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← Specialeffect.org.uk Limited

2025-01-31-accounts

UL: Opecial Effect. SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED Annual Review, Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 January 2025

Company number: 06040232 Charity number: 1121004

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED Annual Review, Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 January 2025

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SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED Annual Review, Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 January 2025

Contents

• Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1 Introduction ...................................................................................................... 1
• Objectives and Activities ................................................................................... 2
o Aims .......................................................................................................... 2
o Public Benefit ............................................................................................ 2
o Governing Document................................................................................. 2
o Financial Statements ................................................................................ 2
o Trustees’ Responsibilities in Relation to the Financial Statements .......... 2
o Privacy ...................................................................................................... 3
o Climate Change …………………………………………………………………………………… 3
• Strategic Report ................................................................................................ 4
o Achievements and Performance .............................................................. 4
o Financial Summary.................................................................................... 4
o Risks .......................................................................................................... 5
o Support Costs ............................................................................................ 6
o Reserves Policy ......................................................................................... 6
o Unrestricted Funds ................................................................................... 6
o Restricted Funds ....................................................................................... 6
o Internal and External Factors.................................................................... 6
o Charitable Activities .................................................................................. 6
▪
Current Core Services ................................................................. 6
▪
Current Supporting Projects ....................................................... 7
o Goals & Future Plans ................................................................................ 7
• How We Operate ............................................................................................... 9
o Structure, Governance and Management ................................................. 9
▪
Appointment of Trustees ........................................................... 9
▪
Trustee Induction and Training ................................................... 9
▪
Organisation ................................................................................ 9
▪
Related Parties ............................................................................ 9
▪
Risk Policy .................................................................................... 9
▪
Remuneration.............................................................................. 9
o Legal and Administrative ........................................................................ 10
• Independent Auditor’s Report ......................................................................... 11
o Opinion ................................................................................................... 11
o Basis for Opinion ..................................................................................... 11
o Conclusions Relating to Going Concern .................................................. 11
o Other Information .................................................................................. 11
o Opinion on Other Matters Prescribed by the Companies Act 2006 ....... 12
o Matters on which we are Required to Report by Exception .................. 12
o Responsibilities of Trustees .................................................................... 12
o Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Accounts ........................ 12
o Use of our Report .................................................................................... 13
• Statement of Financial Activities ..................................................................... 14
• Balance Sheet .................................................................................................. 15
• Statement of Cash Flows ................................................................................. 16
• Notes to the Financial Statements ................................................................... 17

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED Annual Review, Trustees’ Report & Financial Statements for the year ended 31 January 2025

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Introduction

Welcome to the SpecialEffect Annual Trustees’ Report. SpecialEffect is a charity that exists to help severely physically disabled people get more out of life by giving them access to video games, communication and leisure technology.

This review covers the 12 months up to 31 January 2025, a period which has seen activity across all areas of our work continue to increase, especially the StarGaze project. It was a year that also saw SpecialEffect become the first charity to receive a BAFTA Special Award, a wonderful acknowledgement of our influence and impact on accessibility in gaming.

Demand has continued to rise, with the Charity fielding over 1,300 external enquiries across all areas of work (up 15% on the r \ previous year). To give a snapshot of activity, over 295 accessible gaming equipment loans were made through our Gaming Loan Library (up 12%), making a lifechanging impact to both the service users themselves, and their families. Our StarGaze team experienced their busiest year ever, with a total of almost 335 interactions with patients and care teams (up 35%), split approximately 50/50 | between in-person visits and remote support calls. Elsewhere, the BubbleBusters project continued to see strong demand, with 29 AV1 robots out on loan across the UK. Again, the difference that having fast, free access to this lifechanging technology has made to every one of these young people, as well as their families and friends, cannot be underestimated.

Our Research and Development work has also continued to make a significant impact in the sector, including increased collaboration with key hardware and software developers, and further development of the SpecialEffect Devkit (including localisation into French, Spanish, German and Japanese). Drawing on best practice examples from the industry and our 18 years’ experience working in this area, this freely available online training resource helps developers all over the world to learn how to make their games more easily accessible to people with severe physical challenges.

