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2025-06-30-accounts

Sight Research UK

A Charitable Incorporated Organisation Audited Financial Statements and Report Year Ending 30 June 2025

Registered Charity Number: 1156134

Sight Research UK

Reference and administrative details

For theyear ended 30 June 2025
Charity number 1156134
Registered office and Office 17
operational address Equinox South
Great Park Road
Bradley Stoke
Bristol
BS32 4QL
Trustees Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report were
as follows:
Mr Simon Bowker Treasurer
Dr Dolores Conroy
Mr Robert Drewett DL
Dr Rose Gilbert resigned 8 August 2024
Professor John Greenwood PhD
Mr Clive Hetherington
Mr Philip Jackson resigned 22 April 2025
Mrs Carol Mayo Chair
Miss Serena Salvatore
Mr John Swarbrick
Research Advisory Professor Matthew Campbell PhD, FTCD
Board (RAB) Professor Tim Curtis PhD, FTPS
Dr Annegret Dahlmann-Noor PhD FRCOphth FRCS(Ed) DipMedEd
Dr Lisa Hill PhD FHEA MRSB
Dr Pirro Hysi MD, PhD
resigned 7 October 2024
Dr Hari Jayaram MA, BMBCh, MSc, PhD FRCOphth, FRCSEd
resigned 1 November 2024
Professor Glen Jeffery DPhil
resigned 18 September 2024
Dr Victoria Kearns BEng(Hons), PhD, CSci, MIPEM, MIMMM
Professor Reinhold Medina MD, PhD
Professor James Morgan MA, DPhil, BM, BCH, FRCOphth
resigned 17 September 2024
Professor Luminita Paraoan PhD (Gen) PhD (Mol Biol) FARVO FRSB
FHEA (Chair)
Dr Salman Rahman
Professor Mitra Tavakoli BSc (Hons), MSc, PhD, MCOptom, FBCLA,
FAAO FHEA
Dr Marta Ugarte DPhil, FRCOphth, MFCI
resigned 1 November 2024
Professor Colin Willoughby BSc (Hons), FRCOphth, MD
resigned 14 February 2025
Miss Teresa Sandinha MB ChB, FRCSEd.(Ophth), MD
appointed 8 November 2024
Professor Alex Wade BA, PhD
appointed 25 February 2025

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Sight Research UK

Reference and administrative details

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Seed Panel Dr Jennifer Dewing BSc (Hons), MRes, PhD
Dr Hannah Dunbar BSc, MCOptom PhD
Mr Michael Gilhooley MB PhD FRCOphth
Dr Philippa Harding PhD
resigned 12 May 2025
Dr Liying Low MBChB (Hons), PhD, FRCOphth
Dr Naseeb Kaur Malhi BMedSc, PhD
resigned 1 September 2025
Dr Ben Mead FHEA, BSc, MRes, PhD
Dr Mike Powner PhD
Dr Laura Cushley PhD
Dr Beth Mills UKRI Future Leader Fellow
appointed 14 August 2025
Principal bankers CAF Bank Ltd
25 Kings Hill Avenue
Kings Hill
West Malling
Kent
ME19 4JQ
Investment managers Evelyn Partners
Portwall Place
Portwall Lane
Bristol
BS1 6NA
Auditors Godfrey Wilson Limited
Chartered accountants and statutory auditors
5th Floor Mariner House
62 Prince Street
Bristol
BS1 4QD

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Sight Research UK

Chair's report

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Introduction

The Trustees are deeply grateful to all the donors who have supported the charity over the last year. Their support continues to be vital to our work, and we could not achieve any of our goals without their generosity and loyalty.

I am delighted to introduce the 2024-2025 final accounts and share news of a successful year for the charity, succeeding in delivering its aims to both increase income and attract quality research applications to support. It has also been a year of much change and growth for the team, putting in place foundations to scale up our impact for the future.

The financial year saw a change of Executive Team leadership; The Trustees would like to thank Charlotte Parkin for her two years of service as CEO and wish her the very best of luck in her future career.

We welcomed Lucy Culkin as CEO in December 2024. Lucy is an experienced CEO, with a strong background in charity governance, strategic development, people management and network building. Lucy is also a Trustee for 2 other charities, within the education and healthcare sectors.

Under new leadership, we have expedited our plans for new initiatives and development. We have recruited 3 new staff members, increasing our inhouse capacity so that the charity can realise and move forward plans for diversifying income streams, engaging a wider audience and promoting our valued role within the Sight research sector. This increase in capacity will be reflected in our renewed objectives and strategic plan for 2026-2031.

Our existing income streams demonstrated strong growth on the prior financial year with continued generosity from legators and supporting Trusts and Foundations. We continue to live in uncertain and challenging economic times and do not take this support for granted. Whilst we are fortunate to show a continuing robust surplus for this year, we are building foundations to elevate other areas of income to offset any future challenges faced by many charities across the UK.

We successfully undertook two funding rounds during the year; our Seed award round saw an excellent response, and we agreed to fund 5 Seed Awards in November 2024. We also undertook our fourth grant round for Translational projects, funding an additional 1 project with a value of £289,169. We are starting to witness a new ‘ask’ for funding which includes for AI and technologyassisted science, for which the charity will consider as part of our development. This was the penultimate round of projects for the current Funding Strategy, and we look forward to presenting our 5-year impact report which will guide us to establish our direction for the next 5 years.

Our Research Strategy

Our focus always has been to utilise our donors' money to bring about public benefit, and of course that is ultimately bringing forward an end to sight loss and blindness. To ensure that we work towards this end goal, we have followed a strategy which supports early career scientists and early-stage projects, to promote and carry forward the enthusiasm and motivation needed for new discoveries in the need for a leap of faith, and a small injection of funds (Seed awards).

The Translational Awards focus on projects that have the highest likelihood of making a tangible difference to patients in the shortest time possible, however we recognise that there is a long road to attract significant funding and expertise which enables scientific discoveries to get to the clinic, even from this late stage of research and we will be analysing this as part of our work to ensure we are placing every pound donated to the right stage of scientific research for the greatest impact.

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Sight Research UK

Chair's report

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Governance

2024-2025 saw the departure of two Trustees, Dr Rose Gilbert and Philip Jackson. We thank them for their time, commitment and expertise during their tenure with us.

