2025-12-31-accounts - Spa Theatre Company

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www.spatheatre.com Charity Number: 1092861

Spa Theatre Company Annual Report 2025

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

Introduction

I am pleased to present this Annual Report for 2025; it describes what the charity has achieved over the last year, and how our income has been used to further our objectives.

We are a small voluntary team, and I pay tribute to everyone who has played a part in it.

I thank the Trustees for their tireless commitment to ensuring that Spa Theatre Company is well governed.

I also thank the volunteers who form the artistic production team; without their skills we would not achieve the artistic successes we have had.

I also thank a whole range of other volunteers, and the parents of the children, who all give their time and efforts into making the charity a success.

Phil Hall Chair of Trustees

Please visit our website for more information: www.spatheatre.com

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

This Annual Report - General

This Annual Report has followed the guidance of the Charity Commission for England and Wales who are our regulatory authority. The Charity Commission’s Statement of Recommended Practice SORP (FRS 102) Accounting and Reporting by Charities provided the guidance for this report, and our accounts.

This report is intended to help people, including funders and beneficiaries, to understand why Spa Theatre Company does what it does. It explains the charity’s structure, aims, objectives, activities and performance. Importantly, it describes our primary sources of funding, and describes how the money was spent.

The Report is therefore laid out as follows:

Section	3:	About Spa Theatre Company
Section	4:	Charity’s Name, Registration Number, Address and
		Trustee Names
Section	5:	Structure and Details of how Spa Theatre Company is
		managed, including how it recruits trustees
Section	6:	Activities and Objectives in the Year
Section	7:	Achievements and Performance, including Reporting
		on the Public Benefit
Section	8:	Financial Review and Reserves Policy
Section	9:	Serious Incidents
Section	10:	Signed Statement

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

Section 3:

Spa Theatre Company

The roots of the company go back to Christmas 1980, when the Leamington Spa Opera Group performed “The King and I” at the Royal Spa Centre in Leamington Spa. The show was produced by Phyl Harris. A number of young people were recruited to fill the roles of the Siamese children. Following the show, the youngsters wrote to Phyl asking her to keep them together as a young persons’ theatre group. The group had begun.

Spa Theatre Company performed its first show in 1982.

In 2000, the management committee (who supported Phyl) decided to apply for charitable status, in view of the emphasis on training and tuition. Charitable status was gained on 2nd February 2001.

The children who benefit from our activities are aged between 8 and 17 years 364 days. The Constitution allows the admission of people aged 18 or over into a Senior Section, but this section does not currently operate due to financial pressures.

This charitable status brought about a focus on governance, because of the need to prepare an Annual Report to the Charity Commission, and because the accounts had to be independently audited. The organisation became more professional in business terms, albeit still run by volunteers.

Apart from the adverse effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Company has been in continuous existence, continuing the training and performing role as it has since 1982.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

Section 4: Name, Registration Number, Address and Trustees

4.1. The Charity’s Name

The Charity’s name is Spa Theatre Company.

4.2. The Charity’s Registration Number

Spa Theatre Company is registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales, with the Registration Number: 1092861.

4.3. The Address of the Principal Office

The Charity does not own its own premises, but undertakes rehearsals and tuition at a local school, and performs annually at a local theatre. The management committee is a network of people operating from their own homes.

The Charity’s formal legal contact is through the Chair of Trustees, whose name and address are as follows:

Mr Philip Edwin Hall, 11, Fernhill Drive, Leamington Spa, CV32 4JX.

4.4. Names of Charity’s Trustees

Chair of Trustees: Mr Philip Edwin Hall
Treasurer: Mr Philip Edwin Hall
Secretary: Mrs Vicky Burford
Membership Manager: Mrs Anoushka Sheehan
Fundraising Manager: Mrs Sophie Wilkinson
Marketing Manager: Mrs Sara Jayne Melville Safeguarding Manager: Mrs Emma Graves

No other people served as a charity trustee or custodian trustee in the last financial year.

