SPORT NEWCASTLE
ANNUAL REPORT 2024-2025
[Incorporating the activities of Sport Newcastle CIO and the unincorporated association Sport Newcastle]
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www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
SPORT NEWCASTLE
PATRONS
Sir John Hall Alan Shearer CBE Jonathan Edwards CBE Sarah Hunter CBE
PRESIDENT
Alan Younger
VICE PRESIDENTS
Richard Appleby Karen Chapman Ian Elvin John Gibson Steve Harper Glen McCrory Mike McLeod Ros Miller Stephen Miller MBE Victoria Pembleton CBE Johnny Wilkinson CBE
OFFICERS
Treasurer: David Appleby Secretary: Kingsley Hyland OBE
TRUSTEES
Roger Tames (Chair), David Appleby, Mike Booth, Kingsley Hyland, Amy Kirsopp, Simon Rushworth, Matthew Squires, Dawn Thewlis
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
SECRETARY’S UPDATE
I have pleasure in presenting the Annual Report and Accounts for the financial year 2024/25 which will form the basis of the Annual Return we are required to provide to the Charity Commission. David Appleby as ever has added some Notes to the Accounts but the standout feature is once again our very low costs base which is only made possible by the efforts of our band of committed volunteers, sponsors and supporters.
Our two main committees have continued to meet on a quarterly basis with additional meetings added as necessary. Further details of the work that they have undertaken can be found in the reports of the respective chairs. Matthew Squires’ Fundraising Report includes encouraging news of new sponsors along with the continued support that we receive from Tier One Capital and SOS Group. There is also a report from our President, Alan Younger, who continues to provide valuable support to the trustees in his ‘ambassadorial’ role.
A common theme throughout this report is the increasing need to grow our income streams to meet the ever rising demand for grant support. We are now seeing increasing numbers of high quality applications for grants. The increased support from sponsors which complements the Annual Awards Dinner and the Golf Day in terms of fundraising is vital in enabling us to support the most worthy applicants but as Mike Booth states in his Awards Committee Report we would always like to do more. Further details of the awards we have been able to make are contained in Mike’s report.
We must not forget that we are not just about raising funds to enable us to make grants. One of the highlights of the last year was the Unsung Heroes of Sport event which was a heartwarming recognition of a wide range of sports volunteers across the region.
We finally managed to ‘go live’ with the new and greatly improved Sport Newcastle website driven primarily by Matthew Squires and Simon Rushworth. This has gone some way to smoothing the grant application process whilst contributing to the Charity’s raised profile. A new challenge will be to identify ways in which we harness the opportunities presented by artificial intelligence to enhance our grant application process. As Matthew constantly reminds us, the new website has also significantly increased the Charity’s social media ‘presence’.
Finally, our grateful thanks and admiration go to all those trustees, officers, patrons, vice-presidents, volunteers, sponsors, supporters and the North East sporting community for the part that they have played in another positive year for Sport Newcastle.
This Report is in five parts:
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President’s Report – in his second report since taking on the role the President has summarised the work of the Charity and provided useful background information for readers not yet familiar with Sport Newcastle.
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Fundraising Report – a summary of the major income raising projects run by Sport Newcastle in the financial year ended 31 March 2025 along with details of the support provided by sponsors.
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
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Awards Report – a summary of the work undertaken and financial grants made by Sport Newcastle in the financial year ended 31 March 2025.
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Annual Accounts – the Annual Accounts of both the Sport Newcastle Charity and the Sport Newcastle unincorporated association for the financial year ended 31 March 2025.
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Trustees’ Overview
Kingsley Hyland - Secretary, Sport Newcastle.
The winning team at the 2024 Sport Newcastle Golf Day, the Unite Group, pictured with the George Bayley Trophy.
PRESIDENT’S REPORT 2024/25
For almost six decades Sport Newcastle has continued as a grassroots voluntary organization, recognized as such by the Charity Commission, Sport England and throughout the North East sporting community.
The core mission remains to provide grant support to regional athletes, coaches, clubs, community groups and disabled athletes to help them fulfil their sporting potential. Problems faced by disadvantaged youngsters in society and the potential role sport plays as a catalyst to improve mental and physical well-being are given a high priority by the Charity.
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
An exponential increase in the demand for financial support is highlighted by Vice Chair Mike Booth in his Awards report. No longer Newcastle centric, Sport Newcastle grants and awards now cover a geographic area including North Durham, Tyne and Wear and South Northumberland. It is now critical that we develop another income stream to meet the increasing widening demand. All money raised continues to be fully directed to the awarding of grants.
Gary Wilson with the Wilkinson Sword presented by Sport Newcastle President Alan Younger.
Mike again organised the Annual Fundraising Golf Day at Ponteland in June 2024, an epic day as always enjoyed by all competitors and observers alike. It continues to raise money as one of our two main fundraising events. Again it represents a tremendous personal undertaking on Mike’s part.
Matthew Squires oversees all fundraising and sponsorship activity with his usual tenacity and compassion. All our major sponsors, supported by a broad range of philanthropic individuals and organisations, are highlighted in Matthew’s report. We continue to be grateful for this traditional second stream of income to underpin all our other fund-raising efforts.
Kingsley Hyland OBE, as Hon.Secretary, provides first class administrative skills, legal expertise and drive to the core mission. His vast sporting knowledge is second to none.
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
Hon.Treasurer David Appleby’s financial advice continues to be invaluable. We remain grateful to him and Auditor Jason Smith for their time and support to sustain our financial security and produce the Annual Accounts. David has now completed over three decades of outstanding service – thank you.
Roger Tames, assisted by Ian Payne and Simon O’Rouke, hosted the Annual Dinner and Awards Evening with their usual professionalism. Roger continues to lead the communications team and chairs a high-calibre Board of Trustees charged with determining the direction of the Charity and overseeing its governance.
Matthew Squires, together with core members, will this year undertake a strategic review of Sport Newcastle assessing its future role and the personnel to needed to deliver it. We all acknowledge the need for new volunteers to support future initiatives and demands on the Charity. I remain proud to be associated with such a fine organisation and the work it does to promote sport for all.
Alan Younger – President, Sport Newcastle
Fortunately the Sport Newcastle Annual Golf Day was blessed with good weather.
FUNDRAISING COMMITTEE REPORT
The 2024 Sport Newcastle Annual Golf Day took place in early July at Ponteland Golf Club which proved popular with competitors who praised the excellent condition of the course and the friendliness and efficiency of the staff.
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Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
This event, organised as ever by Mike Booth and supported by the Fundraising Committee, was a sellout success and helped raise over £5,000 for the Charity. The 2025 Golf Day is scheduled to take place on July 3rd at Ponteland Golf Club.
The Sport Newcastle Annual Awards Dinner was held in November 2024 at Newcastle Civic Centre. The event recognised those clubs and individuals who have made a significant contribution to North East sport over a number of years. The highlight of the evening was the Wilkinson Sword award for Lifetime Achievement that was presented to Gary Wilson for his contribution to snooker while Olympian Kieran Reilly picked up the Sporting Success of the Year for the second year running to reflect his success in securing a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. There was also an outstanding achievement award presented to Paralympian Anna Nicholson to reflect her Olympic success. The event was hosted by Roger Tames, Simon O’Rourke and Ian Payne and raised over £5,000. The Sport Newcastle Awards Dinner will return to the Newcastle Civic Centre in 2025 on the 13[th] November.
We have strengthened our existing relationships with Tier One Capital and SOS Group and welcomed new partnerships with local businesses including GLL, Ward Hadaway, Central Employment, JC Events and Graphic Packaging International. We continue to offer local businesses a great opportunity to support grassroots sport across the North East.
We have also benefitted from the personal generosity of a number of individuals and organisations who made private donations and organised fundraising challenges in aid of Sport Newcastle. These donations included £2, 500 from Peter Mclane.
A new website has been launched to ensure existing and potential supporters of Sport Newcastle are aware of the work we are doing to support North-East Sport and to keep abreast of the progress of our grant award recipients.
We will be focusing our future efforts on developing relationships with local and national charitable trusts and grant making bodies with a focus on grassroots sport, mental health and youth as potential areas of funding we are yet to maximise.
Thank you to all the Fundraising Committee members for the continued support, time and effort during the year.
Matthew Squires – Chair, Fundraising Committee
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
AWARDS COMMITTEE REPORT
In many respects this has been a very good year: a successful Unsung Heroes event, an outstanding Awards Evening and more money awarded as grants than for a long time. On the other hand, the unprecedented demand for grants, amounting to slightly more than double what we could afford, has meant that several worthy applications have had to be rejected.
From 1[st] April 2024 to 31[st] March 2025 the Awards Committee met five times, awarding the following grants:
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£7,120 to 8 clubs/organisations (inc. £1,970 specifically for coaching),
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£15,500 to 50 individuals in grants ranging from £250 to £1,000,
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£2,500 in total to our 10 Rising Stars,
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£3,500 in total to our 3 Platinum Award winners.
