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← Omega Research Foundation Limited

2025-03-31-accounts

Company number: 5224240 Charity Number: 1105918

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31[st] March 2025

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Reference and administrative information

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

Company number 5224240 Charity number 1105918

Registered office and operational address Bridge 5 Mill 22A Beswick Street Ancoats Manchester M4 7HR

Trustees Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were as follows:

Michael Reed Chair Steven Lindsay Treasurer Natalie Wilkins (resigned 5 December 2024) Josephine Dresner Ian Bell Jevon Clayton Annalena Wolcke Safa Al Ahmad (appointed 1 June 2024) Company Secretary Fiona Gorton Bankers The Co-operative Bank plc 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP The Charity Bank Limited Fosse House 182 High Street Tonbridge TN9 1BE Nationwide Building Society Kings Park Road Moulton Park Northampton NN3 6NW Auditors Slade & Cooper Limited Beehive Mill Jersey Street Manchester M4 6JG

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

The trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31[st] March 2025. Included within the trustees’ report is the directors’ report as required by company law.

Reference and administrative information set out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

Objectives and activities

The objects of the Omega Research Foundation are:

To promote human rights.

To advance the education of the public in the subject of international peace, human rights, and the causes of conflict.

Omega works to:

Investigate and expose the global manufacture, trade, procurement, testing, and use of military, security, and police (MSP) weapons, equipment, and techniques and related human rights and international humanitarian law violations.

Provide expert analysis and policy proposals to strengthen national, regional, and international controls.

Share our specialist knowledge , including through training, briefings, capacity building, and technical assistance.

So that:

We strengthen relationships with other NGOs and human rights monitors, journalists, judges and other legal professionals, political figures, private entities, unions, state institutions, law enforcement agencies, and international and regional institutions.

These key stakeholders are empowered with knowledge of the manufacture, trade, procurement, testing, and use of MSP weapons, equipment, and techniques, and their human rights impacts for a range of communities.

We collectively advocate for change.

So that:

Controls related to the manufacture, trade, procurement, testing, and use of weapons, equipment, and techniques are human rights-compliant.

These controls are effectively implemented and monitored. Those who perpetrate violations are held to account.

So that:

Human rights and international humanitarian law violations are not committed or facilitated by people using military, security, and policing weapons, equipment, and techniques.

In setting our objectives and planning our activities, the Trustees have given careful consideration to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit and in particular to its supplementary public benefit guidance on advancing education and on promotion of human rights. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set. All activities are undertaken to further the organisation's charitable objectives for the public benefit.

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

The charity’s main objectives for the financial year 2024-25 were:

The aims, objectives and activities of the charity are kept under ongoing review by the trustees to ensure they remain focused on the charity’s stated purposes.

This report looks at what the charity has achieved and the outcomes of its work in the reporting period. The trustees report the success of each key activity and the benefits arising from the charity’s work.

Achievements and performance

Investigate and expose

Following the 2024 violent crackdown on protests in Georgia, Omega worked with two local partner organisations to support and amplify the work of Georgian human rights defenders. In January 2025, Omega together with the UATC published preliminary findings of an investigation into torture and illtreatment against protesters. This was followed by a briefing published in March on extra-custodial torture and suppression of political dissent in Georgia.

In June 2024, Omega attended the Eurosatory 2024 arms and security trade fair in Paris to monitor the 60+ UK companies exhibiting, as well as to assess whether all 1000+ exhibiting companies were acting in compliance with the EU Anti-Torture Regulation and French law. We found UK companies were in compliance. However, we also found anti-personnel landmines and cluster munitions from India and South Korea exhibited in violation of French and EU law. We worked with Amnesty France to successfully alert the organisers and get them to expel the offending companies.

Before and after

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

The stand of Korea Defense Industry Corp, exhibiting prohibited cluster munition bomblets, was closed by the Eurostaory 2024 event organisers, all materials removed and the company ejected. This was the first time since the Convention on Cluster Munitions entered into force in 2010 that Omega has seen cluster munition bomblets physically displayed for sale at an international defence exhibition.

Omega joined UATC colleagues from Redress, IRCT, OMCT and APT to develop an EU-funded crisis intervention project in Bangladesh, running January 2025 – June 2026. We will work with local CSOs to respond to the human rights impacts following the Bangladesh uprising of July 2024. We collaborated with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for their fact-finding mission and report into the uprising. In February 2025 Omega joined a UATC Mission to establish the project, meet with local partners and investigate human rights violations, particularly the blinding and maiming of thousands of protestors through police use of metal pellets and other projectiles.

Provide expert analysis

Omega has provided our expertise to inform professional audiences and the general public about unlawful or dangerous use of force by police. We provided analysis to many media outlets and UN Special Procedures following the alleged use of a ‘sonic device’ in Belgrade, Serbia, in March 2025; the use of such a device may amount to ill-treatment. Omega supplied information to several Serbian human rights organisations who successfully petitioned the European Court of Human Rights to intervene. Omega provided expert advice to our partner Centro de Estudios Legales y Sociales (CELS) in Argentina on the human rights impacts and injury potential of new chemical irritant projectile launcher being introduced by police across Argentina.

Omega continued as a member of the European Commission’s Informal Expert Group, advising the Commission on strengthening the EU Anti-Torture Regulation. Omega made proposals for expanding both the list of inherently abusive equipment that should be prohibited as well as the list of other equipment whose trade should be regulated. The Expert Group’s input informed the Commission’s recommendations for strengthening the Regulation, which then have to be reviewed by Member States and the European Parliament. We expect the Commission to review the Regulation’s prohibited and controlled lists in the next financial year. We will use the strengthened EU Regulation as a ‘good practice’ example to lobby the UK Government to strengthen UK export controls.

Omega provided expert support to strategic litigation, seeking justice for people affected by unlawful state violence. During the reporting period, we provided expert opinions concerning the use of force in two cases where individuals experiencing mental health crises died during encounters with police, one in France and the other in Catalonia. The first of these has been submitted as part of an application to the European Court of Human Rights, which is pending, and the other to the relevant national court, where the case is still in progress.

The Torture-Free Trade Network of civil society organisations working for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty grew to over 80 civil society organisations from all world regions. Omega is part of the Network’s core group, guiding strategic planning, engaging in advocacy work, and sharing our technical expertise and materials on both tools of torture and effective measures for regulating their trade. Omega joined Network advocacy missions to Geneva (May 2024) and the United Nations in New York (October 2024). We jointly facilitated an online meeting of the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade group of States in January 2025, which was also joined by the UN Special Rapporteurs on Torture and on Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association, the Chairperson of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture in Africa, Council of Europe Director of Human Rights, and the Secretary General of Amnesty International. We are calling on all States to support the development of a legally binding Torture-Free Trade Treaty .

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

UN Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian, Cultural & Issues), October 2024, during Omega’s advocacy mission to the UN

Omega continued to chair the UK’s National Taser Stakeholder Advisory Group (NTSAG), which provides critical oversight of police use of taser weapons in the UK, including new developments and policy changes. A new weapon, the Taser 10, underwent testing and evaluation, and Omega provided technical opinion and critique of the process, including on the risk of the weapons and its potential impact on children. In our role as chair of NTSAG, Omega continued to attend the National Police Chiefs Council’s UK Less Lethal Weapons Working Group – we remain the only independent expert voice on the group, and we are able to bring a much needed informed human rights dimension to discussions of new weapons and technologies being introduced into UK policing.

Share our knowledge

In November 2024, Omega took part in an international Workshop “Strengthening Multilateral Efforts to Curb Trade in Torture and Death Penalty Goods” in Strasbourg hosted by the Council of Europe (CoE) Steering Committee for Human Rights for CoE member States, also streamed online. The Workshop provided an opportunity to discuss the implementation of the CoE's Recommendation Rec(2021)2 on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment and the need for international cooperation on international standards through the UN. The event brought together the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture,

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

Parliamentary Assembly of the CoE’s General Rapporteur on the Abolition of the Death Penalty, national experts; representatives of the European Union, and civil society.

