# **TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** 1[st] April 2020 – 31[st] March 2021
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **A note from the Chair of Trustees**
It is a privilege to have been appointed as Chairman following James McCarthy stepping down. I would like to thank James for his work as Chairman during a difficult year, his dedication has been invaluable. I am grateful that James made the decision to stay on the Board as a Trustee. We are fortunate to have a highly experienced and fully engaged Board. The Covid-19 pandemic and the resultant lockdown, subsequent restrictions and impact upon the economy has meant that this year has been filled with unprecedented challenges. Not being able to fundraise in the normal way or access grants for our work with the community highlights the hard work and commitment of our team that has been needed in order to ensure the Charity’s future. I am filled with pride at the fact that despite these challenges, we have maintained our high level of care to our horses, who continue to live a high quality of life. We must view this year as a year of significant achievement and learning.
The welcome relaxation of lockdown restrictions does not, however, mean that there are not challenges ahead. The economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic continues to have devastating effects on the charity sector, with funding sources being significantly diminished and some evaporating altogether.
The team’s devotion to targeted spending and efficiency has been critical to our continued success, whilst not impacting our level of horse care. Mane Chance continues to excel at targeted spending with 82% spent on charitable activities. However, there is no surprise that we generated our second consecutive annual deficit, for the financial year ending 31st March 2022 - a deficit of £46,341 on income of £287,750.
The support of our donors, grant makers, sponsors and volunteers will be more important over the coming year than ever before. While we are confident that we can weather the storm, based on our own projections we expect to lose in excess of £93,000 as a result of Covid19 restrictions.
Sadly, horses continue to be abused and abandoned across the country and good homes for rescued animals remain scarce. As expected, our herd has grown over the past year and we now have thirty-nine horses, including eleven Shetland ponies, living a happy and natural life on site. We have recently welcomed two equines to Mane Chance this year, the result of an ongoing RSPCA case. The recent increase in our herd has inevitably led to increased expenditure which will continue to grow over the next 12 months.
We are committed to investing in and expanding our community work, including Chance2Be, helping hundreds of people through gentle interaction with equines. Increasing our community engagement and helping more people while providing the very highest level of care for our horses remains the key focus for Mane Chance and will be aided by a major project: our new Community facilities. Unfortunately, we have had to delay this project in order to focus our fundraising efforts on running costs and ultimately, survival.
In contrast, having already received specific funding for the redevelopment of a hay storage barn which will ultimately allow
us to reduce running costs, we have been able to proceed with the planning for this project. We hope to complete the new barn within the next 3 months.
Despite this being a time of significant change and uncertainty, I am proud to be associated with a charity that fulfils its mission to help animals and people. I hope that you will continue to support us.
**Hannah Richardson Chair of Trustees**
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Contents**
|**Contents**|**Contents**|||
|---|---|---|---|
|
A Note from the Chairman||1||
|Contents||2||
|Directors’ and Trustees’ Report||3-5||
|Achievements and Performance||6-12||
|Financial Review||13-14||
|Report of the independent examiners to the Trustees of Mane Chance||||
|Sanctuary Limited||15||
|Statement of Financial Activities||16||
|Balance|Sheet|17-18||
|Notes to the financial statements||19-22||
|||||
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Directors’ and Trustees’ Report**
The Directors and Trustees present their ninth report and financial statements for the year to 31 March 2021.
The Charitable Company was incorporated on 4 October 2011.
## **Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers:**
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited is a registered charity, registered at the Charity Commissioners as Mane Chance Sanctuary number 1144144 and has a company registration number 07796432 at Companies House.
The Charity’s registered office is BKL House, 1 Venice Walk, London, W2 1RR and its principal office is Monkshatch Garden Farm, Down Lane, Compton, Surrey GU3 1DL.
The names of the Charity’s Trustees and Directors at the date of this report and those who served during the period are as follows:
Ms J A Seagrove FRSA (Appointed on 4 October 2011, reappointed on 6 February 2019) Dr S M Tresman (Appointed on 6 October 2016) Mrs S Webb (Appointed on 18 January 2018, reappointed on 6 February 2019) Ms A M Kavanagh (Appointed on 18 January 2018, reappointed on 6 February 2019) Mr J McCarthy (Appointed on 18 January 2018, reappointed on 6 February 2019) Mr G Gurney FCCA (Treasurer) (Appointed on 20 November 2019) Mr N C Potts (Appointed on 30 July 2020) Ms S Papain (Appointed on 30 July 2020) Ms H Richardson (Chair) (Appointed on 25 February 2021) Mr C Stuckey (Appointed on 25 February 2021) Mr N D F Jackson (Resigned on 22 June 2020) Ms S Choudhrie (Resigned on 30 July 2020) Sir T R W Ackroyd, Bt (Resigned on 30 July 2020)
## **Patrons** :
S Choudhrie (Founding Patron) Sir T R W Ackroyd. Bt Sophie Christiansen CBE Margrit Coates ITEC MNFSH SBRCP Sara Crowe Margaret Keys Hilary O’Neil Joe Pasquale Martin Shaw Michael Crawford CBE Mark Curry Lauren St John Wendy Turner-Webster Beau Dermott (Junior Patron)
## **Directors’ and Trustees’ Report:**
The Charity’s bankers are Virgin Money, 6-8 London Road, Unit 5 Peveril Court, Crawley RH10 8JB.