This makes a total of £28,620 awarded as grants in one form or other, which is an increase of just less than £10,000 on last year’s total (£18,640). This increase was largely funded from the additional income received from Redgate Motors at the end of the last financial year.
Due to the continued support of Tier One Capital and S.O.S. Group, along with individual donations and the proceeds from the Annual Golf Day and the Annual Awards Dinner we have managed to have an impact on more individuals and clubs than in recent times.
This year there was an almost even ‘split’ between male and female grant recipients (24 female, 26 male). They represented 23 different sports, with ‘Roller Derby’, ‘Mua Thai’ and ‘Scootering’ appearing for the first time on our ‘list’.
We followed up last year’s grant to help the establishment of the North East Disability Forum by providing grants to: Northern Allstars Goalball, Inclusion Sports Foundation and an individual grant to a severely disabled young man to support his time at Newcastle College to follow a sports coaching course.
We regularly receive reports from parents, and sometimes the young people themselves, about how important these grants are to them. Not only does it allow them to travel to competitions, or buy expensive kit, a grant is also an affirmation that a well established and respected organisation has recognised their hard work and is backing them as an individual to succeed.
The Unsung Heroes event in June saw 11 winners (6 male and 5 female) presented with their awards at the Newcastle Falcons Rugby Ground, Kingston Park. They represented eight different sports and a span of 55+ years of ages. Roger Tames did a marvellous job in describing the wide-ranging and invaluable jobs that these volunteers performed to keep their clubs running. They were well supported by family and friends and invited guests at what was, at times, an emotional occasion.
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Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
Elysia Boddy with the Jack Hixon award interviewed by Awards Dinner host Simon O’Rourke.
The Annual Awards Dinner continues to get bigger and better. It is a momentous occasion for the Rising Stars to receive their trophies and first grant of £250. This year there was an equal gender split among the 10 winners: Eli Adams (high jump), Evelyn Hallisey (swimming), Patrick Hogg (rugby union), Louisa Hamilton (golf), Jack Helm (gymnastics), Etienne Maughan (hurdles), Francis Ogbolu (basketball), Sadie Parker (athletics), Duncan Rutherford (squash), and Fleur Wilson (kickboxing).
There was a surprise for badminton player, Lucy Dodd, who was presented as our third Platinum Award recipient joining Toby Aberdeen and Anya Hassan. We’ve supported all three of these young adults since the early years of their sporting careers. Each one has worked extremely hard to make tremendous progress in their chosen sport, and all three are brilliant examples of what can be achieved with some help from Sport Newcastle.
Awards were also presented to the two most promising young footballers in the region. As decided last year the Jack Hixon Award is now presented to the most promising female player, which this year was Elysia Boddy and the ‘Wor Jackie’ Trophy went to Aidan Harris, the stand out young male footballer. Both play for Newcastle United teams.
Two special awards were made this year - to ‘Wor Flags’ and Anna Nicholson. ‘Wor Flags’ were recognised for their ‘Outstanding Contribution’ to the local sporting community and Anna for her ‘Outstanding Achievement’ in winning a bronze medal in the F35 shot putt at the Paris Paralympics. Anna was one of very few North East successful Olympians.
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
Our major awards went to:
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Lewis Miley – (Football) Young Sporting Achievement of the Year.
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Bob Aynsley (Squash) – Coach of the Year.
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Gateshead Football Club – Team of the Year (for winning the F.A. Trophy at Wembley).
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Gary Wilson (Snooker) – Wilkinson Sword - Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Kieran Reilly (BMX) – Sporting Achievement of the Year – the first person to win this award two years in succession (for winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics).
This year the Awards Committee members have been faced with several difficult decisions as to who should receive grants. It is testament to the committee’s professionalism that each application is discussed thoroughly, and often debated at length. We look forward to increased revenue in the coming months to make the job of the Awards Committee members less taxing!
Mike Booth – Chair, Awards Committee
Olympic Silver Medal winner Kieran Reilly with award for Sporting Achievement of the Year for the second year Running.
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
TRUSTEES’ OVERVIEW
The end of another financial years finds the Sport Newcastle Charity at something of a crossroads. As detailed elsewhere in this report we can look back on a year of significant successes. Grant awards to young sports people and community clubs reached an all time high, we hosted highly successful events including the Annual Golf Day, Awards Dinner and Unsung Heroes of Sport Presentation evening. In addition we finally went live with a vastly improved website. The fact that we have achieved this whilst reducing our running costs to almost zero reflects great credit on our volunteers.
