## **THE PICO PLAYERS**
# **CHARITABLE INCORPORATED ORGANISATION CHARITY NO. 1163760**
**REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
## **THE PICO PLAYERS**
## **Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31 December 2022**
The Trustees are pleased to present their annual report together with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 December 2022. This report pertains to the period from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022.
**Registered charity number** 1163760 **Trustees** Philippa Fawcett Elizabeth Harris Patrick Massey William Massey David Richard Mary-Rose Wintour Patrick Wintour
**Principal address:** 113 Wakehurst Road, London SW11 6BZ **Independent Examiner** David Owen-Conway
- **Appointment of Trustees** Every Trustee must be appointed by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the Trustees.
- **Governing document** The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Association and is governed by its Constitution (current version dated 9 September 2015)
**Charitable purposes** The objects of the Charity are:
1. to advance, improve, develop and maintain public education in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music in all its aspects by any means the Trustees see fit,
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
including through the presentation of public concerts and recitals; and
2. to further such charitable purposes as the Trustees in their absolute discretion shall think fit but in particular through the making of grants and donations.
## **Structure**
The Charity is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation, with no associated / subsidiary entities.
**Charity Commission guidance** The Trustees have had regard to the guidance issued by the Charity Commission on public benefit.
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
## **PART 1. SUMMARY OF ACTIVITIES DURING THE PERIOD**
## _Summary_
2022 was the first year since 2019 in which the Charity’s activities were largely undisturbed by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. Events and rehearsals were able to proceed as planned without interruption. During 2022 the Charity put on three season concerts, a Conduct Us Event and a Christmas Concert. The season concerts raised a total of £6,800 for charitable causes (before matching).
The Spring Concert at St Paul’s Knightsbridge was well attended and raised funds for St Wilfrid’s Hospice. The Summer Concert took place at Holy Sepulchre in Holborn (a new venue for the Orchestra) and raised funds for The Magpie Project. The Autumn Concert was at St John’s Smith Square – another new venue for the Orchestra. This was also well attended and raised funds for Arts Against Knives.
In the summer season the Orchestra welcomed for the first time a professional conductor in order to provide variation from the two conductors used to date. This was a new experience for the Orchestra and was a success, as a result of which the conductor was invited to conduct the following Autumn season. The intention is to continue operating a rotating pool of conductors (some amateur, some professional) in order to keep things fresh.
In July the Orchestra put on its annual Conduct Us event, held again this year in Myatt’s Fields Park in Camberwell. The event was a success, with an even larger crowd than in 2021 and very positive feedback from the venue and members of the audience.
After two years of Christmas disruption the Charity was finally able to put on a full-blown Christmas Concert, which occurred on 6 December at St Gabriel’s, Pimlico. This involved a medium sized orchestra and the Pico Singers, with the money raised going towards the running of the Charity.
As a result of the fuller activity in 2022, the financial statements look markedly healthier than those from 2020 and 2021, with amounts raised for charities being more akin to the numbers pre-COVID19.
The Orchestra Committee continues to discuss regularly in order to ensure that players have a say in the running of the Orchestra. There are between 10 and 15 members of the Orchestra Committee at any one time. No member of the Orchestra Committee receives any remuneration for their services but may apply for reimbursement of out of pocket expenses.
## _Fundraising for charitable causes_
Over the course of the year the Charity raised £6,800 (prior to matching) for charitable causes from its concerts (FY 2021: 2,750). The amounts ultimately received by the charities were increased to £10,700 as a result of third party matching.
## **THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
||**Concert**
**(2022)**|**Charity for which**
**funds raised**||**Raised (£)**|**Matched (£)**|**Total raised**
**(£)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Spring**
**Summer**
**Autumn***|St Wilfrid’s Hospice
The Magpie Project
Arts Against Knives
**TOTAL**||2,500
1,500
2,800|1,750
750
1,400
**3,900**|4,250
2,250
4,200|
|||||**6,800***||**10,700**|
||||||||
*The donation relating to the Autumn concert was made in 2023 so does not appear in the FY2022 financial statements, which accordingly show donations to charitable causes of £4,000.
By way of comparison with pre-COVID-19 figures:
|**Year**|**2018**|**2019**|**2020**|**2021**|**2022**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Amounts raised for outside charitable causes
(before any matching) (£)|7,571|13,623*|0|2,750|6,800|
*The amount raised in 2019 was materially larger due to the 5-year Anniversary Concert.
