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2020-09-30-accounts

L H A L O N D O N L T D

A N N U A L R E P O R T 2 0 1 9 / 2 0 2 0

Table of contents

Table of
contents
Our Values........................................................................................................................................................ 1
Message from Our Chair&CEO........................................................................................................... 2-3
Building Our Social Impact.................................................................................................................... 4-5
LHA's 80 Years Legacy............................................................................................................................... 6
LHA Advisers.................................................................................................................................................... 6
Committee Structure................................................................................................................................ 7
Trustees.............................................................................................................................................................. 8
Board of Trustees Governance............................................................................................................. 9
LHA Benefits to Residents in Central London............................................................................. 10
Management Team.................................................................................................................................... 11
Building on Our Current Success in 2019/20............................................................................... 12
Residents........................................................................................................................................................... 13
Residents'Well-being................................................................................................................................ 14
Keeping Our Residents Safe Through a Global Pandemic................................................. 15
Strategic Plan................................................................................................................................................. 16
Aims and Objectives for 2020/21........................................................................................................ 17-19
Property Oversights and Projects Committee Statement................................................. 20
Finance,Audit and Risk Committee Statement...................................................................... 21-22
People Committee Statement............................................................................................................ 23
Social Policy Committee Statement............................................................................................... 24
LHA Fund and Communities................................................................................................................. 25
LHA Fund-a Selection of Case Studies.......................................................................................... 26-28
LHA Properties............................................................................................................................................... 29
Our Equality,Diversity and Inclusion Statement...................................................................... 30
Sustainabilty Report................................................................................................................................... 31
Volunteers......................................................................................................................................................... 32-32
Trustees'Review............................................................................................................................................ 34-37
The Accounts,Balance Sheet and Report of the Directors
for the Period Ended 30th September 2020............................................................................. 38-57

To view previous years Annual Report visit our website at www.lhalondon.com/about/

PAGE 01

Our Values

LHA London Ltd (LHA) was originally created to give shelter to those made homeless by the Blitz; LHA London has been providing high quality accommodation since 1940 in Central London.

LHA is a London based charity that provides young people with long-term, affordable co-living accommodation they love and can afford. Here, they can feel safe, socialise and decide whether or not to make London their permanent home. All without breaking the bank!

Safety and Secure

All our hostels have secure key fob access, with CCTV coverage and a member of staff on hand 24 hours a day. You’ll also find every guest has a lockable drawer and/or a safe in their room.

Affordable

Providing affordable accommodation, inclusive of all bills, Wi-Fi and contents

insurance. Reward schemes and discounts available for 18-29 year-olds.

Flexibility

All our hostels operate a 1 week's notice period. Residents can stay up to 4 years. Our hostels have the option of catered or self-catered accommodation. We combine freedom and safety at every hostel located within London Underground Zones 1 and 2.

Home from Home Our co-living accommodation helps our residents meet many like-minded people. But whatever your situation, we’re here to help provide a great start in London for all our guests.

PAGE 02

Message from our Chair & CEO

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Tony Perkins David Conroy
CEO Chair
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London is undoubtedly a different place now than it was just a few short months ago. As we face a new set of challenges, we are grateful for all who have worked so hard to make our charity as strong as it is. The LHA 2019-20 Annual Report captures a moment in time, as we celebrated our 80th anniversary. It also illustrates that we are well positioned to navigate the challenges we are facing in the current environment.

We have managed the pandemic with the support of resourceful hostel teams, but the impact of the coronavirus is unlike anything we have ever seen. The hospitality and other industries, so critical to our young residents, has virtually shut down. As a result, we have had to take quick and decisive action to mitigate the impact of this pandemic – including relentlessly managing all costs and introducing our LHA Covid19 safe and secure safeguarding to ensuring we have been able to continue operating every day during these unprecedented times.

Throughout this period, we have been vigilant in keeping our Team Members and our residents safe. And while the near-term accommodation environment may be challenging, we believe the fundamentals of what we do – protecting our residents – will only grow in importance in the months and years to come. To prepare for recovery, we are actively engaging with all of our stakeholders to ensure we are ready to respond to the changing travel and work preferences that will inevitably result from this pandemic. Our residents have appreciated us working day and night to support their LHA home environment. We have been able to support our residents during the early stages of the pandemic with rent deferral and discount schemes and continue to provide our full catered service where appropriate.

We continue to provide support to partner charities through the LHA Fund and this year saw the expansion of the LHA Fund to an all time high of 13 charities to whom we provided over £300,000 of funding. We were also proud to provide additional emergency Covid19 support to our LHA Fund partner charities with targeted donations at this most critical time.

Residents' Voice

"I’d like to thank all the staff and organization for supporting me on this complicated times, I really appreciate it. "

Bowden Court Resident

"I arrived earlier in the year with a view to staying perhaps a few weeks only. Then Covid-19 struck and lockdown came into effect. I really wish to say how thankful I am that I came across such a wonderful place to stay, offering a safe and secure 'sanctuary' whist the pandemic spread and caused havoc everywhere."

Belsize House Resident

"All the front of house staff are great. Manager and assistant manger are excellent. Volunteers do a great job. The extra cleaning during the COVID pandemic is good. Staff at Railton take COVID seriously."

Railton House Resident

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"Volunteers are gems. The
building looks clean and well
maintained. The rent allows me
to afford a decent life and
minimize travels to work."
Belvedere House Resident
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PAGE 03

Message from our Chair & CEO continued

We took the opportunity in September 2020 to prepare two of our hostels to provide nearly 100 beds for emergency accommodation with our LHA Fund recipient partner Glass Door homeless charity. The provision commenced in November 2020 and will continue over the winter period.

As a London centric charity, we are mindful of a post-Brexit and Covid world and have strengthened our processes to prepare for potential impact on our staff, residents and volunteers.

We have continued our quest for new opportunities to provide hostels in new locations. Our recent purchase of a hotel in West London is currently moving through the planning process to provide over 100 new single en-suite rooms. We are also developing innovative strategies to increase bed numbers at existing sites.

Our thanks extend to the Board of Trustees, our staff and our volunteers for their support throughout the year. This year has seen 3 Trustees undertaking their first year of tenure. LHA prides itself in the selection and deployment of appropriate skill sets to ensure excellent governance. Also this year, Board of Trustees recognised the need to develop new strategies for our challenging times in order to ensure that we are in touch with the developing needs of our target residents. Accordingly, we set up a Trustee Strategy Working Group to guide our thoughts and to outline a programme of work for the coming year. This programme will have a series of work streams focused on equipping the charity to continue to develop and thrive sustainably into the future.

We are confident that we will emerge from this period a stronger, more resilient charity. And when our residents are able to travel again, we will be ready, once again, to fully achieve our charitable objectives that we have proudly pursued for the last 80 years.

Tony Perkins David Conroy CEO Chair

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Reduced number of arrivals
year on year usually reflects
improvement in length of stay
and an increased number of
long-term residents.
This year Covid-19 impacted
the arrivals due to national
lockdown from
March 2020.
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25,000 24,000 Number of arrival s
through our doors
20,000
17,000
15,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
5,000
0
2016-17 2017-18 2018-19 2019-20
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PAGE 04

Building our Social Impact

Percentage of our staff prepared to go the extra mile 92%

Median age of our residents in the financial year 33

Number of properties across London 14

Number of beds in shared rooms 963

Percentage of our volunteers who feel their work is significant/impactful 93%

Number of arrivals over 4900

Number of volunteer placements 389

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Number of catered sites
4
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PAGE 05

Building our Social Impact

We have continued to make significant social impact across our accommodation, volunteer programme and LHA fund.

By providing accommodation, we transform spaces into places and places into neighbourhoods. Our employees live alongside our residents and volunteers creating supported social spaces within our buildings. We survey our residents to gain feedback on our social impact and to monitor how our investments in services and programmes to improve people’s quality of life, health and well-being. We continuously strive to further improve our social impact with the LHA Rewards Scheme making our shared rooms even more affordable. We pride ourselves on providing centrally located accommodation, allowing young people to combine working and studying in the local community.

We continue to deliver:

A volunteer programme to deliver opportunities for young people to combine study and work in the local community

All-inclusive weekly room fees providing full catered or self-catered services to encourage young people to meet in communal spaces.

Initiatives with our partner charities to identify opportunities for housing and supporting more vulnerable young people in the community.

Capital projects within our partner charities to further improve social impact in the community.

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LHA FUND
supporting
homeless using
LHA FUND night shelters
supporting young
people
through rent /
LHA rent deposit
VOLUNTEERS scheme
LHA FUND
supporting young
supporting capital
people through
projects
our volunteer
scheme
SOCIAL
IMPACT
LHA
RESIDENTS LHA
from over 100 RESIDENTS
countries low deposit,
LHA
staying in LHA 7 day notice
RESIDENTS
accommodation
over 15,000
residents
supported
LHA
LHA through
RESIDENTS
RESIDENTS the year
18-29 year olds
flexible,
supported by the
self-catered LHA LHA Reward
options RESIDENTS scheme
catered
breakfast and
evening meal
option available
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PAGE 06

LHA's 80 Year Legacy

LHA London is a charity with an 80-year legacy of helping people through its strong belief that affordable accommodation in London can be made better and less costly through continual innovation.

We have always kept to our values of flexible, affordable, safe and secure, and home-from-home accommodation. Respect and personal attention is at the heart of our strategy. The charity is committed to increasing social impact through its core activity, Through the LHA Fund we have dedicated ourselves to charitable initiatives that reflect the core mission. Since the LHA was founded in 1940, it has reinvented itself over the decades but remains consistent in its vision to become the most trusted name in London affordable hostel solutions.

LHA Advisers

Auditors Investment Advisors Mazars LLP Barclays Wealth - No.1 Colmore Square, 6 Sutton Plaza, Sutton Court Road, Birmingham B4 6ES Sutton, Surrey SM1 4FS HSBC Plc - 8 Cork Street, London, W1S 3LJ Bankers Barclays Bank Plc. - Level 27, 1 Churchill Place, Solicitors London E14 5HP Batt Broadbent - Minster - MinsterMinster Chambers, 42/, 42/42//44 Allied Irish Bank Plc. - 4 Tenterden Street, Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury, WiltshireSalisbury, Wiltshire, WiltshireWiltshire SP1 2TX London W1S 1TE

Solicitors Batt Broadbent - Minster - MinsterMinster Chambers, 42/, 42/42//44 Castle Street, Salisbury, Wiltshire, Salisbury, WiltshireSalisbury, Wiltshire, WiltshireWiltshire SP1 2TX

Volunteer's Voice

"Volunteering for LHA at Friendship House has been an amazing choice. The place is really near everything, with good bars and pubs around, and even with the supermarket just behind the hostel! We are really happy we can share this experience together, and with all the facilities and help that the hostel and other volunteers give us."

