Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited (limited by guarantee) Registered Charity No: 1118646 Registered Company No: 05989017
Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025
Wenn Townsend Chartered Accountants Oxford
Sobell House Hospice Charity Ltd. Registered Charity No. 1118646. Company No. 5989017. Registered in England and Wales. Registered Office: 30 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LE. www.sobellhouse.org
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Reference and administrative details
| Registered Office: | 30 St Giles |
|---|---|
| Oxford | |
| OX1 3LE | |
| Principal Office: | Sobell House |
| Churchill Hospital | |
| Headington | |
| Oxford | |
| OX3 7LE | |
| Bankers: | Barclays Bank plc |
| Oxford City Centre Branch | |
| Oxford | |
| OX1 3HB | |
| Solicitors: | Blake Morgan LLP |
| Seacourt Tower | |
| West Way | |
| Oxford | |
| OX2 0FB | |
| BWH Legal | |
| Ashbrook House | |
| Westbrook Street | |
| Blewbury | |
| Didcot | |
| Oxfordshire | |
| OX11 9QA | |
| Auditors: | Wenn Townsend |
| Chartered Accountants and Registered Auditors | |
| 30 St Giles | |
| Oxford | |
| OX1 3LE | |
| Investment Advisers: | Quilter Cheviot Limited |
| 1 Kingsway | |
| London | |
| WC2B 6AN |
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Trustees' Annual Report for the year ended 31st March 2025
Foreword
The Trustees, who act as directors for the purposes of company law, of Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited (the Charity), present their annual report together with the audited financial statements for the Charity and its two subsidiary companies. The trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” in preparing the annual report and financial statements of the Charity and the Group.
The Trustees and officers of the Charity
The names of the members of this body who acted during the year ended 31st March 2025 together with changes subsequent to that date are as follows:
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Trading Fundraising
Finance Investment Remuneration
Advisory and Comms
Committee Committee Committee
Committee Committee
Mr Ian Miles (Chairman) x x x
Mr Peter Holloran (Treasurer) x x x
Mr Greg Birdseye x
Mr Duncan Crine x
Mrs Elizabeth Drew x
Ms Julie Findley
Mr Hugh Fraser x x
Dr Tim Littlewood x
Mrs Sandra Nash x x x
Mrs Vivienne Rust (Spurge)
Mr Michael Wells x
Dr William Couldrick (resigned 18/07/24)
Mr Paul Lindsell (joined 06/02/24; resigned 01/05/24)
Ms A Foster (CEO and Company Secretary) x x x x x
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Objectives and activities for the public benefit
The key element of the Charity’s medium-to-long-term strategy is to provide on-going funding to Sir Michael Sobell House (The Hospice) and its associated services. The Hospice is an NHS hospice which has been providing care since 1976 for people in Oxfordshire with life-limiting illnesses. The Charity has provided financial support from the outset. The Hospice building is leased by the Charity to the NHS.
In the year ending 31st March 2025, the Charity provided ongoing funding to the Hospice totalling £3.3 million (last year £2.8 million). This amount includes a contribution to core funding, as well funding for additional services to augment those offered by the Hospice and includes transport, catering, pastoral support and staff training and supervision. For more information on amounts spent, please see the SOFA on page 10.
The Charity measures the success of its strategy in two ways:
Within the Hospice: the grant from the Charity allows the Hospice to provide a broader range of services and higher level of care to a greater number of people in Oxfordshire than would otherwise be possible using only the NHS provision for this type of service.
Within the Charity: fundraising results are measured against the previous year while being compared to external benchmarks and the budgets determined by the Charity staff and agreed with Trustees. The Trustees also closely monitor the performance of the investment portfolio and obtain advice from their broker relating to investment matters.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) for the year ended 31st March 2025
Objectives and activities for the public benefit (continued)
Voluntary help
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited upholds the important principle that the Hospice is a community-owned organisation. There are a range of fundraising activities held in partnership with local people, such as organising events, operating seven Charity Shops, two warehouses and a Lottery through the Local Hospice Lottery. The generous support of our volunteers, with all of these activities and office administration, enables the Charity to continue to support the Hospice at its current level and agree to increase support for innovation in palliative and endof-life care.
The Trustees wish to thank the volunteers for all their contributions. The Trustees also acknowledge that, without the time given by volunteers, the Charity would not be able to provide as much funding for the day-to-day running of the Hospice, let alone be able to support the development of other areas to care for those with life-limiting illnesses.
Fundraising standards information
Members of the Charity’s fundraising department organise events and carry out fundraising activities in order to generate funds for the charity. The Charity does not use professional fundraisers but does work with Local Hospice Lottery as a commercial participator to carry out its Lottery under a formal agreement. There have been no complaints about fundraising activity this year. The charity has signed up to the Fundraising Regulator’s Code of Fundraising Practice.
All the charity’s marketing activities are undertaken directly to ensure that it is not unreasonably persistent or intrusive. Direct marketing materials contain clear details of how to unsubscribe to future communications and care is taken to limit the level of communications being sent out.
Public benefit statement
The Trustees have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties.
Strategic Report
Achievements and performance
With the Charity’s support, the Hospice has extended help to the following numbers of patients over the last five years:
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2024/2025 2023/24 2022/23 2021/22 2020/21
Total home visits 2925 2,766 2,652 2,340 3,045
Medical outpatients 384 260 167 108 186
Lymphoedema (attendances) 1,979 1,669 2,270 1,782 2,345
Day service attendances 636 488 310 32 30
Telemed and video contacts 9,749 5,888 5,366 6,868 7,511
Total Hospice bed days 6,733 6,736 6,150 4,885 5,824
Hospital specialist team referrals 2,976 2,607 2,206 2,344 1,859
Bereavement appointments / contacts 837 558 230 164 152
Referrals accepted for Home Hospice 691 672 565
Patients in Home Hospice service 519 539 444
Hospice Rapid Response Service 147 131
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While caring for such significant numbers of people, the Hospice maintains the ethos that the individual is of primary importance. The Hospice is not a place dominated by illness, but a place where people overcome pain and fear, and its services support people to live as well as they can for as long as they can. The service is completely free to those in our community who may need it, regardless of their beliefs, race, age, sex, or sexual orientation.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) for the year ended 31st March 2025
Achievements and performance (continued)
As well as contributing £1.3 million (last year £1.6 million) to the funding of the day-to-day running of the hospice’s services in the In-Patient Unit (IPU), and across OUH hospitals and in the community, Sobell House Hospice Charity continues to fund projects and activities that ensure we are offering holistic support to our patients and their loved ones and carers.
