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← Postal Heritage Trust

2024-03-31-accounts

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POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST (A company limited by guarantee)

REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Charity Number: 1102360 Company Number: 4896056

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Contents Page
Legal and administrative information 1
Trustees’ Report (including Strategic Report) 2 - 18
Auditors’ Report 19 - 21
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 22 - 23
Consolidated Balance Sheet 24
Charitable Company Balance Sheet 25
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement 26
Notes to the financial statements 27 - 43

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Trustees
Susan Wilkinson OBE Chair (appointed as Trustee 14 December 2023; appointed Chair 29
February 2024)
Richard Wills Chair (retired 29 February 2024)
Mark Amsden (appointed 27 June 2024)
Paola Barbarino
Julian Barker
David Gold
Susan Raikes
Mike Russell
Peter Walls
Laura Wright
Chief Executive Laura Wright
Secretary Lawrence Melinek
Bankers NatWest Bank
Strand
London
WC2N 5JB
Auditors HaysMac LLP
10 Queen Street Place
London
EC4R 1AG
Solicitors Bates Wells
10 Queen Street Place
London
EC4R 1BE
Registered office Calthorpe House
15-20 Phoenix Place
London
WC1X 0DA
Organisation Postal Heritage Trust is a registered charity (number: 1102360) and
company limited by guarantee (number: 4896056). The charity is
governed by its articles of association.
Website www.postalmuseum.org

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POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

TRUSTEES’ REPORT

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The trustees, who are also directors for the purposes of charity law present the annual report and the audited financial statements of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024. The Trustees’ Annual Report includes both the Directors’ Report and the Strategic Report for the purposes of company law.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE & MANAGEMENT

NAME AND REGISTERED OFFICE OF THE CHARITY

Postal Heritage Trust (PHT) is a company limited by guarantee, company number 04896056 and a registered charity in England & Wales charity number 1102360. Its registered address is 15-20 Phoenix Place, London WC1X 0DL. The purposes and business of the company and charity are governed by the memorandum and articles of association.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

Postal Heritage Trust (PHT) heads the group of companies which collectively are known, and trade, as The Postal Museum (TPM). Postal Heritage Collection Trust, the other charity in the group, owns the collection of historic material known as The Postal Museum Collection but otherwise, it is not engaged in any trading activities. PHT and PHCT share the same Board members. PHT manages the collection held by PHCT. PHT also owns the entire share capital of two trading subsidiaries, Postal Heritage Services Limited (PHSL), which is engaged in archive services, and Postal Heritage Trading Limited (PHTL), which engages in commercial trading. These financial statements are the accounts of PHT and the consolidated financial statements for the group. This trustees’ report therefore refers to both the work of PHT and to the other constituent members of the group.

The group workforce is conventionally organised through a line management structure, set up by the Board of Trustees. The Chief Executive has an Executive Team that meets weekly. There are regular full staff meetings and team meetings for each of TPM’s departments.

The Board of Trustees sets the remuneration of the Chief Executive, who in turn sets the remuneration of the senior staff in consultation with the Trustee Board’s Audit and Finance subcommittee.

DIRECTORS/TRUSTEES

The Board of Trustees (the Board) is composed of up to fifteen members: ten selected by the Trust via an open selection policy, up to three nominated by Royal Mail Group (RMG), and up to two nominated by Post Office Limited (POL), both following their own internal selection policies. At present, there are nine trustees.

The Board can be added to by co-option, but at present there are no co-opted trustees. Trustees joining the Board receive a full introduction to PHT’s purpose and premises. In addition to a personal briefing, they receive the trustees’ handbook which includes links to the Charities Commission best practice documentation.

In 2023/24, the Board met four times, with other meetings, including conference calls, taking place as and when necessary. The following committees report to the Board: An Audit and Finance sub-committee, reporting on internal and external audit factors and risk, which meets at least four times per year; a Collections sub-committee which meets to consider issues related to the management of TPM’s heritage material; a Nominations sub-committee which meets as and when required.

The PHSL and PHTL boards of directors comprise some PHT trustees together with TPM’s Head of Collections (PHSL) and Head of Commercial (PHTL). The PHTL board also includes other directors who are not trustees of PHT. There is a professional advisory board for Archive supplying external expertise in this area.

CHANGE OF FINANCIAL YEAR END

The museum was awarded National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) by Arts Council England (ACE) in November 2022, with a start date of 1 April 2023. As ACE reporting is tied to a financial year ending 31 March, it was decided to amend the year end from 31 December 2022 to 31 March 2023 for all entities in the TPM group to make it easier to meet ACE NPO reporting requirements. As a result, the comparative data presented in these accounts is for 15 months. From 1 April 2023, all accounting periods are 12 months . NPO status includes the award of unrestricted funding of £150k per

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

year for a three year period. This has been extended to a fourth year, and It is hoped that the museum will retain this status for future triennial funding rounds.

ACTIVITIES AND PUBLIC BENEFIT- MEETING THE CHARITABLE OBJECTS

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission in determining the activities undertaken by the charity. The public benefit delivered by the group is set out in more detail in the review below.

OUR PURPOSE

WHO WE ARE – OUR MISSION

The Postal Museum tells the story of postal communication and its impact on a global society.

WHAT WE DO – OUR VISION

We use our collection to explore stories around communication, and to inspire everyone to make richer and more meaningful connections in their lives.

OUR VALUES

We will:

OUR STRATEGIC OBJECTIVES

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TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

  1. We will create welcoming experiences for anybody to connect with the museum and each other

  2. We will collaborate creatively to deliver content that meets our audience’s needs

  3. We will look after, develop and be curious about our collection to ensure the story of postal communication is relevant, inspiring and inclusive

  4. We will minimize the environmental impact of our activities and communicate effectively about our environmental responsibility

  5. We will develop a sustainable and dynamic business model to enable our work as a charity

REVIEW OF THE YEAR APRIL 2023 TO MARCH 2024

In the period April 2023 – March 2024, we used our strategic objectives to shape our activity, some of which is detailed below.

1. We will create welcoming experiences for anybody to connect with the museum and each

other

Audience Development Strategy

In late 2023, The Postal Museum launched its Audience Development Strategy and Plan. Founded on in-depth research into the wants and needs of our current and potential audiences, the strategy and plan seek to guide progress towards four goals for the museum’s audiences and communities:

  1. Financial – We will grow paying customers to support the business model through ticket sales and secondary spend, memberships and donations.

  2. Educational or Experiential – We will engage with all audiences through high-quality experiences that help them learn about the story of postal communication.

  3. Social – We will reach out to our under-served audiences to better understand their wants and needs, their connections to our stories, and how we can benefit and improve their lives.

  4. Creative / Relevancy / Reputational – We will collaborate with our under-served audiences to develop our collections, stories and activities and ensure they are relevant to current and future generations.

The strategy for audience development will focus on market development and penetration – using our current offer to attract specific audience segments within the market and deepen our relationship with existing audiences. We will

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target those people in the market who have medium to high interest in visiting the museum – primarily the families within the Memory Makers segment and adults and families within Inquisitive Minds segments.

The plan outlines approaches to maintaining the elements of the offer that are successfully meeting the wants and needs of current visitors, as well as improving or adding elements which address the primary barriers for non-visitors: awareness, price and relevancy.

Schools Programme

In 2023-24, 7,361 students and teachers visited the museum. We engaged 237 school classes, of which 185 classes took part in a facilitated visit with an interactive session. Schools’ capacity was increased in January 2024 in response to growing demand, with Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays set aside for facilitated visits, and Fridays for self-led visits. Most term-time weeks we welcomed 8-10 classes to the museum.

To support this increased capacity, we delivered schools engagement training for the Visitor Experience team to develop confidence and understanding of how to engage schools. Hosts regularly support school classes in the museum, and this includes providing support for self-led SEND (Special Educational Needs and Disabilities) schools. Developing skills and experience of engaging SEND schools has been a focus as it is a future ambition to develop a facilitated programme for this audience.

Teacher feedback has been very positive. Teachers rated the overall experience 9.8/10 and strongly agreed that they would recommend the museum. Data collected includes how schools finance their visit, including travel costs and the contribution paid by students. This is vital information to ensure we are reaching a diverse school audience. Teacher’s comments frequently highlight inclusivity, accessibility and the high-quality engagement with our staff:

“I would not hesitate to book another trip at the Postal Museum and would recommend it to my colleagues. Having such clear itineraries was also such a help, as it meant everyone was aware of what was going to happen next. The provision for SEND children was also above and beyond anything I have seen before. Being offered a sensory bag and having a sensory area for the children who could not access the workshop was beyond expectations.”

“One pupil said, “I am learning so much and having fun at the same time!” Another hard-to-reach pupil, who finds trips challenging had his best trip ever!”

“I would recommend that any Year 1 class visits the Postal Museum. It was an interactive and fun day that the children loved.”

In 2023-24 we made significant progress with the Sorting Office Maths Challenge schools programme funded by The Portal Trust. In Summer term 2023 we piloted the session with schools in target boroughs and undertook teacher consultation. Teachers told us that they valued this unique learning experience, which puts maths in a real-life context. With the funding we recruited a Learning Facilitator and launched the delivery of sessions in the Autumn term, along with a new digital learning resource developed with maths-lead teachers.

Our Home Educators programme was full booked, engaging 836 adults and children through 5 themed Home Ed Days and 5 Home Ed self-led visit days. Our Home Educators delivery model is highly praised by families and has been benchmarked by sector colleagues seeking to understand how to engage this audience.

Family Programme

The ambition for 2023-2024 was to improve and enhance the family programme through auditing the current offer, consultation, research, benchmarking and embedding learning from other access and learning activity, such as the Post and Play programme. We tested a range of playful and inclusive approaches, with a focus on sustainability, to facilitate high-quality and engaging family-led experiences. The activities reached 5,086 adults and children across the year.