Volunteer Team

PAGE 07

Committee Structure

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Finance, Audit & David ConroyChair Property Oversight & People
Risk Committeejoined 26.03.2019 Projects Committee Committee
Alexandra Whiston-Dew Sue Johnson Ali Mohammed
Chair Chair Chair
David Conroy
Peter Frackiewicz Alec McTavish
Giles Byford
Annalise Jalland David Conroy
Toyin Miller
Alexandra Whiston-Dew
Peter Frackiewicz Kay Buxton
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LHA Services
Social Policy
Limited
Committee
Alec McTavish Tony Perkins, FRSA
Chair Chief Executive &
Company Secretary
Alison Craze Marsha Gair, FCCA
Finance Director
Toyin Miller Alexandra Whiston-Dew
Chair
Petra Green
David Conroy
Alec McTavish
Bonnie Chiu
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LHA London Ltd Registered Charity No. 169428 Company Registration No. 363816 Registered Office: 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB

LHA Services Ltd Company Registration No. 3424128 Registered Office: 11 Belgrave Road, London SW1V 1RB

PAGE 08

Trustees

David Conroy Chair BA, MCIPD

Alexandra Whiston-Dew Vice-Chair MA

Chartered member of the Institute of Personnel and Development. Currently an independent management consultant.

Practising solicitor advising on privacy, media and commercial litigation matters. Graduate of Edinburgh University and BPP University. Member of the Honourable Society of Lincolns Inn.

Giles Byford MA (Hons), M.Sci, ACA

Kay Buxton BA (Hons), BTP, MRTPI Chartered town planner specialising in urban policy and regeneration. Currently heading up Paddington developments and two neighbouring Business Improvement Districts.

Alec McTavish

Sue Johnson BA (Hons) DIP Arch

MSc (Econ); BSc (Econ); FRSA

Chartered Accountant, currently working Strategy Group Director for BGL. Previously various roles at RBS, Barclays and PWC.

Entered the Civil Service and worked as an Economic Adviser in various Government Departments. Joined British Rail and became Director of Business Systems. At rail privatisation was appointed a Director at the Association of Train Operating Companies

Retired architect. Partner in private practice with 30 years' experience in Central London redevelopment projects, in particular in residential work and listed buildings. Previous Director of Wren Insurance Association.

Alison Craze BA, Dip SW

Retired Social Worker specialising in children and families. Previously employed by the British Council working with overseas postgraduate students.

Peter Frackiewicz BSc FRICS MAPM

Petra Green BA (Hons), PGDip

Extensive experience on working on Marketing and Publishing professional. challenging projects at Land Securities. Has held senior roles at various Currently semi-retired and working on publishing and media companies, variety of projects either voluntarily or as including Haymarket Media and an independent consultant. Forbes Media.

Annalise Jalland BSc (Hons), MSc, MRICS Chartered Surveyor currently working as an Asset Manager at British Land. Previously held various roles at British Land and CBRE. Graduate of York University and the University of Reading.

Bonnie Chiu BBA, MSc

An award-winning social entrepreneur, gender equality advocate and social impact consultant. Recognised as a Forbes 30 Under 30, she is also a Senior Contributor on Forbes writing on gender and diversity.

Toyin Miller BA (Hons)

A social investment professional with significant experience in banking, loan structuring and real estate debt transactions. Experience in support of the Third Sector with main focus on delivery of innovative investment and finance to enable charities/social enterprises in the UK to deliver and growth their social impact.

Ali Mohammed BA (Hons), MSc

Chartered Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development. Over 30 years' senior experience in HR in the NHS and currently also an executive director at South East Coast Ambulance Service.

PAGE 09

Board of

Trustees Governance

We take the Governance responsibilities of the Board of Trustees seriously. We observe the Charity Commission governance code. Our Board comprises trustees with professional qualifications in planning, construction, project management, economics and finance, HR, social policy and law, giving great breadth of skills at Board level. Trustee training is an ongoing process and includes external courses as appropriate for specific needs and circulation of newsletters and updates from the Charity Commission.

We enhance our Board Performance by careful analysis of complementary skill sets and through an independently conducted annual self-appraisal process.

Whilst preserving continuity, diversity and experience, we seek an orderly rotation of trustees to refresh the Board skill set. LHA considers rigorous review should a trustee consider standing for a fourth reelection. Recruitment of new trustees is carried out through a bi-lateral approach of networking and using the professional recruitment services of BAME Limited, one of the premier providers of trustee candidates for the Charity sector.

Prior to appointment, potential trustees follow the LHA three phase selection process, which comprises an interview with the Chairman and Chief Executive and a tour of LHA facilities, an interview by a Selection Panel of trustees and finally an invitation to shadow a Board Meeting and be formally appointed at the following AGM. There is a formal induction process for new trustees, which includes a trustee familiarisation pack.

The Board follows Charity Commission Governance guidelines by basing current Board numbers at twelve members. The Board has completed the process of appointing the Vice Chair. Charity Commission governance training has also been completed by an external consultant.

Resident's Voice

"I am a long-term resident here and would definitely recommend it. The location is a 15-20 minute walk to Hyde Park and there are plenty of places to eat close by and for other necessities Post/ GP/ Groceries etc. The staff are very friendly and helpful, and any problem is usually fixed soon. It's a really clean new building and some of the rooms on the higher floors have great views of London." Torquay House

PAGE 10

LHA Benefits to Residents in Central London

The Board has considered the general guidance on public benefit issued by the Charity Commission, has taken due regard of the guidance and is satisfied that the Charity’s activities do provide wider public benefit.

The public benefit arising from LHA’s work is clear in the services delivered. The assistance given to young working people and students to help them reside in prime locations at below market rent with easy entry low deposit and easy exit together with just 7 days’ notice is clearly a benefit to society as a whole not just the beneficiaries themselves.

We provide key benefits to our residents to ensure that the LHA remains well placed in the affordable accommodations sector. Benchmarking our room rates continues to demonstrate significant advantages to those with limited means. Our low deposit of £200 opens the door to young working people and students with limited reserves.

We are proud to continue our ‘Easy Entry’ policy which is one of the lowest deposits for long term accommodation provision in the Capital. We are committed to an ‘all-inclusive deal’. LHA weekly room rates include the television and license package and we also include contents insurance inclusive of laptop cover, with free gym facilities at our LHA life option sites.

Benefiting the public with just a simple seven day notice requirement to departing residents, gives a rare opportunity for young people new to London to have genuine flexibility when planning to move on.

We are keen to maintain our ‘Family Feel’ by providing safe and secure accommodation. All LHA sites have 24 hour ‘live-in’ staff. Affordable packages across a diverse range of room formats places LHA in a strong position to continue to benefit working people and students in the Capital.

Room cleaning services with linen provided and laundered is much valued by our residents. We will effectively support the community by providing affordable accommodation in London enabling reduced costs for young working people and students in the Capital.

Residents' Voice

"I would like to thank LHA for your assistance and support these past few months during the pandemic. It is very much appreciated!! I will definitely return to Davies Court as soon as possible."

Davies Court Resident

"Fantastic customer service at Leinster House. By far the most helpful and friendly staff ever. Everyone from management to receptionists and cleaners will go out of their way to help out and to make your stay easier. The level of cleaning is outstanding. All in all, this hostel exceeded my expectations, and they deserve a 10 out of 10 without any doubt."

Leinster House Resident

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"The measures during
Coronavirus pandemic were
great. And received good
financial aid when I was not
able to pay my whole rent."
Belsize House Resident
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PAGE 11

Management Team

Our management team provide a great combination of skill sets. We are working hard to push the Charity forward. We recognise that it is important to invest in people if the business is to progress. The year ahead will bring new challenges but we believe our strategy is sound.

The Board determines the policy, ensures the proper management of the LHA and provides effective guidance and leadership to the Chief Executive, the executive team and employees of LHA. The Board appoints the Chief Executive who reports to the Board at their meetings. The Board set senior management remuneration by reference to market benchmarking.

Trustees are, individually and collectively, responsible for the overall governance and strategic direction of the organisation.

Tony Perkins CEO

Marsha Gair Finance Director

Ben Atwell Head of Operations

Resident's Voice

"Great place to stay, in the heart of Bayswater, on a quiet residential road, in a friendly village atmosphere, with good restaurants and shops nearby. This property has excellent facilities, with friendly and helpful staff and professionally run by LHA, a first class reputable company."

Railton House

PAGE 12

Building on our Current Success in 2019/20

Investing in and protecting our property portfolio is paramount. During the financial year we spent over a million pounds on major refurbishments and capital expenditure.

Our largest site, Bowden Court, benefited from major upgrades in shower, washroom and room upgrades. Our self-catered Kensington site, Halpin House, saw the continuation of a major internal refurbishment. Holland House external repairs and redecorations were also completed.

Alongside the above significant projects, we replaced and upgraded plant and equipment when necessary.

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External repairs & redecorations at
Holland House
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Major internal refurbishment at Halpin House
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Number of beds across our buildings
300
265
200
181
152
143
100 121 135 130 128
101 98
89 85 79
0
Belsize HouseBelvedere HouseBowden CourtDavies CourtFriendship HouseHalpin HouseHolland HouseLeinster HouseNew Mansion HouseNewington CourtSandeman-Allen HouseRailton HouseTorquay House
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Room upgrades at Bowden Court

PAGE 13

Residents

Typically, LHA’s residents fit into 1 of 4 categories: interns, young working people, domestic students and international students.

LHA London provides affordable long-term accommodation in the city centre. We have accommodation for every need, taste and budget with private rooms as well shared accommodation with a coliving environment.

Strategically situated near universities and tube stations, you can easily get to university or work with minimal transport time and cost. With hostels near famous London parks, museums, pubs and tourist spots, we ensure our beneficiaries' stay with us will be much more fun and enriching.

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UK
26.9%
Other
39.5%
Nationality
Profile
Spain
13.8%
India
4.4% France Italy
6% 9.5%
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50+
18%
18-29
Age 44%
40-49
16% Profile
30-39
22%
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Percentages reflect average across the financial year

Resident's Voice

Meet our resident from Halpin House Debora and her new LHA friends! "I share my room with 3 other girls from different parts of the world. We have a lot of fun together and have become great friends. Now we go out together when we are free, and we also like to cook and share with our friend’s dishes from our countries. It’s comfortable and convenient in this accommodation, and we can find a lot of shops nearby and two underground stops." Halpin House

PAGE 14

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24 hour staff & security
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Residents' Well-being

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Friendship House
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all inclusive weekly fees
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our accommodation
dorm to studio options
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3-course evening meal
catered sites
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ample cycle storage gyms in many locations
Services provided on
an inclusive charge basis
Senior hostel staff and volunteers who live on-site are always
available to offer help and assistance. Health and Safety is
paramount to the organisation.
In our catered sites, we provide breakfast and three-course
evening meal
High-speed fibre-optic wi-fi connectivity with 100% coverage in all
rooms and communal areas
Bed linen and room cleaning
Resident contents insurance including laptop cover
LHA Rewards loyalty scheme to provide an incentive for 18-29
year olds rewarding long stay
Communal washroom and kitchen cleaning
Free membership of LHA gyms where available
All utilities and council tax
Comprehensive maintenance service
Communal room with TV facility
affordable co-living
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PAGE 15

Keeping our Residents Safe Through a Global Pandemic

LHA continued to successfully operate its Covid-19 Safe and Secure protocol throughout the pandemic. Having around 1,000 residents and staff continuing to reside in the buildings throughout the year, we believe the extremely low number of residents testing positive was a reflection of the LHA safe and secure protocol.

