2025-03-31-accounts

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024/25

Charity registration no. 1124508 Company registration no. 06543150

Registered Office Trafford Ecology Park, Lake Road Trafford Park Manchester M17 1TU

Page

3 About Groundwork Greater Manchester
5 Chair’s statement
7 Governance
9 Objectives and public benefit
10 Strategic report

Overview

Activity highlights

Our Impact

Financial performance

Principal risks and uncertainties

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

21 Independent auditor’s report
25 Statement of financial activities
26 Charity balance sheet
27 Cash flow statement
28 Notes forming part of the financial statements
37 Advisors
38 Board of Trustees, Committees and Executive Team

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The Board of Trustees presents its report for the year ended 31 March 2025. Statements about Groundwork (page 3), governance (page 7), objectives and public benefit (page 9), our plans for the future (page 14), financial review 2024/25 (page 16), advisors (page 36) and the details of the Board of Trustees, Committees and Executive team (page 37) form part of this report.

ABOUT GROUNDWORK GREATER MANCHESTER

Groundwork Greater Manchester is a registered charity which exists to create:

A Greener Fairer and Stronger Future for All People, Communities and Places in Greater Manchester

The people who live here, and the communities they make up, are unique and inspiring. They’re passionate about their home, which is exactly why they tell us they want to make it even better!

Our core team of over 120 people, plus sessional staff and associates. Our mission is:

To support people, improve their life chances & well-being, focusing on those who are, or feel, marginalised and vulnerable
To empower communities to work together for positive social and environmental change
To create thriving, nature rich urban environments, co-created with communities and cared for in the long term

In 2024/5 we delivered programmes to a value of nearly £8m and directly benefited almost 8,000 people.

The focus of our work is in Greater Manchester, but we also deliver in parts of Lancashire, and in the wider North West where we have agreements with other Groundwork Trusts. Our head office is at Trafford Ecology Park, a designated local nature reserve and Site of Biological Importance - a green oasis in the heart of Europe's largest industrial estate. We also have office bases and depots Ashton under Lyne and Rochdale, as well as numerous project delivery sites around Greater Manchester.

We organise our work around the themes of People, Place and Communities, delivering services in 6 key areas:

Community consultation, engagement & development
Skills & training for employment & green careers
Services for young people
Domestic energy advice and retrofit
Landscape design, build and maintenance
Net zero support for businesses

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We are driven by our values which are embedded in the way we operate and the decisions we take every day.

Our work is underpinned by 3 key principles:

Collaborating in meaningful partnerships and relationships
Living our values and being a responsible organisation
Listening to those we support and acting upon what we learn

Groundwork Greater Manchester is a member of the Federation of Groundwork Trusts which operate throughout England, Wales and Northern Ireland, working to the shared aspirations and common goals set out in the Groundwork 2023-8 Strategy.

All our work is delivered within the framework of our ISO9001 and ISO14001 accredited Quality and Environmental Management System.

Our work is designed to address the needs of all sections of the community and we provide equal access to our services regardless of people’s backgrounds, circumstances or characteristics. We monitor levels of diversity within our staff team and trustees to strive to reflect the communities of which we are a part and regularly gather feedback from colleagues about our culture and employment practices.

As a charity dedicated to supporting people who are vulnerable, we are committed to ensuring that our operations are delivered safely. We have robust and effective Safeguarding and Health and Safety policies and procedures. We are committed to ensuring that our staff, volunteers and service users are able to speak freely and safely about any concerns they have.

A headline review of our impact during 2024/5 can be found on pages 11 and 12 and more information about us can be found by visiting

https://www.groundwork.org.uk/greatermanchester/

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CHAIR’S STATEMENT

Welcome to our Annual Report and Accounts!

This has been another exciting, and at times challenging, year for Groundwork Greater Manchester (GGM) and the wider Voluntary, Community and Faith Sector (VCFSE) in the city region.

The first, and most important, thing I need to do is to offer a heartfelt thanks to all our staff and my fellow trustees for their dedication, passion and on-going commitment to Groundwork. Without them our progress and achievements would not be possible. I would also like to pay a personal tribute to the often, unsung heroes of our communities – those volunteers and champions who give freely of their time to support local people and places and to deliver exceptional outcomes through sheer hard work and creativity, often working miracles with the most limited of resources.

The last year has been an exciting, impactful and at times challenging one. Global uncertainty continues to rage with geopolitical tensions high, decidedly cool economic headwinds, the alarming pace of AI adoption, cyber security threats and the impacts of the climate emergency. GM is not immune from localised impacts of all of this with our people feeling high levels of anxiety, especially the young and those who are economically and socially excluded, and many experiencing the very real negative impact of climate change in the form of heatwaves and floods such as those in Stockport on New Year’s Day 2025.

In the UK there has been major political change with the election of a new Labour government for the first time in 14 years. Locally Andy Burnham was re-elected as Mayor in May 2024, providing stable political leadership for the City Region. The announcement of the new £630m Single Funding Settlement in January 2025 was a major milestone for GM, although how this plays out for VCFSE organisations like Groundwork remains unclear. What we do know is that GM prides itself on its spirit of partnership and collaboration and the door is open to further this through devolution.

Throughout all of this we have continued to focus on supporting those who need our help the most, refocusing our efforts where needed to respond the challenges we face. We are proud of the work we have undertaken and, in particular, our collaborative efforts with our partners in Greater Manchester leading to the delivery of impactful programmes that have:

Supported over 1,800 people through coaching and mentoring for employment and progression, including: working with young people at risk of engaging in youth violence so that they are equipped to make more positive choices, and supporting those with health challenges into meaningful work through the Integrated Placement Support model
Delivered over 2,000 home visits to help people save energy, reduce costs and stay warm and well in their homes, delivering savings of almost £1.2m
Helped over 450 people through training and education to access future proofed careers in the Green Economy and Construction and to take climate action in their communities and on their land
Improved the equivalent of 30 football pitches of land, ranging from alleyways to pocket parks, to school and community grounds to elements of whole river valleys. We have codesigned spaces with communities as equal partners to bring back nature and adapt to climate

GGM continues to be financially stable and well-managed. We have increased our turnover to £7.9m and generated a slightly increased surplus of £54k, allowing us to take forward our plans to

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invest in the learning and development of our staff, the quality of our workplaces, our carbon reduction plans and our IT and data infrastructure to ensure we are resilient for the long term. My thanks go to our Audit and Risk Committee for their diligent oversight and scrutiny of our finances to assure our on-going performance.

