londinium
TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDING 31 AUGUST 2025
Trustees
Sophia Anderton (re-elected March 2025) Michael Bolton (re-elected March 2025) Sonia Johnson (re-elected March 2025) Christopher Lemar (re-elected March 2025) Chau-Yee Lo (re-elected March 2025) Hazel Mehta (re-elected March 2025) Helen Statham (re-elected March 2025) Maurice Wren (re-elected March 2025)
Charity’s principal address: Tully's Head House, Farnham Lane, Haslemere, Surrey GU27 1HD Registered Charity Number: 1135786 Bankers: CAF Bank Ltd
Structure, governance and management
Londinium is a registered charity governed by a constitution adopted on 29th September 2009, as amended 23 April 2016 and 4 April 2022.
The Charity is managed by its Trustees, who are elected or re-elected annually at the Annual General Meeting, or appointed by the Trustee body during the course of the year. During the year ended 31st August 2025 Andrew Griffiths was the Musical Director of Londinium.
The Trustees give their time voluntarily, and do not receive remuneration or other benefits. The Musical Director is appointed by the Trustees and receives fees from Londinium in his/her professional capacity from Londinium, as do any other professional musicians engaged in the course of the Charity’s activities.
Singers wishing to join Londinium are auditioned, and are usually asked to sing with the choir on a trial basis before membership is confirmed. As at 31 August 2025 Londinium had 86 members, including several members who no longer sing with the choir. During the year around 46 members sang regularly in concerts and other projects.
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Members do not pay an annual subscription, but are asked to pay a subscription for each concert or other project in which they participate. This covers the cost of music and contributes towards general rehearsal costs.
Objectives and Activities
Londinium’s objectives are:
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to promote, improve, develop and maintain education in the appreciation and knowledge of the art and science of music by the presentation of public concerts and by such other activities as the Trustees shall think fit;
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to encourage and support for the public benefit all art forms, particularly but not exclusively those involving music, including other cultural and educational activities in order to make these more accessible to the public at large.
The choir primarily achieves these objectives by promoting, organising and/or giving choral performances. In planning activities the Trustees have regard to The Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit.
Season’s activities
We are thrilled to be planning our third album, which will be of choral music by John Joubert, again with SOMM Recordings, and largely consisting of premiere recordings. This is to be recorded in summer 2026, for release in 2027, marking the centenary of Joubert’s birth. We are particularly grateful to his daughter, Anna Joubert, for her help in putting this together.
The 2024/5 concert season began in October with ‘In Harmony: choral music for a fragile world’, a programme exploring relationships with our planet and with each other. It featured Giles Swayne's remarkable Missa Tiburtina , alongside Brahms, Joubert, Cheryl Frances-Hoad and Kenneth Leighton. Bernard Hughes was there to hear us sing his Precious Things, wryly highlighting humankind’s exploitation of resources
Our December programme, ‘In the Stillness’, was a typical feast of Advent and Christmas music including, looking ahead to our recording, John Joubert's virtuosic Rorate Coeli motets. More familiar Christmas music was programmed alongside fine contemporary works by Sally Beamish, John Casken, Richard Causton, Alec Roth, Roderick Williams, and Alison Willis.
February’s concert, ‘On the Wing’ took to the air, encountering nightingales, swans, bees, swallows and much else besides. The programme included a memorable Bees Madrigall by the 'father of English bee-keeping', Rev. Charles Butler, Caroline Shaw’s and the swallow
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and Eric Whitacre’s Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine . Gabriel Jackson was there to hear us sing his beautiful Nightingale Fragments .
Inspired by the example of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, and marking the 80th anniversary of his death, April’s ‘De Profundis’ celebrated the resilience of the human spirit in. We included two recent works by Alec Roth, On every new day and Die Ruhe der Nacht (The Peace of the Night) , setting Bonhoeffer’s words, together with Cecilia McDowall’s Standing as I do before God and Ben Parry’s Spring Sonnets . The concert was attended by Ben Parry and Bernard Hughes; we were thrilled to give the London premiere of Hughes’ Hear my heart sing .
Unto the Hills , in May, explored the majesty of mountains, and the inspiration they provide to composers and poets, including Judith Bingham’s Gleams of a remoter world , Kerensa Briggs I will lift up mine eyes , and Gabriel Jackson’s in the half-light of dusk ; we were delighted that he was also able to attend this concert. The programme concluded with the quintessential expression of the Romantic Sublime, Schumann's Vier doppelchörige Gesänge
In June we were delighted to give a fundraising performance for the Samaritans as part of the Marylebone Festival, conducted by Una Murphy and Steve Copeland.
July saw a highly successful tour to Mechelen and Antwerp in Belgium, with a programme entitled ‘Hear my Heart Sing’ (giving Bernard Hughes’ piece its Belgian premiere). Alongside a feast of British choral music, we also performed music by the English Renaissance composer Peter Philips, who made his career in Antwerp, and by the Flemish master Pierre de la Rue, resident at Margaret of Austria's court at Mechelen. There was standing room only for both concerts, which gained two excellent reviews in Classiek Centraal : “ Their passion and expertise are evident .” (Arlette Hellemans, reviewing in Mechelen) “ Londinium's Belgian debut will undoubtedly remain in the memories of those present. It was a magnificent tribute to the English choral tradition, full of emotion, technique and an exploration of that rich repertoire .” Werner De Smet (reviewing in Antwerp).
Accounts for the year ended 31st August 2025 and Financial Commentary
Londinium’s financial results are set out on the attached sheets. They comprise three pages of financial information: a schedule of general income and expenditure, an income and expenditure sheet showing the surplus or loss for each separate musical event and a balance sheet.
The income and expenditure account shows a surplus of £3,983 in the year to 31 August 2025 (2024 - a surplus of £4,068).
There was a surplus on Musical Events of £2,238. Of the six events, all but one made a surplus. The best result was for the ‘In the Stillness’ concert in December 2024 with a surplus of £1,238, followed by ‘On the Wing’ in February 2025 with a surplus of £735. Our
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best result in 2023 and 2024 was in February, so that seems a popular month with our audience.
Our Gift Aid reclaim amounted to £2,778 (2024 £2,343). Thank you to all those who have signed Gift Aid forms. The recovery of Gift Aid makes a major contribution to our overheads.
We require a reasonable overall surplus on our Musical Events and Sundry Income to cover the choir’s general running costs. These include insurance, the Musical Director’s annual retainer, auditioning costs and website costs. In total, our general expenditure amounted to £1,745 (2024 - £1,706).
As at 31 August 2025, Londinium had reserves of £21,196 (2024- £17,213).
The Trustees consider that we need to maintain reserves of between £2,000 and £3,000 as working capital to fund ongoing concert and running costs. This means that as at 31 August 2025 we had about £18,000 of reserves available towards the cost of future ventures, for example the Joubert CD project in 2026, for which we have earmarked £10,000.
We also need to pay for a photo-shoot for a new choir photo which we anticipate will cost around £1,000. In addition, to mark our 20th Anniversary, we have programmed a concert with a small orchestra which will cost around £6,000.
The current season is progressing very well financially. We made good surpluses in each of the three concerts so far this season. These results reflect the generally higher ticket income we have achieved through increases in audience numbers. The outcome is particularly pleasing given the higher rates that we are now having to pay for venues and has allowed us to increase our music budget, which gives Andrew Griffiths greater scope when planning programmes.
On behalf of the Trustees
………………………………………... Ader.S Gitar Helen Statham Trustee and Chair 14 March 2026
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| Charity Name | No (if any) | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Londinium | 1135786 | |||
| Receipts and | ts andpayments accounts | CC16a | ||
| For the period from |
01-Sep-24 Period start date |
31-Aug-25 Period end date To |
Section A Receipts and payments
| Unrestricted funds |
Restricted funds |
Restricted | Endowme nt funds |
Total funds | Last year | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| to the nearest £ |
to the nearest | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ |
to the nearest £ | to the nearest £ | ||||||
| A1 Receipts | ||||||||||||
| Income from musical events | 13 758 | - | - | - | 13 758 | 12 387 | ||||||
| Fees and donations | 1 141 | - | 1 141 | 162 | ||||||||
| Subscriptions | 14 365 | - | - | - | 14 365 | 13 410 | ||||||
| Other income | 3 469 | - | - | - | 3 469 | 3 553 | ||||||
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| - | - | - | - | - | - | |||||||
| Sub total(Gross income for AR) |
AR) | 32 733 | - | - | - | 32 733 | 29 512 | |||||
| A2 Asset and investment sales, (see table). - - - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total receipts 32 733 - - 32 733 29 512 ~~——————~~ |
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| A3 Payments | ||||||||||||
| Musical events | 27 190 | - | 27 190 | 23 059 | ||||||||
| Other expenditure | 1 561 | - | - | - | 1 561 | 1 511 | ||||||
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| **Sub total ** | 28 751 | - | - | - | 28 751 | 24 570 | ||||||
| A4 Asset and investment purchases, (see table) - - - - - - - - - - Sub total - - - - - Total payments 28 751 - - 28 751 24 570 Net of receipts/(payments) 3 982 - - 3 982 4 942 A5 Transfers between funds - - A6 Cash funds last year end 16 706 - 16 706 11 764 Cash funds this year end 20 688 - - 20 688 16 706 ~~——————~~ ~~===>~~ ~~=>~~ |
CCXX R1 accounts (SS)
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Section B Statement of assets and liabilities at the end of the period
| Categories B1 Cash funds B2 Other monetary assets B4 Assets retained for the charity’s own use B5 Liabilities B3 Investment assets |
Details Details CAF Bank Current Account CAF Bank Deposit Account Details Details Total cash funds (agree balances with receipts and payments account(s)) Details |
Unrestrict ed funds to nearest £ 1 659 19 029 - 20 688 OK Unrestrict ed funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which asset belongs Fund to which liability relates |
Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - OK Restricted funds to nearest £ - - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - Cost (optional) - - - - - - - - - Amount due (optional) - - - - - |
Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| Endowment funds to nearest £ |
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| Current value (optional) |
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Signed by one or two trustees on behalf of all the trustees
| Signature ~~2~~ |
Print Name Christopher Lemar |
Date of approval |
|---|---|---|
| ~~2~~ | Christopher Lemar |
CCXX R2 accounts (SS)
CCXX R3 accounts (SS) 3
x CHARITY COMMISSION independent examiner's FOR ENGLAND AND WALES report on the accounts
Section A Independent Examiner’s Report
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Report to the trustees/ UNG
members of | Londinium
On accounts for the year | 31 August 2025 Charity no | 1135786
ended (if any)
Set out on pages | Form CC16a
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| report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 August 2025.
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Responsibilities and As the charity trustees of the Trust, you are responsible for the preparation basis of report of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act’).
| report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, | have followed the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. independent | have completed my examination. | confirm that no material matters have examiner's statement come to my attention |(cther than that disclosed belew~\in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect: e accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act or
- e the accounts do not accord with the accounting records
| have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. * Please delete the words in the brackets if they do not apply.
Relevant professional |FCA qualification(s) or body (if any):
Address: | 127 Dora Road
London SW19 7JT
IER
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October 2018
Section B
Disclosure
Only complete if the examiner needs to highlight matters of concern (see CC32, Independent examination of charity accounts: directions and guidance for examiners).
Give here brief details of any items that the examiner wishes to disclose.
Not ole
IER
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October 2018