As a precaution, to respond to a single positive result, we always introduced self-isolation in affected areas of the buildings.

Meal provision was available at those catered sites remaining open. We also supported our vulnerable residents with bespoke packages of support, ranging from shopping to one2one well-being sessions.

LHA carefully considered the financial well-being of its residents by introducing a range of fee deferral and discounts to suit the individual’s circumstances. Following government guidelines and LHA's safe and secure system all residents were moved from shared to single rooms without financial penalty.

LHA was also able to expand its social impact by providing emergency accommodation at two of its sites. The initiative provided 92 single rooms for Glass Door, the Central London charity.

Many of our residents were employed in the low-paid hospitality, catering and leisure sector and had been furloughed. We received excellent feedback from residents at all sites for our compassion and organisation.

Our staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to protect our residents throughout these challenging times.

Residents' Voice

"The quarantine experience here was really well managed " Torquay House Resident

"LHA London is an truly amazing company! It really looks after its residents in terms of health and safety. I was so happy to be offered a studio flat at Torquay House during the Lockdown." Torquay House Resident

"LHA helped me a lot in the COVID 19 pandemic. Thank you!" Belvedere House Resident

PAGE 16

Strategic Plan

Statement of Principal Activities

LHA provides affordable accommodation for young working people and students living in Central London. LHA operates 14 London hostels providing nearly 2000 bed spaces. LHA provides accommodation in the boroughs of Westminster, Kensington and Chelsea, Camden, Southwark, Tower Hamlets, Hounslow and Islington. A structure of 70 paid staff and over 170 volunteers provide support services.

Our Vision (What are we seeking to achieve?)

To be a leading provider in the charity sector of secure, low-cost accommodation in London.

Our Mission (What do we need to do to deliver the vision?)

In order to achieve our vision, we will expand our offering by acquiring, developing, maintaining and managing secure, low-cost hostel accommodation. The accommodation will provide a diverse choice of living arrangements that meet the reasonable expectations of young people with limited means that wish to work or study in London.

Strategic Plan

LHA's strategic objectives and vision are by 2027 to own and manage secure, diverse, good quality and affordable accommodation of more than 1000 additional beds, to reach our target of 3000 beds. The Trustees held their annual Trustee Strategy Day in November 2020 to consider implementing an appropriate 5-year plan. The outputs of the Away Day included: commissioning a review of the existing property portfolio, introduce a mechanism for the measurement and improvement of social impact, a review of the housing needs for London and a comprehensive review of the needs of young people of limited means.

We offer accommodation services which provide a stepping stone to enable young people to advance their careers and education, whilst meeting the reasonable needs and enhancing the well-being of residents. In addition, LHA will develop a concept providing even more affordable accommodation for less well-off beneficiaries, possibly outside zone 1 and 2 but within the M25.

The minimum standards will be defined by research carried out by the Social Policy Committee - a committee of the main Board - and the search for suitable properties will be coordinated by the Property Oversight and Projects Committee to ensure that the appropriate technical considerations are taken into account.

Our performance is based on: Provision of quality, affordable accommodation for over 1700 residents and volunteers Keeping our accommodation well-maintained Providing high standards of services and facilities Achieving consistently high levels of customer satisfaction Being in sound financial health with a history of strong financial management and planning Having an impressive set of performance indicators Commitment to placing diversity at the heart of our organisation

During the coming year we will progress two major initiatives to increase our bed numbers.

PAGE 17

Aims and Objectives for 2020/21

The purchase of a 40 room hotel in West London with a view to demolish and build a new, nine-storey 107-bed

single, en-suite hostel. Planning has progressed throughout the year with a target date for planning determination in early 2021.

We have been keen to explore the maximization of space within current sites. To that end, we have worked on a scheme to build on available roof space

We will continue to complete our major internal refurbishment at Halpin House during the early part of 2021.

Resident's Voice

Excellent Place For Mid-Long Term Living

"I stayed at Railton for almost 8 months. Excellent location, very clean bathrooms, toilets and kitchens, a couple of minutes walking distance to shops, Hyde park and underground. Volunteers and the management team are very hospitable and nice. Thank you Alcina, Laura and Isabel for helping me move to the Railton that I am really happy about it, thank you all for everything.

I recommend this place not only for students , young people but also for professionals. Thanks." Ugar - Railton House

PAGE 18

Aims and Objectives for 2020/21

We continue to work through the year on a major upgrade to our front of house, CRM and booking system. Full testing will be completed in early 2021.

In 2021 we aim to work with Glass Door homeless charity to provide over 90 beds for the homeless in London. The catered site will provide meals and single room accommodation with dedicated Glass Door support staff on site 24/7/77

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Glass Door support
on site 24/7/77
Redefining
our core
beneficiaries
Introduction
Expansion of our
of the LHA
sustainability
Fund
strategy
Our
strategy
for the
next year
Continue
Review
to keep our of our
residents
property
safe
portfolio
& secure
Maintaining
our
affordability
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We have introduced and maintained our LHA Coronavirus Safe and Secure protocol to protect residents and staff. We have continued to monitor Government guidelines and ensure compliance with the ever-changing requirements. We will continue to ensure this is in place as we move through 2021

We will have completed a full external repair and redecoration at our Victoria SW1 hostel, Holland House

PAGE 19

Aims and Objectives for 2021

New Booking System

We have continued development of our new booking system throughout 2020. Developers Coherent have now completed the majority of the work and we are in the final stages of testing ahead of integrating into the website. The as-yet unnamed system will revolutionise the user experience for both our residents and our hostel teams. Key improvements include:

Much of the communication will be automated with the system able to send automated, booking confirmations, arrival surveys and various other reminders, giving our site teams more time to focus on customer-service excellence. The booking system will also provide significant improvements to the organisation's business intelligence, allowing us to quickly analyse trends and respond accordingly. We expect to be in a position to launch the new system in spring/summer 2021.

Volunteer's Voice

What brought you to London?

To have a new experience, improve my English and meet new people.

What do you like best about being a volunteer? It gives you the opportunity to live in the centre of London.

What has it taught you / experience gained?

It certainly helps you to communicate in a language that is not your own.

Advice you’d give to any young person thinking of coming to London to work or study and volunteer at LHA?

Take it easy. Maybe at first it takes a bit of time to adapt but you’ll soon realise the great opportunities that London living can offer. Ezequiel, 23

PAGE 20

Property Oversight and Projects Committee Statement

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Sue Johnson
Chair of Property Oversight
and Projects Committee
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2019/20

The Property Oversight and Projects Committee is responsible for supporting the acquisition and development of new property for the charity, along with the refurbishment, upgrading and maintenance of LHA’s substantial existing property portfolio.

We have made several important moves during 2020 to support our charitable ambition to acquire new sites and to increase the number, affordability and range of facilities on offer to our residents. In the final months of 2019, LHA purchased a new site in Hounslow. During 2020 a design has been developed and submitted for planning permission.

We plan to construct an exciting contemporary building with 107 highly affordable modern en-suite rooms and wide-ranging communal facilities; we hope to receive planning consent early in 2021. We are also pursuing the provision of “air space” development to construct additional accommodation at roof level on existing nonlisted properties. In both these cases, positive engagement with the local planning authorities have yielded productive dialogue.

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HOUNSLOW
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We commenced a comprehensive and wide-ranging review of our sustainability ambitions, principles and strategy during the last year. With the help of external consultants, 4 key areas of ambition have been identified:

Two-year and five-year plans are under development to achieve real tangible targets in each area.

Refurbishment and modernisation plans for the existing building portfolio have inevitably been constrained by the practical and financial challenges of the Covid crisis in 2020. Nevertheless, we have invested almost £0.75 million on a comprehensive internal upgrade to rooms and bathrooms at Halpin House and deemed it prudent to progress planned major external repairs and redecorations at Holland House. These projects ensure that our property assets continue to be well maintained and to offer good quality, up-to-date accommodation.

PAGE 21

Finance, Audit & Risk Committee Statement

2019/20

Alexandra Whiston-Dew Chair of Finance, Audit & Risk Committee

The Finance, Audit and Risk Committee ("FAR Com") was established in February 2020. The LHA Board of Trustees ("Board") decided that the inclusion of Finance as a subject for a subcommittee along with Audit and Risk would support the Board's effective oversight and governance of these matters creating a forum for in-depth examination of these matters.

The FAR Com Terms of Reference have been established and set out clear parameters, responsibilities and reporting lines for the FAR Com. This year, the FAR Com have had to tackle exceptional challenges with respect to both Covid-19 and Brexit and have been pleased to report that the Executive team, staff and volunteers have maintained good governance despite the health and safety, cash-flow and operational challenges inherent in dealing with these unique circumstances.

Finance:

The accounts are reviewed in detail at the FAR Com in meetings that are scheduled to coincide with pertinent points in the financial year. Any questions or concerns are answered by the organisation's FD in the meetings. The FAR Com and the Board remain confident in the FD's management of the organisation's accounts and cash-flow, despite the challenges of this year. A carefully considered change in investment policy has led to the investment of cash assets, which has required an examination of long-term investment strategies and appropriate ethical investment policies. The FAR Com is confident that these new arrangements are in the best interests of the organisation and the residents.

The organisation's pension scheme continues to be run with careful oversight by the Executive, the Board and Pension Trustees and actuaries. Special thanks is given to Peter Frackiewicz, member of the FAR Com and Board, for lending his experience and expertise to a deeper oversight of the pension scheme.

A focus of the FAR Com which will carry through to next year will be the establishment of a longer term strategic plan with respect to the financing of the organisation's projects.

Volunteer's Voice

What brought you to London?

I have always loved this city and decided to come here to have a new experience in my life, explore a new culture and improve my English – which is almost the universal language!

What do you like best about being a volunteer?

Being part of a community. Eventually, you develop a sense of belonging.

What has it taught you / experience gained?

I’ve learnt new skills and gained new experiences such as how to become independent in another country and in a professional environment. Iberia, 27

PAGE 22

Finance, Audit & Risk Committee Statement continued

2019/20

Audit:

The organisation continues to refine its audit policies and procedures ensuring that the appropriate third-party professional advisers are engaged. I would like to thank both the staff, Executive and the Board for their continued commitment to ensuring proper governance and oversight.