We also said goodbye to seven Research Advisory Board (RAB) members this year; Dr Pirro Hysi, Dr Hari Jayaram, Professor Glen Jeffrey, Professor James Morgan, Dr Marta Urgarte, Professor Colin Willoughby and Miss Teresa Sandinha. In addition, from our Seed panel, Dr Phillipa Harding and Dr Naseeb Kaur Malhi departed. We are grateful for their support and years of involvement.

Income

The 2024–2025-year saw continued strong income streams, with particular success seen in our Legacy income lines. More detail on this is included in the fundraising section of the Trustee report. We ended the year with an income of £870,637 up 8.46% on 2023-2024.

The Charities Aid Foundation’s (CAF) UK Giving Report 2025 suggests that medical research and health charities received the most donations from the public. We are aware that we are supported by some incredibly philanthropic donors and do not take this for granted in continued times of economic uncertainty, which impacts many charities. We have recruited a highly skilled and experienced charity fundraiser during the year and have bolstered plans for income diversification, mitigating the risk of reliance on any one particular income stream in the future.

Reserves

The Trustees do not propose to change our reserves level from £1,000,000. The agreed reserves policy can sustain one year of research funding and charity operation, even if income generation halts entirely. The policy was updated in August 2023 to reflect changes to our charity accounting.

Expenditure

During the year, the charity paid out ongoing research grants for a total of £253,659 and made new grant commitments for a total of £363,979. We continue to see an increasing number of applications across our grants programmes, which is a testament to our increasing engagement and reputation but also the reality that funding for sight research in the UK is more challenging to acquire and very competitive for researchers to secure.

We commissioned and embarked on introducing a new grants management system to enable efficient applications, assessment, monitoring and payment of grants. This system provides increased capacity for the Executive Team to work alongside Researchers to better understand projects and their impact.

As always, we are focused on ensuring that the organisation is well run for our non-charitable expenditure, we remain vigilant in our procurement, ensuring value for money is paramount in choosing external suppliers.

Our annual return on investment (ROI) is £1:1.37 (2023-2024 £1: 2.82). This reflects an in-year underspend on costs due to delayed recruitment.

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Sight Research UK

Chair's report

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Summary

Eye diseases are the leading cause (82%) of sight loss among people who are registered blind or partially sighted. Yet although 20% of people will experience sight loss or blindness in their lifetime, around 1.5% of public research funding is spent on eye disease. This is equivalent to just 0.8% of the annual NHS (National Health Service) cost and just 0.1% of the total UK economic cost of vision problems. It remains the case that without breakthroughs in research, the number of people with sight loss is predicted to double to over 4 million by 2050.

The five largest UK eye charities provide vital support and advice to blind and partially sighted people, but do not currently fund research into sight-threatening disease. It is therefore imperative that charities like ours do all in their power to raise awareness of the critical need for investment in eye research, and to encourage increased levels of support. The Trustees continue to support this mission through further investment in the staffing of Sight Research UK. In March and April 2025 2 new roles were recruited, that of Trusts and Foundations Officer and Fundraising Manager. These two-income generation focused roles are the catalyst to diversifying our income to ensure longevity, success and impact of our work to support sight research. In addition, in June 2025, a Marketing and Communications Assistant role was recruited to support the Marketing Manager to grow our communications, engagement and brand awareness. As our strategy evolves, we will continue to review the needs of the team to ensure that we have sufficient skills and capacity to realise our objectives, vision and mission.

Carol Mayo Chair of Trustees Sight Research UK

1 Dewing JM et al., The disparity between funding for eye research vs. the high cost of sight-loss in the UK. Eye (Lond). 2023 Mar;37(4):584-586.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the charity for the year ending 30 June 2025. The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the constitution, and 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

Appointment of Trustees

Trustees undertook a recruitment process in 2023 and whilst two Board members did step down during 2024/5, a decision was taken to not immediately replace, but to carefully consider the skills profile of the Board of Trustees and to commence recruitment later in 2025, when the new CEO had settled into role.

This recruitment will be undertaken in a fair and independent process with equality, diversity and inclusion at the heart of the process. The Board will complete the recruitment in early 2026.

Structure, governance and management Governing document

The charity is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) registered with the Charity Commission in England and Wales under registration number 1156134 and governed by its constitution dated 1 April 2014.

To maximise focus and adequately support the operational team on specific issues, we have four subcommittees:

▪Research;

▪Income Generation and Marketing Communications; and

▪People and Governance.

Each group is constituted of at least two Trustees currently serving on the Board and they are an invaluable resource to debate specific issues, informing detail to the Board who then make decisions as a whole.

We continue to use the same method for the re-appointment of Trustees whose term of office has expired but who are eligible and willing to serve for another term. The Trustee in question submits a reappointment form in which they state the contribution made to date, what motivates them to be a Trustee and how they see themselves further contributing to the charity's development and success in the future. The board votes on the candidature in an anonymous online vote. This opportunity for reflection on the part of the candidate, and an unpressured, private vote, gives everyone the chance to thoughtfully evaluate the motivations and contribution of the Trustees seeking reappointment, and for the board to assess whether it has the right balance of skill and commitment in all its members. This process continues to work well. To further develop this and ensure a proactive stance on Board governance, the People and Governance Subcommittee have agreed to note any Board terms due to end within the upcoming six-month period.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Trustee induction and training

The induction of new Trustees is provided by the Chief Executive who briefs them on their legal responsibilities under charity law, Charity Commission guidance on public benefit, the content of the charity’s governing document, the vision and strategy for the organisation, the business plan, operating budget, and current financial status of the charity as well as the standards of best practice the charity must adhere to in its funding of medical research as a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities. Occasional training is provided to the Board as a group or individually when a need is identified.

Organisation

The Board of Trustees comprises a minimum of three and a maximum of twelve members. The Board meets quarterly and is quorate for making decisions with a minimum of three members present. At its meetings the Board reviews financial performance, the management of research grants and fundraising, and exposure to risk. The day-to-day management of the charity is delegated to the Chief Executive. All grant-making decisions are made by the Board collectively. The Board approves an annual operating budget and measures operational performance against this. Significant expenditure outside the budget must be authorised by the Board on presentation of a business plan.

Membership of professional bodies

The charity is a member of the Association of Medical Research Charities and is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and the Information Commissioner’s Office. The charity seeks to always abide by these organisations’ principles of best practice.

Related parties

Trustees are required to maintain a register of interests and, when the charity considers purchasing goods or services from a company in which a Trustee has an interest or making grants to institutions where the Trustee is employed, that Trustee withdraws from any discussion on the awarding of the contract or research grant and the value of any contract or research grant subsequently awarded is disclosed in these accounts.