The Charity’s solicitors are Bates Wells Braithwaites London LLP, Scandinavian House, 2-6 Cannon Street, London EC4M 6YH.
The Charity’s registered independent examiner is Bhirendra S Patel FCCA of D Stoker and Co, Abacus House, 367, Blandford Road, Beckenham BR3 4NW.
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Structure, Governance and Management:**
The Charity is a company limited by guarantee. Our governing document is a Memorandum and Articles of Association, which dates from 2011.
Our governing body is a Board of Directors. The Directors are Trustees of the Charity. As of 31[st] March 2021, there were ten directors. The Board holds on average six meetings over each twelve-month period, with at least one meeting onsite.
The decision-making process has been formally set out by the Board in the Charity’s Articles of Association. We recognise the value of monitoring and reviewing the effectiveness of the Board and a process of Board review and appraisal is in effect.
We see our prime function as ensuring the good governance of the Charity and to this end we focus on matters of policy and general strategy, the approval of plans, the monitoring of progress, financial control and investments. A comprehensive range of policies have been written, approved by the Board and promulgated, and these are reviewed and updated on an annual basis.
Operational responsibility would normally be delegated to a Chief Executive Officer. However, as we do not employ such a person, our General Manager and her team, who answer to the Chair of the Trustees, run the Sanctuary. All decisions and the operational responsibility of the running of the Charity, rests with the Trustees and the Chair. However, some operational responsibility has been delegated to the onsite team: equine related decisions are often made on the ground in the daily running of the Sanctuary in line with our relevant policies.
The Board usually receives two formal reports in advance of every meeting – a report that deals with operational matters at the farm and a report that covers financial and related matters.
## **Objectives and Activities** :
The Charity’s mission is well described in our formal objectives as set out below:
i. To relieve the suffering of animals, in particular equines, who are in need of care and attention, by providing permanent or temporary sanctuary, care and treatment.
ii. To provide relief for children, young people and vulnerable people, suffering from physical and/or mental disability, through the provision of managed work with equines in a therapeutic environment, to help meet their needs and to enable them to participate more fully in society; also to increase the confidence and capacity of children, young people and vulnerable people in need of support through interaction with the horses.
iii. To advise and educate the public on matters concerning the welfare of horses and ponies and to set the standard in natural horsemanship.
We seek to fulfil our mission in the following ways:
- Welfare is at the very heart of what we do, we address the physical and emotional needs of the horses already in our care. We receive regular calls about horses in trouble; very often we are the last resort. Our admissions procedure means that we prioritise real welfare cases and those cases where a horse may have emotional and behavioural issues that we have the onsite expertise to deal with and where, without our intervention, the horse may be shot.
- Our work in the community continues to expand. From the elderly residents of local care homes and other community groups who come for respite, to small groups and one to one sessions for disadvantaged young people, either through our ‘Transforming Lives Together’ or our ‘Chance2Be’ programs, our work with the rescued horses in the community is effective and very much in demand.
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
- We believe that we set the standard in holistic equine care and that we lead by example in the promotion of natural horsemanship principles that we have developed. We promote examples of best practice, for example our Shetland Project, and use all opportunities to share and learn from others. We use our regular open days and social media as a forum to educate the public on matters concerning the welfare of horses as well as participating in equine welfare campaigns including ‘Stamp our Strangles’.
Every trustee is aware of the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit regarding the need for them to exercise their powers and duties for the benefit of the public and every trustee has complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit.
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Achievements and Performance**
_**"A wonderful place, there's a sort of 'other worldliness' about it, a real gem in the heart of Surrey."**_ **Ian, visitor**
## **Covid-19 Pandemic:**
It is unsurprising that the major news of this year centres around the worldwide Covid-19 pandemic. The impact of such an unprecedented situation cannot be underestimated. Every family across the globe has been affected by the disease and we, like other businesses and charities, faced overnight changes and restrictions that demanded quick-thinking and flexibility, especially as we have animals whose lives relied on our continued care and attention. The first lockdown in March 2020 put an instant halt to both our volunteering and our community work, with all sessions and volunteering programmes stopping overnight. Our community team moved over full-time to the equine side of the Charity to ensure that our levels of horse care were not compromised and that we could continue with the crucial horse rehabilitation programmes. For the staff, whilst they were grateful to still be able to come to work at all, it was a tough few months with changed rotas and increased physical loads. So, it was a very welcome sight in late July when the familiar faces of our volunteer army returned - albeit socially distanced and in limited
numbers. The sound of laughter, movement and chatter returned to the site and Mane Chance once again became the place we knew and loved – for people to enjoy as well as our animals! In the Autumn term, although we had to control and monitor how many people we had working on site together, we were determined to resume our community work, welcoming many of the young people back to site once more. The lockdown had taken its toll on many of those who suffer from anxiety conditions and we could see a noticeable deterioration in many that we had got to know, so it was a great privilege to be able to resume our support - teaching and encouraging skills of recovery and resilience. We were able to restart our Chance2Be programme and were fortunate to be able to complete full courses for a number of children prior to Christmas.
