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2024-03-31-accounts

Registered Number: 9106231 Charity Registration Number: 1162199

Absolutely Cultured Limited (A company limited by guarantee)

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31 March 2024

SD-0216601-1-6

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Contents

Reference and Administrative Details 1
Trustees' Report 2 to 24
Independent Examiner's Report 25
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 26
Consolidated Balance Sheet 27 to 28
Balance Sheet 29 to 30
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 31
Notes to the Financial Statements 32 to 48

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Reference and Administrative Details

Trustees B.P. Norman R. Lewis Dr K. Harker L Clarkson K. Wynne-Hague M. Lorch K. Smith A. Daniel P. White Q. Mahmood D. Sinclair Charity Registration Number 1162199 Company Registration Number 09106231 Registered Office Humber Street Gallery 64 Humber Street Hull HU1 1TU Independent Examiner Smailes Goldie Chartered Accountants Regent's Court Princess Street Hull East Yorkshire HU2 8BA Solicitors Rollits 58 High Street Hull HU1 1QE Bankers National Westminster Bank plc Hull Branch 34 King Edward Street Hull HU1 3SS

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Trustees' Report

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity and its subsidiary for the year ending 31 March 2024 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a director’s report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

CHARITABLE OBJECTS

The charity’s objects (‘Objects’) are specifically restricted to the following:

SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY

Our Purpose

To deliver our charitable objects as listed above, Absolutely Cultured’s purpose is focused on

‘Creating opportunities and space for amazing creative experiences to happen, for everyone’

Operating from our venue in Humber Street, in Hull’s city-centre, as well as in places and spaces across the city and in Hull’s communities, we combine Arts Programming, Community Engagement & Learning, and Artist Development to deliver a programme of activity that is accessible, engaging, and fun and aims to increase opportunities for all to engage with and understand arts and culture. Whilst our core focus is contemporary visual art, we work across art forms and sectors to deliver projects that matter and provide creative opportunities for Hull’s people as well as those from further afield visiting the city. Working through a partnership and consultation-based approach, we are driven by Place Shaping and Social Impact.

STRATEGIC AIMS 2023/2024

To deliver our purpose in line with our charitable objects over the course of 2023/24, we adopted the following five strategic aims:

Aim 1: Deliver a pioneering, bold, visual arts focused programme across our three strands of Arts Programming, Community Engagement & Learning, and Artist Development.

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Aim 2: Grow and diversify audiences and customers we attract and engage, making the most of our brand to grow our reputation.

Aim 3: Be a team and organisation with fit for purpose governance, skills, knowledge, tools, resources, and practices.

Aim 4: Be a financially resilient organisation with a sustainable income and cost model.

Aim 5: Contribute to Hull’s target to net zero by 2030. Reduce our own impact on the environment, whilst using our programming, relationships, and assets to increase awareness.

Through carefully curating a programme which is relevant to and resonates with audience in Hull we managed to grow and diversify our audiences and present a bold and pioneering programme. We made great progress in Aims 1,2 and 3 presenting a bold and pioneering programme across our strands, that attracted a wide range of audiences and increased footfall to our venue and engaged with diverse communities, while creating an agile and responsive team to deal with the requirements of a flexible business model. Below is a detailed look at how we made progress against our aims.

Aim 1. Programme

Our programme was focused on delivering pioneering, bold, visual arts focused activities across three strands of Arts Programming, Community Engagement & Learning, and Artist Development.

Exhibitions and exhibition related programming: Year-round visual arts Programme at HSG, in outdoor and unused spaces and in our Creative Satellite Centre(s), developing visual arts audiences including attracting new visitors and deepening engagement for existing audiences.

To enhance engagement with the exhibition programme every exhibition is supported by a series of Artist talks, workshops and a new commission that responds to the themes explored in the exhibition. This enables audiences to engage with the topic of the exhibition more deeply and provides a series of access points to the programme. Curator tours and the sessions led by Critical Fish were aimed to create confidence in first time visual arts audiences to talk and engage with contemporary visual arts programme and to encourage return visitors. Thursday lates were an opportunity for interdisciplinary explorations for artists to engage with the topic of the exhibition and to create links between different disciplines and visual arts. The outcomes challenged perceptions and created new inspiring collaborations.

Below is an outline of the programme:

Q1: ‘Baa’s House’ by Hetain Patel and exhibition 2 ‘The Winner Breaks First’ by Luke Beech showed in Space 1 and Space 2 respectively between 12.04.23 and 18.06.23 at Humber Street Gallery. Together they attracted 977 visitors which was a slow start to our season. Hetain’s show celebrated family relations, resilience and the diversity and value immigrant communities bring to Britain. ‘Winner Breaks First’ was Luke’s first institutional solo show and a great progression for Luke from our talent development programme to this milestone.

Engagement Programme consisted of:

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Q2: ‘Bootleg Shreg and Friends’ by Bruce Asbestos, was our family friendly summer show, with a bright colourful display of interactive inflatables and an imaginative character based on Bruce’s idea of championing the quirky and more marginal heroes. The show ran between 13.07.23 and 01.10.23 at Humber Street Gallery across both our spaces and was aimed at young children and families. The exhibition attracted 7,085 people which exceeded our total annual visitor target of 7,000.

Q3: ‘Perches and Flyways’ by Jen Holtridge and Juneau Projects in Space 1 and Inter_Change Showcase in Space 2, ran between 16.10.23 and 21.01.24. The ‘Perches and Flyways’ exhibition, explored changing environments and bird species and was the culmination of 6 workshops delivered in collaboration with Artlink Hull which provides disabled communities opportunity to explore creative processes and improve wellbeing. In Space 2, the INTER_CHANGE Showcase celebrated work that has been produced by artists who have been supported as part of our INTER_CHANGE artist development programme over the period Spring 2022-Autumn 2023. 4,750 visitors attended the exhibitions.

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Q4: ‘You and Me in HU3’ by Russel Boyce and George Norris ran between 05.02.24 and 14.04.24. A photographic exhibition by Russell Boyce and local photographer, George Norris. The exhibition celebrated themes of family, tradition, place, and friendship. The exhibition has been successful, not only in terms of visitor numbers, attracting 12,031 visitors, but also how it resonated with visitors. Many comments like “What an amazing exhibition showing not only the reality of life but also the diversity.;” “The celebration of all that is Hull and a reminder that hard times can also bring the most joyful of moments.” For many visitors this was the first time they have been to the gallery. The exhibition garnered great press attention from Look North, The Yorkshire Post and others.

Audience Figures: The year-round exhibition programme attracted 51,454 visitors to the Humber Street Gallery venue compared to a target of 37,000. This represents an increase of 8,500 compared to the previous year (42,833). 23,454 visitors experienced exhibitions in the gallery spaces compare to a target of 7,000. 25% of visitors were new to the gallery compared to a target of 15%. 48% of audiences rated their experience as excellent and 43% as good, meaning 91% rated their experience as good or above.

Visitors to the venue:

Visitors to the venue:
Actual 51,454
Target 37,000
Increase to previous year: 8,500

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Exhibition Visitors

Exhibition Visitors Exhibition Visitors
Actual 23,454
Target 7,000
Increase to previous year (22_23: 5969): 17,485
Activity No
of
sessions		 Participants
over
the
course of all sessions
Artist Talks 5 93
Critical Fish 4 24
Thursday Lates 5 196
14 313

Community Engagement & Learning:

We aimed to deliver a year-round programme of art, learning and engagement in our satellite creative centre pilot area(s), co-created with communities in Spring Bank and Gipsyville. Communities we have been working with since 2018. The programme aims to increase cultural engagement, confidence and connections with city-centre and Hull's cultural offer, with the long-term goal of making the centre(s) self-sustaining. 2023/24 was the final year of a three-year pilot which resulted in the communities we worked with continuing to programme the Saturday workshops for themselves with a range of activities with the continued support of the team at Absolutely Cultured.

During Q1 weekly chat sessions around issues raised by the community. 60 participants with 35% repeat and 65% new. Creative workshops were delivered by Middlechild and participants worked with Middlechild to create a play based on the stories told by the participants. This resulted in a community play performed outside the gates of Reckitt Benckiser. (more about this below in Case Study 1)

During Q2 we continued to deliver Coffee and Chat sessions taking place on Wednesdays from 10-12 in Gipsyville Library, with 141 attendees. From July to September, we delivered creative sessions by Arting on Saturdays aimed to develop cultural confidence and engagement among the community. A co - created exhibition with the work showing created by attendees to the craft sessions on Saturdays was shown from 24/11/2023 - 8/12/2023 in Gipsyville library. Juneau Projects and Bruce Asbestos worked closely with community groups. Juneau held 6 sessions with Creative Connection Groups at Artlink and Victoria House. Bruce total participants was 60 across Welcome to English, Gipsyville residents and Class 4 at Pearson Primary. Juneau total participants was 30 across Creative Connections. Weekly chat sessions in Q3 at Gipsyville Library focused on conversations around issues and activities raised by the community. In November, two Christmas lantern making sessions took place, led by artist Rosie Ireson, the lanterns were being prepared for the community Christmas lantern parade. Photographer Tom Arran visited the group to take photographs for use in Hull City Council's ten-year Community Plan (2024-2034).