Pay policy for senior staff

The remuneration of the Chief Executive is agreed annually by the Board of Trustees. During the 2024/5 financial year, the charity directly employed 4.6 FTE staff. Their pay is reviewed annually, and an inflationary pay award is discussed and agreed, when affordable, by the Board of Trustees.

Objectives and activities

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

In shaping the charity's objectives for the year and planning its activities, the Trustees have considered the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit, including the guidance public benefit: running a charity PB 2. The charity's mission is the relief of sickness and the promotion of good health for the public benefit by funding and supporting research into the causes and treatment of vision conditions and blindness, and publishing and disseminating the useful results thereof.

The charity aims to raise as much money as possible for investment in the best vision research applications received during its grant calls for the Translational Award (annual) and the Seed Award (annual). The charity promotes its grant calls as widely as possible to attract a broad range of grant applications both nationally and across all vision conditions, from which it can select the best for funding. Funding decisions are aided by external expert review assessment and by the expert advice of the charity's independent, volunteer Research Advisory Board or Seed Award Panel.

Research grant funding

Volunteers

The charity is grateful to the individuals serving on the Board of Trustees, the Research Advisory Board and the Seed Panel, as well as to dozens of external expert reviewers.

Achievements and performance

The Trustees measure the charity’s performance against its charitable objectives by assessing:

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

In March 2025, Sight Research UK ran its annual Researchfish (research reporting platform) submission call to help measure and track outcomes of previously funded research for up to 5 years after the grant end date. This process is repeated annually and will provide valuable long-term feedback on the impact of our research funding, allowing better evaluation of funding schemes and supporting fundraising activities for further research projects.

During the year, the charity paid out ongoing research grants for a total of £253,659 and made new grant commitments for a total of £363,979 - with a total grant commitment of £916,362 which includes brought forward, multi-year grant commitments.

Investment policy and performance

The Trustees have agreed to delegate the investment of specified funds to Evelyn Partners Ltd. The Investment policy was reviewed in November 2024.

The investment objective of Sight Research UK is to seek to produce the optimum total return from its investment portfolio, so that the real value of the assets be maintained and enhanced over the long-term, by investing in a diversified portfolio of suitable investments.

Targets:

  1. The long-term inflation-linked target return is CPI + 3% pa, to be considered over a 5-year rolling period.

  2. The portfolio is to generate a minimum spendable income equivalent to 3.0% of the capital value of the portfolio per annum.

The portfolio will contain a balance between assets intended to maximise the predictability of returns, and assets with greater potential for growth.

The Trustees agree to a reasonable degree of risk - that is, accepting the risk of some short-term volatility in the capital value in the pursuit of returns over time, which should, at least, maintain the real value of the capital after the effects of inflation. The assets can be invested widely and should be diversified by asset class and security. Asset classes include equities, both in the UK and overseas, as well as fixed interest securities, infrastructure and property in addition to cash.

Investment in equities and fixed interest can be made directly or through collective investment schemes.

At the end of June 2025, the portfolio was valued at £2,198,626. This figure includes the cash reserve that we maintain, which represents 0.4% of the value, and which was ringfenced to provide an additional, easily accessible, source of funds should they be needed.

The portfolio generated an income of £65,191 in the 2024-25 financial year, representing 3% of the capital value of the portfolio at the start of the year, in line with the requirement to generate an income yield of at least 3% pa.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Fundraising

The Charities Act (Protection and Social Investment) 2016 came into effect in November 2016. It states requirements for annual statements about fundraising and these are covered below:

The charity’s approach to fundraising and whether a professional fundraiser or commercial participator was used:

The charity’s approach to fundraising is that the objective of all fundraising expenditure will be to maximise its return on investment whilst maintaining the best possible relationships with all our supporters. We employ 2 members of fundraising staff (1.6 FTE), and we continue to focus on raising funds from charitable trusts and foundations, from individuals in lifetime giving and gifts in Wills. We have also looked to diversify our income streams through corporate donations.

Details of any voluntary fundraising schemes or standards to which the charity, or anyone fundraising on its behalf, has subscribed and any incidents of non-compliance:

Sight Research UK is a member of the Fundraising Regulator. We pay its voluntary levy and abide by its regulations and principles of best practice. We are pleased to report that once again there were no incidents of non-compliance during the year.

Whether and how the charity monitored fundraising activities carried out on its behalf:

In May each year the Trustees agree an annual income and expenditure operating budget for the charity. The Chief Executive utilises the resources allowed in the expenditure budget aiming to deliver the income targets. For each component of this fundraising activity, an income target is set that will generate an acceptable return on the fundraising investment made. The Chief Executive reports on a quarterly basis to the Income Generation Subcommittee, Finance Subcommittee and the Board on the performance of each fundraising activity relative to the budget. If a fundraising activity fails to generate its expected return on investment the Chief Executive recommends strategies to improve the return, curtail the activity or implement alternative fundraising solutions.

In 2024-25, the Income Generation Subcommittee, which reports to the Board of Trustees, had acknowledged the increasingly challenging trusts and foundations fundraising landscape which was due to unprecedented and growing competition in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. As such, it was agreed that now more than ever, the focus of the organisation must be to diversify its income streams, moving away from reliance on more unpredictable sources such as legacies and trusts and foundations, and with a focus on growing individual giving through one-off and regular gifts. Following this, a decision was made to invest in 2 staff roles (1.6FTE) to focus on income generation for the charity’s future sustainability.

How many complaints the charity, or anyone acting on its behalf, has received about fundraising for the charity:

The charity has an agreed complaints procedure and staff are required to bring any complaint to the attention of the Chief Executive and to record the complaint on the charity’s CRM database. We are pleased to report that no complaints were received about the charity’s fundraising – or other activities – during the year.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

What the charity has done to protect vulnerable people and others from: unreasonable intrusion on a person’s privacy; unreasonably persistent approaches; or undue pressure to give:

Sight Research UK has approved policies for safeguarding and privacy which are reviewed on an annual basis by the People and Governance Subcommittee and ratified by the Board. The charity’s website includes our privacy policy and a commitment to ensuring that supporters are in control of how the charity communicates with them. In compliance with GDPR regulations, we are responsive to all communications preference updates, and act according to the wishes of the supporter. Furthermore, every e-newsletter or fundraising e-mail sent to our supporters carries an unsubscribe option.

