## Ark UK Programmes
Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 August 2025
Company limited by guarantee, registration number 05932797 (England and Wales) Charity registration number 1137932
**Ark UK Programmes** Contents
|**Reports**||
|---|---|
|Reference and administrative details|1|
|Trustees’ report (including strategic report)||
||2|
|Independent auditor’s report|12|
|**Financial statements**||
|Statement of financial activities|18|
|Balance sheet|20|
|Statement of cash flows|21|
|Notes to the financial statements|23|
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Reference and administrative details
|**Trustees**|Lord Fink|
|---|---|
||Lucy Heller|
||Jacqueline Russell|
|**Company Secretary**|Kathryn Godfrey|
|**Senior Management**|Lucy Heller, Chief Executive|
||Katie Oliver, Director of Ark Ventures|
|**Registered Office**|1EdCity|
||EdCity Walk|
||London|
||W12 7TF|
|**Company registration number**|05932797|
|**Charity registration number**|1137932|
|**Auditor**|Buzzacott Audit LLP|
||130 Wood Street|
||London|
||EC2V 6DL|
|**Bankers**|Lloyds Bank plc|
||137 North End|
||Croydon|
||CR0 1TN|
|**Solicitor**|Stone King LLP|
||Upper Borough Court|
||Upper Borough Walls|
||Bath|
||BA1 1RG|
|**Investment manager**|JP Morgan International Bank|
||25 Bank Street|
||Canary Wharf|
||London|
||E14 5JP|
1
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report **Year ended 31 August 2025**
The trustees, who are also directors of Ark UK Programmes for the purposes of the Companies Act, are pleased to present their report together with the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 23 to 29 of the attached financial statements and comply 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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
## **Objectives and principal activities**
Ark UK Programmes has the principal objective of advancing the education of the public. It provides a home for Ark Ventures. In 2024/25, these ventures were Ark Start and Ark Curriculum Plus (AC+). The contribution made by these ventures to achieve the objectives of Ark UK Programmes is described from page 5.
## **Organisation**
Ark UK Programmes is a company limited by guarantee (company number 05932797) and a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number 1137932). The charity is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) (referred to throughout as ‘Ark’, charity registration number 1095322, company registration number 04589451), a charity established to improve the life chances of children. One of the trustees of Ark UK Programmes, Lord Fink, is also a trustee of Ark. Lucy Heller and Katie Oliver, who served as trustees during the year, are employed by Ark. Lucy Heller is Chief Executive of both Ark and Ark UK Programmes. Jacqueline Russell, who was appointed as a trustee on 1 February 2026 (after the year-end), is employed by Ark.
In furtherance of its objects, Ark UK Programmes works closely with Ark Schools, a multiacademy trust operating a network of 39 schools for which Ark serves as the parent charity and sole member. Lord Fink and Lucy Heller are trustees of Ark Schools.
The board of trustees, which can have up to ten members, administers the charity. The activities of the charity, as determined by the board of trustees, are carried out under the direction of the Chief Executive.
2
**Ark UK Programmes**
Trustees’ report including Strategic Report **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Trustees**
The trustees are also directors of Ark UK Programmes for the purposes of company law.
The following individuals served as trustees during the financial year, and up to the date these financial statements were approved, except where indicated below:
Lord Fink Lucy Heller Katie Oliver Resigned: 1 February 2026 Jacqueline Russell Appointed: 1 February 2026
Lord Fink did not have any beneficial interest in the organisation, nor did he receive any remuneration during the period. Lucy Heller, Katie Oliver and Jacqueline Russell received remuneration from Ark for their respective roles as Chief Executive, Director of Ark Ventures, and Chief Financial Officer (note 8).
New trustees may be appointed either by the board or by means of an ordinary resolution of the charity. On agreeing to become a trustee of the charitable company, the trustees are briefed by their co-directors on the history of the charitable company, its day-to-day management, the responsibilities of trustees, current objectives, and future plans. Trustees are also encouraged to attend relevant training courses and to keep up to date with changes in legislation.
## **Key management personnel**
The trustees consider the board of trustees and the senior management team to comprise the key management personnel of the charity responsible for directing and controlling, running, and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis. The Chief Executive and Director of Ark Ventures make up the senior management team and are remunerated by Ark.
Ark UK Programmes’ key management salaries are set on appointment and reviewed annually in accordance with the pay review procedures operated by the parent organisation, Ark. Pay and benefits for the Chief Executive are determined by the Chair of the Ark board in consultation with other board members and the Advisor to the board. The Advisor to the board, who is an employee of Ark and has delegated authority from the Ark board, will review and approve all pay proposals for direct reports to the Chief Executive. The Director of Ark Ventures has overall oversight of all other Ark UK Programmes salaries.
3
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Risk management**
Ark UK Programmes’ management and trustees have reviewed and assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, and systems have been established to identify and manage those risks. Business plans for all ventures address the risks and mitigations, and steering groups or shadow boards have been set up for each venture. In addition, the Ark Finance and Risk Committee formally reviews the risk register.
The key risks identified to date and mitigations are as follows:
- Ensuring AC+ can make sufficient investment to respond to the upcoming curriculum review.
- Over-reliance on individual funders. To mitigate this risk, programme commitments are limited to available funds and pledges. The pipeline of potential funders is in continuous development.
- Ark Start fails to deliver impact within its current funding parameters. To mitigate this risk, communication with funders and stakeholders is continuing. This is combined with an increased focus on impact measurement and evaluation.
- Given the age and vulnerability of the children accessing Ark Start nurseries, there is a heightened risk of a health and safety issue occurring on site. This risk is mitigated through the regular on-site monitoring of compliance and routines as well as risk assessments by the Ark Start senior management team.
- Safeguarding incident involving Ark Start. Safeguarding policies and procedures are in place, including a full programme of training for nursery staff.
- The effect of increasing costs, as a result of inflation, especially in staffing. Salary budgets are reviewed and controlled as part of the annual budget setting process. Any in-year increases in salaries or new positions are subject to strict review and approval processes.
- Loss of key staff. Teams have been strengthened through the development of recruitment and retention strategies, including succession plans, staff wellbeing programmes, and the implementation of a flexible working policy.
4
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report **Year ended 31 August 2025**
**Risk management** (continued)
- Financial instrument risks. Ark UK Programmes invests liquid funds in a portfolio that includes hedge fund investments. All of these investments are denominated in foreign currencies and hence there is both a currency risk and a market risk on the performance of these investments. The risk is limited through diversification of the portfolio across investment strategies and across investment funds and internal FX hedging within the fund. The investment objective is to outperform cash without significantly increasing risk and historically, this portfolio has proved to be significantly less volatile than global equity markets, with positive returns in nine of the last ten calendar years. The charity engages professionals to manage the investment portfolios and ensures that they are suitably diversified and consistent with the trustees’ investment strategy.
## **Achievements, performance, and future plans**
Ark UK Programmes is part of Ark, an education charity that has a long history of incubating and supporting new initiatives that address some of the most intractable issues in education and society. Since 2002, Ark has incubated and scaled more than 28 organisations supporting health, social care, child protection, and education activities. Most (including Ambition Institute, Assembly, Frontline, Global Schools Forum, Now Teach, Peepul and Purposeful Ventures) continue to operate independently today, working globally to impact over 45 million children.
