The William Leech Research Fund Trustee's report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 Registered Charity Number. 1127350 The William Leech Research Fulld Trustee's report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 Contents Directors alld advisors forth¢ye4r endeJ] 31 March 2024...... Report of the trustee forthe year ended 31 Marh 2024........................................ Ethi¢al inY¢stm¢nt poli¢y and practÈces..................................-.............................................................. Risk managenment statement............................................................._.._..... .. Independent allditors, r¢port to th¢ trnstee of The W￿18￿ Leech Rff¢arch Fund................................. 13 Ststement of financlal activities for the Y￿ ended 31 March 2024............. 16 Balance shee¢ as at 31 March 2024................................................................................................................. 17 Statement of accoulltiDg ￿liCies................................................................................. 18 Notes to the fllw)cial ststernents for theyear ended 31 Marcb 2024... .20 The William Leech Research Fund Directors and advisors for the year ended 31 March 2024 Trustee The William L¢¢xh Fourth1￿ Limitsj Directors of the Trustst Compkny Andrew OBE FRICS (a]8ir) Alice Ambrose-Thumian FCA FCIS Paul Burrage FCA Maureell Dixon Dagmar Dvorak CFA IMC (8pEx)iDted 27 FetAW 2(r24) John Harrison ACA Michael Joyn50n (apwTrillted 27 February 2024) John Mar5ball Philip Poole FCCA Angela Russell FCA CPA (rtsigtted27 Fe* 2024) w￿laM Seddou CFA (Senior Director) John Stansfrld CEng FI MarEST MtMecbE Sttretsry gnd Regtstered Office Marcia Lart FCA Amcr Bank ChamF*rs 26 Mosley Street Newostl¢ vw>n Tyne NEI IDF Independent AuditorJ Az¢ts Alldit se￿ICes Chartered acc4)m)tants ar￿ statw ouditors Bulman Hous¢ Regent Centre Newcasde urrfbn Tyne NE3 3LS Bankers Lloyds Bank pl¢ 102 Grey Stre Newcastle upon Tyne NE99 ISL Solicitors Womble BotKI Dicki[￿n ILP The SpJK D[a>Th￿S Way Newc&%t]e Helix Newcastle Tyne NE4 5DE Investment Manager CCLA Inyesiment MaDagementLimit¢d One Angel Lane London EC4R 3AB The William Leech Research Fund Report of the trustee for the year ended 31 March 2024 The William Leech Research Fund ('the R¢seATch Fund. OT'the TnLSt') 15 A cItsTity constituied by Trust Deed. The Trt￿t was fonnerty knowm Ls The Willialn Leech ReseArcb Fellowship in App]ied Christian Theology. The Dame was changed on 13 sePte￿be[ 2018 following a review of the Tn￿ Ded al￿ the objects of th¢ TrusL As ttuthe, The William Leech Found*ion Limited ('the trusle¢' or 'the Tnth Company.), a compairy corp(￿ated in England and Wales, presents the Teport and audited financial ststemen15 of tbe Rese￿Ch Fund for the year ended 31 March 2024. The fmancial statements have been prepa￿1 ID accordance with the Declaration of TrusL the staiement of accouDting policies set out OD pages 18 and 19. the C}￿ri11e5 Act 2011 and AccouDtiug attd RqK)rting by Charities.. St*emeDt of Recommended Ptsciice applicabl¢ to charities preparing the￿ f￿anCIal statements iu accordance with the Financial Reportingstandard applicable illthe UK andRepublic of IrelaDd (FRS 102) (efftctive l January 2019). Legal and adtllinistrative inf(Kmation page I forn￿ part of tbis T Objecliv¢s aDd artivities The tswstee is a]so the In￿¢¢ of The ￿r￿la￿ Leedl Foundation Litnited - The Foundation Trust {'The Found&ion Tnjst,) and The William t£ech Foulldation Limited- The C&￿ity TTUSt ('The Ch￿lty Tntst,). The iDcome of The Foundation TTr￿ 15 to be applied iti equal shares for the beD¢fit of The British and Foreigtt Bible Society, Church Mt&sioll Society. The Methodist Chureb in Britain, The Sa]vatiOll Arniy and The Society for Promoting christi￿ Knowledge (wllectively known as 'the Five ChaTities'). The income of Th¢ Cl￿tty Trust is lo b¢ applied for chatithble pU￿OSe5 and since 1973 all of Ats income h&$ been distributed to the Five Charities in eqllal sbares, save in circumslan¢¢s the Board of the Tnjstee Company ¢onsidered to be exceptional. ID 1987 The ch￿lty Trnst establishedThe William Leech Professoria] Fellowshtp in Applied Chrisiian Theology based at either Dur1￿ University or the Untversity of Newcastl¢ ￿￿>n Tyne. The host UniV￿SIty previousty beld the endoThillent fun(L In 2008 the tr￿$￿e became concerned ab(￿1 the abiltty of the ¢ndowrynent fill)d to sustoill fi]rtber five-year appointtDellts at professorial level. A working party Teviewed the structure and fmances of the Professorial Fellowship aDd a150 the nanxre of the r¢5earch E¢ing undertaken. As a result, the Trnst was established aud ve#ed in The Willialn Leech FOUnd￿lOn Limited as tntstee under a Declatation of Trust dated 22 Decemb¢T 2008. Under the teTtns of a Deed of Gift and Dissolution between tbe tNste¢ aEd I)ud)am University th¢ funds held previously by Durham Uniyersity OD bebalf of The William Leech Professorial Fellowship were traDsferred to the Trust oll 9 Jutte 2(K19. A new Managernent c0￿￿7ttee was createdto oversee the reseaTcb projects. Its current memEtrs are: Professor Geofftey Moore {Chair) Alice An)brose-Thurman {representiDg the Tnjstee Cojnpallyl Mrs Valerie BamTrn Rev Ian Galloway Professor Karen Kilby RL Rev. John Pritchard (holits one share in th¢ Tnstee ComEMny) Member5 of the Management Committee are appointed by th¢ ITUStee upon receiving nominations from the Management Cottllnittee. Up to two mernbers (and at least one metnber) ￿aY be diredors of the Trnstee Company. Metllbets serve for a terrn of three )'ears and may seTV¢ UP to a maximum of three ternis unless there are exceptional CiTCUmStances. and the trnstee T￿O1¥eS otherwise. DuTing theyear Margaret Vaughan's fll)al three year term of office came to an end in January 2024 and Professor KaJEn Kilby was appointed to the Manage)nent Couullittee H'itb effect from 27 February 2024. The Board of the TnLStee co)npany are eXtre￿elY g￿e￿I to all m¢mber5 of the MaLagemeDt Convnittee fortheircontributions to the work of th¢ R¢search Fuud and in i)arti£uiar to Margtret for her contribution over the 118t nine years. The William Leech Research Fund Report of the trustee for the year ended 31 March 2024 (contiDued) The part-time secondment of Dr Andrew Orton, wbo joined the Re6earch Fund as its Direclor on I September 2022 from the UDiYetsity of Durham. is now tn its second year and he ¢ontinues to wotk the Management Cojnjnittee to support the c0-ordit￿1i0n and development of its Th¢ Research Fulld focu5es on shorter.tctm re5earch.b&sed ap￿]￿l￿[wh￿ usually ]astiugno more tham oneye8r, and 4)n prO￿dIng graDts toward5 re5eaTch projects. The objects of the Research Fund are the advancement of religion for the benefit of the publi¢ by the award of