## _Policy on grant making_
Net proceeds of ticket sales from concerts are donated to charitable causes selected by the Charity. Nominations for charitable causes are put forward by members of the Orchestra, and are then voted on in an anonymous poll by the Orchestra Committee. In the event of a tie between two charitable causes, those who have voted on other charities are invited to recast their vote between those two. In certain circumstances where agreed to by the committee, the charity which came “second” is made the charity for the following season.
## _Instrument hire_
Occasionally the Charity will fund the hiring of instruments for players who would otherwise not have the means to obtain them. For instance, the Orchestra has on occasion offered to hire more problematic instruments such as percussion, timpani, harps, double bass and contrabassoon. The Orchestra currently has on hire a double bass for use by amateurs for whom getting a double bass to rehearsals is a problem.
## **PART 2. FINANCIAL REVIEW**
The Charity’s financial statements for the period appear in the Annex to this report.
## _Principal Sources of funds_
The principal sources of funds are:
- Player subs
- Concert ticket sales
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- Donations from members of the public
- Sponsorship
## _Receipts and payments_
The receipts of the Charity were materially up on those from the COVID-19 years, at £36,306 (FY 2021: £15,633). Ignoring donations to charitable causes, the Charity made payments of £27,555 (FY 2021: £15,483).
Income for the year consisted mainly of players’ subs from the three seasons and concert ticket sales (see _Voluntary contributions from players_ below).
Compared to previous years, the costs for hiring sheet music, instruments (notably percussion) and concert venues has all increased. This is broadly in line with the higher inflationary economic environment, though some of the increases in costs for percussion hire and sheet music hire can be attributed to the Orchestra increasingly playing more modern classical music, which is in copyright (often leading to higher music hire fees) and often requires a larger array of instruments.
It should be noted that the Charity has not yet made gift-aid reclaim for 2021 or 2022 (the last one having been made in 2020). The Charity is entitled to make one and when it does so this will boost the coffers.
The material outgoings for the year were:
- the costs of the concerts (principally the hire of venues, sheet music, percussion and professional player/singers); and
- the donations to the charitable causes made following the three season concerts.
The Trustees do not envisage having to raise ticket prices materially in the near future despite the inflationary pressures on the Charity’s costs. Schemes such as the 50% discount for Pico Pals (friends of the Pico Players), early-bird incentives and, where the venue suggests, tiered pricing for certain areas of the venue are all expected to continue. See further under _Part 3: Risks Facing the Charity_ .
## _Voluntary contributions from players_
Members of the orchestra and choir are generally requested to donate ‘subs’ per season (being a period of 4 months). In January 2022 the Committee made the decision to raise the requested subs from £55 to £60. This was on the basis of increasing costs, as described above. There was no objection from any of the players to this increase. The current amount of subs is deemed to be reasonable and is continually evaluated to ensure the Orchestra has sufficient funding.
Discounted levels of subs are available to students, senior citizens and unemployed.
## **PART 3: RISKS FACING THE CHARITY**
## _COVID-19 Pandemic_
The orchestra has not felt direct disruption from the COVID-2019 restrictions since late 2021 and audiences appear to have returned in decent numbers since then. However, the advent of any further variants or other outbreaks, triggering similar restrictions on live rehearsals and performances, will
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
impact the ability of the Orchestra and Choir to carry out their activities and raise funds through those concerts for charitable causes.
## _Cost of living crisis_
The UK continues to endure high costs of living and inflation. This continues to lead to increased expenses for the Charity, not least in venue costs, music hire costs and the costs of hiring professional players. It may also lead to reduced ticket receipts if public look to save on expenses for nonnecessities. These risks have to be born in mind in the setting of (1) player sub levels and (2) ticket costs.
## _Players leaving_
The Orchestra players are crucial to the success of the Charity. Not only are they the primary reason why the Orchestra has had good audience numbers to date and therefore good ticket sales, they also represent the primary source of the Charity’s income through the subs they pay. The Charity’s aims would be hampered should there be significant withdrawals of players.
There is an Orchestra Committee which exists to (i) ensure that players have a say in the running of the Orchestra and (ii) allow players to feel more involved and responsible for the Orchestra’s success. The Orchestra Committee, led by Lizzie Harris, takes proactive steps towards organising new and different activities for the Orchestra to keep things fresh.
Leaders of the string sections are rotated to offer the opportunity for those that like to lead to do so. It also means that each season string players have new desk partners. Section leaders are given the responsibility of making sure their section members know the markings/part divisions. Regular surveys are done with the string section to ensure that players are able to speak up with any suggestions or comments and do not feel left out.