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During this quarter, residents worked with AC (Absolutely Cultured) team members to create 'The Gipsyville Voice' - an 8-page full colour newsletter comprising of editorial content created by participants, including news, reflections on the sessions, memories, callouts to other residents and a column. The publication was linked historically to a 1980s produced regular newsletter that was edited by one of the regular participants. 1,000 copies were printed and distributed in the area. Two participants with existing craft skills have self-initiated and created a ‘craft and natter’ session that now takes place regularly on Mondays at the library, complementing a 'knit and natter' session that was created by another Gipsyville resident who occasionally attends the sessions and initially asked this group if there was any interest. Conversations commenced with Artlink regarding how we could partner on some activity in Spring Bank. On alternate weeks, we also hold 'cultural lunches' following the coffee and chats. Cultural conversations over lunch with guest speakers. Guest speakers have been Reckitt archivist Dr Grace Chapman, Living with Water Community Coordinator Lauren Murtagh, and actor Matt Sutton, who gave a table reading of Dan Billany's poetry and prose work. Billany was born in the area.

In Q4 we came up with a programme of activity that had been suggested by participants. Arting sessions, titled Do You Know Who I Am? continued at Gipsyville Library, with 11 sessions taking place and attracting an average of x15 participants (a total of 165 participants). Multi-generational, participants are a combination of parents/carers and children, along with older members of the community. The objective of the project is to engage the local community in a meaningful and purposeful project which will enhance their art skills and build self-confidence: leading to a more independent and confident approach in the future. The project invited participants to examine their identity and what makes them who they are. This included their family background and heritage, the city of Hull and its history, the local environment and how this all links together. Participants knew from the outset that their work would be exhibited within the library and that they would play a part in organising this. Event planning for a final session empowered the group to share their skills with the local community by running drop-in craft workshops at a Saturday event called ‘We Wish You A Hully Christmas.’ Supported by artist Alison Ollerhead, this event gave participants a chance to showcase their creativity and organisational competence and give them ‘live’ event experience. Arting exhibition

In Q4 there were Coffee and Chat sessions continued at Gipsyville Library, with 6 Cultural Lunch sessions with guest speakers (stand-up comedian Jed Salisbury, poet Vicky Foster, Humberside Police PCSO Alex) and art activities that included camera obscura making, memory map making, badge making, poetry writing, and a conversation around combatting loneliness and isolation.

Art workshop sessions led by Arting titled ‘Read All About It’ took place at Gipsyville Library on Saturday mornings from January 13 to March 23 at 10.30am-11.30am attracting family participants and older community members. These sessions followed and further developed last quarter’s Do You Know Who I Am? sessions, where participants worked with a range of materials and in a range of styles, this time creating illustrations based on Hull events, landmarks, food and people, along with accompanying text for collation into a colour printed newspaper that will be available in May 2024. A selection of work created for the Do You Know Who I Am? exhibition in Q3 was taken to the West Hull Hub at North Road, Gipsyville on February 1, at an event attended by 100 people, generating a lot of conversations and valuable feedback.

‘You and Me in HU3’ exhibition photographers George Norris and Russell Boyce delivered an Artist Talk, including projections of a selection of their photographs, at the West Hull Hub on March 14, attended by 70 people. The West Hull Hub was presented with a copy of the large format book that accompanies the exhibition.

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A selection of x6 ‘You and Me in HU3’ photographs, along with an interpretation panel, was located on the perimeter fence outside the Gipsyville Library on February 8 and will be in place until the exhibition closes on April 14, 2024. There has been so much interest in the photographs from local residents that the Library has requested to keep the images, which they will display inside the Library after April 14. A co-created programme of creative workshops with Artlink in Q4 resulted in x40 workshop sessions with four established community groups - the Hull Afro Caribbean Men’s Group, Open Doors, The Warren LGBT+ Shout group and Welcome House - with x10 artist-led sessions each and approximately 10 participants in each group. Facilitators were Jennifer Holtridge (ceramics), Fraser Briggs (print), Glynis Nelson (photography), Siddi Majubah (performance & movement) and Dave Okwesia (writing for performance). The work created will be celebrated at events in 2024-25 Q1, including on April 17, 2024, at Hull Truck Theatre, who provided in-kind venue support to the Hull Afro Caribbean Men’s Group.

Organisations worked with:

Artists we engaged with : Jennifer Holtridge (ceramics), Fraser Briggs (print), Glynis Nelson (photography), Siddi Majubah (performance & movement) and Dave Okwesia (writing for performance), Alison Ollerhead, Vicky Foster, Matt Sutton, Rosie Ireson, Abadaba

Case Study: Middle Child Theatre Company – Gipsyville Heritage Project

‘This One’s For Us’ was a 45-minute outdoor theatre show that took place on Essex Street, Gipsyville. The production was born out of workshops that involved residents sharing their own stories, which were then transformed into a script by writer Rachel Abbey. 127 audience members attended x2 performances on Saturday June 3. workshops with residents ran in Gipsyville Library from July 2022. The ‘show week’ of Monday 29th May to Friday 2nd June involved rehearsals at Middle Child’s space and additional activities for residents. As part of the production, an accompanying zine was created that included stories from residents. A film of the ‘This One’s For Us’ production was screened at the West Hull ARLFC Community Sports Hub, on Gipsyville, on October 19th, along with an afternoon of entertainment, including sea shanties that are relevant to the area, attended by 80 residents. Feedback from residents was overwhelmingly positive, appreciating and valuing the fact that their story was told on their doorstep.

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Case Study: Peel Street Park Festival – Spring Bank Heritage Project The event took place on 15 July 2023 and was attended by 406 people.

Peel Street Park Festival was the culmination of our work with various communities in the Spring Bank Area. We collaborated with Peel Street Project, HACA, the Community Centre and residents to create a free three-hour family event in Peel Street Park to celebrate their diverse community and raise awareness of the area’s heritage. In partnership with Handmade Productions CIC and local artists we delivered a range of creative ‘craft making-and-take' activities on the theme of the Zoological Garden that once was located in the Spring Bank area. These workshops culminated in a parade on the day of the festival, where Abadaba Circus ran circus skills workshops and performed in costume and on stilts also on the theme of the Zoological Gardens, experienced drummers and percussionists ran a drumming circle workshop and Beats Bus encouraged young participants to create and perform their own piece of music.

Prior to the festival, several workshops took place in June and July:

Early Bods and Arty Bods:

Our programme aimed at learning for all ages. Year-round programme of learning, engagement, skills (workshops, talks, classes) for all ages taking place in HSG and in our Creative Satellite Centre(s)

Starting the season with popular sessions for 0–5-year-olds delivered by artist Saffi Brown, we moved to an older age group for Arty Bods, which is delivered by Lucy Brooke. The sessions are popular with local families and provide a welcome opportunity for creative learning and engagement from an early age and supports and enhances the overall offer in the city.

Early Bod sessions took place on Wednesday's and after the successful delivery of the 12 initial sessions which ended at the beginning of November, we are looking to develop these further and aim at an older group and move to a Saturday. Following the conclusion of these sessions we made the decision to aim sessions at an older age group (5-11) and switch days to a Saturday, led by Lucy Brooke, with an aim to relating content, as much as possible, to the exhibition programme. Arty Bods - Saturday morning art workshops designed for 5–11-year-olds led by Lucy Brooke - commenced on Saturday 24 February and were scheduled to take place every Saturday from 10.30am-12.30pm for 12 weeks until 11 May. In April, a meeting will take place with Lucy to reflect on the sessions and plan future activity. Lucy was asked to create a session plan that was inspired by HSG’s exhibition programme and artists. Sessions have covered collage, various printing techniques, clay sculpture, portraiture, Easter-themed card making, mosaic, narrative, sketching, storytelling, watercolours and working in mixed media. The sessions have proved exceedingly popular, with the only issue being oversubscription of the 15 places for young people available. Across the six sessions in this quarter, 86 young people, accompanied by their parents/carers, have attended in total.

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Participant Figures:

Through our engagement and learning programme we delivered 217 sessions in various settings either working in collaboration with Middlechild, Artlink, Handmade Parade or directly with Gipsyville Library or West Hull Rugby Club with 4138 participants taking part.

Activity No
of
sessions		 Participants
over
the course of all
sessions
Gipsyville Coffee & Chat 50 617
Gipsyville Arting workshops 36 540
Gipsyville cultural lunches 24 259
Christmas Parade, Carol Singing & Christmas Light Switch on 1 177
Middle Child workshops 9 90
Middle Child x2 performances of This One’s For Us 2 127
Film Screening of ‘This One’s For Us’ 1 80
Peel Street Park Festival 1 406
Peel Street Park Festival workshops 6 845
Juneau Projects creative sessions 6 30
Bruce Asbestos creative sessions 3 60
Early Bods 18 108
Arty Bods 6 86
Artist Talks 5 93
Critical Fish 4 24
Thursday Lates 5 196
AC & Artlink workshops with community groups 40 400
You and Me in HU3 artist talk at West Hull Hub 1
 70
Total ~~217~~ ~~4138~~

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Artist Development: Year-round artist development and learning opportunities for local creatives working in any artform. INTER_CHANGE, is an artist professional development initiative which evolved from 2 previous programmes Hull Independent Producer’s Initiative (originating in 2016) and Fruit Factory Network (a programme for visual artists which originated in 2018). This year, in its fifth year as Inter_Change, a core cohort of 9 creative practitioners at the early stages of their career participated. The cohort benefited from support including mentoring, peer to peer sessions and exchange visits with other creatives and organisations in the North of England. The programme culminates with an exhibition in Autumn 2024/25. Local artist Matt Fratson delivered a funding workshop to an audience of 11 80% of whom rated the session as 'Excellent'. During Q3 a Toolkit Masterclass was delivered by Matt Walton, Development Manager & Isabel Mansfield, Marketing and Communications Assistant. The session took the form of a 'surgery' with participants on our INTER_CHANGE programme, along with the public, getting the opportunity to receive feedback and support on aspects of arts marketing and self-promotion for individuals. Attendance was 12 with a capacity of 15. 100% of attendees rated the session as Excellent. The INTER_CHANGE cohort also attended two field trips. The first took place in Hull and the cohort was introduced to Adele Howitt at Studio 11, Sarah Pennington at HARI, and people at the Ferens. The other visit was to Nottingham where they connected with Primary, Nottingham Contemporary, City Arts/Carousel, Backlit and Gasleak Mountain. The idea is to expand their networks and be exposed to other artists.

During this the last Quarter Jade Blood was artist in residence at Wilberforce College and worked with a diverse group of students to develop an exhibition event showcasing the work with the textile department, looking at ecologies of clothing, craft, and upcycling. The event will be taking place in October 2024 and be called ‘Dinner Party for the Future’.

Participants:

Participants:
Activity No of sessions Participants
over the course
of all sessions
Curator tours at HSG 9 98
Interchange workshop 9 78
Interchange field trips 2 10
20 186

Aim 2. Audience Development

A key aim was to grow and diversify audiences and customers we attract and engage, making the most of our brand to grow our reputation.

55,861 visits were made to Humber Street Gallery between April 2023 and March 2024 compared to 42,833 the previous year. In 2023/24, we saw attendance from residents in every postcode of Hull.

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A robust audience development and marketing plan was implemented. There was a clear correlation between the type of programming in the venue and audience visits which cannot be explained by seasonal trends alone. Exhibitions like ‘Bootleg Shreg and Friends’ seeing 4 times the number of attendees targeted and ‘You, me and HU3’ seeing almost 8 times the targeted number of visits. Exhibition planning is informed by audience feedback. Going forward, it is our intention to embed this approach even further with plans to further increase audience involvement in decision-making as well as increasing representation of our audiences within the organisation. Plans to review the Brand were put on hold during this period due to the organisational review and new business model development. Plans are also subject to a potential venue change. This will now be reviewed in the upcoming period 24/25.

Aim 3: Organisational Development

Be a team and organisation with fit for purpose governance, skills, knowledge, tools, resources, and practices.

The main piece of work under this aim was to develop a new business model which is reflective of the organisation’s new priorities as a contemporary visual art organisation based in a city-centre venue and at a financial level that is reflective of the realistic income opportunity. This work was completed and the difficult decision was taken by the board to restructure resulting in reduction of FTE members of staff. The period with changes to staffing completed by June 2024. A board sub-group was also implemented in this period to investigate alternative venue options with a view to reducing our fixed costs in relation to operations and identifying an alternative venue arrangement that meets our needs going forward.

Following the outcome from the NPO (National Portfolio Organisation) decision and in response to the challenging funding landscape, Absolutely Cultured has been reshaping and re-invigorating its purpose, developing a lower cost business model, and reviewing our venue needs. Whilst challenging, this is also a great opportunity to focus its activities on the visual arts and deepen its work with communities. The work will continue to contribute to the cultural ecology of Hull through strengthening the role that contemporary visual art can have for Hull’s communities and artists as well as the economic benefits a centrally located, high quality CVA offer can bring.

Aim 4: Financial Resilience

A key aim for this reporting period was to be a financially resilient organisation with a sustainable income and cost model.

Income - Fundraising

During this reporting period, sector benchmarking was undertaken to look at similar organisations and their cost and income models. A review of the grant funding landscape and other potential income streams was also undertaken. This work fed into business model development being undertaken by Leadership Team and a new fundraising strategy was developed, which is reflective of the findings and of current opportunities and risks for the organisation. Income will take time to develop. Reserves will be strategically utilised to support this growth and we expect to be operating at an annual budget level of £400K - £500K by March 2027 if the fundraising strategy is successfully implemented.

This was Absolutely Cultured’s first year as an Arts Council England (ACE) National Portfolio Organisation (NPO). This was awarded for the period April 2023-March 2026 subject to annual review. During the year, ACE announced that this round would be extended until March 2027, subject to an extension application. The NPO funding is to deliver a city-centre based venue with a Contemporary Visual Arts offer.

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The funding landscape continues to be incredibly challenging and changeable. This new business model responds to this and will need to remain responsive to the financial environment going forward. Some tough decisions have been taken to move AC on towards being able to sustainably deliver outcomes for the public. The Trustees have agreed to continue to invest our reserves strategically to match fund work that can ultimately become funded and invest in income generation.

Funding from Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation (final year of a 3-year agreement) supported our work in two local communities of Gipsyville and Spring Bank as well as a learning programme for people of all ages taking place across Humber Street Gallery and in the communities. This funding also contributed to delivering our Inter_Change artist development programme for emerging local artists. Their support has enabled us to give high quality arts experiences to people who are often excluded from opportunity and to work in partnership with local schools, libraries, and mosques. Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation also increased both this and the previous year’s allocation by 10% in response to the current economic crisis, which we are extremely grateful to them for.

Funding from National Lottery Heritage Fund supported two 15-month long projects in Gipsyville and Spring Bank communities. The projects focused on identifying and exploring local heritage and culminated in a final event in each area (June and July 2023).

Hull City Council provided sponsorship to AC during this period, to support us to deliver the above activities and outcomes agreed with the above funders.

Income - Commercial

An important objective to support the financial resilience aim, (Aim 4) was to develop our commercial income, to generate unrestricted income and contribute profit to the charity.

From January 2023, the Food & Beverage offer was brought in house with plans to grow income through the cafe bar as well as hires, events, and other potential activities. As a new venture for AC, it was expected that income may take time to grow in year one and evidence would be required that the income trajectory was towards profitability by year two. An options appraisal was undertaken by the Directors of Enterprises to ascertain the realistic income potential from commercial activities which concluded the daytime cafe offer was unlikely to breakeven and income from space hire was not likely to cover these losses. Further development is planned for this area to identify new avenues for earned income that are not reliant on a food & beverages offer at a time when the hospitality industry is struggling.

Aim 5: Environmental Sustainability

Contribute to Hull’s target to net zero by 2030. Reduce our own impact on the environment, whilst using our programming, relationships, and assets to increase awareness.

Over the last year we signed up to Sustainable Palm Oil Pledge for our food offering, which ensures that all products containing palm oil to come from a sustainable supply. We have also begun to use Julie's Bicycle - Creative Green Tools, which will allow us to continue to measure our impact. Our Environmental Policy sets out our intention to reduce our negative impact on the environment and have a positive impact through our cultural programme, with clear objectives and targets and our Business Plan has clear objectives and success measures relating to Environmental Responsibility that are managed by an internal lead and overseen by a board champion.

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LOOKING AHEAD

A New Business Model

The new vision and purpose going into 2024/2025 is below:

Vision: A world-class visual arts venue recognised for its excellence, which inspires change and creates opportunity with, by and for artists and Hull’s communities.

Mission: Empowering artists and Hull's communities to develop creatively, to enable change and to access opportunity through contemporary visual art.

Operating from our venue in Humber Street, in Hull’s City Centre, we deliver a high-quality visual arts programme involving renowned exhibitions, community engagement and talent development.

Absolutely Cultured (AC) with its increased focus on Contemporary Visual Art (CVA), has an exciting and flexible offer that fits well with the cultural mix in Hull. It can achieve in time a successful and sustainable mixed economy model. However, it should be stressed that the sustainability of AC is by no means certain and will rely on us remaining adaptable and responsive to opportunities that arise. Public funding for arts and culture is under threat and the value of art in places like Hull is being questioned as budgets are under pressure and priorities heightened. Our focus remains on continuing to deliver real value, within the financial and resourcing constraints we face. In addition to grant funding, cross sector partnerships that can stimulate innovative ways of responding to local challenges and opportunities, bringing in funding that otherwise wouldn’t be accessed, is key to developing this opportunity. We will work constructively with partners at local, regional, national, and international levels.

We will focus on our commitments to support the delivery of the ACE Lets Create Strategy, embodying the Investment Principles, delivering against Hull’s soon to be revised Cultural Strategy, as well as delivering against the aims and outcomes set out in strategies of those funders who we align well with.

2024/25 Activity Plans

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Current External Landscape

The environment in which we operate is uncertain and whilst, as a relatively young organisation, we have had some unique challenges in our history, we are far from unique in being impacted by this. A strength our own history presents is that we are an adaptable organisation that has shown it can navigate change and be resilient.

For cultural organisations to thrive, being tapped into the needs and priorities of place is essential for continuation and growth. Public funding for the arts is shrinking, trusts and foundation funding is more competitive than ever before. Whilst funding and political uncertainty will undoubtedly impact the cultural sector, the role of arts and creative organisations in cities and places and in how the country presents itself to the world has never been more important. At a local level, levelling up funding is being earmarked for skills and capacity development to drive economic growth.

8 organisations in Hull successfully became NPO’s for the period 2023-26. 4 of which are new to the portfolio but had previously received ACE funding through other funding streams. Absolutely Cultured Ltd being one of the new organisations to join this round. Two other organisations in the city are no longer part of the portfolio. Overall funding into Hull via the NPO funding stream increased by over £1m compared to the last round. These changes enable opportunities for collaboration and partnership working across the various artforms and locations of the organisations in the city. There is clear opportunity for a more collaborative approach across sectors and across creative sectors particularly. Following the outcome of the NPO decisions, AC initiated conversations with several other Hull-based arts/culture organisations and has strengthened opportunity for collaboration with Artlink and Back to Ours in particular.

The local authority is developing a new Cultural Strategy by working with the Hull and East Riding Cultural Compact (now called HEY Creative) and Local Economic Partnership. There is a growing interest in developing deeper cultural partnerships with North Lincolnshire organisations with investment such as the Cultural Development Fund boosting activity especially around Grimsby and Scunthorpe.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Absolutely Cultured Ltd is a company limited by guarantee whose business is governed by a Board of Trustees. The company gained charitable status on 15 June 2015. The Board of Trustees comprises individuals who together are responsible for the governance of the charity. The company was originally formed to deliver Hull’s year as the UK City of Culture in 2017 and, in September 2017, it was announced that the organisation which was set up to deliver 365 days of transformative culture, was to continue, with a much reduced and redefined remit which will form part of the city’s legacy.

To reflect this change, the company changed its name from Hull UK City of Culture 2017 Limited to Absolutely Cultured Limited, on 24 May 2018.

The Board currently consists of eleven Trustees. During this time our current Chair Lee Pitcher informed us of his need to step down due to his burgeoning political career and the search for a new Chair resulted in Qaisar Mahmood taking on the role as of 28th June 2024. We would like to thank Lee Pitcher for successfully leading the board over the last 3 years. The full list of Trustees is set out in the reference details below.

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Trustees' Report

The full Board of Trustees met seven times in the period on the dates as listed. Four Main Board meetings and three extraordinary meetings and a meeting to receive a presentation on the Business Plan. This is higher than typical and is reflective of the organisation change process which took place during this period:

Board Meeting Dates from 1 April 2023 – 31 March 2024

All full Board meetings take place in person, however, to allow accessibility for all Trustees, those who cannot attend in person are able to join remotely with the chair ensuring they are able to fully participate in the meeting as if there in person.

The Trustees act on advice and information from the Executive Leadership which is responsible for the day-to-day management of the charity.

Recruitment, Appointment and Training of Trustees

The charity continues to refresh the Board and this year saw the recruitment of 7 new Trustees.

Five Trustees stepped down during this period. G. F Allenby, Dr C. Tomlinson, M Gibson J Weldon. L Pitcher (Chair) announced he would be stepping down by June 2024. We sincerely thank all for their contributions during their time on the board.

The seven newly appointed trustees bring a range of experience and perspectives to the organisation. In particular, they strengthen art sector and creative programming skills and knowledge including community co-production, public relations, and education sector. There is increased understanding of fundraising on the board, though income generation more broadly is an area we will look to enhance further going forward. The new Chair Qaisar Mahmood joined the board in June and enhances the boards expertise on diversity, inclusion and community engagement and has got in depth governance and charity experience. The Board of Trustees understand the importance of self-development and improvement and, as part of this process, training sessions on governance have been delivered by Rollits. Other training is implemented as and when needed.

The Board appointed Ben Norman as senior independent director in November 2019.

Board Diversity

Our commitment to diversity is based on the belief that everyone should have access to high quality creative opportunities and that different experiences and perspectives bring not just richness and relevance but are often what makes art produced in the UK exceptional. Based in Hull, which is the 4th most deprived local authority in England, and where a high proportion of the population has low arts engagement, our goal is to increase representation across the board and leadership of people with lived experience of exclusion, in particular experience of socio-economic deprivation and the barriers this creates.

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Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

Going through change importance of stabilising the board and bringing in the expertise we need going forward. Longer term the shift we want to make is being representative of the communities we work with i.e. people with lived experience of the topics / issues communities like those in Hull face.

Portfolio Responsibilities

The eleven Trustees of Absolutely Cultured bring specialisms and experience from all areas of business and the arts which they use to support the company’s activity and in line with a smaller scale company. There is a Fundraising, Finance, Governance and People (FFGP) sub-group which consists of four Trustees and is chaired by Richard Lewis. Their remit is to provide a forum for the Executive Leadership team to discuss matters of strategic and significant importance to the charity before presentation to the main Board. The committee monitors progress against the fundraising strategy, reviews the annual budget, receives the audit report, appoints financial service providers, oversees financial control, and reviews HR policies and pay. This committee has been repurposed to strengthen oversight of our income generation activities and replaces the former Finance and General Purposes Committee (F&GP).

Related parties and co-operation with other organisations

The Trustees are not remunerated and receive no other benefit from their work with the charity. Any connection between a Trustee or senior manager of the charity with business partners, sponsors or suppliers is disclosed to the full Board of Trustees in the same way as any other contractual relationship with a related party.

Trustees to have held office during the year and up to the date of this report:

Appointed Resigned Main board
meetings
attended		 Finance
committee
meetings
attended
G.F. Allenby 19/07/2018 19/07/2023 3 of 3 N/A
B.P. Norman 17/07/2018 - 7 of 7 1 of 1
R. Lewis 13/08/2018 - 5 of 7 1 of 1
Dr K. Harker 14/01/2021 - 6 of 7 N/A
M. Gibson 14/01/2021 23/11/2023 3 of 5 1 of 1
Dr C. Tomlinson 14/01/2021 19/07/2023 1 of 2 N/A
L. Pitcher (Chair) 08/07/2021 28/06/2024 6 of 7 1 of 1
J. Weldon 31/03/2022 19/07/2023 0 of 3 N/A
L. Clarkson 23/02/2023 29/07/2024 6 of 7 N/A
K. Wynne-Hague 14/09/2023 - 3 of 4 N/A
K. Smith 23/11/2023 - 2 of 3 N/A
K. Genever 23/11/2023 - 2 of 3 N/A
P. White 07/03/2024 - 1 of 1 N/A
A. Daniel 07/03/2024 - 1 of 1 N/A
M. Lorch 23/11/2023 - 3 of 3 N/A
Q. Mahmood (Chair) 28/6/2024 - N/A N/A
D. Sinclair 28/06/2024 - N/A N/A

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Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

Group Structure

The group consists of Absolutely Cultured Ltd and Absolutely Cultured (Enterprises) Ltd which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the charity and a separately registered company. Absolutely Cultured (Enterprises) Ltd carries out non-charitable trading activities to raise funds for the work of the charity and was incorporated on 14 August 2015.

Separate consolidated financial statements incorporating the results of the charity and the subsidiary have been prepared.

The Executive Leadership structure at 31.03.24

Janine Crombie: Development Director

Marianne Lewsley-Stier: Creative Director

Joanne Norman: Finance & Operations Director

During this reporting period, the company was led on a day-to-day basis by an Executive Leadership Team. The team shared Executive Leadership responsibilities whilst also leading on areas of specialism. Janine Crombie (Development Director), Joanne Norman (Finance & Operations Director) and Marianne Lewsley-Stier (Creative Director). During this period, the Executive Leadership Team worked with the Board of Trustees to undertake a period of organisational change. Alternative business models were explored that would ensure the longer-term sustainability of the organisation, in response to the challenging economic climate. The Board of Trustees accepted the Executive Team’s recommendation to move to a reduced staffing structure. Part of this recommendation was to move to a single leadership model. Janine Crombie and Joanne Norman announced they would not express an interest and would be stepping away from their roles. After a recruitment process, Marianne Lewsley-Stier was appointed as the Artistic Director & CEO of the organisation with the change being implemented in April 2024.

Pay and remuneration of the Executive Leadership personnel is initially set by the Board of Trustees with reference to the company pay scales, market conditions and sector salaries. In line with our Pay Policy, where the Trustees agree an organisation wide pay award, all staff are eligible to receive this, with further individual pay rises assessed against performance management criteria.

Employees

There is an understanding of the importance of the company’s employees to the longer-term success of the Charity. In line with the previous year, the Trustees took a strategic view of pay and reward in this reporting period, acknowledging that economic factors were continuing to be very challenging and considered various options to support its employees. Taking into consideration the charity’s financial position, a decision was made to award all staff an additional one-off cash payment above the annual organisation pay award in order to support them with the rapidly rising inflation. We continue to offer flexible working to our non-venue team, allowing staff members to work a mix of in the office and home working in response to staff requests. Staff report this flexibility ensures a good work life balance is maintained and improves their productivity.

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Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

The company regularly communicates with its employees through team meetings, team wide e-mails and one to ones. Trustees are invited to team meetings to foster open relationships with employees. An annual employee survey is undertaken to allow for honest feedback about their experience working at Absolutely Cultured. These surveys are shared and reviewed by the Board and Executive Leadership team. Staff engagement is high with most employees completing the latest survey. Staff training is important to support both the continual skills development of our team to deliver our programme of activities and to give them the skills to further develop their careers externally (Aim 3). We develop training plans through staff appraisals and implement a training plan each year.

Our Buildings and Operations

We operate from premises in Humber Street, Hull where we present our visual art exhibition programme, supporting programme and commercial activities including a café and bar and small shop. We have robust health and safety measures in place ensuring staff and customers have a safe environment to work and visit. Maintenance is regularly undertaken to ensure equipment is running effectively and have systems in place to ensure operations run smoothly. All activity undertakes a robust risk assessment with controls and risk measures put in place to ensure public and staff safety.

Funding Partners

As a charitable company, funding partners are significant stakeholders. Relationships with these Partners are held at all levels across both the company and the funding partner’s organisation. Regular meetings are held with the main funders to ensure they are fully conversant with the planned programme of creative events, impact on grant funding and impact on the community at large. The company’s major stakeholder is Arts Council England, and, as part of our NPO funding agreement with them, they are invited as an observer to the company Board meetings and are kept informed on key organisational changes and developments. We have completed a funding partnership with Esmeé Fairbairn Foundation which, whilst subject to a new application and agreement, we hope will be able to continue in future years.

Funding from trusts and foundations, whilst competitive, will be an important source of income for us. We will aim to secure funding partnerships with the larger trusts and foundations who align strongly with our purpose. In addition, we will aim to secure funding from a wide range of small-medium sized funders in order to deliver our aims. The National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) has supported a number of AC projects. We plan to continue to seek support from NLHF where projects are identified as having strong alignment. Hull City Council (HCC) are an important partner for AC, from a funding as well as sector development and delivery perspective. We will continue to work together to deliver our agreement with them, to deliver cultural activity which responds to the needs of Hull in the best way possible and supports the delivery of the Cultural Strategy (a new strategy is currently in development).

Public and Community at Large

The Company objectives are charitable by their very nature, being that Absolutely Cultured Limited is established as a Charitable Company. All activity is directed towards being of public benefit and most of the activity is free to access or pay what you can for all.

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Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

Local Context

Hull has seen a significant economic decline since the 1970s due to the loss, contraction and reconfiguration of the city’s industrial and maritime functions resulting in high levels of unemployment and deprivation. The city is the fourth most deprived local authority in the country according to the 2019 English Index of Multiple Deprivation and 45% of Hull neighbourhoods are in the 10% most deprived in England. Health inequalities are dramatically evident even between neighbouring communities with life expectancy over 10 years less in some parts of Hull than other wards within the city boundary.

Significant public and private sector investment has gone into the city in recent years, to improve resilience to climate change, to improve Hull’s connectivity, including our highways capacity and digital capabilities, into our university, our schools, the city centre public realm, our leisure and culture. Despite typically low engagement in the arts by Hull residents, 95% said they participated in at least one cultural activity during Hull’s city of culture 2017 tenure and whilst maintaining this level of engagement in the years since with a much-reduced sector capacity and funding landscape, evidence across the sector is that the appetite for cultural engagement is still there.

Trustees recognise the positive health and wellbeing benefits of engaging with arts and culture, the important role creative engagement plays in children’s educational attainment and life prospects and the role of a healthy cultural offer on the economic prospects of a place. As part of the reshaping of the organisation, AC will explore how contemporary visual art projects in particular can unleash the potential of the people of Hull and help to respond to some of these challenges.

Suppliers

The Trustees appreciate the importance of Absolutely Cultured suppliers in delivering the long-term plans of the company. We work with many local independent creative practitioners and are invested in supporting them to continue to work in the sector. Many rely on timely payment of invoices to live. The company pays its suppliers via twice monthly payments to ensure all invoices are paid within a maximum of 30 days from when they are received.

Environmental Sustainability

Trustees understand the role of arts and culture in making use of all its assets to increase awareness and advocate for change on environmental issues as well as delivering on our own moral and social responsibility as an organisation to ensure our output doesn’t have a negative impact on the environment. Hull with its proximity to water is particularly vulnerable to climate change yet the Humber region has the highest carbon emissions in the country. AC aims to be environmentally conscious in all its strategic and operational outputs. The Trustees realise that this is an area where we need to invest and improve within the constraints of our funding environment.

We are a partner in Hull’s Oh Yes Net Zero campaign where we have pledged to contribute to the Hull and Humber region leading the way on becoming net zero. We have a vegan and vegetarian only offer in our café venue and have signed up to a sustainable palm oil pledge. We buy local where possible and moved to a paperless finance system. We reuse and recycle materials for exhibitions. We actively programme work made by artists who tackle environmental themes and have a history of co-creating and commissioning work which raises awareness about the relevance and importance of climate action for Hull in particular. We have had a Display Energy Certification Review undertaken to bench mark our current environmental impact and have been assessed at a B (35) which is a good standard. Improvements suggested would have relatively small impact to improve this but high cost to the charity.

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Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

The Trustees have further ambitions to reduce the company’s carbon footprint by reducing its use of energy and mains water, reducing waste going to landfill, and to implement environmentally sustainable activities such as ensuring we power down when the building is not occupied, increasing our buy local activity to reduce transport impacts, creating a green roof to reduce heating costs and moving to a brown water collection system to reduce mains water usage.

The company is registered with Creative Green Tools, a set of online tools designed for the creative industries created by Julie’s Bicycle, to measure the environmental impacts of cultural buildings, offices, outdoor events, tours, and productions. This needs further work to embed and will aid the Trustees in setting realistic KPI’s to be agreed and implemented over the medium and long term and will form part of the regular reporting to the Board.

Going Concern

As Trustees, we are required to review and comment whether the charity is a going concern and to the effect have looked at the organisation’s cash flow, budgets to March 2026 and level of unrestricted reserves. We have taken advantage of the grants that were made available to us by the national and local governments and taken some tough decisions regarding use of charitable funds.

With a prudent approach, we consider the extent of the charity reserves, without any additional income from grants or trading activities, to be sufficient to cover all operating costs of the charity until at least March 2026 and therefore we consider that the financial statements be prepared on the going concern basis of accounting.

Financial Performance

The Trustees agreed the strategic plan and budget at the start of this reporting period with an agreement to underwrite a deficit up to £344k from our unrestricted reserves reflecting the strategic decision to utilise unrestricted reserves to support ongoing projects as match funding, evolve towards a revised business model that is reflective of the likely lower funding opportunity and to strategically utilise reserves in support of our objects and to provide for our beneficiaries reducing the reserves to a level more appropriate for a smaller charity.

Total income for the year, including donations in kind and investment income was £488,336 (2023: £549,172). This was applied towards the planning and delivery of the year across all activity areas. In total this expenditure amounted to £785,183 (2023: £994,545).

The above resulted in an excess of expenditure over income for the year of £296,847 (£2023: £445,373).

When deducted from the accumulated surplus from prior periods, there remains unrestricted funds of £925,791 (2023: £1,222,638).

Like many arts organisations, we are reliant on grant funding as a significant funding source and continue to face the challenge of accessing such funding from the main funders. Longer-term, the organisation must diversify its income sources to reduce reliance on grant funding which continues to be competitive. Following the pandemic, many trusts and foundations are experiencing increased demand at a time of increased overall need and have adjusted their criteria for funding with a greater emphasis on impact for communities and supporting areas of high deprivation.

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Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

We have currently secured £200,000 ACE NPO funding per annum over four years (April 2023-March 2027). This is due to a recently announced one-year extension by ACE, to the agreed three-year period. AC would need to make an application for this extension. In addition, we have secured £40,000 in sponsorship from Hull City Council. Grant funding applications have been largely on hold as we reached agreement on the new business model with grant fundraising recommencing as of April 2024.

The Board have agreed strategic use of the unrestricted reserves this year to meet the current commitments, to develop a programme of activities that can become financially sustainable through funding partnerships and to invest in income generation.