The panel at “Strengthening Multilateral Efforts to Curb Trade in Torture and Death Penalty Goods” Workshop

Through the United Against Torture Consortium, we provided seven small grants to CSOs to support their work to further the campaign for a Torture-Free Trade Treaty. Based in Argentina, Colombia, Egypt, South Africa, and Uganda, the organisations supported built engagement within national and regional actors and institutions including police forces and authorities, national and regional human rights mechanisms, and regional intergovernmental frameworks.

At the invitation of the Technical Mission in Peru of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OCHCHR), Omega delivered two online trainings to legal professionals in Peru. The first took place in May 2024 and was aimed at the Special Prosecutorial Team for cases involving victims during social protests (EFICAVIP). The second training was delivered to lawyers who accompany those affected by alleged arbitrary use of force by police or military officials during the protests that took place from December 2022 to March 2023. Both events addressed the use of less lethal weapons during protests and over 80 people were trained in total. Discussions around further technical assistance to aid accountability efforts continue.

In November 2024 we co-organised an online workshop with the South Korean organisation, World Without War. The workshop focussed on how to research and document the manufacture, export, and use of South Korean policing equipment. Workshop participants were keen to learn more about the manufacture, trade, and use of policing weapons, as well as how to monitor and research these weapons. However, it was also an opportunity for Omega to learn more about the regulatory framework governing manufacture and use of policing weapons in South Korea.

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

We continued our long-standing engagement with Brazilian partners. On 10 and 11 September 2024, Omega, Justiça Global and the Brazilian NPM organised online training for the members of two new local preventive mechanisms from the States of Acre and Sergipe. In March 2025, we again partnered with Justiça Global to co-organise in-person training in Rio de Janeiro for representatives of social movements, non-governmental organisations and judicial actors. In both events we shared tools and expertise to inform advocacy and legal interventions concerning the unlawful use of force disproportionately affecting racialised and marginalised groups.

Participants at workshop co-organised by Omega and Justiça Global, Rio de Janeiro, 31 March 2025.

Strategy

The organisational Theory of Change developed in 2020/21 and detailed in the Objectives and Activities section still informs Omega’s work and is kept under regular review. Omega’s strategy is partly driven by the strategy of the United Against Torture Consortium, which is being updated in 2025/26. We therefore plan to revisit the organisation’s Strategy in 2026/27 following the UATC strategy update.

As part of our regular strategic review Omega identified a need to renew the Omega website to improve our visibility, communications, and information sharing. Our completely redesigned website now includes more information, highlights of our technical expertise, and links to our research database. It enables us to share data and information more easily with our audience. The website was launched

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

early in the financial year. Following the launch of the new website in April 2024, website visitors increased 67% when compared to the previous 12 months.

Grant making

As part of the EU funding for the UATC project, Omega is obliged to provide some Financial Support to Third Parties. The contribution of this to the achievement of our aims and objectives is detailed in the Achievements and Performance section. Grants are either offered to longstanding partners to continue collaboration and where partners are in a unique position to contribute, or as a result of publicly advertised open calls on a competitive basis. In offering this support, Omega aims to be a partner rather than a grant maker, offering wider support than just financial. Recipients have been invited to meetings and conferences, both online and in person, and further resources are being developed to support organisations on an ongoing sustainable basis beyond the lifetime of any financial support provided.

Financial review

At the end of the financial year, Omega had total Reserves of £411,163. Of this, £152,970 was held in restricted reserves to be spent on ongoing projects, £131,750 in designated reserves to be released over the following fifteen months, and £126,443 in general reserves.

Reserves policy

Omega holds Restricted Reserves , being unspent funding provided for specific projects, and Unrestricted Reserves which can be subdivided into Designated Reserves , being the proportion of multiyear core grant funding relating to future years as stated in the grant agreement, and the General Fund .

The trustees have reviewed Omega’s Reserves Policy and have concluded that an upper and lower limit of reserves held in the General Fund should be set bearing in mind the objective of holding such reserves. That is, reserves in the General Fund are intended to underpin the organisation’s solvency and the continuity of its operations. However, the size of these reserves should not be excessive. Excessive reserves would lead to resources being idle and unused for long periods.

