Charlty number: 1171705 BHS Trust Fund Unaudited Trustees. report and financial statements For the year ended 31 May 2025 BHS Trust Fund Contents Page Reference and administrative details of the Charlty. Its Trustees and advlsers Trustees, report Independent examinerfs report Statement of financial activities 10 Balance sheet 11 Notes to the flnanclal statements 12-19 BHS Trust Fund Reference and admlnlstrative detalls of the Charity, its Trustees and advisers For the year ended 31 May 2025 Trustees A Curchin B Edgar R Eller C Gibson S A Taylor S Topping CM Jones, Chair (appointed 1 June 2024) K Smalls (resigned 1 November 2024) D Crudge (resigned 31 May 2025) M Thorpe (appointed 1 June 20251 D Banford (appointed 1 June 2025) Charity reglstered number 1171705 Prlnclpal offlce 6 Knoll Place Walmer Deal Kent CT14 7LX Accountants Kreston Reeves LLP 37 St Margaret's Street Canterbury Kent CT12TU Bankers HSBC Bank plc 90 Baker Street London W1U6AX Independent Examiner Samantha Rouse FCCA DChA Kreston Reeves LLP 37 St Margaret's Street Canterbury Kent CT12TU Solicltors Royds Withy King LLP 69 Carter Lane London EC4V SEQ Investment Manager Rathbones Investment Management 30 Gresham Street London EC2V 7QN Page 1 Introduction - Messa e from the Chair The BHS Trust Fund's reporting year ended on the 31Stot May 2025. and this marks the end of my first full year as Chair. The year has been one of steady change within the organisation and one of continuous economic chall8ng8 for our applicants. There has been a similar challenge for our operators to oplimise our costs, as the number of applicants contacting the Trust for support continues to decline. This is despite our continual and timely communication of our willingness to help former BHS colleagues in need of financial or well-being support. act Assessmant On taking over the reins. I was keen to better understand the impact Ihat we are haviTtg on the people that we help, and to see what our ben8ficiaries think of our application process. So, we introduced a Feedback questionnaire in September 2024, the outcome from vthich is reported later in this review. Board Effe¢tlv9ness Review One of my first actions as Chair was to undertake a Board Effectiveness Review in the Autumn of 2024, Whe￿bY l issued oach Trust88 and the Trust Fund Manager with a slructured questionnaire covering the composilion, operalion, skills. interaction and perfomiance of the Trustees and the board. I then held a one-to-one discussion, in confidence, with each participant to ascertain tt)eir vlews on how we worked as a team, how well wé were kepl inforrned and how effective we thought Ihe Trust was In meeting ils charitable objectives. I summarised these discussions and produced an anonymised report for the board In January. This described wh81 we collectively thought the BHS Trust Fund did well and proposed some action points for the Board to lake fO￿ard. These action points were intended to further improve our pefftirmance and take a￿Unt of the succession planning and personn81 changes du8 in 2Q25. In summary everyone on the board was happy with Ihe daily operallon of the Trusts, finances, investment management, risk management. and fSnanclal reportlng. To ether a rèed lo the followln 202512026: chan es to our structure and Stra lannln to take u8 Into We should recrult up to three new Trustses trj cover for one planned retirement and one retirement due to ill health Sn the year. We should r8crult a Trustee with experience in IT systems and GDPR and regroup the Trust board subgroup laads under new Trustee leadershlp, reflecting the skills we are fortunate to have in th8 group We should undertake a further review of the Trustee induction programme, and in particular provide a more strUctu￿d programme of self-help training, lo b8 completed in the first 6 months. Thls is in addition to the formal induction day training and Tmste8 training sessions provided by our external prof6ssional advisors. We felt well supported by our Trust Fund Manager and her team. However, we agreed that we should review the process of signing off full grant applications and Christmas applications lo make it simpler by giving the operations team more autonomy lo deal with the more routine applications. l am pleased lo report that all these changes were actiongd and implemented by th6 year end, and we should reap the benefits of a more efficient and skills focused approach to our work in the current reporting year. Trust88 Retirements Finally. I would like to thank the Trustses who stepped down during the year under review. My partiGular thanks go to Helene Hamer who retired as Chair at the end of May 2024, after 16 years as Fund Manager, TTUStee and Chair of the BHS Trust Fund. I hope to continue the exemplary leadership Helene provided in her tenure. