Company registration number: 5933158 Charity registration number: 1132064
## Nottingham Studios
(A company limited by guarantee) Annual Report and Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024
Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Contents**
|Trustees' Report|1 to 10|
|---|---|
|Reference and Administrative Details|1|
|Independent Examiner's Report|11|
|Statement of Financial Activities|12 to 13|
|Balance Sheet|14|
|Statement of Cash Flows|15|
|Notes to the Financial Statements|16 to 25|
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## **Reference and Administrative Details**
**Senior Management Team** Niki Russell **Charity Registration Number** 1132064 **Company Registration Number** 5933158 **Registered Office** Primary 33 Seely Road Nottingham NG7 1NU **Independent Examiner** John O'Brien, employee of Community Accounting Plus Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL **Bankers** Co-operative Bank 15 Elder Way Chesterfield Derbyshire S40 1UX
Page 1
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
The trustees, who are directors for the purposes of company law, present the annual report together with the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 March 2024.
## **Trustees and officers**
The trustees and officers serving during the year and since the year end were as follows:
Trustees: Michael Forbes Shobna Bazzaz Alison Lloyd (resigned 15 December 2023) Nick Slater Frank Abbott (resigned 7 September 2024) Michael Marsden Rebecca Blackwood Iain Cockhill William Harvey Christine Stevens (appointed 3 October 2023) Secretary: Jessica Colebourne-Viggers (appointed 9 August 2023)
Page 2
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## **Objectives and activities**
Primary is a contemporary visual arts charity housed in a characterful Grade II listed former school. We became an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) in 2018.
Our mission is to commission, produce and present art exploring ideas that affect societal change. We are a dynamic space for creative research, new work, and collaboration, expanding who is involved in making art and connecting local and global communities.
We have created a unique environment for creative research ensuring its collective value is much more than the sum of its parts. We provide studios and strategic development for artists alongside a free public programme of commissions and events. We support 65 diverse artists from a broad range of critically engaged arts practices, alongside clay, weave, and design studios, outdoor and garden spaces, galleries, a bookshop, and the award-winning Small Food Bakery.
We invest in artistic research through participation and engagement, delivering a regular programme of commissions, learning and community events, and platforms for conversation and knowledge exchange. By employing a cycle of theory, practice, and reflection across all this activity, we create genuinely collaborative relationships between artists, audiences, and the wider community that surrounds us to further shape our work.
The ongoing transformation of our Grade II listed building, in an area of high deprivation in Nottingham, will develop a new cultural resource in our specific neighbourhood. During the year we were supported by Nottingham City Council, Arts Council England, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, as well as other trusts and foundations.
During the coming year our strategic aims define the change we want to make:
## _**1. Improve long-term support for artists**_
By developing our provision of sustainable, high-quality studios and artist development programmes we will improve how we support artists and the impact that they can have in our local context, nationally and internationally.
## _**2. Enable artistic research and production to become a public process**_
By enhancing how different strands of our activity inform one another, investing in artistic research and public learning across all our work, and applying a form of ‘collective learning’ with communities of interest to critically inform what we do in the future.
## _**3. Increase access and participation**_
By developing sensitive and highly targeted marketing and improving the visibility and accessibility of our site, we will increase audiences and depth of participation, taking people on a journey from visitor to participant, and from participant to decision-maker.
## _**4. Embed inclusivity across all aspects of our organisation and work**_
By ensuring that the organisation, programme, and our publics reflect local demographics, and by recognising and removing barriers to access and participation across all these areas.
## _**5. Improve long-term sustainability through dynamic growth and development**_
By undertaking capital development, we will become increasingly environmentally responsible and improve the quality of our facilities. Through diversifying our income streams we will invest in the people that form Primary, building an increasingly resilient organisational culture.
Alongside maintaining our existing core activity, the objectives within our Business Plan define what we will do to achieve the aims.
Page 3
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## **Achievements**
## _**Artist Programme**_
Our programme focusses on commissioning new work and supporting collaboration, comprising two key aims:
- Investing in artistic research and process; and
- Learning from our local area through wider participation and engagement.
We value and present different forms of art-making alongside each other, considering a rich array of visual art, performance, writing, film, socially engaged and public art as different expressions of contemporary practice. At the heart of our approach is a desire to increase access to art, to think about who shapes content, and to challenge what kind of cultural production is seen as valuable.