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Highlight programmes include the national Art Fund initiative, The Wild Escape, which encouraged children to think about biodiversity and sustainability through learning about the animals that call the museum home. Activity was also themed around the Dressed to Deliver exhibition, including February half term, which reached 1,000 people. A highquality, fluid and cohesive experience for families was produced, providing a choice of activity to meet the requirements of a range of ages, abilities and interests.

Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion

Back in 2021/22 with the help of the external facilitators the museum worked out the key definitions of Equity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. To progress this work and to embed these definitions through our practices, a series of workshops for managers was arranged, followed by similar workshops for all staff. These definitions were also incorporated into the new EEDI policy, which was collectively reviewed and presented to staff by the EEDI group. Thanks to some promotional work and a Staff Survey launched in January 2024, the HR team was able to collect some key data to support a better understanding of our staff make up/representation.

The staff EEDI group continued working closely with senior management and HR on various EEDI initiatives.

The Postal Museum joined Inclusive Business Network Camden to support a meaningful initiative for the Camden community and to access the most up-to-date resources and training opportunities they provide.

HR and Staff Support

The new HR team has been established and the HR Departmental plan was presented and approved. The team created a dedicated HR webpage for all staff to showcase available benefits, updated relevant policies, and created a sub-page to promote TPM’s wellbeing resources. The team carried out a gradual review of all core HR functionalities, focusing on embedding the EEDI definitions through all aspects of staff support, practices and policies, in-house learning, and many other areas. They promoted collaborative work with line managers and staff when reviewing key policies. The team conducted the full revision of the recruitment, sickness policies and some others to support transparent, fair and inclusive practices.

A customised ‘Management and Leadership Fundamentals Programme’ was designed and successfully rolled out in Spring/Summer 2023; two groups completed the programme over the period of several months. A pool of internal trainers was prepared to ensure the programme is run annually for all line managers at TPM.

The organisation has significantly recovered its pre pandemic size and ways of working, however hybrid and flexibility models remain in demand and are supported by the organisation. There is an increased interest and focus on managing neurodiverse staff.

A staff Survey was launched in January 2024 with an 86% participation rate and was welcomed by staff. The results will lay the foundation for the Staff Survey Action Plan going forward.

2. We will collaborate creatively to deliver content that meets our audience’s needs

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FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Post and Play

In 2023-24 we delivered 88 Post and Play sessions on term-time Thursdays, attended by 2,248 under 5s and their parents/carers. Of these, 507 were Camden residents. In the second year of this John Lyon’s Charity funded programme we developed the content in response to our reflections, feedback from families, and the recommendations of University of East London (UEL) academics evaluating the programme. An ambition was to better connect families with our communication stories and the environment of the Mail Rail depot. We held two focus groups with our group of Parent Champions from Camden and with their input we devised new songs and activities, including bespoke postal busy boards and a sensory area for young babies. Feedback from families highlights the positive impact of the postal-themed play taking place, the engaging staff, the opportunities for social interaction with other children and the variety of resources for children at different developmental stages.

To meet the aim of the project of reaching underrepresented families in Camden, we worked in partnership with Camden Council. This included targeted marketing in local venues with the aim to raise awareness of Post and Play ahead of developing outreach sessions in Camden Children’s Centres.

Post and Play has also developed our understanding of the needs of families with young children visiting the museum. We have introduced new resources to support family visits including Caught Short Boxes with nappies and wipes and a Family Activity Station in the café with books, toys and activity sheets for families to enjoy in this space.

Access and Community Programmes

In 2023-2024 the museum continued to develop and deliver the access programme through working with D/deaf, disabled and neurodivergent people to identify and remove barriers.

We worked with Ambitious about Autism and a group of autistic young people to co-produce a sensory map to support people with sensory processing needs to understand and prepare for their visit. The Post Early relaxed events continued to be popular with existing and new audiences, with 1,247 people reached across the year. Running the events across a whole day continues to be praised by the attendees and sector peers.

The British Sign Language (BSL) Tour programme reached 436 people and included events for the public and private groups. We have also developed and piloted a BSL Tunnel Tour with our D/deaf guide in response to demand from the target audience.

The programme of events for blind and visually impaired people, delivered in partnership with VocalEyes, reached 190 people and was well received by audiences. Visual Awareness Training for front and back of house staff was delivered to increase staff awareness and confidence when engaging with blind and visually impaired people and to learn the basics in audio description.

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FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Work also continued in 2023-2024 to review, update and communicate the Mail Rail accessibility and health and safety restrictions with our access and inclusion advisor. A new ticket type, called Reduced Access, has been developed for disabled people who cannot ride the train because of the access barriers in place and is heavily discounted to recognise the loss of experience.

Progress was made in the community engagement programme to widen access and reach under-represented local audiences. Informed by mapping of the local community and working to understand their requirements, we developed connections and partnerships with a range of community groups. We developed and piloted a range of creative approaches across the year to test how our local communities want to access our assets and collection. For example, the pilot year of the Community Access Scheme was very successful with 16 local groups recruited as part of an initiative to show an ongoing commitment to remove financial barriers for local community organisations.

Inspired by the collection, we developed a creative resource for children and families affected by the cost-of-living crisis. 300 packs were made and distributed to key community partners who were invited to share them with their local families. As the initiative enabled us to reach out to local groups, raise awareness of the museum and provide a useful, high-quality resource, it will be considered as a permanent tool for engagement.

A Community Open Day was piloted as a model of engagement. The event was designed to offer affordable tickets to local Camden and Islington residents and enabled us to reach families who would otherwise face financial barriers to visiting the museum. Teams across the museum delivered a range of activities themed around World Postcard Day and engagement was very high.

Excellent progress was made in building a long-term relationship with operational Royal Mail workers, past and present, including reaching out to them through quarterly Royal Mail Open Days at the museum, with discounted tickets for staff and their families. Engaging with operational Royal Mail workers also enabled us to capture the experiences of Royal Mail staff who wear uniform through filmed interviews. These were included in the Dressed to Deliver exhibition and season of activity and will be available on the website as a legacy project.

We piloted additional engagement approaches with operational Royal Mail workers which aimed to reach underrepresented people within the workforce. For example, as part of a Royal Mail Black History Month initiative, we developed a wellbeing focussed activity and resource for women postal workers at the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre, which explored the representation of Black people in the collection.

To raise awareness of the community engagement programme, we delivered a series of Community Engagement at The Postal Museum training sessions for all staff. This will be an ongoing session offered to all new starters to support the museum in achieving our ambitious plans to collaborate with community partners in a meaningful and equitable way.

The Postal Steam Ships and the Caribbean project continues to be delivered by teams across the museum. Our participatory approach has been informed and influenced by a research trip to St Thomas in the United States Virgin Islands and a range of partners, including consultants, community participants, academics and community researchers. With the support of a participation consultant, the team has mapped out how and why partners will be integral to shaping the exhibition and programme.

3. We will look after, develop and be curious about our collection to ensure the story of postal communication is relevant, inspiring and inclusive

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Exhibitions

The King’s Stamp exhibition ran during the first half of 2023. The exhibition charted the history and development of definitive stamps from Queen Victoria culminating in a reveal of the new stamp for King Charles III. This allowed recording of new content and the making of a film on the printing of the stamp and an exhibition that showcased some of the treasures from the philatelic collections.

The Postal Museum launched a new temporary exhibition in mid-October 2023, entitled Dressed to Deliver. The exhibition told the story of postal uniforms over the last 200 years, from formal frockcoats worn by early letter carriers to the modern sportswear worn by today’s Royal Mail posties. It features examples of historic uniforms, dressing-up stations, arts and crafts activities, and videos featuring interviews with Royal Mail workers about their experiences of developing and wearing uniforms.

Some of the key findings from post-visit surveys carried out between October and December 2023 included:

The exhibition generated strong press coverage, including BBC News Online, EC1 Echo, Londonist, Conde Nast Traveler, City Kids Magazine and bloggers including Museum Mum and Ian Visits.

Projects and partnerships

The Addressing Health Project in collaboration between King’s College London, Kingston University, University of Derby and University College London, in partnership with The Postal Museum which ran for three years, finished in this period. The funded element will end in the first quarter of the 2024/25 period and work took place to consider the legacy of the project, the ways in which working with partners continues and what outputs will continue to be generated in the future.

Collections

Research into the role of the postal service in the establishment and operation of the British Empire has continued and themes for the next temporary exhibition were agreed. A visit took place to the Caribbean Island of St Thomas where important relationships were established with communities there who the Museum plans to work with in developing the next exhibition in a collaborative way.

A new digital preservation system was purchased that will allow much greater and more robust management of borndigital archives in line with obligations under the Service Level Agreement. Work took place to establish a workflow for the system and planning on migration of data to this new system.

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FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Work continued with documentation of the collection and increasing access to material by reviewing and cataloguing more records to make them available to researchers.

The digitisation studio supported the development of the Dressed to Deliver exhibition with a large-scale digitisation project of postal uniforms and began on digitisation of material linked to the future exhibition.

Conservation re-established the process around remedial conservation on non-urgent items for collections care and a new process was put in place to support a regular programme of preventative and remedial conservation in addition to exhibition or loans-based work.

Loans from the collection went out during the year to London Transport Museum and the Broadway Museum in Worcestershire.

Online engagement

Online engagement continued to improve, with sessions on the museum’s website exceeding 1 million in 2023/24, a 13% increase on the previous comparable period. This increase was mainly driven by new advertising creative and increased brand awareness driving traffic to our Visit pages. However, interest in the museum’s engaging online content continued with over 204,000 sessions to the museum’s blog, an increase on the previous comparable period of 16%, which was driven by content relating to the design of new stamps for King Charles III, royal cyphers and postal uniforms. Additionally, more video content has been created for Instagram and TikTok, driving up engagements and followers. On Instagram we have achieved a 67% increase in followers in 2023/24, driven by a change in content strategy to prioritise short-form video.

