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← Sir John Soane's Museum Trust

2024-12-31-accounts

SIR JOHN SOANE’S MUSEUM TRUST (A registered charity and a company limited by guarantee)

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

Company No: 07965957 (England and Wales) Charity No: 1146195 (England and Wales)

Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Contents

Page

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements For the year ended 31 December 2024

Legal and Administrative Information

Trustees Brendan Finucane, KC (Chair)
John Attree
Gisela Gledhill
Jonathan Marriott
Basil Postan (retired on 27 February 2024)
Roderick Smith (retired on 27 February 2024)
Kathryn Uhde
Registered Office 13 Lincoln’s Inn Fields
London
WC2A 3BP
Bank National Westminster Bank plc
Moorgate (E) Branch
PO Box 712
94 Moorgate
London
EC2M 6UR
Independent Examiner Cara Turtington FCA DChA
Saffery LLP
71 Queen Victoria Street
London
EC4V 4BE
Investment Manager Sarasin & Partners LLP
Juxon House
100 St. Paul's Churchyard
London
EC4M 8BU
Company Registration No. 07965957
RegisteredCharityNo. 1146195

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

The Trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust ("Trust") present their Annual Report and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2024. The Report of the Trustees constitutes the Directors’ Report under the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 12 to 13 and comply with the Trust’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, applicable laws (including the Companies Act) and the Statement of Recommended Practice on Accounting and Reporting by Charities.

Governance, Management and Investment

Governing Instrument

The Trust was incorporated as a company limited by guarantee with a Company Registration number 07965957 on 27 February 2012 and registered as a Charity with the Charity Commission with charity number 1146195 on 1 March 2012.

Charitable Objectives

The objects of the Trust are to advance education in arts and architectural heritage related to the interests, life and works of Sir John Soane in so far as they may be exclusively charitable, in particular but without limitation, by promoting or supporting such of the charitable objects of the Museum as the Trustees of the Trust determine from time to time, and for no other purposes.

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit in setting the aims and objectives of the Trust. All the Trust’s charitable activities as detailed in this Report are undertaken to further its charitable purposes for the public benefit.

Trustees

The Trustees of the Trust comprise the only members of the Trust under the Companies Act. The Trustees are also Directors of the Trust for the purposes of company law.

All Trustees are elected by the Board. The Board endeavours to maintain a balance of expertise appropriate to the governance of the Trust. The Board regularly reviews its membership to identify where there may be gaps in skills, knowledge or experience that could be filled by a new member, which helps to inform the recruitment process for new trustees.

Under the Articles of Association of the Trust the number of Trustees who are employees or trustees of the Museum cannot equal or exceed the number of independent Trustees. Basil Postan was a Trustee of both the Trust and the Museum.

A Trustee holds office for a period of4 years and may serve a maximum 3 terms in office.

Basil Postan and Roderick Smith both retired from the Board on 27 February 2024, following 12 years of service as Trustees and Directors.

Management

The Museum provides the Trust with administrative support on a remunerated arm's length basis under a Resources Agreement. The overall management and control of the Trust remains with the Trustees of the Trust, and no management function is provided by way of this Agreement.

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements

Report of the Trustees For the year ended 31 December 2024

National Lottery Heritage Fund and Matched Funding

In August 2012, the Trust was awarded a challenge grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund (“NLHF”), for the purposes of establishing an endowment fund, the NLHF/DCMS Catalyst Endowment Fund ("Fund"), for the benefit of the Museum. The termsofthe grant provided for the Trust to receive an additional 50% for each donation to the Fund before the deadline of 30 June 2016, up to a maximum of £2 million. The Trust successfully raised over £4 million for the Fund by 30 June 2016 and received the £2 million matched funds. The Trust provided the NLHF with an Investment and Management Statement setting out its proposed investment policy to achieve a return of CPI plus 3.5%.

Investment and Performance

In December 2015, Sarasin & Partners LLP were appointed as Investment Manager, with the account being fully vested by December 2016. The investment objective agreed with Sarasin aims to achieve a long term real annual return of 4% on the Fund’s invested assets. The Fund is solely invested in the Sarasin Endowments Fund Class A Income Units, with its cash balances held at NatWest Bank.

The total value of the Fund including its cash balances rose during the year by 11.3% taking into account net income received and unrealised investment gains, but before expenditure on its charitable activities. After making grants to the Museum of £250,000 the value of the Fund rose by 7.7% from £7.33 million to £7.90 million as at 31 December 2024.

The Sarasin managed portfolio had a total return of 11.9%, well ahead of the Consumer Price Index of 2.6% and of the Peer Group ARC Charity Steady Growth Index which returned 8.8%. However, the Fund’s “core” capital value after grants(see below) was still slightly short of the CP! adjusted “core” value as at 31 December 2024.

Risk Management

The Trustees conduct regular reviews of the major risks to which the Trust is potentially exposed. Where appropriate, systems and/or procedures have been established to mitigate the risks faced by the Trust.

Independent Examination

The Charities Act 2011 permits a charity to have its accounts independently examined in place of audited if its annual income is below £250,000 although gross assets exceed £3.26 million. The Trustees decided to continue with an independent examination in respect of the financial year ended 31 December 2024 as this is less expensive than an audit.

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements

Report of the Trustees For the year ended 31 December 2024

Financial Review

The Trust received investment income of £226,478 in 2024 (2023: £212,361). This increase in income is a result of the higher level of distribution from the Sarasin Endowments Fund with its underlying performance and lower income receipts offset by distributions from its Income Reserve. Expenditure on charitable activities amounted to £265,447 in 2024 (2023: £365,472). All grants were paid to the Museum. The Trust’s Total Return on its Investments, taking into account investment income and the unrealised gain in the value of the portfolio of £603,533 (2023: £376,427) was positive £830,011 (2023: £588,788).

The Trust held total funds of £7,896,666 as at 31 December 2024 (2023: £7,332,102). These funds were composed of an endowment fund of £6,091,313 (2023: £6,130,282) and a revaluation reserve of £1,805,353 (2023: £1,201,820).

Reserves Policy, Grant-Giving Policy, and Grants Made

The Trust has a policy of maintaining sufficient reserves in order to make grants out of capital and income. Although the Fund is technically an expendable endowment subject to the terms of the grant, under the terms of the matching grant from the NLHF it is managed with the objective that, at its twenty-fifth anniversary, its “core” capital value, after grants, should at least be preserved in terms of real purchasing power, taking inflation as measured by the CPI. Provided the investment performance at least matches the target real return, the Fund should grow over this period to allow periodic grants and to cover its administrative and governance costs whilst maintaining its value in real terms.

Given the recovery in the Sarasin managed portfolio since 2022, the Trustees were satisfied that there was sufficient capacity to meet grant requests totalling £250,000 from the Museum in the year to 31 December 2024. Grants are subject to the applicant making a written application to the Trust which demonstrates a clear and present need for funds and which is subject to scrutiny by the Trustees.

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust — Annual Report and Financial Statements

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and the Financial Statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards.

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year that give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Trust and of its incoming resources and application of resources for the year. In preparing these financial statements the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Trust 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 Trust and for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Special Provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Approved by the Trustees on Net August 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

—aa WuLesits Gaudlan an Brendan Finucane Chair of Trustees

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees For the year ended 31 December 2024

Independent examiner’s report to the trustees of Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust (‘the Company’)

| report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner

As the charity’s trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (‘the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the Company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, | 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 | have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5) (b) of the 2011 Act.

Basis of independent examiner’s report

My examination was carried out in accordance with the general Directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts, and seeking explanations from you as trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently no opinion is given as to whether the accounts present a ‘true and fair view’ and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below.