In July 2023 we successfully re-opened our building to the public after completion of a £900,000 first-stage capital development. The opening programme included: a newly commissioned installation of large-scale figurative collage The Unicorn is Killed and Brought to the Castle Cartoon by Irish artist Sam Keogh; a showreel comprising video and moving image Video Materials by Primary residents and members; and the Build Create Play public artwork produced by Ismail Khokon in collaboration with local children for the new Ronald Street Playground in Radford.
Continuing across 2023/24 our programme included new exhibitions by Roo Dhissou Courses for Dis-Course(s), Ruth Angel Edwards & Chloée Maugile THE WALL & Hyperopia, Sonya Dyer The Ready Room, and hosting residencies with Chiemi Shimada, Matthew Arthur Williams and Nwando Ebizie. Roo Dhissou’s project was a partnership with GLOAM (Sheffield) working together on a new form of artist-institution relationships that nurture equity and reciprocity. Our support continues to reach beyond our building, with works first seen at Primary as part of our programme going on to be shown in London, Berlin, Rome, The Hague, Vilnius, Vienna, and New York.
We continue to work long-term with communities to shape activity at Primary. For example, our Nourishment programme is designed to be cyclical, with points of reflection and learning. We deliver a season of activities, and then host a ‘Digestion session’: a gathering of people involved in the programme who share a meal, feedback on the programme, and generate ideas for the next season. We map these conversations, building a picture of themes and ideas that are important to people, using them to inform what to do. Community members are encouraged to share their knowledge and skills, this leads to local groups and individuals initiating ideas that we develop with them - in this way our communities are supported to move from participation to collaboration or facilitation.
As part of our Artist Development activity, we developed the To & Fro programme, which paired four Primary residents / members with four non-resident artists who connect with our Public Programme: Beth Kettel & Sonya Dyer; Jim Brouwer & Sahjan Kooner; Khaya Job & Wingshan Smith; and Will Harvey & Jana Dardouk. In 2024 this resulted in two exhibitions: A Material Romance that presented new work critiquing the pace of mass consumption by confronting the consequences of its waste and debris; and Each Begets Each that delved into realms of friendship, myth-making, play, rituals, conversations and sound to weave a tapestry of interconnected experiences.
Page 4
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## _**Site Acquisition and Development**_
In 2020 we achieved a significant milestone in organisational development, securing the freehold of our site to enable long-term sustainability. This was central to our Objectives and Business Plan (2018-22). The freehold acquisition was facilitated by a capital grant from Arts Council England of £406,000 and support from Nottingham City Council, enabling the purchase of the site, vital maintenance, and developments in the physical accessibility of the site.
Through 2023 the transformation of the Victorian school building into a valuable cultural resource, continued through first-stage capital refurbishment, increasing accessibility and ensuring we are welcoming and able to meet the needs of different communities. We secured additional capital funding including £107,209 from Severn Trent Community Fund, £50,000 from the Garfield Weston Foundation, and £35,000 from the Foyle Foundation alongside other fundraising.
These capital developments build on an Architectural Feasibility Study commissioned in 2019 which detailed long-term capital development options for our substantial site. Work is ongoing with the aim of producing long-term development that will meet the needs of our growing organisation. Overall, the achievements this year give us a solid foundation as we develop a master plan for the site to realise our long-term ambitions.
## **Public benefit**
At the heart of our approach is a desire to not simply increase access to art, but to think about who shapes its content, and to challenge what kinds of cultural production are seen as valuable. We serve a neighbourhood that faces challenges and is recognised as one of the most deprived in the UK - reflecting national structural and systemic inequalities including poverty, health, housing and food inequalities, and racial and economic injustice. We are embedded in this locality and provide accessible art activity and a community facility. Primary works collaboratively with local groups to identify and develop skills, raise confidence and ambition, and support knowledge-exchange across diverse groups to create change.
To successfully deliver accessible work we create partnerships with a range of visual arts organisations, education, and community partners who directly support the neighbourhoods we serve. We recognise the impact of collaboration in achieving more than we could on our own. Our work over the last 10 years has meant we have gained a detailed understanding of local needs and responded thoughtfully to the daily lived experiences of communities. Working closely with the Area 4 Partnership (a consortium of 20 voluntary sector and grassroots local groups, which we have co-chaired) has helped identify local needs around access to food and housing; skills, training and development; projects to tackle isolation; and space and resources for youth and community groups.