We have developed a fundraising strategy which takes into consideration the economic climate and changes to the grant funding landscape. It also responds to the changes to AC’s business model and refocusing of purpose. Success of the fundraising strategy is dependent on programme plans being aligned with the aims of identified potential funding partners. Commercial income potential is being explored further as we aim to increase income through new commercial opportunities.

The funding landscape continues to be very challenging. We are responding to this with continuous review and development of the programme of activity to ensure our work is of the highest standard and has the greatest public benefit possible.

Principal Risks and Uncertainties

The principal risk to the organisation is its financial sustainability, the funding landscape is extremely challenging, and many of the alternative earned income streams that arts organisations are reliant on are also under strain. The pressure on budgets through the recent rapidly rising inflation has added to this uncertainty. In response, the organisation has reduced core and staffing costs to a level reflective of the challenges faced and these will remain under review with plans for further adjustments where needed.

The Management of Risk

The Trustees recognise their duty to identify and review risks to which the Charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to give assurance against error and fraud. The company has well managed appropriate management and governance procedures with a systematic programme of review in place. Each public facing activity undertaken by the company requires an event plan to be undertaken whereby all risks including health & safety and safeguarding are assessed and appropriate plans put in place.

A comprehensive risk register is maintained and updated to reflect live risks, with risks owned and managed by the relevant person. Risks and their mitigating actions are monitored and reviewed by the Executive Leadership and quarterly at the Finance & General Purpose meeting with main risks reported to the full Board meeting of Trustees quarterly. A copy of the full risk register is also shared with the company’s key funders. Dialogue with our main funding partners is ongoing in relation to risk.

Policies on Reserves

The charity’s policy was updated to reflect current best practice and statutory guidance and approved at the full Board meeting on 16 May 2024. The policy looks at: -

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Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

The trustees have agreed to strategically utilise the reserve as part of the funding mix over the duration of the current NPO period, reducing the overall unrestricted reserves to a level consistent with an organisation of this size and ambition.

The trustees recognise that the current anticipated level of unrestricted general reserves held in the charity are forecast to be higher than the policy requires in the financial year 24/25. This is primarily due to our addressing the current financial restrictions and adjusting the business plan accordingly.

During the first half of 2024/25 the organisation will see changes in the staff team and savings to core costs for 2025/26 onwards which will be more cost effective and appropriate for the delivery model going forward. Whilst the current forecasts indicate a continued reliance on reserves, this will be addressed through regular and robust review of forecasts with adjustments being made to ensure we achieve the aim of operating a balance budget by April 2027.

Designated Reserves Calculation

Designated Reserves Calculation
Investment to research, develop and test ideas
Investment in income generation
Capital projects fund
Staffing transition costs
Brand development and new website
IT infrastructure and digital capacity
Staff training and development fund
Enhanced parental leave pay fund
Financial contractual liabilities
Forecast programme funding deficit April 24 - March 25
Forecast programme funding deficit April 25 - March 26
Forecast programme funding deficit April 26 - March 27
Total designated reserve 31 March 2024		 £
-
30,000
20,000
60,000
15,000
10,000
8,500
15,341
38,400
204,142
107,481
90,455
599,319

Page 23

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Trustees' Report

Public Benefit

The Trustees are of the opinion that the nature of the Charity’s activities and the geographical area over which it operates are such that it fulfils the public benefit criteria as specified by the Charity Commission. Further, the Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Paragraph 17(5) the Charities Act 2011 with regard to following guidance published by the Charity Commission in connection with public benefits.

Statement of trustees' responsibilities

The trustees (who are also the directors of Absolutely Cultured Limited for the purposes of company law) 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), including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the parent charitable company and the group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that can disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the parent charitable company and the group and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the parent charitable company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

The annual report was approved by the trustees of the charity on 17 December 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

......................................... Q. Mahmood Trustee

Page 24

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Independent Examiner's Report to the trustees of Absolutely Cultured Limited ('the Group')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the consolidated accounts of the Group comprising the Absolutely Cultured Limited and its subsidiary undertakings for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

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

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of both Absolutely Cultured Limited and the Group are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your consolidated accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.

Independent examiner’s statement

Since the Group's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of , which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

  1. accounting records were not kept in respect of Absolutely Cultured Limited as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

  2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or

  3. the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view' which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

  4. the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.

...................................... S.T. Brammall Bsc., FCA Smailes Goldie Chartered Accountants Regent's Court Princess Street Hull East Yorkshire HU2 8BA

17th December 2024 Date:.............................

Page 25

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

(Including Consolidated Income and Expenditure Account and Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses)

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
2
Other trading activities
3
Investment income
4
Other income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
Charitable activities
Partnerships &
Developments
6
Marketing and
Communications
Programme and Delivery
Total expenditure
Net expenditure
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
18		 Unrestricted
funds
£
9,520
133,060
16,229
48,027
206,836
(32,946)
(69,798)
(57,976)
(342,963)
(503,683)
(296,847)
(296,847)
1,222,638
925,791		 Restricted
funds
£
281,500
-
-
-
281,500
-
(32,650)
(21,272)
(227,578)
(281,500)
-
-
-
-		 Total
2024
£
291,020
133,060
16,229
48,027
488,336
(32,946)
(102,448)
(79,248)
(570,541)
(785,183)
(296,847)
(296,847)
1,222,638
925,791		 Total
2023
£
416,712
47,249
5,494
79,717
549,172
-
(119,668)
(232,863)
(642,014)
(994,545)
(445,373)
(445,373)
1,668,011
1,222,638

All of the group's activities derive from continuing operations during the above two periods. The comparative Statement of Financial Activities for 2023 is shown in note 11.

The notes on pages 32 to 48 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 26

Absolutely Cultured Limited

(Registration number: 09106231) Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
12
Current assets
Stocks
14
Debtors
15
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: Amounts falling
due within one year
16
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds
Restricted funds
Designated Funds
General Funds
Total funds
18		 Unrestricted
fund
7,237
4,175
57,030
921,844
983,049
(64,495)
918,554
925,791
-
599,319
326,472
925,791		 Restricted
fund
-
-
2,632
10,333
12,965
(12,965)
-
-
-
-
-
-		 2024
£
7,237
4,175
59,662
932,177
996,014
(77,460)
918,554
925,791
-
599,319
326,472
925,791		 2023
£
23,268
2,769
121,015
1,160,535
1,284,319
(84,949)
1,199,370
1,222,638
-
-
1,222,638
1,222,638

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31st March 2024.

The trustees have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for:

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The notes on pages 32 to 48 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 27

Absolutely Cultured Limited

(Registration number: 09106231) Consolidated Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

The financial statements on pages 26 to 48 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 17 December 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

......................................... Q. Mahmood Trustee

The notes on pages 32 to 48 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 28

Absolutely Cultured Limited

(Registration number: 09106231) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

Note
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
12
Investments
Current assets
Debtors
15
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: Amounts falling
due within one year
16
Net current assets
Net assets
Funds of the charity:
Restricted funds
Designated Funds
General Funds
Total funds
18		 Unrestricted
fund
£
2,403
1
2,404
149,563
823,028
972,591
(54,039)
918,552
920,956
-
599,319
321,637
920,956		 Restricted
fund
£
-
-
-
500
10,333
10,833
(10,833)
-
-
-
-
-
-		 2024
£
2,403
1
2,404
150,063
833,361
983,424
(64,872)
918,552
920,956
-
599,319
321,637
920,956		 2023
£
14,328
1
14,329
193,023
1,087,077
1,280,100
(80,733)
1,199,367
1,213,696
-
-
1,213,696
1,213,696

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31st March 2024.

The trustees have not required the charitable company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31st March 2024 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for:

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

The notes on pages 32 to 48 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 29

Absolutely Cultured Limited

(Registration number: 09106231) Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2024

The financial statements on pages 26 to 48 were approved by the trustees, and authorised for issue on 17 December 2024 and signed on their behalf by:

----- Start of picture text -----
.........................................
----- End of picture text -----

......................................... Q. Mahmood Trustee

The notes on pages 32 to 48 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 30

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Note
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash expenditure
Adjustments for non-cash, non-operating items
Depreciation
5
Investment income
4
Loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets
Working capital adjustments
Increase in stocks
14
Decrease in debtors
15
Decrease in creditors
16
Net cash flows from operating activities
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest receivable and similar income
4
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
12
Net cash flows from investing activities
Net decrease in cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents at 1 April
Cash and cash equivalents at 31 March		 2024
£
(296,847)
16,031
(16,229)
-
(297,045)
(1,406)
61,353
(7,489)
(244,587)
16,229
-
16,229
(228,358)
1,160,535
932,177		 2023
£
(445,373)
14,626
(5,494)
677
(435,564)
(1,115)
73,835
(9,467)
(372,311)
5,494
(10,561)
(5,067)
(377,378)
1,537,913
1,160,535

All of the cash flows are derived from continuing operations during the above two periods.

The notes on pages 32 to 48 form an integral part of these financial statements. Page 31

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

1 Accounting policies

Summary of significant accounting policies and key accounting estimates

The principal accounting policies applied in the preparation of these financial statements are set out below. These policies have been consistently applied to all the years presented, unless otherwise stated.