Fundraising summary

In 2024-25, our income from donations and legacies increased to £780,997 from £729,618 and we are, as always, grateful for the generosity of Donors, Trusts and Foundations, Corporate sponsors and Legators for their support of our ongoing work.

2024-25 also saw the charity’s first corporate partnership to support the Christmas campaign. The charity was delighted to work with Newmedica who generously provided £12,567.50 of match funding for every pound the charity raised. The charity plans to continue to use the match funding model for future Christmas campaigns to maximise its fundraising potential.

Overall, our income for the year was £870,637. This income figure includes both cash and new pledges received during the year.

Financial review

The charity saw an increase in income this year, with a total income of £870,637 (£802,741 in 202324). This reflects both the increased level of activity thanks to more resource in the charity, and the still unpredictable nature of some of our income streams. We received a number of significant gifts and pledges from trusts and foundations and once again legacies proved a very strong source of income. Legacy income came in at £592,860 this year, representing our highest income stream and 68% of our total income for 2024-25. We are immensely grateful to all those who leave gifts to us in their Wills. The challenge going forward continues to be the management of variable income streams alongside the growth of more sustainable and predictable income.

As ever, we continue to take every step to moderate the costs of running the charity. Running costs had been due to increase in 2024-25 due to planned higher salary costs, and increased fundraising and marketing activity. However, due to staff turnover and a delay in recruitment, both of these costs in reality were lower than expected. Realistically we would expect to see the full impact of the increased staff headcount play out in 2025-26, particularly given the strategic growth to be implemented by the new CEO. The Trustees understand and support the need for increased activity and acknowledge that this increases pressure on an already very busy team, so are supportive of the investment in additional staff roles.

As we continue to navigate the fundraising world through the lasting effects of COVID, with more competition for every pound than ever before, and an immensely unsettled global outlook, we acknowledge the challenges that lie ahead in implementing our increased fundraising plans. However, we remain staunchly committed to delivering on our aim of investing in more research which could have significant impact for those living with, or threatened by, sight loss and blindness.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Sources and application of funds

During the year, the charity paid out ongoing research grants for a total of £253,659 and made new grant commitments for a total of £363,979.

Grant commitment and spend was slightly below last years figures - this is in part due to the way we have historically administered grant payments, and we have introduced a new system for this for 2025-26. Our grant commitments were reflective of the applications we received and the recommendations of the RAB panel of which applications met the funding criteria. We will be reviewing all aspects of our current grant strategy and emerging research requirements in 2025-26, as our current Research Strategy comes to an end.

Risk management

The Trustees consider all the known risks confronting the charity every year and these risks are recorded in a risk register. The Trustees annually score all the risks on the register according to their likelihood of occurrence and their impact on the charity should they happen. This is managed according to the Charity Commission’s guidance on risk in its publication CC26. In 2024-5 we further developed our risk scoring and management procedures to ensure more regular visibility of the risks by the Board and more defined management strategies.

The Charity ensures any highly scored risks are monitored and mitigation strategies implemented with the support of all subcommittees and brought to the attention of the full Board of Trustees. Any actions required are agreed by the Board. The charity continues to assess and develop its management of risk to ensure the organisation is as robustly protected as possible. In 2024-25, the risk register was reviewed and expanded and is a visible, live working document which is now included in all subcommittee meetings, on a quarterly basis.

To underpin the management of organisational risk, the charity has a Serious Incident Reporting Policy and Procedure which is informed by the Charity Commission’s guidance. This is complemented by an Incident Log registering all incidents, regardless of severity, which is taken to each quarterly Board meeting.

Reserves

In 2023 the Trustees agreed to restructure the charity’s accounts to better futureproof the organisation and clarify external understanding of how Sight Research UK utilises and safeguards its funds. It is hoped that this will provide clarity for potential funders and will address two of the organisation’s main priorities: ensuring continuity and growth in research spending and focussing on organisational development.

The Trustees have retained the Designated Impact Protection Fund to hold reserves at the £1 million level. This level was agreed in 2020 and is deemed to be an appropriate amount to sustain one year of research funding and one year of charity operation should income generation fall significantly below forecasts. The objective is to ensure stability and continuity of our work in the event that the charity needs to respond to such a situation. The Designated Impact Protection Fund will remain at the £1 million level and only be utilised on the authorisation of the Trustees.

The previously created Designated Strategic Research Fund continues to support the charity’s mission to fund pioneering research by enabling the organisation to underwrite research projects at the time of commitment and allow them to start as soon as possible.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

The General Funds will support the core running costs of the organisation as well as our strategic ambition to diversify our income streams and expand our impact. The fund protects the charity as it works to grow its unrestricted funding pipeline. All new unrestricted income raised by the charity is first posted to this fund. Should any surplus occur, the Trustees can advise at Financial Year End on whether they wish to make a transfer from General Funds into the Strategic Research Fund to increase the research underwriting funding balance.

As a result, our Financial Statements show our Unrestricted funds categorised by the 3 types explained above with the following balances at 30 June 2025:

Expenditure on research grants is always conducted to ensure the best and most impactful return on investment, as evaluated by our scientific experts on the Research Advisory Board and Seed Panel. Our current levels of reserves are higher than we anticipate they will be in the medium-term and are due to the protective position we adopted during the Covid-19 crisis to restrict expenditure, combined with the implementation phase of our Translational Research strategy which is in its third year. The charity is maturing its financial planning, moving to 3-year forecasting for income and expenditure which includes our objective to accelerate spending on grants, where high quality bids are received that meet our funding criteria. The outcome will be that that reserves levels will be brought down in a controlled manner. Tactically, this will be as a result of future changes to our Research Strategy, which may include increasing funding levels, the introduction of new grants and/or additional grant rounds. These changes are indicative of our ambition to utilise funds responsibly and effectively.

Going concern

As the charity holds reserves of £1,000,000 in its Designated Impact Protection Fund, and unrestricted, general funds of £956,691 and, in addition to its investments, a cash balance of £941,817 the Trustees consider that the charity has sufficient reserves to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved.

Plans for future periods

In 2021, the charity launched its new Research Funding Strategy and developed a new Income Generation Strategy to support the necessary trajectory that will help to mitigate the unpredictability of legacy income in coming years and enable us to invest in more pioneering research.