On 1st April 2022, a new project – Rapid Intervention in Palliative and End of Life Care (RIPEL) – was launched in Oxfordshire and South Northamptonshire, co-funded by Sobell House Hospice Charity and Macmillan Cancer Care (through a social impact bond supported by Social Finance). In 2021-22, the Trustees entered into a grant agreement with OUH NHSFT to provide £3.1 million of funding over three years to support this project. In 2024-2025, RIPEL moved into its final year of charitable funding and continued to be significant in reaching all in our community who need us.
The first phase of RIPEL was a Home Hospice Care Team that supports people in the last two weeks of their life whose choice is to die at home, as well as patients known to the palliative care team while in crisis. Patient Support Workers provide domiciliary care and support in the patient’s home with specialist oversight and input from OUH Palliative Care teams. It is run as a virtual ward. In October 2022, the second phase of the project saw the launch of the Hospital Rapid Response service. This supports those who are identified as actively dying to go home from hospital to die if that is their wish. In July 2023, the Palliative Care Hub was launched, enabling patients already within palliative care and their carers to call the hub directly for advice, expanding telephone access to enable quicker contact with the right professional in a timely manner, with rapid support from the wider Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) as needed. The final element of the project was the Hospice Outreach, which was launched in March 2024. This is an extension of the existing OUH Community Palliative Care Team to support unstable or complex dying palliative care patients in their own homes. It is also run as a virtual ward or ‘virtual hospice.’
Since the beginning of the project, 3,104 referrals have been accepted, and 11,729 days have been spent at home by patients instead of in hospital in their last year of life (average 9.03 days per patient). The value of this is estimated at £4.3 million. It is a key success metric of the project to have been able to offer savings to the wider NHS as well as realising our aim of supporting people to die at home, if that is their choice.
In the hospice building, we have completely renovated our main kitchen, making it fully electric and enabling us to provide home-style catering and meet the diverse needs of our patients and visitors. We also utilised a grant from the Department for Health and Social Care £78,707 to refurbish a number of patient rooms, fit out a suite of rooms for our younger patients and their families (especially those transitioning from children’s hospice services) and purchase a new vehicle for our transport service to enable us to move patients and equipment around more efficiently.
2024 was the year of OxTrail, a public art sculpture trail hosted by Sobell House Hospice Charity as a way of raising awareness of and funds for our services. The trail raised £293,850 and saw nearly 180,000 people taking part, with a further 2.5 million people being exposed to the trail through our presence at the Westgate Shopping Centre. The trail also generated £1.2 million for our local economy. 59 businesses were involved in some part of the trail and seventyfour schools, 4 nurseries, 4 youth groups and 2 care homes also took part. It was a massive community effort and brought fun, colour – and of course – art to the streets of Oxford and Oxfordshire.
Financial review
The income from general donations and events increased by £0.1 million from £1.4 million in 2024 to £1.5 million in 2025. In addition, significant specific restricted-fund support was received in the year, totalling £0.23 million. The Trustees are very grateful to all those who support the Hospice with gifts and legacies.
Income from legacies increased from £0.5 million in 2024 to £0.74 million in 2025. Legacy income streams are by their nature uncertain. However, they allow the charity to consider the funding of additional and developmental projects for the benefit of the Hospice service.
Trading income from the shops increased from £1.9 million in 2024 to £2.06 million in 2025, which, for the second year running, constituted the highest ever turnover for our shops. The charity continues to review its trading activity and has embarked on a review of our shop fittings, layout, and design. The collaboration with the Local Hospice Lottery, a consortium carrying on a lottery on behalf of hospices throughout the United Kingdom, is continuing.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) for the year ended 31st March 2025
Investment policy and powers
The Trustees are empowered by their Constitution to invest all funds not required for immediate application in any lawful manner at their discretion, and for this purpose to delegate the management of the investments to our professional investment managers, Quilter Cheviot Limited.
The investment objective, as agreed by the Trustees, is to achieve sufficient capital and income growth, which over the long term will maintain the real value of the assets. The Trustees continue to review their Investment Policy which holds separate portfolios for the Investment and Reserves Funds. On completion of the building project, the funds were rebalanced to reflect the level of reserves the Trustees felt were necessary to protect the Charity’s ongoing commitments. There are no specific restrictions on investments other than that they should be suitable for the Charity. In addition, £1.5 million in cash was drawn down from our investments and put into a CAF/Flagstone cash investment portal to support the Charity’s increased need for cash due to the commitment to fund the RIPEL project and to take advantage of rising interest rates.
Reserves policy
The level of free reserves for the Group at 31 March 2025 was £4.4 million.This includes a total of £2.3 million gains shown on the revaluation reserve, representing total accumulated unrealised gains as at 31 March 2025.
Grants totalling £3.3 million were made to the Hospice and related services this year (last year £2.8 million). The cost of generating those funds, together with support costs amounted to £2.8 million this year (last year £2.5 million). Future grants are estimated for the year ending 31st March 2025 at £3.3 million, with the costs of fundraising and support being estimated at £3.2 million.
The Trustees consider that the appropriate level of free reserves is equivalent to 12 months of budgeted running costs, with a designated fund covering a reasonable period of budgeted grant costs. At 31st March 2025, the estimate of running costs for the next year is £3.2 million. The Charity therefore currently holds approximately 16 months of free reserves on this basis. As a result of this strong financial position, the Trustees have approved a deficit budget for the year ending 31st March 2026 to continue to allow for investment in our retail operations and continue to fund project work within OUH from our designated reserve funds.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) for the year ended 31st March 2025
Plans for future periods
In 2025-26, the charity will continue to fund fellowships to support the work that has begun in building an academic department to ensure that evidence-based practice in palliative care is integral to our approach. This focus will mean that interventions are grounded in the latest, best available evidence, in relation to patient care, support for their family and carers, our own workforce and the wider service. SHHC will also continue to fund fellowships to support OxMINT, the Oxford Metastatic INtervention Team. This team brings together palliative medicine consultants, clinical oncologists, radiology, spinal surgery, orthopaedics, neurosurgery, and anaesthetists to provide a coordinated response for patients with painful disease related to metastatic cancerous deposits in their bones. Furthermore, the Homelessness project, supporting those who are experiencing homelessness and those who are vulnerably housed with their palliative and end of life care needs, will continue to be funded, and we are seeking funds to expand this work with other groups who are not currently accessing our care.