The Charity continues to promote social interaction among the players – each month one rehearsal ends 30 minutes early to allow the players to go for a drink together. Players are encouraged to bring new joiners along and meet someone new each time. Bespoke events like Conduct Us, as well as smaller events on request (weddings, parties) also aid the Orchestra to integrate socially and emphasise its charitable aims, which is something that the players respond well to. The Charity continues to increase the use of sectional rehearsals, which not only helps players to improve their playing but also helps to bond the sections of the Orchestra.
Similar risks and mitigants apply to the Pico Singers. The Christmas Carol Concerts have been a success; however, the choir has yet to develop into regular seasons. As a result, they are still run on an “ad hoc” rather than ongoing basis. Costs are monitored closely to ensure that sizable expenses are not undertaken by the Charity in relation to choir activity before a sufficient number of sub-paying singers is confirmed. The director of the choir is a paid professional choral director.
## _Reduced audience numbers_
Aside from the risks associated with the cost of living crisis (see “ _Cost of Living_ ” above), there remain general risks associated with not attracting big enough audiences. The Committee continues to consider the best approach for the Summer Concert, which tends to draw a lower audience and a slightly lower consistency of turn-out from the Orchestra at rehearsals due to summer absences. The
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
programming of music for a concert is also decided by the Orchestra Committee, to ensure it is attractive to an audience while remaining interesting for the players. Players are strongly encouraged to promote the concert from an early stage during the season. The Trustees continue to look for new venues for the Orchestra and choir to perform in, though they continue to believe that churches represent the best source of affordable venues with appropriate capacities for an orchestra of this size.
## **PART 4: MISCELLANEOUS**
## _Organisational structure_
The Trustees are responsible for the running of the Charity. Management of the Orchestra and Choir is delegated to three Trustees: Rosie Wintour, Patrick Massey and Lizzie Harris. They have established an Orchestra Committee to assist in the management of the Orchestra and to enable the players to be more involved in the direction the Orchestra takes. Lizzie Harris performs an active role in the administration of the orchestra and running that committee. The Committee in turn delegates a few key roles to players in the Orchestra, as follows:
- A Treasurer, who is responsible for arranging payments to be made by the Charity and chasing up payables (including player subs). The approval of Rosie Wintour and Patrick Massey is still required for any online transfers made out of the Charity, and only Rosie Wintour and Patrick Massey have bank cards linking to the Charity’s account. Lizzie Harris will soon be added to these permissions given her role as a Trustee.
- A librarian who manages the purchase and management of all the Orchestra’s music
- A venue liaison manager, who is responsible for investigating, booking and liaising with all the venues the Orchestra rehearses and performs in
- A website manager
- A manager in charge of liaising with the Pico Pals, being friends and supporters who donate to the Charity.
A committee for the Choir’s activities is set up on an ad hoc basis to manage the events of the Choir. Treasury functions in relation to the Choir is included within the duties of the Treasurer set out above.
## _Relationship with any related parties_
To date the Charity has generally received 50% matching on its concert funds raised from the Macquarie Foundation, because Patrick Massey is an employee of the Macquarie Group and contributes significantly to the organisation of the concerts. It is to be noted that this is entirely at the Macquarie Foundation’s discretion and there can be no assurance the matching will continue at this level, or at all.
## _Funds and property held_
The Charity holds no funds on behalf of any third party.
The main non-financial assets of the Charity are music stands, sheet music and two contactless card payment machines. No Trustee currently holds any property belonging to the Charity. Stands are kept in rehearsal venues, and otherwise by one of the Committee. Sheet music which belongs to the
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
Orchestra is looked after by the Orchestra librarian, and after the end of a season is kept by Patrick Massey. The card machines are kept by either the Treasurer, Patrick Massey or Lizzie Harris.
## **Declarations**
**The Trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the Charity’s Trustees**
**Signature(s) Full name(s)** Patrick Massey Mary-Rose Wintour **Position (eg Secretary,** Trustee Trustee **Chair, etc) Date** 30 October 2023
DocuSign Envelope ID: FA41834C-9D96-4E5A-A2A7-0704483722B4
## **THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of the above charity (“the Trust”) for the year ended 31 December 2022.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The Charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (“the Act”).
The Charity’s trustees consider that an audit is not required for this year under section 144 of the Act and that an independent examination is needed.