Despite not being able to host our usual Christmas events due to limited numbers, a sense of normality returned to site. However, the second lockdown in January 2021 meant the postponement of our planned community work in the Spring Term and reducing the on-site presence to just the staff team. Despite the second lockdown having the added challenge of lockdown “fatigue”, poor weather and longer nights, the resilience and hard work of our staff team ensured the continued and quality care of all our horses.
At the date of drafting this report, we are progressing along the route of the announced government road map as planned. We have resumed community sessions and Chance2Be courses in the summer term of the school calendar and volunteers are back again. We plan to open further as we take each step back towards the ‘new normal’ and look forward to welcoming visitors on site once more.
## **Our Animals:**
We currently have 39 horses in our care, an increase of two over the past year. During the pandemic, when restrictions allowed, we took in two further horses from the RSPCA investigation that we had been previously involved with and were able to honour our commitment to give them a home for life.
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
We are pleased to say that we have not lost any horses during the past twelve months. In addition to our equines and our rescue dog, Angel, we continue to rescue ex-colony and ex-caged hens from the egg producing industry through the British Hen Welfare Trust and currently have a flock of 14. All of our animals are in good health and live as natural an existence as possible with our horses living on our 87 acres of tracks and fields and our chickens in a 40 square metre run. This safe space and freedom allows all of our animals to display natural herd and flock behaviour and meets all of their needs for the rest of their lives. Having fulfilled our commitment to the RSPCA investigation, we consider that we are ‘full’ at the Sanctuary and are not looking to take in any more animals at the moment. This ensures that we can maintain our standards of animal care, both with regards to space/grazing and the quality of the human care that they can receive.
## **Site Developments:**
As expected, with the restrictions imposed, we had to change some of our plans this year on site. We were able to prioritise the work in the fields to improve and maintain the grazing for our horses - our site was harrowed, slit, rolled and sprayed as usual and farmer was able to complete the schedule as planned.
However, the weather was not quite so accommodating and the long summer drought impacted our grazing quality. We are not alone in this predicament – across the South of England, farms and sanctuaries have suffered with poor grass growth and escalating hay costs (due to the low yield). The harsh winter and predicted low rain in the coming months has also meant that the outlook for this year is not much better. We must be as flexible and responsive with the field care as much as we are with the horse care! The departure of business tenants from the site workshop, prior to the pandemic lockdown, has given us the opportunity to plan a community facilities development in that area of the site. We had originally intended to fundraise for the project during this year, but due to the pressure placed on the Sanctuary by the Pandemic and the resultant financial instability of the economy, this has been delayed. Last year, we raised enough money to replace the barn workshop with an on-site storage facility for our hay stocks (currently held off-site). The new barn has capacity for 18 months’ worth of hay. This work has been able to commence and we have completed the planning application, cleared the site and prepared it for construction. We expect completion of the new barn storage to be during Quarter 2 of this coming year. The wider plans for the community facilities are on hold for the foreseeable future as we have more pressing fundraising targets to prioritise following the deficit of the past year.
## **AQA Unit Award Scheme:**
During the first lockdown, our community team and general manager worked on our bespoke AQA unit achievement modules. Having completed online training and becoming a registered centre to deliver the programme, the team wrote over 100 units that combined our horse care techniques with the ethos of respect that is so intrinsic to Mane Chance. The units were scrutinised and accepted by AQA in advance of the autumn term when we were able to welcome children back on site and offer the new programme.
We launched our awards in September 2020 for those children that attended 1-2-1 or small group sessions with our community team. The children are referred to us for their anxiety, low self-esteem, additional needs or perhaps because they have been unable to remain in mainstream education due
to behavioural problems that require intervention. For these children, the notion of success and achievement is not one they are used to. The AQA unit awards allow us to celebrate the children’s achievements at the Sanctuary, rather than measure them against the ‘norm’ or indicate where they have failed to reach an expected standard. For Mane Chance, there is no pass or fail – just a focus on what has been achieved rather than what has not been achieved. The AQA unit awards are an invaluable additional tool for us, encouraging young people to work towards achievable goals and celebrating their success.
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
Our units cover a range of disciplines and techniques and are not age-related but instead are achievement related. We have a range of awards accessible to all our young people, irrespective of age, ability or privilege.
This programme has been an overwhelming success, with 19 children completing over 130 units between them during the twelve weeks we were open between the first and second lockdowns. Some units are more advanced than others when it comes to working with the horses, but all of them require the children to learn to approach and interact with our horses with respect and kindness. This also provides valuable life lessons that they can take out of the Sanctuary back into their own lives.
We are extremely proud of our programme and the undisputable benefit it is giving to those who take part. When the certificates from AQA arrive, it gives us an opportunity to celebrate the achievements with the children, their schools and families.