In relation to the upper limit the trustees have taken into consideration the experience of the last ten years. In that period Omega has received three grants from the European Commission, each lasting around three years, with ten months between the first two, and twenty months between the second and third. These grants have typically provided around 70% of the organisation’s income. In order to underpin the organisation‘s solvency during the periods waiting for the next grant receipt or between grants, the trustees consider holding a maximum reserves in the General Fund of a year of basic operating costs to be reasonable. Basic operating costs in 2024/25 are around £350,000 per annum – approximately £30,000 per month.

In relation to the lower limit should it become apparent that no further major grant is to be expected from the European Commission or from an alternative grant provider, Omega would need to drastically restructure and reduce its size and scope of operations. The trustees estimate that the costs associated with such a restructuring and reduction would amount to five months of basic operating costs which currently would be around £150,000.

Reserves in the General Fund at the end of 2024/25 stood at £126,443 which is below the target limits of £150,000 to £350,000. This is mitigated by the Designated fund balance of £131,750, but trustees are aware that further fundraising is a priority, and if unsuccessful there may be a need for some level of restructuring. The situation is under active review, and during the year staff reduced their hours and pay to support the long-term future of the organisation.

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

Fundraising

The long-term financial viability of Omega depends on continual fundraising, in a climate of shrinking donor funding for human rights work. Omega raises most of its income through grant funding, though has started to receive some donations from the public in the last few years. Omega has received no complaints relating to fundraising activity.

In June 2024, we started the second year of a three year grant from the EU to the international United Against Torture Consortium, in which Omega is a core partner along with the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT), the International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT), Redress, the International Federation of Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (FIACAT), and the Association for the Prevention of Torture (APT). Negotiations about a further grant under the four year Financial Framework Partnership Agreement will take place during the coming financial year. In January 2025, the UATC started work under a second EU funded project for 18 months, focusing on Bangladesh.

Omega’s funding from the Oak Foundation finished in April 2024. In December 2024 Omega’s two year grant from the Open Society Foundations finished. We do not expect further funding from either foundation, as both seem to be prioritising other areas of funding going forwards. This change in funding priorities, within an already limited field for such a specialised area, is a major concern. In January 2024, Omega was very pleased to be awarded one of eight legacy grants from the Joffe Charitable Trust. This will provide vital support over the next four years. We are also very grateful for ongoing support from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, who extended our three year grant by a further 18 months during the financial year. This grant now runs to June 2026. Omega has worked hard through the financial year and beyond to try to diversify our funding base and find new sources of funds, both alone and as part of the UATC.

Plans for the future

We will continue to:

We will work with the UATC to negotiate further funding from the EU following on from our initial three year grant, and to find additional funding for this work.

Omega’s work is by its nature a long term undertaking. Preventing human rights violations, nationally, regionally or internationally, takes many years of advocacy, supported by rigorous research. Trustees do not, therefore, foresee any significant changes in the organisation’s plans or activities.

Structure, governance and management

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 7[th] September 2004 and registered as a charity on 16[th] September 2004.

The company was established under a memorandum of association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its articles of association.

The Omega Research Foundation may by ordinary resolution appoint a person who is willing to act as a trustee and determine the rotation in which any additional trustees are to retire. The Trustees are also directors and members of the company. Trustees are recruited following the Trustee Recruitment Policy, which states that vacancies should be advertised and applications invited, with a focus on maintaining a

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

diverse Board. New trustees go through an induction process and are given the option of training in any aspect of directorship that they feel is necessary.

All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 11 to the accounts.

Trustees meet 4-5 times per year and make decisions on the medium and long term aims and activities of the organisation, including: funding strategies; methods of attaining the organisation’s objectives; organisational policies; and staffing levels. The Board of Trustees also monitors the overall performance and achievements of the organisation. The Omega Research Foundation has a principal staff of seven to whom the day to day management of the organisation is delegated. This includes project management and financial administration.