Content, created through cross-departmental collaboration, on the website and the museum’s social media channels was diverse and covered a huge range of topics, with the bulk of content centred around:

4. We will minimize the environmental impact of our activities and communicate effectively about our environmental responsibility

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FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Environmental Sustainability Framework

In May 2023, coinciding with International Museum Day, the museum launched an Environmental Sustainability Framework covering 2023-2029. The framework was developed with support from consultants, ideas generated by the museums’ cross-departmental Sustainability Working Group and responded to our Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation plan. The framework embeds environmental responsibility within all aspects of our work and ensures everyone understands their role in supporting delivery and is available for the public to view on the museum’s website.

Sustainability Working Group

The membership of the Sustainability Working Group continued to include representatives from all teams in the museum. Representatives are committed to engaging their teams and embedding environmental responsibility across everything we do, through gathering insights and actions for a targeted action plan which cascades from the Environmental Sustainability working group.

5. We will develop a sustainable and dynamic business model to enable our work as a charity

Marketing and Communications Strategy

The strategy for 2023-26 delivers against the objectives of the museum’s Forward Plan and incorporates audience aims and insights from the Audience Development Strategy and Plan, to transition to a sustainable long-term visitor model. It recognises and capitalises on our position as a new museum with ample opportunity to improve recognition within existing audiences and centres relevance to audiences to position the museum as knowable, welcoming, and accessible. The strategy takes a digital-first approach to campaigns with joined up Marketing and PR. Digital first means we will prioritise digital activity supported by traditional marketing and PR, which plays an important part in the campaign mix.

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Brand Campaign

A key output of the new Marketing and Communications Strategy was to update the museum’s advertising, known as our ‘Brand Campaign’, to better appeal to target audiences. This creative is used for advertising to drive ticket sales throughout the year. The museum worked with the same agency who refreshed the museum’s brand in 2022 to develop a dynamic and flexible marketing creative that could be used across digital advertising and traditional media placements, launching in in summer 2023. The result was a ‘A ride for their imagination’, a campaign that can be adjusted for family and adult advertising and uses video and animation for the first time. The campaign contributed to visitor numbers exceeding target by 19.5%.

Operations and Ticketing

At the end of 2023/24, visitor numbers were 19.5% greater than forecast. Several factors contributed to the increase in visitor numbers. These include a strong demand for family days out; improved audience understanding and targeting; opening 7 days a week in holiday periods; increasing capacities across timeslots and flexibly adjusting capacities to meet demand on busy days.

The Visitor Experience team focussed on improving operating procedures to better manage increased ticket capacities. This led to improving the efficiency of batching visitors on to the trains, taking a dynamic approach to staffing to operate a second train during busier periods and introducing queue engagement activities delivered by a Visitor Experience Host – the latter greatly improved the visitor experience.

The Retail team worked to drive greater revenue through the two shops located in the museum. The audience development strategy and plan provided the team with data about our audiences' propensity to spend. This supported the team to develop a series of product ranges and implement an appropriate pricing structure to satisfy our audiences. Additionally, the team improved the front of house staff’s product knowledge, skills in identifying upselling opportunities, visual merchandising and general engagement with visitors in the shops. This meant increased average value per transaction, more visitors purchasing shop items and overall exceeding retail revenue targets.

The museum undertook a tender process for the appointment of a new catering supplier on a three-year term with the option to extend for a further two years. A total of 11 suppliers responded and, following a robust process,, that included analysis of profit and loss budgets, due diligence and ensuring the proposition suited our audiences, a supplier was appointed.

Fundraising

The museum secured significant grants and donations in 2023-24 alongside our continued support from Royal Mail Group and Post Office Ltd.

We thank all our supporters, named and anonymous, for their generosity to the museum.

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No complaints have been received in respect of fundraising.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Reserves

Postal Heritage Trust’s reserves position is under constant monitoring and management. The general policy of the Trustees is to maintain on average, around five months’ worth of unrestricted operating expenditure plus foreseeable capital commitments as working capital in the form of unrestricted cash, to safeguard The Postal Museum’s efficient running and its ability to meet current commitments and to provide stakeholders with assurance about its financial resilience. The nature of the timing of voluntary funding receipts based on agreements with Royal Mail Group and Post Office Ltd, means that this is not always the case but the agreements themselves provide comfort that the museum can continue its normal operations. The reserves policy will be kept under regular review to ensure the museum has sufficient resources to continue to meet its strategic aims and objectives.

At the period end, the unrestricted cash balance of £1,780k (2023: £1,638k) represented almost 4 months of budgeted operating expenditure and planned capital commitments for financial year 2024/25. The restricted fund cash balance was £40k (2023: £31k). The cash balance at the end of March is always a low point in the museum’s funding cycle, and large receipts from both Royal Mail and Post Office for donations and the archive services agreement are due in April. The reported cash balance at year-end is not considered by trustees to be a cause for concern.

Of the total funds of £12,924k (2023: £14,119k) at the year end, £121k (2023: £112k) were restricted and £12,803k (2023: £14,007k) were unrestricted, £12,511k of which was designated, as detailed below. The designated funds represent the net asset valuation following completion of the capital project.

Overall, the museum made a deficit of £1,195k (2023: £1,821k deficit) for the 12-month period after the depreciation provision of £1,040k (2023: £1,331k). Excluding depreciation there was a deficit of £155k (2023: £490k surplus). Restricted funds

Unrestricted funds

Designated funds

Analysis of the funds detailed above in terms of their representation is as follows:

Fixed Assets
Net Current Assets/(Liabilities)
Long term liabilities - loans		 General
Designated
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
£
2,039,692
17,822,721
81,367
19,943,780
(1,747,817)
876
39,813
(1,707,128)
-
(5,312,639)
-
(5,312,639)
291,875
12,510,958
121,180
12,924,013

Cash flow

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As can be seen on the cash flow statement on page 24 the cash balance at the financial year end had increased by almost £70k to £1,819k. This relatively small net cash inflow was expected.

Related parties

Postal Heritage Trust (PHT) was formed from the Heritage Services department of Royal Mail in 2004, from whom it received fixed assets and staff.

Royal Mail Group (RMG) originally nominated two members on the Trust’s board upon foundation, and, like Post Office Ltd., (POL) retains the right to nominate at least one board member.

Both RMG and POL have Funding Agreements to 2040 which provide the charity with funds for the general purpose of meeting its charitable objectives. This amounted to £1.53m in the 12 months to 31 March 2024 (2023: £1.61m). They have also transferred some of their intellectual property rights to the group.

POL and RMG have an Archive Services Agreement with PHT via its trading subsidiary, Postal Heritage Services Ltd (PHSL), which provided the latter with £1,057k of income over the 12 months to March 2024 (2023: £1,293k), for the purpose of maintaining, and providing public access to the RMG /POL archives. This agreement runs until 2040.

Postal Heritage Trust (PHT) and the Postal Heritage Collection Trust (PHCT) are under joint control of the board of trustees. PHCT is a company limited by guarantee. It is a holding entity into which the Royal Mail Museum Collection was transferred on 29 March 2004.

Principal risks and uncertainties

Principal risks

The primary risk is the ability to resolving satisfactorily the historical loans relating to the capital project made to The Postal Museum by Post Office Ltd and Royal Mail. The Postal Museum has signed a Heads of Terms agreement with RM and POL This document and other details are being reviewed by all connected parties to the original loan agreements. Trustees are viewing this in a positive light and, although some details require further clarification and possibly some amendment, they are in the firm belief that this document is the basis of a viable agreement to secure the museum’s long-term future. Pending the outcome of further discussions, neither RM nor POL have indicated any intention to enforce the original loan terms within the next 12 months from the signing of these accounts. Trustees are therefore taking the view that the risk of the museum not being considered as a going concern has been substantially mitigated against.

Trustees consider that the other main risk over this period relates to cash. They are assured by the projected £x.xxm cash balance at the end of March 2026 and the projected budgets and cash flow as outlined above provided that agreement can be reached on renegotiating the repayment terms of the loan. Currently the loans are classified in these accounts split between being due within one year and due within more than one year as, whilst the initial terms and conditions were breached as at the year end date, neither RM nor POL have sought repayment of the loan up to December 2024. Additionally, they are reassured by the tight spending controls that the museum has demonstrated since 2018, including a revised operating model which tightly manages third-party contracts in-house and the levers that the museum can pull to increase at quick notice the capacity of the museum, thus driving admissions income.

The Postal Museum’s operational risk profile can be measured against its dependence in a normal year of operations, on income from the following income streams: 29% from admissions income, 39% from fundraising, 21% from services and 11% from commercial activity. The major risks associated with each are as follows:

Admissions Income – The principle financial risks to admissions income are the reliability of the Mail Rail attraction, including the trains, and the demand for tickets from the public. The visitor profile is understood and train reliability is very good, so these risks are rated as “low” in the TPM risk register. TPM’s reputation is also a key factor in attracting visitors, centred on its ability to meet legal standards, and in particular, health, safety, and security obligations.

14

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Fundraising – Much of the fundraising target has been secured through long term agreements with RM and POL but that still leaves a significant sum to be raised each year from various sources. A shortfall in fundraising income is rated “low” in the TPM risk register following mitigating actions. A membership scheme was introduced in 2019 to help build long term loyalty across a broader donor base. No complaints were received in respect of fundraising.

Commercial Income – This income derives from three components: Retail, Food & Beverage (F&B) and Events. F&B is the smallest component and is considered to be of low risk. Retail performance is dependent on a combination of forecast attendance and spend per head being achieved. The novelty of the TPM sites is an attraction for our Events operation, but attracting new business has proved to be very challenging in a postCovid setting with a high inflation economic environment. Based on expected value, the performance of the Events offer is rated “medium” in the TPM risk register.

Services Income – This mainly derives from our management of the archives and public records of both POL and RM. These services are governed by and funded through a long-term agreement, and so the principal risks relate to failure to deliver services to the defined SLA’s and/or loss or damage to the collections; both these eventualities are rated as “low to moderate” risks due to their likelihood of failure following mitigating actions.