In the IPU, the Charity has recently completed the refurbishment of the family room and will now begin a programme of refurbishment of patient facilities utilising the second tranche of the DHSC/Hospice UK grant.
In retail, we will continue with our redesign and redevelopment programme and review our portfolio of premises to ensure it meets the changing purchasing patterns of our customers.
As well as keeping our regular programme of fundraising activities going, our fundraising team will begin planning our 50[th] anniversary celebrations for the 2026-2027 year.
Structure, governance and management
The Charitable Company is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association which were adopted on incorporation on 6 November 2006. It is registered as a charity with the Charity Commission. The liability of members in the event of a winding up is limited by guarantee to an amount not exceeding £1 per member. At the balance sheet date there were ten members.
The Board of Trustees, when complete, comprises a Chairman, Treasurer and Secretary plus a Vice Chairman and up to eight other members elected at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). One-third of the Trustees retire at each AGM, though retiring Trustees are eligible for re-election. The Trustees can fill any casual vacancy in their number, and may co-opt not more than three additional Trustees, any person so appointed being entitled to hold office until the next AGM.
The Board of Trustees meets four times a year and there are also four sub-committees; the Finance Committee, an Advisory Shops Committee, a Fundraising and Communications Committee, and a Remuneration Committee, which also meet four times a year or as often as is required. All policy and strategy decisions are formally tabled for approval at the Trustees’ quarterly meetings. Decisions concerning the day-to-day running of the Charity are delegated to the Chief Executive Officer and the team of office staff who work under the direction of the Chief Executive.
Trustees are selected, as required, to fill particular skill requirements on the Board of Trustees. Prospective Trustees are invited to make a series of introductory visits to the Hospice and Charity offices prior to being formally elected as Trustees. Prior to the appointment of Honorary officers, meetings are arranged with the Chief Executive and relevant staff.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) for the year ended 31st March 2025
Key Management Personnel Remuneration
The Trustees consider the Board of Trustees, the Chief Executive, and the senior leadership team as comprising the key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling the charity and running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. All Trustees give of their time freely and no Trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Details of Trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in note 4 to the accounts.
Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and in accordance with the Trust’s policy withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.
The pay of the Chief Executive and senior leadership team is reviewed annually and is normally increased in accordance with average earnings. The remuneration is reviewed to ensure that it is commensurate with similar roles.
Related parties
The Charity has two subsidiary companies.
Sobell Lottery Limited was incorporated on 22nd March 1999 as a wholly owned subsidiary.
Sobell House Hospice Company Limited ceased to be a dormant company on 1st July 2003 and began to trade in bought in goods. The company is limited by guarantee and is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Charity.
Sobell House Hospice Company Limited donates its taxable profits to the Charity each year by Gift Aid. Sobell Lottery Limited remains in use as a party to the agreement with Local Hospice Lottery Limited. LHL donate the lottery proceeds due directly to the Charity.
Risk management
The Trustees continue to review the financial risks facing the Charity with a view to mitigating these.
The principal risks and uncertainties faced by the charity are to ensure that continuity of funding is maintained, particularly in the light of the current cost of living crisis caused by rising inflation, and the rise in the energy price cap.
The Trustees are monitoring cash flow and the senior leadership team are in regular contact with our Investment advisors to ensure that a secure cash flow is maintained.
Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements
The Trustees (who are also directors of Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited 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 the 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 the year. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP 2019 (FRS 102);
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Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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State whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
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Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity and the group will continue in operation.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Trustees’ Annual Report (continued)
For the year ended 31st March 2025
Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements (continued)
The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enables them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The Trustees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking any reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In so far as the Trustees are aware:
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there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware; and
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the Trustees have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
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.
By order of the Trustees
Mr I Miles Chair of Trustees
29[th] July 2025
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees of Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31st March 2025 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Group and Charity Balance Sheets, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 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:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the group’s and parent charitable company’s affairs as at 31st March 2025, and of the group’s incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.
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 and parent 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 group and 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 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:
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the information given in the trustees’ report (incorporating the directors’ report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
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the directors’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
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adequate and sufficient accounting records have not been kept by the parent charitable company, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
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the parent charitable company’s financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
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certain disclosures of directors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
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we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit;
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees of Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited (continued)
Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on pages 6 and 7, 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 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.
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.
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:
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Enquiry of management, those charged with governance and the entity’s solicitors around actual and potential litigation and claims;
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Enquiry of entity staff in tax and compliance functions to identify any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations;
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Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
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Reviewing financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations;
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Performing audit work over the risk of management override of controls, including testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business and reviewing accounting estimates for bias.
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.