As Ark has grown, the focus has turned increasingly to education. Today, Ark’s network of 39 schools serves 30,000 children in Birmingham, Hastings, London, and Portsmouth. Drawing on tried and tested processes in its own schools, Ark develops new approaches that are then shared with the wider sector through its ventures.
Ark UK Programmes’ current ventures include Ark Start, a growing group of nurseries offering high-quality early years education, and AC+, which develops subject excellence resources and training for over 700 schools nationally.
Below is a summary of activity for the ventures supported by Ark UK Programmes over the past year.
5
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Achievements, performance, and future plans** (continued)
## _**Ark Start**_
Ark Start offers a new model of affordable, high-quality early years care that lays the groundwork for school readiness and lifelong learning. Since opening in 2020, Ark Start has provided more than 700 children with a quality early education so they leave nursery ready to thrive at primary school.
## Achievements and performance this year:
- Ark Start operates a network of nurseries in London with five open by August 2025. Three nurseries opened during the year: Ark Start St Clement in Holland Park; Ark Start Globe in Elephant & Castle and Ark Start Brunel in North Kensington.
- Preparatory work took place for the opening of two further sites in 2025/26.
- In the Summer 2025 cohort, 95 percent of Ark Start children achieved a Good Level of Development (GLD) compared to the government’s national target of 75 percent by 2028.
- Over the past four years, 91 percent of Ark Start children have met GLD, 24 percentage points higher than the national average of 67 percent. 86 percent of those from disadvantaged backgrounds were school ready, compared to 51 percent of disadvantaged children nationally.
Priorites for 2025/26 are to:
- Open five new settings in London: an expansion of Ark Start Oval and a new site at Ark Start John Keats and a further three nurseries, Ark Start Earls Court, Ark Start All Saints and Ark Start Acton.
- Develop a cluster of Ark Start nurseries in Yorkshire from September 2026, in partnership with other multi-academy trusts.
- Continue working with a broad range of partners to advocate for early years and its importance in establishing foundations for learning.
6
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
**Achievements, performance, and future plans** (continued)
## _**Ark Curriculum Plus**_
AC+ shares and scales the teaching approaches that have a proven impact in Ark’s schools. Launched as Maths Mastery in 2012, AC+ now offers seven Mastery programmes and works in partnership with 733 schools nationally.
## Achievements and performance this year:
- Two programmes were launched to meet the evolving needs of schools: English Mastery Primary and Maths Mastery Secondary.
- Ark’s high-quality Sentence Mastery Sequence, a writing resource to support improvements in the teaching of writing in English, was made freely available, nationally.
- The Education Endowment Foundation extended their support for Maths Mastery, to accelerate take-up and enable 200 schools to benefit from an 80 percent government subsidy.
- Science Mastery was Highly Commended for ‘Evidence and Impact’ in the BESA (British Educational Suppliers Association) Awards in summer 2025.
- AC+ supported five out of the top 100 most improved schools for pass rates in GCSE English and four out of the top 100 for pass rates in GCSE Maths.
- AC+ grew by 15 percent and achieved a renewal rate of 84 percent.
## Priorities for 2025/26 are to:
- Support partner schools to deliver high-impact approaches in response to the release of the government’s Curriculum and Assessment Review.
- Provide free sector-wide support as schools adjust to the scale of change.
- Launch a new digital platform, which will provide the foundation for more digital innovation.
- Increase joint working with other outward-facing Ark programmes including Ark Teacher Training.
7
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Achievements, performance, and future plans** (continued)
## _**Legacy ventures**_
In October 2023, two of Ark UK Programmes’ legacy ventures transferred their operations:
- The Martingale Postgraduate Foundation joined the new ventures spin out, Purposeful Ventures;
- The Science Technology Engineering and Maths (STEM) Excellence Portfolio also joined Purposeful Ventures.
These entities are therefore reported within discontinued operations with activity in the year ended 31 August 2024 (see note 22).
## **Financial review**
Total Ark UK Programmes income during the year was £7.3m (2023/24 – £6.2m), which is made up of programme income (grants and donations, programme fees, and other income from activities less endowment income). The split of programme income between the ventures was as follows:
- 58% (2023/24 – 58%) to AC+
- 42% (2023/24 – 42%) to Ark Start
The principal funding sources for the year have been grants to ventures, school payments to AC+ and nursery income for Ark Start. All expenditure has supported the charity’s key objectives, as described in the review of performance above.
The net movement in funds for the year was a surplus of £0.2m (2023/24 – loss of £10.9m). The prior year loss was primarily due to £10.3m of restricted grants received in 2022/23 for Martingale and STEM Excellence Portfolio that were donated to Purposeful Ventures in 2023/24 to allow that work to continue.
Included in the result was a gain of £0.4m (2023/24 – gain of £0.6m) on the endowments held as investments for Ark Schools.
The charity had net assets at 31 August 2025 of £9.7m (2023/24 – £9.5m), comprising £5.7m (2023/24 – £5.4m) of endowment funds, £4.0m (2023/24 – £4.1m) of restricted funds, and £37k (2023/24 – £42k) of unrestricted funds (the free reserves of the charity). Given the programme-related nature of the charity’s activities, which are mainly funded via restricted funds, the trustees consider the level of free reserves to be satisfactory.
8
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Reserves policy**
New Ark ventures are incubated only when external funding has been secured, or a funding commitment has been made by Ark. For this reason, the charity’s unrestricted reserve levels are expected to remain below £100k, with the majority of funds being restricted to the individual ventures. The unrestricted funds balance at 31 August 2025 was £37k (2023/24 - £42k), sufficient to fund more than 12 months’ unrestricted expenditure, and in line with the policy adopted. Within each of the restricted fund balances, the charity will aim to hold sufficient funds to cover three to six months of core programme operating costs.
Ark UK Programmes has taken all necessary steps to reduce both the operational and financial impact of wider economic challenges.
Costs have been closely monitored to ensure that unrestricted reserves remain sufficient to meet financial commitments and obligations.
## **Investment policy**
As at 31 August 2025, Ark UK Programmes had a portfolio of investments with a market value of £6.0m (2023/24 – £5.5m).
There are no restrictions on the charity’s power to invest. The investment strategy is set by the trustees and considers income requirements, the risk profile, and the investment manager’s view of the market prospects in the medium term. The overall investment policy is to maximise total return through a diversified portfolio, aiming to provide the level of income advised by the trustees and, at the same time, with a view to ensuring that capital appreciation of the fund exceeds inflation over any five-year period.
Financial derivative products are used to ameliorate the risk associated with holding investments in foreign currencies. A trustee and management meet with the investment managers at least annually to review the performance of the portfolio and the investment strategy. The trustees are satisfied that their investment policy is being achieved.