The trustees regularly review the risks to which the Omega Research Foundation is exposed and ensure that adequate systems and processes are in place to manage those risks. The three highest risks identified are:

The trustees are mindful of the Charity Governance Code’s principles and recommended practice, to ensure Omega’s governance standards remain high. Trustees and staff are alert to the need to ensure equity, diversity and inclusion in all their policies and operations.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31[st] March 2025 was 7 (2024: 7). The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

At 31 March 2025 Omega employed six full-time research staff, and a part-time administrative & finance officer, although these staff were all working at 80% capacity due to funding constraints. Omega also had two volunteers during the year; one recruited through the University of Manchester, and one through a school work experience scheme. Omega operates a flat management structure, with decisions being taken collectively by staff. After two years’ service, all staff are paid at the same rate (pro-rata), which is set periodically by the trustees, taking account of inflation, comparable market salaries, and the charity’s available resources.

Currently all staff have over two years’ service, and therefore all count as senior management personnel. All served throughout the reporting period, and were still in post at the date of signature:

Related parties and relationships with other organisations

Neil Corney, a member of Omega staff, is a trustee of Bridge 5 Mill Ltd, Omega’s landlord. He always recuses himself from any discussions around this relationship, with both parties.

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

Omega is a member of the United Against Torture Consortium. This is governed by a Board consisting of one member from each member organisation, with a rotating chair. The work of the UATC is determined by the grant contract with the EU, as agreed by the UATC Board, and managed via Memoranda of Understanding between the lead organisation OMCT and each other member organisation. Omega’s involvement in the UATC Board ensures that Omega’s work under the contract and MoU is always in line with Omega’s charitable objectives.

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Trustees’ annual report

for the year ended 31[st] March 2025

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of Omega Research Foundation for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual 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 of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

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

In so far as the trustees are aware:

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

Auditors

Slade & Cooper Ltd were re-appointed as the charitable company's auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees’ annual report has been approved by the trustees on 15[th] December 2025 and signed on their behalf by

Steven Lindsay

Treasurer

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Independent auditors’ report

to the members of

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Omega Research Foundation Limited (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2025, which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities (including the income and expenditure account), the Balance Sheet and the related notes. 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 charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

The trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the trustees’ annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. 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

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Independent auditors’ report

to the members of

Omega Research Foundation

whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 12, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

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Independent auditors’ report

to the members of

Omega Research Foundation

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 specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

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

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://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.

Christy Yun Hing Lau FCCA CTA DChA Senior Statutory Auditor

for and on behalf of Slade & Cooper Limited Statutory Auditors Beehive Mill, Jersey Street, Manchester, M4 6JG

23[rd] December 2025

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account) for the year ended 31 March 2025

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
1,812
Charitable activities
4
233,415
Investments
5
2,854
Total income
238,081
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
29,653
Charitable activities
7
82,155
Total expenditure
111,808
126,273
9
126,273
Transfer between funds
(16,487)
Net movement in funds for the year
109,786
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
148,407
Total funds carried forward
258,193
Net income/(expenditure) before
net gains/(losses) on
investments
Net income/(expenditure) for the
year		 Restricted
funds
£
74
416,760
-
416,834
-
333,285
333,285
83,549
83,549
16,487
100,036
52,934
152,970		 Total funds
2025
£
1,886
650,175
2,854
654,915
29,653
415,440
445,093
209,822
209,822
-
209,822
201,341
411,163		 Total funds
2024
£
873
398,572
4,578
404,023
19,699
450,300
469,999
(65,976)
(65,976)
-
(65,976)
267,317
201,341

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

A full comparative SOFA is available on the last page of the financial statements.

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Omega Research Foundation Limited Company number 5224240

Balance sheet as at 31 March 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
Note 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
Current assets
Debtors 14 106,355 60,209
Cash at bank and in hand 328,410 170,867
Total current assets 434,765 231,076
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling
due in less than one year 16 (23,602) (29,735)
Net current assets 411,163 201,341
Total assets less current liabilities 411,163 201,341
Net assets 411,163 201,341
The funds of the charity:
Restricted income funds 17 152,970 52,934
Unrestricted income funds:
Designated fund: Long term grants 19 131,750 98,176
General funds 19 126,443 50,231
Total charity funds 411,163 201,341
----- End of picture text -----

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.

