Fast Familiar Limlted l Report of the Trustees YeaI £xorn l April 2024 31 March 2025 Company number 6191989 (England and Wales) Registered charity number 1120667 REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR FROM I APRIL 2024 31 MARCH 2025 FOR FAST FAMILIAR LIMITED
Fast Famlliar Limited l Report o* the Trustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 Contents Report of the Trustees Page 3 statement of Financial Activities Page 11 Balance Sheet Page 12 Notes to the Financial Statements Page 13 Independent Examiner's Report Page 16
Fast Famlliar Llmited l Report of the Trustees Yeax fiom l April 2024 31 March 2025 The Trust8es who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006. present their ieport with the Financial Statements of the charitabLe company for the yeai ended 31 Maich 2025. The Trustees have adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended PIactice (SORP) 'Accounting and RepoIting by Charities" effective form l Januaiy 2015. Re*•rance and Admln istratlve Detalls Registered name Fast Familiar Limited Company number 6191989 (England and Wales) Reg%stered Char¥ty number 1120667 Registered off%ce The Boathouse, Rivex Gardens, PuIley on Thames, Reading, RG8 88X Trustees/DTrrectors N Azhar S Heenan H O'shaughnessy I PapadimitIiou T Powell C Twite N Woodhouse (Chaii) Bankers The Co-operative Bank l Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP Independent ExaM%ner Johal & Company Spectrum House 2b Suttons Lane HoInchurch Essex RM12 6RJ
Fast Famlllai Limlted l Report of the Txustees YeaI ZoM l ApIil 2024 31 March 2025 The Board of Trustees presents its report and financial statements for the year from l April 2024 to 31 March 2025 and reports on developments since that date and uture plans £or the charitable company. structure, Governance and Management Governing Document The organisation is a charitable cofflpany limited by guarantee, incoIporated on 29 March 2007 and registered as a charity on 24 August 2007. The company was establxshed undeI a Mernoiandum of Association which established the objects and powers 0£ the company and is governed undei its Articles of Association. An amended MemoIandurn and AIticles of Association were adopted on 30 April 2020. In the event 0£ the company being ¥vound up rnembers aie requiied to contribute an amount not exceeding £1. Recruitment and Appointment of New Trustees The numbei of Trustees is limited to a maximum of ten and a minimum 0£ three. Trustees are elected by members of the charitable company. All Trustees are directors 0£ the charitable company. None of the directors have any beneficial inteIest in the charitable company. On appointment, TIustees are given a copy of the goveining document, all policies. including the Equal Opportunities Policy, the Safeguarding Policy for Children. Young People and Vulnerable Adults and Data Protection Policy, with their responsibilities and duties as a Trustee explained to them, Organ£sotionoL Structure The Trustees aie responsible for all legal decisions and administer all aspects of compliance arsd goveInance. Two Cieative DiiectoIs, who are not company offlcers, have been appointed and delegated quotidian administrative powers to manage specific projects and propose artistic strategy and budgets. The Creative Directors repoIt to the Trustees, who have ultimate authority in decision-making and fanal budgetary control. R%sk Management The major risks to which the charitable company is exposed have been identified and reviewed, and systems or procedures have been established to manage those risks. The major risks are: Temporary Cash *low pioblems. We avoid these problems through applying our resexves policy (see below). Injuiy to a rnembei of the public OI an aItist during a production or Iehearsal. We carefully risk assess and adjust all activities to rnaximise safety. We also ensure we have public liability insurance and efflployer's liability insurance whenever we are undertaking activities. Reputational damage caused by pooi critical or audience iesponse to a production. We work with experienced artists and Iegularly evaluate the piogress of projects to ensure high quality. An advantage of our long track record is that one poor project is unlikely to ruin our reputation. Organisations who commission us are unhappy with the work we pIoduce. We caIeUlIY agree wxth commissioners what we will produce and engage them in frequent dialogue as a project develops to ensure that we are meeting the agreed taIgets and producing something they are satisfied bvith. Through applying OUI ieserves policy (see below) we ensure that we always have