This year we have reviewed our Rochdale Homes programme and made the difficult decision to conduct a managed exit over a 3-year period in order to mitigate against the risks of being a social landlord. This decision followed a deep dive process supported by our Executive Team and expert trustee sub-group who gave many hours to ensure this decision was founded on evidence and understanding. We have learnt from and been reassured by this process, specifically that:

Our challenge and scrutiny at Board and Committee is effective
Our approach to resolving difficult problems is collaborative, positive, safe and authentic, permitting open sharing of information and views
We act in line with our value of being ‘bold’. There is no place for complacency and we must always be alert to and act upon risks, even when this is difficult

As I write, we are moving into the final year of our current strategy. During 2025/6 we will continue to prioritise our strategic goals to:

Provide pathways into green jobs by establishing a Groundwork Green Skills Academy
Empower communities by establishing a Green Community Hubs Network in GM
Recover nature through our community led nature stewardship model

We will also continue to deepen our roots in GM’s neighbourhoods, working where we are most needed and prioritising those places where we have the right level of knowledge, relationships and community trust to ensure our work is as impactful as it can be.

We will be working within the context of the recently launched Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-35. The two strategic pillars are growing our economy and making sure people can live well. Groundwork GM will contribute across our services to: ensure everyone has a healthy, warm space to call home; support strong communities where people feel safe; offer people a clear line of sight to high quality jobs; deliver everyday support in Live Well Centres and spaces; and create a greener future for everyone.

We will be refreshing our own strategy this year. A time to both reflect and look forward. Our strategy must be rooted in the hopes and needs of our stakeholders, so if our work interests and inspires you and you would like to get involved, then please don’t hesitate to get in touch either directly or through our website.

With best wishes and hopes for a greener, fairer and stronger future for all in GM,

Tom Besford

Acting Chair

August 2025

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HOW WE ARE ORGANISED AND GOVERNED

Charity Registration Number: 01124508 Company Registration Number: 06543150

Groundwork Greater Manchester is a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee. The governing documents are its Memorandum and Articles of Association, which were last amended at a General Meeting of the Members of the company held on 18[th] February 2021. The M&As are currently under review as part of our regular cycle of reviews and this is due for completion in November 2025.

Our Board of Trustees

The Groundwork Greater Manchester Board of Trustees comprises up to 12 trustees, in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. Each Trustee is also a Director of the Company in accordance with the Companies Act 2006. Our Trustees are all co-opted trustees and bring a range of skills, expertise, networks and lived experience to the Board.

Our Trustees are responsible for ensuring Groundwork Greater Manchester is managed effectively and efficiently, with appropriate systems, processes and policies governing our fundraising, financial management, our assets and investments and our responsibilities to our staff, volunteers and beneficiaries. Trustees pay particular attention to issues of quality, health & safety, environment (including carbon reduction). safeguarding, data protection and information security and people management (including Equality Diversity and Inclusion). We maintain comprehensive business continuity and risk management arrangements.

Our Board of Trustees is supported by a small number of expert associates to the Board, filling skill gaps and supporting the Board in their specialist areas. This currently includes experts in: health and safety and teaching and learning.

The work of the Board is supported by 3 Sub-Committees or Panels:

Audit and Risk Committee – covering all financial matters, strategic risk and associated policies, deep dives into key areas of risk
People Committee – covers performance against our People Strategy, scrutinises associated policies and deals with annual remuneration decision making
Teaching, Learning and Safeguarding Advisory and Scrutiny Panel - this panel has a specific function in relation to these three areas ensuring all policies and practices are fully scrutinised, including in line with Ofsted expectations, and that appropriate recommendations are made to the main board. This Panel is comprised of specialist Associates and Trustees

We also have a number of Internal Management Groups, supported by Associates and / or Trustee representatives including Health and Safety, Safeguarding and Equality Diversity and Inclusion (EDI).

The Board meets quarterly and retains authority for the overall strategy and policy of the Trust and approves the Strategic Vision and Plan and the annual Business Plan, delegating development of the planning process to the Executive Team, whilst retaining responsibility for overall scrutiny of performance.

The Board regularly reviews its performance, undertaking an annual Good Governance Pulse Check and full Good Governance reviews, following the Charity Commission Governance Code, at least every 3 years. Our last full review was in August 2023 although an additional mini review was completed in March / April 2025 following the ‘bedding in’ of a number of new trustees. We work to a good governance action plan

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focused on: culture, values and behaviours; succession planning; organising.

A key governance highlight this year has been the embedding of a series of deep dives into key areas of risk. Our deep dives are sometimes planned and sometimes reactionary as a result of new risk area being spotted. The deep dive into our Rochdale Homes programme fell into this latter category and focused on the risks of GGM being a social landlord. The ultimate outcome was that the Board and our partners agreed to a managed exit from the programme over a period of three years. The Deep Dive provided reassurance in a number of areas – that our board level challenge and scrutiny is effective and our approach to resolving difficult problems is collaborative, positive, safe and authentic. It also reminded us that there is no place for complacency and we must always be alert to and act upon risks, even when this is difficult.

Our Executive Team

The Trust’s Executive team is headed up by our Executive Director, appointed by the Board to lead the day-to-day operations of the Trust. They are supported by: our Director of Finance and Resources, responsible for financial and business support functions; and our two service Directors who drive strategy, programme delivery, fundraising and income generation in their respective Directorates.

Our Strategic Management Team, established through an internal re-organisation in October 2024, is responsible for the implementation of strategic plans through their service areas and internal functions.

To facilitate effective operations, the Executive Director has delegated authority, via our Scheme of Delegation approved by the Board, for a range of operational matters including finance, human resources and service delivery. The Executive Team is directly accountable to the Board and its Committees, to which they provide regular reports on financial and operational performance and compliance.

Our Relationship with the Groundwork Federation

We are a member of the Groundwork Federation of charities, which comprises 14 local Groundwork trusts and Groundwork UK. Each Groundwork Trust has similar objects to Groundwork UK but delivers in local areas across the UK. A membership agreement sets out our internal roles, relationships and behaviours and the whole of Groundwork operates to a collectively agreed Federation Strategy, overseen by Federation Board. Trusts are free to adapt that strategy to local context and circumstances, in order to deliver locally in the most effective and impactful way.

Our Executive Director is a member of Federation Executive Team and our Senior Leaders, Managers and practitioners are involved in a wide range of federation forums and development groups, all of which seek to continue to improve the efficiency, quality, scale and impact of our services.

The Federation of Groundwork Trusts and other Groundwork Trusts are not considered to be related parties under the definition of the SORP. Although the elected trustees of the Federation Board are also, by definition, trustees of Groundwork trusts, neither charity subordinates its interest to the other in any transaction. Therefore, the grants made by Groundwork UK (operating as the Federation of Groundwork Trusts) to local Groundwork trusts do not require separate disclosure.