I report in respect of my examination of the Trust’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the 2011 Act and in carrying out my examination, I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination which gives me cause to believe that in, any material respect:
- the accounting records were not kept in accordance with section 130 of the Act; or
- the accounts did not accord with the accounting records; or
- the accounts did not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 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.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to
which attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Signed:
Date: 26.10.2023
Name: David Owen-Conway
Relevant professional qualification or body: Institute of Chartered Accounts in England and Wales (ICAEW).
## 9290783
Membership number: ………………………………
32 West Common, Gerrards Cross, SL9 7RF Address: …………………………………………………………………………..
## **Annex**
## **THE PICO PLAYERS**
## **Financial Statements for the Charity for the period ended 31 December 2022**
## **Summary of Receipts and Payments Account**
|Receipts
Payments
Surplus / (deficit)
Donations to charitable causes
Net surplus / (deficit) for the year
Funds brought forward
Funds carried forward|**2021**
**2022**
**£**
**£**
15,633
36,306
(15,483)
(27,555)|
|---|---|
||**150**
**8,751**
(2,750)
(4,000)|
||**(2,600)**
**4,751**
4,918
2,318|
||**2,318**
**7,068**|
All funds are unrestricted.
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
## **Net surplus / deficit adjusted for donations made outside financial year for concerts in FY 2022**
_Taking into account the donation made in May 2023 which related to the 2022 Autumn concert:_
|(Deficit) / Surplus
Donations to charitable causes from concerts in
that year
Net surplus / (deficit) for year|**2021**
**£**
**2022**
**£**
150
8,751
(2,750)
(6,800)|
|---|---|
||**(2,600)**
**1,951**|
## **THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
## **Statement of Receipts and Payments for the period ended 31 December 2022**
|_Receipts_
Player subs
Pico Pal donations
Trustee donations
Other donations
Trustee loans
Gift aid reclaimed
Interest income
Sub total
_Concert income_
Ticket sales / concert donations
Concert sponsorship
Other income
Sub total
**Total receipts**
_Payments_
Sheet music hire costs
Hire of professional players
Hire of professionals for sectionals
Hire of professional conductors
Venue hire costs
Miscellaneous costs for events
Hire of instruments
Programme costs
Bank charges
Insurance
Website / email costs
Repayment of trustee loans
Marketing costs
Media costs (video, photographer etc)
Sub total
Asset and investment purchases
**_Donations to charitable causes_**
**Total payments**
**Net receipts**
Cash funds last year end
**Cash funds this year end**|**2021**
**2022**
**Total funds**
**Total funds**
**(£)**
**(£)**
6,254
12,710
1,037
1,162
1,000
4,000
2,120
-
-
-
-
-
-
5|
|---|---|
||10,411
17,877
5,222
17,228
-
1,200
-
-|
||5,222
18,428|
||**15,633**
**36,306**
84
1,477
8,394
9,940
1,875
950
-
3,080
1,298
5,805
-
1,139
949
3,110
327
744
47
81
478
456
493
143
-
-
40
31
1500
600|
||15,483
27,555
-
-
**_2,750_**
**_4,000_**|
||**18,233**
**31,555**|
||**(2,600)**
**4,751**|
||4,918
2,318|
||**2,318**
**7,068**|
**THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
## **Statement of Assets and Liabilities for the period ended 31 December 2022**
|**Categories**
**Unrestricted funds**
**to nearest £**
_Cash funds_
7,068
**Total cash funds**
**7,068**
_Other monetary assets_
-
_Investment assets_
-
**Details**
**Fund to which**
**asset belongs**
**Cost (£)**
**Current**
**value (£)**
_Assets retained_
_for the Charity’s _
_own use_
Music stands
General
150
75
Purchased sheet
music
General
200
200
Sumup card readers
General
178
153
**Details**
**Fund to which**
**liability relates**
**Amount due**
**(£)**
**When due**
_Liabilities_
Loan from P Massey
General
400
On demand
Loan from R Wintour
General
200
On demand|**Unrestricted funds**
**to nearest £**
7,068|
|---|---|
||**7,068**|
|_Assets retained_
_for the Charity’s _
_own use_
_Liabilities_||
## **THE PICO PLAYERS ANNUAL REPORT YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2022**
## **Approved by the Trustees and signed on their behalf**
………………………………………… Patrick Massey
> Date: 30 October 2023
……………………………………… Mary-Rose Wintour
Date: 30 October 2023