Independent examiner’s statement

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust — Annual Report and Financial Statements

Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees

For the year ended 31 December 2024

| 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.

Cara Turtington FCA DChA Saffery LLP 71 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4BE

Date: [20 MageeSt RORS:

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust — Annual Report and Financial Statements

Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 December 2024

2024 2023
All Unrestricted All Unrestricted
Note and Endowment and Endowment
Funds Funds
£ £
INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM
Investments 2 226,478 212,361
TOTAL 226,478 212,361
EXPENDITURE ON
Charitable Activities 4 265,447 365,472
TOTAL 265,447 365,472
Net Gains/(Losses) on Investments 9 603,533 376,427
NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE) 8 564,564 223,316
RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS:
Total funds brought forward 7,332,102 7,108,786
Totalfundscarriedforward 7,896,666 7,332,102

All of the Trust's activities are continuing. There were no recognised gains and losses in the year other than those reported in the Statement of Financial Activities.

The notes on pages 12 to 16 form part of these financial statements.

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust — Annual Report and Financial Statements

Balance Sheet

Balance Sheet
As at 31 December 2024
Note 2024 2024 2023 2023
£ £ £ £
Fixed Assets 7,603,333 6,999,800
Investments 9 7,603,333 6,999,800
Current Assets
Debtors 10 5,881 2,274
Cash at Bank and in Hand 291,439 334,002
297,320 336,276
Creditors: amounts falling 11
due within one year
(3,987) (3,974)
Net Current Assets 293,333 332,302
Net Assets 7,896,666 7,332,102
Represented by: 12
Unrestricted and Endowment
Funds:
- Endowment Fund 6,091,313 6,130,282
- Revaluation Reserve 1,805,353 7,896,666 1,201,820 7,332,102
TotalFunds 7,896,666 7,332,102

For the year ended 31 December 2024 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of theCompanies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime. The notes on pages 12 to 16 form part of these financial statements.

Approved by the Trustees on Nek August 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

— ex

Brendan Finucane Chair of Trustees

Company No: 07965957 (England and Wales)

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

1. Accounting Policies

(a) Basis of accounting

The financial statements have been prepared under the historic cost convention. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act and the Statement of Recommended Practice: Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financia! Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The Trust constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

(b) Incoming resources

Allincome is recognised when there is evidence of[entitlement,][receipt][is][probable][and][its][amount][can] be reliably measured. Investment income is included net of expenses.

(c) Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds comprise the accumulated surpluses and deficits of unrestricted incoming revenues over resources expended, which are available for use in the furtherance of the general objectives of the Trust.

Restricted funds are to be used for specific purposes as laid down by the donor. Expenditure which meets these criteria is charged to the respective funds. There are no restricted funds at present.

Endowment funds are those funds represented by the NLHF/DCMS Catalyst Endowment Fund. They are to be held as capital although they can be spent at the Trustees’ absolute discretion.

The Trust’s funds are held in an expendable endowment. These funds are invested and will be used to support the objectives of the Trust at the Trustees’ absolute discretion. In investing the funds, the Trustees do not distinguish between income and capital gains and believe the income fund to be immaterial in terms of the presentation of the accounts.

(d) Resources expended

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred and allocated in full to the year of the financial statements that are being audited. Expenditure includes VAT which cannot be recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.

Governance costs are the costs incurred in the constitutional and statutory aspects of running the Trust as a legal entity.

Investment management costs, governance costs and the costs of generating income are allocated directly to the fund to which they relate.

(e) Investments

Investments held as fixed assets are included at market value at the year-end.

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

Accounting Policies (continued)

(f) Taxation

The Trust is a registered charity and is not liable to United Kingdom income tax or corporation tax on its charitable activities.

(g) Going concern

The Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Trust has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, they adopt the going concern basis in preparing the annual financial statements.

(h) Exemption from preparing a cash flow statement

The Trust has taken the exemption provided in 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 (FRS 102) allowing small charities not to prepare a cash flow statement.