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CHARITABLE OBJECTS AND PUBLIC BENEFIT

Our charitable objects are set down in our Memorandum of Association and are as follows:

To promote the conservation, protection and improvement of the physical and natural environment in the Metropolitan Boroughs of Blackburn with Darwen, Bury, Bolton, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and the Districts of Burnley, Hyndburn, Pendle, Rossendale and Ribble Valley and such other areas as the Trustees shall in their absolute discretion determine from time to time (“the area of benefit”)
To provide facilities in the interests of social welfare for recreation and leisure time occupation with the objective of improving the conditions of life for those living in or working in or resorting to the area of benefit
To advance public education in environmental matters and of the ways of better conserving, protecting and improving the same wheresoever
To promote urban or rural regeneration in areas of social and economic deprivation within the area of benefit by all or any of the following means:
the relief of poverty in such ways as may be thought fit
the relief of unemployment in such ways as may be thought fit including assistance to find employment
the advancement of education, training or re-training particularly amongst unemployed people and providing unemployed people with work experience
the provision of financial assistance, technical assistance, business advice or consultancy in order to provide training and employment opportunities for unemployed people in cases of financial or other charitable need through help:
- i. in setting up their own businesses; or
- ii. to existing businesses;
the creation of training and employment opportunities by the provision of work space, buildings and / or land for use on favourable terms
the provision of housing for those who are in conditions of need and the improvement of housing in the public sector or in charitable ownership provided that such power shall not extend to relieving any local authority or other bodies of a statutory duty to provide or improve housing
the maintenance, improvement or provision of public amenities
the preservation of buildings or sites of historic or architectural importance
the provision or assistance in the provision of recreational facilities for the public at large and / or those who by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances, have need of such facilities

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the protection or conservation of the environment, and the promotion and maintenance of sustainable community-based projects
the provision of public health facilities and childcare
the promotion of public safety and prevention of crime;
such other means as may from time to time be determined subject to the prior written consent of the Commission
To promote sustainable development within the area of benefit by:
the preservation, conservation and the protection of the environment and the prudent use of resources
the relief of poverty and the improvement of the conditions of life in socially disadvantaged communities
the promotion of sustainable means of achieving economic growth and regeneration
To advance the education of the public in subjects relating to sustainable development and the protection, enhancement and rehabilitation of the environment and to promote study and research in such subjects provided that the useful results of such study are disseminated to the public at large

In accordance with SI7(5) of the Charities Act 2011, the Trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing our aims and objectives and in planning future activities. In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the charitable objects set out above.

2023-26 STRATEGIC REPORT

Context and Priorities

We adopted our strategy for 2023-6 on 1 April 2023 and have spent the last 24 months following through on the ambitions and plans we set out.

We have continued to operate within a period of economic, environmental and political stress and uncertainty, at global, national and local levels, and against this backdrop our services have never been needed more. The people we support are facing an on-going cost of living and mental health crisis, linked to ill health, climate anxiety, social isolation and financial stress. The communities we serve want to harness local power and pride, whilst facing exclusion, prejudice and inequity in their daily lives. Alongside this our natural environment is under threat from climate change and human impact.

However, we are fortunate to operate in a City Region that is facing these challenges head on – localising power and funding and working in partnership to develop greener economies, build greener places, and find innovative solutions to tackle social and economic inequalities. The announcement of the new £630m Single Funding Settlement in January 2025 was a major milestone for GM, delivering major flexibilities around how we fund and respond to systemic priorities and key policy areas, including skills, health and retrofit.

The team at Groundwork Greater Manchester are proud to be part of this collective effort and to bring our

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expertise and knowledge where it’s needed most. To that end, over the past 12 months, we have focused on three thematic growth areas:

Providing pathways into green jobs by establishing a Groundwork Green Skills Academy
Empowering communities by establishing a Green Community Hubs Network in GM
Recovering nature through our community led nature stewardship model

In order to deliver our goals, we have continued to work in effective and generous partnerships with public, private and community, voluntary and faith sector organisations.

More about the difference we are making can be found in the impact section below.

Our Impact

Our 2023-6 strategy focuses around three key themes:

PEOPLE: Supporting people to improve their life chances & well-being, focusing on those who are, or feel, marginalised and vulnerable
COMMUNITIES: Empowering communities to work together for positive social and environmental change
PLACES: Creating thriving, nature rich urban environments, co-created with communities and cared for in the long term

In 2024/5 we:

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Some impact highlights of the year are:

Supported over 1,800 people through coaching and mentoring for employment and progression, including: working with young people at risk of engaging in youth violence so that they are equipped to make more positive choices, and supporting those with health challenges into meaningful work through the Integrated Placement Support model
Delivered over 2,000 home visits to help people save energy, reduce costs and stay warm and well in their homes, delivering savings of almost £1.2m
Helped over 450 people through training and education to access future proofed careers in the Green Economy and Construction and to take climate action in their communities and on their land
Improved the equivalent of 30 football pitches of land, ranging from alleyways to pocket parks, to school and community grounds to elements of whole river valleys. We have co-designed spaces with communities as equal partners to bring back nature and adapt to climate
- Our full impact report is available here: https://www.groundwork.org.uk/greatermanchester/gm about/our - impact gm/

Themes of the Year

Our year has been characterised by the themes of: deepening, sustaining and consolidating, and caring.

Deepening

Deepening our roots in neighbourhoods through investing in strong stakeholder partnerships and place-based services to deliver multiple benefits for the people who live there. We have catalysed the establishment of Green Community Hubs in Hattersley, Tameside; Brinnington, Stockport; and Medlock Valley, Oldham & Manchester. We have supported the establishment of Brinnington Together Ltd , the legacy vehicle for Brinnington Big Local. We have built learning connections between neighbourhoods throughout the North of England through Groundwork’s Northern Network
Deepening our knowledge and expertise in key areas where our support is needed. This includes: our work to establish the Energy Efficiency Academy with Cadent Foundation ; testing out creative ideas to engage people in climate and nature action through our involvement in the In Our Nature programme, led by Manchester Climate Agency; establishing a Knowledge Transfer Partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University that will further develop our natural environment data and research skills
Deepening our Strategic Partnerships in Greater Manchester in particular through our role representing the Environmental Sector on the GM VCFSE Leadership Group . The Group is dedicated to promoting the role of VCFSE sector in devolution in Greater Manchester and to ending inequality. Our support for and investment in environmental and work and skills partnerships in GM continues.

Sustaining and Consolidating

Consolidating our structure and our teams. We are now 5 years on from merger and 6 months on from the creation of a new Executive Leadership team and Strategic Management Team (SMT), created through an internal re-organisation. This year we have focused on embedding our new SMT, investing in them to ensure they have the support they need to flourish in their new roles.

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We have also stabilised our staff numbers after a period of significant growth. This has allowed us to sustain our work and impact, whilst developing our plans for the future.