_**"Our daughter has had a number of social anxieties for a few years, but we thought these were just growing up stages. But over time, we realised this anxiety was more than just a feeling and was affecting her, her thoughts and her actions most days – her schooling became sporadic. The opportunity to attend Mane Chance arose and she loved it immediately. It was great to pick her up from school after the sessions with a smile on her face and tales of what she had been up to. The content of the sessions and the caring nature of the staff has helped to bring out a more confident side in our daughter which has not only made her life easier, but ours as parents. To see her enjoyment has made a real difference to her mood and the wider family circle. She has tools to not only help her now, but over the next few years too, so thank you all from not just her, but our whole family who had felt hugely under pressure and helpless to help her – you have made a real difference in our lives."**_ **Parent**
## **Chance2Be:**
Chance2Be is our mindfulness-based intervention using the human-horse connection to reinforce the teaching. Our courses are aimed at young people who have been referred to us to support their mental health condition as an early intervention. A course consists of twelve sessions and involves the young people learning the benefits of basic mindfulness, supported by practical work and time spent practising the techniques learned with our rescued horses. Through exercises with our horses, the participants learn techniques to promote kindness and compassion and to help emotional regulation and resilience. We aim to improve selfesteem and confidence and to reduce anxiety and selfcriticism. Due to the ongoing Coronavirus situation, we had to postpone our summer courses in order to comply with the restrictions surrounding Covid-19. However, we were able to run four courses in the Autumn of 2020 with reduced numbers of six children in order to comply with government regulations.
Consequently, in 2020 we were only able to complete seven of the nine courses scheduled. Any postponed courses have now commenced in the summer term with more scheduled for the Autumn. This meant that we worked with a total of 54 children over the seven courses, aged between 9 and 15 years old. The sessions take place in our barn facility and in the tracks and fields of our Sanctuary. As part of our own self-monitoring, we use a comprehensive and thorough reporting system throughout the courses, and when analysed, we found that of the 54 children, 52 experienced a positive change as a result of the project, with 2 individuals not experiencing any benefits.
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
The children that come to us have built strong, protective barriers – some are isolated and withdrawn, rejecting interaction and engagement; others are angry and volatile causing fear and trepidation so that others keep their distance. Our rescued horses were the same – coming from different backgrounds of abuse and neglect with their own stories and influences.
The children learn to relate to the circumstances that brought individual animals to us, how the horse must have felt – whether it is an understanding of neglect, abuse or fear of violence. By working with the horses throughout the course and by reinforcing their progress in the barn teaching, the children learn how they can influence how others perceive them. This leads to increased social interaction, increased confidence and a desire to be more inclusive – a group of children arriving as individuals leave the course as a team. By practising the calming techniques taught in the barn outside with the horses, we noted that the anxious children found a safe environment to try something new and the angry children learnt to be calm without losing the credibility of a tough reputation. For some children, this was the first experience of being peaceful. For all of them, it gave them the freedom to be kind – both to themselves and to the horse and they have all been able to take these lessons outside and use them in their own lives. One of the important messages we give to our children is that Mane Chance is a safe place where there is support and help for them, just as we do with our rescued horses. We have learnt in the past that much of our success in engaging the child rests on the fact that they do not feel judged or pressured during their participation of the course and that they understand that we are not a school or traditional environment where their anxieties are usually heightened. As the course is not based on reaching set standards at set times, the sessions have a more relaxed feel – the children are expected to take part to the best of their abilities and must behave safely whilst on site, but the emphasis is on what they have achieved rather than what they haven’t. Some found spending time with even the smallest of our horses difficult at first, but once they understood how the animal reacted to their own behaviours, they learnt how they could impact the interaction with the horses. This empowers the children in understanding that they have the ability to influence a situation. The boost in their self-confidence and esteem is evident as they appreciate that they can drive their own success, whether they are at the Sanctuary, at school or at home. The enhanced confidence enables many of these children to go in with some of the bigger horses. Even those children who were afraid to enter a field at the beginning of the course ended the sessions by being able to walk our larger animals on a lead rope. Our barn teaching involves tried and tested mindfulness techniques. It aims to give the children tools to cope with their often chaotic and challenging lives. This was particularly important in our latter courses when many of them had just come out of a prolonged lockdown in unsettled homes.
It is important that as well as learning how their behaviour influences the horses reactions to them, we use exercises and activities to encourage the application of this understanding to life situations with parents, siblings, teachers and peers. Many of the activities encourage teamwork, whether it’s helping each other with wheelbarrows during the poo pick or holding a horse calmly whilst another grooms it. The practical exercises, such as leading another around the barn safely whilst they have their eyes closed, are designed to reinforce the learning. We allow the children to take both the role of helping and being helped. For many children, this is a new concept – having to rely on another and being relied upon. On site, we noted that many of the children demonstrated improved self-regulation of behaviour and emotion. Their behaviour was more consistent and supportive, less frantic and even when they arrived excited and ‘up’, they quickly were able to calm and engage with the session. We saw confidence grow, calmness emerge and a real sense of care and compassion for each other, encouraging each other to do well. This understanding of behavioural effect is critical for learning how to engage in life and is sadly a skill that many of the young people that come to us do not initially display.
By giving them an environment in which to work together and support each other, we give them a valuable tool to take further into their lives.
_**" I enjoyed the course very much because it gave me a chance to be myself and not be afraid of showing it. It’s not as hard as I thought to be nice to people and I need to care about myself and my needs a bit more."**_ **Chance2Be student**
_**"I have learnt different ways to deal with situations. I can now solve problems better as I know how to approach it."**_ **Chance2Be student**
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Fundraising:**
It’s certainly been a challenge to raise funds during the past year. We have not been able to hold any face-to-face events during this year. However, provided the planned government route map continues, we hope that this will change in Quarter 2 of 2021-2022.
We aim to resume open Sunday events once the restrictions on numbers meeting outside change. We also plan to hold a big family open day in August, the format being dependent on government regulation.
During this past year, we had to react to the changing demands for income generation. We had to think outside the box, hosting virtual events such as an online gin tasting evening, taking part in an eco-friendly balloon race (no balloons involved, the race is done wholly online) and by offering a personalised Santa video message which could be recorded socially distanced on site. We launched specific appeals for expenditure items such as the purchase of hay and the cost of tetanus injections for the whole herd. We were very grateful for the support that we received from our wider Mane Chance family.
There is no doubt that online and virtual fundraising was not as successful as our usual social events, but it was a necessary and useful exercise that meant we were ensuring we were doing all we could to help our situation. We have learnt a lot from this past year that we will take forward in our future fundraising strategies.
## **Staffing:**
The organisational structure we introduced last year continues to work well at the Sanctuary with two postholders in our equine supervisor position, ensuring seven-day senior equine cover. In light of the uncertainty of the last year and coming months, it is crucial to have a member of the team concentrating on bringing income to the Charity. Consequently, and following the receipt of a restricted grant, we recruited a Head of Fundraising role.
Finally, at the beginning of Quarter 4, we introduced a Head of Operations to the Sanctuary on-site team. The grooming and community team has increased in size and with the greater number of horses in our care and the increased community provision, it became clear that we needed an operations manager to manage the on-site activities and to release our general manager to spend more time on income generation, governance, growth, and sustainability of the Charity as a whole. The new role takes on the day-to-day running of the site and provides a dedicated and solid support for the daily Mane Chance staffing team.
As of the 31[st] March, we had the following in our employment: General Manager full time Head of Operations full time Head of Fundraising part time Community Co-ordinator full time Community Assistant full time Two equine supervisors one full time and one part time Three grooms two full time and one part time
In addition, we are supported by over 70 regular volunteers, supporting our equine, site, community and fundraising teams – we are immensely grateful to them all for the hours of assistance they give us.
_**"I have found volunteering at Mane Chance has helped my mental health immensely. Spending time in the fresh air, helping as well as socialising with the friendly volunteers and staff never fails to put a smile on my face at the end of the day.**_
_**After recently recovering from cancer, I found that being out in nature; especially with horses has been very beneficial to my state of mind making me feel calmer and de-stressed – I feel significantly better."**_ **Lucinda, volunteer**
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Trustees and Patrons:**
During the year, we have welcomed four new Trustees to the Board – Shabira Papain, Nathaniel Potts, Hannah Richardson and Charles Stuckey. Our Chairman, James McCarthy, stepped down from the position in January (remaining on the Board as a member) and Hannah Richardson has joined us in the Chair position. We would like to express our gratitude to both our Trustees and Patrons who have been hugely supportive in a very challenging year, with many of our Patrons donating their time and their talents in assisting with our online fundraising events over the past twelve months.
We look forward to working with them all in the future.
## **Website and Online Merchandise Shop:**
Our redesigned website, launched in December 2019, has played an important role during the past year and allowed us to engage with our supporters in new ways during the lockdowns. In response to the boom in online shopping, we also took the opportunity to expand the range of merchandise on sale in our online shop. Despite all our face-to-face events being cancelled throughout the year, which historically has accounted for three
quarters of the total merchandise income, our total merchandise sales still increased this year by 26%, purely due to the online shop sales from the website.
We also placed additional video content on the website to update and engage our supporters, volunteers and visitors that could not attend the Sanctuary in person, and recorded relaxation sessions with our horses for users to engage with. Together with our social media content, we were able to bring a little of the Sanctuary to those who were at home – maintaining our contacts and stewarding their support.
## **Grants:**
This year we have been very fortunate to receive a number of grants for a selection of purposes. We are immensely grateful to the following funders for their support - without their donations, we would not be able to maintain our levels of horse care or provide the range of community services that we offer.
- Amber’s fund – Chance2Be programme
- Animal Friends Insurance
- BBC Children in Need – Chance2Be programme
- Beryl Evetts and Robert Luff Trust
- Elise Pilkington Charitable Trust
- Garfield Weston
- Hilary Tangye
- Horace Moore Charitable Trust
- John Cowan Foundation
- Mrs DM France-Hayhurst Foundation
- Philip King Charitable Trust
- RJ and AH Daniels Trust
- Surrey Community Foundation
- The Coleman Trust
- The Worshipful Company of Loriners
- 4814 Trust – Chance2Be programme
## **NEWC Membership:**
We continue to engage actively as a member of the National Equine Welfare Council and have attended online meetings, broadening our network of contacts with equine welfare stakeholders. We have also been able to support their work by engaging with surveys and have volunteered to increase our participation in their campaigns over the coming years.