(i) Financial assets

Financial assets are recognised in the Trust’s balance sheet when the Trust becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.

Basic financial assets, which include trade and other receivables and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs.

Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire, or when the Trust transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity.

(j) Financial liabilities

Basic financial liabilities are initially measured at transaction price.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when, and only when, the Trust’s obligations are discharged, cancelled, or they expire.

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust — Annual Report and Financial Statements

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

2. Investments

2. Investments 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £
Investment income (net) 226,478 212,361
226,478 212,361

Investment income comprises dividends, fee rebates and bank deposit account interest.

3. Trustee Remuneration

None of the Trustees received any remuneration from the Trust during the year. No Trustees (year ended 31 December 2023: nil) claimed any travel expenses in the period (year ended 31 December 2023: fnil).

4. Expenditure on Charitable Activities

The expenditure on charitable activities includes grants made to the Museum of £250,000 (year ended 31 December 2023: £350,000).

The expenditure on charitable activities also includes administration costs under the Resource Agreement for administrative and fundraising services of £11,400 (year ended 31 December 2023: £11,400) as provided by Sir John Soane’s Museum; governance costs of £3,973 (year ended 31 December 2023: £3,998); and other investment charges of £74 (year ended 31 December 2023: £73). The Trust does not employ any staff.

5. Investment management costs

Investment management costs include the costs of purchasing and selling equity and other investments in the Trust's Fund and manager fees and expenses. These are deducted from the pricing of the Sarasin Endowments Fund Units.

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust— Annual Report and Financial Statements

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

6. Governance costs 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £
Independent Examinerfees 3,960 3,985
Other fees 13 13
3,973 3,998

7. VAT

The Trust is not VAT registered. Irrecoverable VAT totalling £2,560 was incurred during the financial period (year ended 31 December 2023: £2,564).

8. Net income for the year

8. Net income for the year
2024 Total 2023 Total
Net income is stated after charging: £ £
Independent Examiner’s remuneration 3,960 3,985
3,960 3,985

The fees above are inclusive of VAT. The fee for the 2024 independent examination is £3,300 plus VAT (£3,960).

9. Investments
a. Fixed Assets — Investments 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £
Opening Value at 1January 6,999,300 6,623,373
Unrealised gain on investments 603,533 376,427
Valueat31December 7,603,333 6,999,800

Investments consist of various cash, equity and bond holdings as determined by the Investment Manager (Sarasin & Partners). The Trust made no purchases in the year (2023: £nil) and no sales (2023: £nil). The historic cost of the investments is £5,797,982 including cash (2023: £5,797,982).

Value at Value at
31/12/2024 31/12/2023
£ £
Sarasin Endowments Class A Income Fund 7,603,333 6,999,800
7,603,333 6,999,800
b. Cash at bank and in hand - held with Sarasin £ £
Cash - Sterling Investment Account 51 68
51 68

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Sir John Soane’s Museum Trust — Annual Report and Financial Statements

Notes to the Financial Statements

For the year ended 31 December 2024

10. Debtors 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £
Accrued Income 5,881 2,274
5,881 2,274
11. Creditors
2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £
Accruals 3,987 3,974
12. Analysis ofNetAssets between Funds 2024 Total 2023 Total
£ £
Investments 7,603,333 6,999,800
Current Assets 297,320 336,276
Current Liabilities (3,987) (3,974)
Balancesat31December 7,896,666 7,332,102

13. Related Party Transactions

No Trustees made donations during the year to the Trust (year ended 31 December 2023: £nil). There were no other related party transactions to report (year ended 31 December 2023: fnil).

14. Trust Status

A Trustee becomes a Memberof the Trust on appointment and for the duration of his/her Trusteeship.

The liability of Members is limited. Every Member promises, if the Trust is dissolved while he/she remains a Member or within 12 months afterwards, to pay up to £1 towards the costs of dissolution and the liabilities incurred by the Trust while he/she was a Member.

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