The notes on pages 19 to 34 form part of these accounts.

Approved by the trustees on 15th December 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Steven Lindsay (Treasurer)

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Omega Research Foundation Limited

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ending 31 March 2025

Note
Cash flow from operating activities
Net income/(expenditure) for the year
Adjustments for:
Dividends, interest and rents from investments
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends, interest, and rents from investments
Cash provided by/(used in) investing activities
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Cash provided by/(used in) operating activities
Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash
equivalents in the year		 2025
£
209,822
(2,854)
(46,146)
(6,133)
154,689
2,854
2,854
157,543
170,867
328,410		 2024
£
(65,976)
(4,578)
68,043
4,573
2,062
4,578
4,578
6,640
164,227
170,867

18

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

1 Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgments and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

a Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), second edition - October 2019 (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Omega Research Foundation Limited meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern.

No key judgments which the trustees have made which have a significant effect on the accounts.

The trustees do not consider that there are any sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets and liabilities within the next reporting period.

c Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

Income received in advance of a provision of a specified service is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

19

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

d Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised; refer to the trustees’ annual report for more information about their contribution.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e Interest receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.

f Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. The charity has one designated fund, the long term grants fund, which holds grant income awarded under multi-year grants. This is transferred to the general fund over the life of the grant.

The remaining unrestricted funds are the general funds of the charity.

Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity’s work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity. Some grants which fall into this category are paid in arrears, after expenditure has already occured, which can leave restricted funds in deficit for short periods of time.

g Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

20

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

h Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charity's programmes and activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 8.

i Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £5,000 or more are capitalised at cost and are depreciated over their estimated useful economic lives. There are currently no fixed assets.

j Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

k Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.

21

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

l Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

m Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

n Foreign currencies

Transactions entered into in currencies other than sterling are included in the accounts after conversion at the bank rate in force on the date.

o Pensions

Employees of the charity are entitled to join a defined contribution ‘money purchase’ scheme. The charity’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in note 10. The costs of the defined contribution scheme are included within staff costs in note 6, 7 and 8, and are allocated between funds in proportion to the allocation of staff time.

The money purchase plan is managed by TPT Retirement Solutions (previously The Pensions Trust) and the plan invests the contributions made by the employee and employer in an investment fund to build up over the term of the plan a pension fund which is then converted into a pension upon the employee’s normal retirement year age when eligible for a state pension. The total expense ratio of the plan is 0.69% and this is deducted from the investment fund annually. The charity has no liability beyond making its contributions and paying across the deductions for the employee’s contributions. The contributions outstanding at the year-end were £1,723 (2024: £2,154).

2 Legal status of the charity

The charity is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales and has no share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £1 per member of the charity. The registered office address is disclosed on page 1.

22

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

3 Income from donations and legacies

Current reporting period
Unrestricted
£
Donations
1,812
Total
1,812
Previous reporting period
Unrestricted
£
Donations
873
Total
873
4
Income from charitable activities
Current reporting period
Unrestricted
£
European Commission grant
-
-
Joffe Charitable Trust grant
52,000
162,500
18,915
Total
233,415
Previous reporting period
Unrestricted
£
European Commission grant
-
Oak Foundation grant
-
10,467
Total
10,467
Other income from charitable
activity
European Commission crisis
area grant
Joseph Rowntree Charitable
Trust grant
Other income from charitable
activity		 Restricted
£
74
74
Restricted
£
-
-
Restricted
£
331,938
84,822
-
-
-
416,760
Restricted
£
325,865
62,240
-
388,105		 Total 2025
£
1,886
1,886
Total 2024
£
873
873
Total 2025
£
331,938
84,822
52,000
162,500
18,915
650,175
Total 2024
£
325,865
62,240
10,467
398,572

23

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

5 Investment income

Current reporting period
Income from bank deposits
Previous reporting period
Income from bank deposits
Cost of raising funds
Staff costs
Accommodation
Governance costs (see note 8)
Support costs (see note 8)		 Unrestricted
£
2,854
2,854
Unrestricted
£
4,578
4,578		 Restricted
£
-
-
Restricted
£
-
-
Total 2025
£
22,648
1,242
664
5,099
29,653		 2025
£
2,854
2,854
2024
£
4,578
4,578
Total 2024
£
15,011
635
428
3,625
19,699

6 Cost of raising funds

All expenditure on cost of raising funds is unrestricted.

