us.
## _**Such charitable purposes which advance the Roman Catholic religion in any part of Great Britain**_
Served by its Carmelite community, The Friars is primarily a Roman Catholic shrine and pilgrimage centre. There are regular masses celebrated each day and the friars are available for confessions, counselling, and consultations. The chapels are open all day all year round for those looking for a place of quiet and meditation.
A pastoral team of friars and lay volunteers served the spiritual and religious needs of those visiting The Friars and delivered the annual retreat program.
As an important Marian shrine, pilgrims from all over the world visited throughout the year. These international pilgrims prayed and celebrated in their own languages.
The Carmelite Community continued to support the many schools who visited with their individualised programmes. These programmes include history and art appreciation. Apart from participating in these programmes, the school children also took part in Masses in the chapels. The friars normally would take them on ground tours explaining the history of the Carmelites in England and giving them an understanding of the various artworks.
## **Financial Review**
The trustees’ stated aim in December 2021 was for the group to achieve a balanced budget and a continued commitment to invest in overdue maintenance projects. Our post Covid- 19 recovery was challenging, with visitor numbers slowly rising but spending was noticeably down in certain departments.
Rising living costs impacted on many families, making it completely unaffordable to engage in simple sociable activities like eating out. This in turn impacted on our trade and we saw less customers patronising our Pilgrims’ Hall food offers. Our overhead spending more than doubled due to the high energy costs.
Grants and donations for the year were much less than the previous year, 2021.
Despite the challenges, at the end of the year, we found our finances in a positive position and this is testament to the hard work of staff, volunteers and supporters throughout the charity who went above and beyond to ensure that we remained viable.
The Friars, Aylesford **21**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Financial Review** (continued)
## _**General Funds**_
The Trustees continue to ensure the profitability of the day-to-day operations in the wholly owned subsidiary Aylesford Priory Limited, and to ensure the net costs of their charitable activities are met by the surplus made.
The trading activities of Aylesford Priory Limited resulted in a profit of £10,849 (2021: £31,990 loss), (please see note 11). A surplus of £187,528 (£360,312 in 2021) was made by the Charity, resulting in a Group surplus of £198,377 (2021: surplus of £328,322).
General reserves were £370,240 compared to £434,924 in 2021.
## _**Restricted Funds**_
These funds usually arise from legacies and donations and are limited to spending on defined purposes.
£311,869 (2021: £378,282) of restricted funds were brought forward into 2022, represented by £17,477 (2021: £17,491) for the Peace Garden and £294,392 (2021: £360,791) for the Restoration Fund.
As of 31 December 2022, carried forward restricted funds were £391,420 (2021: £311,869) comprising £374,366 for the Restoration Fund and £17,054 for the Peace Garden.
Total funds as of 31 December 2022 were £1,307,677 (2021: £1,109,300) represented by £391,420 (2021: £311,869) of restricted funds, £807,717 of Tangible Fixed Assets (2021: £635,055), a shortfall of £(261,700) in Aylesford Priory Limited Funds/Reserves (2021: £(272,548)) and £370,240 of general reserves (2021: £434,924).
## _**Income**_
The Group income for 2022 by activity is shown in figure 1 below, and figure 2 shows the increase in income from 2021 to 2022 by activity.
Figure 1 – 2022 Group Income by Activity
The Total income for the group was £1,777,830.
The Friars, Aylesford **22**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Financial Review** (continued)
## _**Income** (continued)_
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Income
Car Park
Donations Rents Business support
0% 2% grant
Donations
0%
10%
Fayres
3%
CCT Donation
7%
APL commercial
Shrine Activity activity
5% 58%
Legacies
2%
Restricted
Donations
13%
APL commercial activity Restricted Donations Legacies
Shrine Activity CCT Donation Fayres
Donations Rents Business support grant
Car Park Donations
**----- End of picture text -----**
|**Department**|**2022**|**2021**|**% Change**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Gift Shop|115,470|71,473|+61.5%|
|Tea Room|215,398|161,656|+33%|
|Hospitality|325,622|97,478|+234%|
|Pilgrims’ Hall|304,737|92,185|+231%|
|Events/Bars|64,518|34,079|+89%|
|Total|1,025,745|456,871|+125%|
All other income was derived from activities of The Friars Aylesford: - legacies £33,830; unrestricted donations £169,062; restricted donations £88,871, grants £143,288; rental activity £43,780; fayres £56,967; shrine activity £85,549; car park donations £4,737; the Carmelite Charitable Trust donation £120,000; and Covid-19 business support grants of £6,000.
The Friars, Aylesford **23**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Financial Review** (continued)
## _**Income** (continued)_
Figure 2 – 2022 Group Income by Activity compared to 2021.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
2022 Group Activity compared to 2021
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0
2021 2022
**----- End of picture text -----**
The turnover of the charity’s trading subsidiary Aylesford Priory Limited is made up of the provision of hospitality (conference facilities and guest accommodation), events, sale of books, gifts and refreshments was £1,025,746 which was up by £568,875 (125%) from 2021. This represented a strong recovery in retail activity.
Figure 2 highlights which areas’ income improved or declined in 2022 compared to 2021. All areas performed better than last year apart from legacies.
Sales from our Hospitality department were £325,622, up by 234% (£97,723 in 2021). Some great results from the Tea Room brought in sales income of £215,397, up by 33% (£161,656 in 2021). The Gift Shop’s sales income was £115,470, up 61.5% in comparison to 2021 (£71,473). This increase was partly down to the Relics of St Bernadette event in October. Pilgrims’ Hall’s sales income was £303,893 up 231% on 2021 (£91,742), down to the fact that the accounting for this department now reflects it as a profit making one as opposed to previous years. Events and bars were £64,498, up 88% against £34,278 in 2021. Wedding receptions increased as many weddings had been delayed due to the pandemic.
We received a total of £33,830 in legacies in 2022, in contrast to £77,189 in 2021, a decrease of 56%.
Our unrestricted donations were £169,062 which were slightly up on last year (£168,489 in 2021). Shrine activity was £85,549 up 20% on 2021 (£71,172). Summer and Christmas fayres brought in £56,967 up 46% on 2021 (£39,146).
The Carmelite Charitable Trust (CCT) continued to provide financial support to the Charity. The Charity received an annual grant of £120,000 for the on-going support of its activities.
The group income was £1,777,830 an increase of 29.8% in comparison to £1,369,703 in 2021.