At the same time, however, we have become victims of these same successes in that they have significantly raised the profile of the Charity. The slickness and professionalism of the Annual Dinner have perhaps created a perception that the Charity is awash with funds available to give out in grants. As a result we now receive a vastly increased number of grant applications.
The immediate focus for the trustees must therefore be on how we are to manage the challenge of growing our income streams to keep pace with the growing number of requests for grant support without being able to rely on individual donations and bequests that have proved so invaluable in the past. Matthew Squires, as Chairman of Fundraising, has started to address this by increasing the support we receive from sponsors. He has also recognised the need for the trustees and key committee members to reassess our future planning and strategy so as to better equip the Charity to meet these challenges.
Another product of the raised profile of the Charity is the increased burden it has placed on some key individuals notably our two main committee Chairs and Hon.Treasurer. An essential part of any future planning and strategy review will be finding innovative ways of sharing these burdens without compromising the quality of the work that these individuals voluntarily provide
The fact that the major challenges we face are the direct result of our past success should not make us despondent but should enthuse us all to find ways of ensuring that we are able to maintain the Charity’s upward trajectory going forward.
Roger Tames - Chairman of Trustees
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
Sport Newcastle Rising Stars of 2024. Back row L-R: Duncan Rutherford; Aidan Harris; Patrick Hogg. Middle Row: Evelyn Hallissey; Louisa Hamilton; Francis Ogbolu; Fleur Wilson. Front: Sadie Parker; Etienne Maughan; Elysia Boddy; Eli Adams; Eli Adams; Jack Helm.
DIARY DATES 2025
7[th] April 2025 Fundraising Committee 4[th] May 2025 Awards Committee 4[th] July 2025 Annual Golf Day – Ponteland Golf Club 28[th] July 2024 Fundraising Committee 1[st] September 2024 Awards Committee - postponed 13[th] October 2024 Fundraising Committee 13[th] November 2024 Annual Awards Dinner – Newcastle Civic Centre 24[th] November 2024 Awards Committee
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Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
SPORT NEWCASTLE CHARITY
ANNUAL ACCOUNTS & BALANCE SHEET
2024-2025
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Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
SPORT NEWCASTLE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS 2024-25
General
As reported in the 2023-24 finance statement it was agreed that the Sport Newcastle Charity Account would be utilised for the financial operation of the Charity. The General Account is utilised solely as a holding account with a notional balance of £2,000 being held.
At the end of the 2024-2025 financial year on 31[st] March there was a total of £16,755 in the two accounts. The general account held £2,000 and the Charity account £14,755.
The significant positive from the year is that we made grants totalling £29,524 in the form of Sports Scholarships, Grants, Club Sponsorship and Promotion from the accounts, this represents an almost £4,600 or 18% increase on the previous year.
As previously reported at the close of business on 31[st] March we had £2,000 in the Community Account, with zero known commitments, debtors and liabilities which leaves us a useable balance of £2,000. In the Charity Account we had a balance of £14,755. We had known commitments of £3,000 in respect of the Sports Scholar's initiative and a £1,500 debtor for the Annual Dinner. This gives us a total useable resource across the two accounts of £15,255 for 2024-25 which represents a reduction of £11,497 on the previous financial year.
Corporate Support
Sport Newcastle are fortunate to continue to be supported by long term partners SOS and Tier One Capital who have provided invaluable financial support over a number of years sponsoring the Annual Dinner and Golf Day.
Annual Dinner
The 2024-25 Dinner accounts illustrate a surplus of £6,583. This figure will be supplemented by the receipt of the £1,500 debtor recorded on the balance sheet.
Golf Day
The accounts show that the Golf Day organised by Mike Booth and the Special Events team returned an excellent in-year profit of £3,900.
Sports Scholars
At the close of the financial year 2024-25 we were directly supporting three scholars at a total cost of £3,500. The awards are administered through the Awards Committee on receipt of satisfactory progress reports and are reviewed quarterly at the committee meetings.
Expenditure
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Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
Grants and Financial Assistance
The expenditure within this category primarily includes applications for support from athletes and clubs which are considered by our Trustees. Recipient sports in the year included athletics, boxing, golf, rugby, ice skating, badminton, swimming, triathlon, basketball, taekwondo, gymnastics, judo, rugby, karate, netball, fencing, shooting, and rowing. Excluding the grants to Scholars we made grants totalling £25,370.