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 and to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and its trustees 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 and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Benjamin Hayes FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Wenn Townsend Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditor 30 St Giles Oxford OX1 3LE
29[th] July 2025
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31st March 2025
Restricted General Designated Total Note Funds Funds Funds 2025 £ £ £ £ Income from: Voluntary income: General donations and events 234,954 1,485,979 - 1,720,933 Legacies - 741,265 - 741,265 Activities for generating funds: Shops - sales of goods - 2,066,501 - 2,066,501 Income from lottery - 245,839 - 245,839 Investment income: Bank interest - 48,274 - 48,274 Quoted investment income - 197,579 - 197,579 Total income 234,954 4,785,437 - 5,020,391 Expenditure on: Raising funds: Fundraising and publicity - 748,800 - 748,800 Shops - cost of sales - 1,743,068 - 1,743,068 Office costs - 315,575 - 315,575 2 - 2,807,443 - 2,807,443 Charitable activities: Grants to Sobell House 48,483 1,286,950 - 1,335,433 RIPEL project costs 24,977 - 975,524 1,000,501 Donation to SeeSaw - 36,000 - 36,000 Hospice depreciation 83,157 - 210,953 294,110 Catering service - 341,724 - 341,724 Transport service - 55,189 - 55,189 Bereavement service - 142,937 - 142,937 Fellowship costs - - 272,078 272,078 End of Life Care - - 72,328 72,328 Hospice and Garden Maintenance - 18,234 - 18,234 Hospice EDI - 56,125 - 56,125 Office costs - 315,575 - 315,575 2 156,617 2,252,734 1,530,883 3,940,234 Total expenditure 156,617 5,060,177 1,530,883 6,747,677 |
Restricted General Designated Total Funds Funds Funds 2024 £ £ £ £ 64,771 1,340,875 - 1,405,646 - 512,793 - 512,793 - 1,927,978 - 1,927,978 - 240,630 - 240,630 - 42,593 - 42,593 - 196,767 - 196,767 64,771 4,261,636 4,326,407 - 710,375 - 710,375 - 1,491,879 - 1,491,879 - 269,726 - 269,726 - 2,471,980 - 2,471,980 52,298 1,295,927 - 1,348,225 16,577 - 888,010 904,587 - 35,000 - 35,000 82,716 - 210,864 293,580 - 153,824 - 153,824 - 41,601 - 41,601 - 119,596 - 119,596 - - 139,235 139,235 - - 118,776 118,776 - - - - - - - - - 269,726 - 269,726 151,591 1,915,674 1,356,885 3,424,150 151,591 4,387,654 1,356,885 5,896,130 |
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (including income and expenditure account) for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
| Note Net income/(expenditure) before gains/(losses) on investments Realised gains/(losses) on investment assets 7 Unrealised gains/(losses) on investment assets 7 Net income Transfers between funds 12 Net movement in funds Fund balances brought forward at 1st April 2024 Fund balances carried forward at 31st March 2025 |
Restricted General Designated Total Funds Funds Funds 2025 £ £ £ £ 78,337 (274,740) (1,530,883) (1,727,286) - (12,137) - (12,137) - 99,760 - 99,760 78,337 (187,117) (1,530,883) (1,639,663) - 423,900 (423,900) - 78,337 236,783 (1,954,783) (1,639,663) 1,270,416 4,302,056 12,219,659 17,792,131 1,348,753 4,538,839 10,264,876 16,152,468 |
Restricted General Designated Total Funds Funds Funds 2024 £ £ £ £ (86,820) (126,018) (1,356,885) (1,569,723) - 27,902 - 27,902 - 1,274,063 - 1,274,063 (86,820) 1,175,947 (1,356,885) (267,758) - (376,241) 376,241 - (86,820) 799,706 (980,644) (267,758) 1,357,236 3,502,350 13,200,303 18,059,889 1,270,416 4,302,056 12,219,659 17,792,131 |
|---|---|---|
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised during the year.
- 11 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Balance Sheet As at 31st March 2025
| Group Charity Note 2025 2025 £ £ Fixed assets Tangible assets 6 5,442,572 5,442,572 Investments 7 8,946,911 8,946,913 14,389,483 14,389,485 Current assets Stock 15,765 - Debtors 8 996,445 993,319 Short term deposits 1,114,137 1,114,137 Cash at bank and in hand 388,829 377,024 2,515,176 2,484,480 Creditors:Amounts falling due within one year 9 (752,191) (812,864) Net current assets 1,762,985 1,671,616 Net assets 16,152,468 16,061,101 Funds: Unrestricted funds General funds 2,155,493 2,155,493 Revaluation reserve 11 2,291,979 2,291,979 Designated funds 12 10,264,876 10,264,876 14,712,348 14,712,348 Restricted funds 12 1,348,753 1,348,753 Non-charitable trading funds 14 91,367 - Total funds 16,152,468 16,061,101 |
Group Charity 2024 2024 £ £ 5,690,912 5,690,912 9,935,899 9,935,901 15,626,811 15,626,813 29,036 - 1,148,826 1,024,066 1,526,464 1,526,464 302,441 294,967 3,006,767 2,845,497 (841,447) (912,067) 2,165,320 1,933,430 17,792,131 17,560,243 1,249,116 1,249,116 2,821,052 2,821,052 12,219,659 12,219,659 16,289,827 16,289,827 1,270,416 1,270,416 231,888 - 17,792,131 17,560,243 |
|---|---|
The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 29[th] July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:
Mr I Miles Chair of Trustees
The notes on pages 14 to 27 form part of the financial statements
Registered Company No: 05989017
- 12 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31st March 2025
| Note | 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | ||
| Net cash flow from operating activities | 13 | (1,530,789) | (1,083,895) |
| ─────── | ─────── | ||
| Cash flow from investing activities | |||
| Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets | (117,614) | (104,744) | |
| Payments to acquire investments | (1,092,943) | (1,368,359) | |
| Receipts from sales of investments | 2,169,554 | 2,295,870 | |
| Interest received | 48,274 | 42,593 | |
| Dividends received | 197,579 | 196,767 | |
| ─────── | ─────── | ||
| Net cash flow from investing activities | 1,204,850 | 1,062,127 | |
| ─────── | ─────── | ||
| Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | (325,939) | (21,768) | |
| Cash and cash equivalents at 1st April 2024 | 1,828,905 | 1,850,673 | |
| ─────── | ─────── | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at 31st March 2025 | 1,502,966 | 1,828,905 | |
| ═══════ | ═══════ | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents consists of: | |||
| Cash at bank and in hand | 909,303 | 302,441 | |
| Short term deposits | 593,663 | 1,526,464 | |
| ─────── | ─────── | ||
| Cash and cash equivalents at 31st March 2025 | 1,502,966 | 1,828,905 | |
| ═══════ | ═══════ |
- 13 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st March 2025
1. Accounting policies
The following accounting policies have been used consistently in dealing with items which are considered to be material in relation to the Charity's and the Group’s accounts.
(a) General information and basis of preparation
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited is a charitable company limited by guarantee in the United Kingdom. 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 address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 1 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are noted in the Trustees Report.
These accounts have been prepared on an accruals basis and include income and expenditure as they are earned or incurred, rather than as cash is received or paid. 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 issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011, and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.
Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note. The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity.
The significant accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all years presented unless otherwise stated.