Risk:

The FAR Com adopted the comprehensive risk analysis tools deployed by the previous Risk Committee. Changes have been made to the identification and measurement of risk with a stronger emphasis on risks and mitigation strategies identified by the Executive (who have a deeper knowledge of the organisation). Trustees remain forensic in their assessment of risk and oversight of the measures put in place to mitigate against risk.

Health and Safety:

Health and Safety has always been a foremost concern for the Board, but in this global pandemic, the focus has taken on a new resonance. The CEO has devised, implemented and communicated measures in connection with Covid-19 to great effect ensuring that staff, volunteers and residents remain as safe as possible. Communication with the Board has been exemplary often with the CEO reporting developments in real time so that the appropriate level of attention and urgency is apportioned to the safety and health of staff, beneficiaries and volunteers.

I would like to thank CEO and FD for their excellent work throughout the period and my fellow Trustees for their time, commitment and guidance in such difficult circumstances.

Volunteer's Voice

What brought you to London?

I came to London because I consider it to be the ‘city of opportunities’ – you can become whatever you want.

What do you like best about being a volunteer?

I have the opportunity to grow personally and become independent. This is very important for a young person who wants to experience a ‘new world’.

Advice you’d give to any young person thinking of coming to London to work or study and volunteer at LHA?

Every young person should volunteer at LHA London at least once in their lifetime. If you want to study, learn a new language or save some money – LHA London is the answer. Giuseppe, 23

PAGE 23

People Committee Statement

2019/20

Ali Mohammed Chair of People Committee

The People Committee determines, on behalf of the Board, the Charity’s policy on the remuneration of all employees and senior executives. It sets the annual level of remuneration of all employees.

The People Committee is also consulted on the remuneration policy for hostel and head office staff.

To ensure that LHA’s remuneration practices are market competitive, the People Committee annually calls on the Senior Executive Team for market assessments. The People Committee receives regular updates on the volunteer scheme and evaluates the impact of the post-Brexit implications.

The arrival of the qualified HR manager in November 2019 has enhanced the Charity’s onboarding process with comprehensive one-to-one and online induction training. A new HR software system has also provided more detailed reporting.

A regular employee/volunteer drop-in session has been introduced to provide all employees with a one-one with the HR department on a regular basis. Direct access to the CEO is available 24/7 by using the asktony@ email address. Our employee engagement survey shows 92% of our employees would 'go the extra mile for LHA'.

The pandemic has presented significant demands on the teams. LHA’s safe and secure protocol is in place and an Covid-19 update and impact report is received by both the People Committee and Board on a regular basis. On 13th March 2020, the central administrative function was switched to remote working and has followed Government guidelines throughout the pandemic. Our employees’ mental health is taken seriously and constant feedback and contact is maintained between remote staff and line manager.

Volunteer's Voice

What brought you to London?

Sometimes you know when it’s time to move on. When my company decided not to renew my contract (because of Covid19), I realised that it was the right time to leave my country.

What do you like best about being a volunteer?

Being a volunteer gives me the opportunity to do something good for me and for others at the same time. One day I hope to work for LHA London full time.

Advice you’d give to any young person thinking of coming to London to work or study and volunteer at LHA?

Yes, pack your suitcases! We are waiting for you! Matteo, 28

PAGE 24

Social Policy Committee Statement

Alec McTavish Chair of Social Policy Committee

2019/20

The primary aim of the Social Policy Committee is to understand the housing needs of young people with limited means who wish to live in London, and to determine the best way to meet these housing needs through the provision of affordable and appropriate accommodation.

The past year has been particularly challenging as a consequence of the effect of Covid19. A number of our residents who are citizens of other countries returned to their homelands. We have, however, continued to serve the residential needs of young people throughout the year. To meet Government requirements on social distancing, we have ceased to offer shared rooms and instead accommodated each of our residents in a room of their own. This has reduced the total number of residents we are able to accommodate.

The Social Policy Committee has continued to support other housing charities in London through a grants programme. In 2019/20 we awarded £187,487 in grants to 11 housing charities. In addition to this and recognition of the significant impact of Covid19, we awarded additional financial support to these housing charities totalling £116,000.

Members of the Social Policy Committee are immensely grateful for the creative, flexible and timely way all of our staff have responded to the challenges presented by Covid and the effects of Brexit. They have enabled LHA to continue to meet the housing needs of young people in London.

Volunteer's Voice

What brought you to London?

I came to London to complete my masters degree at Glasgow Caledonian University. Upon completion of my degree, I decided to stay and settle in London.

What do you like best about being a volunteer?

I support the team at Davies Court with housekeeping duties, so majority of the tasks involve making sure guests feel welcome and facilities are maintained to a high standard.

What do you like best about being a volunteer?

I love the location. I love meeting residents and other volunteers too. I am very grateful for the flexibility that it provides, I am able to offer my 20 hours to support LHA but at the same time maintain a part-time job which unfortunately has been impacted due to COVID.

Sonia

PAGE 25

LHA Fund and Communities

LA does not make use of direct fund-raisers and does not undertake fundraising activities. There is therefore no requirement to register with the Fundraising Regulator but the charity is aware of the regulations and will register if this becomes necessary in the future.

We are committed to supporting London charities with similar objectives. During the year we made grants totaling £336,953.

LHA also granted £116,000 in emergency funds due to Covid-19 impact on the charities we support.

Since its implementation, the LHA fund has gone from strength to strength and has increased in size over the years. Successful recipients of the Fund are listed below together with intended recipients for the 2020/21 funding round.

----- Start of picture text -----
Current 2019-20 funding
240Project AKT C4WS CAYSH Evolve Glass Door
£20,000 £38,750 £27,500 £28,000 £10,000 £35,000
Women
New Refugees Spires St Mary and Girls
Horizon Project17 at Home Centre le Bow Z2K
Network
£30,000 £12,500 £20,000 £37,500 £18,453 £26,250
£33,000
Proposed 2020-21 funding
Cardinal
AKT BEAM C4WS Hume Evolve
£28,000 £29,000 £30,000 £28,000 £25,000
Single
New Refugees
Homeless
Glass Door Horizon Project17 at Home
Project
£20,000 £30,000 £20,000 £16,000
£20,000
Women
Spires St Mary Whitechapel
and Girls
Centre le Bow Mission Z2K
Network
£30,000 £14,000 £10,000 £25,000
£25,000
new new
new
new
charity charity
charity
charity
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PAGE 26

LHA Fund - a Selection of Case Studies 2019-20

Krys & Caitlin have taken part in the C4WS Mentoring and Befriending Scheme and here Caitlin shares some of her thoughts on their meet-ups. Krys was a guest of the C4WS Winter Night Shelter in 2018/19 and since leaving has secured a role at Ted Baker, one of our corporate supporters and is a values member of our Steering Group, who meet 6 times year to inform our work and help bring new ideas to the table so that we can continue to support the most vulnerable in our society.

"Krys and I both grew up in North London and quickly realised we shared not only geography, but a mutual interest in films, good food and exploring London’s sights.

Before Sam paired us up, Krys had just secured his first job in Ted Baker’s IT department through C4WS’s Jobs Club and was excited to start. It quickly became clear that Krys was an incredibly bright and hard-working individual. Once Krys suggested we go visit the British Library where he talked me through the Leonardo da Vinci exhibition. He has also explained the entire inner workings of a computer and taken me through his impressive photography projects.

He even came to one of our meetings equipped with work phone and laptop, on call for Ted Baker. Krys’s placement was going so well at Ted, he was offered a permanent position, plus funding to study IT at college.

We rented bikes to cycle through Regent’s Park, and enjoyed deciding on the best burger in town from Dalston to London Bridge.

We spoke about settling into the new world of work, budgeting and navigating his new shared accommodation and life with housemates. He came to every meeting

with a smile and was always up-beat with a funny story to tell and we had some great times getting to know each other. Krys and I extended our original placement by a further 6 months. We have also stayed in contact during lockdown and look forward to our chats and seeing where his wealth of knowledge, determination and resilience take him."

Jasmin* moved to the UK in 2007 to pursue an internship and then got a job in London as a fashion designer. She was sexually assaulted at work early last year and then lost her job.

“I felt violated and forced out of the company. It hit me hard. It also affected my mental health. Suddenly without an income, I quickly used up all my savings and then applied for universal credit. I could no longer afford my flat, so the council helped me find another property. At first I was so grateful. But when I arrived, I saw that the flat was unfinished. There was no electricity and maintenance people were coming in and out at all times of the day and night. The ceiling fell through in the bathroom and I discovered that the landlord had never had the right planning permission in the first place.”

Jasmin’s frustrations when she tried to complain about the property only grew: “I was told that it was easier to get rid of me than a landlord with a lot of properties. I felt powerless.” she says.

“I had £1.50, the last bit of money on my Oyster card. I spent it to visit the partner drop-in at Chelsea Methodist Church to speak to a Glass Door caseworker.”

Jasmin met with caseworker Michelle last summer. Michelle ensured she applied for and subsequently received “EU settled status” so that she would retain her right to support after the UK leaves the EU. Michelle also connected her to LawStop to prevent her from being unlawfully evicted.

“I was so relieved after that. But because he couldn’t evict me, my landlord instead threatened to increase the rent to a level I could not afford. Thanks to Michelle’s connection to the Public Interest Law Centre, this was also ruled unlawful and I am still in the flat now. Michelle has a gift. She is so patient and calm and gave me the reassurance and emotional support I needed during such a difficult time. She gave me courage.”

Jasmin has spent lockdown volunteering at her local community centre and using her design skills to make masks for a hospital.

“I feel like my creativity is gradually coming back. I’ve been working on some design projects as well. But unfortunately my housing situation is still far from ideal. My new housemate has problems of her own and the police have been round to the flat eight times due to her substance misuse. If your home isn’t safe, it impacts everything. I know things will get better when I find a safe place to live. I never thought all these things would happen to me. I used to enjoy running in Holland Park and oversaw a whole design team in a job I loved. Not only would I be homeless without Glass Door, but I would have lost my mind. Mental health can really pull you down. And when you’re down, it is so hard to get back up again.”

PAGE 27

Abeo* is a 32 year old man who came to the UK as a refugee. He approached Z2K for advice on Universal Credit, but their Client Support Caseworker identified that he had a number of other needs – he had been a victim of torture and has health problems – so Z2K helped him apply for Personal Independence Payment.

His caseworker also helped him have a Council Tax Support application backdated as he had received a summons for non-payment despite being entitled to full Council Tax Support on account of his low income. Abeo made a homeless application and was placed in temporary accommodation, but he had very few belongings so Z2K's Support Caseworker applied for a hardship fund to provide him with basics like a kettle, a microwave, and some bedding. He found this particularly helpful, saying: “Providing me with the microwave was actually quite key. I do remember them every time I use the microwave. These are little things that you know sometimes can be taken for granted but they do go a long way.”