The Friars, Aylesford **24**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Financial Review** (continued)
## _**Expenditure**_
The results for the year ended 31 December 2022 reflect another year of challenges. Challenges presented by high energy costs which meant our energy spend was more than doubled in comparison to previous years and other rising costs. We did our best by working smarter and embarked on various cost-saving strategies. We focused on agreed margins for each of our trading activities and ensured adequate investment in our site and facilities, to maintain a healthy and safe environment for our staff, volunteers, customers, and visitors.
This year, our trading operating costs (cost of sales) for the subsidiary company Aylesford Priory Limited, was £888,069, up 69.7% against 2021 (£523,154). This increase was due to higher staff costs, employing more staff (including turnover in Hospitality and Catering Manager positions) and the rising cost of goods and services. We honoured the government minimum wage which went up by 6.7%. The Trustees also agreed a one-off cost of living bonus of 2% for all staff which was very well received. This was to support our highly committed staff through the crisis.
We invested in new boilers for the site and a new laundry equipment.
For more details of activity in the wholly owned subsidiary Aylesford Priory Limited see note 11.
Notable increases in expenditure for the Charity are higher costs of raising funds (note 4) and Support of the Carmelite Friars (note 6). The fayres generated a healthy income of £56,967 (£39,146 in 2021). There was only one fayre in 2021. It was pleasing to see a return of visitors to such events once again.
The living and personal expenses of the Carmelite Friars at Aylesford were £86,030 (£56,102 in 2021) up 53% year on year, brought on by rising costs and high energy prices.
Table 1 below shows that expenditure in 2022 on the upkeep of the shrine (note 5) was up 21.7% on 2021. The expenditure on premises and facilities costs was up 11.7% against the previous year.
Direct costs of £106,989 (2021: £60,859) up 75.8% were made up of purchase of candles, memorial benches and plaques, direct staffing costs, high utility bills, cash handling, chapel ad hoc expenses and general expenses. Other indirect staff costs were on par with the previous year at £35,475 (2021: £35,715) down by 0.7%.
The Friars, Aylesford **25**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Financial Review** (continued)
## _**Expenditure** (continued)_
**Table 1- 2022 Expenditure on upkeep of the shrine compared to 2021.**
||**2021**|**2022**|**%**
**Difference**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Governance costs|£9,021|£7,920|-12.2%|
|Office costs|£12,345|£15,644|+26.7%|
|Premises & Facilities costs|£223,305|£249,368|+11.7%|
|Indirect Staff costs|£35,715|£35,475|-0.7%|
|Direct Shrine costs|£60,859|£106,989|+75.8%|
|**Total **|**£341,245**|**£415,395**|**+21.7%**|
## _**Reserves**_
Reserves are needed both to maintain the level of The Friars Aylesford’s current activities and to enable the completion of long-term projects. The trustees are yet to finalise a formal reserve policy which will establish the recommended reserve levels for the group to hold.
At 31 December 2022 unrestricted general funds amounted to £370,240 (£434,925 in 2021) a decrease of 14.9%.
During the year, restricted funds have increased from £311,869 (31 December 2021) to £391,420 (made up of Peace Garden £17,054 and Restoration fund £374,366) at 31 December 2022.
The total funds at 31 December 2022 are a surplus of £1,307,677 (2021: £1,109,300) equivalent to a 17.9% increase.
These total funds are represented by tangible fixed assets of £909,405 (2021: £654,897), net current assets of £398,272 (2021: £454,403) including within net current assets a net cash position of £272,184 (2021: £366,866). Bank accounts held are part of a centralised, pooled banking system, together with and managed by the Carmelite Charitable Trust. Pooled bank accounts are managed to optimise return on investments. Any accumulated reserves will be invested in the restoration, presentation and maintenance of the historic buildings, amenities and grounds of The Friars, Aylesford.
The trustees continue to recognise the importance of securing a long-term presence of the Carmelite Community at Aylesford Priory and working with a new Young Adults Community.
The ambition remains to secure a commercial partnership agreement by considering a new commercial or social enterprise partner or partners, to use part of the available assets, that is the land and buildings at Aylesford Priory, in delivering activities that provide adequate income to meet or exceed the on-going costs and support the viability of the non-business charitable activities and in particular the maintenance of our historic buildings. This idea has been initiated with plans in place to create an Artisan centre.
The Friars, Aylesford **26**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Our key risks and uncertainties**
The Board of Trustees has responsibility for making sure there are adequate and effective risk management protocols and systems of internal controls in place to manage The Friars’ major risks and to achieve our strategic objectives. The risk register is reviewed yearly by the Board of Trustees to ensure that sound mitigating controls are in place. We have processes in place to manage the key risks that could affect the charity’s ability to achieve its objectives.
While many risks from previous years remain, this year saw the emergence of a new risk to our financial sustainability: high inflation. High inflation could have an impact on our income, as volunteers and retail customers respond to the cost-of-living crisis, as well as having an impact on our running costs. We also don’t know what the knock-on impact on public sector spending – a major source of income for the charity. We intend to mitigate inflation risks through good procurement practices, as well as continuing to review our pricing strategies in our trading outlets.
Current labour market conditions and the cost-of-living crisis mean we also anticipate major risks around staff retention, recruitment, and satisfaction. The hospitality industry overall continues to suffer from recruitment and The Friars is no different.
The key risks to The Friars’ objectives and how these are managed are set out below:
|Key Risks|How are these risks managed?|
|---|---|
|**Financial performance and**
**sustainability**
A significant reduction in our
available resources due to
external economic and
environmental factors. The
continued global impact of the
war in Ukraine and the rise in
inflation and rising energy
prices is a risk to our
sustainability. These risks
undermine our ability to invest
appropriately to achieve our
strategic objectives.|1. Annual budget setting and then full re-
forecasting processes every six months.
2. Holding a significant value of free reserves at
any point in time, with a monthly review of these
to make sure they remain within the target
range set by the Finance Group.
3. Regular review of our pricing strategy to ensure
we remain competitive and be flexible in our
approach.
4. Shopping around for competitive suppliers
(including energy suppliers) to minimise rising
costs.|
|**Staff Recruitment and**
**Retention**
Difficulty in attracting qualified
managers and keeping them
and recruiting the right calibre
of non-management staff. Staff
turnover continues to be high.|1. Create a talent pipeline to manage uncertainty
in filling vacancies when staff retire.
2. Work closely with recruitment agencies.
3. Ongoing benchmarking of compensation and
benefits to the rest of the sector.|
The Friars, Aylesford **27**
## **Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Our key risks and uncertainties** (continued)
|**Key Risks**|How are these risks managed?|
|---|---|
|**Business Continuity**
Events adversely impact
reputation and/or operations,
including loss of operations
due to a major incident (cyber-
attack, serious data security
breach, a serious fraud, major
health and safety incidents,
internal control failures or an
outbreak of a communicable
disease).|1. Regular review and update of business
continuity and disaster recovery plans to help
minimise disruption to operations from
unexpected events.