Whilst both the pandemic and undertaking first-stage capital refurbishment have inevitably affected our audiences, we were able to maintain levels of direct participation by shifting the nature of our programme to meet the challenges of our time. Re-opening the building to the public in July 2023 we have been able to quickly rebuild audience levels back to pre-pandemic levels.
Through a commitment to artistic research and learning through participation and engagement, and a genuine desire to support artists and communities to work collaboratively we ensure that our programme is inclusive and relevant to our neighbourhoods. The data collected over the past year has demonstrated that Primary’s audiences and participants come from a diverse range of backgrounds. When benchmarked against the national arts data, this demonstrates that Primary are successfully reaching a more diverse range of audiences than the wider sector, which are reflective of the demographics of our specific locality.
Page 5
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## _**Public benefit**_
The trustees confirm that they have complied with the requirements of section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.
## **Structure, governance and management**
Primary is the trading name of Nottingham Studios, a registered charity since 2009 and a company limited by guarantee. Our governing document is a Memorandum & Articles of Association which ensures our purpose is for public benefit. Governance and oversight are provided by a Board of Directors/Trustees, who together with the Executive and wider staff team ensure the effective running of the organisation. Clear communication across the organisation enables us to make the most of our committed Board, resourceful staff, and the energy, ideas and support of Primary residents and wider stakeholders, together supporting Primary's long-term mission, aims and objectives.
Our Board brings a wealth of expertise including fiscal management and development, cultural strategy, artistic and programme, marketing and audience development, EDI, capital, heritage and education. Trustees have the necessary breadth of skills, experience, and personal attributes to responsibly guide the strategy of the organisation and to provide appropriate oversight. A strong working dynamic is built by Trustees taking the time to understand each other’s experience/skills and playing to these strengths. Regular auditing enables the Board to refresh Trustees to meet the requirements of the organisation, ensuring we maintain consistency of governance (including organisational memory) whilst also encouraging new voices and perspectives to help shape our future direction.
Over recent years we have secured a core staff team of 5 people, increasing capacity through a sustainable approach. Learning from our experience and reviewing different staffing models, we have defined five roles that build on the strengths of the existing team, whilst bringing in additional experience and capacity: Director, Operations Manager, Collaborative Programme Lead, Public Programme Curator, and Artist Development Curator.
The Board meets quarterly with the Executive to provide ongoing monitoring. Reports are provided at each meeting, including Finance, Fundraising, Strategic and Monitoring, with additional sections focused on Capital, Programme, Environmental, Marketing and Audience Development as required. All meetings are minuted and these along with other papers are available to stakeholders. At Board meetings Trustees efficiently review progress against our Business Plan to ensure we are meeting our aims and delivering against funding agreements.
The relationship between the Board and Executive is clearly defined through appropriate documents, covering delegation, terms of reference, and conflicts of interest, setting out respective roles and responsibilities. Primary has a full complement of additional policies in place, including Complaints & Grievances, Data Protection, Digital, Environmental, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety, Emergency Procedures, Risk Assessments, and Safeguarding. All our policies are updated on a regular basis, and we employ external specialist advise as required.
We have a system of effective sub-committees (Finance, Capital, Programme, Artist Development, and Environmental) where Board members and residents bring their varied skills, experience, and networks together to support staff in the continued development of our work. These provide an important connection across the organisation ensuring that we maintain effective communication and listen to everyone involved.
## _**Nature of governing document**_
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and registered charity. It is operated under the rules of its memorandum and articles of association dated 12/9/2006. It has no share capital and the liability of each member in the event of winding-up is limited to £10.
Page 6
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## _**Recruitment and appointment of trustees**_
Through open call and through invitation to artists and other professionals, based on knowledge, skills and experience that the organisation requires, and in line with our Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Action Plan. Those invited attend two Board meetings as Observers before appointment as Trustees, with three new Observers appointed to the Board as Trustees in November 2024.
## **Plans for future periods**
## _**Aims and key objectives for future periods**_
This coming year continues to build the foundation for a new phase in Primary’s development. Having secured the freehold of our site, completed the first phase of capital development (2021-23) and with support from the Arts Council England NPO 2023-26 and Paul Hamlyn Foundation 2023-27 we aim to become an increasingly open, accessible, and public place. Our activity lays the foundations for the future, as we build on the physical changes to our site, to ensure our organisational and staffing structure, creative programming and spaces are more inclusive, shaped by feedback and designed through co-production.