Sustaining our strong financial position – increasing our turnover to £7.9m and generating a slightly increased surplus, allowing us to take forward our plans to invest in the learning and development of our staff, the quality of our workplaces, our carbon reduction plan and our IT and data infrastructure to ensure we are resilient for the long term

Caring : The year has not been without on-going challenges and these have necessitated a focus on caring for those who work for us and those we work to support:

Caring for our staff. In the face of slowing but on-going inflationary pressures that impact on us and our staff, we continue our accreditation by the Real Living Wage Foundation, are a Member of the GM Good Employment Charter, have improved our reward and recognition package and invested in mental health support for staff.
Caring for our planet. In addition to our climate work in communities, we are committed to our own carbon reduction plan and have seen continued reductions in our emissions this year achieved through changes to operational practices and investment in equipment. Our team is committed and passionate about this cause. Continuing progress is difficult as we address factors outside of our control – such as the availability of e-vehicles and sustainable transport options – and the challenge of balancing growing demand for our services against the emissions generated by delivering those services
Caring for those people & places we support. Our staff and volunteers continue to go above and beyond to meet the needs of the communities of Greater Manchester. This year we have made significant investment in staff development to ensure we deliver the most effective support that we can – this includes investing in Leadership development, Information Advice and Guidance skills and Youth and Community Development practice. We have also made some difficult decisions in relation to our Rochdale Homes Programme where we have agreed a managed exit. Aside from the risks involved in being a social landlord, a key factor in this decision was our commitment to keep stakeholders (in this case tenants) at the heart of our duties and responsibilities. We believe that we should only lead the delivery of services when we are the best placed organisation to do so and we have concluded that, in this case, there are now others who are better placed in terms of both resources and expertise. During the exit period we will continue to work closely with our partners to ensure our tenants receive the best care and services possible

Being a Responsible Business

During 2024/25 we continued to ‘walk the walk’ in relation to our contribution to some of the key challenges facing society today. Key highlights include:

Environment

Implementing our carbon reduction plans for the year, achieving a reduction in emissions of 4%. Unfortunately, due to factors beyond our control, we fell behind our reduction target this year but we will regroup and continue the challenge in 2025/6.
Awarded the Carbon Literacy Action Day Catalyst Award for our work delivering climate education to marginalised audiences.
Continued the on-going maintenance and enhancement of our 5 nature sites, benefiting from the recruitment of additional capacity through our Ranger Team, which also provides green career opportunities for trainees

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Social

Retaining our GM Good Employment Charter membership and Real Living Wage and Disability Confident accreditations.
Placing significant focus on staff well-being by increasing our number of Mental Health First Aiders to 11, offering trauma informed professional supervision to all delivery staff and offering a full programme of staff events celebrating diversity including taking part in Manchester Pride.
Running a campaign to increase our use of local and sustainable suppliers
Leaving the social media platform X making a stand for equity and against injustice

Governance

Undertaking an annual good governance pulse check identifying areas of focus for the future, particularly making plans to streamline our governance for effectiveness and efficiency and ensuring an on-going focus on skills and diversity through succession and recruitment
Embedding a learning culture by undertaking a deep dive into a key service area leading to improvements in monitoring, reporting and decision making at board level
Holding a trustee volunteering session at Trafford Ecology Park where our trustees cleared, weeded, re-used and recycled
Continuing to service key external partnerships throughout Greater Manchester.

OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

In March 2025 we completed the second year of 2023-6 Strategy which sets out how we will contribute to our vision of a greener, fairer and stronger future for all of GM’s people, places and communities. We have made good progress as outlined previously within this report.

Looking ahead we know that our delivery will continue within a challenging economic environment, global uncertainty and an unprecedented emergency for climate and nature. However, in Greater Manchester we are also excited, taking heart from both our city’s history of pride and innovation and the opportunities presented by further devolution that puts power and funding in local hands. In that context we know that our partnerships in GM will remain strong and that we will all continue to pull together to do the best we can for the people, communities and places of GM.

In that context, we will continue to stay focused on our three Strategic Growth Priorities in order to increase our impact, extend our reach and generate income. These are:

Provide pathways into green jobs by establishing a Groundwork Green Skills Academy
Empower communities by establishing a Green Community Hubs Network in GM and beyond
Recover nature through our community led nature stewardship model

Alongside our Strategic Growth Areas, we will continue our ‘Business as Usual’ activity. In reality this is where much of our day-to-day business development activity is focused in order to ensure we are able to sustain and grow our core services to support those who need them.

In 2025/6 we will be working within the context of the recently launched Greater Manchester Strategy 2025-35. The two strategic pillars of this strategy are growing our economy and making sure people

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can live well. Groundwork GM will contribute across our services to the strategic themes of: ensuring everyone has a healthy, warm space to call home; supporting strong communities where people feel safe; offering people a clear line of sight to high quality jobs; delivering everyday support in Live Well Centres and spaces; and creating a greener future for everyone. Over the coming 12 months we will prioritise our engagement and influencing activity around the following issues to amplify our contribution. These are areas in which we have track record and expertise and where we understand the system and the changes needed to maximise our collective impact:

GM Live Well: Develop Groundwork’s Live Well offer and position as a key player in local delivery. We have an impactful service offer that will add value to neighbourhood based Live Well Hubs and that can be tailored to local needs. We will also be developing our unique Live Well offer for the future that takes the form of ‘Green Live Well Spaces’
Green Skills Pathways: We will influence and inform the development of Green Skills pathways, including within the Manchester Baccalaureate (MBACC), and develop our own Green Skills curriculums aimed at different age groups to help people access future proofed careers
Nature Recovery: We will continue to lead people led nature recovery programmes within GM, further developing our community led nature stewardship models. We will also seek to influence green finance models and other funding mechanisms in support of urban nature recovery and climate adaptation
Retrofit: We will continue to approach retrofit from a neighbourhood perspective, and use our evidence of what works to inform community resilience plans and funding models

Our strategy also sets out our internal plans. We aim to ensure we are resilient and thriving and that, by 2026, we are assured that our business model enables us to absorb and adapt to a changing environment and to prosper in the long term. We will maintain our focus on:

Our People: Being a great place to work which maximises the talents and creativity of our people. Next year, we will focus on two key areas: supporting our people to be well at work and our learning and development strategy
Data & Technology: Improving the management and analysis of data & utilisation of technology to support service development and delivery. We will continue to develop and deliver our strategic IT and data plans informed by user & organisation needs assessment, prioritising impact, finance and HR.
Financial Health: Optimising our financial health for the longer term. We will continue to review our financial model ensuring it is aligned with our strategy and exploring new sources of income particularly those which are unrestricted and / or support innovation and development

We will be refreshing our organisational strategy this year and plan to look ahead to Groundwork in GM 2030. This will be a time to both reflect and look forward. Our strategy must be rooted in the hopes and needs of our stakeholders, and to this end we will be working on a stakeholder engagement plan that ensures we align with our principles of:

Collaborating in meaningful partnerships and relationships
Living our values and being a responsible organisation
Listening to those we support and acting upon what we learn

Our strategic planning will ensure we continue to strive for a fairer, stronger and greener Greater Manchester by supporting those people, places and communities who need our help the most.