2. We continue to upgrade our IT systems. This
includes using modern cloud computing that
gives staff access to better storage, files and
software, through internet-connected devices.|
|**Safeguarding**
Inadequate or ineffective
safeguarding policy or practice
that could result in, or
contribute to, serious harm or
injury to a child or a young
person.|1. Clear safeguarding reporting mechanisms, as
set out in our safeguarding policy, including
Safeguarding Lead roles.
2. Department Managers to continue receiving
training from the experts.
3. Board of Trustees continues to keep
safeguarding as an agenda item in all its bi-
monthly meetings.|
|**Change Management**
Inability to implement change
and complete priority projects
due to constant changes in
department managers. Risk of
change fatigue, burn-out or
high-attrition within teams,
given the level of change.|1. Continue to offer support for individuals.
2. Staff welfare is always on the agenda at
Trustees meetings.|
|**Lack of funding for**
**maintenance and repairs of**
**the buildings**
Reduction in funding has a
negative impact on The Friars’
ability to achieve its objectives.
A reduction in funding could be
due to failure to qualify for
certain funds or apathy of
donors due to financial crises.|1. Strengthen our existing relations and develop
new relationships to secure additional funding.
2. Diversify our sources of funding.
3. Develop a robust fundraising strategy.|
The Friars, Aylesford **28**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Our plans for the future**
## _**Income generation**_
Our key objective is to generate as much income as we can to remain viable. We will aim to deliver the 2023 budget as best as we can although we are aware it is an ambitious one. We will improve the effectiveness of our trading activities by operating an effective pricing strategy, source new suppliers and urge staff to work smarter. We will need to find ways to increase the contributions of our visitors.
The external and economic environment remains very uncertain, and we are clear that we need to remain agile and flexible to meet changing demands and needs.
## _**Improve IT**_
We will invest further in our IT and technology systems. We identify that IT is a key enabler for both service quality and financial sustainability. We will extend our internet coverage to the chapels and improve the reception in our guest house and conference rooms. We will introduce card payment machines in our chapels to improve service and to bring in additional income.
## _**Invest in priority capital and maintenance projects**_
We will continue to ensure that every decision we make will support our core aim and objective to promote for the benefit of the public the restoration, presentation and maintenance of the historic buildings, amenities and grounds of The Friars, Aylesford. We will continue refurbishing our guest house facilities and improve our conference facilities.
We will continue working with the Estates sub-group and the Estates Manager to regularly review progress on agreed projects.
## _**Working with partners**_
With the introduction of Creative Aylesford and the Artisan Village we hope to continue working with partners and suppliers whose local network will expand the outreach and the effective mission of the Carmelite Community.
## _**Environmental sustainability initiatives**_
With growing concerns for the environment, it is now becoming critical for organisations to adopt and take corporate sustainability initiatives that focus on people, planet, alongside profits.
Sustainability practices can boost The Friars, Aylesford’s life term by giving us a competitive edge, enhancing our brand image, attracting a loyal customer base, reducing operational costs, and creating new opportunities for success in the long run. We can start off small by recycling all our packaging, find other ways of using energy (solar?), work towards minimizing single-use cups and other plastics.
## _**Volunteers**_
People volunteer for a range of reasons, and each volunteering opportunity provides its own unique experience. The Friars, Aylesford depends on volunteers to ensure that we remain a place of welcome and prayer to our numerous and diverse visitors. The volunteer numbers are dwindling so we will develop a robust volunteering strategy, to be the charity of choice in the Kent area.
The Friars, Aylesford **29**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Going concern**
We are doing everything we can to build on our financial stability, seeking new income streams and developing new partnerships to keep this beautiful place going. The Trustees have assessed The Friars, Aylesford’s financial position, and the work we are doing to diversify our income through partnerships and the creation of the Artisan Village, and they feel confident in the charity’s ability to operate as a going concern.
Many of the unprecedented challenges and turmoil of 2021 continued into 2022, but staff and volunteers here have shown themselves to be resilient and creative – facing up to these challenges and producing results on par to pre-pandemic times.
The Trustees have confidence the charity and its subsidiary company will be able to withstand all challenges presented by the cost-of-living crisis and be financially sustainable in the short to medium term.
## **Structure, governance, and management**
The Friars, Aylesford is constituted as a company limited by guarantee governed by its own Memorandum and Articles of Association. The members are the individual friars of the British Province of the Carmelite Order, who meet in Annual General Meetings to elect the Trustees, to review the financial statements for the previous year and to discuss any other relevant business.
The Trustees are appointed to oversee the strategic governance of The Friars and its subsidiary. They set the strategy, agree an annual budget and monitor performance. In particular, the Trustees make all decisions where the reputation and ethos may be impacted.
During 2022, the Trustees met 6 times, with an Annual General Meeting on 18 July 2022.
There are two specialist sub-groups which meet regularly providing advice and recommendations to the Board.
- The Finance Group Chair: Fr Brendan Grady
- The Estates Group Chair: Jonathan Louth (architect)
The Trustees are supported by advisors: Jan Wilkinson (Finance), Jonathan Louth (Estates and Development) and Simon Howell (Legal and Development) who regularly attend Board or sub-group meetings as applicable.
New Trustees are briefed on the role of a Trustee and provided with relevant literature plus copies of the Memorandum and Articles of Association. Trustee indemnity insurance premiums are paid for by the charitable company to provide protection for the Trustees in the execution of their duties. In December 2017, we undertook a review of our current practices compared to the Charity Commission’s Code of Governance and were pleased that there were few areas that were identified as needing minor improvement.
The Friars, Aylesford **30**
**Trustees’ report** Year ended 31 December 2022
## **Structure, governance, and management** (continued)
The Trustees delegate the day-to-day operations of the charity to the Management Team also known as the Trading Operations Management Team (TOMT). The TOMT comprises the Operations & Business Development Manager (OBDM) and four other members with clear lines of responsibility for specific departments of the organisation. The Trustees have worked with the TOMT to develop the longer-term strategic plans for the charity. Responsibility for the implementation of the plans is delegated to the TOMT through agreed one-year business plans also known as Operational Plans.
The TOMT has clear terms of reference, regularly reviewed by the Trustees, and its prime and collective responsibility is to self-manage the trading operations of The Friars, Aylesford and to achieve a balanced budget, in line with the budget presented to and agreed by the Trustees in December of the prior year.