This 5-year strategy is currently undergoing review, with the Executive Team undertaking wide ranging consultation to deliver an Impact Report to inform our future strategy for 2026-2031. This strategy will be presented for implementation in our 2026/2027 financial year.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Given the scale of our ambition at the start of the current strategy and now, towards the end of it, we continue to invest in a growing team of expert staff in order to implement the delivery of our vision, mission and strategic objectives. Despite some delays in being able to fully implement the increased resource to the team in 2024-25, we have now successfully recruited an additional 2.4FTE and restructured the existing team, with development opportunities for existing staff to set us on this path. We expect to see continued growth as we set a new and ambitious strategic plan, in response to the feedback we have received, for research funding in the latter part of 2025/2026.

The charity has plans to reach an increased audience through development and engagement with our supporters and to this end we have launched a new Marketing and Communications strategy, with plans for a new website and increased online and offline communications.

We have also developed a new Fundraising Strategy and will be developing our national and local presence and brand awareness as part of our renewed strategic objectives.

We have started laying the groundwork for these changes at Sight Research UK and are already realising some notable successes. The Trustees acknowledge this change of pace and increased investment in the team and look forward to the next phase of development.

Statement of responsibilities of the Trustees

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Account Standards, including Financial Report Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (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 the incoming resources and application of resources, including the net income or expenditure, of the charity for the year. In preparing those financial statements the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the constitution. The Trustees 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.

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Sight Research UK

Report of the Trustees

For the year ended 30 June 2025

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charity’s website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity are not required to contribute to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The Trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The Trustees have no beneficial interests in the charity.

Auditors

Godfrey Wilson Ltd were re-appointed as the charity’s auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to act in that capacity.

Approved by the Trustees on 18 November 2025 and signed on their behalf by

Carol Mayo - Chair

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Independent auditors' report

To the Trustees of

Sight Research UK

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Sight Research UK (the 'charity') for the year ended 30 June 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102: The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion, the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and the provisions available for small entities, in the circumstances set out in note 8 to the financial statements, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

16

Independent auditors' report

To the Trustees of

Sight Research UK

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of the Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the Trustees’ report, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditor under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

17

Independent auditors' report

To the Trustees of

Sight Research UK

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:

(1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of non-compliance.

(2) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:

(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.

(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.

(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.

(7) We assessed the risk of fraud through management override of controls and carried out procedures to address this risk. Our procedures included:

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

18

Independent auditors' report

To the Trustees of

Sight Research UK

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charityʼs Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charityʼs Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorʼs report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charityʼs Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Godfrey Wilson Limited

Date: 18 November 2025

GODFREY WILSON LIMITED

Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD

Godfrey Wilson Limited is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

19

Sight Research UK

Statement of financial activities

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Restricted
Note
£
Income from:
Donations and legacies
3
148,704
Investments
-
Other trading activities
-
Total income
148,704
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
-
Charitable activities
(1,012)
Total expenditure
5
(1,012)
149,716
Net gains on investments
12
-
Net income
149,716
Transfers between funds
(119,955)
Net movement in funds
8
29,761
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought forward
277,510
Total funds carried forward
307,271
Net income / (expenditure) before
gains		 Unrestricted
£
632,293
89,640
-
721,933
190,657
503,994
694,651
27,282
76,957
104,239
119,955
224,194
2,070,748
2,294,942		 2025
Total
£
780,997
89,640
-
870,637
190,657
502,982
693,639
176,998
76,957
253,955
-
253,955
2,348,258
2,602,213		 2024
Total
£
729,618
71,636
1,487
802,741
256,153
558,077
814,230
(11,489)
113,548
102,059
-
102,059
2,246,199
2,348,258

All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 18 to the accounts.

20

Sight Research UK

Balance sheet

As at 30 June 2025

----- Start of picture text -----
2025 2024
Note £ £ £
Fixed assets
Intangible fixed assets 11 12,000 3,312
Investments 12 2,198,626 2,131,100
2,210,626 2,134,412
Current assets
Debtors 13 185,405 220,997
Current asset investments 14 203,324 150,000
Cash at bank and in hand 941,817 694,936
1,330,546 1,065,933
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within 1 year 15 (678,656) (605,196)
Net current assets 651,890 460,737
Total assets less current liabilities 2,862,516 2,595,149
Creditors: amounts falling due after more than
1 year 16 (260,303) (246,891)
Net assets 17 2,602,213 2,348,258
Funds 18
Restricted funds 307,271 277,510
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds 1,338,251 1,562,954
General funds 956,691 507,794
Total charity funds 2,602,213 2,348,258
----- End of picture text -----

Approved by the Trustees on 18 November 2025 and signed on their behalf by

Carol Mayo - Chair

21

Sight Research UK

Statement of cash flows

For the year ended 30 June 2025

Cash flows from operating activities:
Net movement in funds
Adjustments for:
Amortisation of intangible fixed assets
Gains on investments
Dividends and interest from investments
Decrease / (increase) in debtors
Increase in creditors
Net cash provided by operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities:
Dividends and interest from investments
Purchase of intangible fixed assets
Proceeds from the sale of investments
Purchase of investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Increase in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
Analysed as:
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash held in current asset investments
Cash held in investment portfolio		 2025
£
253,955
3,312
(76,957)
(89,640)
35,592
86,872
213,134
89,640
(12,000)
823,897
(807,489)
94,048
307,182
845,878
1,153,060
941,817
203,324
7,919
1,153,060		 2024
£
102,059
3,312
(113,548)
(71,636)
(152,584)
331,063
98,666
71,636
-
312,332
(357,110)
26,858
125,524
720,354
845,878
694,936
150,000
942
845,878

The charity has not provided an analysis of changes in net debt as it does not have any long term financing arrangements.

22

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

1. Accounting policies

a) Basis of preparation

Sight Research UK is a charitable incorporated organisation registered in England and Wales. The registered office address is Redwood House, Great Park Road, Bradley Stoke, Bristol BS32 4QW.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) - (Charities SORP (FRS 102)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Sight Research UK meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b) Going concern basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the Trustees consider appropriate as the charity holds £1,000,000 in its designated Impact Protection Fund, and unrestricted, general funds of £970,059 and, in addition to its investments, a cash balance of £941,816. The Trustees consider that the charity has sufficient reserves to continue as a going concern for a period of at least 12 months from the date on which these financial statements are approved and have no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Income

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Income from grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably and the charity has been notified of the executor's intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity 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.

d) Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities 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 by the charity of the item is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.