(b) Fund accounting Unrestricted funds consist of a general fund which the Trustees may use, for the furtherance of the objects of the Charity, at their discretion.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds which have been allocated for future expenditure for a specific purpose by the Trustees.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions imposed by the donor or by the terms of an appeal, these conditions being legally binding upon the Trustees.
(c) Income recognition All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities (SoFA) when the charity is legally entitled to the income after any performance conditions have been met, the amount can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received.
For donations to be recognised the charity will have been notified of the amounts and the settlement date in writing. If there are conditions attached to the donation and this requires a level of performance before entitlement can be obtained then income is deferred until those conditions are fully met or the fulfilment of those conditions is within the control of the charity and it is probable that they will be fulfilled.
Donated facilities and donated professional services are recognised in income at their fair value when their economic benefit is probable, it can be measured reliably and the charity has control over the item. Fair value is determined on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity. For example the amount the charity would be willing to pay in the open market for such facilities and services. A corresponding amount is recognised in expenditure. No amount is included in the financial statements for volunteer time in line with the SORP (FRS 102).
- 14 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
1. Accounting policies (continued)
(c) Income recognition (continued) Where practicable, gifts in kind donated for distribution to the beneficiaries of the charity are included in stock and donations in the financial statements upon receipt. If it is impracticable to assess the fair value at receipt or if the costs to undertake such a valuation outweigh any benefits, then the fair value is recognised as a component of donations when it is distributed and an equivalent amount recognised as charitable expenditure.
Gifts in kind donated for resale are not considered practicable to fair value due to the volume of low value items, therefore they are not recognised in the financial statements until they are sold. This income is recognised within ‘shops – sales of goods’.
For legacies, entitlement is the earlier of the charity being notified of an impending distribution or the legacy being received. At this point income is recognised. On occasion legacies will be notified to the charity where it is not possible to reliably estimate the amount expected to be distributed. On these occasions, the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed as such in the notes to the accounts.
Income from trading activities includes income earned from fundraising events and trading activities to raise funds for the charity. Income is received in exchange for supplying goods and services in order to raise funds and is recognised when entitlement has occurred.
Investment income is earned through holding assets for investment purposes such as shares and investment funds. It includes dividends and interest. Where it is not practicable to identify investment management costs incurred within a scheme with reasonable accuracy the investment income is reported net of these costs. It is included when the amount can be measured reliably. Interest income is recognised using the effective interest method and dividend income is recognised as the charity’s right to receive payment is established.
d) Expenditure recognition
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Expenditure is recognised where there is a legal or constructive obligation to make payments to third parties, it is probable that the settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the Charity as a legal entity and are not connected with generating income or charitable expenditure.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as an expense against the activity for which expenditure arose.
Grants payable to third parties are within the charitable objectives. Where unconditional grants are offered, this is accrued as soon as the recipient is notified of the grant, as this gives rise to a reasonable expectation that the recipient will receive the grants. Where grants are conditional relating to performance then the grant is only accrued when any unfulfilled conditions are outside of the control of the charity.
(e) Support costs allocation Support costs are those that assist the work of the charity but do not directly represent charitable activities and include office costs, governance costs, administrative payroll costs. They are incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the charity and include project management. Where support costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.
Fundraising costs are those incurred in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include the costs of disseminating information in support of the charitable activities.
- 15 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
1. Accounting policies (continued)
(f) Tangible fixed assets These assets are shown at cost less accumulated depreciation. Cost includes costs directly attributable to making the asset capable of operating as intended.
Depreciation is provided using the following rates and bases which reflect the anticipated useful lives of the assets and their residual values:
Leasehold premises Equal instalments over lease term Fixtures, fittings and equipment - IT equipment 331/3% straight line - Other 12.5% / 25% straight line Motor vehicles 25% straight line
Surpluses or deficits arising on the disposal of tangible fixed assets are adjusted in the depreciation charge for the year.
A limit of £1,000 has been set so that items of a fixed asset nature will be capitalised if above this amount.
(g) Investments Investments are recognised initially at fair value which is normally the transaction price excluding transaction costs. Subsequently, they are measured at fair value with changes recognised in ‘net gains/(losses) on investments’ in the SoFA if the shares are publicly traded or their fair value can otherwise be measured reliably. Other investments are measured at cost less impairment.
Investments in subsidiaries are measured at cost less impairment.
Current asset investments are short term highly liquid investments and are held at fair value. These include cash on deposit and cash equivalents with a maturity of less than one year.
(h) Stock
Stock consists of purchased goods for resale. Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. Items donated for resale are not included in the financial statements until they are sold, as noted in note (c) as it is not considered practicable to fair value the items. Provision is made for damaged, obsolete and slowmoving stock where appropriate.
(i) Debtors and creditors receivable / payable within one year Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.
(j) Impairment
Assets not measured at fair value are reviewed for any indication that the asset may be impaired at each balance sheet date. If such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset, or the asset’s cash generating unit, is estimated and compared to the carrying amount. Where the carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, an impairment loss is recognised in the surplus or deficit unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount where the impairment loss is a revaluation decrease.
(k) Employee benefit
When employees have rendered service to the charity, short-term employee benefits to which the employees are entitled are recognised at the undiscounted amount expected to be paid in exchange for that service.
The charity operates a defined contribution plan for the benefit of its employees. Contributions are expensed as they become payable.
- 16 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
1. Accounting policies (continued)
(l) Tax
The charity is an exempt charity within the meaning of schedule 3 of the Charities Act 2011 and is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes.
(m) Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
The following judgements (apart from those involving estimates) have been made in the process of applying the above accounting policies that have had the most significant effect on amounts recognised in the financial statements:
- Assessment of probability of receipt of legacy items notified during the period
The key assumptions concerning the future and other key sources of estimation uncertainty at the reporting date that have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year include:
- Estimate of the likely amounts received on notified legacies, based on the available information at the point of approval of the accounts, and using a historic analysis of actual rates of receipt on prior notifications. As at 31[st] March 2025, c£632k was accrued based on these estimates (2024: c£587k)
(m) Going concern
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis as the Trustees believe that no material uncertainties exist. The Trustees have considered the level of funds held and the expected level of income and expenditure for 12 months from authorising these financial statements. They have concluded that the budgeted income and expenditure is sufficient with the level of reserves held for the charity to be able to continue as a going concern.