grants to Sup1￿ research and theologicaK refledion on social. e¢onoTnic and pa*oral issues of Tel¢vanoe to the mission and ministy of churches of the North East of England and to the con]muDi¢ation of the Cbristiall gospel in the contemporary context of the UK. The re5eaT¢h will be undertaken in way5 that involve ¢Dgagement with the church community, and the ￿Se￿I fll)dings of thi$ researcb will be disseminated to the ¢huwbes alyd the wrder public. When awarding ￿ts. the lThste¢ shall expr￿ apreference forpersons who iDt¢Dd ioreside the Nortb Eaqt of England for the duration ofth¢ir worl ill order to facilita* active engagemajt in th¢ region alld tbe dissel￿atIon of their research. The name and objects of the Research Fund were changed ID 2018 (i) to reflect the fact that'Applied Christian Theology, does not reflect Current best thougbt aboui the Telation of theology and practice. and (li) to recognise the p)Ssi￿]Ilty that grdDts might be made to orwisatioLs to CODductresearth in which it wouldbe illappropri&te to identify a particular Fellow. The trnstee referred to the Charity Commis5ioll's general guidance on public b¢nefit when setting th¢ Tnjst's aims aud objectives and is satisfied that the reqllirements have been met. During the financial year the Trustee Conjpaoy approved three new grdllt awards totalling £149.718 a5 recoll]￿ellded by the Management Co￿ittee (2023: Dil): A grdnt of £60,(￿7 w&% awardoj io the Centre for Baptist Stsdies, Regeni'5 Park College. Oxford LD November2023 foraresearcb projectto be undertsken by StefBnie Cont3di on"loneline5s oFdisolalion )eriencedtyolderpeopleinSouih Tynuide.. Ckristi¢m reSp(VLf￿fro￿ th¢p￿lOralI0 iheprophetid.. The grant award was for one year and started in tk¢ember 2023. A grdnt of£41,493 was awarded to StJohD'S College, Dutham inNovember2023 for aresearch project tobe undertokeTJ by DrRuthPerrin on"Friend¥hip, Faith andFIOuT￿h1ng. How dofriend¥hw andfaiih interacl and impocK ihe wellbeing rfwaduing ' Millennial" Chrislian¥ in North EasÈ Englupia.. The 8rallt award 15 for a twO-ye￿ project and started Decetnber 2023. A grant of £48,178 w&s awarded to St John's College, Dur1￿￿ in January 2024 for a tEsearch proje¢t io the clnffch.. I£Lrningsfrom ihef¢riih liv￿ ofpeople Itving wilh addECtEQPL¥ aÉÉending Recovery ChTffch". Th¢ grani award is for a twfryear project and it is ex￿ that the research will comm¢nce in October 2024. Further illfomiation on the research pr(Nlueed with SUPFXYrt from the Research Fund can be found on the Ttust's website- b ..IAeechres¢archfund.o Structurey goTr¢rnance and management The Nominations and Re]nuneration Conunittee of the TnLStee Company has CODtinued to provide a for￿￿1, rigorous and transparent procedure for the appointtllent of directors to the Board. Mernkr5hip consists of fo directors, includiDg the Chatr, Senior Director and two othtt directors. The members should iticlude at least one independent director and at least one of the director5 from the five nomtnated by the Five CE￿ILleS. The Current members are Andrew Bromw Maureen Dixo￿ willia￿ Seddonand JohEk Sthnsfeld and all served throughout the f]nancial year. The William Leech Research Fund Report of the trustee for the year ended 31 March 2024 (tontinued) Under the Trustee co￿PanY'S current articles of as5oCiOtio￿ directors are yppointed for a terni of three years after which they Tetire and are eligible for re-appoin(menL Directors who bave St￿ed more than 12 years are eligible for r¢-4)pointtnellt for fi]rther lernis of one year. The Trustee CompaDy I￿8 expressed a prefeTence that the tern] of dir¢rtors 15 limited to Dim¢ yeaTS UDless there are exceptional ¢iTQllt￿¢ts. When recrniting. the Nominations and Remunerntion Committee seeks to apFOillt individuals Mith the necessary skills to make a positive contnbution to the Boar￿ wbo are sympathetic to the Tnjstee Compally's aims and can ￿ake aw)sitive iJnpact on its diversity. Having served for more than 12 years, Andrew Brown was reappoiDted for a fi￿￿er one-yeaT temi of office at the Truste¢ CotDpally's ADDual Genetsl Meeiing on 17 lknb¢r 2023 in order to conttrjue his tem) of office a5 Chair. Angela Russell resiglled &$ a director on 27 Febrnary 2024 and Dawar Dvorok and Michael Joynson wety appointed a5 directors on 27 Febnjary 2024, Ix)th of whom briDg iDvestment experience to the Board of the Trnstee Company. The TnWceCompany's Board considerSth￿ its membthshaye the neC￿Sary %kills to Conduct its busAne&s effectivety. New directors receive a letter of appointmeD¢ atMI an induction pacl wbich include% the articles of associatio a short bistory of the TnL8tee Company and its structure. amiual financia] sthtements, Board minut¢$, tenns of reference of the sub-committtts, latest flnancial forecasts. investmfflt Tep)rtg and any other documents considered to be of impottsnce. The trusitt retains the respoDsil)iliry for all aspects of the governance and Stewa￿￿p of the Trnst. However, ¢rtaiD functions have been delegated to tbe Management Cornmittee. The tnjstee approved fonnal Terms of Reference for the Management Committee on 31 March 2009 and thes¢ were updawj on 24 April 2018 and we cutT¢ntty being Teviewed by the Managevnent Con]miuee. The Managejnent Comtnittee is re5PODsible for the recruiknent of research fellows. SUPWTtiJJg the fellows during their t¢rnl gf office and rnonitortng their work. The tswtee Te¢eives quarterly progTess r¢ports on the wot* of the Managernent Comn)ittee. The Managenent Com]nittee is obliged to seek approval frorn the Trnstee Cotnpat]y forall appointtllents and grants. Ifthe approval of a grant falls outside the meeting cycle of the TrU￿e Company. the Chair of the Tr￿Stee Company ean give approval. The tnthe is gr￿e0￿[ for the continuing Sllp￿rt of the Management Committee and is wnfjdent that it will be able io assist the tnjsiee in Jneeting the objectives of the Tn￿l The IDV¢Sttnent Conllnittee of the trustee w&$ established to review inT￿st￿ellt obje¢tives. &ssei allocation, ethical 1Dvest￿¢￿t wlicy and the performance olthe Inv¢strnent Mallager. Ii also makes r¢commelldations to the Board concerning the appotntrnent of the Investsnent Manag¢T and the establisbment of suitable benchma￿. The Investment Colnmittee ni)m)ally Tneets with the Investment MaTAger each year. The InveSt￿elLt Committ¢¢ oversees the i￿vest[￿ent policy of the Trus4 w'hose T￿￿t Deed co]Jtaslls the po￿.er to invest on a totsl retunj basis. The ¢UTrent members of this C0llllllI￿ are Andrew Brow Dagtllar Dvorak. John Harrison, Michael Joynson, Marcia Lallt and William Seddoll. Philip Poole wa5 aTn¢rnt¢T to 5 December 2023 and Angela liussell to 27 Febrnary 2024. John Harrison was ap￿inted to the Cornmittee on 5 December 2023 and Dagnw Dvorak alid Michael 30)￿S0n H'ere also appointed to the