Designed for people with disabilities themselves and those who support them, our regularly updated training videos and information provided on our GameAccess.info website is helping to bring our knowledge and expertise to a far wider audience than would be otherwise achievable for a charity of our size. In addition, our Eye Gaze Games website has been undergoing a complete rebuild, with existing titles converted to the Unity game engine, to make the site even more accessible to people around the globe. This work continues, with some exciting new titles and further developments on mobile

platforms planned for 2025-2026. Our EyeMine gaze-controlled Minecraft interface has now been downloaded by over 5000 people all over the world and we are ensuring that it will be futureproof by developing a Windows 11 version, in addition to the currently available version for Windows 10.

This was a significant year for our Fundraising and Communications Team as well, with both our GameBlast and One Special Day campaigns exceeding their f fundraising targets, despite challenges in the wider economy and strong games ) industry headwinds. In addition 4P to the Charity’s core challenge events series, popular third-party events such as One Big Game and British Racing Greats helped keep the programme fresh for supporters and corporate partners alike. Meanwhile, both community and individual fundraising continued to perform well, thanks to our incredibly loyal and generous donors from the video games community and beyond.

I would once again like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported SpecialEffect in any way at all since the Charity started in 2007. Together you have helped us make a remarkably positive difference to the lives of the severely disabled people we seek to help, not only here in the UK, but all around the world.

Dr Mick Donegan, Founder and CEO, SpecialEffect 18[th] June 2025

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Objectives and Activities

Aims

The main objectives of the Charity are:

Fundraising Standards Information

Members of the Charity’s Fundraising and Communications Team organise events and carry out fundraising activities to generate funds for the Charity. The Charity’s Ethical Policy includes guidance on acceptable and unacceptable sources of income. SpecialEffect are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and staff follow their guidelines. The Charity does not use professional fundraisers. There have been no complaints about fundraising activity this year.

All the Charity’s print and digital marketing activities are managed internally to ensure that they are not unreasonably persistent or intrusive. All print materials conform to industry standards. The Charity’s email newsletters contain clear details of how to unsubscribe from future communications and care is taken to limit the number of communications being sent out. The Charity does not engage in any other form of direct marketing with its supporters.

Public Benefit

The Trustees have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing SpecialEffect’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities. In particular, the Trustees considered how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives they have set. They aim to ensure the following:

The activities detailed in this report demonstrate how the Trustees believe the public benefit requirement is being effectively satisfied, especially given that no charge is made for any of the services provided by the Charity. They also illustrate the outcome of the Charity’s work with people with disabilities.

Governing Document

The Charity is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It is established under its Memorandum of Association and governed under its Articles of Association.

Financial Statements

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (the Charities SORP), applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued in October 2019.

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the Financial Statements

The Trustees (who are also directors of the entity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare Financial Statements for each financial year, which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application

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of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for the year. In preparing these Financial Statements, the Trustees are required to:

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

In so far as the Trustees are aware, there is no relevant information of which the charitable company’s auditors are unaware, and each Trustee has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a Trustee in order to make them aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the charitable company’s auditors are aware of that information.

Privacy

Any of the information used in this report will be stored safely and securely and we will retain it for an appropriate length of time. For our full Privacy and Cookies Policy, please visit our website at https://www.specialeffect.org.uk/privacy-and-cookies.

Climate Change

The Trustees recognise the climate emergency and continue to consider the impact of the Charity on climate change, specifically with regard to the selection of banking services, energy and materials use, and recycling. This will continue to be reviewed as more opportunities become available to make positive changes to our purchases and practices.

Taking time to get the best possible solution: A series of support calls, visits and ongoing adjustments by our specialist assessment team have helped Suzanne to play complex games using eight carefully placed switches and two joysticks.

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Strategic Report

Achievements and Performance

Against a difficult economic backdrop, the Fundraising and Communications Team still managed to achieve some strong results in the 12 months to 31 January 2025. These were some of the highlights:

From a Service Delivery and Projects perspective, key achievements included:

Financial Summary

With the situation in the wider economy so uncertain and some specific challenges facing the games industry, we started the year budgeting for a relatively conservative income of just over £1.6m. As 2024 progressed, the news coming out of the games industry continued to worsen, with several companies who have supported the Charity over the years being required to lay off large numbers of staff. Against this backdrop, the Fundraising and Communications Team did really well to ultimately achieve total donations of £1.9m over the period, which was further bolstered by additional income as a result of higher interest rates on our

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deposit accounts. Alongside this, our overall expenditure was lower than what we budgeted at the start of the year, due in part to lower staffing costs (as a result of recruiting fewer staff than originally planned), as well as underspend in Product Development (as a result of project delays), Travel and Subsistence, and Events, Fundraising and Marketing classes.