23

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

1. Accounting policies (continued) d) Donated services and facilities (continued)

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

e) Investment income

Interest on funds held on deposit, dividends and other investment income are included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity. This is normally upon notification of the amounts paid or payable by the bank or investment managers.

f) Funds accounting

Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the Trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.

Transfers from restricted funds to the designated Strategic Research Fund represent income received during the year which carries donor imposed conditions to be expended upon specific projects. The cost of these projects has been recognised through the Statement of Financial Activities in a prior period when the grant commitment was originally made and therefore when the income is received it is transferred to the designated Strategic Research Fund to follow the treatment of the expenditure when it was recognised.

g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Grants payable

Grants payable are charged in the year in which the offer is conveyed to the recipient except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attached have been fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions at the year end are noted as commitment but are not accrued as expenditure.

i) Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs comprise all costs involving the public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the basis of staff time spent on each activity:

aff time spent on each activity:
2025 2024
Raising funds 48% 85%
Charitable activities 52% 15%

24

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

1. Accounting policies (continued)

j) Intangible fixed assets

Amortisation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The amortisation rates in use are as follows:

Software and website

5 years straight line

k) Listed investments

Investments in quoted shares, traded bonds and similar investments are measured initially at cost and subsequently at fair value (their market value). The statement of financial activities includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluations and disposals throughout the year.

l) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

m) Current asset investments

Current asset investments consists of short term cash deposits with a maturity date of less than one year from the balance sheet date held for investment purposes rather than to meet short term cash commitments as they fall due.

n) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account. Cash held by the investment managers for the purposes of re-investment is included within listed investments on the balance sheet.

o) Creditors

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

p) 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.

q) Accounting estimates and key judgements

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.

25

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

1. Accounting policies (continued)

q) Accounting estimates and key judgements(continued)

The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are described below.

Amortisation

As described in note 1j to the financial statements, amortisation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset over its expected useful life.

Grants payable due in less than and after one year

The value of grants payable due in less than one year and after one year has been estimated on a straight line basis over the period which each grant is expected to be paid out. However, as grants are paid out on the basis of invoices received for costs incurred by grantees, results may differ.

2. Prior period comparatives: statement of financial activities

Income from:
Donations and legacies
Investments
Other trading activities
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Total expenditure
Net income / (expenditure) before gains / (losses)
Net gains on investments
Net income / (expenditure)
Transfers between funds
Net movement in funds		 Restricted
£
£
388,191
341,427
-
71,636
-
1,487
388,191
414,550
-
256,153
14,909
543,168
14,909
799,321
373,282
(384,771)
-
113,548
373,282
(271,223)
(181,383)
181,383
191,899
(89,840)
Unrestricted		 2024
Total
£
729,618
71,636
1,487
802,741
256,153
558,077
814,230
(11,489)
113,548
102,059
-
102,059

26

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

3. Donations and legacies

Donations (including Gift Aid)
Legacies
Gifts in kind
Total donations and legacies
 Gifts in kind are represented by:
Advertising and PR
Total gifts in kind
Prior period comparative:
Donations (including Gift Aid)
Legacies
Gifts in kind
Total donations and legacies
 Gifts in kind are represented by:
Advertising and PR
Total gifts in kind		 Restricted
£
£
122,777
60,360
25,927
566,933
-
5,000
148,704
632,293
-
5,000
-
5,000
Restricted
£
£
385,191
43,726
3,000
292,701
-
5,000
388,191
341,427
-
5,000
-
5,000
Unrestricted
Unrestricted		 2025
Total
£
183,137
592,860
5,000
780,997
5,000
5,000
2024
Total
£
428,917
295,701
5,000
729,618
5,000
5,000

4. Government grants

The charity received no government grants in the current or prior year.

27

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

5. Expenditure

Fundraising
Publicity
Research grants (note 6)
Salary costs (note 9)
Printing, postage and stationery
Rent
Office costs
Audit and accountancy
Professional fees
Investment management fees
Amortisation
Sub-total
Total expenditure
Prior period comparative
Fundraising
Publicity
Research grants (note 6)
Salary costs (note 9)
Printing, postage and stationery
Rent
Office costs
Audit and accountancy
Professional fees
Investment management fees
Amortisation
Sub-total
Total expenditure
Allocation of support and governance
costs
Allocation of support and governance
costs		 Raising
funds
£
24,501
6,851
-
48,744
-
-
-
-
-
9,276
-
89,372
101,285
190,657
Raising
funds
£
19,956
5,229
-
88,539
-
-
-
-
-
8,743
-
122,467
133,686
256,153		 Charitable
activities
£
-
-
340,412
52,844
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
393,256
109,726
502,982
Charitable
activities
£
-
-
519,017
15,469
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
534,486
23,591
558,077		 Support and
governance
costs
£
-
-
-
118,837
868
18,024
58,416
11,481
73
-
3,312
211,011
(211,011)
-
Support and
governance
costs
£
-
-
-
88,799
2,491
18,466
28,742
13,998
1,469
-
3,312
157,277
(157,277)
-		 2025 Total
£
24,501
6,851
340,412
220,425
868
18,024
58,416
11,481
73
9,276
3,312
693,639
-
693,639
2024 Total
£
19,956
5,229
519,017
192,807
2,491
18,466
28,742
13,998
1,469
8,743
3,312
814,230
-
814,230

Total governance costs were £6,824 (2024: £6,666).

28

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

6. Grants payable to institutions All grants were made for the purpose of carrying out research into the causes and treatment of diseases and disabilities of the eye and blindness and the prevention thereof. The amount payable and committed in the period for this period and future periods comprise the following:

2025
2025
No.
£
Research grants:
University College London
2
29,919
University of Plymouth
1
14,952
Brunel University
1
14,999
Cardiff University
1
14,940
1
289,169
University of Edinburgh
-
-
University of Bristol
-
-
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS FT
-
-
University of Lincoln
-
-
Total grants committed during the period
363,979
Grants written back from prior periods
(23,567)
Total grant expenditure
340,412
7.
Grants commitments
Grants payable to institutions:
Grant commitments brought forward
Grants committed during the period
Grants paid during the period
Less: Overspent / (written back) grants from prior periods
Grant commitments carried forward
King’s College London and King’s
College Hospital		 2024
No.
3
1
-
-
-
1
3
1
1
2025
£
829,609
363,979
(253,659)
(23,567)
916,362		 2024
£
240,643
15,000
-
-
-
202,785
35,474
10,115
15,000
519,017
-
519,017
2024
£
510,276
519,017
(199,684)
-
829,609

29

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

8. Net movement in funds This is stated after charging:

Amortisation of intangible fixed assets
Operating lease payments
Trustees' remuneration
Trustees' reimbursed expenses
Auditors' remuneration (excluding VAT):
Statutory audit
Other services		 2025
£
3,312
18,024
Nil
104
5,600
3,967		 2024
£
3,312
18,466
Nil
216
5,375
4,719

Trustees' reimbursed expenses relate to travel and subsistence for 2 trustees (2024: 1).