Committee on 27 February 2024. The Board Jneets atquarterly intrThals at which the directors receive reprts from the Investsnent Committee and the Investment Matwer. The Board consider5 investsnent managemenL reserves, distribution and risk mallagement poli¢tw and the ￿(Ormance of the Invesiment Manageragainst a Tange of Jneasures. The day-t day administrati¢)n of th¢ Tru# is delegated to the Secrew. Directors, indemnity insurdnce has been in place forthe whole of theyear ended 31 Marth 2024 and also covers the M¢￿berS of the MamagemeDt Committee. The William Leech Research Fund Report of the trustee for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continlled) The tnwee is a m¢Tnb¢r of the Cburch Investors Group. This acts &% 8 fonmi to enable membe¥s to sbare information and views on ethical social responsi￿llIty and corporate governance ll￿ers relating to investttsenL Risk management The Board of the Tr￿￿te Company has examttted the principal ateas of the Tn￿,5 operdtions and considered the Tnajor risk$ in wh of these areas. The TnL8ttt Compatty main¢atll5 a detailed risk register which is kept und¢TTegular review. Tlte directors have identified the ￿1￿cIpal risks to the organisalion &$ being.. l. Investment risks: Macro-economic aDd mrtet conditiotLs tDvestroeDI manager risk 2. Goyemance ond key personnel iisks 3. Fraud 4. Repuiational risk. Consideration and mallagement of these risks is a key dimension of Board agendas, and pages I l and 12 swnlnarise CUTrent risk Anitigation ststegies and assess[￿ent ofrisk pmfile. Andrew Brow]LwasTrappointed asa director for a fitrtber one Ye￿ atthe Annual Gelleral Meeting on 17 October 2023. Angela Russell resigned on 27 Febtw 2024 and Dagmar Dyorak and Michael Ji))Tr50n were both appoitited to the IK>ard on 27 Febnjary 2024. The Board considers that its members have the necessary skills to ¢onthiet its busine&s effectivety. The Board holds tneelings in peT50n along with vide(wnf¢Tencing tr¢bJJology being used for some meeting5 if necessary, including Committee meetings. The valu¢ of the inyesttnellt wrtfolio h&$ continued to be i]npact througbout the F￿ancIal year by the impact of in¢reasing int¢resl rates, iDfiatioll alldthe Continuing geopolitical ullctriaitity created following Russia'5 illV&SlOll of Ukraine in February 2022. Equities had a strong perfornwlce in the last quarter of the financial year as th¢re was growing conftdence that Ènterest rates had ￿ed and central banks would start to reduce interest rates iJJ the near futllre. However. althougb reth]rns over this perithl have been positiv< there is *ill significant uncertainty, with concerns existing oyer the continued resilience of the US econom), ond jobs market and li is possible that borrowing costs could T¢main '￿Igher for longer" with cuts comit]g later and tllore grthatty than previously antieipatrd. Investsnentretums in theyearhave be¢n d(￿nInateabY thecommullication Setvices andlllforn￿iIon Tecbnology sectors. Given that equity va]uations have ri5ell subgtsntially towartts the end of the fitwicial year, there is still a significant risk that equity prices could be Degativety itnpacted if ￿0￿etary ￿l1¢Y shifts from that which the tnarkets axe cumtly assuming. CorFofdte earnillgs rq)ortS Tele&%ed the l&%t quarter of the fmancial yearwere considered encouraging by the fund manager but they also consider that it is sii]I possible that the impact of higher interest rates have still yet to b¢ fulty feli by consumas alld businesso%. The geopolitical is expected to remain Challengu￿ in the short lenD with electioDS happening across ajor economies in 2024r25 along with the increasing risks in the MKldle EasL The trustee continues to moDitor iDVCSttnellt t*rfoTmance closely tsking itito account this ekvated risk profile. The trumee collsiders that the l￿follO is invested diversety and as a l¢)ng-ternk investor the portfolio should be well-placed io weather wch market volatility. Ill the Opinion of th¢Board of theTrustee Company tbe TnLSthas establishedresource5 and systems whi¢h, uuder norn]a] ¢ircumstances, thouldauow these rffi5k5 to be lllitigatedtoanacceptable level in its day-tfrday operatii)lls. The William Leech Research Fund Report of the trustee for the year ended 31 March 2024 (contiDued) Financial review and investment policy The Tn￿,$ investh)eni strategy is a totsl return approacb to the investment of the pemallent end0￿￿ent. The tsusiee believes the itivesttnent obj¢dives sbould over the long terni e]Mble the Illyest￿ellt Manager to produce greater investtnent returns and so in due course tbis should lead to more resourtes being available 10 fund research grants. In a¢¢ordallce with the TnLrt De￿ the tnjstee confwms that ill idenknfSryDg the value of th¢ portion of th¢ pern]aD¢nt endowment tbat represellted utwjpiied total Tetun4 the tmstee identified the value of the initial founding gifi in 1987. andwhen deten]Lt￿g the amountofunappliedtda] rett]rn kntrallsferto inco]ne the ttvstee has considered tbe amoullt of income requI￿dt0 fund research projectsnowand in the fi]ture' andwhen reaching the decision as to the UD4)plied Éotsl renmi to tr￿fert0 iucorne. the tnth has tsken professional advice from the Investtnent ManageT regtrding the outliN)L iDV¢Stment trends and yield and the prospects for future ¢apitsl groThxb. Since 8 February 2018, the inveslment portfolio hag been illV¢Sted in the COIF Charities Ethical JnvesttneJLt Fund nuj by CCLA IDvestsnent Management Limited. This is a multi-assd cojnmon inveslmeni fimiL designed for smailer ¢hzritie4 and has a ¢omw)site benclLmarL which is set by the Invest￿ent Manager. bas¢d OD a llUTnber of asset clL%ses. The fund's investment criteria are broadty in line with the 4Fproved ethical inve5tmentpolicy (see Pag￿ 9 and 10). As at 31 March 2024 the ￿¢t allocation of the COtF Charities Ethical Investment Fund w&5 equiÈies 71.480/0 (of which UK equiÈies were 8.870/0); infr18thjctt￿e and operating 9.130/r*' ftKed interest 8.03•/o, liquid assets 2.180/0. property 4.590/• COntrac￿al& othet inc£xne 1240117," prÉYate equty& other 3.33Q/o, and derivatives 0.020/9. With the poslibiliry that units may have to be liquidated to fund research projects andgiven the small size of the Tn￿t'S ¢ndoThinent fllll￿ the B0￿d of the Tnjstee Company WDsiders that it remaiDS appropriate to be invested througb a COllWlOD iiiyesiment fimd which offers liquidity rather than directty held investtll￿ts. The Investment Manag¢rre￿rtS to the Tn￿le¢ Cotllpan). atquarterlyand aDnual itttrtva15. These repotts include economic attd market reviews, trdDsaction detsib and wrtfolio Yaluations. The Trnst's work is elltirety dependent on the Tnvestsnent returns frorn the endoThThent During tbe financial year the ttustee traDsferred a iotsl of £177,121 (2023.. £16.609) from the unapplied r¢tt]rn of the fi￿d to meet the governance costs and grallt aw￿d% of th¢ Tnjst. The risk profile of the inveslm¢nt portfolio is rnediu￿. The Tn￿1 is a long-terni investor and the trustee. o professional advic4 remains of the view t[￿l a wthlio weightrd towards ¢qUTties is appropriate. Aebievements and performanee Investmettts As at 31 MarcFL 2024 the FKTrrtfo]io was valued at £2,546.024. In th¢ year ended 31 March 2024 the tothl retum was 13.1 lQ/o. I￿ring the fJJJancial year the Retail Prices Index {"RPI') alld the Consumer Prites tndex ('CPI') T05¢ by 4.3 % and 3.8070 respectively. Over the fjve-year period 10 31 March 2024, the totsl TeDJm was 53.50/0. Over the satne peri¢)d RPI alld CPI rose by 34.340/0 22.W/ti respectivety. The p)rtfolio's total retUTn of 13.1 IO/ts w&g-3.610/o E¢low the investh]ent manager's comparator E¢nclJmart index of16.720/ts. The Board of the TnJsÉee Conipany expects that in the short ts) medtum-terni stock ￿arkets will continue to b¢ volatile and the Tnjstee Company wntinues to tnonitor investment I￿rf0nDance closely. The William Leech Research Fund Report of the trustee for the year ended 31 March 2024 (contilllledj The last formal review by the T￿￿e¢ Company of the Ethical ]Dve5tment policy look place on 7 February 2023. The policy stste￿e￿I is also reviewed amually ￿ ensure that it remains up to date. The next formal review of the policy will take place duTiDg the F￿nCIal y¢or ¢n¢Jing 31 March 2026. The current p)licy and practices statement can b¢ fIN￿d on pages 9 and 10. Grants The Research Fund h&5 sought to fiTrther develop its loug¢r-t¢mL Potential for cbaritable i]npa¢t througb a Tenewed approach including Consolidating and widettiDg its str*egic relationships atross the region. Lastyear, Dr Andrew Orton joined the Research FuDd &s its Darector on a part-tim¢ Se£ond￿ent basis frotn Durham Uniyetsity with the role of developing the Research Fulld's approach and profile, and supporting applications within the Research Fund's prioTity thetnes. This work included running a hÈgh-Ewfile event iThJune 2023 titled 'Nurturing Christian Hope in North Fast CoMm￿ltit$. Coolletttng Resvarch and Practice" that enabled wid¢r engagement with those who are active in churth¢s alld CbTiStiaD social action organisations across th¢ region. Tbis work has further d¢velop¢d the Fulld's appn)ach to supporting rcsearch that engages with tbe people and churches of the regiotL and aTise5 from the questions and issues that they &e encountertn& whilst advallcitig related understsmdiDg and impacl particulaTly through developing engaged theological reflection on practice. In the process, this WO￿ also helped to refresh the priority themes forthe Fund based onthis engagernen¢ and built lith benveen those with related r¢searcb irnierests. with wme shared and strengthened research applicalions being subsequently gubmitted OD tbose tbetlles. As a resuli of thi5 worK a co[ll￿tItive round of higb4pa]ity g￿t applications t(bok place in September 2023 with three new grants awarded totslling £149.718. Two researth projects have subsequent]y started within this financial year, one Thith St John's College. DurhaTD Univ¢Tsity, ￿ £41.493 (over two yea[5) and one with R¢gent's Park College. Oxford at £60,047 (oyer One year) and a third prOj￿t with St Jokn's College, Durharn ai £48,178 is thie io commence in (ktober2024 as d¢tsil¢d on page 3. Reserves poliey The policy is to hold suifi¢ient reserves in the unrestricted fund to rneet the Tn￿¢,5 fjnallcial conmiitments. At 31 March 2024 there was a balance of £7.388 (2023.. £7,388) in the UDrestricted fimd. The TDJStee has agreed that the r*e of distnbution for the year commen¢ing l April 2024 (and for C￿h year CO￿￿encing l ApTiI theTeafter Lmtil the policy is challged) will be 40/(* of the rollillg fiVe-ye￿ avernge of net asset value. Plans for future periods The work to build enhanced strategic relationthips across the region in supFth of the tEnewed approach is continuing, with the Director continuing to 5UPWrt w)*ntial applicants in developiDg high quality applications t)yically involving collaborntive W0￿]ng between reseatchers, churcheslchristian orgatiisatxons and academic host orgallisations. Another 4)plication round for research gEXTrt applications is beillg held with a deadline for Applieations in May 2024. Alongside thi%, the Reseanh Fund wtll suppirt the rese8Tch andresearcbets that have beeD fi￿de4 including by -agement ond 5hartllg of emerging fmdings. seeking to encourage and enable widespread eno The William Leech Research Fund Report of the trustee for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) Statement of trustee's responsibilities The trnstee is re5poDsible for preparng the rep(Mt of the rnstee and the fLwucial statements in a￿ordanCe with 4)plicable law andregulations. Under tbat law the t[￿slee bas prepar￿the financial statements in ac£ordance with United Kiugdom A¢countiDg Stsndard5, cornprtsillg FRS 102 "The FinaDcia] Reporting Stsndard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland", and applicable law (UDlted KiDgdoTn G¢neralty Ac£¢pt¢d Accounting Pr&ctice). Under that law the tn￿ee must not approve the financial s￿e￿¢￿ts unless it 15 stitisfi￿ that they giv¢ a true alld fair view of th¢ state of the affai￿ of tbe Tn￿ and of th¢ inC(K￿iDg resources al￿ 4p]l￿tion of r¢source5 of the T￿￿ for th period. In preparing these fmaD¢ial slal¢ment4 the trustee is reqll￿ed to: select Suitable accounting pTrlicies and then appty them cotisistent]y' observe the meth(yJs and principles in the applicable Charities SORP. make judgements and e5tsmates that are reasonable and prndellL state whether FRS 102 -The FiDancial ReE￿IDg Stand&d applicable ID the UK and Republic of Ireland" has been followe& subje¢t to Any material thparnres disclosed and explained in the f]nalleial stsiements; and prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis uD]ess it is inappropriale lo preSU￿e tbat the Trust will Goutinue in business. The tntstre is res￿nSible for keeping proper accoullttllg records that dI￿105C with re&sollable accurncy at any time the fmaltcial EK)sition of the Trnst and enable the trustee to ensu￿ th￿the financial Sta￿ments comply with the Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charity (Accounts and Repcrts) Regulations and the provisions of the Tru￿ Deed. Th¢ trustee is also reslxinsible for safeguarding tbe assets of the Trust and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and dete¢lion of fraud and other itregularities. Appointment of auditors Azets Audit Services baye indicated their willinglless to stand for reawoinlrnent at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting. A resolution for the r¢-appoimttnent of A2ets Audit Services as auditor5 