The process of making a homeless application is confusing and difficult, so throughout he has had support from 2K's Tenants Voice Officer, explaining each stage along the way – in the end the council accepted a duty to house him, and he is now waiting for a place to become available. Getting information was something he really appreciated: “sometimes it seems like murky waters because you don’t really know what’s available, and they’ve just been able to provide you with the means of getting the right information.”

Abeo wanted to support Z2K’s campaigning work, and so he got involved in the client voice project #LifeAfterLockdown, recording audio clips of himself and his experiences. He found the project “inspiring” and will continue to be involved in future.

Abeo has hopes to start his own business and has now been accepted onto the New Enterprise Allowance Scheme with the DWP. This scheme provides start-up costs to help Abeo establish his business before he can begin trading. Abeo was also really pleased to receive a new laptop funded by LHA London Ltd, he could not afford to buy a laptop himself but this will be integral to him to establish his business. Having received the laptop, Abeo said: “This is so amazing, I am extremely grateful. I have had a terrible year, you don’t know how much this means to me.”

Although Lashana* fell on difficult times, she was determined to overcome the challenges set before her.

Whilst living at Evolve’s Crystal Palace hostel known as “The Fitze,” Lashana took on part-time work at Legacy Youth Zone to further develop her skills. Legacy Youth Zone provides a safe place for young people in Croydon to advance their interests in areas such as sports, music recording, and video and art creation.

Her support worker was able to refer her to Croydon Council’s ‘Fast Track’ programme as a result of Lashana’s employment. Before long, she was allocated a one-bed housing association property.

However, also as a result of her job, Lashana now received reduced housing benefit payments and a lower Universal Credit allowance. Even with her commitment to strict budgeting, it would be impossible for her to pay both a deposit and first month’s rent in advance, solely based on the money that she was earning. And so she would ultimately lose her housing placement.

The LHA Move-On Bursary helped her break past that barrier to seize the opportunity for permanent housing. With her deposit and first month’s rent paid, the immense pressure she was under to find a home gave way to a path of continued personal and professional development. In other words: a life of independence.

This also meant that any savings Lashana accrued, she could spend on furniture for her flat, as this was another hurdle to surmount. Her new home was an unfurnished property. Something as basic but vital as a bed and fridge, she would have to buy herself.

Following Lashana’s successful move into her new home, she was able to continue to pursue her dreams. She began volunteering as an ambassador for the Croydon Mayor, which is a new source of inspiration for her future. Her dream is to secure a role in Parliament in order to help others achieve their own potential.

*Names have been changed to protect identities

PAGE 28

Tia* 25, initially made contact with W&GN in via their new online chat facility, which they were able to develop and launch thanks to the grant from LHA London. Tia needed support to access safe accommodation, she had no credit on her phone to call anyone but was able to connect to free WiFi and so was able to reach out for support via the chat. Tia then shared with the Caseworker who was (wo)manning the chat that she has fled three days ago from the home where she was living with her partner, following an incident where he physically assaulted her. Tia had been with her partner since she was 16 years old and he had been physically and emotionally abusive towards her throughout their relationship.

Tia had approached Lambeth Local Authority housing department (where she lived) for support, they told her she was not eligible for support as she is a single woman with no priority needs. Tia had stayed at a friend’s house the first night and slept on the streets the past two nights. The caseworker carried a refuge search out, however unfortunately there were no suitable refuge spaces available that night.

With Tia’s consent, WGN’s caseworker then contacted Lambeth housing department and advocated on Tia’s behalf requesting that Lambeth housing act on their duty to provide Tia with emergency safe accommodation as she was fleeing violence. WGN’s caseworker was able to ensure Lambeth housing provide Tia with emergency accommodation for the following few nights until a refuge space could be secured.

Thanks to the LHA emergency fund dedicated to supporting young women and girls who are fleeing their homes, WGN was able to cover Tia’s cost of travel to the emergency accommodation as well as top up of minutes for her phone, so she was able to communicate with the out-of-hours housing officer. WGN’s worker then supported Tia to reconnect with a local support service that she was receiving support from in the past, and have supported this service to support Tia into a refuge accommodation, where she was then able to access ongoing support in a safe environment and start her journey towards recovery.

H is a refused asylum-seeker from Sierra Leone who has had a particularly rough time. He was referred to Refugees At Home by the Refugee Council. He was then quite poorly and had been street homeless and living in a tent for about eight months. He hates being moved around between hosts and much hosting may involve that. So Refugees at Home had placed him with a host early 2020 and it lasted successfully for a couple of months. Unfortunately Covid-19 struck. His hosts had to shield so he needed to move.

H was found another placement but he didn’t show up. He didn’t like moving so thought he had decided not to go. Though it turned out that he had been seriously assaulted on his way to the new host – and so badly as to end up in hospital for some time, by then the UK was in lockdown. The Refugee Council got him into one of the emergency hostel placements. He hated it and it was bad for his mental and physical health. Amazingly – in peak lockdown – the hosts who had previously agreed to host him, said yes again. He arrived mid-May without incident and self-isolated for two weeks there. Now the host family is trying to find him educational opportunities while he stays with them (#LockdownDoorstep picture.

Tade is an Ethiopian refugee and one of Refugee at Homes star guests. Tade appeared on “A House through Time” recently. He was hosted in Bristol by the current owners in 2018 and through him the house, built by slave-owners and transporters, which had once had an African slave living in it, was eventually redeemed. Now he and his wife, who arrived earlier this year on a family reunification visa, live with Shula and Isaac Marks in South London. Tade goes to university, his wife studies English and their presence in their hosts’ large home has helped the Marks – an elderly couple also descended from refugees – get through lockdown pretty comfortably. The story of the placement was told recently in a HuffPost blog. (#LockdownDoorstep Picture)

*Names have been changed to protect identities

PAGE 29

Hounslow Central *situated off map, in West London, Zone 4

LHA Properties

Newington Court Belsize House

Torquay House

Leinster SandemanHouse Allen House Railton House New Mansion Bowden House House Belvedere Friendship House House Halpin House Holland House

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Court
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LHA Family

Sharing a room not only helps save the pennies but it also creates great friendships such as that of Abdi and Sam. They moved into the same room at one of the hostels many months ago and have enjoyed experiencing London together. They enjoy cycling in Hyde Park, going to the gym and are planning are holiday together.

PAGE 30

Our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Statement

At LHA London we are committed to supporting and promoting Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. This has long been our approach and we aim to ensure it continues to be embraced by our staff and Management team and informs and shapes our business activities and the impact on our residents, employees and other stakeholders.

We aim to:

In 2021, we will develop our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Strategy to:

PAGE 31

Sustainability Report

We have previously reported on our approach to sustainability, specifically how we sustainably manage materials, supply chain, and our human resources. But we know there is more we can do and that there are more opportunities to leverage.

Therefore, in 2020 we initiated a project to review and focus our sustainability efforts into a coordinated strategy. This project has been looking at a broader set of responsibilities and opportunities, such as investing in our people, good sourcing practices, managing the impact of social change, and improving the energy & environmental management of our properties.

We have been working with the sustainability consultancy, Brite Green, over the last quarter of 2020. We have reviewed our current sustainability performance, identified our opportunities, and developed a robust 5-year sustainability framework. The intended outcome is to have a deliverable strategy that directs us on finding opportunities in how we manage our hostels, unlock the potential of our people, build a resilient organisation, and maximise our charitable impact.

The timing of this investigation is very apt; we are also undergoing a broader strategic review of our property portfolio, social impact, the Fund, and the management of our people and volunteers. Our sustainability strategy dove-tails into this review.

Next steps

We have developed the framework for a 5-year strategy with 4 strategic pillars that will be the core of how we deliver our sustainability strategy. These strategic pillars are:

  1. Taking pride in every hostel - Enhancing the facilities, performance and value of our properties 2. Empowering our people, teams, & neighborhoods - Unlocking the potential of our people 3. Maximizing our potential - Building a resilient organization

  2. Increasing impact through collaboration - Maximising our charitable impact

Once the broader organisational strategic review has been completed, we will work to align the 5-year sustainability strategy with the objects of LHA London. Within each of the 4 pillars listed above, a set of priority projects and actions, 1- and 5-year targets, and next steps will be mapped out.

In addition, we will review our current policies (e.g. environment policy, diversity policy) and align them to the new sustainability strategy.

We look forward to launching the new, exciting 5-year sustainability strategy in the Spring of 2021.

PAGE 32

The types of duties which form part of a volunteer's role will vary by property and can change from day to day but will usually involve the following:

Volunteers

Volunteers are a big part of the success of LHA London and we greatly value the contributions they make.

Becoming a volunteer at LHA opens the doors to gain experience and develop new skills whilst giving back to help the charitable aims of LHA.

All volunteers can help make a positive impact on the experience of the young people staying with us, from giving the best possible service upon check-in, to dealing with customer enquiries, to helping the chefs serve delicious meals.

Volunteers at LHA can not only improve their English and gain valuable training, they’ll also make some amazing friends along the way. Plus, the experience will look great on their CV. It’s a win-win for anyone starting their new London adventure.

We recommend our volunteers give us a minimum of 20 hours a week to make the most of their volunteering experience and they can then stay with us for free in shared accommodation with other friendly volunteers.

Volunteering can be done at any one of our accommodations where volunteers get the opportunity to make friends and contacts within the LHA community. They experience all the same flexible living benefits that our residents do and they also get their food included.

----- Start of picture text -----
200
42.4% Nationalities of our volunteers in 2019-20
150
100 20.5%
16.9%
10.0%
50
4.4% 3.4%
2.4%
0
Spanish Italian French British German Bulgarian Other nationalities
----- End of picture text -----

PAGE 33

Volunteers

What brought you to London?

When I first came to the UK, my aim was

to stay for a short period of time. It has now been 10 years. I am living in this amazing, cosmopolitan city and I feel very lucky.

Laura, 30 from France

Why did you volunteer at LHA?

I was so determined to improve my English and make some new friends, LHA London’s volunteer scheme helped me to achieve this whilst saving a lot of money.

Describe a typical 'day in the life of a volunteer' at LHA?

I was working part time as a nanny (and offering homework help) whilst volunteering at LHA London (this enabled me to have a job during my spare time). In fact, I was only volunteering for 20 hours per week and they provided me with free laundry, meals and shared accommodation.

It’s very helpful when you want to live in an expensive city like London. I could also use their gym (again free of charge).

Sharing a room was not always easy but it’s a great opportunity to meet new people from all over the world and also learn about new culture. I also love travelling and it gave me the opportunity to experience and share in the cultures of others. With the other volunteers, we spent time together and created a little community on our own such as making dinner together, trying everyone else’s food from our country of origin and learning each other’s language which was fun.

We also explored the city and went to museums and theatres. We loved going to Camden Town, Shoreditch and markets such as Portobello Road Market, Camden Market, Borough Market and Brick Lane Market.