Statement of compliance

The financial statements, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006.

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated financial statements consolidate the financial statements of the charity and its subsidiary undertakings drawn up to 31 March 2024.

No statement of financial activities is presented for the charity as permitted by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006. The charity made a loss after tax for the financial year of £313,944 (2023 - loss of £445,373 .

Page 32

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the charity. Control is achieved where the charity has the power to govern the financial and operating policies of an entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.

The results of subsidiaries acquired or disposed of during the year are included in the statement of financial activities from the effective date of acquisition or up to the effective date of disposal, as appropriate. Where necessary, adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring their accounting policies into line with those used by the group.

The purchase method of accounting is used to account for business combinations that result in the acquisition of subsidiaries by the group. The cost of a business combination is measured as the fair value of the assets given, equity instruments issued and liabilities incurred or assumed at the date of exchange, plus costs directly attributable to the business combination. Identifiable assets acquired and liabilities and contingent liabilities assumed in a business combination are measured initially at their fair values at the acquisition date. Any excess of the cost of the business combination over the acquirer’s interest in the net fair value of the identifiable assets, liabilities and contingent liabilities recognised is recorded as goodwill.

Inter-company transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between the charity and its subsidiaries, which are related parties, are eliminated in full.

Intra-group losses are also eliminated but may indicate an impairment that requires recognition in the consolidated financial statements.

Accounting policies of subsidiaries have been changed where necessary to ensure consistency with the policies adopted by the group. Non-controlling interests in the net assets of consolidated subsidiaries are identified separately from the group’s equity therein. Non-controlling interests consist of the amount of those interests at the date of the original business combination and the non-controlling shareholder’s share of changes in equity since the date of the combination. Total comprehensive income is attributed to non-controlling interests even if this results in the non-controlling interests having a deficit balance.

Going concern

The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis.

The current economic conditions present difficulties to all organisations in the arts sector in terms of raising funds from either government-funded bodies or private enterprise. In response to such conditions the charity has prepared budgets and cashflow forecasts to 31 March 2026 and these show it has adequate resources to pay its debts as they fall due.

It is the charity’s intention to use its unrestricted reserves to fund its charitable objects and on this basis the Board considers that the group has a reasonable expectation of being able to continue in operational existence to at least the period of the budgets and cashflow forecasts of 31 March 2026 and that there are no material uncertainties that have not been considered or stress tested that lead to significant doubt about the group’s ability to continue as a going concern. Therefore, the Board have continued to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing these financial statements.

Page 33

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Significant judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated 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 where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

No significant judgements or key estimates were made on preparing these financial statements.

Income and endowments

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of the income receivable can be measured reliably.

Donations and legacies

Donations represent grant and sponsorship monies receivable by the group where the donor does not receive any significant benefits other than the knowledge that the charitable company must apply the monies to further its charitable objectives.

Donations in kind are donate professional services and donated facilities to the charitable company. They are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charitable company which is the amount the charitable company would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount in then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt. However, the lack of a market comparative price for the contribution made by volunteers means that it is not possible to measure their value reliably. Accordingly, the contribution of general volunteers is not included in the charitable company’s accounts.

Grants receivable

Income from government and other grants, whether capital or revenue, is recognised when the charity or its subsidiary 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. Where performance conditions are attached to the grant and are yet to be met, the income is recognised as a liability and included on the balance sheet as deferred income to be released.

Gift aid

The charitable company is in receipt of distributions from its subsidiary undertaking under the Gift Aid scheme.

Page 34

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Other trading activities

Income from the sale of goods is recognised when significant risks and rewards of ownership of the goods have transferred to the buyer, the amount of income can be measured reliably, it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the charity or its subsidiaries and the costs incurred or to be incurred in respect of the transaction can be measured reliably. This is usually at the point of sale.

Investment income

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the group; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Expenditure

All expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to that expenditure, it is probable settlement is required and the amount can be measured reliably. All costs are allocated to the applicable expenditure heading that aggregate similar costs to that category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of resources, with central staff costs allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use. Other support costs are allocated based on the spread of staff costs.

Allocation of costs

Costs directly associated with the planning, promotion and delivery of the programme of cultural events are classified as direct charitable expenses. Costs relating to its strategic management are classified as governance costs. All remaining costs are classified as support costs. Support costs are allocated across income streams according to the ratio of direct costs.

Raising funds

These are costs incurred in attracting voluntary income, the management of investments and those incurred in trading activities that raise funds.

Charitable activities

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.

Support costs

Support costs include central functions and have been allocated to activity cost categories on a basis consistent with the use of resources, for example, allocating property costs by floor areas, or per capita, staff costs by the time spent and other costs by their usage.

Governance costs

These include the costs attributable to the charity’s compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements, including audit, strategic management and trustees meetings and reimbursed expenses.

Page 35

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost. Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, at rates calculated to write off all tangible fixed assets over their estimated useful lives using the following rates:

Property Alterations 33% p.a. on cost/remaining lease term if less Furniture, fittings and equipment25% p.a. on cost Computer equipment 33% p.a. on cost

Business combinations

Business combinations are accounted for under the purchase method. Where necessary, adjustments are made to the financial statements of subsidiaries to bring the accounting policies used into line with those used by the group. All intra-group transactions, balances, income and expenses are eliminated on consolidation. In accordance with Section 35 of FRS 102, Section 19 of FRS 102 has not been applied in these financial statements in respect of business combinations effected prior to the date of transition.

Taxation

The charity is considered to pass the tests set out in Paragraph 1 Schedule 6 of the Finance Act 2010 and therefore it meets the definition of a charitable company for UK corporation tax purposes. Accordingly, the charity is potentially exempt from taxation in respect of income or capital gains received within categories covered by Chapter 3 Part 11 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or Section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992, to the extent that such income or gains are applied exclusively to charitable purposes.

Stock

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.

Debtors and creditors receivable/payable within one year

Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in the statement of financial activities allocated to the appropriate heading.

Fund structure

Unrestricted income funds are general funds that are available for use at the trustees discretion in furtherance of the objectives of the group.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds set aside for specific purposes at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Page 36

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

2 Income from donations and legacies

Donations and legacies;
Donations from companies,
trusts and similar proceeds
Grants, including capital grants;
Grants from other charities
Unrestricted
£
Arts Council
England
-
Esmee Fairburn
6,600
Heritage Lottery
Fund
-
Kickstart
-
Gasworks
-
Art Fund
-
Coastal North
-
DWP
-
6,600		 Unrestricted
funds
Restricted
Total
General
£
funds
£
2024
£
2,920
-
2,920
6,600
281,500
288,100
9,520
281,500
291,020
2024
2023
Restricted
£
Total
£
Unrestricted
£
Restricted
£
200,000
200,000
-
250,000
66,000
72,600
6,600
66,000
15,000
15,000
-
45,000
-
-
-
4,850
-
-
-
10,000
-
-
-
3,300
500
500
-
-
-
-
-
1,744
281,500
288,100
6,600
380,894		 Total
2023
£
29,218
387,494
416,712
Total
£
250,000
72,600
45,000
4,850
10,000
3,300
-
1,744
387,494

3 Income from other trading activities

3
Income from other trading activities
Trading Income;
Humber Street Gallery - bar and catering
Sponsorship income
Partners and club members		 Total
2024
£
93,060
40,000
-
133,060		 Total
2023
£
11,249
35,000
1,000
47,249

Page 37

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

4 Investment income

Interest receivable and similar income;
Interest receivable on bank deposits		 Unrestricted
funds
General
£
16,229		 Total
2024
£
16,229		 Total
2023
£
5,494

5 Expenditure on raising funds

a) Costs of trading activities

Note
Humber Street Gallery - bar and catering		 Total
2024
£
32,946
32,946		 Total
2023
£
-
-
Total
costs
£

6 Expenditure on charitable activities

Partnerships and Development
Marketing and Communications
Programme and Delivery		 Direct costs
£
Support costs
(see note 7)
£
63,054
39,394
57,900
21,348
342,138
228,403
463,092
289,145		 2024
£
102,448
79,248
570,541
752,237		 2023
£
119,668
232,863
642,014
994,545

Page 38

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

7 Analysis of governance and support costs

7
Analysis of governance and support costs		 7
Analysis of governance and support costs
Staffing
costs
£
Governance
£
IT, travel and
communications
£
Other
admin
costs
£
2024
£
Partnerships &
Development
12,783
2,713
2,849
21,049
39,394
Marketing &
Communications
6,927
1,470
1,544
11,407
21,348
Programme &
Delivery
74,119
15,723
16,521
122,040
228,403
93,829
19,906
20,914
154,496
289,145
Governance costs
Total
2024
£
Audit fees
Audit of the financial statements
-
Independent examiner fees
Examination of the financial statements
7,800
Other fees paid to examiners
3,303
Trustees remuneration and expenses
490
Legal fees
8,313
19,906
Governance costs
Total
2024
£
Audit fees
Audit of the financial statements
-
Independent examiner fees
Examination of the financial statements
7,800
Other fees paid to examiners
3,303
Trustees remuneration and expenses
490
Legal fees
8,313
19,906		 2023
£
55,944
109,871
299,545
465,360
2023
£
14,049
-
-
394
2,224
16,667
2023
£
14,049
-
-
394
2,224
16,667

Page 39

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

8 Net incoming/outgoing resources

Net outgoing resources for the year include:

Audit fees
Independent Examination fees
Loss on disposal of tangible fixed assets
Depreciation of fixed assets		 2024
£
-
7,800
-
16,031		 2023
£
14,050
-
677
14,626

9 Trustees remuneration and expenses

During the year £803 (2023: £394) in travel and subsistence expenses was paid out to two trustees (2023: two trustees).