To achieve these ambitions, we will deliver complimentary strands of activity that animate spaces inside and outside our building, and continue our existing strategy of long-term relationships and collaboration.
We offer opportunities for people to sustain a professional career in the arts, especially those who are currently under-represented in the sector. We will develop our Studios & Memberships model, provide affordable high quality studio space to artists and expand our membership focusing on increasing membership for artists from under-represented backgrounds. We will refine our Artist Development offer to strongly align and contribute to Primary’s mission, aims and values.
We will bring high quality culture to audiences in Nottingham, support new types of creative practice and collaborate with other cultural organisations through our public programme. In the coming years, we aim to develop new content, different ways of reaching new audiences/participants, and collaborations with partners that support innovation, research and development.
Our annual programme of exhibitions (Imaging Otherwise with Ashley Holmes, Jasleen Kaur, and Jala Wahid, Kolam curated by our new Associate Curator Raghavi Chinnadurai, and Human Life in Motion by artist Maia Ruth Lee in 2024/25) will offer artists space to take risks and explore cross-disciplinary approaches, working with artists at different stages in their careers and from different backgrounds as well as seeking ways to expand the benefit of each commission.
Making use of our newly improved outdoor spaces, we will develop a series of public workshops and events that utilise Primary’s playground, garden and public-facing façade. These activities will explore public space, land and belonging - increasing opportunities for engaging with diaspora communities who have not previously accessed our site, and a wider national and international community of interest. The long-term ‘Nourishment’ project directly informed by partnership working in response to local needs of local partners and participants, including Himmah, Soul Food Cafe, the Area 4 Partnership, Small Food Bakery, and local residents will present a seasonal programme of residencies, meals, skillshares, discussions and events which will create space for imagining and implementing different food systems.
Across all our activity, we will deliver a participatory events programme: offering accessible co-learning opportunities, targeted at adults from different backgrounds, and creating a space for communities to engage in critical thinking and support wellbeing. We will develop these events through feedback from participants, and support people’s journey from participant to decision-maker by offering well-resourced spaces for feedback and developing people’s confidence to share their skills and knowledge.
Page 7
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
Each year we will deliver a programme of commissions across different strands of our work, regular learning events and platforms for conversation and knowledge exchange; to ensure collaborative relationships between artists, audiences, participants, and the wider community that surrounds us. This approach will allow us to better understand different ways that we can democratise how knowledge is produced and shared within arts organisations; and build on this to co-create projects that generate shared spaces for imagination, increased participation in the arts, or collective action around shared conditions and struggles.
## **Financial review**
The organisation's turnover for the year was £358,007, demostrating a stability of income compared to previous years through grants towards 1st stage capital refurbishment, core costs and programme. The cash balance at end of year was £100,208. This continues to show a healthy position considering the challenges that Covid-19, ongoing capital refurbishment and wider financial landscape have presented, and continues to demonstrate the increased financial resilience of the organisation.
## _**Policy on reserves**_
It is the policy of Nottingham Studios to maintain funds at an adequate level to protect the continuity of our core work, allow time for financial planning and facilitate efficient running of the charity. To meet this objective, the Board of Trustees have set aside designated reserves of £45,000 (as agreed for the year 2023/24). In addition, our free reserves (unrestricted, undesignated funds not held in fixed assets or investments) were £29,630 at the end of 2023/24. Together these funds enable the organisation to mitigate risks such as unforeseen expenditure or unanticipated loss of income resulting from changes in operation. We review our Reserves Policy and the level of designated reserves on an annual basis.
Page 8
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## _**Principal risks and uncertainties**_
## _Financial risks_
Our Board of Trustees meets four times a year and Trustees contribute further to Primary’s development through sub-committees which focus on finance, capital development, programme, artist development, and environmental responsibility. The scope of these sub-committees and the minutes of their discussions are presented at the meetings of the Board of Trustees. We have monitoring systems in place to analyse key risks and develop mitigation plans. These are reviewed and updated on a regular basis by staff and Board.
• Rising maintenance/building costs – re-opening the building in 2023 we will closely monitor changes in maintenance/building costs following on from first-stage capital development as part of the capital sub-committee. We will ensure that income generation is matched to covering overheads of the organisation, continue to explore fundraising opportunities and create a long-term maintenance plan to schedule large-scale maintenance work and improvements to the building.