Fast Famillar Lknlted l Report 0£ the Txustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 enough money to Iemain solvent if a comrnissionei withdraws funding for a project. Failure to engage sufficient members of the public and deliver public bene£it. Trustees review pIojects to ensure that they will deliver public benefit. We invest in marketing and press activities to ensure that our pioductions will reach good nurnbers of members of the public. We also believe in the importance of the depth of engagement of audience members beyond simply the numbeis of those engaged. Digital risk, concerning pxotecting the intellectual property and onward use of digital activities and safely securing and processing data given many of the charitable company's activities aIe delivered digitally. We place great emphasis on protecting against these risks and have extensive strategies in place to do so. Loss of talent. Much of the success of Fast Familiax's work relies on the talent of the creatives who work for us. 14e seek to ensure that we can continue to work with these creatives by giving them interesting and challenging work and remunerating them ieasonably well (but in line with our position as a chaIity). Intellectual PropeIty Risk. We use very robust systems to protect our code. However, there Is a risk that people might copy oui woxk in other ways (which happened to us this yeaI see below). We now ensure there are pIotective clauses in contIacts with cofflmissioners to protect our Intellectual Property and keep ieserves available to fight legal cases i need8d. Reserves Policy The Trustees fflonitoI theii cIeditors each year to ensure that they have sufficient reseives to rneet their ongoing liabilities. The Tiustees keep a minimum of £25,000 in reserve (and normally considerably more) to cover cash flow problem5 which can be caused by funders who tend to withhold a percentage 0£ funding until an evaluation has been delivered or to allow us to remain solvent in the event that a commissioning organisation does not pay us. We also keep reserves to spend on projects and activities that the Trustees deem important to the delivery of Fast Familiar's objectives. In light of current UK issues around inflation and the cost of living crisis, keeping healthy ieserves is impoItant to protect the Charitable Company fIorn exteInal events. At the yeaI-end we had £78,086 in Ieserve and a value of £50,117 in investments Post Balance Sheet Events Theie were no significant post balance sheet events. ObjeGtTrves ond ActTrvTrties The objects of the charitable company are: to advance educatlon the publlc benett by the promotlon 0£ the aits, In particulax but not excluslvely by: reatlng experlmental and playful theatre. art and perozmances: developing new modes o* communlcatlng with audxences through a range medla. and
Fast Famlllaz Llmited l Report 0£ the Trustees Year £rorn l ApIil 2024 31 March 2025 creating particlpatozy txalnlng and educatlon experiences thxough per£oxmance and the arts Bos3s and Values Fast Familiar make artworks which axe participatory, playful and political. trle design audience-centric experiences which often utilise 'digital technology, We're fascinated by human psychology in a rapidly changing world. For us, art is a space to exploze question5 which are too complex for daily life. We think aIt can be experimental and ambitious without being elitist. The Txu5tees have regard to the Charity Cornmission's published guidance in relation to public benefit when setting, ieviewing and assessing aims for the charitable company. Fast Faffliliar ensure that all public-facing activities aIe either free or priced in an inclusive way i.e. are economically accessible to a wide range of people. When we are 4vorking with partners and venues we negotiate with them to ensure that pIicing is inclusive. Pzogramm• During the year we exhibited an interactive aitwork about Artificial Intelligence called Look%ng foT Love. We created and staged an interactive exhibit about people's relat&onship with nature and wildness, called Wwld. We created two in person interactive pleces exploring trust in the criminal Justice system and three online piece about the police's use of facial recognition, about DNA and about digital evidence. We did developrnent work on a new inteIactive digital activity for young people about digital m£sinformation, with the working title Forget What You Knoui. With UCL'S Climate Action Unit, we ran a fellowship training ovei about effective climate storytelling. We ran a 2-day workshop on building low carbon websites and did some talks about our work in different contexts. We also did a number 0£ perfoimances o* projects we had made pieviouslyi including Do What You Must and The Euidence Chafflber. These actlvlties are discussed in more detail below. PrimaI focus ro ects Looking for Love An interactive installation about Arti£icial Intelligence, human intuition and what gets lost in tianslation. Look¥ng for Love had in the previous year prernieied as part of the AI Who's LoolaTrng Attter Me? Exhibition at Science Gallery London, June 2023 January 2024, wheie it was experienced by 5,800 participants. During this year, ran oI seveial months at Birmingham University and also appeared fox an evening as paIt of one ot the Science Museum's Lates. It received its inteinational premiere at the WIP Festival in Nicosia, Cyprus. What's the most efficient way to fall in love7 What would happen if you let data deterTr)ine the biggest decisions of your life? SuIely tiaining a machine