Cyber risk

In addition to the above-mentioned risks, the Postal Museum is in the process of safeguarding itself against the risk and consequences of a cyber-attack. Measures being taken include physical, electronic and staff training.

Risk management

The Audit & Finance Sub-Committee oversee the risk management process. The TPM Risk Registers are reviewed by the executive team on a periodical basis with a highlight report being provided to the full Board following each review. The Audit & Finance sub-committee aims to review the full set of registers at least quarterly.

The trustees have considered the financial position of the museum in great detail and note the following:

Lookout period

The strategy and direction of the museum has been outlined in the Forward Plan, the current version of which runs through to 2029. Sitting alongside this is a detailed cash flow projected to the end of financial year 2025/26 with further projections for the next 10+ years. Cash flow projections take account of assumptions concerning projected visitor numbers and future programming. Planned content to be shown within the museum alongside digital and virtual delivery, developed alongside an Audience Development Plan, gives the Trustees confidence that audiences will be attracted to interesting and relevant displays, blogs, talks and events.

This strategy has been strongly endorsed by various funding bodies who generously supported The Postal Museum since opening and especially through the pandemic in 2021 and 2022. External funding from a variety of sources is expected to continue for the foreseeable future. This strategy was reinforced by the award of National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) status by Arts Council England (ACE) covering the 3 years ending March 2026, with a further one year extension granted in April 2024. There is a realistic expectation that this will continue for further funding rounds.

Supporting analysis

The Trustees, through the delegated responsibility of the Finance and Audit Committee, regularly review budgets, reforecasts, and cash flow scenarios along with underlying assumptions and risks. Scenario planning underpins the budgets set with constructive challenge coming through committees and the Board. Trustees receive regular updates from the Executive Team which make clear the actions that can be taken to mitigate against any downturns by reducing expenditure at relatively short notice and by avoiding any unnecessary long term large financial commitments. They are also assured of the entrepreneurial nature of the organisation through reports on income generating activities.

Going concern

15

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

As is reported in note 1b on page 25, the trustees have considered the charitable group’s forecasts and projections for a period of 12 months from the approval of the financial statements. After making enquiries, the trustees have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the charitable group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, a minimum of which is a period of twelve months and, subject to the non-enforcement of the loan repayment obligations and in light of the draft agreement to restructure the loan alongside amendments to the long lease on Calthorpe House. The charity continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing its financial statements. The Trustees consider that the conditions described in respect of the historical loans as mentioned above, constitute a material uncertainty which may cast doubt over the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern although substantially mitigated by the Heads of Terms agreement referred to above. The working assumption is that this agreement will be formalised in the form of binding contracts.

Trustees are clear that The Postal Museum continues to be a going concern despite the hitherto absence of a permanent agreement with Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd to resolve the historic loans. Both lenders have indicated in a series of meetings and the signed Heads of Terms agreement, that their preferred outcome is for the Postal Museum to continue to exist, and neither has given any indication of any intention to call back the loans in accordance with their contractual rights.

FUTURE PLANS

Audience

In 2024, we will continue to implement our Audience Development Strategy and Plan which, using the findings from our audience segmentation and audience research, will guide our strategic approach. The plan will be supported by the launch of the 3-year Marketing and Communications Strategy, a Commercial Strategy and a Community Engagement Strategy and Plan, which will deliver the aims of audience development.

Community Engagement

The Postal Museum’s Community Engagement Strategy will articulate our ambition to develop the museum into a truly participatory organisation, deeply embedded within our local communities. Replicating elements of the successful model used to build our access programme and inspired by the Museum Association’s (MA) Manifesto for Learning and Engagement and the Our Museum project, our aim is for our communities in Camden and Islington to become active partners in our work rather than passive beneficiaries. We want to better understand their wants and needs, address local issues, and improve our relevance to and representation of people from different cultural, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

Content

Our exhibition exploring postal uniforms, Dressed to Deliver, will continue to 2025. This exhibition is curated with audience segment Inquisitive Minds with children, looking at uniforms past and present, identity and functionality. This exhibition included consultation with postal workers past and present gathered through our Royal Mail Staff Open Days.

New research into the Royal Mail Steam Packet Ship company, and work with local communities and groups in St Thomas to ensure this work tells the broader story and from different perspectives, continues. The exhibition will open in spring 2025. This project is being jointly run by the Collections and Community teams will be supported by communities in the Caribbean as well as locally to the Museum.

Enhancing Mail Rail

16

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

In 2025, we will begin delivery of Enhancing Mail Rail. This project seeks to address issues and risks related to the operation of the train ride, whilst opening opportunities for the museum to attract new visitors and enhance its reputation with audiences and stakeholders. It is funded by generous grants from Post Office Remembrance Fellowship and the Capital Investment Programme organised by Arts Council England (ACE).

The project is framed around three key aims:

  1. To improve accessibility to the Mail Rail ride and tunnels for disabled people.

  2. To ensure continuous, safe and sustainable operations of the Mail Rail ride.

  3. To increase the appeal, impact and relevance of the Mail Rail ride for current and potential audiences.

The enhancements delivered under these aims will involve the addition of new audiovisual hardware and software across the ride and exhibition space. This will include:

Environmental Sustainability

In 2024/25, the museum will publish an update on our progress to reduce carbon emissions against our 2019 baseline. This report will detail progress to reduce scope 1-3 emissions and will outline the key activity delivered against our action plan across our four areas of focus – programme, place, process and people. We will also make changes the museum’s procurement policy to ensure green considerations to reduce scope 3 emissions associated with our goods and services and seek funding for infrastructure changes essential for delivering scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction over the longer term.

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

17

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

TRUSTEES’ REPORT (Continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The Trustees (who are also Directors for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable Company and the group and of the movement in funds, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable Company and group for that period.

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

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

In so far as we are aware:

In making its decisions, Trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance when exercising any powers or duties to which the guidance is relevant.

On 19 November 2024 the company’s auditor changed its name from Haysmacintyre LLP to HaysMac LLP.

This report, which includes both the Directors Report and the Strategic Report for the purposes of company law was approved by the Board on 12 December 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Susan Wilkinson Director

18

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Opinion

We have audited the consolidated financial statements of Postal Heritage Trust for the period ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the consolidated and company balance sheets, the consolidated cash flow statement 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 Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

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

Material uncertainty relating to going concern

We draw attention to note 1b in the financial statements, which indicates that Postal Heritage Trust has defaulted on its loan repayment obligations and, whilst assurances have previously been obtained from the lenders that they will not enforce debt recovery these assurances are not legally binding and have expired. As stated in note 1b, the directors expect a satisfactory resolution to current negotiations with the lenders, but these have not concluded at the date of the approval of the financial statements. These matters indicate that a material uncertainty exists that may cast significant doubt on the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter.

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

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

Other information

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

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.

19

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustee and Strategic Report (which incorporates the strategic report and the directors’ report prepared for the purpose of company law).

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

Responsibilities of trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on pages 16, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Based on our understanding of the group/charitable company and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to registered charities, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011, and other factors such as income tax, payroll tax and sales tax.

20

INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks were related to areas of estimation uncertainty and to manual accounting journals. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:

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

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

Use of our report

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

.

Jane Askew (Senior Statutory Auditor) Date: 20.12.2024

For and on behalf of HaysMac LLP, Statutory Auditors

10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1AG

he UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

21

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

INCOME
Donations and legacies
Donations & Grants - Royal Mail Group Ltd
Donations & Grants - Other
Income from Charitable activities
Admissions and membership
Outreach and exhibitions
Income from other trading activities
Income of trading company - PHSL
Income of trading company – PHTL
Other income
Investment Income
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities:
Operation of The Postal Museum
Collections
Outreach and exhibitions		 Year to Mar
2024
Unrestricted
Year to Mar
2024
Restricted
Year to Mar
2024
Total
15 Months
to Mar 2023
Total
Notes
4
4
6
6
5
5
5		 £
£
£
£
1,524,968
-
1,524,968
1,611,991
386,629
59,060
445,689
382,650
1,431,518
-
1,431,518
1,265,626
59,409
-
59,409
82,808
1,089,640
-
1,089,640
1,327,116
451,319
-
451,319
498,399
7,902
-
7,902
21,148
12,425
-
12,425
4,832
4,963,810
59,060
5,022,870
5,194,570
2,350,872
12,950
2,363,822
2,522,348
845,356
-
845,356
901,867
610,185
36,625
646,810
690,678
Costs of raising funds:
Expenses of charity – PHT 5 846,042
-
846,042
913,430
Expenses of trading company - PHSL 5 1,080,530
-
1,080,530
1,369,087
Expenses of trading company – PHTL 5 434,873
-
434,873
618,698
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
Net (expenditure)/income
Transfer between funds
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Funds brought forward
FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 6,167,858
49,575
6,217,433
7,016,108
(1,204,048)
9,485
(1,194,563)
(1,821,538)
-
-
-
-
(1,204,048)
9,485
(1,194,563)
(1,821,538)
14,006,881
111,695
14,118,576
15,940,115
12,802,833
121,180
12,924,013
14,118,577

There were no recognised gains and losses other than those shown in the above Statement of Financial Activities. All income and expenditure of the period was derived from continuing activities. The comparative Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities on page 21 shows the 2023 split between funds.