• Regular sources of revenue funding shrink – we have a diverse and balanced income stream ensuring we are not entirely dependent upon a single funder or grant income. Over the year income from commercial sources (including studio rental) was 36%, Arts Council England NPO 24%, Paul Hamlyn Foundation 22% and grants and partner income from other sources 18%, excluding capital expenditure.
• Studio occupancy declines, or an excess of rent arrears – we monitor studio occupancy and income monthly. Over the last 5-years our occupancy rates have remained above 95% (100% for the last 2 years), and we continue to receive demand that outstrips supply.
• Not reaching target audience numbers or demographics – we continue to revise the structure of our programme and audience development in light of the opportunities that the completion of our 1st stage refurbishment presents in 2023/24. Audience numbers have returned to pre-pandemic levels and are more closely matched to local demographics.
• Not having the right people in place to deliver our mission, aims and objectives (staff team) – we will look for opportunities to invest in training and development for existing staff, and ensure they're valued within the organisation to retain team. Through strategic planning we will scale and timeline work to achieve aims and objectives based on current capacity, alongside reviewing long-term staffing structure for future development.
Page 9
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Trustees' Report**
## **Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities**
The trustees (who are also the directors of Nottingham Studios for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland". The report and accounts have been prepared in accordance with the provisions in the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they 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 its 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 apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable accounting standards, comprising FRS 102 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 can 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.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
## **Small companies provision statement**
This report has been prepared in accordance with the small companies regime under the Companies Act 2006.
16/12/24 The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on .................... and signed on its behalf by:
......................................... Rebecca Blackwood Trustee
Page 10
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Nottingham Studios ('the Company')**
## **Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Nottingham Studios ('the Company')**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31 March 2024.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
Since the Company's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member and Fellow of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the Company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities [applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)].
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
......................................
John O'Brien MSc, FAIA, FCCA, FCIE, employee of Community Accounting Plus Fellow of the Association of Charity Independent Examiners
Units 1 & 2 North West 41 Talbot Street Nottingham NG1 5GL
Date:.............................
Page 11
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)**
|**Note**
**Income and Endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Investment income
5
Total Income
**Expenditure on:**
Charitable activities
6
Total Expenditure
Net (expenditure)/income
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
13|**Unrestricted**
**£**
126,496
82,151
61
208,708
(259,559)
(259,559)
(50,851)
153,412
102,561
685,669
788,230|**Restricted**
**£**
-
149,299
-
149,299
(120,028)
(120,028)
29,271
(153,412)
(124,141)
148,881
24,740|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
126,496
231,450
61
358,007
(379,587)
(379,587)
(21,580)
-
(21,580)
834,550
812,970|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
71,257
309,847
7|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||381,111|
|||||(312,636)|
|||||(312,636)|
|||||68,475
-|
|||||68,475
766,075|
|||||834,550|
All of the charity's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The funds breakdown for the period is shown in note 13.
The notes on pages 16 to 25 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 12
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024 (Including Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)**
## **These are the figures for the previous accounting period and are included for comparative purposes**
|**Note**
**Income and Endowments from:**
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Investment income
5
Total income
**Expenditure on:**
Charitable activities
6
Total expenditure
Net (expenditure)/income
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds
**Reconciliation of funds**
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
13|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**
71,257
61,455
7
132,719
(225,201)
(225,201)
(92,482)
171,161
78,679
606,990
685,669|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
-
248,392
-
248,392
(87,435)
(87,435)
160,957
(171,161)
(10,204)
159,085
148,881|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
71,257
309,847
7|
|---|---|---|---|
||||381,111|
||||(312,636)|
||||(312,636)|
||||68,475
-|
||||68,475
766,075|
||||834,550|
The notes on pages 16 to 25 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 13
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **(Registration number: 5933158) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024**
|||**2024**|**2023**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**Note**|**£**|**£**|
|**Fixed assets**||||
|Tangible assets|8|713,600|560,685|
|**Current assets**||||
|Debtors|9|15,249|8,049|
|Cash at bank and in hand|10|100,208|281,049|
|||115,457|289,098|
|**Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year**|11|(16,087)|(15,233)|
|**Net current assets**||99,370|273,865|
|**Net assets**||812,970|834,550|
|**Funds of the charity:**||||
|**Restricted income funds**||||
|Restricted funds|13|24,740|148,881|
|**Unrestricted income funds**||||
|Unrestricted funds||788,230|685,669|
|**Total funds**|13|812,970|834,550|
For the financial year ending 31 March 2024 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Directors' responsibilities:
- The members have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476; and
- The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to companies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
The financial statements on pages 12 to 25 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 16/12/24 .................... and signed on their behalf by:
ASE ......................................... William Harvey nee Trustee
The notes on pages 16 to 25 form an integral part of these financial statements.