of the TAUS( is to be proposed at the forth¢oming Annual General Meetii The Tn￿tee wishes to put on record its thath to MarciaLant and LiThJsey Nicholls for their administrative help wbicb has enabled their work IEL SUPPOrt of the Research Fun Approved by the trustee alld sigtted on its ￿halF by: Brown William Seddon Director Director 315 2024 The William Leech Research Fund Ethical investment policy and practiees for the Research Fund {as approved by the trustee on 7 February 2023) Our policy is to invest iti a maDDer CODSiStent with the promouon of the objeets and principles of the Five Charities. We aijn to strike a balance b¢￿een investing in ways that take account of Christian principles and ethical consider*ions and 5ea]ring strong fman¢ial Tebjms for the Five Cljarities over the long tenn. It is our opinion that iti the long term an ethi(a] investment T￿lICY along the lines set out below is w￿]kelY to be of significant detr]￿ent to rates of investmeDt return. We have prepared this policy iti cot)sultation with the Five Charities but recogllise that this policy is ultimatety the reS￿￿1b11Ity of the directoEs. our￿licY thkes into accoullt the Church of F￿d Ethtcal InvestEnent Advisory GTW> (EIAG)'s Statement of Ethical Investsnent Policy in the seleaion of our iuVe5t[￿cllts. We believe that thi5 guiilance broadly reflects the Cbristian ethi￿ F•es of the Five Clwitie5 and that it is helpful to draw upon EIAG'S expertise in such matters. The EIAG guidelities are also readily available to o Inveslmeni Managers and wilt therefoTe k a helpfid and Cl￿ point of referellce for them. liecogni5ing that we shouldnot bind OU￿e1veS absolutely tothe views ofon external t￿y.￿e will reTriew EIAG guidanceon aregul basis to assess bow far it remains appropriate for w, wticularly as ]najor]Jew ar￿ of exclusion are brought i or as existing restrictions are reconsidered. Lxperti5¢ in EnviroDmeutal So¢i¥l and Governance illvcstment i4suttq ts One of the criteria w¢ use to select our InYes¢m¢nt Managers. we will a]so conslder the ethical credentiajs of the Investment MaDagers themselves i making tha¢ appoinlrnent. Tbrough our m¢￿berShIp of the Church Investors Group. we will share our perwtives with other like-minded iThvestors and togetber will aim io encourage compaThies to perforni ID au ¢thial aDd reS￿nSIble mat￿er. Ca$b iDvestmellts When making cash deposits we will oot use any battks iti wbose shares EtAG would recommend we should Dot invesL Collective investments Theporttoliosof The FoundationTnts¢ Thecharity th¢ Williatn Leech Research Futtd and William Lee£h (Investments) Ltd are invested in collective investment funds. Th¢ ethical illYesttlleDt ￿liCIeS adopted by these funds broadly comply EtAG guidelines. We will CODttnue to liaise with the m8nagas of these fjmds and monitor any changes Tn their etbical investment policies. There will be titnes when it is prudent to bold other Collective investnents in order to access less liquid parts of the tnarkets and achieve adequat¢ diversification within Ou[￿rtfOlio, forexample to invest in smaller cotnpanie5 or companies listed in less develO￿d coulltries. We recw]￿. however, that there are particular ¢hallenges in screening the ethical credentials of all the comp)nent pats of some collective invesllnents. We therefore review regularly the rationale for such invegttnents and the extrnt ￿ M'bich they Jnav include boldings that would nornally be excluded by EIAG guidelines. We will also baise with investment managers over their holdiug5 and will Jnonitor the implementation of their rMTrlicy. The William Leech Research Fund Ethical investment policy and practices for the Research Fund (as approved by the trustee on 7 February 2023) {continued) MonitOriDg aDd review We will ￿Onitor our adh¢rence to th¢s¢ ptiDciples and the financial impact of this ethi￿ investlneni policy annually. If the filldings of p¢riiKlÈc review show a significant detritnental llnpact that 15 expected to tKrsist in the long terni, then we Thill disaw with the Five Clwities whethtT or not the ￿licY should be amended. In addition, if the Board decides to change its investment approach to a directly held investmenty this tMTrlicy will be reviewed and ￿COrdingty. We will fornially review this policy as a whole every three years. More InfonN&don oboutEL4Gandltspollcies befrwidol." s:/IMww.churchofen laniLo overnaD¢elethital-Anvestsnent-advi50 io The William Leech Research Fund Risk management statement The T￿￿tte Company'5 approacb to the management of risk is designed to etthle (be Board to pmactiv¢]y identify and rnanage risks to supwrt the achievement of the Tn]st's objectives. The Board is responsible for ensuring that adequat¢ systems of risk management ID placc and that it h&5 a consistent apFttite for risk and that the level of risk is conunensurat¢ with ￿￿1¢Ye￿¢￿t of its obiecttyes. A key pat of the prttess is the maintenance of adetailed Risk Register. which 15 reviewed regularly with any signifieant changes beiDgreported to the Boar& The Board has identified a numE*r of k¢y Tisks and these ar¢ set out below together with an explallation of its mitigation strategies aDd assesSll)¢Dt of each risk. kTY RISK AREA A. Investmellt risks a) Macroteonomte and market conditi0115 (Éucluditig exchange rdt¢, interest rate and illtlation risks) could reduce ability io deliver long-tenn real growth of income to our i*neficiarie& MITIGATION STRATEGIES Ahbougb we will 2]ways be expo￿ to shrxt-term llwket volattlity. our inv¢strnthts are well diveTsified with a portfolio of global as well as UK equities. to spre&l risk. As a long-tenn investor we consciously hold a weighting towar¢l8 equities. as we believe this offers the best proswts of proiecting our endowwent agaxtist intl*ioll alld deliveriDg real gro￿th over the long ￿rn). Our investments ill the COIF Clwities Ethical Investjnent Fund CaD b¢ liquidated wity in the short ter￿, enabling us to sustain short.t¢Tm distnlyjtions even when interest ordivid¢Dd rates are low. We do not hedge cuttency risk because we believe th¢ c4)sts of doing so Outwei￿ the benefi1& giv¢n our liquidity and long- tern] perspective. Assew￿￿£. Currenl condldons are etyremely vololile givth the Sim4tiion DE Uknaine the Middle Easl. w￿h inJ7uthn reducing althoygh siill higher than central brtnkF' rgets. high inlere51 ratss und on-going gÉo-pohlical uncertuinlj,. Becawe of the long-terni nalure of oHr dowmnt ond ow ability io $moolh flows incDme benefic1￿1£5. we believe we ore goodposthon io rlde ou¢ shorfer-termJ7uclualions tmdih8 in economic émd mtsr*el eondlthink The geopolthcol londse&pe ts awecied io remain chollenging in ihe shortlerm. wilh eleeilons happening across mLTjore¢onomI￿ in 2024n5. The Trusiee coniinues lo moniior investhwiiperfornwnce tsAing into accoiuit