## **Public benefit**
Ark UK Programmes exists to advance the education of the public. The trustees have paid due regard to the Charity Commission’s public benefit guidance and are satisfied that the charity complies with Section 4 of the Charities Act 2011. The sections at the beginning of this trustees’ report, which set out the charity’s objectives and achievements, explain in detail the activities of the charity and how the public, specifically children, benefit from its work.
9
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Approach to fundraising**
Ark fundraises from a defined list of individuals, companies, and charitable trusts and foundations. This list is carefully considered, and approaches are made only to those that the charity already has a connection to, or which may have an interest in Ark’s work. Ark’s network of schools conducts their own fundraising and may use fundraising platforms to promote specific school campaigns, including Just Giving.
Ark’s fundraising is led by a small team of professional fundraisers and support staff employed by Ark. Fundraising activities are not outsourced, and activity is based on individual relationships with donors. Donor data is handled with care – all information is held on a secure database and in files managed by Ark.
Ark is a paid member of the Fundraising Regulator and complies with the advice and guidance set by the body. Ark has never received any fundraising complaints.
## **Statement of trustees’ responsibilities**
The trustees (who are also directors of Ark UK Programmes for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the income and expenditure of the charitable company for that period.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in 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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102);
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable United Kingdom Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in operation.
10
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Trustees’ report including Strategic Report
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Statement of trustees’ responsibilities** (continued)
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Each of the trustees confirms that:
- so far as the trustee is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware; and
- the trustee has taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as a trustee in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditor is aware of that information.
This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the company and financial information included on the company’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf by:
Lucy Heller Trustee Date: 15 April 2026
11
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Independent auditor’s report to the member of Ark UK Programmes
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of Ark UK Programmes (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 August 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies, and the notes to the financial statements. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 ‘The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland’ (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- ♦ give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 August 2025 and of its income and expenditure for the year then ended;
- ♦ have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- ♦ have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
12
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Independent auditor’s report to the member of Ark UK Programmes **Year ended 31 August 2025**
**Conclusions relating to going concern** (continued)
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report and financial statements, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report and financial statements. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements, or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- ♦ the information given in the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law and includes the strategic report, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- ♦ the trustees’ report, which is also the directors’ report for the purposes of company law and includes the strategic report, has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
13
**Ark UK Programmes**
Independent auditor’s report to the member of Ark UK Programmes **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report including the strategic report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- ♦ adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- ♦ the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- ♦ certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- ♦ we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## **Responsibilities of trustees**
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern, and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
14
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Independent auditor’s report to the member of Ark UK Programmes **Year ended 31 August 2025**
**Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** (continued)
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below:
Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:
- ♦ the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities, and skills to identify or recognise noncompliance with applicable laws and regulations;
- ♦ we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the charitable company through discussions with trustees and other management, and from our knowledge and experience of the sector;
- ♦ we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the charitable company, including the Charities Act 2011, Companies Act 2006, data protection legislation and employment legislation;
- ♦ we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and
- ♦ identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the charitable company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
- ♦ making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected, and alleged fraud; and
- ♦ considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.
15
**Ark UK Programmes**
Independent auditor’s report to the member of Ark UK Programmes
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements** (continued)
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
- ♦ performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
- ♦ tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
- ♦ assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and
- ♦ used data analytics to investigate the rationale behind any significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
- ♦ agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
- ♦ reviewing the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
- ♦ enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
- ♦ reviewing any available correspondence with the charitable company’s legal advisors.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.
Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
16
## **Ark UK Programmes**
Independent auditor’s report to the member of Ark UK Programmes
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s member, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's member those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company's member as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Katharine Patel, Senior Statutory Auditor For and on behalf of Buzzacott Audit LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL
Date: 20 April 2026
17
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Statement of financial activities
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
|Notes
**Income from:**
Donations and legacies:
Grants and donations
2a
Charitable activities
Programme fees
2b
Other income
2b
Investments
3
**Total income**
6
**Expenditure on:**
Raising funds
Investment
management fees
Interest on finance
lease
Charitable activities
Support to
programmes
4,5
Grants payable from
endowments
4
Continuing operations
Discontinued operations
22
**Total expenditure**
6
Net expenditure before
gains on investments
Gains on investments
10
Net income
(expenditure) and net
movement in funds
**Reconciliation of funds**
**Funds brought forward**
**at 1 September 2024**
**Funds carried forward at**
**31 August 2025**
6|Unrestricted
£’000
2
-
-
-
2
-
-
7
-
7
-
7
(5)
-
(5)
42
**37**|Restricted
£’000
3,460
3,596
24
172
7,252
-
-
7,362
-
7,362
-
7,362
(110)
-
(110)
4,097
**3,987**|Endowments
£’000
-
-
-
-
-
56
1
-
-
57
-
57
(57)
390
333
5,355
**5,688**|**Year**
**ended**
**31 August**
**2025**
**Total**
**£’000**
**3,462**
**3,596**
**24**
**172**
**7,254**
**56**
**1**
**7,369**
**-**
**7,426**
**-**
**7,426**
**(172)**
**390**
**218**
**9,494**
**9,712**|Year
ended
31 August
2024
Total
£’000|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||3,291
2,793
45
111|
||||||6,240|
||||||54
1
6,085
300|
||||||6,440
11,282|
||||||17,722|
||||||(11,482)
584|
||||||(10,898)
20,392|
||||||9,494|
There were no recognised gains and losses in the period other than those stated above.
18
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Statement of financial activities
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
_Income and expenditure account:_
||**Continuing**
**operations**
**2025**
**£’000**
**Discontinued**
**operations**
**2025**
**£’000**
**Year**
**ended**
**2025**
**£’000**
Continuing
operations
2024
£’000
Discontinued
operations
2024
£’000
Year
ended
2024
£’000|
|---|---|
|Total income
Total expenditure
**Net (expenditure)**
**income for theyea**r|7,254
-
**7,254**
6,240
-
6,240
(7,369)
-
**(7,369)**
(6,085)
(11,282)
(17,367)|
||(115)
**-**
**(115)**
155
(11,282)
(11,127)|
The income and expenditure account above excludes the movement on the endowments fund. It is stated before losses/gains on investments and transfers.
The summary income and expenditure account is derived from the statement of financial activities on the previous page which, together with the notes to the financial statements on pages 23 to 46, provides full information on the movements during the year on all the funds of the charity.
Total income of £7,254k (2023/24 – £6,240k) comprises £2k (2023/24 – £nil) in relation to unrestricted funds and £7,252k (2023/24 – £6,240k) in relation to restricted funds of which £nil (2023/24 – £nil) relates to discontinued operations. A detailed analysis of income and expenditure by source is provided in the statement of financial activities and the notes to the financial statements.
Net expenditure for the year of £115k (2023/24 – £11,127k net expenditure) comprises net expenditure of £5k (2023/24 – £3k net expenditure) in relation to unrestricted funds and net expenditure of £110k (2023/24 – £11,124k net expenditure) in relation to restricted funds.
£nil of net expenditure (2023/24 – £11,282k net expenditure) relates to discontinued operations, as shown in the statement of financial activities. The transfer of funds to Purposeful Ventures for Martingale Foundation and STEM Excellence Portfolio was included as a discontinued operation in 2023/24.