## **Policies and Procedures:**
Policies continue to be reviewed and updated on an ongoing basis, as do our Charity delivery plan, business continuity plan, business impact analysis and risk matrices. Our safeguarding and health and safety policies, together with our DBS checks, continue to be maintained and updated where required.
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Next Year:**
The programme for 2021-2022 remains flexible as the Covid-19 situation is not yet clear. As there is still such uncertainty about the ongoing impact of the pandemic, our plans are muted accordingly. The priority for the Charity is to ensure a continuity of operation, both for our animals and our community. The focus of our fundraising will be to cover the running costs of the Charity and minimise further loss.
In addition, we do have some projects that we hope to complete wherever possible:
- Completion of the new hay storage barn on site (monies raised)
- Purchase of utility vehicle (grant obtained)
- Production of illustrated children’s book (grant obtained)
- Production of a Mane Chance equine horse care handbook
- Design and creation of rehabilitation paddock to aid recovery of the horses
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Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Financial**
## **Review**
## **Summary of Financial Position:**
In this financial year, the charitable company had as at 31"March 2021, reserves of £420,167 (2020 £466,508). The company suffered a deficit of £46,341 (2020 deficit of £58,250).
## **Statement of Directors' and Trustees' Responsibilities:**
The Charity Trustees, who are also Directors, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and Applicable Law).
Company law requires the Charity's Directors and Trustees to prepare financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable Company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, in that period.
In preparing those financial statements, the Directors and Trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP FRS102
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent
- state whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements.
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records, which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
## **Reserves Policy:**
This policy outlines the Charity’s approach to building and maintaining financial reserves including how such reserves are managed. It aims to:
- Provide the Charity with adequate financial stability and the means to address any unforeseen circumstances.
- Ensure the continuity of services for all beneficiaries without unnecessary interruption.
- Ensure that Restricted and Unrestricted Funds are managed in an appropriate manner.
In the Trustees’ view reserves should provide the Charity with adequate financial stability and the means to address any unforeseen circumstances in order to:
- Provide lifetime care for all animals in its care.
- Offset temporary fluctuations in income.
- Mitigate the impact of measures beyond its control that could reduce the predicted inflow of funds such as an economic downturn, loss in public confidence or other exogenous shock.
The policy recognises that as the majority of the beneficiaries of the community work consist of adults and children with issues, both physical and emotional, that the Charity must protect against an interruption of services as we have
13
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
committed to supporting them through challenging times. For those who have mental health issues, the importance of consistency is paramount and so it is a necessary consideration that the provision of our services is maintained wherever possible.
The policy is intended to maintain a level of reserves that will enable the Charity to adjust and respond to any significant change in resources through unplanned events. These funds have been set aside to allow instant response to such a situation to ensure that all mitigating actions are taken to restore the services as soon as possible.
## **Reserves Calculation**
To calculate the amount of reserves held under this policy, an exercise has been completed to analyse the source of income using a risk-based approach, together with the relevance and essential nature of our expenditure with regards to the core purposes of the Charity.
Based on this exercise it has been agreed that to meet the above criteria an amount of £166,000 should be held in unrestricted reserves which reflects approximately 9 months of predicted expenditure on equine activities plus 3 months of predicted expenditure on community activities. These timescales would allow the Charity to prepare and execute a suitable exit strategy for both the community beneficiaries and the animals in the care of the Charity, ensuring that there is time to prepare the community beneficiaries for an end to their work with us and find alternative provision to them and also to rehome the horses, chickens and dog.
Currently, the Charity is holding £162,000 in unrestricted reserves.
## **Designated Funds**
From time to time, additional reserves may be established and held as designated funds in addition to unrestricted reserves in order to:
- Build resilience against other identified risks
- Fund large capital projects such as the renovation of facilities, purchase of equipment or the installation of new systems.
At present the Charity is not holding any designated funds:
## **Management of Reserves**
Any reserves should be held in appropriate and accessible, low-risk investments. At present they are held in bank accounts with established and recognisable banks.
The trustees have no plans to seek borrowings from any source.
The Trustees will review the reserves on an annual basis to ensure that it is sufficient to meet the needs of the Charity. During the annual review of reserves, the trustees may seek professional investment advice in order to consider other appropriate investment vehicles to hold such reserves.
This report was approved by the trustees on 9 June 2021 and signed on their behalf by Ms H Richardson.
14
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
**Independent examiners report to the directors/trustees of Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited**
I report to the Charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the company for the year ended 31[st] March 2021, which are set out on pages 16 to 22.
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the Charity’s trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of the company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (the 2006 Act).