this elevthed rLfk prof￿% b) Investment ma￿￿ger risk- underperfonnance by our manager couldTeduce the retUrnS we are able to deliver. An aDllual meeting is held Thith ijur manager to rnODitor their perfonDanCe. We compare the man4oer's F¢rfoTmance against external benchll￿k5 to help hold them to acci)unt. (kn policy 15 to CaTry (Mlt regul￿ re-tendeTiThg exercises foT inveslment management services. Asswment.. The performance of ihe Imvesthenl manager since t7ppoin0m￿l in 2018 hos genEr￿ty been S￿1¥￿￿eL0ry a&hough there haiy again been markel chthllenges agllin ih year &ndperform4nce is below its composiie benchmwkfor The William Leech Research Fund KEY RJSK AREA MfTIGATION STRATEGIES the year. Over 3 jea￿, thiol rethrn if however close chmark The oydvok currenlly remuiRs ehthllenging. ThÉ InVUth￿nt Comm{￿è lo moniior the fund's perfornfymce closety. AppoiDtiog six illdq)elldeot directors allows specific skills to be recruited wh￿e these are not already place througb our five ¢harity.llominatrd direL#ors. AD aDnual Board 5elf-assessment process takes place to monitor the quality of our governance. Carefvl documentation of pff*eduTes 8T￿ T¢COTds has been set up to enable new staffladvis￿s lo pick up iDforniation quickly shou]d stsff leave orlx Illcap￿ItatCd unexpectedly. knesspnénL' Ive bdieve (h￿ we have good levels of governonce ond 47CCaS ¢0 4ppropTkne eyeTI&F& IVhiLu ihere will be a rAsk relqting lo the olkey slaff member5, WÉ good conwwity meo¥ures In plac¢ Add￿10￿￿1 skills wereaddedto the Tru￿eeBodrdEn February 2024 tsfviherthcrease ewerti%e lft thil are Two signatories are rquired forall chtyue5 iu excess of £l.000. On-line payments require a sttond authoriser. Autborised signaiory lists are beld by the Investmenl Manager and two signaDJres are requir¢xl for ally withthawals. External auditors are ￿qured to I￿k out for potential material irregularities and have direct access to the Chair as well 18 Teporting specifically on this area each ye￿. We place reliance on the systems and interno] audit Op￿atiOnS of our Bankers and Investm¢ut Manager as regulated bodies. 1fr7thin the praclicol CO￿[r&I￿ts of o small organisudoft. we believe we have thken &U reasonable sleps 10 preventfruu We have adopted and trDplernented an ethical investmentpolicy lld aim to follow the rK¢)mrnelldations of th¢ Churcb of Entsland's Ethiial Investtnent Advisory Group (EIAG). W¢ mailltain higb professional standards our handling of r¢lalionships with professional advis¢T%. Given we follow ethle&l guidelin iabl&fhed bj. Éhe EIAG. we consider il unlikely thrtt lhe I}￿14￿ Leech bfflefutts'ofts would be the parti￿[￿r idrgel odversepyblicity'_ ahhough somepressuregroHp5 mlgh¢ wanl us and other ekur&l thveston to adopi stronger pollcies in specific oreo The l&siAornwl review by the Trusiee Coryany of ihe Ethlcol InV£$th￿nipol{Q, lookplqce 7 Februory 2023. Thepollcy Ineni Is atso reviewed 47nnually ¢0 ensure ih41 it remollls p lo duia The ￿e￿f0m￿1r￿'ie￿ ofthepolicy willthkepldce thefinuncidlyearending 31 Alarch 202 2. Governamee slld key personnel risks- &$ a small organisation webave . higber than average dependency our two TuembeTS of stsff, attd rety on having sufficient specialist expertise on OUT Boar 3. Fraud We need to be vigilaut alx)ui the risks of internal and external fraud i￿Patting upon our operntions, alld ensure our fim, could reasonably b¢ expected to infiuence the economic decisions of users tsken on the basis of these ffflancial statements. Irregularities, including frau¢l are instances of non-cojnpltance M'ith lams aDdregulations. We desigTLprocedures in lin¢ with responsiThilitie5. QUtliDed above. to detect material misstat¢tnents tespect of irregularities, iT)¢luding fraud The extent to wbicb our procedures are capable of detecting I￿¢gularitie1 including fraud is detaited below.. Enquiries with management. about arny known or su5pe¢ted iThst2llces of non-complian￿ with law5 alld regulations and frau¢. Reviewillg trM)ard minutes. Challellging agsuTnpiions andiudgementsmade by management it) their significant accounttng estitllat¢s,' 14 The William Leech Research Fund Independent auditors, report to the trustee of The William Leech Research Fund {continued) Auditing the iisk ofmanagement ovetTAde of Contro￿ including througb t4Sting journal entries alld other adjust￿e]Lts for appropriaten￿. Because of the field in which the client opuates, we identified tbe following arus &s those most like]y to have a material impact OJL the finarnciat ststements: Health and Safety" anti4)riiw aDd c(tyion" and ¢o]nplian¢e with the UK cl￿TIll￿ Act. Owing to the ittherent limitations of an audi¢ there 15 an unavoidable risk some D￿1￿1 misstatements in the f]nancial ststements may not Ee deted¢iL ev¢n tbougb tbe audit is properly planned and performed in a￿or(lance with the ISAS (UK). For in51anc4 the fitrther remov￿ noll-compliance is frorn the events alld traDsactionsreflected inthe fitWLcial stal¢meDt% the less I]Trely the auditori5tobecome awar¢of it OrÉore£0￿1se the non-cornpliance. A firtier d￿lptiOn of our Twnsil)ilities for the audit of the fiDarycial statements is located on th¢ Fittsticial Reporting Council's websit¢ at *Mv.frc.org.uklauditorThponsTh1 itttses. This de￿IptiOll forn￿ part of our auditovs repo Use of our report This report i5 made solely io the charity tTU5tee in accordance with Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 alld regulations made under section 154 of thai Act. work has been UDdffÉaken so tbat we ￿ight state to the ullee those matters we are required to slat¢ to the trustre irn an auditors, report and for no otherpwse. To the Ilest extent pern]itt¢d by law, we do nol awt or assume reS￿nSibl11ty to allyone other than the charity and its tsustee for our audit worK forthis Tepor¢ or forthe q)inioLs we have fO￿t Simon BroNTri BA ACA DChA (Sellior Statutory Auditor) For and QD behalf of Azets Audit Services Chartered Accountants Siatutory Auditor Bulman House Regent Centre Gosforth Newcastle upon Tyne NE3 3LS ?J9k. Azets Audit Seryices is eliyTr*le to act as auditor iti tenns of Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2(M)6. A2es Audit Services is tt trading name of Az¢ts Audit Sthvices LimÈteAJ The William Leech Research Fund Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2024 Unrestricted Elldowment Total lund5 UDT¢stricted Endowrynent Totsl fi￿dS fulld fund 2024 ffijnd fund 2023 Not¢ Incorne Inyestmenl inci)me 71J46 71J46 70,771 70,771 Totsl ineome 71J46 71J46 70,771 70,771 Expenditure Cbaritable activities: expenditure on charitsble activities 177,121 177,121 16.609 16.609 Totsl expenditvre Net (exptuditurey iDeotlle ljefore gaillsl 005ses) o iDve5tJD¢Dts 177,121 177,121 16.609 16,609 0&775) 70.771 54,162 (177,121) 71J46 (16.609) Net gain51(losses) o inYestmeDts 230W17 230007 (120.417) (120,417) Net iDeomel {¢xpellditllre) 177.121 302,153 125 032 Fund traDSfers 177,121 (177,121) 16,609 (16,609) Movement in funds 125,032 125,032 (66.255) {66,255) Totsl funds at the beginning of the f]nanciaE year 7J88 2557,779 2A65.167 7.388 2,624,034 2,631,422 Total fMDds at tbe eDd of the finaD¢ial year 7J88 2.082.811 2,69).199 7,388 2,557.779 2,565,167 There were no and losses in the financial yeats other than those ll￿ed aLKtrve. All in£orniDg resources and resources expended derave from continuing activities. The notes ¢)n pages 20 to 23 forn) pth of these financial statements. 