Risks

We identify the major risks to the Charity as follows:

Fig 1: Split between Restricted and Unrestricted Income

Fig 2: Allocation of expenditure for the financial year across different areas of work

In the financial year 2024-2025:

Given these risk factors, it is vital that the Charity maintains adequate reserves, as well as carefully monitoring progress of key projects, while continuing to diversify and maximise income streams.

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Support Costs

Support costs, which are vital to safeguard the smooth running of the Charity, were kept to a minimum to ensure that the Charity continues to function as efficiently as possible. A list of expenditure included in Support Costs is set out in Note 5 to the accounts.

Reserves Policy

SpecialEffect does not charge for any of its services or resources and does not have any ongoing guaranteed income, meaning funds need to be raised on a continual basis from new and existing sources. External factors such as the ongoing war in Ukraine, financial difficulties in the games industry, global trade tensions, and escalating cost-of-living pressures, are all examples of current challenges which put our income at risk.

The Trustees are mindful of the need to maintain adequate reserves to ensure the resilience and ongoing ability of the Charity to meet the needs of its service users. In view of the risk factors outlined above, the Trustees have therefore continued their policy that the Charity should hold at least 18 months’ budgeted operating costs in reserve. These reserves are needed to cover any potential income shortfall, to enable the flexibility for expenditure to be made as and when required, and also for general contingency.

As of 31 January 2025, free reserves were c.£4.3m. The target funds needed to cover 18 months operating costs as per the Reserves Policy was c.£4m. In calculating free reserves an amount of c.£1.1m has been designated to underwrite the 2025-26 budget deficit, arising from the continued external pressures affecting fundraising. As a result, the Trustees are broadly content that the free reserves position is in line with the policy.

Unrestricted Funds

Where possible, SpecialEffect has focused on procuring unrestricted donations. The fact that these donations are unrestricted helps us to achieve greater flexibility to use money where it is most needed at any given time.

The Charity has also continued to receive in-kind support including the donation of games, equipment and merchandise, as well as practical advice and expertise, for which we are very grateful.

Restricted Funds

Restricted funds are usually used for specific equipment or occasionally to fund a member of staff. This year,

approximately 1% of our income was restricted to the Loan Library and StarGaze projects.

Internal and External Factors

The Trustees have made a full assessment of the internal and external factors that may affect these Financial Statements and do not deem any factors material enough to have an impact. Despite the challenges to some traditional sources of fundraising due to the cost-of-living crisis and downturn in the global games industry over recent years, SpecialEffect has continued to keep up with demand and help an ever-increasing number of people who need our support. The wider economic uncertainty is of concern to the Trustees and the effect on the Charity’s income and expenditure will be closely monitored over the coming months. The Trustees have agreed that reserves should be utilised if required, given the current context.

Charitable Activities

1 Current Core Services

Loan Library

The Loan Library service provides assessment and support to find and customise suitable controllers for access to video games. We also provide ongoing lifetime support as people's needs and interests change. Our ongoing research and development, which contributes to developing innovative ideas and solutions to be used in this project, is carried out (a) 'in the field' through our assessment process, (b) through testing hardware, software and new games, and (c) developing customised hardware and software solutions to meet individual needs. What we learn can also contribute to our dissemination of good practice by sharing what we learn with gamers with disabilities, those who support them and developers, too, by advising them how to make their games, hardware and software more accessible.

StarGaze

Our StarGaze work involves the assessment and support of people who are in intensive care due to a serious injury or illness that results in a loss of the ability to communicate or control technology of any kind. As a result of our assessment, support and appropriate technology provision, they can regain the ability to ‘speak’, access the computer for leisure and even play video games again. The number and variety of StarGaze referrals has increased markedly since the pandemic, with the work of the team continuing to evolve outside of ICU settings. We are now also supporting families

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seeking a trial use of eye-gaze technology before deciding whether to invest in a system of their own, as well as dealing with a broader range of neurological conditions across all ages, including stroke, MND, MS, and spinal injury. Again, R&D is carried out both ‘in the field’ through the process of assessment and support of individuals, and through testing hardware, software, games and developing solutions prior to these visits.