Fast Famlliar Llmited l Report of the Trustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 on eveiything the internet knows about love will result in unparalleled omantic success? Looking for Love is a playful interactive artwork foI humans. Part modeIn-day tamagotchi, part interactive f iction, part experiment, the experience happens via a message-based chat interface. Arti£iciaL Intelligence, human intuition and everything that gets lost in translation, this artwork invites you to take the perspective of another form of intelligence to reflect on the peculiaIities of our Ovdn. We are planning to continue touring this piece in future years. WFld Interoctive This exhibit ran at Manchestei Museum fIom June 2024 to June 2025. Wild interact¥ve was the culmination of ManchesteI Museum's Wild exhibition. It uses a personality-test style quiz to help visitors explore how personal values shape perceptions of nature and wildness. People see their unique 'pIofile' thIough a data visualisation in the galleIy and can compaie their responses to past visitors on the Manchestei Museum vlebsite. The exhibition was free of charge *or visitors. Trust In the CrimFnaL Just%ce System Fast Familiar worked with the Open UniveIsity, the Leverhulme Research Centre or Forensic Science and a consortium of their paItners on a project exploring trust and the Criminal Justice System. The relevance, piobative value, and valtdity of foiensic evidence are often misunderstood and miscommunicated within cIiminal tIials, putting their use and Ieliance by the Ciirninal Justice Systern at Iisk. Some marginalised groups may have an Intrinsic distrust of the CJS or law enfoicement. Issues such as backlogs in digital evidence and disregard for victim needs during investigations may further compromise user trust of foIensic science evidence. In the Criminal Justice System, public trust ielies on people believing criminal justice institutions and experts will provide answers based on evidence and accurate interpretation of that evidence, allowing users to be consumers knowing that the system is working in their best inteIe5t. Theie is a need to hear from the public, especially marginalised groups, to find out whether this is working. In order to do this we created two in peIson inteIactive activities about different types of forensic evidence and thIee online inteIactive fiction pieces: one about DNA, one about digital evidence and one about facial recognition technology. Forget Whot You Know Forget What You Know is a playable immersive experience for teenagers about disinformation and defending democIacy with the lessons of history.
Fast Faffllllar Limlted l Report of the Tiustees Yeai fIom l April 2024 31 March 2025 We live in a world with an infoImation infrastructure that allows bad actors to spIead mis- and disinformation. A 2023 study in the US by the Center tor Countering Digital Hate £ound that teenagers are significantly rnore likely to believe onlxne conspiracy theoiies than older generations, underscoring the broad impacts 0£ gen Z's relationship with social media. During the year we undertook research and development on the project, with the support of the University of Reading. Climate Creative Fellowsh¥p This was a project with OUI long-term partners the Climate Action Unit at UCL. It looked at climate storytelling foI policy impact and involved Fast Familiar co-designing and co-delivering an 8-week training programme for tnid career storytelleIs (ranging froffl people working in the arts, to documentary film, to marketing, to podcasts). It was cornmissioned by the Strategxc Climate Risks Initiative. DuIing the training programme, the storytellers learned perspectives from neuroscience and psychology about climate communication and developed ideas for n8w climate stories and formats. It culmlnated in a pitching evening foI invited guests. Several 0£ the fellows are continuing to develop the ideas that emerged. SecondaI focus ro ects one-of er£ormances of existin shows Do What You Must Do What You Must Is a scenario-based tool to model better decision-making in the face of the impending risks and uncertainty of clirnate change, Drawing on neuroscience and social psychology• It uses immersive narrative and interactivlty to equip participants with the tools fox collaborative decision-making to ariive at a sustainable, scalable solutions. During the year we peifoImed Do What You Must at Hay Festival and at University College London. The Evidence Chamber The Evidence Chomber was a collaboration with the Leverhulme Centre foi Research in Forensic Science at the University 0£ Dundee. This piece, in which the audience form a jury considering a difficult case where the case for the prosecution rests on forensic evidence, was performed this year for forensic science students at London South Bank University as an educational activity and for law students at Goldsmiths College. Worksho s and Talks We Ian a free 2-day workshop in building low carbon websites for Sussex Digital Humanities Lab. We did an online talk for PlayLab Skovde in Sweden about our piece The Acquisitions PaneL.