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a) FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Groundwork Greater Manchester’s total incoming resources for 2024/25 totalled £7.95 million, with an unrestricted trading surplus of £53,684.

Reserves

Groundwork Greater Manchester Trustees and senior management team have reviewed the Reserves Policy during 24/25 and the Board has agreed that a reasonable level of unrestricted reserves is required for the following reasons:

Financial Impact of Risk:

to allow the Trust to be able to adopt its preferred ‘balanced approach to risk management policy’, through an ability to absorb short term setbacks such as loss or delays in funding;
to provide funding to cover any unforeseen downturn in activity, allowing alternative activity to be generated and/or a planned downsizing of activity;
to allow for the management of risk in funding of growth opportunities; and
To cover any contractual obligations required such as redundancy, notice pay and outstanding rental/lease costs.

Working Capital:

to finance working capital needs, such as delays in receipts and to fund the time delays between developing projects, obtaining approval and funds being received; and
to cover the working capital required to fund the usual retrospective nature of programme funding which can result in considerable timing differences between expenditure and receipt of funds.

Commitments and long terms plans:

to fund business development plans, such as new and improved delivery services for the Trust;
to continue to maintain Trust buildings and sites to a good standard.
to fund developing of new systems and structures to support improved communications, research, quality and business management; and
to fund specific business case led initiates that lead to furtherance of the Trust’s objectives. Initial specific funding will be set aside to deliver the Carbon Reduction Action Plan, through investing in projects that:
reduce energy consumption – including solar power;
investing in the fleet of vehicles to minimise reliance on fossil fuel;
allow changes to be made to the ‘way we do business’ and in so doing reduce the impact on the environment.

The above needs for reserves have to be balanced against the following factors:

the need to be seen to act as a responsible charity by central Government, our sponsors and the Charity Commission; and
the need to avoid the accusation of creating excessive surpluses (profiteering) and accumulating large surpluses (hoarding) for which there is no future planned requirement or that bare no relation to the charitable aims.

Balancing the above, and taking account of guidance published by the Charity Commission, we have calculated the minimum level of reserves as £750k:

However, given the current rate of inflation and financial climate we consider that an additional 20% should be added to create a Reserves Level of around £900k for the Business Plan Period. The current level is calculated as:

Total Unrestricted Funds;	£1,742,876
(less)tangible fixed assets for charityuse;	£885,120
Total free reserves;	£857,756

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Investments

The majority of the programme funds obtained by the Trust are provided against specified projects for particular needs and are initially financed from reserves. Therefore, any funds that are built up in advance of expenditure need to be kept as liquid as possible, whilst making every effort to maximise any available investment return.

To minimise risk such funds are kept on deposits with reputable banks where immediate access has to be balanced against available interest rates. Rates available from the whole banking sector are kept under regular review and every effort is made to maximise any potential return, whilst minimising risk in the investment portfolio, in an effort to obtain all possible funding for all projects.

Principal funding sources

The major sources of funding during the year are set out below.

Total income for the year was £7.95m;

The major sources of funding during the year were:

Private Sector contracts - £1.35m; Housing providers - £2.03m; Government Agencies & EU - £1.3m; Local Authorities - £1.45m; Big Lottery - £0.5m; Other Income - £1.3m;

There were no brought forward Landfill Tax revenues or new ones during the year.

Funds held in trust

The trust holds a balance on behalf of the Brinnington Big Local Partnership (Big Lottery). This partnership aims to:

to improve the area known as Brinnington for the benefit of the inhabitants of the area
to encourage the goodwill and improvement of the local community
to foster community spirit and encourage civic pride
to ensure that all residents are communicated with and consulted regularly

The cash balance at year end was £90,684 (2024 - £92,666) and is shown in other creditors.

Also, the trust holds a balance of £79,527 (2024 - £90,751) on behalf of the Irwell Rivers Trust, to be spent by the Irwell Catchment Partnership (ICP), of which Groundwork Greater Manchester are members.

The funds will be managed in-line with the Not-for-Profit guidelines provided by the Charity Commission
The funds will only be used for activity agreed in the Irwell Catchment area.

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

b) PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

Risk Assessment & Management

The Board of Groundwork Greater Manchester fully accepts its responsibilities under the Charity Commission's Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) for ensuring that the major risks to which the charity is exposed are identified and reviewed, and that there are systems in place to mitigate them.

Major risks are those that have a high probability of occurring, and would if they occurred, have a severe impact on either operational performance or achievement of purposes, or could damage Groundwork's reputation.

The risk management process, which operates as both a top-down and bottom-up mechanism, is designed to enable the Board to conclude whether the major risks to which the charity is exposed have been identified and reviewed, and that systems have been established to mitigate these risks.

The system involves the Executive & Senior Management Team:

Reviewing the main, high impact generic risks.
Establishing a comprehensive risk register of all the significant risks which might impact on the Trust's core purposes and key objectives.
Establishing a bottom-up and top-down process of risk identification, assessment, mitigation and monitoring for all likely risks within the Trust.
Producing detailed reports to the Board setting out the actions designed to eradicate or mitigate the risks identified.

The major areas of risk identified to date, potential impact and mitigations are:

The management of the Trust's reputation for quality and effective programme delivery, sound governance, and financial probity. Clearly the risk to the Trust’s reputation would have a negative effect on the future income being able to bring in. The Quality systems in place in the organisation including ISO 9001 help to mitigate along with strong board governance including regular Audit and Risk Committee/Board meetings.
The management of key relationships with local Authority & other key partners, financial risks such as the acceptance of onerous funding terms, or commitment to matching funding etc. This can impact substantially on being tied into long, punitive contracts. Again, by having contracts analysed by the Audit and Risk Committee, and senior management having good relationships with key personnel helps overcome these risks.
External risks, such as regulatory and legal requirements, and the risks associated with giving advice to third parties. This has both reputational and financial risk and it is important that the company has the required insurance and regulatory cover for the work involved.
Operational risks affecting programme performance, staff skills, loss of key staff and IT systems. This can result in loss of continuity in the business and therefore loss of performance in all contract areas. Senior Management seek to regularly consult with staff with annual surveys and appraisal processes, which include succession planning where possible. IT systems are regularly reviewed and updated and we have retained the external accreditation of Cyber Essentials.

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Risks emanating from the performance/activities of other Groundwork Trusts within the Federation. This is clearly a reputational risk to all of the Groundwork Network and close contact and central messaging from Groundwork UK is essential in getting out the correct message. This is dealt with at regular FET meetings with all the trusts in the federation.

The Trust recognises that risk management and mitigation is an essential part of good business practice and an effective mechanism of good governance.