19
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Balance sheet **31 August 2025**
|**Fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets
Investment property
Investment assets
**Current assets**
Debtors
Cash at bank and in hand
**Creditors:**amounts due within one year
**Net current assets**
**Total assets less current liabilities**
**Creditors:**amounts due after more than one year
**Net assets**
**The funds of the charity**
Unrestricted general funds
Restricted funds
Endowment funds
**Total funds**|Notes
11
9
10
12
13
14
6|**2025**
**£’000**
**132**
**642**
**5,994**
**6,768**
**2,176**
**4,246**
**6,422**
**(3,465)**
**2,957**
**9,725**
**(13)**
**9,712**
**37**
**3,987**
**5,688**
**9,712**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|---|
||||-
642
5,527|
||||6,169|
||||4,118
1,961|
||||6,079|
||||(2,735)|
||||3,344|
||||9,513
(19)|
||||9,494|
||||42
4,097
5,355|
||||9,494|
Approved by the board of trustees and signed on its behalf by:
Lucy Heller Trustee Date: 15 April 2026
Company registration no: 05932797
20
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Statement of cash flows
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
|Notes
**Cash flows from operating activities:**
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
A
**Cash provided by (used in) operating activities**
**Cash flows from investing activities:**
Investment income
Proceeds from the disposal of investments
Transfer of endowment funds
Purchase of investments
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
**Net cash (used in) provided by investing activities**
**Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year**
**Cash and cash equivalents at 1 September**
B
**Cash and cash equivalents at 31 August**
B, C|**2025**
**£’000**
**2,332**
**2,332**
**172**
**1,248**
**-**
**(1,317)**
**(150)**
**(47)**
**2,285**
**1,961**
**4,246**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|||(1,238)|
|||(1,238)|
|||111
1,909
(300)
(1,645)
-|
|||75|
||||
|||(1,163)|
|||3,124|
|||1,961|
## **Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year ended 31 August 2025**
## **A Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities**
|**Net movement in funds (as per the statement of financial activities)**
**Adjustments for:**
Gains on investments
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets
Expenditure from endowments
Investment income
Decrease in debtors
Increase (decrease) in creditors (excluding endowment creditors)
**Net cashprovided by (used in) operating activities**|**2025**
**£’000**
**218**
**(390)**
**18**
**-**
**(172)**
**1,942**
**716**
**2,332**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|||(10,898)
(584)
-
300
(112)
10,284
(228)|
|||(1,238)|
21
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Statement of cash flows
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **B Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**
|**Analysis of cash and cash equivalents**|||
|---|---|---|
|Cash at bank and in hand
**Total cash and cash equivalents**|**2025**
**£’000**
**4,246**
**4,246**|2024
£’000|
|||1,961|
|||1,961|
## **C Analysis of changes in net debt**
|**Analysis of changes in net debt**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||At 1
September
2024
£’000|Cash
flows
£’000|Other
non-cash
changes
£’000|
**At 31**
**August**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|Cash at bank and in hand
Finance lease obligations
**Total**|1,961|
2,285|-|
**4,246**|
||1,961
(19)|
2,285
-|-
6|
**4,246**
**(13)**|
||1,942|
2,285|6|
**4,233**|
22
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
- **1 Accounting policies**
## _**Basis of preparation**_
These financial statements have been prepared for the year ended 31 August 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these financial statements.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.
The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest thousand pounds.
## _**Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement**_
Preparation of the accounts requires the trustees and management to make significant judgements and estimates.
The items in the accounts where these judgements and estimates have been made include:
- Assessing income from new sales and activities, for the purpose of preparing cash flow forecasts and budgets to assist in the assessment of going concern;
- Allocation of support costs across charitable activities;
- Timing of income recognition for programme fees;
- Classification of leases as finance or operating;
- Determining the discount rate used in assessing the present value of future lease payments for the valuation of the investment property; and
- Measurement of the fair value of the charity’s investments, including its investment property.
23
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **1 Accounting policies** (continued)
## _**Assessment of going concern**_
The trustees have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these financial statements. The trustees have made this assessment in respect of a period of one year from the date of approval of these financial statements.
The trustees have considered the impact of cost pressures due to the wider economic challenges. The trustees have looked at the financial position, including income, expenditure, and reserves, and have acknowledged that some areas of work continue to be challenging, for example AC+ activity in UK schools. The trustees do not consider other cost pressures due to wider economic challenges to be a cause for material uncertainty in respect of the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern.
A number of areas of judgement that affect items in the accounts have been identified above. In addition, the most significant areas that affect the carrying value of the assets held by the charity in the next accounting period (the year ending 31 August 2026) are the level of investment return and the performance of the investment markets (see the investment policy and the risk management sections of the trustees’ report for more information). The trustees remain of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due.
In the unlikely event that the charity was unable to meet its liabilities, the parent charity, Ark, would provide the necessary financial support in the form of a grant or loan.
The trustees have therefore concluded that there are no material uncertainties related to events or conditions that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity to continue as a going concern.
## _**Fund accounting**_
Restricted funds are those which are to be used for a specified purpose as stipulated by the donor and agreed by the charity.
Unrestricted funds are those which the donor gives to the charity without stipulating a specific purpose. They are to be used for the furtherance of the objects of the charity in general and may be applied to specific projects at the discretion of the trustees to further the charity’s purposes.
24
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **1 Accounting policies** (continued)
## _**Fund accounting** (continued)_
The endowment fund represents monies invested on behalf of individual Ark academies. Any returns generated on these funds can be used without restriction, but only by the academy in question, and are therefore recognised as restricted income. The initial capital can only be used with agreement of the Secretary of State for Education, unless it is spent on ‘equipment, facilities, accommodation, landscaping, or signage’ at the relevant academy. The Ark All Saints Academy endowment is a permanent endowment for which Ark UK Programmes has been appointed as the trustee.
All income and expenditure is shown in the statement of financial activities.
## _**Income**_
Income is recognised in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income, the amount of income can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received. Where a service is provided over a period that spans more than one accounting period, a judgement is made as to the amount of income that should be accrued or deferred.
Donated services and facilities provided to the charity are recognised in the period when it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the charity, provided they can be measured reliably. This is normally when the service is provided. An equivalent amount is included as expenditure.
Donated services and facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain facilities or services of equivalent economic benefit on the open market.
## _**Expenditure**_
Liabilities, including those relating to staff costs and redundancies, are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to the expenditure. Expenditure is accounted for on an accrual basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all costs related to the category.
Ark UK Programmes is registered for VAT and reclaims VAT in its business-related expenditure. Irrecoverable VAT is included in expenditure when incurred.
Costs of raising funds are those incurred in seeking donations for the charity and in publicising the work of the charity.
25
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **1 Accounting policies** (continued)
## _**Expenditure** (continued)_
Expenditure on charitable activities comprises expenditure related to the direct furtherance of the charity’s objectives. In the accounts of the charity, the award of a grant is recorded as charitable expenditure, and the unspent amount is held in the balance sheet as a restricted fund.