Page 14
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
|**Note**
**Cash flows from operating activities**
Net cash (expenditure)/income
**Adjustments to cash flows from non-cash items**
Depreciation
Investment income
5
**Working capital adjustments**
(Increase)/decrease in debtors
9
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
11
Net cash flows from operating activities
**Cash flows from investing activities**
Interest receivable and similar income
5
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
8
Net cash flows from investing activities
Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March
**Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net funds**
(Decrease)/increase in cash
Net funds at 1 April 2023
Net funds at 31 March 2024|**2024**
**£**
(21,580)
98,431
(61)
76,790
(7,200)
854
70,444
61
(251,346)
(251,285)
(180,841)
281,049
100,208
(180,841)
281,049
100,208|**2023**
**£**
68,475
73,534
(7)|
|---|---|---|
|||142,002
131,339
(13,765)|
|||259,576|
|||7
(167,532)|
|||(167,525)|
|||92,051
188,998|
|||281,049|
|||92,051
188,998|
|||281,049|
All of the cash flows are derived from continuing operations during the above two periods.
The notes on pages 16 to 25 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 15
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates**
The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.
## **Statement of compliance**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)) (issued in October 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis of preparation**
Nottingham Studios meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy notes.
## **Going concern**
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.
The trustees assess whether the use of going concern is appropriate i.e. whether there are any material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern. The trustees make this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of the financial statements.
## **Income and endowments**
Voluntary income including donations, gifts, legacies and grants that provide core funding or are of a general nature is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.
## _**Donations and legacies**_
Donations are recognised when the charity has been notified in writing of both the amount and settlement date. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance by the charity before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity and it is probable that these conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.
## **Expenditure**
All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.
Page 16
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## _**Charitable activities**_
Charitable expenditure 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.
## **Taxation**
The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.
## **Tangible fixed assets**
Individual fixed assets costing £500 or more are initially recorded at cost, less any subsequent accumulated depreciation and subsequent accumulated impairment losses.
## **Depreciation and amortisation**
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:
**Asset class Depreciation method and rate** Furniture & equipment 25% reducing balance basis Land & buildings 10% straight line basis Computer equipment 25% reducing balance basis
## **Trade debtors**
Trade debtors are amounts due from customers for merchandise sold or services performed in the ordinary course of business.
Trade debtors are recognised initially at the transaction price. They are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less provision for impairment. A provision for the impairment of trade debtors is established when there is objective evidence that the charity will not be able to collect all amounts due according to the original terms of the receivables.
## **Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents comprise cash on hand and call deposits, and other short-term highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to a known amount of cash and are subject to an insignificant risk of change in value.
## **Trade creditors**
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of business from suppliers. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if the charity does not have an unconditional right, at the end of the reporting period, to defer settlement of the creditor for at least twelve months after the reporting date. If there is an unconditional right to defer settlement for at least twelve months after the reporting date, they are presented as non-current liabilities.
Trade creditors are recognised initially at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Page 17
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **Fund structure**
Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees' discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the charity.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside for specific purposes at the discretion of the trustees.
Restricted income funds are those grants for use in a particular area or for specific purposes, the use of which is restricted to that area or purpose.