16 The William Leech Research Fund Balance sbeet as at 31 March 2024 UDrestrieted Endovrnitnt Totsl funds Ut￿estr]￿¢d Elldowrnent Total fjjnds fulld fund 2024 fund fund 2023 Note Fixed assets Investments U46.024 254&(J24 2,315,217 2,315217 Totsl ￿ed #￿ets 1546,024 25ffi1124 2.315217 2,315,217 Current *xsets D¢btOTS C&sh at bank and in hand 1,030 18,IKII 19,031 430 17.426 17.856 121,747 118,786 240533 17.573 225.136 242,709 Totsl currettt 122,777 136,787 259564 18,003 242,562 260,565 Liabilities Creditors.. a￿{m￿ts falling due wthitt one year (64881) {68.881) (10,615) {10,615) Net ciirreDt atsets S3,896 136.787 190,683 7,388 242.562 249.950 CreditOTS'. amiHJnts falling due > one year (46508) (4W) Net assets 7J88 2,682,811 2.69￿199 7,388 2,557,779 2,565,167 The funds of tbe cILarity Endomrynent funds 2,682011 2.681￿]] 2.557,779 2.557.779 Unrestricted funds 7J88 7J88 7,388 7,388 Total funds 7J88 2,682*11 2,690.199 7,388 2,557.779 2,565,167 The financial statelnents on pag£5 161023 wereapprovedby the1￿￿ee. The William Leech Foundation Limite¢L onJi- xs iWixo24 and were $i￿ed m its ￿￿￿1( by tbe under Mention￿ two directors of Th¢ William Leech Foundation Litnited: Lrfi S Brown Director w￿larn Seddon Director The notes on pages 20 10 23 forni part of these financial statem¢nts. 17 The William Leech Research Fund Statement of accounting policies a) Basis of preparatiOD and assessment olgothg Lytrneern These fillallcial statements have been prepared on a gotllg concern b&is, UDder th¢ hist(Trrical cost convention &5 modified by the inclusion of investsnents at ￿arket ¥a￿e, in accordance with the Accounting alld Reportiug by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing theiT financial statemeDts in accordancewith United Kingdom Accounting Stalldards, tomwisingFRS 102"The FinancialRew)Lting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Iteland" (effective l Jalluary 2019A and applicable ]aw Iunited Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), aud the Charilies Act 2011. The Trusl ¢ODStttut¢s a publi¢ b¢nefft entity as defined by FRS 102. The tn]stre considers that there are no matrTial uncertainties about the Trust's ability to colltillue as a going concem. The most significant are&q of uncertaitiry that atrect the carryiDg value of ass¢ts held by the T￿t are the level of investment rerdm alld the perforniance of the investmeots mark¢ts (se£ inyesttttent policy and perfollnallce alld risk ￿anage￿ellt sections of thetrLLStee's annual rwt formore informatii)n) and this is tru¢ of th¢ followng finaDciai perii)(Ls a]so. b) IDeome recognitioD All income is recognised once the Trjst bas entitlejnent to the incotne. it is probable that the income will be re¢eived and the atttouni of the irncome recelvable can be measured reliably. Interest on fimds held OD de￿5[1 is included when rtteivable and the amount call be measured reliably by the TNst' tbts is nomially on notificatiOD of the interest paid or payable by the bank. Distributions are reCo￿lSed once the distnbuti¢)n has beLYt thlar¢d aDd notification has i*en receiyedof the dividend due. c) ExpeDditsre recognition Liabilities are recognisedas ¢xpenditure 18 soonas there is a le821 orconsttuctive obligati¢)n collunitting the Tn￿t to that expenditure. it is proboblethat settletllent will berequired and the amountoftheobligationcaube tneasuTed reliably. All eXpenditt￿e is accounted for on the accruals b&%15. d) Charitable activitie5 These include payments to ben¢ficiartes and governance costs as set ￿t in note 3. Governance¢osts Comprise audit fees. legal andprofessional fees, Managementconjmitteeexpenses, S￿Ond]nent Costs anddirectOTS' indemnity insurdnce premiums (see llote 3). The costs of preparillg atjnual fmancial State￿ellts and trustee ￿ettingS are borne by William Leech OnveskneDts} Litllited and details are set out in note 10. e) Investments Investsn¢nts are a forni of basic fiJTrancial instrument aDd are initially Eecognised at their ￿￿sactIon value and subsequently ￿eaSUred at their lair value as at the ba]ance shcct date USiDg the closing price. The stslement of f]nancial activitie5 includes the nei gains and Ios5e5 aTiSillg oll T¢valuation diwsals throughout the fu)allcial year. The Trust is invested in the COIF Charities Ethical InVes￿en1 Fun(L The fund is valued at bid price alld deals on each business da}.. In additio￿ the invest￿ellI manager calculates th¢ closing bid price for year-elld valuaiions. The illvestment management ftt for the FuTrd is charg￿1 against the Fund's income befoTe it is distributed to unitholders. 18 The William Leech Research Fund Statement of accounting policies (con¢iDued) Inv¢stmeDts (eontiDued) The Trust does not acquire put options, &rivatiV45, or Lrthercompl¢x financial insmunents, other than through its investTnent in the COIF Charities Ethical Investment Fund. The main forni of fin8llcia] Tisk faced by the Tntst is that of volatility in equity and investment markets due to wider ￿0￿(￿niC conditions. All gains and losses are to tbe Statement of Financiat Activities as they arise. Realised gaiDs alld losses on ittvestments are calculatrd as the difference between sal&% proceeds and tbeir opening caThying value or their purchase value if acquired subsequent io the fitst day of the fmaD¢iai year. Unrealised gains and losses are calculated &$ the differellce between the faxrvalueattbeyw•end and th¢ircffjingvalue. Realis￿Ond unrealised gain5 and losses aTe cornbined iti the Ststejnent of Financial Activities. Fund aceoulltlDg The TTUSt hL% a single endowment fimd. wbicb provides for the twstee to invesi the capital in perpetrjity and is managed on tt total return b&sis. The tsustee at its discretion may alloatr any of tbe unapplied total retum to the UDrestri¢t¢d fund of the TnLSt to be used for clwitable pU￿¢S ID accordance with the Trust Deed. The uDrestricted fund comwises th¢ current alld liabilities that the Itustee 15 fr¢¢ to use in accordan¢e with tbe cljaritable objects. Foreign eurreDCy The Trust'5 fullctiollal and presentation currency is the w)und ster]iD& h) Casb statsmtDt The Trust has taken advantage of the exemption avai]abl¢ to sma]l entities from prepartng a cash flow staiem¢nt under section IA of th¢ Financial Re￿ Stsndard applicabl¢ in the UK alld Republic of IrelaDd IFRS 102). 