All the trustee posts are voluntary. No payments are given for acting as a trustee, although legitimate expenses are reimbursed.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

Section 5: Structure, Governance and Management

The Charity has a formal Constitution, which is approved by the Charity Commission. The latest version of the Constitution is dated 23rd February, 2023.

The Charity is run by the Trustees, as a management committee. The Trustees are subject to nomination and appointment at an Annual General Meeting of the members of the charity, who are defined as the parents of the children under training.

The Charity operates by means of committee meetings, either by video-conference basis, or physically. The minutes of the meeting are formally recorded by the Company Secretary.

The Charity’s accounts are subject to independent examination. The company has a number of policy documents, covering the following topics:

Child Protection Policy;
Inclusivity and Diversity;
Financial Reserves;
Data Protection / GDPR;
Complaints Procedure;
Lockdown Procedure;
Code of Conduct;
Internal Communications Policy.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

Section 6: Objectives and Activities

6.1: The Purposes of the Charity

The Charity’s objects, as defined in the Constitution, are: to promote, maintain, improve, and advance education by the encouragement of the arts, including the arts of drama, mime, dance, singing, music, stagecraft and other associated activities, all generally in the Warwick District area of Warwickshire.

6.2: The Main Activities Undertaken

The main activity of the Charity is as a teaching organisation. Children are taught the skills of the performing arts throughout the three school terms in an academic year.

The year begins with the recruitment of new members by means of audition. Typically, for two terms, the children learn these skills. Then, in the April or May of each year, the children put on public performances of a show at a local theatre.

After the show, the children return to a “back to basics” series of lessons, honing their skills. These skills are then showcased in and end-of-term soiree concert, with parents, family and friends attending.

The children are taught all these skills by a Production Team, consisting of an Artistic Director, a Musical Director and a Choreographer. These people, who are volunteers, are paid a modest honorarium for their services: they are not employees of the Company. All these people, having a teaching and Position of Trust role, are subject to an enhanced DBS check.

The annual show requires input from a whole range of volunteers, covering issues such as licensing the show, procuring the set, procuring the costumes, undertaking makeup duties, and chaperoning the children backstage at the theatre. All these people are volunteers too.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

Section 7: Achievements and Performance

We report on our performance and achievements on several measures.

7.1: Our Main Mission - Teaching

Our main mission is teaching children in the performing arts.

Typically, we have 35-45 members, all aged between 8 and 17. They learn the skills required to put on public performances of shows but they achieve so much more as well. The theatrical environment has a huge emphasis on teamwork and support.

The children learn highly transferable skills. They learn the importance of self-discipline, as they have to implicitly obey the instructions of the artistic team, in order to provide a performance of the highest possible standard.

Although we are an amateur organisation, we replicate the professional theatre as far as we are able. The reason for this is not only because we want to put on a high-quality performance, but because many of our pupils will go on to theatre studies courses at college or university, and later into a professional career. We aim to give them the sound basis for their futures.

The Production Team, leading the artistic side of the Company were:

Artistic Director – Ainsley Brolly
Musical Director – Gil Cowlishaw
Choreographer – Kayleigh Sheehan

They are supported by three Production Assistants (see 7.2)

In addition to the artistic direction of the Company, Spa Theatre Company benefits from the support of various groups of volunteers to deliver its activities. These include:

6 Trustees
29 Chaperones
11 Front of House volunteers
6 Backstage/lighting/stage make up volunteers
1 Production Manager (Nicola Burke)

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

7.2: Production Assistants

One of the achievements of which we are particularly proud is the opportunity we give to the older children as they approach the end of their educational time with us. Usually, these assistants go on to performing arts courses colleges and university.

We offer three positions as Production Assistants to the main production team. These three shadow their mentors, and are often given specific responsibility for smaller groups of children undertaking delegated activities.