24

7 Analysis of expenditure on charitable activities

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

Staff costs
Accommodation
Publishing (including websites)
Share of grant relating to partner organisations
Governance costs (see note 8)
Support costs (see note 8)
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure
Research
Travel
Training provision		 Total 2025
£
238,225
13,062
9,769
7,889
-
-
85,633
7,130
53,732
415,440
2025
£
333,285
82,155
415,440		 Total 2024
£
280,006
11,851
17,906
12,666
6,890
806
41,669
10,888
67,618
450,300
2024
£
360,306
89,994
450,300

25

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

8 Analysis of governance and support costs

Current reporting period
Staff costs
Office costs
Audit fees
Allocated as follows:
Cost of raising funds
Charitable activities
Previous reporting period
Staff costs
Office costs
Audit fees
Allocated as follows:
Cost of raising funds
Charitable activities		 Support
£
40,960
17,871
-
58,831
5,099
53,732
58,831
Support
£
40,939
30,304
-
71,243
3,625
67,618
71,243		 Governance
£
3,276
1,464
3,054
7,794
664
7,130
7,794
Governance
£
4,789
3,557
2,970
11,316
428
10,888
11,316		 Total 2025
£
44,236
19,335
3,054
66,625
Total 2024
£
45,728
33,861
2,970
82,559

The charity has one activity and therefore support costs are not apportioned.

26

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

9 Net income/(expenditure) for the year

This is stated after charging/(crediting):

This is stated after charging/(crediting):
2025 2024
£ £
Auditor's remuneration - audit fees 2,545 2,415
Auditor's remuneration - other - 60

10 Staff costs

Staff costs during the year were as follows:

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs
Allocated as follows:
Cost of raising funds
Charitable activities
Support costs
Governance costs		 2025
£
268,122
23,581
13,406
305,109
22,648
238,225
40,960
3,276
305,109		 2024
£
298,541
27,276
14,928
340,745
15,011
280,006
40,939
4,789
340,745

No employee has employee benefits in excess of £60,000 (2024: Nil).

The average number of staff employed during the period was 7 (2024: 7).

Omega operates a flat management structure, with decisions being taken collectively by staff. The senior management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and the staff team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £310,109 (2024: £345,745).

27

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

11 Trustee remuneration and expenses, and related party transactions

Neither the management committee nor any persons connected with them received any remuneration during the year (2024: Nil).

No (2024: no) members of the management committee received travel and subsistence expenses during the year.

Aggregate donations from related parties, were nil (2024: Nil).

There are no donations from related parties which are outside the normal course of business and no conditions were attached to donations from related parties.

No trustee or other person related to the charity had any personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into by the charity, including guarantees, during the year (2024: Nil).

12 Government grants

The government grants recognised in the accounts were as follows:

European Commission 2025
£
416,760
416,760		 2024
£
325,865
325,865

The European Commission grant represents year two of a three-year grant, with the second year commencing in June 2024, to cover 95% of costs on the project "United Against Torture Consortium project". A further European Commission grant was awarded in January 2025 to extend the project’s activities, focusing on Bangladesh, for 18 months. Some of the grant was unspent at the year end (see note 17).

28

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

13 Corporation tax

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within Chapter 3 of Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the charity.

14 Debtors

Grants receivable
Trade debtors
Prepayments and accrued income		 2025
£
96,250
5,440
4,665
106,355		 2024
£
52,500
3,894
3,815
60,209

Grants receivable consists of 15 months of an 18-month extension grant from the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. This is held in the Long term grants designated fund (see note 19). The amounts recoverable in more than one year is £19,250 (2024: £nil)

15 Cash at bank and in hand

2025
£
Short term deposits
317,580
Cash at bank and on hand
10,830
328,410
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
2025
£
Short term compensated absences (holiday pay)
10,811
Other creditors and accruals
7,070
Taxation and social security costs
5,721
23,602		 2024
£
165,248
5,619
170,867
2024
£
11,021
10,321
8,393
29,735