I learned a lot from volunteering at LHA which gave me the opportunity to climb the ladder during those years which I’m very grateful for. I’m now an Assistant Manager at one of LHA’s hostels. I started as a volunteer cleaner for a couple of months and then as a volunteer receptionist. After that, as a paid staff member, as a supervisor and now as an Assistant Manager.

I really believe that volunteering can be for anyone. It is very rewarding. It’s also a great way to meet new people, gain new or use existing skills and see the city whilst gaining valuable experience. So, if you are studying, want to improve your English, make some friends and discover

the city without ruining your pocket, LHA London volunteer scheme is made for you.

----- Start of picture text -----
25
22
Number of volunteers in LHA hostels in 2019-20
20
15 12
11
10 7
7 7
6
4
5 3 3 3 3
2
0
Belsize Belvedere Bowden Davies Friendship Halpin Holland Leinster Mansion Newington Railton Sandeman Torquay
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PAGE 34

Trustees' Review and Strategic Report

The Trustees, who are also Directors of the Charity for the purpose of the Companies Act, submit their Annual Report with the Balance Sheet for the Company at 30th September 2020 and the Statement of Financial Activities for the year ending on that date, which were approved by the Board of Trustees on 23rd February 2021. The Charity is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. The Charity is managed by Trustees who meet formally five times a year.

Trustees and Members

The Trustees who served during the year are named on pages 7 and 8 of this report. Additional or replacement Trustees are appointed by the remaining Trustees.

Insurance against Trustees and Officers liabilities in relation to the Charity was maintained during the year 2019/2020, as cited in the Memorandum and Articles of Association, Para 60 (1).

Strategic Report

The Charity achieved a surplus net incoming resources before transfers of £4,222,719 (2019; £7,053,223) approximately £2,900,000 under budget due to the impact of the global pandemic. There was a spend of approximately £560,433 (2019; £517,322) on repairs and maintenance. Donations of £336,953 (2019; £212,070) were paid during the year.

Investments

Barclays Wealth and HSBC are the managers of the Charity’s investment portfolio. They reported that at the year end the Charity held investments at a valuation of £16,239,921 (2019; £1,341,362). During the year cash was moved into the investment portfolios with Barclays and HSBC, which showed as a large increase at the end of the year.

The Investment policy has been updated during the year with the following objectives:

The charity’s assets should be invested and held in order to grow the value over time. As the charity does not rely on investment income for operational purposes, a total return approach (capital growth and income generation) can therefore be adopted for the investment portfolio.

The financial objective of the investment portfolio is to maintain the real value of the assets, at least in line with inflation, whilst generating a stable and sustainable return to grow the capital over the long term. The long-term target return set by the charity is at least the Bank of England base rate plus 5%. Separately, cash deposits held by the charity are deemed shorter-term and are used to maintain liquidity. The split between longer-term capital growth investments and shorter-term cash investments will be reviewed by the Committee on a regular basis and will be adjusted according to the charity’s requirements.

Investment decisions should aim to optimise the total return of the portfolio in line with the charity’s risk appetite. The charity has defined this as moderate for purposes of their investment approach and has accepted a degree of risk to their capital. The charity is able to tolerate volatility of the capital value of the investment portfolio and has a long-term time horizon of over five years.

To minimise risk to an acceptable level, any assets invested should be held within a diversified portfolio which does not have excessive exposure to any specific sector or country. The committee expects that the volatility experienced by investment portfolios should be no more than two thirds of the volatility of global equities (in Sterling).

PAGE 35

Trustees' Review and Strategic Report

It should be noted that there is no specified exposure limit at a sector or country level, however the Committee reserves the right to set this if they feel appropriate. Asset classes may include cash, fixed income/bonds, equities, property funds, hedge funds, commodities, and any other asset that is deemed suitable for the charity. The base currency of the investment portfolio is sterling, however investments may be made in non-sterling assets.

Withdrawals can be made from the investments as and when required by LHA to fund their charitable purposes and objectives, such as buying or refurbishing property. LHA also allows for the invested assets to be held as collateral against a lending facility.

Fixed Assets

There has been a continuation of refurbishment works at Bowden Court from the year before with completion of the boiler replacement works and refurbished rooms on the 2nd and 4th floor at a cost of £182,858. Work on the retaining wall at Bowden Court was carried out at a cost of £186,459.

The refurbishment of Halpin House has started towards the end of the financial year with £222,653 spent against of a total budget of nearly £800,000. This contract will be completed in 2021/22.

A number of works were completed at Sandeman-Allen having been started in the previous financial year. £109,581 was spent to complete the refurbishment works, KABA installation and lift works.

The refurbishment works will lead to all sites being upgraded with new room formats and improved washroom facilities.

Payment Policy

It is the policy of the Charity to pay creditors in accordance with contracted terms, normally within 30 days.

Results

The net movement in funds during the year was a surplus of £3,820,250 compared with the previous year’s surplus of £40,757,191. This was after allowing for realised and unrealised gains on investments and the actuarial gain on the Charity’s pension scheme, which was a gain of £823,531 and a loss of £1,226,000 respectively compared to the 2019 gains of £42,492 and gain of £24,000. In 2019 there was also a triennial evaluation of the LHA properties resulting in a gain of £33,637,476.

Reserves

At the 30th September 2020, Charitable Funds stood at £22,252,740 and Designated Funds at £242,139,441. Within Designated Funds there is a fixed asset reserve of £242,139,441 which represents the net book value of the fixed assets. All other reserves are available to maintain and develop the future work of the Charity and are considered adequate by the Trustees for these purposes.

LHA London Ltd has a defined benefit pension scheme managed by Aviva Insurance and had total assets of £10,016,000 as at 30th September 2020, compared to £10,344,000 in year 2019. The reserves in the profit and loss account of LHA Services Ltd, our subsidiary company, were £170,744 as at 30th September 2020 compared to £433,801 in year 2019.

As a Charity, LHA is obliged by the Charities Commission to set a policy on reserves and this establishes a level which is appropriate for LHA for the year. LHA’s reserve policy is set to adequately support the continuation of the Charity’s current activity and future capital expenditure. The Charity’s aim is to monitor the reserves policy throughout the year through our budgetary process and to review the reserves policy to ensure it meets LHA’s changing needs and circumstances.

PAGE 36

Trustees' Review and Strategic Report

Our reserves policy is reviewed annually whilst reviewing our sources of income, and balancing the impact of the future plan, commitments, our pension schemes and any management of financial risk involved. The LHA’s target reserve level is set at 6 months (approximately £2.9m). Our current reserve levels are higher than this as we continue to look for suitable properties to expand our portfolio. We also have bought a property in December 2019 and there are plans to further develop this. It seems appropriate as well given the reduction in income due to Covid to hold larger cash reserves. The general reserves stand at £22,252,740 at September 2020.

Risk Management

The Trustees actively review the major risks which the charity faces on a regular basis and believe that maintaining adequate resources, combined with an annual review of the control of key financial systems, will enable the charity to cope with any future adverse conditions. The Trustees reviewed the Annual Risk Matrix in August 2020. The Trustees have also examined other operational and business risks faced by the charity and confirm that they have established systems to mitigate significant risks. The Finance Audit and Risk Committee (FAR) reviews and updates the Trustee Board as necessary and have identified the following as the highest risks:

  1. Covid-19

  2. Brexit and the impact on the LHA Volunteer Scheme

  3. Changing Market Place

The following actions have been taken to mitigate these risks:

LHA has successfully implemented a Covid-19 safe and secure protocol to enable the hostels to remain open throughout the global pandemic. LHA has worked with the appropriate local authority compliance teams and introduced comprehensive staff and volunteer training.

  1. Brexit and the impact on the LHA Volunteer Scheme

LHA has taken the appropriate action to review visa implications post-Brexit and introduced a marketing strategy to mitigate the potential restrictions.

  1. Changing Market Place

LHA has reviewed the effects of both post-Covid-19 and post-Brexit on the London accommodation sector and the changing needs of its beneficiaries. A full review of the current property portfolio has been commissioned to ensure future accommodation is aligned to changes in the market place.

LHA update related to coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) outbreak

The impact of the coronavirus outbreak on public life and the London accommodation sector has resulted in reduced occupancy within the LHA portfolio. While this is expected to have a negative impact on the financial performance of LHA in 2021, the company cannot quantify the magnitude and duration of such impact at this time given the fluidity of the situation. LHA hold substantial reserves to support the Charitable objective. LHA continues to monitor and assess its business operations daily, and will provide an update to stakeholders as appropriate. In connection with the Covid-19 outbreak, LHA has implemented precautionary measures and protocols based on recommendations from official health authorities.

PAGE 37

Trustees' Review and Strategic Report

LHA Services Limited for 2019/20

LHA Services Ltd (LHAS), wholly-owned by the Charity, acting under a licence and agreement signed in 1991, fills casual room vacancies particularly in holiday times and between long-term bookings. It also provides residents with amenities such as laundry provisions and vending machines.

After payment of the licence and agreement fee in the sum of £66,000, LHAS has a taxable trading surplus and in accordance with the covenant signed on 1st October 1997, an amount of £105,228 is to be transferred to the Charity in the year 2020/21.

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

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

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

By order of the Board

Tony Perkins Company Secretary 23th February 2021

LHA London Limited Independent auditor’s report to the members of LHA London Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of LHA London Limited (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 30 September 2020 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated and Charity Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Statement of Cashflows and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity 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

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual report, 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.

38

LHA London Limited Independent auditor’s report to the members of LHA London Limited

Other information (continued)

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:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors’ Report included within 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:

39

LHA London Limited Independent auditor’s report to the members of LHA London Limited

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 37, 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 charity’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 charity 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.

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 the audit report

This report is made solely to the charity’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 charity’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 charity and the charity’s members as a body for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Nicola Wakefield (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Mazars LLP

Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor

2[nd] Floor, 6 Sutton Plaza, Sutton Court Road, Sutton, SM1 4FS Date:

40

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Consolidated statement of financial activities

Notes
Income
Income from charitable activities:
Operation of hostels
Income from other trading activities
4
Income from investments
Total income
Expenditure
Raising funds:
Commercial trading operations
Investment management fees
Charitable activities:
Operation of hostels
5
Total expenditure
Net income before transfers
Gross transfers between funds
Net (expenditure)/income after transfers
Revaluation of property
10
Gains on investment assets
11
Net (expenditure)/income before actuarial
movements
Actuarial (loss)/gain on pensionscheme
15
Net movement in funds
Fund balances brought forward at 1 October 2019
Fund balances carried forward at 30 September 2020		 General
Designated
Total
Total
Funds
Funds
2020
2019
£
£
£
£
11,031,293
-
11,031,293
13,801,918
249,728
-
249,728
571,163
221,633
-
221,633
178,859
11,502,654
-
11,502,654
14,551,940
54,689
-
54,689
95,696
53,690
-
53,690
3,065
7,171,556
-
7,171,556
7,399,956
7,279,935
-
7,279,935
7,498,717
4,222,719
-
4,222,719
7,053,223
(5,291,645)
5,291,645
-
-
(1,068,926)
5,291,645
4,222,719
7,053,223
-
-
-
33,637,476
823,531
-
823,531
42,492
(245,395)
5,291,645
5,046,250
40,733,191
(1,226,000)
-
(1,226,000)
24,000
(1,471,395)
5,291,645
3,820,250
40,757,191
23,724,135
236,847,796
260,571,931
219,814,740
22,252,740
242,139,441
264,392,181
260,571,931

All amounts relate to continuing activities; there were no recognised gains or losses other than those included above.

