Registered Charity Number: 1155580
MERCHANT TAYLORS’ 1413 CHARITY
TRUSTEES’ REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
INDEX
| Trustees’ Report | |
|---|---|
| Objectives and Activities | 3 |
| Achievements and Performance | 4 |
| Financial Review | 4 |
| Future Plans | 4 |
| Structure, Governance and Management | 4 |
| Reference and Administrative Details | 6 |
| Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities | 7 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 8 |
| Balance Sheet | 9 |
| Accounting Policies | 10 |
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 12 |
Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
The Trustees submit their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 July 2024.
The accounts comply with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) second edition, and in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objects
The Objects of the charity are specifically restricted to:
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the relief of poverty by the provision of almshouse accommodation for beneficiaries; and
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such charitable purposes for the benefit of the residents as the Charity Trustees decide
by promoting, supporting and assisting the charitable work of the Merchant Taylors’ and Christopher Boone’s Almshouses Charity.
Aims and Objectives
The Charity is committed to assisting the charitable work of the Merchant Taylors’ and Christopher Boone’s Almshouses Charity and the Almshouse Association’s objective of “providing independent living for needy people, mostly elderly, with a high standard of affordable housing in their community”.
Activities
During the year the Charity continued to hold the freehold interest in the Merchant Taylors’ Almshouses, Brandram Road, Lewisham and also the freehold interest in the former Christopher Boone’s Almshouses site, Belmont Park, Lewisham and land and garages in Blessington Close, Lewisham.
Public Benefit
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in section 4 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit, ‘Charities and Public Benefit’.
The Trust’s public benefit is enshrined in its charitable Objects.
The Trustees will not discriminate on the grounds of any characteristic protected by the Equality Act or any other relevant law.
Strategy
The strategy for the year was to maintain the freehold interest in Merchant Taylors’ Almshouses, the former Christopher Boone’s Almshouses site and garages in Blessington Close.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
Performance against strategy
The Trustees are aware of their responsibility to balance the needs of both current and future beneficiaries. During the year the Charity maintained the freehold interest in the relevant properties.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial reserves policy
The Trustees do not feel that they are exposed to operational risks of the sort that would require or be ameliorated by emergency expenditure and consequently do not operate a reserves policy. The Trustees will review this should it be necessary in the future. As at 31 July 2024 the actual amount held in the Unrestricted fund and freely available to spend on the Charity’s purposes was £2,509 (2023: £2,509).
Risk management
The Trustees do not feel that they are exposed to operational risk in the short to medium term as the properties in which they have a freehold interest are on a lease of 150 years.
Financial position
The Unrestricted fund stood at £2,509 (2023: £2,509) and the Endowment fund stood at £12,215 (2023: £12,215).
FUTURE PLANS
The Trustees plan to maintain the Charity in its current state paying due regard to the actions of its lessee.
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The Charity is governed by a ‘Foundation’ model constituted for CIOs dated 30[th] January 2014.
Appointment of Trustees
The Trustees are appointed by the Merchant Taylors’ Company (the appointing body) for a term of three years.
Induction and training of Trustees
Trustees are offered at least one opportunity each year to receive training from the Charity’s legal and accountancy advisers, either on a dedicated training day or by joining sessions offered generally by those advisers to their clients. The latter have tended to be favoured, in recent years, as they offer a range of different perspectives on the matters in question and the opportunity to share insights and establish useful contacts in the wider sector.
Trustees have access to the Governing Scheme, previous minutes, plans, and other documentation, and to Charity Commission guidance. They are also supported by staff based at Merchant Taylors’ Hall.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
Key Management Personnel
The Trustees consider themselves to comprise the key management personnel of the Charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the Charity on a day to day basis. The Trustees receive no remuneration or reimbursement of expenses in connection with the duties as Trustees.
The Charity does not employ management personnel but receives the services of Bradestrete Services Limited, a subsidiary of the Merchant Taylors’ Company, to provide all administrative functions.
Decision-making and delegation
At the start of each Trustees meeting, the Chairman asks the Trustees to declare any personal interest which might directly or indirectly cause them a conflict. If a Trustee does declare an interest, they do not participate in any decision where that interest is relevant nor do they count towards the quorum at the time of taking such decision.
Related Parties
The Trustees are all members of the Merchant Taylors' Company, which administers this Charity. Some of the Trustees may be connected to the lessee, however, the Trustees do not believe that such connections provide a conflict of interests or impact upon their decision-making ability.