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your Charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 ( the 2011 Act ). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145 (5) (b) of the 2011 Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
Since the Company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants’, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland ( FRS 102 ).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
**Bhirendra S Patel FCCA Fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants D Stoker & Co. Registered Accountants Abacus House 367 Blandford Road Beckenham, Kent BR3 4NW**
15
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Statement of Financial Activities For the year to 31 March 2021**
||||**2021 – Year**|||**2020 - Year**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**Unrestricted**|
**Restricted**|**Total**|**Unrestricted**|
**Restricted**|**Total**|
|||**£**|
**£**|**£**|**£**|
**£**|**£**|
|**Income**
Grants for specific projects|1|-|
15,000|15,000|-|
85,923|85,923|
|Donations, fund raising, public
collections||219,735|
-|219,735|168,223|
-|168,223|
|Legacies||100|
-|100|3,325|
-|3,325|
|Gift aid||10,868|
-|10,868|6,857|
-|6,857|
|Events income||5,748|
-|5,748|34,858|
-|34,858|
|||_______|
_______|_______|_______|_______|_______|
|||236,451|
15,000|251,451|213,263|
85,923|299,186|
|**Other Income**||||||||
|Chance2Be project donations
and fees||-|
13,775|13,775|-|
10,000|10,000|
|Miscellaneous income||22,525|
-|22,525|12,770|
-|12,770|
|||_______|
_______|_______|_______|
_______|_______|
|||258,976|
28,775|287,751|226,033|
95,923|321,956|
|**Expenditure on**||||||||
|**Raising Funds**||||||||
|Indirect fund-raising costs||(27,037)|
(-)|(27,037)|(3,937)|
(-)|(3,937)|
|**Charitable activities**:||||||||
|Animal welfare / community
provision costs||(221,081)|
(54,724)|(275,805)|(261,714)|
(76,530)|(338,244)|
|Rent||(1)|
(-)|(1)|(1)|
(-)|(1)|
|Administration expenses||(31,249)|
(-)|(31,249)|(38,024)|
(-)|(38,024)|
|||________|
_______|________|________|
_______|________|
|**Total Expenditure**||(279,368)|
(54,724)|(334,092)|(303,676)|
(76,530)|(380,206)|
|||________|
_______|________|________|
_______|________|
|**Net(deficit)/ income**|11|(20,392)|
(25,949)|(46,341)|(77,643)|
19,393|(58,250)|
|**Total funds b/fwd**||76,549|
164,432|240,981|157,831|
145,039|302,870|
|**Transfers to Contingency fund**||(-)|
-|(-)|(3,639)|
-|(3,639)|
|**Transfers to Restricted funds**||-|
-|-|-|
-|-|
|||_______|
_______|_______|_______|
_______|_______|
|**Total funds carried forward**||56,157|
138,483|194,640|76,549|
164,432|240,981|
|||________|_______|_______|________|
_______|_______|
16
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **Balance Sheet At 31 March 2021**
|**Balance Sheet**
**At 31 March 2021**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**2021**||**2020**||
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Fixed Assets**|6||41,773||51,173|
|**Current Assets**||||||
|Stock|7|8,242||8,889||
|Debtors|8|9,289||15,186||
|Cash at bank and in hand||407,102||456,948||
|||_______||_______||
|||424,633||481,023||
|**Liabilities**||||||
|**Creditors:**amounts falling due within one year|9|(46,239)||(65,688)||
|||_____||_____||
|**Net current assets**|||378,394||415,335|
||||_______||_______|
|**Net assets**|||420,167||466,508|
||||_______||_______|
|**Funds of the Charity**||||||
|Restricted income funds|11||138,483||164,432|
|Unrestricted income funds|11||56,157||76,549|
|Unrestricted Contingency fund|11||225,527||225,527|
||||_______||_______|
|**Total Charity funds**|||420,167||466,508|
||||_______||_______|
The director’s statements required by Sections 475(2) and (3) are shown on the following page, which forms part of this Balance Sheet.
The notes on pages 19 to 22 form an integral part of these financial statements.
17
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
**Director’s statement required by Sections 475(2) and (3) For the year ended 31 March 2021**
In approving these financial statements as director of the company, I hereby confirm:
- (a) that for the year stated above the company was entitled to the exemption conferred by Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006
- (b) that no notice has been deposited at the registered office of the company pursuant to Section 476 requesting that an audit be conducted for the year ended 31 March 2021; and
- (c) that I acknowledge my responsibilities for:
- (1) ensuring that the company keeps accounting records which comply with Section 386 ; and
- (2) preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company as at the end of the financial year and of its profit or loss for the year then ended in accordance with the requirements of Section 393 and which otherwise comply with the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, as far as applicable to the company.
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to small companies subject to small Companies regime and in accordance with FRS 102 SORP.
The financial statements were approved by the board on 9 June 2021 and signed on its behalf by
**Ms H Richardson Director / Chair of Trustees**
Registration number 07796432
The notes on pages 19 to 22 form an integral part of these financial statements.
18
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
**Notes to the Accounts**
## **1. Basis of preparation and Accounting policies**
## _**Basis of accounting**_
These accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with:
The statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS102) issued on 16 July 2014
And with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS102)
And with the Charities Act 2011.
## _**Preparation of accounts on a going concern basis**_
The Trustees assessment is that the charitable company is a going concern and accounts have been prepared on that basis.
## _**Income recognition policies**_
Items of income are recognised and included in the accounts when all of the following criteria are met:
The Charity has entitlement to the funds.