2. Analysis of total expenditure
Charity and group
| Charitable activities Grants to Sobell House RIPEL project costs Donation to SeeSaw Hospice depreciation Catering service Transport service Bereavement service Fellowship End of Life Care Hospice & Garden Maintenance Hospice – EDI Office costs |
Staff Total Total Costs Other Depreciation 2025 2024 £ £ £ £ £ - 1,335,433 - 1,335,433 1,348,225 - 1,000,501 - 1,000,501 904,587 - 36,000 - 36,000 35,000 - - 294,110 294,110 293,580 - 341,724 - 341,724 153,824 - 55,189 - 55,189 41,601 - 142,937 - 142,937 119,596 - 272,078 - 272,078 139,235 - 72,328 - 72,328 118,776 - 18,234 - 18,234 - - 56,125 - 56,125 - 185,041 126,712 3,822 315,575 269,726 185,041 3,457,261 297,932 3,940,234 3,424,150 |
|---|---|
- 17 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
2. Analysis of total expenditure (continued)
| Cost of raising funds Group Fundraising and publicity Shops cost of sales Office costs Charity Fundraising and publicity Shops cost of sales Office costs |
Staff Total Total Costs Other Depreciation 2025 2024 £ £ £ £ £ 447,830 291,580 9,390 748,800 710,375 964,417 736,437 42,214 1,743,068 1,491,879 185,041 126,712 3,822 315,575 269,726 1,597,288 1,154,729 55,426 2,807,443 2,471,980 447,830 291,580 9,390 748,800 710,375 964,417 592,734 42,214 1,599,365 1,451,466 185,041 126,712 3,822 315,575 269,729 1,597,288 1,011,026 55,426 2,663,740 2,431,570 |
|---|---|
The Group’s support costs are allocated between Cost of raising funds and Charitable activities as shown below, using the following bases of apportionment:
| Salaries, training and recruitment Office overheads Premises Depreciation Total |
Cost of Charitable generating Total Total Basis of activities funds 2025 2024 apportionment £ £ £ £ 185,041 185,041 370,082 339,424 Staff time 126,712 126,712 253,424 187,063 Use of resources - - - 1,465 Use of resources 3,822 3,822 7,644 11,500 Use of fixed assets 315,575 315,575 631,150 539,452 |
|---|---|
Governance costs
Governance costs comprise the following:-
| Governance costs comprise the following:- | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Audit fees | 9,900 | 9,175 |
| ────── | ────── | |
| 9,900 | 9,175 | |
| ══════ | ══════ |
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
3.
| Analysis of staff costs | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2025 | 2024 | 2024 | |
| Group | Charity | Group | Charity | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Wages and salaries | 1,556,398 | 1,556,398 | 1,347,781 | 1,347,781 |
| Social security costs | 125,747 | 125,747 | 118,310 | 118,310 |
| Pension costs | 153,881 | 153,881 | 95,471 | 95,471 |
| ────── | ────── | ────── | ────── | |
| 1,836,026 | 1,836,026 | 1,561,562 | 1,561,562 | |
| ══════ | ══════ | ══════ | ══════ |
The average full time equivalent weekly number of employees during the period was 33 (2024: 34). The average monthly number of employees during the period was 62 (2024: 55).
Two employees of the Charity received remuneration of £70,000 - £80,000 during the year (2024: one; £70,000 - £80,000).
The number of volunteers was 114 (2024: 120).
The pension scheme is a defined contribution scheme. £15,515 of contributions were outstanding for payment as at 31st March 2025 (2024: £13,158).
4. Trustees' and key management personnel remuneration and expenses
The trustees neither received nor waived any remuneration during the year (2024: £Nil).
The total amount of employee remuneration received by key management personnel is £295,135 (2024: £275,676). The Charity considers its key management personnel comprise the Board of Trustees, the Chief Executive, the Director of Finance, the Director of Fundraising, and the Director of Retail.
No (2024: None) trustees are accruing pension arrangements.
No trustees were reimbursed for expenses during the year (2024: £nil).
5. Auditors' remuneration
The auditors' remuneration for the group in the year was:-
| r was:- | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| - audit | 9,900 | 9,175 |
| - other | 550 | 525 |
| ═════ | ═════ |
- 19 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
| 6. Tangible fixed assets Cost: At 1st April 2024 Additions Disposals At 31st March 2025 Accumulated depreciation: At 1st April 2024 Charge for the period Elimination on disposal At 31st March 2025 Net book value: At 31st March 2025 At 31st March 2024 |
Leasehold Leasehold Fixtures, Vans Charity & premises premises fittings & Group (hospice) (shops) equipment total £ £ £ £ £ 8,818,766 321,778 300,382 72,150 9,513,076 38,790 19,708 21,621 37,495 117,614 - - - (26,296) (26,296) 8,857,556 341,486 322,003 83,349 9,604,394 3,296,071 210,947 246,060 72,150 3,825,228 294,110 31,790 36,990 - 362,890 - - - (26,296) (26,296) 3,590,181 242,737 283,050 45,854 4,161,822 5,267,375 98,749 38,953 37,495 5,442,572 5,522,695 110,831 54,322 - 5,687,848 |
|---|---|
The title to the new hospice leasehold premises is held by Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited under the terms of a 30 year lease running from and including 23rd March 2020. These premises are being depreciated over the 30 year period. To facilitate practical arrangements on site there is an underlease back to Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited have a sub-underlease of office premises in the new hospice site.
The title to the existing hospice leasehold premises is now held by Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited under the terms of a 30 year lease with the term running from 7th July 2003. The hospice leasehold premises are being depreciated over the 30 year term. Again for practical reasons on site there is an underlease back to Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
- 20 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
7. Investments
| Investments | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2024 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Fixed asset investments | ||
| Quoted investments: | ||
| Market value at 1st April 2024 | 9,935,899 | 9,561,445 |
| Less: Disposals at opening book value | ||
| (proceeds £2,169,554 loss £12,137) | (2,181,691) | (2,267,968) |
| Add: Acquisitions at cost | 1,092,943 | 1,368,359 |
| Add: Net gains on revaluation | 99,760 | 1,274,063 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| Market value at 31st March 2025 - Group | 8,946,911 | 9,935,899 |
| Investment in subsidiary company:- | ||
| Sobell Lottery Limited (see note 15) | 2 | 2 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| Total - Charity | 8,946,913 | 9,935,901 |
| ═══════ | ═══════ |
The fair value of quoted investments is determined by reference to the quoted price for the assets in an active market at the balance sheet date.