The Board is committed to ensuring that risk management processes are embedded through the Trust, and that these processes are used to help identify at an early-stage issues that affect performance or achievement of purpose.

The Board does recognise that a risk management system can only seek to manage rather than eliminate risk of failure, and that it should therefore be only one of the tools that the Board and Executive uses to provide effective control and management of the administration of the Trust.

Financial instruments

The Trust's financial risk management objective is broadly to seek to make neither profit nor loss from exposure to currency or interest rate risks. Our policy is to finance working capital through retained reserves. The Trust does not use hedge accounting. Its policy is to finance fixed assets through borrowings for a term broadly expected to match the useful economic lives of the assets.

The Trust's exposure to the price risk of financial instruments is therefore minimal. As the counterparty to all financial instruments is its bankers, it is also exposed to minimal credit and liquidity risks in respect of these instruments.

The Trustees do not consider any other risks attaching to the use of financial instruments to be material.

Auditor

A tender process is due to be undertaken in December 2025 and January 2026 after which the auditors for 2025/26 will be appointed.

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

c) STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also directors of Groundwork Greater Manchester) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice)

Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

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

In so far as the trustees are aware:

there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditor is unaware;
they have taken all steps they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.

Signed on behalf of the Board of Trustees

Tom Besford

Acting Chair

Date: 12/11/25

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundwork Greater Manchester

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Groundwork Greater Manchester “the charitable company” for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise Statement of Financial Activities including the Income and Expenditure Account, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and the Notes to the Financial Statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 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:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

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

Conclusions relating to going concern

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

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

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

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the other information. 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.

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

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 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 financial statements 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

the information given in the trustees’ report, which incorporates the directors’ report and the strategic report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
the strategic report and the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report have been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

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

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities set out on page 3, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

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

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

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 web-site at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

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

In identifying and addressing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

We obtained an understanding of laws, regulations and guidance that affect the charitable company, focusing on those that had a direct effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on its operations. Key laws, regulations and guidance that we identified included the Companies Act 2006, tax legislation, health and safety legislation, and employment legislation.
We enquired of the Trustees and reviewed correspondence and Trustee meeting minutes for evidence of non-compliance with relevant laws and regulations. We also reviewed controls the Trustees have in place, where necessary, to ensure compliance.
We gained an understanding of the controls that the Trustees have in place to prevent and detect fraud. We enquired of the Trustees about any incidences of fraud that had taken place during the accounting period.
The risk of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations was discussed within the audit team and tests were planned and performed to address these risks.
We reviewed financial statements disclosures and supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations discussed above.
We enquired of the Trustees about actual and potential litigation and claims.
We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that might indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
In addressing the risk of fraud due to management override of internal controls we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates were indicative of a potential bias.

Due to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of nondetection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations and cannot be expected to detect all fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations. Use of our report

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TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

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.

Sue Hutchinson (Senior Statutory Auditor)

For and on behalf of Menzies LLP Statutory Auditor One Express 1 George Leigh Street Manchester M4 5DL

Date: 17/12/2025

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Statement of financial activities including the Income and Expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2025

Income: Note Donations and legacies 3 Investment income 4 Income from charitable activities: Community and Neighbourhoods Employment and Enterprise Sustainable Business Services Total income Expenditure: Costs of raising funds: Commercial trading operations 5 Expenditure on charitable activities: Community and Neighbourhoods 6 Employment and Enterprise Sustainable Business Services Total expenditure Net incoming resources 10 Net movement in funds Fund balances brought forward at 1 April 2024 17 Fund balances carried forward at 31 March 2025 17	2025 Unrestricted funds £ 75,034 34,730 3,326,422 4,092,451 422,986 7,951,623 25,516 3,102,795 4,366,920 402,708 7,897,939 53,684 53,684 1,689,192 1,742,876	2025 Restricted Funds 2025 Total £ - 75,034 - 34,730 - 3,326,422 - 4,092,451 - 422,986 - 7,951,623 - 25,516 - 3,102,795 - 4,366,920 - 402,708 - 7,897,939 - 53,684 - 53,684 65,257 1,754,449 65,257 1,808,133	2024 Unrestricted and Total £ 57,163 13,748 2,716,644 3,462,556 296,530 6,546,641 27,873 2,396,500 3,838,195 273,749 6,536,317 10,324 10,324 1,744,125 1,754,449

Incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing operations.

The company has no other recognised gains or losses other than those passing through the statement of financial activities.

The notes on pages 28 to 37 form part of these financial statements.

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Charity balance sheet at 31 March 2025

	Note	2025	2025	2024	2024
		£	£	£	£
Fixed assets
Tangible assets	11		885,120		927,256
			885,120		927,256
Current assets
Debtors	12	1,788,688		1,729,223
Cash at bank		1,873,897		996,554
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year	13	2,739,572		1,898,584
Net current assets			923,013		827,193
Total assets less current liabilities
			1,808,133		1,754,449
Net assets	16		1,808,133		1,754,449
Reserves
Restricted funds:			65,257		65,257
General funds	17		1,742,876		1,689,192
			1,808,133		1,754,449

These financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on xxxxxxx and were signed on its behalf by:

Tom Besford Acting Chair

Date: 12/11/25

Company registration no. 06543150

The notes on pages 28 to 37 form part of these financial statements.

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Cash flow statement for the year ended 31 March 2025

2025 £ (-) 34,730 - - == =	2025 £ (-) 34,730 - - == =	2025 £ (-) 34,730 - - == =
	- -	==
34,730


		=

The notes on pages 28 to 37 form part of these financial statements.

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025

1 Accounting policies

The following accounting policies have been applied consistently in dealing with items which are considered material in relation to the financial statements.

a) Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.

Groundwork Greater Manchester meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

b) Going Concern

There are no other material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue, therefore, the accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis.

c) Grants and other income

Donations and legacies including grants that provide core funding or are of a general nature is recognised where there is entitlement, certainty of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability. Such income is only deferred when:

The donor specifies that the grant or donation must only be used in future accounting periods; or the donor, has imposed conditions which must be met before the charity has unconditional entitlement.

Incoming resources from tax reclaims are included in the statement of financial activities at the same time as the gift to which they relate.

Investment and rental income is recognised on a receivable basis. Income from commercial trading activities is recognised on a recoverable basis.

Income from charitable activities includes income received under contract or where entitlement to grant funding is subject to specific performance conditions is recognised as earned (as the related goods or services are provided). Grant income included in this category includes income received specifically for project activities and is recognised where there is entitlement, certainty of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Income is deferred when project funding is received in advance of expenditure being incurred on the various projects where delivery of the project gives the Trust entitlement to the income.

d) Funds

Unrestricted funds are those which are available for use at the discretion of the Board of Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.