2 Current Supporting Projects

Eye Gaze Games

The Eye Gaze Games website, which can be found at https://www.eyegazegames.com/, is a free-to-play online resource containing a growing number of highly accessible games that have been created to be played directly on a web browser. It is designed to enable even the most severely physically disabled people to play against anyone, anywhere in the world, using the control device they prefer. The aim is primarily to fill a gap for eye gaze users by providing easy to set up games which are accessible to a wide range of users, where currently there are not enough options. Other accessibility devices, including head mouse and accessibility switches, are also supported. The site will also act as an example of best practice to developers and game designers on accessibility features which can benefit players using these types of inputs. The next phase of the project is bringing these games to a wider audience by releasing them as apps for mobile devices, enabling players to use their preferred input method on iOS and Android phones, as well as tablets.

SpecialEffect DevKit

The SpecialEffect DevKit, which can be found at https://specialeffectdevkit.info, is a website sharing information through a series of videos with guidance for developers who wish to find out how to make their games more accessible. It has not only been designed as a valuable addition when we provide direct support to specific developers ourselves, but also as a stand-alone resource for self-reference. Formally launched at the start of 2022, we continue to update and refine this resource, ensuring that it provides the most up-to-date and relevant advice and examples of best practice to game developers globally, completely free to charge.

GameAccess.info Website

As SpecialEffect continues to innovate and develop new ways of working to help people to access video games, we have found that what we learn can be useful to individuals or organisations working in this field. We have been disseminating this information, such as new controller solutions and game accessibility features

predominantly through video. We post these videos alongside written articles on our GameAccess.info site at https://gameaccess.info.

EyeMine

In 2018 we created and released a user interface called EyeMine, to enable eye gaze users to play Minecraft , with ‘Version 2’ released in 2021. We provide support for individual players and offer periodic support and updating of the software itself to enable EyeMine to continue to be successfully used. We continue to promote its use to disabled gamers in countries as far afield as Japan and the USA. A stand-alone EyeMine demo was previously part of the Smithsonian FUTURES exhibition in Washington, DC and is currently exhibited at the National Videogame Museum in Sheffield.

BubbleBusters

The BubbleBusters project helps children who are in isolation for extended periods while undergoing treatment for cancer, which affects their immune system. A telepresence robot is used to take the child’s place in the classroom, allowing them to hear, see and speak to their friends and teacher using a tablet device from their home or hospital bed. As part of the project, in addition to the main AV1 robot currently in use, we continue to look at offering a greater range of access to telepresence devices in terms of accessibility and functionality, including the Double 3. This device has the additional feature of being able to move on wheels and be controlled by eye movement alone, thanks to a new interface we are helping to develop.

Goals and Future Plans

Our key charitable aims for the next 12 months are to:

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How We Operate

Structure, Governance and Management

Appointment of Trustees

The Trustees who served during the year are listed in the Legal and Administrative section on page 10.

Trustee induction and training

All new Trustees are given, in the view of The Board, sufficient training and have enough knowledge of their specific field to understand the nature of the Charity and fully comply with the Charity’s current views of its progression. They are made aware of both their legal and professional responsibilities under the Charity and Company Laws.

Organisation

The Board of Trustees must, as per the governing document, have at least two Trustees and shall not be subject to any maximum. To supplement the AGM, regular meetings are held, as well as individual committees who meet, as required. Those individual committees are encouraged to meet as regularly as need be and continue communication outside of those meetings. Dr M B Donegan is the CEO of the Charity, to whom responsibility for the day-to-day management is delegated, by the Trustees.

assurance against fraud and error. Health and Safety policies and procedures have been updated and made compliant, including the continuing completion of risk assessments.

A Code of Conduct has been signed by all staff and is at the forefront of our Policy Documents. In addition, the Trustees have decided it would be beneficial for them to continue with Trustees Insurance. SpecialEffect continues to ensure it is fully compliant with the implementation of the Data Protection Act 2018. This is also expected to continue over the following years as revised procedures are adopted, and compliance is maintained.