Within the TOMT, certain managers are expected to occasionally attend Trustee meetings, reporting from, and representing the TOMT. These managers can also refer urgent matters that are outside the remit of the TOMT to Trustees.
TOMT members at the start of 2022 were: Pearl Nyafli – The Operations & Business Development Manager (Lead); Ros Duddell – Gift Shop Manager; Steve Hayden – Estates Manager and Clare Abbotson – Prior’s and Trustees’ Secretary. The Hospitality Manager and Catering Manager positions were not filled until August and September 2022 respectively. Karen Stevens manages the Hospitality Department and Gail Grimes manages the Catering Department.
Key management remuneration is first informed by current local market rates for similar roles, and by maintaining appropriate differentials for job responsibilities within the organisation. A proposal is considered by the Finance Group and a recommendation made to the Trustees. The Trustees authorise all key management salaries.
## _**Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities**_
The Trustees (who are also Directors of The Friars, Aylesford for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
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 Charity and the Group and of the income and expenditure of the 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 Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102);
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
The Friars, Aylesford **31**
Trustees. report Year ended 31 December 2022
Structure, govemance, and management Iconiinued}
Statement of Trustees. responsibilities (continued)
stale whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been follow8d,
subject to any material departures disdosed and explained in the financial stat8rnents.'
8nd
prepare the financial statemenls ort the going conc8m basi5 unless it ts inappropriale to
presume that the Charity and the Group will wntinue in operation.
The Trustees are respMsible for keeping adequale accounting records that disclose with
reasonable accuracy at any knme the financial positiorh of the Charity 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 the Group and hence lor taking
r8asonable steps for the prevenknon and deleclion ol fraud and other irregulaiities.
Each of the Trustees confimis Ihat".
so far as each Tnjslee is aware. there is no relevant audit infomiation of which thé
Gharity's audrtor is Unawa., and
each Trustee has taken all the steps thal helsh8 ought to have taken as a Trustee in order
to make hirnselflherself aware ol any relevant audit in1Matn and to establish that the
Charity's auditor is aware of that informaln.
This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with Ihe provisions of $418
of the Companies Act 2(K>6.
The Trustees are responsible lor Ihe maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial
information included on ihe Charity's websrte. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing
the preparation and dissemination of finanaal stalemenls may differ from legislation in other
jurisdictions.
Approved by the Trustees on=
1817123
Franas Kemsley
The Friars. Aylesford 32
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2022
## **Independent auditor’s report to the members of The Friars, Aylesford**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of The Friars, Aylesford (the ‘charitable parent company’) and of The Friars, Aylesford and its subsidiary Aylesford Priory Limited (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2022 which the comprise the group statement of financial activities, the group and charitable parent company balance sheets, the consolidated statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 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:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and of the charitable parent company’s affairs as at 31 December 2022 and of the group’s income and expenditure for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **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 group 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 the group and charitable parent company’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.
The Friars, Aylesford **33**
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2022
## **Other information**
The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report and Consolidated Financial Statements, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s 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 information given in the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law 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 the charitable parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ 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 by the charitable parent company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the charitable parent company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
The Friars, Aylesford **34**
**Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2022
## **Responsibilities of trustees**
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, 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 group’s and the charitable parent 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 group or the charitable parent 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 is detailed below.
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 group through discussions with management, and from our commercial 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 company, including the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011;
- we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting correspondence; and
- identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
The Friars, Aylesford **35**
## **Independent auditor’s report** 31 December 2022
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** (continued)
We assessed the susceptibility of the group’s accounts to material 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 were indicative of potential bias; and
- tested authorisation controls on expenditure items, checking that all expenditure was approved in line with the charitable parent company’s procedures and the group’s procedures.
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 on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **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.
Amanda Francis (Senior Statutory Auditor) 29 July 2023 For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL
The Friars, Aylesford **36**
## **Consolidated statement of financial activities** Year to 31 December 2022
|Notes|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**2022**
**Total**
**funds**
**£**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|2021
Total
funds
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Income from:**
Donations, grants and legacies
1
Other trading activities
2
Charitable activities
3
Other sources:
. Coronavirus Job Retention
Scheme
. Coronavirus Business
Support Scheme
**Total income**
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
4
Charitable activities
. Upkeep of the shrine at
Aylesford
5
. Support of the Carmelite
Friars of the Aylesford
community
6
**Total expenditure**
**Net income (expenditure)**
**before transfers**
Transfers between funds
14
**Net income (expenditure)**
**and net movement in funds**
7
**Reconciliation of funds:**
**Balances brought forward**
**at 1 January 2022**
**Balances carried forward**
**at 31 December 2022**|
**316,202**
**1,126,493**
**90,286**
**—**
**6,000**|**238,849**
**—**
**—**
**—**
**—**|**555,051**
**1,126,493**
**90,286**
**—**
**6,000**|365,678
534,161
74,389
91,978
54,398|249,099
—
—
—
—|614,777
534,161
74,389
91,978
54,398|
||**1,538,981**|**238,849**|**1,777,830**|1,120,604|249,099|1,369,703|
||
**1,077,594**
**393,673**
**86,030**|**434**
**21,722**
**—**|**1,078,028**
**415,395**
**86,030**|644,034
330,658
56,102|—
10,587
—|644,034
341,245
56,102|
||**1,557,297**|**22,156**|**1,579,453**|1,030,794|10,587|1,041,381|
||**(18,316)**
**137,142**|**216,693**
**(137,142)**|**198,377**
**—**|89,810
304,925|238,512
(304,925)|328,322
—|
||
**118,826**
**797,431**|**79,551**
**311,869**|**198,377**
**1,109,300**|394,735
402,696|(66,413)
378,282|328,322
780,978|
||**916,257**|**391,420**|**1,307,677**|797,431|311,869|1,109,300|
All the group’s activities derived from continuing operations during the above two financial years.
There were no recognised gains and losses other than those set out in the consolidated statement of financial activities above.