The notes on pages 27 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

22

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE 15 MONTH PERIOD ENDED 31 MARCH 2023 (comparative)

INCOME
Donations and legacies
Donations & Grants - Royal Mail Group Ltd
Donations & Grants - Other
Income from Charitable activities
Admissions and membership
Outreach and exhibitions
Income from other trading activities
Income of trading company - PHSL
Income of trading company – PHTL
Other income
Investment Income
TOTAL INCOME
EXPENDITURE
Charitable activities:
Operation of The Postal Museum
Collections
Outreach and exhibitions		 15 Months to
Mar 2023
Unrestricted
15 Months
to Mar 2023
Restricted
15 Months to
Mar 2023
Total
Year to
Dec 2021
Total
Notes
4
4
6
6
5
5
5		 £
£
£
£
1,611,991
-
1,611,991
1,450,024
293,511
89,139
382,650
743,639
1,265,626
-
1,265,626
488,269
82,808
-
82,808
1,404
1,327,116
-
1,327,116
1,067,074
498,399
-
498,399
430,711
21,148
-
21,148
32,221
4,832
-
4,832
188
5,105,431
89,139
5,194,570
4,213,530
2,480,785
41,563
2,522,348
1,715,342
879,601
22,266
901,867
610,518
680,678
10,000
690,678
479,914
Costs of raising funds:
Expenses of charity – PHT 5 913,430
-
913,430
655,608
Expenses of trading company - PHSL 5 1,369,087
-
1,369,087
1,205,182
Expenses of trading company – PHTL 5 618,698
-
618,698
336,400
TOTAL EXPENDITURE
Net (expenditure)/income
Transfer between funds
NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
Funds brought forward
FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD		 6,942,279
73,829
7,016,108
5,002,964
(1,836,848)
15,310
(1,821,538)
(789,434)
-
-
-
-
(1,836,848)
15,310
(1,821,538)
(789,434)
15,843,730
96,385
15,940,115
16,729,549
14,006,882
111,695
14,118,577
15,940,115

There were no recognised gains and losses other than those shown in the above Statement of Financial Activities. All income and expenditure of the period was derived from continuing activities.

The notes on pages 27 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

23

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST (Company Number 4896056)

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2024

Mar 2024 Mar 2024 Mar 2023 Mar 2023
Note £ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible fixed assets
Other fixed assets 7 19,862,413 20,858,376
Museum Collection 8 81,367 81,367
19,943,780 20,939,743
CURRENT ASSETS
Stock – goods for resale 48,544 44,859
Debtors and prepayments 10 1,437,815 1,403,279
Cash at bank and in hand 1,819,427 1,749,830
3,305,786 3,197,968
CREDITORS: amounts falling due within
one year 11 (5,012,914) (4,410,318)
NET CURRENT (LIABILITIES) / ASSETS (1,707,128) (1,212,350)
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES 18,236,652 19,727,393
CREDITORS : amounts falling due after more
than one year
Loans 11 (5,312,639) (5,608,816)
NET ASSETS 12,924,013 14,118,577
FUNDS
Restricted funds: 12 121,180 111,695
Unrestricted funds:
Designated 12 12,510,958 13,740,562
General 12 - -
Trading subsidiary reserves 12 291,875 266,320
12,924,013 14,118,577

The notes on pages 27 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

Approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 12 December 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Susan Wilkinson Director

24

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST (Company Number 4896056)

CHARITABLE COMPANY BALANCE SHEET AT 31 MARCH 2024

Mar 2024 Mar 2024 Mar 2023 Mar 2023
Note £ £ £ £
FIXED ASSETS
Tangible fixed assets
Other fixed assets 7 19,858,422 20,851,560
Investment in subsidiary companies at cost 9 2 2
19,858,424 20,851,562
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors and prepayments 10 1,645,207 1,677,451
Cash at bank and in hand 679,144 590,079
2,324,351 2,267,530
CREDITORS: amounts falling due
within one year 11 (4,319,363) (3,739,384)
NET CURRENT LIABILITIES (1,995,012) (1,471,854)
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT
LIABILITIES 17,863,412 19,379,708
CREDITORS: amounts falling due
after more than one year
Loans 11 (5,312,639) (5,608,816)
NET ASSETS 12,550,773 13,770,892
FUNDS
Restricted funds 12 39,815 30,330
Unrestricted funds:
Designated 12 12,510,958 13,740,562
General 12 - -
12,550,773 13,770,892

The notes on pages 27 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

Approved and authorised for issue by the board of directors on 12 December 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

Susan Wilkinson Director

25

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST (Company Number 4896056)

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT AT 31 MARCH 2024

Cash flows from operating activities
Net (expenditure) for the financial year
Adjustments for
Depreciation
Interest received
Loss disposal of fixed assets
(Profit) on disposal of heritage assets
(Increase) / decrease in stock
(Increase) / decrease in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
Net cash generated from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
(Purchase) of tangible fixed assets
(Purchase) of heritage assets
Proceeds from sale of heritage assets
Proceeds from sale of fixed assets
Interest received
Net cash from investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Cash inflow from new borrowing
Net increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year		 Mar
2024
Mar
2023
£
£
(1,194,563)
(1,821,538)
1,040,019
1,330,501
(12,425)
(4,832)
-
-
-
-
(3,685)
5,958
(34,536)
(1,116,982)
306,419
974,439
101,229
(632,454)
(44,057)
(41,961)
-
-
-
-
-
-
12,425
4,832
(31,632)
(37,129)
-
-
69,597
(669,583)
1,749,830
2,419,413
1,819,427
1,749,830
Movement in net debt
Cash at bank and in hand
Loans due within one year
Loans due after one year
Total		 £
£
£
£
At 31 March 2023
Cash flows
Non-cash changes
At 31 March 2024
1,749,830
69,597
-
1,819,427
(1,441,184)
-
(296,177)
(1,737,361)
(5,608,816)
-
296,177
(5,312,639)
(5,300,170)
-
(5,230,573)

The notes on pages 27 to 43 form part of these financial statements.

26

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

a) Accounting basis

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). The Charitable Company and its subsidiaries are a public benefit group for the purposes of FRS 102 and therefore the Charity also prepared its financial statements in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (The FRS 102 Charities SORP), the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011, and Regulations made thereunder.

In the view of the trustees in applying the accounting policies adopted, no judgements were required, other than the determination of the appropriateness of the going concern basis as out below, that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements nor do any estimates or assumptions made carry a significant risk of material adjustment in the next financial year.

b) Going concern

FRS102 requires the trustees to adopt a going concern basis in preparing the financial statements unless they intend to liquidate the charitable company or have no realistic alternative to do so.

Postal Heritage Trust and Postal Heritage services have defaulted on their loan repayment obligations to Royal Mail Group Ltd and Post Office Ltd. However, the lenders have not exercised their right under the default provisions of the loan agreement, to require immediate repayment of the loan. The Postal Museum has signed a Heads of Terms agreement with RM and POL This document and other details are being reviewed by all connected parties to the original loan agreements. Trustees are viewing this in a positive light and, although some details require further clarification and possibly some amendment, they are in the firm belief that this document is the basis of a viable agreement to secure the museum’s long-term future. Pending the outcome of further discussions, neither RM nor POL have indicated any intention to enforce the original loan terms within the next 12 months from the signing of these accounts. Trustees are therefore taking the view that the risk of the museum not being considered as a going concern has been substantially mitigated against.

The non-enforcement of the loan repayment obligations constitutes a material uncertainty that may cast significant doubt as to the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern. Nonetheless, the trustees have concluded that going concern is appropriate for the reasons set out below.

In particular the trustees have considered the charitable group’s forecasts and projections for a period of 15 months from the approval of these financial statements to 31 March 2025. After making enquiries the trustees have concluded that there is a reasonable expectation that the charitable group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future, a minimum of which is a period of twelve months and, subject to the non-enforcement of the loan repayment obligations and agreement to revised terms and conditions as set out in the Heads of Terms within the timeframes noted above.

Trustees are clear that The Postal Heritage Trust continues to be a going concern despite the hitherto absence of a permanent agreement with Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd to resolve the historic loans. Both lenders have indicated in a series of meetings and other correspondence that their preferred outcome is for the Postal Museum to continue to exist and neither has given any indication of any intention to call back the loans in accordance with their contractual rights.

c) Consolidation basis

The consolidated financial statements of Postal Heritage Trust (PHT) include the results, assets and liabilities of the charitable company and its wholly owned trading subsidiary companies, Postal Heritage Services Limited and Postal Heritage Trading Limited on a line by line basis. In addition, the consolidated financial statements

27

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

include Postal Heritage Collection Trust (PHCT), a charitable company under common control, on a similar basis. In prior years, the consolidated financial statements were prepared by PHCT. The charity has taken advantage of the exemption afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not prepared a separate Statement of Financial Activities.

d) Restricted funds

Restricted funds are to be used for specified purposes, as laid down by the grant-making body or donor.

e) Designated funds

Designated funds have been set aside at the Trustees’ discretion for a specific purpose.

f) Unrestricted funds

Unrestricted funds include donations, consultancy income and other incoming resources received or generated for unspecified charitable purposes.

g) Donations and gifts

Income received by way of donations and gifts is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when received or there is a high probability of receipt.

h) Revenue grants

Revenue grants are credited to incoming resources in the year for which they are receivable. Revenue grants are deferred where the income represents amounts received for future years and are released to incoming resources in the year for which they have been received.

i) Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on the accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Such support costs, including governance costs, are allocated between cost of generating funds and resources expended on charitable activities on basis of time spent.

Salaries are allocated to the Postal Heritage Trust and its trading subsidiaries, Postal Heritage Services Limited and Postal Heritage Trading Limited, on the basis of time spent on each activity.

Governance costs, which are allocated consistently with other costs, are those costs relating to the general running of the charity by its trustees and include audit fees and trustee expenses.

i) Operating leases

The costs of operating leases are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the year to which they relate.

k) Heritage assets

The charity holds a collection of assets which reflect the history of the postal system. The museum collection is comprised of items which would fall under the definition of heritage assets in FRS 102 where such a heritage asset is defined as an asset “with historical, artistic, scientific, technological, geophysical or environmental qualities that is held and maintained principally for its contribution to knowledge and culture”.

The majority of assets in the collection are not valued on the balance sheet on the basis that appropriate valuations do not exist and could not be obtained at proportionate cost.