One of the most significant risks to the Charity has been identified as the lack of guaranteed income. This results in significant fundraising efforts across a wide variety of activities being carried out each year, with a priority to ensure donor care and partnerships are maintained to a very high standard. Because of our lack of guaranteed income, and whilst we are in the process of diversifying and building our income streams, the Trustees have decided to continue with the current reserves policy to a maintain a minimum reserve of 18 months’ budgeted costs.

The reserves held in the bank will help protect the increasing costs of the Charity and enable the Charity to carry out its work in the context of ongoing economic uncertainty and will continue to be closely monitored.

Related parties

Related party transactions are set out in Note 12 to the accounts.

Risk policy

The Trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the Charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable

Remuneration

The salaries of all staff are set by the Trustees and reviewed annually. Any changes in salary are influenced by the cost of living as well as the success of the Charity as a whole. Consideration is also given to market rates. Two salaries were greater than £60,000 in the year ended 31 January 2025.

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Legal and Administrative

SpecialEffect.Org.Uk Ltd

Auditors

Registered Company number: 06040232 (England and Wales) Registered Charity number: 1121004 Working name: SpecialEffect

Wenn Townsend 30 St Giles’ Oxford OX1 3LE

Registered office and principal address

Solicitors

Anthony Collins Solicitors LLP 134 Edmund Street Birmingham B3 2ES

Units 9-12 Southill Business Park Cornbury Park Charlbury Oxfordshire OX7 3EW

GDPR

DataGuard DataCo International UK Limited 25 Luke St London EC2A 4DS

Trustees

Dr S T Bennett 25 Luke St R Camm London P Cross EC2A 4DS Dr R Densham Dr C G Fairweather (joined 21 December 2024) Bankers C V Friend Handelsbanken C Stone Suite F, Windrush Court L M Wiltshire (resigned 6 December 2024) Abingdon Business Park Abingdon Secretary (and CEO) Oxfordshire OX14 1SY

Dr M B Donegan

The Co-operative Bank PO Box 250 Skelmersdale Lancashire WN8 6BJ

This report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies’ exemption in the Companies Act 2006.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 18[th] June 2025 and signed on behalf of the Trustees.

C V Friend, Trustee

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Independent Auditor’s Report for the Year Ended 31 January 2025

Opinion

We have audited the accounts of SpecialEffect (the “charitable company”) for the year ended 31 January 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the accounts, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is in accordance with 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 accounts:

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 accounts section of our report. We are independent of the Charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the accounts 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 accounts, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the accounts is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the Charitable Company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from when the accounts 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 other information comprises the information included in the annual report, including the Trustees’ report, other than the accounts and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the accounts 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.

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the accounts or our knowledge obtained in the course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the accounts themselves. 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.

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Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

Matters on which we are Required to Report by Exception

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

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

Responsibilities of the Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 2, the Trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the

purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the accounts 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 accounts that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Accounts

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the accounts 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 accounts.

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

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

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We assessed the susceptibility of the Charity’s accounts to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of noncompliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the Trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.

This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our Report

This report is made solely to the Charitable Company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Charitable Company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

In response to the risk of irregularities and noncompliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

Benjamin Hayes BSc FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Wenn Townsend, Statutory Auditor

Oxford

18[th] June 2025

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SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES (INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025

Note
Restricted
Funds
Unrestricted
Funds
£
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
26,616
1,835,087
Interest receivable
3
-
186,249
Total income
2
26,616
2,021,336
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
-
530,206
Charitable activity: enabling people with
disabilities to access entertainment and
leisure technology
1,327,554
528,610
Total expenditure
5
1,327,554
1,058,816
Net income/(expenditure)
(1,300,938)
962,520
Transfers between funds
14
1,257,437
(1,257,437)
Net movement in funds
(43,501)
(294,917)
Reconciliation of funds
Fund balances brought forward
44,755
5,696,083
Fund balances carried forward
1,254
5,401,166		 Total
2025
£
1,861,703
186,249
2,047,952
530,206
1,856,164
2,386,370
(338,418)
-
(338,418)
5,740,838
5,402,420		 Total
2024
£
1,717,518
153,957
1,871,475
487,189
1,798,740
2,285,929
(414,454)
-
(414,454)
6,155,292
5,740,838

The notes on pages 16 to 24 form part of these financial statements.