The Friars, Aylesford **37**
Balance sheets 31 December 2022
Group
2022
Charity
2022
2021
2021
Note5
Fix8d assets
Tangible assets
Investlnts
10
11
909.405
654.897
807,717
635,055
909.405
654,897
807.718
635.056
Current assets
Stock
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
46,SOg
191.602
272.1B4
510.295
24.919
173.855
366.866
565.640
8.500
640,341
125,273
774.114
1.640
546.031
240,950
788.621
12
Credlti>ts_" arnOlts falling due
*itlw'n one year
1112.0231
1111.2371
112,4551
141,8281
Net cutrenl a55ets
398,272
454.403
761.660
746,793
Total net assets
1.307.677
1.109.300 1,569,378
1.381,849
Repre$Ènted by-
Funds and rÈservÈ$
Re51ricled funds
Unreslricled fund5
General funds
. Tangible fixed assets fund
Non-charitab tradillg fvrwjs
Total lunds
14
391.420
311.869
391,420
311,869
370.240
434,924
807.717
635.055
1261,7001 1272.5481
1.307.877
1.109.300
370.241
807,717
434.925
635.055
1.569.378
1.381.849
Approved by thè trustees of The Friars. Aylesforil, Company Registration Number 03487590
IEwvJland and Wales) and signed on their behalf by.
7 N, l( e¢i,d
Francis Kemsley
Twstee
Approved by the Irustees on..
13
The Friars. Aylesford 38
## **Consolidated statement of cash flows** Year to 31 December 2022
|Notes|**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|---|---|---|
|**Cash flows from operating activities**
. Net cash provided by operating activities
A
**Cash flows from investing activities**
. Purchase of tangible fixed assets
**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**
**Cash and cash equivalents at 1 January 2022**
B
**Cash and cash equivalents at 31 December 2022**
B|**217,798**
**(312,480)**|316,866
(291,247)|
||**(94,682)**
**366,866**|25,619
341,247|
||**272,184**|366,866|
## **Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 December 2022.**
## **A Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash provided by operating activities**
|**B**
**C**|||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Net movement in funds (as per the statement of financial activities)
Depreciation charge
(Increase) decrease in stocks
Increase in debtors
Increase (decrease) in creditors
**Net cashprovided by operating activities**||**198,377**
**57,972**
**(21,590)**
**(17,747)**
**786**|328,322
47,135
2,111
(20,395)
(40,307)|
||||**217,798**|316,866|
||**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**
**Total cash and cash equivalents:**Cash at bank and in hand||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
||||**272,184**|366,866|
||**Analysis of changes in net debt**|2021
£|Cash flows
£||
|||||**2022**
**£**|
||Cash at bank and in hand|366,866|
(94,682)|**272,184**|
The Friars, Aylesford **39**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2022
The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are laid out below:
## **Basis of accounting**
These accounts have been prepared for the year to 31 December 2022 with comparative information provided in respect to the year to 31 December 2021.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items initially recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: 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 (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The accounts are presented in sterling and rounded to the nearest pound.
## **Basis of consolidation**
The consolidated statement of financial activities and group balance sheet consolidate each reporting line of the financial statements of The Friars, Aylesford and its subsidiary company, Aylesford Priory Limited, made up at the balance sheet date.
## **Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement**
The preparation of the financial statements in compliance with the Charities SORP FRS 102 requires the use of certain critical accounting estimates. It requires also that trustees and management exercise judgement in applying the group’s and charity’s accounting policies. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees have made significant estimates and judgements in the following areas:
- Estimating the expected useful economic life of tangible fixed assets for the purpose of calculating an annual depreciation charge;
- Estimating any provision for slow moving and/or obsolete stock;
- Estimating any provision for bad or doubtful debts;
- Assessing the probability of the receipt of legacy income of which the charity and group had been notified;
- Determining the basis for allocating shared overhead costs between the charity and its subsidiary company; and
- Estimating future income and expenditure flows for the purpose of assessing going concern (see below).
The Friars, Aylesford **40**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2022
## **Going concern**
The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these accounts. The trustees have made the assessment in respect to a period of at least one year from the date of approval of these accounts.
Having reviewed the financial position and future plans for the charity, the Trustees have identified no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue its activities for the foreseeable future.
The long-term economic outlook is uncertain and the team here at The Friars have put a few measures in place to ensure financial stability. This includes finding smarter ways of working, embarking on various cost saving initiatives and regular cashflow forecasting. We will continue to closely monitor the impact of any government decision making and the impact on the economy from any crisis, and we will actively respond to any rapid changes.
Therefore, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis given the undertaking of the Carmelite Charitable Trust (note 16) to support the group and charity financially whilst they continue with the work to restore the activities at Aylesford to a sustainable basis.
## **Income**
Income is recognised in the period in which the group is entitled to the income, the amount can be measured with reasonable certainty and it is probable that the funds will be received.
Income is deferred only when the charity has to fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.
Donations are recognised when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity.
Donations and grants are recognised when the charitable parent company and/or group has confirmation of both the amount and settlement date. In the event of donations or grants pledged but not received, the amount is accrued for where the receipt is considered probable. In the event that a donation or grant is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the charitable parent company and/or group is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charitable parent company and/or group and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.
Legacies are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the legacy, the executors have established that there are sufficient surplus assets in the estate to pay the legacy, and any conditions attached to the legacy are within the control of the charity.
The Friars, Aylesford **41**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2022
## **Income** (continued)
Entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, but the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material. In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of reasonable accuracy and the title of the asset having being transferred to the charity.
In accordance with the 2015 SORP, volunteer hours are not recognised.
Income from trading activities is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the company and the revenue can be reliably measured. It is measured at fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes.
Income from charitable activities, comprising income in connection with the shrine and retreats, is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the charity and the revenue can be reliably measured.
Income from other sources comprises funding in connection with the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Coronavirus Business Support Scheme and is recognised as unrestricted income in the period in which the charity is entitled to the income, the amount of income can be measured reliably and it is probable that the income will be received.
No separate statement of financial activities has been presented for the charity alone, as permitted by s408 of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities SORP FRS 102. The charity had total income in the year of £746,084 (2021: £801,198), total expenditure of £558,556 (2021: £440,885), resulting in net income of £187,528 (2021: net income of £360,313).
## **Expenditure**
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the group or charity to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
All expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis. Expenditure is comprised of direct costs and support costs. Direct costs are allocated to a specific activity. The classification between activities is as follows:
- a) Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure associated with raising funds for the charity and the operating costs of Aylesford Priory Limited.
The Friars, Aylesford **42**
## **Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2022
## **Expenditure** (continued)
- b) Expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs associated with furthering the charitable purposes of the charity through the provision of its charitable activities i.e. the upkeep of the shrine at Aylesford and supporting the Carmelite Friars of the Aylesford community. Expenditure on charitable activities includes both direct costs and indirect support costs.
All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
## **Allocation of support and governance costs**
Support costs represent indirect charitable expenditure. In order to carry out the primary purposes of the charity it is necessary to provide support in the form of personnel development, financial procedures, provision of office services and equipment and a suitable working environment.