A small number of heritage assets were acquired by purchase in relatively recent past and, in the case of these assets, the cost of purchase is known. The aggregate cost of these assets is shown on the balance sheet. No depreciation is charged.

28

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

l) Depreciation and amortisation

The costs of fixed assets with a purchase price of £1,000 or more are capitalised and written off on a straightline basis over their useful lives, as follows:

General office equipment, fixtures, and fittings 5 years Other equipment Variable periods depending on deemed useful asset life Long leasehold property 40 years and 25 years (period of lease)

m) Pension scheme

The charity made employer’s contributions into the Royal Mail Group POS and POPS defined benefit final salary schemes on the behalf of one remaining employee transferred into its employment from Royal Mail Group. The costs are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities when they fall due. The schemes are multi-employer schemes. The employee transferred from the Royal Mail Group schemes and joined TPM’s defined contribution pension scheme on 1 March 2023, whilst maintaining preserved rights for all historic contributions in the Royal Mail Group schemes.

n) Intangible assets

The cost of software and exhibition films are treated as intangible assets where the value exceeds £1,000. The accounting policy is to write down these amounts over a period of 5 years on a straight line basis.

2.

STAFF NUMBERS AND COSTS

(a) The average number of employees during the year were as follows:

Year to Mar 15 Months to
2024 Mar 2023
Number Number
88 82

(b) For a 12 month period,

One employee (2023: 0) received remuneration in the band £60,000 - £70,000. One employee (2023: 1) received remuneration in the band £70,000 - £80,000. No employee (2023: 1) received remuneration in the band £90,000 - £100,000. One employee (2023: 0) received remuneration in the band £110,000 - £120,000

For the purpose of the above disclosure, remuneration refers to salary and taxable benefits in kind only.

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs		 Year to Mar
2024
15 Months to
Mar 2023
£
£
2,419,625
2,594,432
218,387
241,172
144,760
164,040
2,782,772
2,999,644

29

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

During the year, reimbursable expenses of £753 (15 months to 2023: £749) were paid to 3 (15 months to 2023: 3) trustees for travelling expenses and subsistence.

The charity made payments of £2,104 (15 months to 2023: £1,615) in the year for trustees’ indemnity insurance.

Laura Wright was employed as CEO and Trustee of the charity. The legal authority for payments to her was a Charity Commission Order. During the year she received remuneration of £110,910 (15 months to 2023: £119,048) in respect of her employment. In addition, the charity made contractual pension contributions of £6,655 in respect of her employment.

The total employee benefits of the charity's Key Management Personnel in the year amounted to £469,266 (15 months to 2023: £637,422).

3.

4.

NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS FOR THE YEAR NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS FOR THE YEAR Year to Mar Year to Mar 15 Months
2023 to Mar 2023
£ £
This is stated after charging:
Auditors’ remuneration – audit of parent company 15,730 18,525
– subsidiary company audits 15,400 12,625
– other services 6,325 4,700
Operating leases – land and buildings 217,445 267,269
Depreciation of fixed assets 1,040,019 1,330,502
DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
Year to Mar Year to Mar Year to Mar 15 Months 15 15 Months
2024 2024 2024 to Mar 2023 Months to to Mar 2023
Mar 2023
Unrestricted Restricted Total Unrestricted
Restricted		 Total
£ £ £ £ £ £
Donations & Grants - Royal
Mail Group Ltd and Post
Office Ltd 1,524,968
-		 1,524,968 1,611,991
-		 1,611,991
Donations & Grants - Other 236,629
-		 236,629 293,511
-		 293,511
Arts Council England Grant 150,000
-		 150,000 -
-		 -
Patron donation for Sorted! -
-		 - -
5,000		 5,000
Post and play -
27,000		 27,000 -
27,000		 27,000
Sorting Office Maths
Challenge -
14,115		 14,115 -
16,615		 16,615
Jolly Postman virtual
sessions -
4,995		 4,995 -
13,362		 13,362
Patron donation for The
King’s Stamp exhibition -
-		 - -
10,000		 10,000
Addressing Health Project -
-		 - -
17,162		 17,162
Enhancing Mail Rail -
12,950		 12,950 -
-		 -
1,911,597
59,060		 1,970,657 1,905,502
89,139		 1,994,641

30

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

5. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE

DIRECT COSTS
Staff Costs
Other staff related
items & consultancy
Property costs
Direct activity costs
Depreciation
SUPPORT COSTS
Staff Costs
Other staff consulting
Auditors remuneration
Trustee Expenses
Other Support Costs
Staff Costs
Other staff related
items & consultancy
Insurance
Post, stationery,
telephone
Office equipment
IT costs
Legal & Professional
Other
Loan interest
Gift Aid to charity
Support cost recharge
Total expenditure 2024
Total expenditure 2023		 Year to Mar
2024
PHT
PHSL
PHTL
Collections
Outreach
Operations
Total
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
409,523
308,970
160,748
351,076
118,208
887,637
2,236,162
5,846
222
728
9,584
10,257
28,622
55,259
95,428
3167
680
156,535
167,532
467,386
890,728
69,665
26,079
182,836
114,278
122,305
341,210
856,373
105,645
2,825
-
184,256
196,803
550,490
1,040,019
686,107
341,263
344,992
815,729
615,105
2,275,345
5,078,541
8,745
-
-
14,343
15,350
42,826
81,264
4,469
-
-
7,339
7,851
21,909
41,568
1,795
7,700
7,700
2,756
2,944
8,235
31,130
1,131
-
-
1,903
2,041
5,684
10,759
53,762
-
-
88,189
94,386
263,320
499,657
1,652
-
-
2,711
2,902
8,096
15,361
11,686
-
-
19,169
20,515
57,237
108,607
1,133
159
2,074
1,857
1,989
5,544
12,756
845
-
-
1,388
1,483
4,142
7,858
10,169
9,116
2,808
16,684
17,856
49,813
106,446
1,565
2,103
2,258
2,564
2,746
7,661
18,897
5,775
1,400
7,744
9,470
10,135
28,275
62,799
141,790
-
-
-
-
-
141,790
(33,894)
315,000
-
(55,598)
(59,504)
(166,004)
-
(50,688)
403,789
67,298
(83,148)
(88,989)
(248,262)
-
159,935
739,267
89,882
29,627
31,705
88,476
1,138,892
846,042
1,080,530
434,873
845,356
646,810
2,363,822
6,217,433
913,430
1,369,087
618,698
901,867
690,678
2,522,348
7,016,108

31

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE (2023 comparative note)

15 Months to
Mar 2023
PHT PHSL PHTL Collections Outreach Operations Total
£ £ £ £ £ £ £
DIRECT COSTS
Staff Costs 435,757 423,599 129,565 373,566 125,781 944,499 2,432,767
Other staff related
items & consultancy
 9,118 1,062 2,018 14,948 15,997 44,638 87,781
Property costs 114,570 674 - 187,934 201,137 561,136 1,065,451
Direct activity costs 77,150 3,406 165,995 126,556 135,446 377,873 886,426
Depreciation 135,475 446 - 236,283 252,372 705,926 1,330,502
772,070 429,187 297,578 939,287 730,733 2,634,072 5,802,927
SUPPORT COSTS
Governance Support Costs
Staff Costs 9,305 - - 15,262 16,334 45,570 86,471
Other staff consulting 419 - - 688 736 2,054 3,897
Auditors remuneration 2,114 6,500 6,125 3,246 3,467 9,698 31,150
Trustee Expenses 573 - - 964 1,034 2,879 5,450
Other Support Costs
Staff Costs 57,206 - - 93,838 100,432 280,187 531,663
Other staff related
items & consultancy 2,577 - 11,365 4,228 4,526 12,627 35,323
Insurance 13,701 - - 22,474 24,051 67,103 127,329
Post, stationery,
telephone 1,207 156 3,145 1,978 2,118 5,905 14,509
Office equipment 1,519 4,663 1,320 2,494 2,665 7,439 20,100
IT costs 12,944 5,866 5,711 21,236 22,728 63,404 131,889
Legal & Professional 1,650 2,351 2,456 2,703 2,894 8,075 20,129
Other 3,506 828 7,819 5,749 6,153 17,166 41,221
Loan interest 164,050 - - - - - 164,050
Gift Aid to charity (48,420) 355,000 95,000 (79,425) (85,005) (237,150) -
Support cost recharge (80,991) 564,536 188,179 (132,855) (142,188) (396,681) -
141,360 939,900 321,120 (37,420) (40,055) (111,724) 1,213,181
Total expenditure 2023 913,430 1,369,087 618,698 901,867 690,678 2,522,348 7,016,108
Total expenditure 2021 655,608 1,205,182 336,400 610,518 479,914 1,715,342 5,002,964

32

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

6. RESULTS FROM TRADING SUBSIDIARIES

Postal Heritage Services Limited is a wholly owned trading subsidiary of Postal Heritage Trust incorporated in England and Wales.

Income and Expenditure:
Turnover
Cost of sales
Gross (loss) / profit for the year before tax
Interest Received
Profit for the year
Retained profit at 1 April
Retained profit for the financial year
Donation to parent charity in respect of 2021 profit
Donation to parent charity in respect of 2023 profit
Retained profit at 31 March / 31 December
Balance Sheet:
Fixed Assets
Debtors
Cash
Creditors
Net Assets
Funds
Share Capital
Reserves
Net Assets		 Year to Mar
2024
15 Months
to Mar 2023
£
1,072,670
1,322,954
(765,530)
(1,014,087)
307,140
308,867
16,970
4,162
324,110
313,029
129,109
171,080
324,110
313,029
-
(355,000)
(315,000)
-
138,219
129,109
3,991
6,816
708,926
654,677
952,094
942,776
(1,526,792)
(1,475,159)
138,219
129,110
1
1
138,218
129,109
138,219
129,110

Postal Heritage Services Limited has produced audited accounts for the year to 31 March 2024.