Restricted Funds - Roch Valley Primrose Hill Farm Heywood

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

Roch Valley is a site of biological importance and is part of the wider green corridor following the River Roch through the heart of Rochdale. It is nestled between Queens Park and Springfield Park and is a remote haven for wildlife. Roch Valley consists of a lowland hay meadow adjacent to the river with scattered trees and hedgerows across the site. Groundwork bought the site on 30th May 2014 using funds provided by Rochdale Council (RMBC) via a local S106 agreement and the purchase included an £100,000 endowment for Groundwork to maintain and develop the land in the future and we have since developed the space into a valuable community amenity. Endowment funds remaining are £65,257.

e) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to the expenditure. All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.

Costs of raising funds are the costs associated with attracting voluntary income.

Expenditure on charitable activities comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.

f) Allocation of support costs

Support costs include central functions such as back-office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs. These have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor areas, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.

g) Tangible fixed assets

Individual fixed assets costing £1,000 or more are initially recorded at cost.

The trustees have a policy of periodically reviewing fixed assets for impairment over and above their carrying value. Any reductions in the net book value of impaired fixed assets are treated as additional depreciation charges, which are reported within the appropriate resources expended section of the Statement of Financial Activities. Assets under construction are not depreciated until completed.

Depreciation is provided on tangible fixed assets so as to write off the cost or valuation, less any estimated residual value, over their expected useful economic life as follows:

Land and Buildings 2% per annum using the straight-line method Ecology Park Main Building 10% per annum using the straight-line method Fixtures, Fitting and Equipment 25% per annum using the straight-line method Motor Vehicles 25% per annum using the straight-line method

h) Debtors

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

i) Cash at hand and in bank

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

j) Creditors and provisions

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

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

k) Financial Instruments

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

l) Pensions

The charity is a member of a multi-employer scheme (Greater Manchester Pension Fund) for employees in service on 1 June 2008. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the Trust but these assets and liabilities are not separately identifiable hence no value in the accounts. The regular cost of providing pension and related benefits is charged to the statement of financial activities over the employees’ service lives on the basis of a constant percentage of earnings.

The charity also operates two other defined contribution pension schemes for employees joining after 1 June 2008. Contributions are charged in the statement of financial activities as they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.

m) Judgement and keys sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the company’s accounting policies, the directors are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods. In the trustees’ opinion, there are no significant accounting estimates and judgements.

2 Legal status of the Trust

The charity is a private company limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the members is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation. The charity is incorporated in the United Kingdom and its registered address is: Trafford Ecology Park, Lake Rd, Manchester, M17 1TU.

3 Income from donations and legacies

	2025	2025	2024
	Unrestricted	Total	Unrestricted
			and Total
	£	£	£
Miscellaneous Income	22,893	22,893	7,124
Support Income	52,141	52,141	50,039
Furlough Income	-	-	-
	75,034	75,034	57,163

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

4
Investment income
Bank interest
2025
Unrestricted
£
34,730
2025
Total
£
34,730
Rental income
-
-
34,730
34,730
5
Cost of generating funds
2025
2025
Unrestricted
Total
£
£
Marketing Costs
25,516
25,516
25,516
25,516
6
Charitable activities
Direct
Employment
Governance
Support
&
Costs
Costs
Costs
Other Costs
(Note 7)
£
£
£
£
Analysis of
expenditure
on charitable
activities
Community and
Neighbourhoods
1,483,537
1,469,340
10,402
139,516
Employment and
Enterprise
1,458,101
2,633,346
19,112
256,361
Sustainable
Business Services
179,121
204,847
1,300
17,440
3,120,759
4,307,533
30,814
413,317

2024
Unrestricted
and Total
£
13,748
-
13,748
2024
Unrestricted
and Total
£
27,873
27,873
Total
Total
2025
2024
£
£
3,102,795
2,396,500
4,366,920
3,838,195
402,708
273,749
7,872,423
6,508,444

Note: Support and other costs are allocated on a % head count based on the members of staff in that area. These include administration, accommodation, transport, depreciation and communication costs.

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Groundwork Greater Manchester

Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

7 Governance costs

	2025	2025	2024
	Unrestricted	Total	Unrestricted
			and Total
	£	£	£
Legal and professional	18,814	18,814	18,738
Audit and accountancy fees	12,000	12,000	10,000
	30,814	30,814	28,738

Governance costs are apportioned into Note 6 based on staff numbers per area

8 Employees

The number of employees during the year, analysed by category, was as follows.

Direct charitable Management and administration Fundraising and publicity he aggregated cost of these persons was as follows: Wages and salaries Social security costs Pension costs (see note 14)	2025 Headcount 2024 Headcount 2025 FTE 2024 FTE 123 108 119 110 11 9 10 9 3 3 3 3	2025 Headcount 2024 Headcount 2025 FTE 2024 FTE 123 108 119 110 11 9 10 9 3 3 3 3
	137 120	132 122 2025 2024 £ £ 3,793,452 3,093,020 346,860 284,051 167,854 145,651 4,303,166 3,522,722

The aggregated cost of these persons was as follows:

The emoluments of employees (excluding NI/pension contributions) over £60,000 per annum are as follows:

		2025	2024
		£	£
£60,000	- £70,000	-	-
£70,000	- £80,000	1	1
£80,000	- £90,000	-	-

Total contributions under defined contribution schemes on behalf of these were £5,881 (2024 - £5,709). Payments made to Key Management Personnel amounted to £298,610 (2024: £159,433). These payments were to the executive officers only. No amounts were paid to Trustees

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Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

9 Transactions with Trustees

No Trustees received any remuneration or expenses for services performed on behalf of the trust.

10 Net incoming resources

Net incoming resources
	2025	2024
	£	£
Net incoming resources for the year is stated after charging:
Audit of the charity’s annual accounts	12,000	10,000
Depreciation	42,135	52,738

11 Tangible assets

Cost At 1 April 2024 Additions Disposals At 31 March 2025 Depreciation At 1 April 2024 Eliminated on disposals Charged for the year At 31 March 2025 Net Book Value At 31 March 2025 Net Book Value At 31 March 2024	Freehold Interest in Land and Buildings £ 607,018 - - 607,018 102,552 - 12,140 114,692 492,326 504,466	Ecology Park Main Building £ 153,950 - - 153,950 125,886 - 3,796 129,682 24,268 28,064	Ecology Park Timber Building £ 379,052 - - 379,052 22,743 - 7,581 30,324 348,728 356,309		Motor Vehicles £ 104,425 - - 104,425 76,103 - 15,254 91,357 13,068 28,322	Office and Computer Equipment £ 211,573 - - 211,573 201,479 - 3,364 204,843 6,730 10,094	Total £ 1,456,018 - - 1,456,018 528,763 - 42,135 570,898 885,120 927,255

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Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

12 Debtors Trade debtors Prepayments and accrued income 13 Creditors Trade creditors Other creditors Accruals and deferred income Taxation and social security	2025 2024 £ £ 1,232,699 858,035 555,987 871,188 1,788,686 1,729,223 2025 2024 £ £ 275,540 274,522 405,390 443,387 1,712,636 973,537 346,006 207,138 2,739,572 1,898,584

14 Greater Manchester Pension Scheme

The scheme available to staff in service on 1 June 2008 was the Greater Manchester Pension Fund (GMPF). The GMPF is a final salary defined benefit scheme, the assets of Groundwork Greater Manchester are pooled with similar institutions for actuarial valuation purposes. The pension contributions made by Groundwork GM to the scheme for the year ended 31 March 2025 were £59,634 (2024 - £55,261). The agreed employer contribution rate was 25.4% for the period April 2024 to March 2025 and will remain the same up to March 26.