19 The William Leech Research Fund Notes to the financial ststements for the year ended 31 March 2024 Taxation The William L£ech Re5ear¢h Fund is a registered charity and its non-trading income 15 ¢xempt from taxatiOJL Investment intome 2024 2023 Distributiolls fro￿ COIF cI￿ltieS Ethical Investsnent Fwid 71 J46 70,771 7AJ46 70,771 Anatysis of expenditure on cbaritable getivities 2024 2023 Payment5 to benefieiaries: Research grants payable 149,718 149.718 Goverll#llee costs: Legal and prof￿1onal services 2,722 1,160 Audii setvices 4.140 Dir¢¢tors' and Management Cojnmittee indettmity insurdnce Secondment c(Jsts 721 836 18,436 10.596 Management Cornrnittee expendinre iJ84 177 27.403 16,609 Totsl 177,121 16,609 In the f￿anCIal year ended 31 Mar¢h 2024 thrtt new grants were approved totalling £149.718 (2023.. £nil. Secondment Costs rel*e to the three-year srfondment o(DrAndre￿ Orton from the University of Durharn which commenced September 2022. The net ex￿ld1￿￿e in the finaDcial year w&s £177,121 (2023.. £16,609). 20 The William Leech Research Fund Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) Trustee's remuneration The trustee did not receive and was not entttled to re￿1ve any Ternunaation or expen5¢s ill rwcÈ of its setvices th￿Ing the fllMncia] year (2023: £niD. There w¢r¢ no ¢mploy¢¢s durllig the fllwJ¢ial year (2023: none). Fund transfers On 9 Jwie 2009 c&th and iTtvestm¢nts valued at £I,107.3￿1. which were held on lthalf of The William IKecb Professorial Fellowship ITJ Applied Christian Theology were ts￿ferred from University to the Re5earcb Fund. The transfeT was at ￿￿¢t vttlue. The endowm￿1 fund w&% created in 1987 with an OTiginal gift of £6(K),000. The Trust Deed gives the trusiee the ￿Wer10 invest the endos%Tnent fimdon a iota] rettun basis. The pwer allows the trustee to decide in eacb ￿lod how much of the wjapplied total r¢fum is transferred to the ullrestricted find 8nd so available for expenditure. The amount of £177.121 (2023: £16.609) transfekTed represents tbe resources expended by th¢ Trust on grdnL8 and govanance during the year ended 31 March 2024. Furth¢r trdll5fers will lje required as and when the commI￿ellt to furnd any 8Tants payable b¢￿e5 th￿. 2024 2024 2024 Endowment Ullspplied total returll Total Opening value ofeDdowJDent Gift comEK)nent of pernianent ¢ndowmcDt 600,(K>O Unapplied total return 1.957.779 1,957,779 Total 1.957,779 2,557,779 Movement ID unapplied total return aDd eDdowment in tbe year: Investment Eeturn: dividends and iDt¢r¢st 71.346 71,346 Investment reDm]: recogni5ed unrecogDised gains Totsl 230.807 230,807 302,153 302,153 UDapplied total rebjrn allocatkxl to income (177,121) (177,121) Net movemellt in reporting period 125,032 125,032 Closing value of permaDent endoTrYmellt Gift component of pennonent endowment 600.000 Unapplied total rebjrn 2,082,811 2,082.811 Total 2,082011 2,682.811 21 The William Leech Research Fund Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (eolltinued) 6 Investments 2024 2023 Market value at the beginning of the fmancial year 2JlS217 2,435,634 Gainsloosses) ill the financial year 230,807 (120,417) Market valu¢ at the end of th¢ fillaD¢ial yegr 2￿40,024 2,315217 InVest￿ellts at m&*et value comprisryl: 2024 2023 COIF ChaTities Ethical Jnvestment Fund at M￿¢t vah 2,5ffi024 2,3 15,217 Hislorical cost as at 31 March ,81S629 1,815.629 InvestmeDts aTe carried ai fair value. All of the Trusl'5 inv¢sttDents are ill the COIF Charities Etbical Investment Fund. The bolding in the COIF Fund is Yalued at bid price. The COIF Fund deals on each business day and the investment manager has catcu]ated the bid price foryear-end va]uatiDll puryxjses. The COIF Fund holds a range of equities, fLxed in¢om¢ iDvestments and derivatives. The b&5is of fair value for quot￿ investments 15 equiyalent to the market value. usit)g the COIF Fund's bid price. Asset sales and purcFtases are rec￿lsed at the date of trdde. The signifi5￿ce of finallclal irtstruments to the ongoillg finallcial sustsinability of the Trllst is considered in the f￿ancial review and investment ￿lIcY and ￿FOr[￿anCe 5e¢tiolls of tbe tsustee's Annuat Report. The Trust manages the investtDent Ttsks by retsiniDg expert advis(>rs and investing ill a muhi-ass¢t fi￿d (wating an it)vesDnent poli￿ that provides for a high degree of ¢Jivet5ification of holthgs witbin investment ei Cl￿eS tbat are quoted on rwllised stock exchanges. Debtors 2024 2023 Distrlt )ution from COIF Charities Ethical Investment Fund i&ooi 17,426 Prepa)￿ellts- insurance premiwn5 and investtllent ￿f0n￿anee reporting services 430 19,031 17,856 The distribution receivable relates to the end0￿￿￿ent fi]nd and the insurance premiums and investment perfom)ance reN)rting 5ervi¢es prepayments rel&e to the unre5lrict￿l fun 22 The William Leech Research Fund Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2024 (continued) 8 Creditors: amounts falling due within on¢ yerdr 2024 2023 5.692 6,074 375 4,541 Grant awards payable within one year 62,814 68,881 10,615 All cr¢ditots relate to the uttrestrAc*d fimd. 9 Creditors: amounts falling du¢ > one y& 2024 2023 Grdnt awards payable in more than one year All creditors relat¢ to th¢ UDrestricted fimd. 10 Related parties The trustee considers that il is Tel￿ed io Wjlliam Leech (Inve51tn¢nts) Limited by Vir￿ of haNryng comrnon directors. Certain thinistration services are provided free of charge by the staff of William Leech (Investments) Lilltited. These services bave not been quantified for Inclusion in these financial statemellts, as the aTnounts are onsidered inllnateriai. Thethjstee consid¢rsthatit isthe parentwjdertskingond ultimate controlling partyofthe William t£echResear¢b Fund. It is a private colnpany litnitrd by 5hare5, ill¢oTIK>r&ed in EllgJan¢l registration nutnber 66AI 18. and is a cbarity, registration llurnber 232062. The priDCtpal activity of the Company is to a¢t as th¢ sole trustee for three charitsble trnsts, iD¢luding The William Leech Foundation LI￿lted - The FIR￿d￿lOn Tn￿ aDd The William Leech Fovndation Limited- The Clwity Tn No other payiDents were made to T¢lated wies during the Y￿ (2023.. £720). The consolidated ￿8￿Cla] statements of The William Leech Foundation Limited ¢aD be obtsined from the Company Secretary at Bank Chambers. 26 Mosley stre￿ Newc&8tie upon T)Tr¢, NEI IDF. 11 Financial eommitments A three-year secondtnent agreement is in place with Durham University relating to the part-time secondmeni of Dr Orton. The secothent commenced on I Septe￿ber 2022 B'ith agreed costs payable {inclusive of VAT) of Year 1- £18,165. Year 2- £18,603 and Year 3 - £19.103. The secondment 15 currently ill its second year. 23