33

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

6. RESULTS FROM TRADING SUBSIDIARIES (continued)

Postal Heritage Trading Limited is a wholly owned trading subsidiary of Postal Heritage Trust incorporated in England and Wales.

Income and Expenditure:
Turnover
Cost of sales
Gross profit / (loss) for the year before tax
Interest Received
(Loss) / profit for the year
Retained profit at 1 April
Profit / (loss) for the financial year
Donation to parent charity in respect of 2021 profit
Retained profit at 31 March / 31 December
Balance Sheet:
Stock
Debtors
Cash
Creditors
Net Current Assets
Creditors fallings due after more than one year
Net Assets
Funds
Share Capital
Reserves
Net Assets		 Year to Mar
2024
15 Months
to Mar 2023
£
£
451,319
498,399
(434,872)
(523,698)
16,447
(25,299)
-
-
16,447
(25,299)
137,208
257,507
16,447
(25,299)
-
(95,000)
153,655
137,208
48,544
44,859
27,334
21,390
188,187
216,975
(110,409)
(146,015)
153,656
137,209
-
-
153,656
137,209
1
1
153,655
137,208
153,656
137,209

Postal Heritage Trading Limited has produced audited accounts for the year to 31 March 2024.

34

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

7. FIXED ASSETS

Group
Cost
At 1 April 2023
Additions during the year
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charged during the year
At 31 March 2024
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023
Charitable Company
Cost
At 1 April 2023
Additions during the year
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charged during the year
At 31 March 2024
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023		 Long term
Lease
Fixtures,
fittings and
equipment
Plant &
Equipment
Intangible
Assets
Total
£
£
£
£
£
21,796,159
2,761,874
2,619,435
214,661
27,392,129
-
-
44,056
-
44,056
21,796,159
2,761,874
2,663,491
214,661
27,436,185
3,075,470
1,698,188
1,582,571
177,524
6,533,753
545,713
264,973
225,292
4,041
1,040,019
3,621,183
1,963,161
1,807,863
181,565
7,573,772
18,174,976
798,714
855,628
33,096
19,862,413
18,720,690
1,063,685
1,036,864
37,137
20,858,376
Long term
Lease
Fixtures,
fittings and
equipment
Plant &
Equipment
Intangible
Assets
Total
£
£
£
£
£
21,796,159
2,691,192
2,619,434
214,661
27,321,446
-
-
44,056
-
44,056
21,796,159
2,691,192
2,663,490
214,661
27,365,502
3,075,470
1,634,321
1,582,571
177,524
6,469,886
545,713
262,148
225,292
4,041
1,037,194
3,621,183
1,896,469
1,807,863
181,565
7,507,081
18,174,976
794,723
855,627
33,096
19,858,422
18,720,690
1,056,869
1,036,864
37,137
20,851,560

8. MUSEUM COLLECTION / HERITAGE ASSETS

35

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The collection was transferred by Royal Mail at the time the charity was established. No value has been attributed to this collection as stated in the accounting policies note. Subsequent additions to the collection have been valued at cost. There were no additions to the collection during the year (2020: nil). No formal valuation has been made of the collection.

Nature and scale of the assets

The museum’s collection, which comprises over 60,000 objects and thousands of documents, is classified under the following categories:

All aspects of acquisition and disposal are outlined in the Acquisition and Disposal Policy 2010 which has the approval of the Board of Trustees.

Policy for the acquisition, preservation, management and disposal of heritage assets

The heritage assets of The Postal Heritage Collections Trust are the objects that form the museum collection. The majority of the museum collection was gifted to the Trust in 2004 by Royal Mail Group. Further acquisitions have since been made, by purchase through private sale and auction; and by donation, from Royal Mail and members of the public. The collection is managed to the Accreditation Standard, a national standard managed by the Arts Council England, the government body responsible for Museums and Libraries. Preservation of the museum collection in perpetuity is fundamental to the work of museums and this is undertaken through good collection knowledge, safe packing and housing and good house- keeping. Proactive conservation is undertaken where appropriate; usually related to a project. Disposal from the museum collections is undertaken in line with professional standards, including the Accreditation standard and all disposals are in line with the Museums Association’s Code of Ethics for Museums. Disposals from the museum collection are never financially motivated.

Assets reported on the balance sheet

Heritage assets reported on the balance sheet are all reported at cost.

Additions Cost of Disposals
Year to 31 March 2024 Nil Nil
Period to 31 March 2023 Nil Nil
Year to 31 December 2021 Nil Nil
Year to 31 December 2020 Nil Nil
Year to 31 December 2019 £12,875 Nil

Transactions relating to heritage assets

36

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

From time to time, the trustees approve the transfer of certain duplicate philatelic material for the purposes of sale in support of the capital project to deliver a new Postal Museum / Mail Rail centre. No material from the museum’s unique collections has ever been transferred, only duplicate material has been affected. No transfers took place in 2024 (2023: nil).

9.
INVESTMENTS
Investments in subsidiary undertakings at cost		 Year to Mar
2023
15 Months
to Mar 2023
£
£
2
2

The investments in subsidiary undertakings represent:

(i) The £1 issued share capital in Postal Heritage Services Limited, a company registered in England and Wales.

(ii) The £1 issued share capital of Postal Heritage Trading Limited, a company registered in England and Wales.

The results of both companies are shown in note 6 together with balance sheet information.

10.
DEBTORS
Trade debtors
Due from subsidiary undertakings
Prepayments and accrued income
VAT
Other debtors		 31 March 2024
31 March 2023
Group
Charity
Group
Charity
£
£
£
£
1,200,689
538,992
1,162,391
522,528
-
888,325
-
924,158
165,221
146,410
188,604
178,481
-
-
12,301
12,301
71,905
71,480
39,983
39,983
1,437,815
1,645,207
1,403,279
1,677,451

11. CREDITORS

37

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Taxation and social security
Accruals
Deferred income
VAT
Loan interest
Loans
Due to subsidiary undertakings
Other creditors		 31 March 2024
31 March 2023
Group
Charity
Group
Charity
£
£
£
£
177,014
165,713
155,617
145,082
62,538
62,538
56,805
56,805
915,818
882,948
848,337
821,568
1,101,269
567,895
1,067,344
544,154
129,082
13,076
110,441
-
853,782
853,782
712,002
712,002
1,737,361
1,737,361
1,441,184
1,441,184
-
-
-
-
36,050
36,050
18,588
18,589
5,012,914
4,319,363
4,410,318
3,739,384
Deferred income reconciliation
Opening balance at 1 April 2023
Add: Advances
Less: Revenue recognised
Closing balance at 31 March 2024		 Group
Charity
£
£
1,067,344
544,154
2,759,918
1,693,170
(2,725,993)
(1,669,429)
1,101,269
567,895
Amounts falling due after more than one year
Deferred income
Loans
The above loans are repayable:
In less than one year
Between one and two years
Between two and five years
After more than five years		 31 March 2024
31 March 2023
Group
Charity
Group
Charity
£
£
£
£
-
-
-
-
5,312,639
5,312,639
5,608,816
5,608,816
1,737,361
1,737,361
1,441,184
1,441,184
315,583
315,583
333,855
333,855
1,604,134
1,604,134
1,052,808
1,052,808
3,392,922
3,392,922
4,222,153
4,222,153
7,050,000
7,050,000
7,050,000
7,050,000

With the exception of an interest free amount of £550,000, interest on the loans is payable at an annual rate of 2.5%. Interest did not start to accrue until the first anniversary of practical completion of the Postal Museum project. Practical completion occurred on 17 August 2017. The loans are secured over four bank accounts, at the balance sheet date. The Trust’s trading subsidiary, Postal Heritage Services Ltd, has also provided a guarantee in respect of the loans.

The Trust and Postal Heritage Services Ltd have defaulted on their loan repayment obligations to Royal Mail Group Ltd and Post Office Ltd. However, the lenders have not exercised their right under the default provisions of the loan agreement, to require immediate repayment of the loan. The lenders have issued a Heads of Terms agreement which is expected to form the basis of a final settlement agreement as further disclosed in note 1b of 11. CREDITORS (continued)

38

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

the accounting policies on page 25. It is expected that a satisfactory resolution that is acceptable to all parties will be reached in the near future following the signing off of these accounts and on that basis the trustees continue to consider it appropriate in order for the accounts to show a true and fair view to disclose an element of the loans as repayable after one year.

Trustees are clear that The Postal Museum continues to be a going concern despite the hitherto absence of a permanent agreement with Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd to settle the historic loans. Both lenders have indicated in a series of meetings and other correspondence that their preferred outcome is for the Postal Museum to continue to exist and neither has given any indication of any intention to call back the loans in accordance with their contractual rights.

12.
FUNDS 2023/24
RESTRICTED
Postal Heritage Collection Trust
Digitised memorial books
Addressing Health Project
Sorted upgrade
Post and play
Sorting Office Maths Challenge
Jolly Postman virtual sessions
Enhancing Mail Rail
UNRESTRICTED -DESIGNATED
Collection fund
Tangible fixed assets
UNRESTRICTED - GENERAL
Postal Heritage Trust
Postal Heritage Services Limited
Postal Heritage Trading Limited		 Brought
forward
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Carried
forward
£
£
£
£
£
81,367
-
-
-
81,367
5,914
-
-
-
5,914
4,000
-
-
-
4,000
5,000
-
(4,749)
-
251
11,716
27,000
(22,230)
-
16,486
3,698
14,115
(9,477)
-
8,336
-
4,995
(169)
-
4,826
-
12,950
(12,950)
-
-
111,695
59,060
(49,575)
-
121,180
876
-
-
-
876
13,739,686
-
-
(1,229,604)
12,510,082
13,740,562
-
-
(1,229,604)
12,510,958
-
3,422,851
(4,967,455)
1,544,604
-
129,109
1,089,640
(765,530)
(315,000)
138,219
137,210
451,319
(434,873)
-
153,656
266,320
4,963,810
(6,167,858)
1,229,604
291,875
14,118,577
5,022,870
(6,217,433)
-
12,924,013

RESTRICTED FUNDS

Postal Heritage Collection Trust holds the value of the collection owned by the museum. The value in the Balance Sheet represents the items of known value.