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SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED (Company no: 06040232) BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JANUARY 2025

Note 2025 2024
£ £ £ £
TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS
Tangible assets 6 13,038 35,977
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors 7 188,008 176,109
Cash at bank and in hand 5,276,085 5,652,905
5,464,093 5,829,014
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year 8 (74,711) (124,153)
NET CURRENT ASSETS 5,389,382 5,704,861
NET ASSETS 5,402,420 5,740,838
THE FUNDS OF THE CHARITY
Restricted funds 1,254 1,254 44,755
Unrestricted funds 14 5,401,166 5,696,083
TOTAL FUNDS 5,402,420 5,740,838

These financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 18[th] June 2025.

C V Friend, Trustee

The notes on pages 17 to 25 form part of these financial statements.

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SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net cash provided by operating activities (analysed below)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Purchase of property, plant and equipment
Net cash used in investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period
Note:
Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities
Net movement in funds
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
Decrease in the value of investments
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities		 2025
£
(364,259)
(12,561)
(12,561)
(376,820)
5,652,905
5,276,085
2025
£
(338,418)
35,500
-
(11,899)
(49,442)
(364,259)		 2024
£
(92,014)
(16,934)
(16,934)
(108,948)
5,761,853
5,652,905
2024
£
(414,454)
64,396
1
252,983
5,060
(92,014)

Page | 17

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

a) General information and basis of preparation

Specialeffect.org.uk Limited is a Charitable Company incorporated in England / Wales. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity. The address of the registered office is given in the charity information on page 10 of these financial statements. The nature of the charity’s operations and principal activities are detailed in the Trustees Annual Report.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. 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, the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

The financial statements are prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified to include certain items at fair value. 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) Income

All income is recognised once the company has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. In particular:

c) Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

d) Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of each asset over its expected useful life, as follows:

Fixture, fittings and equipment: Motor vehicles:

33% per annum of cost 33% per annum of cost

Page | 18

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

e) Presentational and functional currencies

The accounts are presented in pounds Sterling. The functional currencies of the Charity are Sterling, US Dollars and Euros. The accounts are presented in pounds Sterling since that is the currency in which the Charity conducts most of its activities. Amounts in the financial statements have been rounded to the nearest pound Sterling.

f) Fund accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that the Trustees have set aside for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Charity for particular purposes. The cost of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

g) Taxation

The Charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

h)

Cash and cash equivalents

Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.

j) Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The Trustees have considered the potential impact of events and conditions, both internal and external, and they have determined that these do not create a material uncertainty about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date of approval of these financial statements.

l) 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.

Page | 19

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

2. INCOME AND EXPENDITURE BY PROJECTS

During the year the Charity met its charitable objectives through the following main projects shown below. The projects were funded by a variety of unrestricted and restricted funds (see also note 14).

BubbleBusters
DevKit
Eye Gaze Games
GameAccess
Loan Library
StarGaze
Research &
Development
Communications &
Events
Non – Project related
Total funds		 2024
£
-
-
44,755
-
-
-
-
5,696,083
5,740,838		 Income
Expenditure
£
£
-
(122,149)
(39,967)
-
(234,120)
(75,023)
16,000
(438,288)
10,616
(532,997)
-
(54,640)
576,817
(674,605)
1,444,519
(214,581)
2,047,952
(2,386,370)		 Transfers
Net Income
£
£
122,149
-
39,967
-
189,365
(44,755)
75,023
-
422,288
-
523,635
1,254
54,640
-
97,788
-
(1,524,855)
(294,917)
-
(338,418)		 2025
£
-
-
-
-
-
1,254
-
-
5,401,166
5,402,420

3. INVESTMENT INCOME

4.

Bank interest receivable
NET INCOME
Net income is stated after charging
Auditors’ remuneration
Auditors’ remuneration for non audit services
Depreciation
Foreign exchange differences		 2025
£
186,249
2025
£
8,700
3,000
35,500
985		 2024
£
153,957
2024
£
7,680
-
64,396
20