Governance costs comprise the costs involving the public accountability of the charity (including audit costs) and costs in respect to its compliance with regulation and good practice.
Support costs and governance costs are apportioned based on area occupied, level of activity and staff time as appropriate.
Certain support costs incurred are shared between the charity and its subsidiary company, Aylesford Priory Limited. This allocation is based on area occupied, level of activity and staff time. Those costs which would be incurred whether or not Aylesford Priory Limited existed are allocated 100% to the charity.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
All assets costing more than £1,000 with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised.
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates on a straight line basis in order to write off the cost of each asset, less its estimated residual value, over its estimated useful economic life. The annual rates used for this purpose are:
||Leasehold improvements|- 4 to 10% per annum on cost|
|---|---|---|
||Plant and machinery|- 10 to 20% per annum on cost|
||Furniture and equipment|- 20% per annum on cost|
||Motor vehicles|- 20% per annum on cost|
Depreciation is applied in all cases commencing from the start of the month following that in which the asset was purchased.
No value is attached in these financial statements to the leasehold land occupied by the group and charity. As explained in note 10, the site is of historic importance generally and specifically to the Roman Catholic Church and the principal objective of the charity is to preserve the site for the enjoyment of future generations. As such, the asset meets the definition of heritage assets in the Charities SORP FRS 102 and is not valued for the purposes of these financial statements.
The Friars, Aylesford **43**
**Principal accounting policies** 31 December 2022
## **Stock**
Stocks of books, souvenir items and food stuff for resale are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Cost is calculated by assuming stock movements are on a first in, first out basis.
## **Debtors**
Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.
## **Cash at bank and in hand**
Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition.
## **Creditors and provisions**
Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt.
## **Fund structure**
Restricted funds comprise monies raised for, or their use restricted to, a specific purpose, or contributions subject to donor imposed conditions.
General funds represent those monies which are freely available for application towards achieving any charitable purpose that falls within the charity’s charitable objects.
The tangible fixed assets fund represents the net book value of the land and buildings occupied by the charity and other tangible fixed assets held by the charity. Such assets are vital to the charity being able to carry out its charitable work and the value invested in the assets cannot, therefore, be realised in order to meet future expenditure or contingencies. To emphasise this point the net book value of the assets is represented by a specific tangible fixed assets fund on the balance sheet.
Non charitable trading funds comprise the retained surplus or accumulated deficit on the activities of Aylesford Priory Limited.
## **Pension contributions**
Contributions in respect of the charity’s defined contribution pension scheme are charged to the statement of financial activities when they are payable to the scheme. The charity’s contributions are restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 8. There were no outstanding contributions at the year end. The charity has no liability beyond making its contributions and paying across the deductions for the employees’ contributions.
The Friars, Aylesford **44**
**Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **1. Income from: Donations, grants and legacies**
|**Group**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**2022**
**Total**
**funds**
**£**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|2021
Total
funds
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Legacies
Donations
Grants for roof
repairs (see below)
Grant from Carmelite
Charitable Trust|**27,140**
**169,062**
**—**
**120,000**|**6,690**
**88,871**
**143,288**
**—**|
**33,830**
**257,933**
**143,288**
**120,000**|
77,189
168,489
—
120,000|—
5,563
243,536
—|77,189
174,052
243,536
120,000|
||**316,202**|**238,849**|
**555,051**|
365,678|249,099|614,777|
During the year, the charitable parent company and group received grants from the Programme of Major Works Scheme which is part of the Cultural Recovery Funds towards repairs to the roof of the church situated on the site of The Friars, Aylesford. The grants were administered through the Catholic Trust for England and Wales (CaTEW).
## **2. Income from: Other trading activities**
|**Income from: Other trading activities**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Group**|Unrestricted funds||
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Provision of conference facilities, guest accommodation, events, and
sale of books, gifts and refreshments
Rental income
Other|**1,025,746**
**43,780**
**56,967**|456,871
38,144
39,146|
||**1,126,493**|534,161|
## **3. Income from: Charitable activities**
|**Income from: Charitable activities**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Group**|Unrestricted funds||
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Shrine income
Car park contributions|**85,549**
**4,737**|71,172
3,217|
||**90,286**|74,389|
## **4. Expenditure on: Raising funds**
|**Group**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**2022**
**Total**
**funds**
**£**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|2021
Total
funds
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Provision of conference
facilities,
accommodation, events,
and sale of books, gifts
and refreshments
Other|
**1,020,897**
**56,698**|
**—**
**434**|**1,020,897**
**57,132**|600,496
43,538|
—
—|
600,496
43,538|
||**1,077,594**|
**434**|**1,078,028**|644,034|
—|
644,034|
The Friars, Aylesford **45**
**Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **5. Expenditure on: Upkeep of the shrine at Aylesford**
|**Group**|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**2022**
**Total**
**funds**
**£**|Unrestricted
funds
£|Restricted
funds
£|2021
Total
funds
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Direct costs
Other indirect staff costs
Premises and facilities
Office costs
Governance costs|**106,989**
**35,475**
**227,646**
**15,644**
**7,920**|
**—**
**—**
**21,722**
**—**
**—**|**106,989**
**35,475**
**249,368**
**15,644**
**7,920**|60,859
35,715
212,718
12,345
9,021|
—
—
10,587
—
—|
60,859
35,715
223,305
12,345
9,021|
||**393,673**|
**21,722**|**415,395**|330,658|
10,587|
341,245|
Governance costs included above comprise auditor’s remuneration only.
## **6. Expenditure on: Support of the Carmelite Friars of the Aylesford Community**
|**Group**|Unrestricted funds|Unrestricted funds|
|---|---|---|
||**2022**
**£**
**86,030**|2021
£|
|Livingandpersonal expenses||56,102|
## **7. Net income (expenditure) and net movement in funds**
This is stated after charging:
|**Group**|**2022**
**£**
**693,292**
**9,533**
**2,400**
**57,972**|2021
£
522,837
10,426
2,240
47,135|
|---|---|---|
|Staff costs (note 8)
Auditor’s remuneration
. Statutory audit services
. Other services: tax compliance
Depreciation|||
## **8. Staff costs and trustees’ remuneration**
|**Staff costs and trustees’ remuneration**|||
|---|---|---|
|**Group**|**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Staff costs during the year were as follows:
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Other staff related costs
Staff costs per function were as follows:
Upkeep of the shrine
Provision of conference facilities, related accommodation, events and
sale of books, gifts and refreshments
Support functions|**639,105**
**35,627**
**14,229**|483,756
23,770
11,577|
||**688,961**
**4,331**|519,103
3,734|
||**693,292**|522,837|
||**117,915**
**453,536**
**121,841**|119,625
312,080
91,132|
||**693,292**|522,837|
The Friars, Aylesford **46**
**Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
**8. Staff costs and trustees’ remuneration** (continued)
No employee earned £60,000 per annum or more (including taxable benefits but excluding pension contributions) during the year (2021: none).