In common with other charities of our size and nature we use our auditors to assist with the preparation of the financial statements. Our auditors have also provided payroll and bookkeeping services to the charity during the year.

9. Staff costs and numbers

Staff costs were as follows:

Salaries and wages
Pensions
Social security costs		 2025
£
198,382
14,688
7,355
220,425		 2024
£
172,781
12,151
7,875
192,807

No employee earned above £60,000 during the year (2024: none).

The key management staff of the charity comprise the Trustees and Chief Executive Officers (2024: Trustees and Chief Executive Officer). The total employee benefits of key management staff during the period, including employer's social security and pension contributions were £75,366 (2024: £68,158).

Average head count 2025
No.
6		 2024
No.
5

10. Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.

30

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

11. Intangible fixed assets

£
£
Cost
At 1 July 2024
-
16,560
Additions
12,000
-
At 30 June 2025
12,000
16,560
Amortisation
At 1 July 2024
-
13,248
Charge for the year
-
3,312
At 30 June 2025
-
16,560
Net book value
At 30 June 2025
12,000
-
At 1 July 2024
-
3,312
Asset under
construction
Software and
website		 Total
£
16,560
12,000
28,560
13,248
3,312
16,560
12,000
3,312

At the year-end costs relating to a new grants management database had been incurred, and capitalised. As the database was not completed and brought into use until after the year-end, no amortisation has been charged during the 2025 financial year.

12. Investments

Listed investments:
Market value at 1 July 2024
Additions
Disposals proceeds
Net gains / (losses)
Market value at 30 June 2025
Cash held pending reinvestment
Total investments
Investments comprised:
Listed investments
Cash held by investment manager pending reinvestment
Total		 2025
£
2,130,158
807,489
(823,897)
76,957
2,190,707
7,919
2,198,626
2,190,707
7,919
2,198,626		 2024
£
1,971,832
357,110
(312,332)
113,548
2,130,158
942
2,131,100
2,130,158
942
2,131,100

31

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

13. Debtors

Other debtors
Prepayments
Amount due after more than one year included above
Current asset investments
Short term deposits
Creditors : amounts due within 1 year
Trade creditors
Accruals
Grant commitments (note 7)
Other creditors
Creditors : amounts due after 1 year
Grant commitments (note 7)		 2025
£
182,964
2,441
185,405
-
2025
£
203,324
2025
£
8,586
13,522
656,059
489
678,656
2025
£
260,303		 2024
£
217,637
3,360
220,997
100,000
2024
£
150,000
2024
£
5,449
17,029
582,718
-
605,196
2024
£
246,891

14. Current asset investments

15. Creditors : amounts due within 1 year

16. Creditors : amounts due after 1 year

32

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

17. Analysis of net assets between funds

Intangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Long term liabilities
Net assets at 30 June 2025
Prior period comparative
Intangible fixed assets
Investments
Current assets
Current liabilities
Long term liabilities
Net assets at 30 June 2024		 Restricted
funds
£
-
-
307,271
-
-
307,271
Restricted
funds
£
-
-
277,510
-
-
277,510		 £
-
1,338,251
-
-
-
1,338,251
£
-
1,562,954
-
-
-
1,562,954
Designated
funds
Designated
funds		 General
funds
£
12,000
860,375
1,023,275
(678,656)
(260,303)
956,691
General
funds
£
3,312
568,146
788,423
(605,196)
(246,891)
507,794		 Total
funds
£
12,000
2,198,626
1,330,546
(678,656)
(260,303)
2,602,213
Total
funds
£
3,312
2,131,100
1,065,933
(605,196)
(246,891)
2,348,258

33

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

18. Movements in funds

Restricted funds
Age Related Macular Degeneration
Bristol Research
Diabetic Retinopathy
Dry Eye Disease
Dry Macular Degeneration
Eye Cancer
Glaucoma
Inflammatory Eye Conditions
Inherited Retinal Dystrophies
Research
Robert Luff Foundation
Anonymous TRN Fund
Ratnayaka/Southampton - AMD and Diet
Zahidi/Plymouth - Optic Nerve Head
TRN002 - Hannah Dunbar
TRN003 - Bethany Mills
Total restricted funds		 At 1 July
2024
£
16,919
-
33,058
-
-
407
3,692
1,535
161
6,738
15,000
200,000
-
-
-
-
277,510		 Income
£
-
25,927
420
80
40
-
-
-
60
13,722
-
-
-
6,455
2,000
100,000
148,704		 £
529
-
-
-
-
(407)
-
-
-
-
-
-
890
-
-
-
1,012
Expenditure		 Gains /
losses
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(12,000)
-
-
-
-
-
(5,955)
-
(2,000)
-
(100,000)
-
(119,955)
Transfers
between funds		 At 30 June
2025
£
17,448
25,927
33,478
80
40
-
3,692
1,535
221
20,460
3,000
200,000
890
500
-
-
307,271

34

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

18. Movements in funds (continued)

Total restricted funds (from previous page)
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds:
Impact Protection Fund
Strategic Research Fund
Total designated funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 At 1 July
2024
£
277,510
1,000,000
562,954
1,562,954
507,794
2,070,748
2,348,258		 Income
£
148,704
-
12,567
12,567
709,366
721,933
870,637		 £
1,012
-
(345,225)
(345,225)
(349,426)
(694,651)
(693,639)
Expenditure		 Gains /
losses
£
£
-
(119,955)
-
-
-
107,955
-
107,955
76,957
12,000
76,957
119,955
76,957
-
Transfers
between funds		 At 30 June
2025
£
307,271
1,000,000
338,251
1,338,251
956,691
2,294,942
2,602,213