## **2 Income from donations and legacies**
|Donations and legacies;
Donations from companies, trusts and similar
proceeds|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
126,496
126,496|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
126,496
126,496|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
71,257|
|---|---|---|---|
||||71,257|
## **3 Income from charitable activities**
|Studio rental
Fees & sales
Fundraising
Grants
Membership & other income
Creative industry tax relief|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
60,194
1,553
4,347
-
1,391
14,666
82,151|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
-
5,102
100
143,842
255
-
149,299|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
60,194
6,655
4,447
143,842
1,646
14,666
231,450|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
58,186
9,843
505
240,311
1,002
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||309,847|
Page 18
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **4 Grants & donations**
|Arts Council England (capital purposes)
Severn Trent Community Fund (capital purposes)
Nottingham City Council (capital purposes)
British Council
Breaking Barriers Building Bridges
Art Fund
Paul Hamlyn Foundation
Nottingham Contemporary
Arts Council England
**5**
**Investment income**
Interest receivable and similar income;
Interest receivable on bank deposits|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**£**
-
-
-
-
-
-
60,000
300
66,196
126,496
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
61|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
40,565
53,604
2,883
4,000
1,300
41,490
-
-
-
143,842
**Total**
**2024**
**£**
61|**Total**
**£**
40,565
53,604
2,883
4,000
1,300
41,490
60,000
300
66,196|
|---|---|---|---|
||||270,338|
||||**Total**
**2023**
**£**
7|
Page 19
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **6 Expenditure on charitable activities**
|Board expenses
Legal & professional fees
Office costs
Cleaning
Rent & rates
Repairs & maintenance
Insurance
Events & fundraising
Marketing
Utilities
Depreciation
Programme costs
Intern costs
Bank charges
Training
Volunteer expenses
Travel & accommodation
Wages, NI & Pension
Irrecoverable VAT
Freelance & consultants|**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**General**
**£**
970
5,971
4,860
7,240
-
17,150
5,106
3,180
-
30,273
98,431
708
-
55
5
46
-
81,331
4,233
-
259,559|**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
13
-
64
-
-
297
-
838
4,562
-
-
76,431
-
44
1,821
-
2,365
18,995
3,422
11,176
120,028|**Total**
**2024**
**£**
983
5,971
4,924
7,240
-
17,447
5,106
4,018
4,562
30,273
98,431
77,139
-
99
1,826
46
2,365
100,326
7,655
11,176
379,587|**Total**
**2023**
**£**
786
3,032
2,427
6,911
1,062
4,426
525
6,226
2,458
22,917
73,534
73,373
2,610
-
-
235
979
107,965
3,170
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||312,636|
Page 20
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **7 Staff costs**
The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:
|**Staff costs during the year were:**
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Pension costs|**2024**
**£**
96,351
2,020
1,955
100,326|**2023**
**£**
104,332
1,768
1,865|
|---|---|---|
|||107,965|
The monthly total number of persons (including senior management team) employed by the charity during the year was as follows:
Total number of employees
|**2024**||**2023**||
|---|---|---|---|
|**No**||**No**||
||5||9|
5 (2023 - 9) of the above employees participated in the Defined Contribution Pension Schemes.
Contributions to the employee pension schemes for the year totalled £1,955 (2023 - £1,866).
No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year.
The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the charity were £30,850 (2023 - £32,905).
## **8 Tangible fixed assets**
|**Cost**
At 1 April 2023
Additions
At 31 March 2024
**Depreciation**
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
At 31 March 2024
**Net book value**
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023|**Land and**
**buildings**
**£**
803,626
251,346
1,054,972
245,794
97,718
343,512
711,460
557,832
Page 21|**Furniture and**
**equipment**
**£**
7,670
-
7,670
7,054
154
7,208
462
616|**Computer**
**equipment**
**£**
5,302
-
5,302
3,065
559
3,624
1,678
2,237|**Total**
**£**
816,598
251,346
1,067,944
255,913
98,431
354,344
713,600
560,685|
|---|---|---|---|---|
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **9 Debtors**
|Trade debtors
VAT recoverable
Other debtors
**10 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash on hand
Cash at bank|**2024**
**£**
840
3,688
10,721
15,249
**2024**
**£**
150
100,058
100,208|**2023**
**£**
1,667
6,382
-|
|---|---|---|
|||8,049|
|||**2023**
**£**
74
280,975|
|||281,049|
## **11 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|Trade creditors
Other taxation and social security
Other creditors|**2024**
**£**
7,627
1,431
7,029
16,087|**2023**
**£**
6,717
1,655
6,861|
|---|---|---|
|||15,233|
## **12 Charity status**
The charity is a charity limited by guarantee and consequently does not have share capital. Each of the trustees is liable to contribute an amount not exceeding £10 towards the assets of the charity in the event of liquidation.