The average number of employees, based on full time equivalents and analysed by function, was as follows:
|was as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
|**Group**|**2022**|2021|
|Shrine maintenance
Commercial trading operations
Support costs|**6**
**19**
**4**|4
16
3|
||**29**|23|
The average number of employees, based on headcount, was 51 in 2022 (2021: 45).
A number of the trustees are members of the Carmelite Order and, as such, certain of their personal living expenses are borne by the charity, but they received no remuneration in connection with their duties as trustees during the year (2021: none). No incidental expenses were reimbursed to trustees (2021: £87 to one trustee).
The charity has purchased trustees and individual insurance to indemnify the trustees or other officers against the consequences of any claim for a wrongful act. The insurance premium paid by the charity during the year totalled £893 (2021: £839) and provides cover up to a maximum of £1 million (2021: £1 million).
In addition to the trustees, the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running, and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis during 2021 comprised the Operations and Business Development Manager, the Estates Manager, the Catering Manager, the Hospitality Manager and the Prior’s and Trustees’ Secretary. The total remuneration (including taxable benefits, employer’s pension contributions and employers national insurance contributions) of these employees was £165,901 (2021: £136,972).
## **9. Taxation**
The Friars, Aylesford is a registered charity and, therefore, is not liable to corporation tax or income tax on income or gains derived from its charitable activities, as they fall within the various exemptions available to registered charities.
Profits of Aylesford Priory Limited, if any, are subject to corporation tax calculated on the basis of tax rates and laws that have been enacted or substantially enacted by the balance sheet date.
The Friars, Aylesford **47**
**Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **10. Tangible fixed assets**
|**Group**|Leasehold
improvements
£|Plant and
machinery
£|Furniture
and
equipment
£|Motor
vehicles
£|Office
equipment
£|**Total**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Cost or valuation**
At 1 January 2022
Additions
At 31 December 2022
**Depreciation**
At 1 January 2022
Charge for year
At 31 December 2022
**Net book values**
At 31 December 2022
At 31 December 2021|715,186
181,953|105,935
89,710|71,028
40,817|8,495
—|7,779
—|**908,423**
**312,480**|
||897,139|195,645|111,845|8,495|7,779|**1,220,903**|
||94,382
38,354|85,221
12,667|59,899
5,604|8,495
—|5,529
1,347|**253,526**
**57,972**|
||132,736|97,888|65,503|8,495|6,876|**311,498**|
||**764,403**|**97,757**|**46,342**|**—**|**903**|**909,405**|
||620,804|20,714|11,129|—|2,250|**654,897**|
|**Charity **|Leasehold
improvements
£|Plant and
machinery
£|Furniture
and
equipment
£|Motor
vehicles
£|**Total**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Cost or valuation**
At 1 January 2022
Additions
At 31 December 2022
**Depreciation**
At 1 January 2022
Charge for year
At 31 December 2022
**Net book values**
At 31 December 2022
At 31 December 2021|715,186
181,953|63,669
—|23,313
36,710|8,495
—|**810,663**
**218,663**|
||897,139|63,669|60,023|8,495|**1,029,326**|
||94,382
38,354|56,066
5,430|16,665
2,217|8,495
—|**175,608**
**46,001**|
||132,736|61,496|18,882|8,495|**221,609**|
||**764,403**|**2,173**|**41,141**|**—**|**807,717**|
||620,804|7,603|6,648|—|**635,055**|
The charity’s objective is to promote for the benefit of the public the restoration, presentation and maintenance of the historic buildings, amenities and grounds of The Friars, Aylesford. The freehold title to The Friars, Aylesford is held by The Carmelite Charitable Trust, a registered charity and a connected entity to the charity (see note 16). In 2002 the charity was granted a 99 year lease over the site and pays an annual rent of £200 to the Carmelite Charitable Trust. No value has been assigned to this lease in these financial statements. The site is of historic importance generally and specifically to the Roman Catholic Church and, as noted above, the principal objective of the charity is to preserve the site for the enjoyment of future generations. As such, the asset meets the definition of heritage assets in the Charities SORP FRS 102 and is not valued for the purposes of these financial statements.
The Friars, Aylesford **48**
## **Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **11. Investments**
|**Investments**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Group**
**2022**
**£**|Group
2021
£|**Charity**
**2022**
**£**|Charity
2021
£|
|Investment in subsidiarycompany|**—**|
—|**1**|1|
## _**Investment in subsidiary company**_
The charity holds 100% of the issued share capital of Aylesford Priory Limited. This holding was acquired on incorporation of the company on 10 November 2008.
The following is a summary of the financial statements of Aylesford Priory Limited for the year ended 31 December 2022, which have been included in the consolidated financial statements.
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|---|---|---|
|**Turnover**
Cost of sales
**Gross profit (loss)**
Administrative expenditure
Other income: Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and Coronavirus
Business Support Scheme
**Operating profit (loss)**
Accumulated losses at 1 January 2022
**Accumulated losses at 31 December 2022**|**1,025,746**
**(888,069)**|456,871
(523,154)|
||**137,677**
**(132,828)**
**6,000**|(66,283)
(77,342)
111,635|
||**10,849**
**(272,549)**|(31,990)
(240,559)|
||**(261,700)**|(272,549)|
At 31 December 2022 the company had total net liabilities of £261,699 (2021: total net liabilities of £272,548) represented by called up share capital of £1 (2021: £1) and negative reserves of £261,700 (2021: £272,549).