The Merchant Taylors’ and Christopher Boone’s Almshouses Charity is a connected party as the Corporate Trustee of The Merchant Taylors’ Boone’s Charity.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS
CHARITY NAME: Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1155580 (registered with the Charity Commission for England and Wales) ADDRESS: Merchant Taylors’ Hall 30 Threadneedle Street London, EC2R 8JB TRUSTEES: Mr D G M Eggar (Chairman) Mr H A F Parshall Mr R A D Sullivan CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER: Rear Admiral J R H Clink CBE BANKERS: Royal Bank of Scotland PLC 62-62 Threadneedle Street London, EC2R 8LA ACCOUNTANTS: Saffery LLP 71 Queen Victoria Street London, EC4V 4BE SOLICITORS: Charles Russell Speechley LLP 5 Fleet Place London, EC4M 7RD
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
TRUSTEES’ REPORT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
STATEMENT OF THE TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the Charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations and the provisions of the governing document. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The Report of the Trustees was approved by the Trustees on
and signed on their behalf:
(If I type or otherwise electronically sign my name, I confirm that I intend to authenticate this document by so doing)
Trustee
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
| Unrestricted | Endowment | Total | Total | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Note | fund | fund | 2023 | 2022 | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Expenditure on: | |||||
| Support costs | 3 | - | - | - | - |
| Total expenditure | - | - | - | - | |
| Net incoming resources | - | - | - | - | |
| before investment | |||||
| movements | |||||
| Net gains on investments | |||||
| Unrealised | 4 | - | - | - | - |
| Net movement in funds | - | - | - | - | |
| Fund balances brought forward | 2,509 | 12,215 | 14,724 | 14,724 | |
| 1 August 2023 | |||||
| Fund balances carried forward | 9 | 2,509 | 12,215 | 14,724 | 14,724 |
| 31 July 2024 |
The accounting policies and notes on pages 10 to 15 form part of these financial statements.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 JULY 2024
| Note | Jul 2024 | Jul 2023 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | £ | £ | ||
| Fixed assets | |||||
| Freehold investment | 4 | 12,215 | 12,215 | ||
| property | |||||
| Current assets | |||||
| Debtors | 5 |
20 | 20 | ||
| Cash at bank | 3,719 | 3,719 | |||
| 3,739 | 3,739 | ||||
| Creditors: amounts falling | 6 | 1,230 | 1,230 | ||
| due within one year | |||||
| Net current assets | 2,509 | 2,509 | |||
| 14,724 | 14,724 | ||||
| Funds | |||||
| Endowment | 7 | 12,215 | 12,215 | ||
| Unrestricted | 8 | 2,509 | 2,509 | ||
| 9 | 14,724 | 14,724 |
These financial statements were approved by the Trustees on
Trustee
(If I type or otherwise electronically sign my name, I confirm that I intend to authenticate this document by so doing)
The accounting policies and noted on pages 10 to 15 form part of these financial statements.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
ACCOUNTING POLICIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
1 Accounting policies
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) updated 1 January 2019 ) - (Charities 2nd edition of SORP (FRS 102)) and the Charities Act 2011.
1.1 Accounting convention
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared on an accruals basis under the historic cost convention, with the exception of investments which are stated at market value.
The Charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS102.
The financial statements have been prepared to give a true and fair view and have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the SORP rather than Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (revised 2005) which has been withdrawn.
1.2 Going concern
At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the forseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
1.3 Income and endowments
Income is recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the Charity is entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.
1.4 Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates:
Expenditure on charitable activities includes those costs incurred by the Charity in the delivery of its objectives. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Allocation of support and governance costs
Support costs are allocated wholly against the Charity's main activity.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
ACCOUNTING POLICIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
Governance costs comprise all costs involving the public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice. These costs related to statutory audit and legal fees together with an apportionment of overhead and support cost.
1.5 Fixed asset investments
Freehold property used for charitable purposes as almshouses are stated at nominal value at the balance sheet date. Net gains and losses arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities.
Investments are stated at market value at the balance sheet date. Net gains and loss arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities.
1.6 Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
1.7 Financial instruments
The Charity only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. The Charity has selected to apply the provisions of Section 11 'Basic Financial Instruments' and Section 12 'Other Financial Instruments Issues' of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
1.8 Funds
The unrestricted fund represents income available for expenditure, whilst the endowment fund has the principal purpose of being used for charitable purposes. See note 7 and 8 for further information.