For 2025, we appointed the following young people:

Assistant Artistic Director – Dolly Cahill-Tribe; Assistant Musical Director - Rebecca Smith; and Assistant Choreographer – Sasha Bond.

We like to offer a very modest honorarium for these three roles, but this is subject to our financial position, but the funding more usually requires external support.

In 2025, specific support for this training was generously provided by Evenlode Investments. We thank them for their support.

7.3 Weekly Tuition

Our “week-in, week-out” training takes place in a local school, whose premises we hire; we do not own any property of our own.

During this training, the children learn the fundamentals of theatrical performance, as well as learning some of the technical aspects related to performing on stage at a local theatre. In a typical year, about 35-45 children will be under tuition.

In 2025, we held 39 rehearsal sessions, of 2 hours each, at Aylesford School in Warwick. The children therefore receive nearly 80 hours of formal training per year, supplemented by further hours in public performance.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

7.4 Public Performances of a show – Matilda (Junior Edition)

Each year, we put on public performances of a show at a local theatre. For 2025, we had to recruit a wholly new production team, because all of the 2024 team left for various personal reasons.

The new 2025 team staged Matilda (Junior Edition) at the Bridge House Theatre in Warwick. Because of the popularity of the show, and the size of the company, we were able to split the company into two casts, each doing 3 performances. The show was seen by a record audience of over 1,300 people spread over those 6 performances.

The children benefitted from immersion into a theatrical environment, and learned so much about all the things that have to be brought together to put on a visually-interesting and professional show. The show itself necessitated acting and singing skills of the highest order and we received significant feedback from the audience about the professionalism of what they had just seen.

We thank the production team for their inputs to this artistic spectacle, and we thank the staff of the Bridge House Theatre for accommodating us in a professional manner.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

Section 8: Financial Review

8.1: The Reporting Period for this Report

The Charity’s financial performance reported below is for our financial year which equates to the calendar year. This report is for 2025.

8.2: Our Accounts and Bankers

The Charity operates using one bank account, as follows: HSBC

8.3 Financial Results: Receipts and Payments, and Assets and Liabilities

Because our income lies between £25,000 and £250,000, we have prepared our accounts on a “Receipts and Payments” basis. This means that our accounts contain a statement summarising all money received and paid out in the financial year, and a statement of our assets and liabilities at the end of the year. Our accounts have been subject to independent examination.

All our income is in unrestricted funds.

The financial data is presented, in summary, on the Charity Commission Form CC16, but the following text goes into further detail about our financial performance.

8.3.1: Income Sources

Essentially, we have three significant sources of income:

Membership Fees (and the Gift Aid accompanying them); Ticket Sales Income from the Annual Show; External Grants and Funding.

Membership Fees (and Gift Aid)

We aim to keep our membership fees at a level competitive with other organisations providing similar training. But we, unlike them, are not a professional business with large staffs and large overheads. Our fees are therefore somewhat lower, at £360 per academic year (for about 80 hours tuition), but our standard is as high. Many of our children present themselves for audition after experience with others, and they comment very positively on the welcoming, friendly and family manner in which we treat them.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

We also try to maintain fees at a slightly lower level to be as inclusive as possible. We do not want children to be priced out. To further support this aim, we offer a bursary funding for those families who are struggling with the cost of living. We can sometimes offer a reduced fee level from our own resources, but donors often find this aspect to be an attractive proposition for financial support. In 2025, two children benefitted from these bursary arrangements.

Ticket Sales Income from the Annual Show

We aim to set our ticket prices at a competitive level, compared to those charged by other performing organisations within a 10-20 miles radius. We continually benchmark ourselves against these other companies.

Again, like for membership fees, we aim towards the lower end of the pricing spectrum, so as to allow the widest possible participation by family, friends, relatives, supporters and former members who usually make up the bulk of our audience. The year 2025 was notably different in this regard. Matilda is such a well-loved show, it attracted significant number of the public. This resulted in our highest-ever box office income.