35

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

18. Movements in funds (continued)

Prior period comparative

Restricted funds
Age Related Macular Degeneration
Diabetic Retinopathy
Eye Cancer
Gene Therapy & Regenerative Medicine
Glaucoma
Inflammatory Eye Conditions
Inherited Retinal Dystrophies
Research
Yorkshire Research Fund
Robert Luff Foundation
Anonymous TRN Fund
Ratnayaka/Southampton - AMD and Diet
TRN002 - Hannah Dunbar
Total restricted funds		 At 1 July
2023
£
13,919
32,629
316
150
3,692
1,535
100
32,870
400
-
-
-
-
85,611		 Income
£
3,000
429
-
-
-
-
61
3,350
-
15,000
300,000
34,000
32,351
388,191		 £
-
-
91
-
-
-
-
(15,000)
-
-
-
-
-
(14,909)
Expenditure		 Gains /
losses
£
£
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(150)
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
(14,482)
-
(400)
-
-
-
(100,000)
-
(34,000)
-
(32,351)
-
(181,383)
Transfers
between funds		 At 30 June
2024
£
16,919
33,058
407
-
3,692
1,535
161
6,738
-
15,000
200,000
-
-
277,510

36

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

18. Movements in funds (continued)
Prior period comparative (continued)
Total restricted funds (from previous page)
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds:
Impact Protection Fund
Strategic Research Fund
Total designated funds
General funds
Total unrestricted funds
Total funds		 At 1 July
2023
£
85,611
1,000,000
760,588
1,760,588
400,000
2,160,588
2,246,199		 Income
£
388,191
-
(25,000)
(25,000)
439,550
414,550
802,741		 £
(14,909)
-
(504,017)
(504,017)
(295,304)
(799,321)
(814,230)
Expenditure		 Gains /
losses
£
£
-
(181,383)
-
-
-
331,383
-
331,383
113,548
(150,000)
113,548
181,383
113,548
-
Transfers
between funds		 At 30 June
2024
£
277,510
1,000,000
562,954
1,562,954
507,794
2,070,748
2,348,258

37

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

18. Movements in funds (continued) Purposes of restricted funds Age Related Macular Degeneration

Donations given specifically to fund research into Age-Related Macular Degeneration.

Bristol Research

Funds left to the charity in a legacy to support a Bristol-based research project.

Diabetic Retinopathy

Dry Eye Disease

Donations given specifically to fund research into Diabetic Retinopathy. Monthly donations from a supporter to fund research into Dry Eye Disease.

Dry Macular Degeneration

Monthly donations from a supporter to fund research into Dry Macular Degeneration.

Eye Cancer

Donations given specifically to fund research into Eye Cancer.

Glaucoma

Inflammatory Eye Conditions

Donations given specifically to fund research into Glaucoma. Donations given specifically to fund research into Inflammatory Eye Conditions.

Inherited Retinal Dystrophies Donations given specifically to fund research into Inherited Retinal Dystrophies, of which retinitis pigmentosa is the most common. Research Donations given to fund research into any vision condition. Robert Luff Foundation To hold the £15,000 gifted by the Robert Luff Foundation restricted to funding the creation of a Research Grants Management system.

Anonymous TRN Fund To hold donations from an anonymous Will Trust specifically ringfenced to fund Translational Research Award projects over 3 years.

Ratnayaka/Southampton - Funds raised to fund a three-year PhD studentship carrying out AMD and Diet research into diet-induced disease pathways in AMD at the University of Southampton, under the supervision of Dr Arjuna Ratnayaka.

Zahidi/Plymouth - Optic Funds raised to fund a PhD studentship carrying out research Nerve Head into improving primary eyecare for children at the University of Plymouth, under the supervision of Dr Asma Zahidi.

TRN002 - Hannah Dunbar A project investigating the impact of 670nm red light on cone colour contrast in people with retinitis pigmentosa.

38

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

18. Movements in funds (continued) Purposes of restricted funds (continued) TRN003 - Bethany Mills A project

A project investigating the rapid diagnosis of fungal keratitis by lateral flow device

Purposes of designated funds Impact Protection Fund

The charity holds an agreed level of reserves of £1 million, as laid out in the charity's reserves policy. This is deemed to be an appropriate amount to sustain one year of research funding and charity operation should income generation fall significantly below forecasts. The Impact Protection Fund will remain at the £1 million level and only be utilised on the authorisation of the Trustees, should funding fall below a level conducive to the continuation of the charity’s work.

Strategic Research Fund

The Strategic Research Fund supports the charity’s mission to fund pioneering research by enabling the organisation to underwrite research projects at the time of commitment and allow them to start as soon as possible.

Transfers between funds

Transfers from restricted funds to unrestricted funds represent income received during the year which carries donor imposed conditions to be expended upon specific projects. The cost of these projects has been recognised through the Statement of Financial Activities in a prior period when the grant commitment was originally made and therefore when the income is received it is transferred to unrestricted funds to follow the treatment of the expenditure when it was recognised.

19. Financial instruments

Financial assets measured at fair value 2025
£
2,198,626		 2024
£
2,131,100

Financial assets measured at fair value comprise listed investments.

20. Operating lease commitments

The charity had operating leases at the year end with total future minimum lease payments as follows:

Amount falling due:
Within 1 year		 2025
£
7,152		 2024
£
12,624

39

Sight Research UK

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 30 June 2025

21. Contingent assets

There are some legacies which have been notified to the charity at 30 June 2025 for which the amount receivable cannot be reliably ascertained or there has been no notification of a distribution from the estate. These financial statements include payments received on account but not any estimates for future amounts receivable. Indications are that the estimated value of these potential legacies is in the region of £1.5 million.

22. Related party transactions

Trustees Dolores Conroy and John Greenwood are employees of University College London. Sight Research UK has committed to fund reseachers at the institution. At 30 June 2025 the total commitment outstanding to University College London was £280,178 (2024: £288,807). Two new grants were awarded to University College London during the year totalling £29,919 (2024: 3 grants, £288,807). Given the close working relationship with University College London, neither trustee was involved in the decision process to award any of these grants. In the prior year Trustee Richard Lee (resigned 10 November 2023) was an employee of both University College London and Moorfields Eye Hospital. At 30 June 2024 the total commitment outstanding to Moorfields Eye Hospital was £25,384 and no new grants were awarded in the year.

During the year, trustees and their close families donated a total of £995 to the charity during the year (2024: £Nil). A total of £800 of these donations were restricted to research into any vision condition.

40