Page 22
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **13 Funds**
|**Unrestricted funds**
**_General_**
General
**_Designated_**
Fixed Assets
Reserves
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Restricted funds**
Programmes
Capital
**Total restricted funds**
**Total funds**|**Balance at 1**
**April 2023**
**£**
79,984
560,685
45,000
605,685
685,669
89,052
59,829
148,881
834,550|**Incoming**
**resources**
**£**
208,708
-
-
-
208,708
52,247
97,052
149,299
358,007|**Resources**
**expended**
**£**
(161,128)
(98,431)
-
(98,431)
(259,559)
(116,559)
(3,469)
(120,028)
(379,587)|**Transfers**
**£**
(97,934)
251,346
-
251,346
153,412
-
(153,412)
(153,412)
-|**Balance at**
**31 March**
**2024**
**£**
29,630
713,600
45,000|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||758,600|
||||||788,230|
||||||24,740
-|
||||||24,740|
||||||812,970|
The specific purposes for which the funds are to be applied are as follows:
The Programmes fund promoted art to the wider community.
The Capital fund is for the purpose of acquiring and refurbishing the property at 33 Seely Road.
The transfer from the Capital and General fund to the Fixed Assets fund represents the addition value of the fixed assets.
Page 23
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## _**These are the figures for the previous accounting period and are included for comparative purposes**_
|**Unrestricted funds**
**_General_**
General
**_Designated_**
Fixed Assets
Reserves
**Total unrestricted funds**
**Restricted**
Programmes
Capital
**Total restricted funds**
**Total funds**|**Balance at 1**
**April 2022**
**£**
100,303
466,687
40,000
506,687
606,990
133,944
25,141
159,085
766,075|**Incoming**
**resources**
**£**
132,719
-
-
-
132,719
29,561
218,831
248,392
381,111|**Resources**
**expended**
**£**
(151,667)
(73,534)
-
(73,534)
(225,201)
(74,453)
(12,982)
(87,435)
(312,636)|**Transfers**
**£**
(1,371)
167,532
5,000
172,532
171,161
-
(171,161)
(171,161)
-|**Balance at**
**31 March**
**2023**
**£**
79,984
560,685
45,000|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||605,685|
||||||685,669|
||||||89,052
59,829|
||||||148,881|
||||||834,550|
## **14 Analysis of net assets between funds**
|Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets
Tangible fixed assets
Current assets
Current liabilities
Total net assets|**Unrestricted**
**General**
**£**
**Designated**
**£**
-
713,600
45,717
45,000
(16,087)
-
29,630
758,600
**Unrestricted funds**
**General**
**£**
**Designated**
**£**
-
560,685
95,217
45,000
(15,233)
-
79,984
605,685|**Restricted**
**£**
-
24,740
-
24,740
**Restricted**
**funds**
**£**
-
148,881
-
148,881|**2024**
**Total funds**
**£**
713,600
115,457
(16,087)|
|---|---|---|---|
||||812,970|
||||**Total funds at**
**31 March**
**2023**
**£**
560,685
289,098
(15,233)|
||||834,550|
Page 24
## **Nottingham Studios**
## **Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024**
## **15 Fees payable to independent examiner**
During the period, the fees payable (excluding VAT) to the charity’s independent examiner are analysed as follows:
|follows:|||
|---|---|---|
|Independent examination
Other financial services|**2024**
**£**
1,155
4,603
5,758|**2023**
**£**
1,045
2,518|
|||3,563|
## **16 Taxation**
The charity is a registered charity and is therefore exempt from taxation.
## **17 Trustees remuneration and expenses**
During the year the charity made the following transactions with trustees:
## **Frank Abbott**
Frank Abbott received remuneration of £150 (2023: £100) during the year.
Received a fee for Artist Development.
## **William Harvey**
William Harvey received remuneration of £5,438 (2023: £836) during the year.
The total payment was split between £1,450 Artist Development fee, £3,988 architectural/construction fee (development of Materials Store).
No trustees have received any reimbursed expenses or any other benefits from the charity during the year.
## **18 Related party transactions**
Michael Forbes rented studio space at £2,367 (2023: £2,280) for the year. William Harvey rented studio space at £518 (2023:£300) for the year.
Frank Abbott rented studio space at £492 (2023: £1,140) during the period of being a trustee. Alison Lloyd rented studio space at £410 (2023: £525) during the period of being a trustee. Christine Stevens rented studio space at £1,856 (2023: £Nil) during the period of being a trustee.
Page 25