## **12. Debtors**
|**Debtors**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Group**||**Charity**||
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Trade debtors
Amounts due from the Carmelite
Charitable Trust (note 16)
Other debtors
Legacies receivable
Prepayments
Amounts due from Aylesford Priory Limited|**35,825**
**31,132**
**23,371**
**25,731**
**75,543**
**—**|18,180
10,929
8,408
45,153
91,185
—|**926**
**30,849**
**21,226**
**25,731**
**65,612**
**495,997**|4,505
10,102
5,729
45,153
83,271
397,271|
||**191,602**|173,855|**640,341**|546,031|
The Friars, Aylesford **49**
**Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **13. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
||**Group**|**Group**|**Charity**|**Charity**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|Expense creditors
Additions to tangible fixed assets
Social security and other taxes
Other creditors
Accruals and deferred income|**55,720**
**—**
**(195)**
**8,454**
**48,044**|30,355
12,256
156
8,379
60,091|**3,392**
**—**
**—**
**1,366**
**7,697**|15,043
12,256
—
1,361
13,168|
||**112,023**|111,237|**12,455**|41,828|
Income has been deferred where it relates clearly to future periods and/or where the charity has not yet met the conditions for recognising the income. The movements in deferred income are analysed below:
||**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|---|---|---|
|Brought forward
Released in the year
Deferred in the year
**Carried forward**|**18,470**
**(13,697)**
**18,470**|22,095
(25,720)
22,095|
||**23,243**|18,470|
## **14. Restricted funds**
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trusts to be applied for specific purposes:
|**Group and charity**|**At**
**1 January**
**2022**
**£**|**Income**
**£**|**Expenditure**
**£**|**Transfers**
**£**|**At 31**
**December**
**2022**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Restoration fund
Peace garden fund|**294,392**
**17,477**|**238,838**
**11**|**(21,722)**
**(434)**|**(137,142)**
**—**|**374,366**
**17,054**|
||**311,869**|**238,849**|**(22,156)**|**(137,142) **|**391,420**|
|Groupand charity|At
1 January
2021
£|Income
£|Expenditure
£|Transfers
£|At 31
December
2021
£|
|Restoration fund
Peace garden fund|360,791
17,491|249,089
10|(10,563)
(24)|(304,925)
—|294,392
17,477|
||378,282|249,099|
(10,587)|(304,925)|311,869|
## _**Restoration fund**_
This fund represents donations received from the Carmelite Charitable Trust for maintenance projects which are only to be carried out after approval by the Trustees of the Carmelite Charitable Trust together with grants from the Programme of Major Works Scheme which is part of the Cultural Recovery Funds towards repairs to the roof of the church situated on the site of The Friars, Aylesford. The transfer from the restoration fund to unrestricted funds represents eligible expenditure incurred and capitalised during the year.
The Friars, Aylesford **50**
**Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **14. Restricted funds** (continued)
## _**Peace garden fund**_
This fund represents donations received for the creation of a peace garden at the entrance to the Friars.
## **15. Analysis of net assets between funds**
|**Group**|**Unrestricted funds**|**Unrestricted funds**|**Unrestricted funds**|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2022**
**£**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**General**
**funds**
**£**|**Tangible**
**fixed assets**
**fund**
**£**|**Non-**
**charitable**
**trading**
**funds**
**£**|||
|**Fund balances at**
**31 December 2022 are**
**represented by:**
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets (liabilities)
**Total net assets**|**—**
**370,240**|**807,717**
**—**|**101,688**
**(363,388)**|**—**
**391,420**|**909,405**
**398,272**|
||**370,240**|**807,717**|**(261,700)**|**391,420**|**1,307,677**|
|Group|Unrestricted funds|Unrestricted funds|Unrestricted funds|Unrestricted funds|Unrestricted funds||Restricted
funds
£||Total
2021
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||General
funds
£||Tangible
fixed assets
fund
£||Non-
charitable
trading
funds
£|||||
|Fund balances at
31 December 2021 are
represented by:
Tangible fixed assets
Net current assets (liabilities)
Total net assets|—
434,924||635,055
—||19,842
(292,390)||—
311,869||654,897
454,403|
||434,924||635,055||(272,548)||311,869||1,109,300|
|**Charity**|||||||**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**||**Total**
**2022**
**£**
**807,717**
**1**
**761,660**
**1,569,378**|
||||**General**
**funds**
**£**|**Tangible**
**fixed**
**assets**
**fund**
**£**||||||
|**Fund balances at 31 December 2022**
**are represented by:**
Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Net current assets
**Total net assets**|||**—**
**1**
**370,240**|**807,717**
**—**
**—**|||**—**
**—**
**391,420**|||
||||**370,241**|**807,717**|||**391,420**|||
The Friars, Aylesford **51**
**Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **15. Analysis of net assets between funds** (continued)
|Charity|Unrestricted funds|Unrestricted funds|Restricted
funds
£|Total
2021
£|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||General
funds
£|Tangible
fixed
assets
fund
£|||
|Fund balances at 31 December 2021
are represented by:
Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Net current assets
Total net assets|—
1
434,924|635,055
—
—|—
—
311,869|635,055
1
746,793|
||434,925|635,055|311,869|1,381,849|
## **16. Connected charities**
The Friars, Aylesford is connected to the Carmelite Charitable Trust by virtue of the fact that several of the trustees of the charitable company are also trustees of the Carmelite Charitable Trust (Charity Registration No. 1061342).
The transactions with the Carmelite Charitable Trust during the year are as follows:
- The Friars, Aylesford received an unrestricted grant of £120,000 (2021: £120,000) and rent of £1,050 (2021: £4,200) from the Carmelite Charitable Trust.
- At 31 December 2022 The Carmelite Charitable Trust owed £31,132 to The Friars, Aylesford (2021: £10,929 owed to The Friars, Aylesford).
The Carmelite Charitable Trust holds the freehold of Aylesford Priory. No rent was paid by the charity in the period. During the period the Carmelite Charitable Trust carried out various improvements to the property as permitted under the lease. These improvements have been capitalised in the accounts of the Carmelite Charitable Trust and are not included in the accounts of the charity. However, the charity and its subsidiary absorbed all the general running costs of the Priory.
The Carmelite Charitable Trust has confirmed that it will continue to provide financial support to the group as and when required to enable it to meet its liabilities as they fall due over the short to medium term.
The charity has taken advantage of the exemption provided by FRS 102 for the requirement to disclose transactions with its subsidiary undertaking.
## _**Banking arrangements**_
The charity’s bank accounts form part of a centralised banking system operated with the Carmelite Charitable Trust. Cash and cash equivalents for the group were £272,184 as at 31 December 2022 (£366,866 as at 31 December 2021).
The Friars, Aylesford **52**
## **Notes to the financial statements** 31 December 2022
## **17. Lease commitments**
As at 31 December 2022 the Friars, Aylesford had total future commitments under noncancellable operating leases due as follows:
|**Office equipment**
|**2022**
**£**|2021
£|
|---|---|---|
|Within one year
Within one to two years|**345**
**—**|1,379
345|
||**345**|1,724|
## **18. Capital commitments**
At 31 December 2022, the charity and group had no capital commitments.
The Friars, Aylesford **53**