## _**Allocation of overhead and support costs**_
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back-office, finance, payroll, and governance costs that support the charity’s programmes and activities. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the management of the charity’s assets, organisational administration, and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Where costs cannot be directly attributed, they have been allocated to activities. The basis for the allocation of support costs to charitable activities is set out in note 5 to the financial statements.
## _**Volunteers and donated services**_
With the exception of trustees, patrons and a small number of advisors, who all provide their services on a voluntary basis, the charity does not rely on volunteers or donated services in delivering its activities. The financial value of services donated by advisors is included as expenditure at an estimated fair value and a corresponding value of income is included as an in-kind donation.
## _**Discontinued activities**_
Where a decision has been made to discontinue or terminate an activity in accordance with the definitions contained within FRS 102, income, costs, and obligations associated with the discontinuing operation are recognised within the year. The income, costs, and obligations are disclosed separately on the face of the statement of financial activities.
## _**Investments**_
Investments are a form of basic financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date. Realised and unrealised gains (or losses) are credited (or debited) to the statement of financial activities in the year in which they arise.
26
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **1 Accounting policies** (continued)
## _**Investments** (continued)_
A fair value hierarchy that prioritises the inputs to valuation techniques is used in measuring fair value. The hierarchy gives the highest priority to unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities (Level 1 measurement) and lowest priority to unobservable inputs (Level 3 measurement). The levels of fair value hierarchy are described below:
- Level 1 (listed investments) – Unadjusted quoted prices in active markets that are accessible at the measurement date for identical, unrestricted assets, or liabilities;
- Level 2 (unlisted investments) – Quoted prices in markets that are not active or financial instruments for which all significant inputs are observable either directly or indirectly; and
- Level 3 (unlisted investments) – Prices or valuations that require inputs that are both significant to the fair value measurement and unobservable.
Investments that trade in markets that are not considered to be active but are valued based on quoted market prices for an identical instrument, dealer quotations, or alternative pricing sources supported by observable inputs are classified within Level 2. As Level 2 investments include positions that are not traded in active markets and/or are subject to transfer restrictions, valuations may be adjusted to reflect illiquidity and/or nontransferability, which are generally based on available market information.
The main form of financial risk faced by the charity is that of volatility in equity markets and investment markets due to wider economic conditions, the attitude of investors to investment risk, and changes in sentiment concerning equities and within particular sectors or sub-sectors.
## _**Investment property**_
Investment property is held by Ark UK Programmes to earn rentals and for capital appreciation, rather than for use in the ordinary course of business. Investment properties are measured at cost and subsequently at fair value at the reporting date. Professional advice is sought as appropriate to determine the valuation of investment property. Changes in fair values are recognised in the statement of financial activities.
Investment property is subject to renovations or improvements at regular intervals. The cost of major renovations and improvements is capitalised. The costs of maintenance, repairs, and minor improvements are recognised in the statement of financial activities when incurred.
27
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
- **1 Accounting policies** (continued)
## _**Investment property** (continued)_
On disposal of an investment property, the difference between the disposal proceeds and the carrying amount is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
## _**Fixed assets**_
Costs directly attributable to the acquisition or development of an asset which is expected to bring a future economic benefit to the charity and have a useful life exceeding one year are capitalised. Assets are not depreciated until construction of the asset is complete and ready for its intended use. Leasehold improvements are depreciated on a straight-line basis over the useful life of the asset or the lease length, whichever is the shorter. Furniture and fittings for the Ark Start nurseries with a combined value of less than £50k and where no individual item is greater than £5k are not capitalised. Items with a combined value of £50k or over, or individual items that are greater than £5k, are capitalised and depreciated over five years. Premises costs are expensed where a nursery is operating under a licence to occupy.
## _**Foreign currencies**_
Transactions in foreign currencies are recorded at the rate ruling at the date of the transaction. Monetary assets and liabilities denominated in foreign currencies are restated at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date.
## _**Operating lease**_
Operating lease rentals are charged on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Some of the nurseries are operating on a licence to occupy, and therefore the term of the agreement determines whether it is reported as an operating lease. These are included in the charitable activities expenditure in the statement of financial activities.
## _**Finance lease**_
A finance lease is recognised when it is determined that the lease arrangement transfers substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to the lessee.
At the commencement of the lease term, Ark UK Programmes recognises its rights of use and obligations under the finance lease as an asset and a liability in the balance sheet at an amount equal to the fair value of the leased asset or, if lower, the present value of the minimum lease payments, determined at the inception of the lease. Where the implicit rate cannot be determined, the charity’s incremental borrowing rate is used.
28
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **1 Accounting policies** (continued)
## _**Finance lease** (continued)_
Any initial direct costs are added to the amount recognised as an asset. Subsequently, the minimum lease payments are apportioned between the finance charge and the reduction of the outstanding liability using the effective interest method, including updating the effective interest rate to reflect the charity’s incremental cost of capital. This rate was 5.60% in 2024/25 (2023/24 – 4.54%).
## _**Debtors**_
Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for nonrecoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.
## _**Cash at bank and in hand**_
Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short-term deposits. Cash placed on deposit for more than one year is disclosed as a fixed asset investment.
## _**Creditors and provisions**_
Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment when such discounting is material.