1.8 Reporting period
These financial statements cover a twelve-month period, being the period from 1 August 2023 to 31 July 2024, as the Trustees decided to align the reporting period with Bradestrete Services Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Merchant Taylors Company, which provides administrative support services to the charity. The comparative figures, including the related notes, are therefore not entirely comparable.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
2 Donations and legacies
No donations were received during the year.
3 Support costs
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Governance costs: | ||
| Independent examiner's remuneration: | ||
| - Statutory report - prior year | - | - |
| - Accountancy fees - prior year | - | - |
| - | - |
Trustees received no renumeration (2023: £nil) and were not reimbursed for any of their expenses in the year (2023: £nil). The Charity had no employees during the current or prior year.
4 Freehold property investment
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Opening value at 1 August 2023 | 12,215 | 12,215 |
| Revaluations to market value | - | - |
| Closing value at 31 July 2024 | 12,215 | 12,215 |
| Christopher Boone's Almshouses - Belmont Park, Lewisham | 1 | 1 |
| Merchant Taylors' Almshouses - Brandram Road, Lewisham | 1 | 1 |
| Blessington Close Garages | 12,213 | 12,213 |
| 12,215 | 12,215 |
On 4 December 2014, the freehold interest of Merchant Taylors' Almshouses, Christopher Boone's Almshouses and the garages in Blessington Close were transferred from The Merchant Taylors' Boone's Charity. On completion the Trustees granted a 150 year lease of those properties to the Trustee of Merchant Taylors' Boone's Charity.
Freehold property used for charitable purposes as almshouses is stated at nominal value.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
4 Freehold property investment (continued)
The freehold property investments have been externally revalued by Knight Frank as at 31 December 2018. This valuation is basis of the open market value in accordance with the Red Book Guidelines issued by the RICS.
5 Debtors
| 2024 | 2023 | |
|---|---|---|
| £ | £ | |
| Other debtors | 20 | 20 |
| 20 | 20 | |
| 2024 | 2023 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Other creditors | 1,230 | 1,230 |
| 1,230 | 1,230 | |
| clude the following balances with connected parties: | ||
| 2024 | 2023 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Merchant Taylors' Boone's Charity | 1,230 | 1,230 |
| 2024 | 2023 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Balance at 1 August 2023 | 12,215 | 12,215 |
| Balance at 31 July 2024 | 12,215 | 12,215 |
- 6 Creditors
Other creditors include the following balances with connected parties:
7 Endowment fund
The Trustees granted a 150 year lease of all the properties to the Merchant Taylors' Boone's Charity on 4 December 2014, therefore freehold property is stated at nominal value.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
8 Unrestricted fund
Movement in fund
| Balance | Total | Balance | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aug 2023 | expenditure | 31 Jul 2024 | |
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Unrestricted fund | 2,509 | - | 2,509 |
Unrestricted fund 2023 Comparison
| Movement in fund | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance | Total | Balance | ||
| 1 | Jan 2022 | expenditure | 31 Jul 2023 | |
| £ | £ | £ | ||
| Unrestricted fund | 2,509 | - | 2,509 |
Details of the objects of this fund can be found in the Report of the Trustees on page 3.
- 9 Analysis of net assets between funds
| Unrestricted | Endowment | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| fund | fund | Total | |
| £ | £ | ||
| Freehold investment property | - | 12,215 | 12,215 |
| Net current assets | 2,509 | - | 2,509 |
| Balance at 31 July 2024 | 2,509 | 12,215 | 14,724 |
10 Related party transactions
Some of the Trustees may be connected to one or more of the organisations that received grants during the year. However, as all grants are approved on a majority basis by the members of a separate committee the Trustees do not believe that such connections impact on the grant making process.
The balances due to the other Trusts administered by the Merchant Taylors' Company at 31 July 2024 are disclosed in note 6 to the financial statements.
The Trustees are all members of the Merchant Taylors' Company, which administers the Trust.
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Merchant Taylors’ 1413 Charity
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2024
11 Comparative information
| Unrestricted | Endowment | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|
| fund | fund | 2023 | |
| £ | £ | £ | |
| Expenditure on: | |||
| Support costs | - | - | - |
| Total expenditure | - | - | - |
| Net incoming resources | - | - | - |
| before investment movements | |||
| Net gains on investments | |||
| Realised | - | - | - |
| Unrealised | - | - | - |
| Net movement in funds | - | - | - |
| Fund balances brought forward 1 August 2022 | 2,509 | 12,215 | 14,724 |
| Fund balances carried forward 31 July 2023 | 2,509 | 12,215 | 14,724 |
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