Fast Famlliar Limlted l Repoxt of the Trustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 Legal Costs During the year we spent £1,700 exploring whether we could pursue a legal case against an organization we believed had stolen Fast Familiai'5 intellectual pIopeity. We eventually decided not to puIsue the case further as it would cost too rnuch. In futuIe we will ensure that we include stIongeI intellectual propeity clauses in all contracts. Flnanclal Revlew Total income for the year was £128,542. Total expendituxe for the year was £98,861, No xestIicted funds remained at the end of the yeaI. £78,086 in cash remained as unrestricted resources of the organization at the end of the year and a value of £50,117 in investments. Publlc Ben•£lt The Trustees are satisfied that the per£orfflances and exhibitions Looklng for Love, Wild Interactlue, The Evidence Chamber and Do What You Must deliver consideIable public benef it, as did the Trust %n the Cr&m¥naE JustTrce System project. In doing so, the Trustees feel that the objective to advance education for the public benefit by the piomotion of the arts, was achieved by the activitles carried out in the yeai. Looking for Love. Wild Interactive and Trust in the CTbm¥nal Justlce System weIe free ot charge for membeIs of the public, as was the low carbon website workshop. All other activities weie priced inclusively. Plans fox the Futuxe We have 4 key aims for the yeai ahead: Looking for Love, JW3, Forget What You Know, continue to perform TAP, continue to woik on Invasive Species. To develop an interactive exhibit about food, climate change and policy choices, in partnership with the University of OxfoId. To woIk with our paItneis from The Networked Cond%t?on, Abandon Normal Devices and Arts Catalyst on an inteinational project about sustair)able digital practices, food and the environment, with the support of the British CounciL. To develop new ideas for future piojects which meet our vision and mission. To revamp our website so that it better repIesents our work and provides use*ul documentation f or others.
Fast Familiar Llmited l Report 0£ the Trustees Year tiom l April 2024 31 Maich 2025 statement of Tiustees. Responslbilitles The TIustees ale responsible for preparing the financial statements in accoIdance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. Company law requires the Trustees (as directors of Fast Familiar) to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year which give a true and fair vxew of the state of affairs of the charitable company and o* the surplus or de£icit of the charitable company that year. In preparing those Financial Statements, the Trustees are required to: Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently. Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent. Prepare the Financial Statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropIiate to presume that the chaiitable company will continue in business. The Trustees are responsible toi keeping pIoper accounting records which disclose with Ieasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensuIe that the financial statements con)ply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for SaegUarding the asset5 of the chaIitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other iIIegulaxities. Trustees are also responsible for keeping adequate reserves. On behalf of the Board S Heenan ChalI/ Trustee Date.. 2311212025 10
Fast Familiax Limlted l Repozt of the Txustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 Fast Famillaz Lamited statement o Flnanclal Activltles {Including Income and Expenditure Account) Year ended 31 MaIch 2025 Company numbeT: 06191989 Register8d Charity Number: 1120667 The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements foi an income and expendituie account under the Companies Act 2006. All activities are classed as continuing. There aIe no iecognised gains or losses other than those xeported on the Statement of Financial Activities. The notes on pages 12 to 14 orm part of these Financial Statements. Unrestiicted Restiicted Funds Funds Notes Total Total Income and endowments from: Donations and legacies Charitable activities 128, 542 128, 542 95,228 Total Incom• 128,542 128, 542 95,228 Expendltuie on: Charitable activities other (governance costs) Total Expendltuxe 98,436 425 98,436 425 395 98,861 98,861 91,199 Net gains on investments 117 117 Net Income/ exp•ndltuKe 29,798 29,798 TKans£ers between unds othex recortnlsed galns Net movement In funds 29,798 29,798 Reconclllatlon 0£ funds Total funds brought f orward Total £unds cariied oxward 97,655 93,628 29,798 127, 453 97,655 11
Fast Famlliar Llmited l Report ot the Trustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 Fast Famillar Llmited Balance Sheet at 31 March 2025 Company Number: 06191989 Registered Chaiity Number: 1120667 Total Funds Total Funds Notes Current Assets: Prepayments Cash at bank and in hand Investments Total Current Assets 77,726 127. 843 Liabllltles: Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year Def erred income Total Llabllltles Net Assets 127.453 97,655 Tho Funds 0£ the Charlty: Restricted Income Funds UnIestIicted Income Funds 127,453 97,655 Total Charlty Fund8 127.453 97,655 The company is entitled to exemption audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 tor the year ended 31 March 2025. The members have not required the company to obtain an audit its financial statements foi the yeaI ended 31 March 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006. The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for: la) ensuring that the company keep5 accounting iecoids which comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and (b) prepaiing financial statements which give a true and £air view of the state o affairs ot the company as at the end of each financial yeaI and of its financial activities during each financial year in accordance with the requiIements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the company. The f inancial staternents have been prepared in accordance with the provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating financial statements, so fai as applicable to the charitable Company. The financial statements weIe approved by the directoIs on 2311212025 and were signed by: 12