The historical cost of the above investments was £6,654,930 (2024: £7,114,847).
| 8. Debtors Group Charity 2025 2025 £ £ Tax recoverable 40,237 40,237 Other debtors 60,497 57,371 Prepayments and accrued income 895,711 895,711 996,445 993,319 9. Creditors Group Charity 2025 2025 £ £ Trade creditors 296,792 296,792 Taxes and social security 52,156 49,321 Other creditors 43,606 41,396 Owed to Sobell House Hospice Company Limited - 68,220 Accruals 359,637 357,135 752,191 812,864 |
Group Charity 2024 2024 £ £ 87,167 87,167 137,711 84,207 923,948 852,692 1,148,826 1,024,066 Group Charity 2024 2024 £ £ 497,711 497,711 43,905 43,905 45,338 43,888 - 76,651 254,493 249,912 841,447 912,067 |
|---|---|
- 21 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued
10. Legacies
A legacy of £242,409 was received and recognised in the year ending 31st March 2014, for which the charity has indemnified the donor against a possible but unlikely claim under the terms of intestacy, the expiry of which, in this case, is 8th November 2042. An additional £100,000 was received from the same legacy in the year ended 31st March 2015, and £16,045 in the year ended 31st March 2017 making a total of £358,454 that the charity has indemnified.
11.
Analysis of Group net assets between funds
| Fund balances at 31st March 2025 were represented by:- Tangible fixed assets Fixed asset investments Current assets Current liabilities Total net assets |
Restricted General Designated Total Funds Funds Funds Funds £ £ £ £ 1,214,235 135,280 4,093,057 5,442,572 - 2,775,092 6,171,819 8,946,911 134,518 2,380,658 - 2,515,176 - (752,191) - (752,191) 1,348,753 4,538,839 10,264,876 16,152,468 |
|---|---|
| Fund balances at 31st March 2024 were represented by:- Tangible fixed assets Fixed asset investments Current assets Current liabilities Total net assets |
Restricted General Designated Total Funds Funds Funds Funds £ £ £ £ 1,218,684 168,218 4,304,010 5,690,912 - 2,020,250 7,915,649 9,935,899 51,732 2,955,035 - 3,006,767 - (841,447) - (841,447) 1,270,416 4,302,056 12,219,659 17,792,131 |
|---|---|
- 22 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued
11. Analysis of Group net assets between funds (continued)
Revaluation reserve:
Included in unrestricted funds above are the following gains on revaluation:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Unrealised gains at 1st April 2024 | 2,821,052 | 1,832,117 |
| In respect of disposals in the year | (616,694) | (313,030) |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| 2,204,358 | 1,519,087 | |
| Net gains arising on revaluation in the year | 87,623 | 1,301,965 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| Unrealised gains at 31st March 2025 | 2,291,981 | 2,821,052 |
| ═══════ | ═══════ |
The net book value of the leasehold premises (Hospice) of £5,267,375 (2024: £5,522,694) shown in note 6, is allocated between funds as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Restricted Building Fund | 1,135,528 | 1,218,684 |
| Designated Building Fund | 4,093,057 | 4,304,010 |
| Restricted DHSC Capital Grant Fund | 38,790 | - |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| 5,267,375 | 5,522,694 | |
| ═══════ | ═══════ |
12. a) Designated funds
| Designated building fund EOLC Project Shops fund Fellowship fund RIPEL project fund Hospice grant fund |
At 1st At 31st April 2024 Movement Depreciation Transfers March 2025 £ £ £ £ £ 4,304,010 - (210,953) - 4,093,057 458,494 (72,328) - - 386,166 116,700 - - (23,900) 92,800 828,465 (272,078) - - 556,387 2,511,990 (975,524) - - 1,536,466 4,000,000 - - (400,000) 3,600,000 12,219,659 (1,319,930) (210,953) (423,900) 10,264,876 |
|---|---|
- 23 -
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2024 (continued)
12. a) Designated funds (continued)
| Designated building fund EOLC Project Shops fund Fellowship fund RIPEL project fund Hospice grant fund |
At 1st At 31st April 2023 Movement Depreciation Transfers March 2024 £ £ £ £ £ 4,502,033 - (210,864) 12,841 4,304,010 577,270 (118,776) - - 458,494 153,300 - - (36,600) 116,700 967,700 (139,235) - - 828,465 3,400,000 (888,010) - - 2,511,990 3,600,000 - - 400,000 4,000,000 13,200,303 (1,146,021) (210,864) 376,241 12,219,659 |
|---|---|
The Designated Building Funds represent the funds incurred in the building of the original hospice in 2002 and the new hospice wing completed in 2019. It is represented by the book value of the hospice premises as at the year end.
The Designated New Projects fund represented an amount set aside by the Trustees to fund developments in end of life care for the communities of Oxfordshire. The Covid-19 pandemic had previously delayed the consideration and development of these projects. In 2022/23, the charity embarked on funding a significant project for the Oxford University Hospitals NHS Trust known as the ‘RIPEL’ project. The total costs of this project will utilise this fund in full over a three year period, and it has been transferred into a specific project fund above for future reference.
The EOLC (End of Life Care) Project Fund relates to a quality improvement project to help the care of the dying in the hospitals of the OUHFT. This encompasses clinical and educational services. The project provides end of life care for patients, support for their families and carers and staff. The project staff enable conversations about care planning, as well as medication review. The project is now being funded by the Oxford University Hospitals Trust with some ongoing funding being provided by the Charity to enable project evaluation.
The Shops Fund relates to compensation received in respect of the early closure of the Charity’s Botley shop. This fund has been set aside to enable the development of retail activities.
In May 2021 the Trustees have agreed to set up a Fellowship Reserve Fund of £1M. This will both support existing clinical staff and also attract individuals who would benefit from a medium term assignment at Sobell, with expenditure commencing in 2022/23.