Any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met or are fully within the control of the Charity.
There is sufficient certainty that receipt of the income is considered probable; and the amount can be measured reliably.
For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of:
The date on which the charitable company is aware that probate has been granted;
The estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor to the trust that a distribution will be made; or
When a distribution is received from the estate.
Receipt of a legacy, in whole or part is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charitable company has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charitable company or the charitable company is aware of the granting of probate, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.
## _**Donated services**_
Donated goods and services are recognised as income when the Charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use of the item is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably.
## _**Leases**_
Assets acquired under finance leases are capitalised and the outstanding future lease obligations are shown in creditors. Operating lease rentals are charged to the profit and loss account on a straight-line basis over the period of the lease.
19
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## _**Fund Accounting**_
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the directors in furtherance of the general objectives of the charitable company.
Restricted funds are subjected to specific restrictions on their expenditure imposed by the donor.
## _**Taxation**_
The charge for taxation is based on the taxable profit for the year that is not covered by the Company’s tax exemption with HM Revenue & Customs.
## _**Income**_
Donations are accounted for as income once the Charitable company has received the amount of the donation in the form of cash, cheque or bank transfer. Intangible income is valued at the cost of provision by the relevant 3[rd] party or where this information is not available, at Directors’ estimate.
## _**Depreciation**_
Fixed assets are depreciated on a straight-line basis as stated here-under. A full year’s depreciation is provided in the year of addition.
Site Improvements – 20% of cost per annum on a straight-line basis
Portable Buildings - 20% of cost per annum on a straight-line basis
Plant and Machinery – 20% of cost per annum on a straight-line basis
Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment – 20% of cost per annum on a straight-line basis
Motorised Vehicles – 25% of cost per annum on a straight-line basis
## **2 Income and expenditure**
|**Income and expenditure**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2021**|**2020**|
||**£**|**£**|
|Accountant’s remuneration|1950|1950|
||____|____|
## **3. Directors’ and Trustees’ Remuneration**
The directors received no remuneration from the Charity in this accounting year (2020 nil).
## **4 Staff numbers and costs**
The Company employed on average six full-time and two part-time members of staff during the period. The gross payroll costs were £194,040 (2020 £168,772) and employer’s National Insurance costs were £16,049 (2020 £9,851).
## **5. Taxation**
The Company did not generate a taxable profit in the year.
20
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **6. Fixed Assets**
|**Site**
**Portable**
**Plant &**
**Improvements**
**Buildings**
**Machinery**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Cost**
As at 1 April 2020
133,515
35,191
26,528
Additions
-
-
4,200
______
______
_____
As at 31 March 2021
133,515
35,191
30,728
______
______
______
**Aggregate Depreciation**
As at 1 April 2020
113,765
28,450
23,776
Charge for the year
2,515
1,719
2,056
______
______
______
As at 31 March 2021
116,280
30,169
25,832
______
______
______
**Net Book Value 31 March**
**2021**
17,235
5,022
4,896
______
______
______
**Net Book Value 31 March**
**2020**
19,750
6,741
2,752
______
______
______
**7 Stock**
Stock of consumables and merchandise for resale
**8 Debtors**
Monies due from Gala Dinner sponsorship
Deposits on events
Gift Aid
Prepayments|**FF&E**
**Motor**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
1,450
66,113
262,797
-
-
4,200
_____
_____
______
1,450
66,113
266,997
_____
_____
______
1,450
44,183
211,624
-
7,310
13,600
_____
_____
______
1,450
51,493
225,224
_____
_____
______
-
14,620
41,773
_____
_____
______
-
21,930
51,173
_____
_____
______
**2021**
**2020**
**£**
**£**
8,242
8,889
________
______
**2021**
**2020**
**£**
**£**
5,000
7,667
-
-
2,941
1,502
1,348
6,017
______
______
9,289
15,186
______
______|
|---|---|
||__
|
||__
__
|
21
Mane Chance Sanctuary Limited – Director’s Reports and Financial Statements – Year End 31 March 2021
## **9 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**
|**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2021**|**2020**|
||**£**|**£**|
|Trade creditors|3,029|150|
|Accruals and deferred Grants|43,210|56,538|
|2020/21 events receipts|-|9,000|
||______|______|
||46,239|65,688|
## **10 Share Capital**
The Company is a private company, limited by guarantee and therefore has no share capital.
## **11 Reserves**
|**1 Reserves**||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Designated**|**Designated**|**Contingency**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|
|**Community**|**Covid 19**|**Unrestricted**||||
|**Continuity**|**Recovery**|||||
|**Fund**|**Fund**|||||
||||||£|
|As at 1 April 2020 23,527|40,000|162,000|76,549|164,432|466,508|
|Net (deficit) for year -|-|-|(20,392)|(25,949)|(46,341)|
|_______|_______|_______|______|_______|_______|
|**As at 31 March 2021**23,527|40,000|162,000|56,157|138,483|420,167|
|_______|_______|_______|______|_______|_______|
## **12 Related party disclosures**
Being a charitable organisation, several of the Directors and Trustees have made donations in cash to the Company in the year.
22