In the event of any deficit, the trust would be liable for its proportionate share of any shortfall. As stated below, at the last actuarial valuation funding stood at 104%, up from 102% at the previous actuarial valuation. For the purposes of the accounts this is being treated as a defined contribution scheme.

The pension cost is assessed every three years in accordance with the advice of an independent qualified actuary. The latest actuarial valuation of the scheme was at 31 March 2022. The assumptions and other data, used in the 2022 valuation, that have the most significant effect on the determination of the contribution levels are as follows:

Actuarial method	Projected unit method
Rate of increase in pensions	2.3% pa
Discount Rate	3.6% pa
Market value of the assets at the date of last valuation	£29.3 m
Value of Liabilities	£28.3m
Proportion of members' accrued benefits
covered by the actuarial valuation	104%
Funding level change since last valuation	2% increase

Employees joining after 1 June 2008 have been entitled to join defined contribution pension schemes administered by AEGON and Peoples Pension.

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Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

15 Related parties

As per Note 8 no other related party transactions have occurred in the period

16 Analysis of net assets at 31 March 2025

Unrestricted Funds £ Tangible fixed assets 819,863 Current assets 3,662,585 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (2,739,572) 1,742,876 Analysis of funds Unrestricted Funds 202 5 £ At 1 April 2024 1,689,192 Incoming resources 7,951,623 Resources expended (7,897,939) Transfer between funds - At 31 March 2025 1,742,876	Restricted Total Funds 2025 £ £ 65,257 885,120 - 3,662,585 - (2,739,572) 65,257 1,808,133 Restricted Unrestricted Funds 202 5 Funds 202 4 £ £ 65,257 1,678,868 - 7,951,623 - (7,897,939) - - 65,257 1,689,192	Total Fund 2024 £ 927,256 2,725,777 (1,898,584) 1,754,449 Restricted Funds 2024 £ 65,257 - - - 65,257

17 Analysis of funds

18 Capital Commitments

The Trust had no Capital Commitments at the end of March 2025 (2024 - £ None)

19 Net Debt

Cash/Cash equivalents Cash Overdrafts Cash Equivalent Total Borrowings Debt Due Total	At 1 Apr 24 £ Cash Flows £ Other non-cash Changes £ At 31 Mar 25 £
	996,554 877,343 - 1,873,897 - - - - - - - - 996,554 877,343 - 1,873,897 - - - -
	996,554 877,343 - 1,873,897

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Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

Advisors

Auditors

Menzies LLP One Express 1 George Leigh Street Manchester M4 5DL

Bankers

Santander Corporate Banking 298 Deansgate Manchester M3 4HH

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Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

The Board of Trustees

The Trustees (who are the directors of the company in accordance with the Companies Act 2006) on the date of approval of this report, or who served as Trustees at any time during the year reported on, are as follows:

Co-opted Trustees	Member	First appointed	Last appointed
Katrina Cunliffe (Chair)	Co-opted	May 2019	June 2025
Thomas Besford (Vice Chair)	Co-opted	August 2020	August 2023
Tessa Wiley	Co-opted	September 2021	Sept 2024
Joanne Yates	Co-opted	November 2021	Sept 2024
Stewart McCombe	Co-opted	November 2022	November 2025
Steph Everett	Co-opted	November 2022	November 2025
Jack Collier	Co-opted	November 2023
Erica Rosanne East	Co-opted	November 2023
Janet Thomas	Co-opted	November 2023
Joy Woods	Co-opted	July 2024
Iain Kinnear	Co-opted	November 2025

Company Secretary

Gary Cunningham

Audit and Risk Committee Stewart McCombe (Chair) Steph Everett (Vice-chair) Erica Rosanne East Tessa Wiley Joy Woods

Executive Director

Deborah Murray

Key Management Personnel

Deborah Murray Gary Cunningham Venetia Knight (from 1 April 24) Michaela Howell (from 1 April 24)

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Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024/25

CONTENTS

ABOUT GROUNDWORK GREATER MANCHESTER

A Greener Fairer and Stronger Future for All People, Communities and Places in Greater Manchester

CHAIR’S STATEMENT

Tom Besford

HOW WE ARE ORGANISED AND GOVERNED

Our Board of Trustees

Our Executive Team

Our Relationship with the Groundwork Federation

CHARITABLE OBJECTS AND PUBLIC BENEFIT

2023-26 STRATEGIC REPORT

Context and Priorities

Our Impact

Themes of the Year

Deepening

Sustaining and Consolidating

Being a Responsible Business

Social

Governance

OUR PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

a) FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE

Reserves

Financial Impact of Risk:

Working Capital:

Commitments and long terms plans:

Investments

Principal funding sources

Funds held in trust

b) PRINCIPAL RISKS AND UNCERTAINTIES

Risk Assessment & Management

Financial instruments

Auditor

c) STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

Tom Besford

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Groundwork Greater Manchester

Opinion

Basis for opinion

Conclusions relating to going concern

Other information

TRUSTEES REPORT, INCORPORATING THE STRATEGIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

Responsibilities of trustees

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

Groundwork Greater Manchester

Statement of financial activities including the Income and Expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2025

Groundwork Greater Manchester

Tom Besford Acting Chair

Groundwork Greater Manchester

Cash flow statement for the year ended 31 March 2025

Notes forming part of the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025

1 Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

b) Going Concern

c) Grants and other income

d) Funds

e) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

f) Allocation of support costs

g) Tangible fixed assets

h) Debtors

i) Cash at hand and in bank

k) Financial Instruments

l) Pensions

m) Judgement and keys sources of estimation uncertainty

2 Legal status of the Trust

3 Income from donations and legacies

Groundwork Greater Manchester

Groundwork Greater Manchester

7 Governance costs

8 Employees

9 Transactions with Trustees

10 Net incoming resources

11 Tangible assets

Groundwork Greater Manchester

14 Greater Manchester Pension Scheme

Groundwork Greater Manchester