The Hospice grant fund was established to ensure that designated funds are held to cover 24 months of planned grant expenditure, given the severity of the impact any loss of funding would have on the House.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
12 b) Restricted funds
| Special purposes fund RIPEL project fund Restricted buildings fund DHSC capital grant fund Special purposes fund RIPEL project fund Restricted buildings fund |
At 1st At 31st April 2024 Income Expenditure Transfer March 2025 £ £ £ £ £ 51,732 131,270 (48,484) - 134,518 - 24,977 (24,977) - - 1,218,684 - (83,156) - 1,135,528 - 78,707 - - 78,707 1,270,416 234,954 (156,617) - 1,348,753 At 1st At 31st April 2023 Income Expenditure Transfer March 2024 £ £ £ £ £ 73,769 48,194 (52,298) (17,933) 51,732 - 16,577 (16,577) - - 1,283,467 - (82,716) 17,933 1,218,684 1,357,236 64,771 (151,591) - 1,270,416 |
|---|---|
The Special purposes fund consists of money donated to the charity for the specific use of the Hospice.
The RIPEL project fund relates to monies raised specifically for us on this project, as detailed in note 12a).
The Restricted buildings fund relates to appeals to raise funds for the building of the existing Hospice and the new Hospice wing completed in 2019.
The DHSC capital grant fund relates to monies received in the period to support capital expenditure. The amount was expended in full in March 2025, and thus no depreciation has yet been charged against the fund. Items purchased in the period are reflected in additions to Leasehold Premises (£38,790), Fixtures Fittings and Equipment (£2,422) and Vans (£37,495) as shown in note 6.
13. Reconciliation of net income to net cash flow from operating activities
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Net income for year | (1,639,663) | (267,761) |
| Dividends received | (197,579) | (196,767) |
| Interest receivable | (48,274) | (42,593) |
| Depreciation of tangible fixed assets | 362,890 | 364,019 |
| Other adjustments to fixed assets | 3,064 | - |
| Losses/(gains) on investments | (99,760) | (1,274,063) |
| Losses/(gains) on disposal of fixed asset investments | 12,137 | (27,902) |
| Loss on disposal of fixed assets | - | 7,723 |
| (Increase)/decrease in stock | 13,271 | (9,347) |
| (Increase)/decrease in debtors | 152,381 | 234,869 |
| Increase/ (decrease) in creditors | (89,256) | 127,927 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| Net cash flow from operating activities | (1,530,789) | (1,083,895) |
| ═══════ | ═══════ |
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
14. Related parties
(i) For the year ended 31st March 2025 the subsidiary companies showed the following results:
| Sobell House | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sobell | Hospice | |
| Lottery Ltd | Company Ltd | |
| £ | £ | |
| Turnover | - | 232,916 |
| Cost of sales | - | (144,686) |
| ────── | ────── | |
| Gross profit | - | 88,230 |
| Administrative expenses | - | (13) |
| ────── | ────── | |
| Operating profit | - | 88,217 |
| Interest receivable | - | - |
| ────── | ────── | |
| Net profit | - | 88,217 |
| Distribution to Charity | - | (228,740) |
| ────── | ────── | |
| Profit for the year retained | - | (140,523) |
| ══════ | ══════ | |
| The balance sheets of these subsidiaries at 31st March 2025 were:- | ||
| £ | £ | |
| Current assets: | ||
| Stocks | - | 15,765 |
| Debtors | - | 73,332 |
| Cash at bank and in hand | 3,848 | 7,957 |
| Current liabilities: | ||
| Other creditors | (4,198) | (5,337) |
| ────── | ────── | |
| Net assets | (350) | 91,717 |
| ══════ | ══════ | |
| Represented by: | ||
| Share capital | 2 | - |
| Reserves | (352) | 91,717 |
| ══════ | ══════ |
Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited holds 100% of the share capital of Sobell Lottery Limited (company number 03737178). Sobell House Hospice Company Limited (company number 02437912) is a company limited by guarantee – control is via common directors.
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
15. Charity Statement of Financial Activities
The Charity’s own results are summarised below:
| The Charity’s own results are summarised below: | ||
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 2025 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Voluntary income | 2,462,196 | 1,918,439 |
| Activities for generating funds | 2,079,424 | 1,899,455 |
| Profit distributions from subsidiaries | 228,740 | 21,020 |
| Investment income | 245,853 | 239,360 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| Total income | 5,016,213 | 4,078,274 |
| Cost of charitable activities | (3,940,234) | (3,424,150) |
| Cost of raising funds | (2,662,744) | (2,431,570) |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| Net income/(expenditure) before (losses)/gains on investments | (1,586,765) | (1,777,446) |
| Gains/(losses) on investment assets | 87,623 | 1,301,965 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| Net income/(expenditure) | (1,499,142) | (475,481) |
| ═══════ | ═══════ |
16. Funds received as agent
During 2021-22 the charity received funds of £216,000 from the OCCG, on behalf of another organisation. The charity is passing on funds as required, at the instruction of the OCCG, with £1,566 (2024: £130,880) still held at the year end date.
The trustees do not consider it appropriate to report this as income/expenditure of the charity, and the amounts still held are shown as a liability within accruals in note 10.
17. Funding commitment
With effect from 1st April 2022 the charity has commenced funding of a new project for the OUH NHS Trust, in conjunction with Macmillan Cancer Support. The charity initially provided funding of up to £3.1m over a three year period (subject to satisfactory delivery of the project). During the current period, the project period was extended through to 31[st] August 2025, but with no additional monies required.
The trustees are satisfied that the charity has substantial discretion over future expenditure, and thus these costs are not accrued in full at the year end date.
General funds have been designated to cover the approximate maximum potential remaining cost of this project (as shown in note 12a).
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Sobell House Hospice Charity Limited
Notes to the Accounts
for the year ended 31st March 2025 (continued)
18. Operating lease commitments
The total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases are payable as follows:
| 2025 | 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Leasehold premises | ||
| Within one year | 221,022 | 262,110 |
| Between one and five years | 207,815 | 415,837 |
| More than five years | 35,510 | 48,510 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| 464,347 | 726,457 | |
| ═══════ | ═══════ | |
| Motor vehicles | ||
| Within one year | 11,286 | 10,488 |
| Between one and five years | 12,122 | 4,674 |
| ─────── | ─────── | |
| 23,408 | 15,162 | |
| ═══════ | ═══════ |
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