29
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **2 a. Grants and Donations**
During the year, the organisation received the following grants and donations:
|**2025**|Unrestricted
£’000|Restricted
£’000|Endowments
£’000|**Total**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Ark Curriculum+
Ark Start
Unrestricted
**2025 total**|-
-
2|892
2,568
-|-
-
-|892
2,568
2|
||2|3,460|-|3,462|
|_2024_|_Unrestricted_
_£’000_|_Restricted_
_£’000_|_Endowments_
_£’000_|_Total_
_2024_
_£’000_|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|_Ark Curriculum+_
_Ark Start_
_2024 total_|_-_
_-_|_939_
_2,352_|_-_
_-_|_939_
_2,352_|
||_-_|_3,291_|_-_|_3,291_|
30
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **2 b. Income from charitable activities**
|**2025**|Unrestricted
£’000|Restricted
£’000|Endowments
£’000|**Total**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Programme fees**
Ark Curriculum+
Ark Start
**Other income**
Ark Curriculum+
Ark Start
**2025 total**|-
-|3,193
403|-
-|**3,193**
**403**|
||-
-
-|3,596
1
23|-
-
-|**3,596**
**1**
**23**|
||-|24|-|**24**|
||-|**3,620**|-|**3,620**|
|_2024_|_Unrestricted_
_£’000_|_Restricted_
_£’000_|_Endowments_
_£’000_|_Total_
_2024_
_£’000_|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|_Programme fees_
_Ark Curriculum+_
_Ark Start_
_Other income_
_Ark Curriculum+_
_Ark Start_
_2024 total_|_-_
_-_|_2,580_
_213_|_-_
_-_|_2,580_
_213_|
||_-_
_-_
_-_|_2,793_
_44_
_1_|_-_
_-_
_-_|_2,793_
_44_
_1_|
||_-_|_45_|_-_|_45_|
||_-_|_2,838_|_-_|_2,838_|
31
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **3 Investment income**
|**Investment income**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|**2025**|Unrestricted
£’000|
Restricted
£’000|
**Total**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|Income and interest from listed investments
Interest from cash deposits
Income from investment property
**2025 total**|-
-
-|
126
22
24|
**126**
**22**
**24**|
||**-**|
**172**|**172**|
|_2024_|_Unrestricted_
_£’000_|
_Restricted_
_£’000_|
_Total_
_2024_
_£’000_|
|_Income and interest from listed investments_
_Income from investment property_
_2024 total_|_-_
_-_|
_87_
_24_|
_87_
_24_|
||_-_|
_111_|
_111_|
32
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **4 Analysis of charitable expenditure**
|**Analysis of charitable expenditure**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**2025**|Activities
undertaken
directly
£’000|Grant
funding of
activities
£’000|Support
costs
(see note 5)
£’000|**Total**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|**Charitable expenditure**
Ark Curriculum+
Ark Start
Endowment programme (Note 6)
Unrestricted
**2025 total**|3,889
2,665
17
-|17
422
-
-|172
172
8
7|**4,078**
**3,259**
**25**
**7**|
||**6,571**|**439**|**359**|**7,369**|
|_2024_|_Activities_
_undertaken_
_directly_
_£’000_|_Grant_
_funding of_
_activities_
_£’000_|_Support_
_costs_
_(see note 5)_
_£’000_|_Total_
_2024_
_£’000_|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|_Charitable expenditure_
_Ark Curriculum+_
_Ark Start_
_Endowment programme (Note 6)_
_Unrestricted_
_Continuing operations_
_Martingale Foundation_
_Venture builder_
_Discontinued operations_
_2024 total_|_3,799_
_1,604_
_15_
_-_|_19_
_369_
_300_
_-_|_180_
_87_
_9_
_3_|_3,998_
_2,060_
_324_
_3_|
||_5,418_
_454_
_290_|_688_
_5,686_
_4,840_|_279_
_12_
_-_|_6,385_
_6,152_
_5,130_|
||_744_|_10,526_|_12_|_11,282_|
||_6,162_|_11,214_|_291_|_17,667_|
33
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **5 Allocation of support costs**
|**Allocation of support costs**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**2025**|Finance
£’000|
HR
£’000|
Governance
£’000|
Other
overheads
and support
staff
£’000|
**Total**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|Charitable expenditure
Ark Curriculum+
Ark Start
Unrestricted
Endowment programme
**2025 total**|-
6
-
5|
4
37
-
-|
6
-
5 5
2|
162
129
2 2
1|
**172**
**172**
**7**
**8**|
||**11**|
**41**|
**13**|
**294**|
**359**|
Finance, Governance and HR costs are allocated based on time spent on each programme. Other overheads consist of the desk charge, which is allocated based on the number of desks reserved for each programme, IT costs, and any remaining core costs. The allocation of support costs to activities in note 4 provides a more accurate picture of the full costs of these activities. It does not represent use of programme funds.
|_2024_|_Finance_
_£’000_|
_HR_
_£’000_|
_Governance_
_£’000_|
_Other_
_overheads_
_and support_
_staff_
_£’000_|
_Total_
_2024_
_£’000_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|_Charitable expenditure_
_Ark Curriculum+_
_Ark Start_
_Unrestricted_
_Endowment programme_
_2024 total_|_-_
_22_
_-_
_5_|
_1_
_8_
_-_
_-_|
_3_
_1_
_5_
_1_|
_176_
_56_
_-_
_1_|
_180_
_87_
_5_
_7_|
||_27_|
_9_|
_10_|
_233_|
_279_|
34
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **6 Analysis of net movement in funds**
|**2025**|At 1
September
2024
£’000|Income
£’000|Expenditure
£’000|Gains and
transfers
£’000|**At 31**
**August**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Restricted funds**
Ark Curriculum+
Ark Start
Ark Schools endowment
interest
**Total**
**Endowment funds**
**Unrestricted funds**
General
**Total funds**|1,263
2,166
668|4,087
3,015
150|(4,078)
(3,259)
(25)|
-
-
-|**1,272**
**1,922**
**793**|
||4,097
5,355
42|7,252
-
2|(7,362)
(57)
(7)|
-
390
-|**3,987**
**5,688**
**37**|
||9,494|**7,254**|**(7,426)**|**390**|**9,712**|
The restricted funds of AC+ have arisen from grants given specifically for use by AC+, fees from schools signed up to the programmes and via the DCMS.
The Ark Start restricted funds have arisen from the receipt of grant income for use specifically on the respective programmes plus the surplus from the nurseries.
The Ark Schools endowment interest in restricted funds has arisen from dividends and interest on the endowment investments held by Ark UK Programmes on behalf of individual Ark academies. The income is restricted for use by the Ark academy from whose endowment the income arose. The endowment fund represents monies invested on behalf of individual Ark academies. Any returns generated on these funds can be used without restriction, but only by the academy in question, and are therefore recognised as restricted income. The initial capital can only be used with agreement of the Secretary of State for Education, unless it is to be spent on ‘equipment, facilities, accommodation, landscaping, or signage’ at the relevant academy. The exception to this is the Ark All Saints Academy endowment for which Ark UK Programmes was appointed the trustee in January 2015. The principal sum of this endowment can only be spent with the permission of the Secretary of State.
At 31 August 2025, the balance of expendable endowments within investments assets was £4,944k (2023/24 – £4,559k) and the balance of permanent endowments was £1,050k (2023/24 – £968k).
In the year, £57k expenditure was made from endowments (2023/24 – £55k); £56k for investment manager fees (2023/24 – £54k) and £1k interest on the finance lease (2023/24 – £1k, note 15). An amount of £nil was also withdrawn and transferred to Ark Schools for capital expenditure projects (2023/24 – £300k).
35
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **6 Analysis of net movement in funds** (continued)
|_2024_|_At 1_
_September_
_2023_
_£’000_|
_Income_
_£’000_|
_Expenditure_
_£’000_|
_Gains and_
_transfers_
_£’000_|
_At 31_
_August_
_2024_
_£’000_
_1,263_
_2,166_
_668_
_4,097_
_-_
_-_
_-_
_4,097_
_5,355_
_42_
_9,494_|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|_Restricted funds_
_Ark Curriculum+_
_Ark Start_
_Ark Schools endowment_
_interest_
_Continuing operations_
_Martingale Foundation_
_STEM Excellence Portfolio_
_Discontinued operations_
_Total_
_Endowment funds_
_Unrestricted funds_
_General_
_Totalfunds_|_1,698_
_1,660_
_581_|_3,563_
_2,566_
_111_|
_(3,998)_
_(2,060)_
_(24)_|
_-_
_-_
_-_||
||_3,939_
_6,152_
_5,130_|_6,240_
_-_
_-_|
_(6,082)_
_(6,152)_
_(5,130)_|
_-_
_-_
_-_||
||_11,282_|_-_|
_(11,282)_|_-_||
||_15,221_
_5,126_
_45_|_6,240_
_-_
_-_|
_(17,364)_
_(355)_
_(3)_|
_-_
_584_
_-_||
||_20,392_|_6,240_|
_(17,722)_|
_584_||
## **7 Net movement in funds**
Net movement in funds is stated after charging:
|**Net movement in funds**
Net movement in funds is stated after charging:|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**
**£’000**|2024
£’000|
|Statutory audit fees
Operatinglease rentals|**11**
**40**|10
-|
36
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **8 Staff costs and numbers**
|**Staff costs and numbers**|||
|---|---|---|
|Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs|**2025**
**£’000**
**3,471**
**386**
**360**
**4,217**|2024
£’000|
|||3,178
359
314|
|||3,851|
There were no redundancies or ex-gratia severance payments made in the year (2023/24 – £1,691).