External Grants and Funding

We try to be self-sufficient in terms of balancing our income and expenditure, and do not want to be dependent on grant funding for our existence. But the rising cost of theatre hire, the royalties paid to the performing rights holders, as well as payments for the set and costumes all continue to put pressure on our finances.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2024

We were therefore extremely pleased to receive grant-funding support from 6 sources;

We thank David Hopkins for a significant personal donation

These contributions, combined with the income from our endof-year Soiree fundraiser, brought our total fund-raising income to £6,907. We thank all those organisations.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

8.3.2 Income – Breakdown and Historic Trends

The pie chart below shows the breakdown of our 2025 income. As can be seen, our income is reasonably well spread, without an undue emphasis on one source or another.

Total Income £41,607

----- Start of picture text -----
Fundraising Events Training and
and Grants Education
£17,353 (38%)
£6,907 (15%)
Income
from Shows
£21,421 (47%)
----- End of picture text -----

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

The bar chart below shows the fluctuation of our income over the years 2019 to 2025 (noting that the years of 2020 and 2021 were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, during which we had to suspend our operations).

The total income is affected by the choice of show we put on; some shows have more obvious box-office appeal, while others are more artistically challenging.We aim for a mixture, to sustain our income over a number of years.

----- Start of picture text -----
£45,681
£41,607
£21,286
£18,610
£15,574
£3,853
£270
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Covid Covid
Year Year
----- End of picture text -----

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

8.3.3. Expenditure

Our expenditure fluctuates, largely dependent on the technical complexities of the show we choose to perform. In contrast to the 2024 production of Les Miserables, our 2025 production of Matilda did not require the complexity of the set, or as expensive an orchestra, so the cost of our operations in 2025 was contained below the 2024 levels.

Many costs though recur on a year-by year basis; such as hire of premises, honoraria to the artistic team, insurances, membership of NODA etc.

The pie chart below shows the breakdown of our 2025 expenditure.

Total Expenditure £37,631

----- Start of picture text -----
Training and
Education
£7,887 (21%)
Shows
£24,061 (64%)
Overheads and
Governance
£2,053 (5%)
Fundraising
£3,630 (10%)
----- End of picture text -----

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

It can be seen that our overheads and governance expenditure represents only 5% of our total expenditure.

It can also be seen that the cost of fund raising was 10% of our expenditure, and, as is to be hoped, the income produced exceeded that expenditure.

The majority of our expenditure is related to putting on the annual show, which is where the children demonstrate the skills they have learnt.

The bar chart below shows the fluctuation of our expenditure over the years 2019 to 2025. The years of 2020 and 2021 were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, during which we had to suspend our operation, but nevertheless faced unavoidable costs such as insurances, bank charges and website management.

----- Start of picture text -----
£41,556
£37,631
£17,729
£16,971
£14,157
£5,655
£1,458
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Covid Covid
Year Year
----- End of picture text -----

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

8.3.4. Assets and Reserves - Policy and Results

The Charity has a risk-based approach to the level of reserves we hold.The primary sources of risk are:

a collapse in the numbers of members (and hence membership fees);
the unexpected cancellation of the annual show, when there could be a substantial expenditure already incurred with no mechanism to recover the losses.

We seek to hold sufficient reserves to negate these adverse effects, and we calculate that we need a reserve (at the financial year end) of about 33% of our annual turnover. This is in line with recommendations from the Charity Commission for a charity of our size. The policy was vindicated during the Covid-19 outbreak, when our membership income collapsed, and we had no ticket income from our shows. We had sufficient reserves to sustain our existence. We have since rebuilt reserves to a satisfactory level.

It should also be noted that our expenditure is notably seasonal. Our main items of expenditure occur in May and June of each year, when settling the invoices relating to the show. For example, our reserves started at £10,900 at December 31st 2024, but fell to about £1,400 in June 2025. This pattern is typical. When viewed in isolation, the reserves at the year-end may seem high, but they are necessary to avoid the charity going into a negative balance, and being unable to settle our invoices. A reserve of about £12,000 is needed (at the year-end) to be comfortable.