16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

29

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

17 Analysis of movements in restricted funds

Total
Oak Foundation
Global Giving
Total
Previous
reporting period
Global Giving
Current reporting
period
EU crisis area grant
European
Commission
European
Commission
Network for Social
Change		 Balance at
1 April
2024
£
52,934
-
-
52,934
Balance at
1 April
2023
£
-
2,470
1,853
-
4,323		 Income
£
331,938
84,822
74
416,834
Income
£
325,865
62,240
-
-
388,105		 Expenditure
£
(330,671)
(2,540)
(74)
(333,285)
Expenditure
£
(274,906)
(64,710)
(1,853)
(18,837)
(360,306)		 Transfers
£
16,487
-
-
16,487
Transfers
£
1,975
-
-
18,837
20,812		 Balance at
31 March
2025
£
70,688
82,282
-
152,970
Balance at
31 March
2024
£
52,934
-
-
-
52,934

30

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

18 Analysis of movements in restricted funds (cont.)

Name of Description, nature and purposes of the fund restricted fund

European Funding for the United Against Torture Consortium project Commission Global Giving Funding for further development of the database, including providing access to external individuals and organisations.

Oak Foundation Funding to continue work on the European "Anti Torture" Regulation, and work on the Alliance for Torture Free Trade, and on torture prevention work in Brazil

Network for Social Funding for monitoring proposed new weapons and tactics within UK Change police, plus some core funding

31

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

19 Analysis of movement in unrestricted funds

General fund
Previous
reporting period
General fund
Designated fund:
Long term grants
Designated fund:
Long term grants		 Balance
at 1 April
2024
£
50,231
98,176
148,407
Balance
at 1 April
2023
£
15,080
247,914
262,994		 Income
£
106,331
131,750
238,081
Income
£
15,918
-
15,918		 Expenditure
£
(111,808)
-
(111,808)
Expenditure
£
(109,693)
-
(109,693)		 Transfers
£
81,689
(98,176)
(16,487)
Transfers
£
128,926
(149,738)
(20,812)		 As at 31
March 2025
£
126,443
131,750
258,193
As at 31
March
2024
£
50,231
98,176
148,407

Name of Description, nature and purposes of the fund unrestricted fund

General fund The free reserves after allowing for all designated funds

Long term grants Income from multi-year core grants, currently from the Joseph Rowntree fund Charitable Trust (4.5 year extended grant starting January 2022), to be transferred to the general fund over the life of the grant, following the grant agreement, together with a portion of the first year of the Joffe Charitable Trust grant received during the year.

32

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

20 Analysis of net assets between funds

Current reporting period
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total
Previous reporting period
Net current assets/(liabilities)
Total		 General
fund
£
126,443
126,443
General
fund
£
50,231
50,231		 Long term
grants fund
£
131,750
131,750
Long term
grants fund
£
98,176
98,176		 Restricted
funds
£
152,970
152,970
Restricted
funds
£
52,934
52,934		 Total
£
411,163
411,163
Total
£
201,341
201,341

33

Omega Research Foundation Limited

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

21 Prior year Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure account)

Unrestricted
funds
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
873
Charitable activities
4
10,467
Investments
5
4,578
Total income
15,918
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
19,699
Charitable activities
7
89,994
Total expenditure
109,693
(93,775)
9
(93,775)
Transfer between funds
(20,812)
Net movement in funds for the year
(114,587)
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
262,994
Total funds carried forward
148,407
Net income/(expenditure) for the
year
Net income/(expenditure) before
net gains/(losses) on investments		 Restricted
funds
£
-
388,105
-
388,105
-
360,306
360,306
27,799
27,799
20,812
48,611
4,323
52,934		 Total funds
2024
£
873
398,572
4,578
404,023
19,699
450,300
469,999
(65,976)
(65,976)
-
(65,976)
267,317
201,341		 Total funds
2023
£
1,324
300,680
942
302,946
86,925
287,203
374,128
(71,182)
(71,182)
-
(71,182)
338,499
267,317

34