Office Expenses
We have continued to drive down the overhead costs associated with the operation of the charity. In 2024-25 we spent a total of £2,570 which was in relation to the final costs of the website development and website domain hosting. Provision for the development costs were incorporated onto the 202324 balance sheet.
Unsung Heroes
We held a presentation evening recognising the unsung heroes of sport in the region. This was delivered at a notional cost of £19 following the receipt of income which largely offset costs.
Overview
The performance of Sport Newcastle in 2024-35 has, once again, been excellent, delivering almost £30,000 in support to clubs and athletes across the North-East operating with the absolute minimum of overhead costs ensuring that athletes and clubs can be supported as extensively as possible.
Despite our success in supporting the development of sport across the Northeast the 2024-25 accounts clearly demonstrate that our resources have become extremely stretched. We continue to deliver successful events to supplement our financial resources however we have reached a stage where our ability to continue to support sport in the region at the levels we have previously is no longer a viable proposition. Our capacity to make significant financial contributions to clubs and athletes will need to be curtailed until we can generate some additional resources. In previous years we have benefitted from significant donations from individuals and organisations. These include Sir John Hall, Redgate Motors and Ponteland Golf Club. Unfortunately, we did not benefit from donations of this scale in 2024-25. This has contributed to our current financial position. With the Golf Day being held in the Summer of 2025 and the Annual Dinner in late Autumn it is hoped that we will be able to increase our reserves to recommence the wider award of grants to clubs and athletes.
David Appleby, Sport Newcastle Treasurer
www.sportnewcastle.org
Sport Newcastle | Registered Charity Number: 1153011
SPORT NEWCASTLE CHARITY
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2025
| Income 2025 2024 £ £ £ Donations 6,187 Dinner net proceeds 6,583 Golf Day net proceeds 3,897 Income Transfer from General Account 0 £16,667 Expenditure Grants and Financial Assistance 25,370 13,520 Sports Scholarship Awards 3,500 0 Room Hire and Refreshments 0 200 Presentations 654 0 Promotional Expenses 2,570 32,094 2480 Surplus (Deficit) for Year transferred to Balance Sheet -15,427 |
£ 14,588 -12,313 3,415 18,156 |
|---|---|
| £23,846 16,200 |
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| 7,646 |
SPORT NEWCASTLE CHARITY
BALANCE SHEET at 31st MARCH 2025
| Current Assets Cash at Bank Barclays Community Account Debtors and Prepayments Income Due - Rates Debtors Dinner Debtors - SOS Current Liabilities Accruals Year of the Coach Commitments Corporate Sports Scholarships Creditors Website Development Costs Net Current Assets |
2025 2024 £ £ £ £ 14,755 14,755 30,202 30,202 1,500 1,500 0 0 0 0 3,000 3,000 3,000 3,000 0 0 0 2,450 0 0 2,450 2,450 £13,255 £24,752 |
|---|---|
Accountants Report: I have examined the books and records of Sport Newcastle for the year ended 31 March 2025 and confirm they have been properly kept. I have also examined the above balance sheet and attached Income and expenditure account and confirm that they are in accordance with those books and records, and information supplied
SPORT NEWCASTLE CHARITY
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2025
| Income 2025 2024 £ £ £ Donations 6,187 Dinner net proceeds 6,583 Golf Day net proceeds 3,897 Income Transfer from General Account 0 £16,667 Expenditure Grants and Financial Assistance 25,370 13,520 Sports Scholarship Awards 3,500 0 Room Hire and Refreshments 0 200 Presentations 654 0 Promotional Expenses 2,570 32,094 2480 Surplus (Deficit) for Year transferred to Balance Sheet -15,427 |
£ 14,588 -12,313 3,415 18,156 |
|---|---|
| £23,846 16,200 |
|
| 7,646 |
SPORT NEWCASTLE CHARITY
INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31st MARCH 2025
| Income 2025 2024 £ £ £ Donations 6,187 Dinner net proceeds 6,583 Golf Day net proceeds 3,897 Income Transfer from General Account 0 £16,667 Expenditure Grants and Financial Assistance 25,370 13,520 Sports Scholarship Awards 3,500 0 Room Hire and Refreshments 0 200 Presentations 654 0 Promotional Expenses 2,570 32,094 2480 Surplus (Deficit) for Year transferred to Balance Sheet -15,427 |
£ 14,588 -12,313 3,415 18,156 |
|---|---|
| £23,846 16,200 |
|
| 7,646 |