The average number of staff employed during the period was:
||**Headcount**|**Headcount**|
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|
2024|
|Charitable activities
Support activities|**81**
**5**|
71
5|
||**86**|76|
The number of employees during the period who earned over £60,000 in the year (including benefits) was as follows:
|**£60,001 - £70,000**
**£70,001 - £80,000**
**£80,001 - £90,000**
**£90,001 - £100,000**
**£100,001 - £110,000**
**£110,001 - £120,000**|**2025**
**No.**
**4**
**4**
**1**
**1**
**1**
**1**
**12**|**2024**
**No.**|
|---|---|---|
|||6
4
2
1
-
1|
|||14|
The pension contributions made on behalf of the above employees was £105,676 (2023/24 – £114,882).
Key management personnel of Ark UK Programmes comprise the trustees and the senior management team as listed on page 1. The total amount of employee benefits (including pension and social security contributions) received by key management personnel during the period was £115,346 (2023/24 – £115,588). The senior management team during the period comprised the Chief Executive and Director of Ark Ventures. They are both paid by the parent charity, Ark, by virtue of them being employees of the parent charity and a proportion of the Director of Ark Ventures’ time was recharged to Ark UK Programmes.
37
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **9 Investment property**
|**Investment property**|||
|---|---|---|
||Land and
buildings
£’000|
**Total**
**£’000**|
|**Cost or valuation:**
At 1 September 2024
Movement in fair value
At 31 August 2025
Carryingamount at 31 August 2025|642
-|
**642**
**-**|
||642|
**642**|
||||
||642|
**642**|
The long leasehold investment property is held at fair value. Completion of the property was on 20 May 2016. The trustees have assessed the valuation of the property at 31 August 2025 based on publicly available information.
Included in the amount for investment property is £12,452 (2023/24 – £18,619) relating to assets held under a finance lease (note 15).
## **10 Investment assets**
|Listed investments
Market value at 1 September
Additions to investments at cost
Disposals at market value – proceeds
Net unrealised investment gain
Market value at 31 August
Cash held by investment managers for reinvestment
**Market value at 31 August**
Cost of listed investments at 31 August|**2025**
**£’000**
**5,496**
**1,355**
**(1,257)**
**380**
**5,974**
**20**
**5,994**
**4,772**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|||5,187
1,615
(1,983)
677|
|||5,496
31|
|||5,527|
|||4,560|
38
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **10 Investment assets** (continued)
All listed investments were traded on a recognised stock exchange. Listed investments held at 31 August 2025 comprised the following:
|Overseas equities
Fixed income
Alternative assets
Short term investment
Miscellaneous/foreign exchange|**2025**
**£’000**
**3,400**
**1,968**
**546**
**59**
**1**
**5,974**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|||3,089
1,883
516
-
8|
|||5,496|
All investments are held in a portfolio of diversified funds. Accordingly, no individual holding is considered to be material when compared to the total value of the listed investment portfolio at 31 August 2025.
Foreign exchange forward contracts are used to ameliorate the risk associated with holding investments in foreign currencies. These are held by the investment managers and form part of their strategy for managing risk.
|part of their strategy for managing risk.|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**
**£’000**|2024
£’000|
|**Unrealised gains included above:**
On investments
**Total unrealised gains at 31 August**
**Reconciliation of movements in unrealised gains**
Unrealised gains at 1 September
Less: in respect to disposals in the year
Add: net unrealised gains
**Total unrealisedgains at 31 August**|**1,202**|936|
||**1,202**
**936**
**(114)**
**380**|936
284
(25)
677|
||**1,202**|936|
|**Gains on investments**
Net unrealised investment gain
Realised gain
FX movement
**Totalgains on investments**|**2025**
**£’000**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
||**380**
**(13)**
**23**
**390**|677
(90)
(3)|
|||584|
39
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **10 Investment assets** (continued)
In 2009/10, Ark UK Programmes was given responsibility for the administration of the endowments held on behalf of individual Ark academies as reported under investment assets. These funds are invested with JP Morgan, and the relationship is set out in a Deed of Gift between Ark UK Programmes, Ark, and the Secretary of State for Education. King Solomon Academy contributed an additional £750k into its endowment, which is outside of the Deed of Gift. In January 2015, Ark UK Programmes was appointed as the trustee of an endowment held under a Trust Deed for Ark All Saints Academy (formerly St Michael and All Angels Church of England Academy). The value of the endowment transferred into Ark UK Programmes was £607k.
## **11 Fixed assets**
|**Fixed assets**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|**2025**|Leasehold
improvements
£’000|Assets under
construction
£’000|
**Total**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|**Cost**
At 1 September 2024
Additions
Disposals
At 31 August 2025
**Depreciation**
At 1 September 2024
Charge for the year
At 31 August 2025
**Net book value**
At 31 August 2025
At 1 September 2024|-
90
-|-
60
-|
**-**
**150**
**-**|
||90|60|
**150**|
||-
(18)|-
-|
**-**
**(18)**|
||(18)|-|
**(18)**|
|||||
||**72**|**60**|
**132**|
||-|-|
**-**|
## **12 Debtors**
|Trade debtors
Prepayments and other debtors
Accrued income
Amounts due from Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) (note 18)
Amounts due from Ark Schools|**2025**
**£’000**
**427**
**59**
**402**
**645**
**643**
**2,176**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|||755
64
225
2,516
558|
|||4,118|
40
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **13 Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year**
|Accruals
Trade creditors
Deferred income
Amounts due to Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) (note 18)
Amounts due to Ark Schools
Taxation and social security
Other creditors|**2025**
**£’000**
**745**
**157**
**1,204**
**467**
**731**
**122**
**39**
**3,465**|2024
£’000
295
121
960
414
834
98
13
2,735|
|---|---|---|
Deferred income relates to programme fees for AC+ received in advance for delivery in the following financial year. The movements in deferred income are analysed below:
||At 31 August
2024
£’000|Released from
previous year
£’000|Deferred in
current year
£’000
1,144
30
1,174|**At 31 August**
**2025**
**£’000**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|Programme fees
Programme grant
**Total deferred income**|960
-|(930)
-||**1,174**
**30**|
||960|(930)||**1,204**|
## **14 Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year**
|**Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**
**£’000**
**13**
**13**|2024
£’000|
|Finance lease liability||19|
|||19|
The finance lease element of the property is based on future rental payments and discounted by a long-term interest rate of 5.60% (2023/24 – 4.54%).