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

The table below shows the reserves on December 31st of each year over the 2019 to 2025 period.

----- Start of picture text -----
£19,325
£10,864 £10,915
£8,927
£6,856 £7,307
£5,668
2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025
Covid Covid
Year Year
----- End of picture text -----

19

Spa Theatre Company 1092861 Receipts and payments accounts For the period Period start date Period end date To from ee ee ee

CC16a

Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Total funds Last year funds funds funds to the nearest £ to the nearest £ tothe nearest £ to the nearest £ to the nearest £ A1 Receipts Training and Education 17,353 - - 17,353 16,294 Shows 21,421 - - 21,421 15,877 Fund Raising 6,907 - - 6,907 9,430 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sub total (Gross income for 45,681 - - AR) 45,681 41,601 A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 45,681 - - 45,681 41,601 ————— A3 Payments Overheads andGovernance 2,053 - - 2,053 1,539 Training and Education 7,887 - - 7,887 7,450 Shows 24,061 - - 24,061 30,111 Fund Raising Costs 3,630 - - 3,630 2,456 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Sub total 37,631 - - 37,631 41,556 A4 Asset and investment - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - ————— Total payments 37,631 - - 37,631 41,556 Net of receipts/(payments) 8,050 - - 8,050 45 A5 Transfers between funds - - - - - A6 Cash funds last year end 10,915 - - 10,915 - Cash funds this year end SS] 18,965 - - $54 18,965 45

CCXX R1 accounts (SS)

15/ 03/202 6

Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period Unrestricted Restricted Endowment Categories Details to nearest £ to nearest £ HSBC Cash Balance to nearest £ B1 Cash funds 18,965 - - - - - - - - Total cash funds 18,965 - - —==== (agree balanceswithreceiptsandpayments OK OK account(s)) OK Unrestricted Restricted Endowment funds funds funds Details to nearest £ to nearest £ to nearest £ B2 Other monetary assets None - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - —_— Fund to which Current value Details asset belongs Cost (optional) (optional) B3 Investment assets None - - - - - - - - - - ee Fund to which Current value Details asset belongs Cost (optional) (optional) B4 Assets retained for the None - - charity’s own use - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - meee Fund to which Amount due When due Details liability relates (optional) (optional) B5 Liabilities None - - - - - Signed by one or two trustees on Signature Print Name Date of behalf of all the trustees approval Vicky Burford 15/03/2026 ——= CCXX R1 accounts (SS) 1 15/ 03/202 6

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF SPA THEATRE COMPANY

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Spa Theatre Company

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Charity for the year ended 31st December 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).

I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.

Independent examiner's statement

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:

1.accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2.the accounts do not accord with those records.

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

Pam East-Jones 25 Eliot Close Warwick CV34 5RE

25 January 2026

Spa Theatre Company | Annual Report 2025

8.4 Funds in Deficit We have no funds in deficit.

Section 9: Serious Incidents

We have a Child Protection Policy which is approved by the local Safeguarding Authority, Warwickshire County Council (WCC).

In 2024, we had a safeguarding incident which was investigated in accordance with that policy. WCC and Warwickshire Police were immediately informed, and they conducted an investigation which was still on-going in 2025. We have been assured that we dealt with the incident in full accordance with that policy, and in a prompt, open and professional manner. Nothing more is required of us. The incident was reported to the Charity Commission.

Section 10: Signed Statement

I, Vicky Burford, hereby sign this Annual Report as a true record of the activities of the Charity for the year from 1st January 2025 to 31st December 2025, having been duly authorised to do so by the Trustees of the Charity during a committee meeting on 25th March 2026.

Signed:

Name: Vicky Burford

Position: Company Secretary, Spa Theatre Company

Date: 25th March 2026