Page | 20

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

5. ANALYSIS OF EXPENDITURE BY ACTIVITIES

Staff costs
Events
Service Delivery
Product Development
Project costs
Travel
Vehicle maintenance
Premises costs
Communications & IT
Legal, professional &
insurance
General office costs
Depreciation
Bank fees and charges
Total expenditure		 Raising
funds
Promoting
and
enhancing
charitable
work
Governance
costs
£
£
£
408,034
664,523
-
122,172
-
-
-
353,277
-
-
201,056
-
-
15,908
-
-
40,828
-
-
14,913
-
-
103,300
-
-
101,354
-
-
75,611
8,700
-
24,498
-
-
31,950
-
-
17,777
-
530,206
1,644,994
8,700		 Support
costs
Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
£
163,082
1,235,639
1,191,594
-
122,172
103,505
-
353,277
323,008
-
201,056
186,132
-
15,908
13,807
-
40,828
57,936
-
14,913
15,283
11,478
114,778
111,484
11,262
112,615
73,016
8,401
92,712
85,783
2,722
27,220
34,950
3,550
35,500
64,395
1,975
19,752
25,036
202,470
2,386,370
2,285,929		 Support
costs
Total 2025
Total 2024
£
£
£
163,082
1,235,639
1,191,594
-
122,172
103,505
-
353,277
323,008
-
201,056
186,132
-
15,908
13,807
-
40,828
57,936
-
14,913
15,283
11,478
114,778
111,484
11,262
112,615
73,016
8,401
92,712
85,783
2,722
27,220
34,950
3,550
35,500
64,395
1,975
19,752
25,036
202,470
2,386,370
2,285,929

2,285,929
Governance costs
Audit fees		 2025
£
8,700		 2024
£
7,680

Page | 21

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

6 . TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Fixtures,
Fittings &
Equipment

£
Cost
At 31 January 2024
358,364
Additions
12,561
Disposals
-

At 31 January 2025
370,925

Depreciation
At 31 January 2024
322,387
Charge for the year
35,500
On disposals
-

At 31 January 2025
357,887

Net book value
At 31 January 2024
35,977

At 31 January 2025
13,038

7.
DEBTORS
Amounts falling due within one year:
Debtors and Accrued income
Prepayments
8.
CREDITORS
Amounts falling due within one year:
Deferred income
Other creditors
Accruals		 Motor
Vehicles
£
90,134
-

(24,377)

65,757
90,134
-
(24,377)

65,757
-
-
2025
£
87,972
100,036
188,088
2025
£
4,664
61,347
8,700
74,711		 Total
£
448,498
12,561
(24,377)
436,682
412,521
35,500
(24,377)
423,644
35,977
13,038
2024
£
77,839
98,270
176,109
2024
£
46,023
54,600
23,530
124,153

Page | 22

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

8. CREDITORS (continued)

Movements in deferred income

Deferred income brought forward
Released to income in 2024/25
Received and deferred in 2025/26
Deferred income carried forward		 2025
£
46,023
(46,023)
4,664
4,664		 2024
£
56,902
(55,525)
44,646
46,023

Deferred income of £4,664 (2024: £46,023) relates to income received this year in relation to various events and challenges being undertaken in 2025/26.

9. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

No Trustees received remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 January 2025 (2024: None).

10. TRUSTEES’ EXPENSES

No Trustees (2024: none) were reimbursed for expenses during the year ended 31 January 2025. No contracts existed with Trustees in the year ended 31 January 2025 (2024: no contracts).

11. STAFF COSTS

The aggregate payroll costs of these persons were as follows:

Salaries
National insurance
Pension costs
Number of employees earning within the following bands:
£60,001-£70,000
£70,001-£80,000		 2025
£
1,074,190
112,404
34,180
1,220,774
2025
1
1		 2024
£
1,045,412
107,724
27,105
1,180,241
2024
1
-

The combined salaries of the Charity’s key management personnel - totalled £120,731 (2024: £222,613). Pension costs for these two individuals (2024: four) amounted to £11,170 (2024: £14,460), and Employer’s NI costs totalled £14,150 (2024: £25,699).

The average number of persons employed by the company, including directors, during the year was as follows:

2025 2024
Charitable activities 25 26
Administration 4 4
29 30

Page | 23

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

12. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS

2025 2024
£ £
Donations from Trustees or companies under close control of a Trustee 1,100 -

Two family members of the Chief Executive are employed by the charity as Chief Operating Officer and Projects Manager. Their remuneration is set by the Trustees and is regarded as a market rate for the work undertaken.

13. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS

At 31 January 2025 the Charity had total commitments under non-cancellable leases as follows:

Land & Buildings:
Within one year
Between two and five years
Lease payments recognised as an expense		 2025
£
88,025
135,000
223,025
107,117		 2024
£
81,000
216,000
297,000
104,497

Page | 24

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

14. Movement in funds

Unrestricted
General
Funds
Designated
Funds:
Fixed Assets
Designated
Funds:
Budget Support
Bubble
Busters
(Restricted)
Eye Gaze
Games
(Restricted)
Loan
Library
(Restricted)
StarGaze
(Restricted)
£
£
£
£
£
£
£
Funds as at 1 February 2024
5,660,106
35,977
-
-
44,755
-
-
Income
2,021,336
-
-
-
-
16,000
10,616
Expenditure
(1,023,316)
(35,500)
-
(122,149)
(234,120)
(438,288)
(532,997)
Transfers between funds
(2,365,998)
12,561
1,096,000
122,149
189,365
422,288
523,635
Funds as at 31 January 2025
4,292,128
13,038
1,096,000
-
-
-
1,254
Represented by:
Fixed assets
-
13,038
-
-
-
-
-
Current assets
4,366,839
-
1,096,000
-
-
-
1,254
Current liabilities
(74,711)
-
-
-
-
-
-
4,292,128
13,038
1,096,000
-
-
-
1,254		 Total
£
5,740,838
2,047,952
(2,386,370)
-
5,402,420
13,038
5,464,093
(74,711)		 Total
£
5,740,838
13,038
5,464,093
(74,711)

5,402,420

Designated funds represent amounts not deemed freely available as at the year end – including any reserves earmarked for expenditure in the following year.

Restricted funds represent grants and donations received to support specific projects undertaken by the Charity as set out below;

Assessment and ongoing support of loaned Eye Gaze systems, often within hospital and rehab settings, for access to communication and leisure. Assessment and ongoing support of loaned customised assistive technology, for gaming and other leisure activities.

StarGaze: Assessment and ongoing support of loaned Eye Gaze systems, often within hospital and rehab settings, for access to communication and leisure. Loan Library: Assessment and ongoing support of loaned customised assistive technology, for gaming and other leisure activities. Eye Gaze Games: An online library of accessible games, developed by SpecialEffect and available to play by disabled gamers all over the world, free of charge, using a wide variety of assistive control technologies (including eye-tracking, switches, head mouse, etc). BubbleBusters : The provision of a telepresence device to enable immunocompromised children (such as those undergoing treatment for cancer) to continue their schooling and other social activities from home and hospital. Transfers : Transfers between funds are made such that expenditure relating to restricted projects which is funded from unrestricted funds is covered. An additional transfer to a new designated fund was made in the year to cover the budgeted deficit for the financial year ended 31 January 2026.

Page | 25

SPECIALEFFECT.ORG.UK LIMITED

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2025 (CONTINUED)

15. COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Note
Restricted
Funds
Unrestricted
Funds
£
£
Income and endowments from:
Donations and legacies
74,253
1,643,265
Interest receivable
3
-
153,957
Total income
2
74,253
1,797,222
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
-
487,189
Charitable activities: enabling people with
disabilities to access entertainment and
leisure technology
1,251,739
547,001
Total expenditure
2
1,251,739
1,034,190
Net income/(expenditure)
(1,177,486)
763,032
Transfers between funds
14
1,158,390
(1,158,390)
Net movement in funds
(19,096)
(395,358)
Reconciliation of funds
Fund balances brought forward
63,851
6,091,441
Fund balances carried forward
44,755
5,696,083		 Total
2024
£
1,717,518
153,957
1,871,475
487,189
1,798,740
2,285,929
(414,454)
-
(414,454)
6,155,292
5,740,838

16. GENERAL INFORMATION

SpecialEffect.org.uk Limited is a company limited by guarantee incorporated and domiciled in England. Its registered office and principal place of business is Units 9-12, Southill Business Park, Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3EW.

The liability of the members in the event of the company being liquidated is limited to £10 per member.

Page | 26

TR Special E fect Thank you!

We’re indebted to the thousands of people who’ve generously donated their time, talents and money to SpecialEffect in 2024-25. Their generosity has enabled us to give thousands of people with disabilities around the world a better quality of life.

Units 9-12, Southill Business Park, Cornbury Park, Charlbury, Oxfordshire OX7 3EW Tel 01608 810055 • www.specialeffect.org.uk Registered Charity No 1121004

Si,