41
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **15 Leasing commitments**
## _Finance lease commitments_
The future minimum finance lease payments are as follows:
|**Leasing commitments**
_Finance lease commitments_
The future minimum finance lease payments are as follows:|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**
**£’000**|2024
£’000|
|Not later than one year*
Later than one year and not later than five years
Later than five years
Total gross payments
Less: finance charges
**Carrying amount of liability**|**-**
**2**
**299**|-
2
299|
||**301**
**(288)**|301
(282)|
||**13**|19|
_*Lease payments of £400 are due in no later than one year._
The finance lease relates to the investment property (note 9). There are no contingent rental, renewal, or purchase option clauses.
## _Operating lease commitments_
The future minimum operating lease payments are as follows:
||**2025**
**£’000**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|Not later than one year
Later than one year and not later than five years
Later than five years
**Total**|**70**
**240**
**150**|-
-
**-**|
||**460**|-|
Two new premises leases were signed by Ark Start during the period to 31 August 2025 with the remaining nurseries being held on a licence to occupy with the relevant school.
42
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **16 Analysis of net assets between funds**
|**Analysis of net assets between funds**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**2025**|Unrestricted
General
fund
£’000|
Restricted
funds
£’000|Endowment
funds
£’000|**Total**
**£’000**|
|Fund balances at 31 August 2025 are represented
by:
Fixed assets
Current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Creditors: amounts falling due in more than one
year
**Total net assets**|-
746
(709)
-|
924
5,620
(2,557)
-|5,844
56
(199)
(13)|**6,768**
**6,422**
**(3,465)**
**(13)**|
||**37**|
**3,987**|**5,688**|**9,712**|
|_2024_|_Unrestricted_
_General_
_fund_
_£’000_|_Restricted_
_funds_
_£’000_|_Endowment_
_funds_
_£’000_|_Total_
_£’000_|
|_Fund balances at 31 August 2024 are represented_
_by:_
_Fixed assets_
_Current assets_
_Creditors: amounts falling due within one year_
_Creditors: amounts falling due in more than one_
_year_
_Total net assets_|_-_
_111_
_(69) _
_-_|
_670_
_5,907_
_(2,480)_
_-_|_5,499_
_61_
_(186)_
_(19)_|_6,169_
_6,079_
_(2,735)_
_(19)_|
||_42_|
_4,097_|_5,355_|_9,494_|
## **17 Trustees’ remuneration and expenses**
The only trustees of the company who received payment or other emoluments are disclosed in note 8 with no expenses being reimbursed to any trustee through Ark UK Programmes during the current and prior periods.
43
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **18 Related party transactions**
Ark UK Programmes, EdCity Office, EdCity Development Limited and EdCity Management Company Limited are all wholly owned subsidiaries of Absolute Return for Kids (ARK) (note 19). The financial statements do not include disclosure of transactions between Ark UK Programmes and its parent or any of its fellow subsidiary entities. As a 100% controlled subsidiary undertaking, Ark UK Programmes has taken advantage of the exemption available under Section 33 of FRS 102 (“Related Party Disclosures”) not to disclose such transactions.
During the year, the organisation had the following transactions with Ark Schools. Ark is the sole member and parent charity of Ark Schools. Lord Fink and Lucy Heller are also trustees of Ark Schools.
## _Income from Ark Schools:_
||**2025**
**£’000**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|Ark Curriculum+ income for provision of Mastery Curriculum
**Total**|**275**|227|
||**275**|227|
The closing debtor due from Ark Schools to Ark UK Programmes including intercompany balances was £643k (2023/24 - £558k).
## _Expenditure to Ark Schools:_
||**2025**
**£’000**|2024
£’000|
|---|---|---|
|Ark Start operating expenditure
Ark Start capital expenditure
**Total**|**371**
**461**|-
-|
||**832**|-|
The closing creditor due to Ark Schools from Ark UK Programmes, including intercompany balances, was £731k (2023/24 – £834k)
## _Endowments held on behalf of Ark Schools_
Ark UK Programmes holds £5,688k (2023/24 - £5,355k) of endowment funds on behalf of Ark Schools.
44
## **Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
**Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **18 Related party transactions** (continued)
In addition to the above, the following other related party transactions occurred during the year.
## _Income from The Education Endowment Foundation:_
Lucy Heller is a board member of The Education Endowment Foundation and a trustee of Ark UK Programmes. £0.9m (2023/24 - £0.7m) income was recognised in the year from The Education Endowment Foundation, of which £0.3m (2023/24 - £0.2m) was held as a debtor in the balance sheet at year end.
## _Expenditure with Purposeful Ventures:_
Lucy Heller is a trustee of Purposeful Ventures and Ark UK Programmes. £28k (2023/24 - £3k) was paid to Purposeful Ventures for consultancy support provided.
In 2024/25, £nil (2023/24 - £10.3m) of closing reserves was granted to Purposeful Ventures when it became an independent charity on 1 November 2023.
## **19 Ultimate parent undertaking**
During the year under review, the company’s immediate and ultimate parent undertaking was Absolute Return for Kids (ARK). Ark is registered in England and Wales as a charitable company limited by guarantee (company registration number 04589451; charity registration number 1095322). For the period under review, Ark has included Ark UK Programmes within its group financial statements, copies of which are available at its registered office: 1EdCity, EdCity Walk, London, W12 7TF.
## **20 Taxation**
Ark UK Programmes has charitable status (charity number 1137932). Given the nature of its activities, the charity will not be subject to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it would fall within the various exemptions available to registered charities.
45
**Ark UK Programmes**
## Notes to the financial statements
## **Year ended 31 August 2025**
## **21 Post balance sheet events**
The opening of two new Ark Start nurseries (Ark Start John Keats – September 2025 and Ark Start Oval Day Nursery - January 2026) occurred since the year end, taking the total number of nurseries to seven.
On 27 January 2026, Ark Start signed a five-year loan from Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for £865k to facilitate the expansion of the nursery programme.
## **22 Discontinued operations**
On 1 November 2023, Martingale Foundation and STEM Excellence Portfolio became part of Purposeful Ventures - a newly formed charity - and were included within Ark UK Programmes accounts for the last time in full during the year ended 31 August 2024 as shown below. There was no discontinued activity in 2025.
|_2024_
_Income from:_
_Donations and legacies:_
_Grants and donations_
_Total income_
_Expenditure on:_
_Charitable activities_
_Support to programmes_
_Donations to new charity_
_Total expenditure_
_Net expenditure for the year ended 31 August_
_Restricted fund balance at 1 September_
_Restricted fund balance at 31 August_|_Martingale_
_Foundation_
_STEM_
_Excellence_
_Portfolio_
_Total_
_31 August_
_2024_
_£000_
_£000_
_£000_|
|---|---|
||_-_
_-_
_-_|
||_-_
_-_
_-_
_(726)_
_(290)_
_(1,016)_
_(5,426)_
_(4,840)_
_(10,266)_|
||_(6,152)_
_(5,130)_
_(11,282)_|
|||
||_(6,152)_
_(5,130)_
_(11,282)_|
||_6,152_
_5,130_
_11,282_|
||_-_
_-_
_-_|
46