10 Staff costs

The aggregate payroll costs were as follows:

Staff costs during the year were:
Staff salaries
Freelance contracts, secondments and salaries in kind
Employer's NICs
Pension scheme contributions		 2024
£
395,992
23,216
29,166
17,201
465,575		 2023
£
464,830
5,870
38,154
24,862
533,716

The monthly average number of persons (including senior management / leadership team) employed by the group during the year expressed as full time equivalents was as follows:

Administration
Partnerships and development
Marketing and communications
Programming and delivery		 2024
No
2
4
-
6
12		 2023
No
4
2
3
6
15

No employee received emoluments of more than £60,000 during the year.

The key management of the charity comprise the trustees and senior management team, as set out in the Trustees Report. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the group were £146,763 (2023 - £199,994).

Page 40

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

11 Comparatives for the statement of financial activities

Note
Income and Endowments from:
Donations and legacies
2
Other trading activities
3
Investment income
4
Other income
Total income
Expenditure on:
Charitable activities
Partnerships & Developments
6
Marketing and Communications
Programme and Delivery
Total expenditure
Net expenditure
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
Total funds carried forward
18		 Unrestricted
funds
£
35,818
47,249
5,494
79,717
168,278
(73,882)
(142,874)
(396,895)
(613,651)
(445,373)
(445,373)
1,668,011
1,222,638		 Restricted
funds
£
380,894
-
-
-
380,894
(45,786)
(89,989)
(245,119)
(380,894)
-
-
-
-		 Total
2023
£
416,712
47,249
5,494
79,717
549,172
(119,668)
(232,863)
(642,014)
(994,545)
(445,373)
(445,373)
1,668,011
1,222,638

Page 41

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

12 Tangible fixed assets

Group

Cost
At 1 April 2023
Disposals
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
Eliminated on disposals
At 31 March 2024
Net book value
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023
Charity
Cost
At 1 April 2023
Disposals
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for the year
Eliminated on disposals
At 31 March 2024
Net book value
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023		 Land and
buildings
£
255,700
-
255,700
247,956
7,744
-
255,700
-
7,744
Land and
buildings
£
255,700
-
255,700
247,956
7,744
-
255,700
-
7,744		 Computer
equipment
£
76,539
(1,904)
74,635
64,781
6,636
(1,904)
69,513
5,122
11,758
Computer
equipment
£
40,434
-
40,434
37,616
2,530
-
40,146
288
2,818		 Furniture and
equipment
£
40,754
(1,299)
39,455
36,988
1,651
(1,299)
37,340
2,115
3,766
Furniture and
equipment
£
37,541
(1,299)
36,242
33,775
1,651
(1,299)
34,127
2,115
3,766		 Total
£
372,993
(3,203)
369,790
349,725
16,031
(3,203)
362,553
7,237
23,268
Total
£
333,675
(1,299)
332,376
319,347
11,925
(1,299)
329,973
2,403
14,328

Page 42

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

13 Fixed asset investments

Charity

Shares in group undertakings and participating interests

Shares in group undertakings and participating interests
Cost
At 1 April 2023
At 31 March 2024		 Subsidiary
undertakings
£
1
1		 Total
2024
£
1
1

Details of undertakings

Details of the investments in which the charity holds 20% or more of the nominal value of any class of share capital are as follows:

Country of Proportion of voting Principal
Undertaking incorporation Holding rights and shares held activity
2024
2023
Subsidiary undertakings
Absolutely Cultured
(Enterprises) Limited		 1
Ordinary
Share		 £1 100%
100%

Page 43

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Subsidiaries

The profit for the financial period of Absolutely Cultured (Enterprises) Limited was £17,098 (2023 - £8,051) and the aggregate amount of capital and reserves at the end of the period was £4,836 (2023 - £8,942).

At the balance sheet date the company owned 100% of the ordinary share capital of Absolutely Cultured (Enterprises) Limited, a registered company:09734156 incorporated in England. The subsidiary was established on 14th August 2015 to generate commercial revenue to support the activities of the parent charity.

14 Stock

14 Stock
Stocks
15 Debtors
Trade debtors
Other debtors
VAT recoverable
Prepayments
Due from group undertakings		 Group
2024
£
2023
£
2,287
25,233
2,216
2,350
-
2,536
55,159
90,896
-
-
59,662
121,015		 Group
2024
£
2023
£
4,175
2,769
Charity
2024
£
2023
£
500
25,083
-
2,350
-
-
54,859
90,296
94,704
75,294
150,063
193,023
193,023

Page 44

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

16 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Trade creditors
Other taxation and social
security
Other creditors
Generation Hull
Producer Exchange
Accruals and deferred income		 Group
2024
£
2023
£
17,723
8,662
13,291
9,376
2,782
4,060
7,695
13,646
356
7,469
35,613
41,736
77,460
84,949		 Charity
2024
£
2023
£
15,785
8,102
10,556
10,914
2,782
3,909
7,695
13,646
356
7,469
27,698
36,693
64,872
80,733		 Charity
2024
£
2023
£
15,785
8,102
10,556
10,914
2,782
3,909
7,695
13,646
356
7,469
27,698
36,693
64,872
80,733
80,733

17 Obligations under leases and hire purchase contracts

The total value of future minimum lease payments was as follows:

Repayable under finance leases and hire purchase contracts

Within one year Group
2024
£
2023
£
-
32,000		 Charity
2024
£
2023
£
-
32,000

Page 45

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

18 Funds

Group

Group
Unrestricted funds
General
Designated
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Total funds
Unrestricted funds
General
Restricted funds
Total funds
Charity
Unrestricted funds
General
Unrestricted Fund
Designated
Designated Fund
Total unrestricted funds		 Balance at
1 April
2023
£
Incoming
resources
£
Resources
expended
£
Transfers
£
Balance at
31 March
2024
£
1,222,638
206,836
(503,683)
(599,319)
326,472
-
-
-
599,319
599,319
1,222,638
206,836
(503,683)
-
925,791
-
281,500
(281,500)
-
-
1,222,638
488,336
(785,183)
-
925,791
Balance at 1
April 2022
£
Incoming
resources
£
Resources
expended
£
Balance at 31
March 2023
£
1,668,011
168,278
(613,651)
1,222,638
-
380,894
(380,894)
-
1,668,011
549,172
(994,545)
1,222,638
Balance at
1 April
2023
£
Incoming
resources
£
Resources
expended
£
Transfers
£
Balance at
31 March
2024
£
1,213,696
18,030
(370,804)
(599,319)
261,603
-
-
-
599,319
599,319
1,213,696
18,030
(370,804)
-
860,922		 Balance at
31 March
2024
£
326,472
599,319
925,791
-
925,791
1,222,638
Balance at
31 March
2024
£
261,603
599,319
860,922

Page 46

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Restricted funds
Arts Council England
Esmee Fairburn
Coastal North
Heritage Lottery Fund
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at
1 April
2023
£
-
-
-
-
-
1,213,696		 Incoming
resources
£
200,000
72,600
500
15,000
288,100
306,130		 Resources
expended
£
(200,000)
(72,600)
(500)
(15,000)
(288,100)
(658,904)		 Transfers
£
-
-
-
-
-
-		 Balance at
31 March
2024
£
-
-
-
-
-
860,922

Page 47

Absolutely Cultured Limited

Notes to the Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2024

Unrestricted funds
General
Unrestricted Fund
Restricted funds
Arts Council England
Hull City Council Kickstart
Esmee Fairburn
Heritage Lottery Fund
Gasworks
Art Fund
DWP
Total restricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at 1
April 2022
£
1,731,337
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,731,337		 Incoming
resources
£
42,992
250,000
4,850
66,000
45,000
10,000
3,300
1,744
380,894
423,886		 Resources
expended
£
(560,633)
(250,000)
(4,850)
(66,000)
(45,000)
(10,000)
(3,300)
(1,744)
(380,894)
(941,527)		 Balance at 31
March 2023
£
1,213,696
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
1,213,696

Designated Fund

The trustees have designated various amounts totalling £599,319. Further details are set out in the trustees’ report on page 23.

19 Related party transactions

There were no related party transactions in the current or previous year.

20 Security

The company’s bankers hold a debenture dated 9th February 2015 over the assets of the company.

Page 48