The balance against digitised memorial books represents the value of the unspent grant received for this activity.

12. FUNDS (continued)

The Addressing Health Project represents the remainder of funds received towards a joint project with Kings

39

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

College and the University of Derby.

Funding for upgrading Sorted! was provided by a Patron. The work is due to be carried out in the next financial year.

Post and Play is a learning activity funded by the John Lyons Charitable Trust.

Sorting Office Maths Challenge is a learning activity funded by The Portal Trust.

The Jolly Postman virtual sessions were funded with the support of Royal Mail.

Enhancing Mail Rail is a capital project intended to further develop the Mail Rail visitor experience. The amounts received and paid to date in respect of this project were to develop a project plan. This work was funded by the Post Office Remembrance Fellowship (PORF).

DESIGNATED FUNDS

Collection Fund – Income from the disposal of collection assets held against future collection purchases or

collection preservation expenditure.

Tangible fixed assets – funds tied up in the fixed asset and related loans of the parent charitable company.

UNRESTRICTED FUNDS

General fund – funds available to the charity for unrestricted use, which include grant income in respect of the period to 31 December 2021.

COMPANY

The funds of charitable company only are as above, excluding the general funds related to Postal Heritage Services Limited and Postal Heritage Trading Limited, and the restricted fund related to Postal Heritage Collection Trust.

FUNDS 2022/23 Brought
forward
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Carried
forward
£
£
£
£
£

40

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

RESTRICTED
Postal Heritage Collection Trust
81,367
-
-
-
81,367
Digitised memorial books
5,914
-
-
-
5,914
Addressing Health Project
9,104
17,162
(22,266)
-
4,000
The King’s Stamp exhibition
-
10,000
(10,000)
-
-
Sorted upgrade
-
5,000
-
-
5,000
Post and play
-
27,000
(15,284)
-
11,716
Sorting Office Maths Challenge
-
16,615
(12,917)
-
3,698
Jolly Postman virtual sessions
-
13,362
(13,362)
-
-
96,385
89,139
(73,829)
-
111,695
UNRESTRICTED -DESIGNATED
Collection fund
876
-
-
-
876
Tangible fixed assets
15,414,264
-
-
(1,674,578)
13,739,686
15,415,140
-
-
(1,674,578)
13,740,562
UNRESTRICTED - GENERAL
Postal Heritage Trust
-
3,279,916
(5,404,494)
2,124,578
-
Postal Heritage Services Limited
171,081
1,327,116
(1,014,087)
(355,000)
129,110
Postal Heritage Trading Limited
257,509
498,399
(523,698)
(95,000)
137,210
428,590
5,105,431
(6,942,279)
1,674,578
266,320
15,940,115
5,194,570
(7,016,108)
-
14,118,577
13.
ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS 2024
General
Designated
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
£
Fixed Assets
2,039,692
17,822,721
81,367
19,943,780
Net Current Assets/(Liabilities)
(1,747,817)
876
39,813
(1,707,128)
Long term liabilities - loans
-
(5,312,639)
-
(5,312,639)
291,875
12,510,958
121,180
12,924,013
ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS 2023
General
Designated
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
£
Fixed Assets
1,509,874
19,348,502
81,367
20,939,743
Net Current Assets/(Liabilities)
(1,243,554)
876
30,328
(1,212,350)
Long term liabilities - loans
-
(5,608,816)
-
(5,608,816)
266,320
13,740,562
111,695
14,118,577		 81,367
-
-
-
81,367
5,914
-
-
-
5,914
9,104
17,162
(22,266)
-
4,000
-
10,000
(10,000)
-
-
-
5,000
-
-
5,000
-
27,000
(15,284)
-
11,716
-
16,615
(12,917)
-
3,698
-
13,362
(13,362)
-
-		 81,367
-
-
-
81,367
5,914
-
-
-
5,914
9,104
17,162
(22,266)
-
4,000
-
10,000
(10,000)
-
-
-
5,000
-
-
5,000
-
27,000
(15,284)
-
11,716
-
16,615
(12,917)
-
3,698
-
13,362
(13,362)
-
-		 81,367
-
-
-
81,367
5,914
-
-
-
5,914
9,104
17,162
(22,266)
-
4,000
-
10,000
(10,000)
-
-
-
5,000
-
-
5,000
-
27,000
(15,284)
-
11,716
-
16,615
(12,917)
-
3,698
-
13,362
(13,362)
-
-
96,385
89,139
(73,829)
-
111,695
876
-
-
-
876
15,414,264
-
-
(1,674,578)
13,739,686
15,415,140
-
-
(1,674,578)
13,740,562
-
3,279,916
(5,404,494)
2,124,578
-
171,081
1,327,116
(1,014,087)
(355,000)
129,110
257,509
498,399
(523,698)
(95,000)
137,210
428,590
5,105,431
(6,942,279)
1,674,578
266,320
15,940,115
5,194,570
(7,016,108)
-
14,118,577
General
Designated
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
£
2,039,692
17,822,721
81,367
19,943,780
(1,747,817)
876
39,813
(1,707,128)
-
(5,312,639)
-
(5,312,639)
291,875
12,510,958
121,180
12,924,013
General
Designated
Restricted
Total
£
£
£
£
1,509,874
19,348,502
81,367
20,939,743
(1,243,554)
876
30,328
(1,212,350)
-
(5,608,816)
-
(5,608,816)
266,320
13,740,562
111,695
14,118,577

14. FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

41

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

At 31 March 2024 the group had the following commitments under non-cancellable operating leases.

Due in less than1 year
Due 2-5 Years		 Mar 2024
Mar 2023
£
£
188,512
189,985
-
-

15. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

Postal Heritage Trust (PHT) has taken advantage of the exemptions within FRS102 from disclosing related party transactions with Postal Heritage Collection Trust (PHCT), Postal Heritage Services Limited (PHSL) and Postal Heritage Trading Limited (PHTL). The charities SORP requires disclosure of the results and balance sheet positions of the subsidiaries. This information is provided in note 6 in respect of PHSL and PHTL. PHCT has minimal activity. In 2023/24 it received no grants of heritage assets (2023: nil) and at the balance sheet date held heritage assets at a cost of £81,367 (2023: £81,367).

Royal Mail Group (RMG) and Post Office Ltd (POL) have a funding agreement to 2040 to provide PHT with £1,524,968 in the 12 months to 31 March 2023 (2023(15 months): £1,611,991) of unrestricted funds, for the general purpose of meeting its charitable objectives. RMG has also transferred some of its intellectual rights to PHT.

RMG and POL have an Archive Services Agreement with PHT and its trading subsidiary, PHSL, which provided the latter with £1,056,564 in the 12 months to 31 March 2023 (2023(15 months): £1,293,291) of unrestricted funds for the purposes of maintaining the Royal Mail archives.

RMG and Post Office Limited (POL) have both signed legal agreements with PHT and PHSL related to the museum and to future funding, which will provide income to PHT in the form of unrestricted funds, index linked, until 2040.

RMG provides services to PHT and as at the year end, there was no balance owing (2023: £10,014).

The disclosures around related parties should be read in conjunction with Note 1 (b) Going concern on page 25 which states that the Trust and Postal Heritage Services Ltd have defaulted on their loan repayment obligations to Royal Mail Group Ltd and Post Office Ltd. In the event of such a default, the Loan Agreements provide Royal Mail Group Ltd and Post Office Ltd with rights to demand immediate repayment. However, whilst reserving their rights, both Royal Mail Group Ltd and the Post Office Ltd have confirmed to the Trust that they are not presently intending to exercise those rights in the next 12 months.

The Heads of Terms agreement which was signed on 17 June 2024 establishes the clear intention for all parties to set aside the existing contractual obligations and to replace them with a set of new contractual agreements that are sustainable for the museum whilst also being acceptable to all stakeholders including the Charity Commission and the Heritage Lottery Fund.

Trustees are clear that The Postal Museum continues to be a going concern despite the hitherto absence of a permanent agreement with Royal Mail and Post Office Ltd to settle the historic loans. Both lenders have indicated in the signed Heads of Terms agreement that their preferred outcome is for the Postal Museum to continue to exist, and neither has given any indication of any intention to call back the loans in accordance with their hitherto existing contractual rights.

16. PENSIONS

42

POSTAL HERITAGE TRUST

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (continued)

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

For the purposes of FRS102 the group cannot identify its share of the underlying assets and liabilities of the defined benefit schemes in which it participates in respect of seven employees. PHT makes pension contributions based on the advice of a qualified independent actuary whose calculations are based upon total scheme membership. A fundamental change in the defined benefit schemes occurred as a result of the passage of the Postal Services Act 2011, with the transfer of all the historic liabilities of the Royal Mail Pension Plan (RMPP) to the new government-backed Royal Mail Statutory Pension Scheme (RMSPS) as at 31 March 2012. Those already receiving a pension, and those who had left service but contributed to the pension prior to 31 March 2012, will receive it from the RMSPS; those who continue to contribute after 31 March 2012 will, upon retirement, receive pensions from both schemes. The public accounts of both RMG and POL schemes indicate that currently these pension schemes are both in surplus. PHT is not exposed to variations in the rate of contributions as the excess of the rate payable over that in respect of employees not in the Royal Mail schemes in reimbursed by the Royal Mail.

PHT makes pension payments of at least 6% as an employer contribution to a defined contribution scheme for the remainder of its eligible employees who have opted into the scheme.

17 LIABILITY OF MEMBERS

The Postal Heritage Collection Trust is a company limited by guarantee. The liability of each member in the event of a winding up amounts to £1.

18. CAPITAL COMMITMENTS

At 31 March 2024 the group had no capital commitments (2023: nil).

43