41

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Balance sheets

Notes
Fixed assets
Intangible assets
9
Tangible assets
10
Investments
11
Current assets
Stocks
12
Debtors
13
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
14
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
Pension (liability)
15
Net assets
The funds of the charity
Unrestricted income funds:
General
Designated
16
17		 ----------- Group--------------
2020
2019
£
£
12,119
16,664
242,139,441
236,847,796
16,239,921
1,341,362
258,391,481
238,205,822
10,849
12,786
550,196
610,875
8,260,262
23,832,333
8,821,307
24,455,994
(1,529,607)
(2,037,885)
7,291,700
22,418,109
265,683,181
260,623,931
(1,291,000)
(52,000)
264,392,181
260,571,931
22,252,740
23,724,135
242,139,441
236,847,796
264,392,181
260,571,931		 ---------- Charity
2020
£
12,119
242,139,441
16,389,921
258,541,481
10,849
549,979
8,087,984
8,648,812
(1,527,856)
7,120,956
265,662,437
(1,291,000)
264,371,437
22,231,996
242,139,441
264,371,437		 -------------
2019
£
16,664
236,847,796
1,491,362
238,355,822
12,786
610,875
23,588,543
24,212,204
(2,227,896)
21,984,308
260,340,130
(52,000)
260,288,130
23,440,334
236,847,796
260,288,130

The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 23 February 2021 and signed on their behalf by:

D Conroy A Whiston-Dew Trustee Trustee

42

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

Reconciliation of net income to net cash
inflow from operating activities
Net income for the year
Depreciation charges
Amortisation charge
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
(Gains) on revaluation of fixed assets
(Gains) on investment assets
Decrease in stocks
Decrease/(Increase) in debtors
(Decrease) in creditors
Increase in pension liability
Net cash generated from operating activities
Investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Proceeds on disposal of property, plant and equipment
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from sale of investments
Net cash (used in) from investing activities
Net cash (outflow) / inflow
(Decrease)/increase in cash in the period
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 October 2019
Cash and cash equivalents at 30 September 2020		 2020
£
3,820,250
738,919
4,545
771
-
(823,531)
1,937
60,679
(508,268)
1,239,000
4,534,302
(6,031,335)
-
(14,075,038)
-
(20,106,373)
(15,572,071)
(15,572,071)
23,832,333
8,260,262		 2019
£
40,757,191
697,011
4,544
-
(33,637,476)
(42,492)
3,445
(33,091)
(108,311)
52,000
7,692,821
(1,243,699)
149,440
-
-
(1,094,259)
6,598,562
6,598,562
17,233,771
23,832,333

43

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

1 Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with the exception of investments, functional freehold properties and long leasehold properties which have been included at market value. 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 (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) – (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006. LHA London Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the accounts are set out below. The trustees consider that it is appropriate for these accounts to be prepared on the going concern basis.

Group accounts

These accounts consolidate the results of the Association and its wholly owned subsidiary, LHA Services Limited on a line by line basis. A separate statement of financial activities and income and expenditure account are not presented for the Association itself following exemptions afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and paragraph 397 of the SORP. The financial activities of the charity are disclosed in note 2 to the accounts.

Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Association and which have not been designated for other purposes. Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the accounts. Investment income and gains or losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

Valuation of properties

Functional freehold and long leasehold properties were included in the accounts at valuation for the first time in 2012/13. These have been valued by Colliers International Valuers UK LLP in December 2019. The properties will be revalued every three years.

Depreciation

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, other than freehold land, at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset evenly over its expected useful life, as follows:


its expected useful life, as follows:
Freehold and long leasehold buildings Nil
Short leasehold land and buildings
Furniture, fixtures and equipment 10 - 20 % p.a Straight line method
Motor vehicles
Computer equipment 20 - 33.3 % p.a Straight line method

Moveable furniture and equipment is written out of the accounts after ten years as the Trustees consider that it has a negligible residual value.

44

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

Amortisation

Amortisation is provided on all intangible fixed assets at rates calculated to write off the cost, less estimated residual value, of each asset evenly over its expected useful life, as follows:

Website costs 20% pa straight line method

Investments

Fixed asset investments are stated at mid-market value at the balance sheet date. Gains and losses on revaluation of investments held as fixed assets are included in the statement of financial activities as unrealised. Where investments have been sold during the year the difference between sale proceeds and market value at the beginning of the period is included in the statement of financial activities.

Income

Income for operation of hostels relates to income received in the letting of beds for long stays, catering income, sundry income and is shown net of value added tax and discounts.

Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been listed under headings that aggregate all the costs related to that activity. Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing LHA London Limited to the expenditure. Where costs cannot be directly attributed they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of the resources. Direct costs, including directly attributable salaries, are allocated on an actual basis to the key strategic areas of activity. Overheads and other salaries are allocated between expenses headings on the basis of time spent.

Stocks

Stocks, which consist of consumables are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

Pensions

The Charity operates a pension scheme providing benefits based on final pensionable pay. The expected cost of providing pensions, as calculated periodically by professionally qualified actuaries, is charged to the Statement of Financial Activities, so as to spread the costs of pensions over the expected remaining service lives of current employees on the basis of a constant percentage of current and estimated future earnings. The pension scheme assets are valued at market rate. A pension scheme deficit is recognised in full on the balance sheet, but where there is a pension scheme asset this is not recognised unless the asset can be realised through reduced future contributions. The actuarial gains are therefore limited to the gain required to bring the liability to zero.

45

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

2. Judgments in applying accounting policies and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In applying the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions in determining the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities. The Trustees' judgements, estimates and assumptions are based on the best and most reliable evidence available at the time when the decisions are made, and are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be applicable. Due to inherent subjectivity involved in making such judgements, estimates and assumptions, the actual results and outcomes may differ.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised, if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods, if the revision affects both current and future periods.

The key estimate and assumption made in these accounts are considered to be

3 Financial activities of the charity

A summary of the financial activities undertaken by the charity is set out below:

Total income
Total expenditure on charitable activities
Investment managers’ fees
Investment gains
Revaluation of property
Actuarial (loss)/gain on final salary pension scheme
Net income
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
Represented by:
Designated income funds
Unrestricted income funds		 2020
2019
£
£
11,711,022
14,693,179
(7,171,556)
(7,399,956)
(53,690)
(3,065)
823,531
42,492
-
33,637,476
(1,226,000)
24,000
4,083,307
40,994,126
260,288,130 219,294,004
264,371,437 260,288,130
22,231,996 236,847,796
242,139,441
23,440,334
264,371,437 260,288,130

46

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

4 Income from other trading activities

The Charity's one wholly owned trading subsidiary, LHA Services Limited, which is incorporated in the UK, distributes all of its taxable profits to the Charity. The activities of this subsidiary are the provision of short term accommodation and catering services together with the provision of amenities to the residents of LHA London Ltd. The charity owns the entire issued share capital of 150,000 ordinary shares of £1 each. A summary of the trading results is shown below.


of the trading results is shown below.
Profit and Loss Account 2020
2019
£
£
Turnover 249,728
571,163
Cost of sales and administrative expenses (144,689)
(275,696)
Gross profit 105,039
295,467
Interest receivable 189
803
Net profit 105,228
296,270
Amount distributed to LHA
London Ltd		 (368,285)
(533,205)
Retained (loss) in subsidiary (263,057)
(236,935)
The assets and liabilities of the subsidiary were:
Current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Total net assets
Aggregate share capital and reserves		 2020
2019
£
£
177,264
455,249
(6,520)
(21,448)
170,744
433,801
170,744
433,801

Included in administrative expenses are rent of £24,000 (2019 - £48,000) and management charges of £66,000 (2019 - £132,000) payable to LHA London Ltd and these charges have been eliminated on consolidation.

47

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

5 Analysis of charitable expenditure

Staff costs
Other
Depreciation
Total
Total
(note 8)
(notes 9&10)
2020
2019
£
£
£
£
£
Charitable expenditure
House operating costs
1,798,297
2,862,340
708,872
5,369,509
5,552,524
Support costs
991,207
411,652
34,592
1,437,451
1,610,228
Governance costs
(note 6)
-
27,643
-
27,643
25,134
Donations (note 7)
-
336,953
-
336,953
212,070
Total
2,789,504
3,638,588
743,464
7,171,556
7,399,956
Charitable expenditure
Details of other costs
House
operating
costs
Support
costs
Total
2020
Total
2019
£
£
£
£
Repairs & Maintenance
300,939
1,780
302,719
243,487
Light and heat
563,065
-
563,065
529,927
Catering
208,519
-
208,519
257,245
IT costs
151,498
58,374
209,872
165,831
Water
240,948
-
240,948
225,981
Cleaning
279,086
2,081
281,167
313,909
Insurance
187,289
2,833
190,122
209,495
Security
198,282
-
198,282
189,639
Rates
90,482
97,359
187,841
261,902
TV Licenses
14,560
-
14,560
23,764
Defined benefit pension scheme charge
64,737
52,968
117,705
113,636
Other costs
562,935
196,257
759,192
1,132,638
2,862,340
411,652
3,273,992
3,667,454
Governance costs (note 6)
27,643
25,134
Donations (note 7)
336,953
212,070
Total other costs
3,638,588
3,904,658
6
Governance costs
Governance costs include:
2020
2019
£
£
Audit fees
16,391
15,621
Insurance against Trustees' and Officers' liabilities
10,315
6,160
Trustees expenses
937
3,353
27,643
25,134		 Staff costs
(note 8)
£
1,798,297
991,207
-
-		 Other
Depreciation
Total
Total
(notes 9&10)
2020
2019

£
£
£
£
2,862,340
708,872
5,369,509
5,552,524
411,652
34,592
1,437,451
1,610,228
27,643
-
27,643
25,134
336,953
-
336,953
212,070
2,789,504 3,638,588
743,464
7,171,556
7,399,956

48

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

7 Donations

7 Donations
All donations were made to institutions
and these are broken down as follows: 2020
2019
£
£
Albert Kennedy Trust 38,750
35,000
New Horizons 30,000
30,000
Glass Door 35,000
25,000
C4WS 27,500
25,000
The Spires Centre 37,500
25,000
CAYSH 28,000
6,000
St Mary Le Bow 18,453
12,320
204 Project 20,000
20,000
Evolve 10,000
15,000
Zacchaeus 2k Trust 26,250
18,750
Project Seventeen 12,500
-
Women & Girls Network 33,000
-
Refugees at Home 20,000
-
336,953
212,070
8 Staff costs 2020 2019
£ £
Wages and salaries 2,311,311
2,295,438
Redundancy costs 107,226 15,872
Social security costs 117,705 116,682
Other pension costs 253,262 365,751
2,789,504
2,793,743
Average number of employees during the year
Head office staff 15 18
Direct maintenance staff 7 7
Hostel staff 52 56
74 81
Number of employees with emoluments in excess of £60,000:
£60,000 - £70,000 1 -
£120,000 - £130,000 - 1
£130,000 - £140,000 1 -
£160,000 - £170,000 1 1

2 employees (2019: 2) with emoluments in excess of £60,000 are accruing retirement benefits under defined benefit schemes.