Fast Famillax Limlted l Repoxt of the Trustees YeaI from l Apiil 2024 31 March 2025 S Heenan Chairl Trustee 13
Fast Famlllar Lmiited l Report of the Tzustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 Motes to the Financlal Statemènts l) Accounting Policies 1.1 Basis of prepurotlon The accounts have been prepared under the histoIical cost convention. The accounts have been piepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards, the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Accounting and Reporting by Charities" (FRS102). effective from 2015 and the Companies Act 2006. 1. 2 1ncomTrng resources Donatxons, grants and other foims of voluntaIy income are recognised as incoming resources on a receipt5 basis. Investment Income is accounted for on a receivable basis. 1. 3 Resources expended Resources expended are included in the Staternent of Financial Activities on an actual basis, with irIecoverable Value Added Tax included with the item of expenditure to which it relates. Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery 0£ Its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated dlrectly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. These include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory iequiiements of the charity and include independent examination fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity. 1.4 Tangible fixed assets and depreciation Fixed assets are capitalised only when theiI cost is gieatei than £500. No iterns have yet been capitalised. 1. 5 Fund accounting Uniestricted funds are funds which can be used in accordance with the chaiitable objects at the discretion 0£ the Trustees. Restricted funds are to be used for particular restricted puip05es within the objectives of the charity. Restrictions arise when speciled by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted puIposes. 1. 6 Going Concern It is the Trustee5' responsibility to prepare the Financial Statements on the going concein basis unless it is inappiopiiate to piesume that the Charity will continue in business. Fast Familiar is currently a going concein and there are no plans to wind down the chaiitable company. 14
Fast Famillar Limited l Repozt the Trustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 1. 7 Cash flow statement In accordance with FRS 102 the charity is not required to show a cash flow statement and has not done so. 2) Income from charitoble activities Unxestiicted Restricted Funds Funds 2025 Total Total Income £rom chatltable actlvltles; Primaxy Purpose Txading (Ticket sales, fees, commissions) Local Authority other Public Grants TIusts and Foundatlons Total Income fxom Chatltable Actlvltles 128, 542 128, 542 71,142 128, 542 128, 542 95,228 3) Totol resources expended staff Costs other Costs Total Total 2024 Cost of Chailtable Actlvltles Goveinance Costs Total Expendltuxe 98,436 425 98,436 425 395 98,861 98.861 91,199 4) Trustees, and Members, Remuneration and Benef%ts No rernuneiation was paid to any trustee duIing the year nor were any expenses reimbursed. In terms 0£ the members of the companyi Dan Barnard was paid £12,605 in fees £or his art15tic and producing work on Fast Familiar's projects and Rachel Briscoe was paid £26,920 in fees for her artistic and lead producing work on Fast FamiLiar' s projects. 5) CTed*tors.' omounts fall%ng due w%th?n one yeor Total 2025 Total 2024 Accruals Deferred Income 360 15
Fast Famlliar Lknlted l Repozt of the Trustees Year from l April 2024 31 March 2025 6) Funds Balance at i Aprll Balance at 31 March Incom£ng Resources resouzces expended Tzansfers Uniestrlcted funds 97.655 129, 019 99.221 127,453 Restrlcted funds 7) Uncertointies Theie are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue. 8) Assets The charxtable company has no material assets other than cash and additionally investments of a value of £50,117. 16
Inde endent Examinevs Re Fast Fainiliai. Limited ort to the Trustees of Independent examlner's report to the eharity trustees of Fast Familiar Limited I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of Fast Familiar Limited for the year ended 31 March 2025 Responsibilitles and basis of report As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of the company law) you ar¢ responsible for the pr¢paration of Ihe accounts in accordance with the the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act,). Having satisfied myself that the accounts of tlie Company are nol required to be audited uiider Part 16 of the 2006 Act and al'e eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your Charity's accounts as Carried out under section 145 of ihe Charities Act 2011 ('the 2011 Act,). In carrying out my examination I have followed tlie directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examiner's st#tement I have coinpleled my exaniiiiation. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection wilh the examination giving me cause to believe., Tlial accounting I'ecoi'ds were not kept in respecl of the Company as required by Section 386 of 2006 Acl. or The accounts do not accord with tliose records The accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement ihat the accounts give a 'true and fair view, wliicli is not a Inatter considered as part of an iiidependent examination The accounts have not beeii prcpared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Stalemeiit of Recommended Practice foi. accounting and reporting by charities lapplicable to chai'ities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Finaiicial Reporting Standard applicable in ihe UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)]. I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the exainination to wliich attentioii should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Jasvinder Singh Sagoo (FCCA) Johal & Company Chartei'ed Certified Accountants & Registered Auditors Spectrum House 2B Suttons Lane Hornchurch Essex RMI26RJ Date.. L)L 17