The total of employee benefits received by Key Management Personnel in 2020 is £371,918 (2019: £363,401). Key Management Personnel are the Chief Executive Officer, Finance Director and Operations Manager.

49

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

9 Intangible fixed assets – Group & Charity

9
Intangible fixed assets – Group & Charity
Cost
At 1 October 2019
Additions
Disposals
At 30 September 2020
Amortisation
At 1 October 2019
Charge for the year
Released on disposal
At 30 September 2020
Net book value
At 30 September 2020
At 30 September 2019		 Website
22,723
-
-
22,723
6,059
4,545
-
10,604
12,119
16,664

50

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

10 Tangible fixed assets – Group and Charity

Cost
At 1 October 2019
Additions
Disposals
At 30 September 2020
Depreciation
At 1 October 2019
Charge for the year
On disposals
At 30 September 2020
Net book value
At 30 September 2020
At 30 September 2019		 Freehold land
and buildings
Leasehold
land and
buildings
Property
improvements
Plant and
machinery
Total
£
£
£
£
£
221,737,476
10,873,534
12,981,946
1,442,451 247,035,407
4,776,536
-
1,171,379
83,420
6,031,335
-
-
-
(205,316)
(205,316)
226,514,012
10,873,534
14,153,325
1,320,555 252,861,426
-
52,516
9,019,422
1,115,673
10,187,611
-
10,503
646,205
82,211
738,919
-
-
-
(204,545)
(204,545)
-
63,019
9,665,627
993,339
10,721,985
226,514,012
10,810,515
4,487,698
327,216 242,139,441
221,737,476
10,821,018
3,962,524
326,778 236,847,796

The Trustees undertook a valuation of all the freehold and long leasehold properties in December 2019. The valuation was undertaken by Colliers CRE and the properties were valued at £236,500,000 (this includes freehold property, leasehold properties and property improvements above).

Property improvements include £287,670 (2019: £nil) of assets under construction.

51

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

10 Tangible fixed assets – Group and Charity (continued)

Analysis of leasehold land and
buildings (charity and group)
Long leasehold
Short leasehold		 2020
£
2019
£
10,800,000
10,800,000
10,505
21,018
10,810,505
10,821,018
Investments
11 Investments in
subsidiary Other
undertakings investments Total
£
£		 £
Market value
At 1 October 2019 150,000 1,341,362
1,491,362
Additions - 14,075,038
14,075,038
Disposals - - -
Net gains for the year - 823,521 823,521
At 30 September 2020 150,000 16,239,921
16,389,921
Historic cost at 30 September 2020 150,000 15,340,830
15,490,830
Other investments comprise:
Bonds 2,759,764
Equities 12,047,001
Commodities 354,957
Real Estate 260,671
Other investments 711,178
Cash for re-investment 106,350
16,239,921
At 30 September 2020 the following investments represented more than 5% of the
quoted investments portfolio by market value:
% £
HSBC FTSE All Shares Index 5.97% 969,657
12 Stocks --------- Group ----------
-------- Charity ---------
2020 2019 2020 2019
£ £ £
£
Household equipment and food 10,849 12,786
10,849		 12,786

52

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

13 Debtors
 --------- Group ---------- --------- Group ---------- -------- Charity --------- -------- Charity ---------
2020 2019 2020 2019
£ £
£		 £
Trade debtors 35,205 106,273 35,205 106,273
Other debtors 85,493 52,147 85,493 52,147
VAT recoverable 148,228 - 148,228 -
Prepayments and accrued income 281,270 452,455 281,053 452,455
550,196 610,875 549,979 610,875
14 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
--------- Group ---------- -------- Charity ---------
2020 2019 2020 2019
£ £
£		 £
Trade creditors 503,980 373,253 503,980 373,253
Other taxes and social security costs 55,004 218,313 55,004 218,313
Amounts owed to group companies - - 4,769 211,459
Fees and deposits in advance 553,714 974,876 552,667 963,241
Accruals 416,909 471,443 411,436 461,630
1,529,607 2,037,885 1,527,856 2,227,896

15 Pension commitments

The charity makes contributions to a defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of a number of employees who are not included within the defined benefit pension scheme. Contributions in the year totalled £117,705.

The Charity operates a defined benefit scheme in the UK. The scheme is closed to new entrants. As a consequence the current service cost calculated under the projected unit method can be expected to increase over time, as the average age of the membership increases. A full actuarial valuation was carried out at 1 April 2018 and updated to 30 September 2020 by a qualified actuary, independent of the scheme's sponsoring employer. The major assumptions used by the actuary are shown below.

The Charity currently pays contributions at the rate of 31.5% of pensionable pay following the actuary valuation on 1[st] April 2018.

Present values of scheme liabilities, fair value of assets and surplus

Fair value of scheme assets
Present value of scheme liabilities
(Deficit)/surplus recognised in scheme		 At 30/9/20
At 30/9/19
At 30/9/18
£'000
£'000
£'000
10,016
10,244
9,599
(11,307)
(10,396)
(7,759)
(1,291)
(52)
1,840

53

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

15 Pension commitments (continued)

Reconciliation of opening and closing balances of the present value of the scheme liabilities

Scheme liabilities at start of period
Current service cost
Interest cost
Actuarial losses/(gains)
-
recognised in the financial
statements
-
not recognised in the financial
statements
Benefits paid & death in service insurance premiums
Scheme liabilities at end of period		 2020
2019
£'000
£'000
10,396
7,759
152
132
195
225
830
(24)
-
2,327
(266)
(23)
11,307
10,396

Reconciliation of opening and closing balances of the fair value of the scheme

assets
Fair value of scheme assets at start of period
Interest on assets
Expected return on scheme assets
Contributions by employer
Benefits paid
Fair value of scheme assets at end of period		 10,344
9,599
195
281
(396)
301
139
186
(266)
(23)
10,016
10,344

The actual return on the scheme assets over the year ending 30 September 2020 was £201,000 (2019: £263,000).

Total expense recognised in the statement of financial activities

otal expense recognised in the statement of financial activities
Current service cost
Interest cost
Expected return on scheme assets
Total expense recognised in the statement of financial activities		 152
132
195
225
(195)
(281)
152
76

The cumulative amount of actuarial gains and losses recognised in the statement of total recognised gains and losses since the adoption of FRS17 is a loss of £3,140,000 (2019: £2,310,000).

54

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

15 Pension commitments (continued)
Assets 2020 2019 2018
£'000 £'000 £'000
Total assets 10,016 10,244 9,599

None of the fair values of the assets shown above include any of the employer's own financial instruments or any property occupied by, or other assets used by, the employer.

Assumptions

The assets of the scheme have been taken at market value and the liabilities have been calculated using the following principal actuarial assumptions:

2020 2019 2018
% per
annum % per annum % per annum
Rate of discount 1.60 1.90 2.90
Inflation (RPI) 2.90 3.15 3.30
Inflation (CPI) 2.10 2.15 2.30
Salary increases 2.10 2.15 2.30
Pension increases
Accrued before 1 July 2016 5.00 5.00 5.00
Accrued after 1 July 2016 2.10 2.15 2.30
Revaluation rate for deferred pensioners 5.00 5.00 5.00
Commutation Nil nil Nil
Life expectancy
Male retiring at age 65 in 2020 22.1 22.1 22.1
Female retiring at age 65 in 2020 24.5 24.5 24.5
Male retiring at age 65 in 2040 23.4 23.4 23.4
Female retiring at age 65 in 2040 26.1 26.1 26.1

Expected long term rate of return

The scheme's assets are invested in a unitised with profit fund. It is assumed that the long term rate of return on the fund will be 2.4% per annum (2019: 2.4%).

55

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

15 Pension commitments (continued)

Amounts for the current and previous four periods

Fair value of assets
Present value of scheme liabilities
(Deficit)/surplus in scheme
Experience adjustment on scheme assets
Experience adjustment on scheme liabilities		 2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
£'000
10,016
10,244
9,599
9,307
8,798
(11,307)
(10,396)
(7,759)
(8,105)
(8,740)
(1,291)
(52)
1,840
1,202
58
(396)
301
(3)
189
1,182
-
-
(144)
(979)
(3,111)

16 Designated funds

Fixed asset reserve Balance at
Transfers
Revaluation
Balance at
1 October
2019
30 September
2020
£
£
£
£
236,847,796
5,291,645
-
242,139,141
236,847,796
5,291,645
-
242,139,141

17 Analysis of group net assets between funds

Intangible fixed assets
Tangible fixed assets
Investments
Cash at bank and in hand
Other net current liabilities
Pension deficit		 General
Designated
Total
Funds
Funds
Funds
£
£
£
12,119
-
12,119
-
242,139,441 242,139,441
16,239,921
-
16,239,921
8,260,262
-
8,260,262
(968,562)
-
(968,562)
(1,291,000)
-
(1,291,000)
22,252,740
242,139,441 264,392,181

56

LHA London Limited Financial statements for the year ended 30 September 2020 Notes to the financial statements

18 Operating lease commitments

At 30 September 2020 the group’s commitments under non-cancellable operating leases were as follows:

Less than 1 year
Between 2 and 5 years
After more than 5 years
Total		 Land & Buildings
2020
2019
£
£
27,881
61,610
1,440
29,128
27,453
27,814
56,774
118,552

19 Limited liability

The charitable company is limited by guarantee and does not have a share capital. Every member of the company undertakes to contribute to the assets of the company in the event of the same being wound up during the time he or she is a member, or within a year after he or she ceases to be a member, such amounts as may be required, not exceeding £10.

20 Related Party Transactions

The Trustees receive no remuneration. Travel expenses of £937 (2019: £1,553) were reimbursed to 6 (2019: 7) Trustees during the year.

Included in administrative expenses are rent of £24,000 (2019 - £48,000) and management charges of £66,000 (2019 - £132,000) payable to LHA London Ltd by LHA Services Limited and these charges have been eliminated on consolidation.

57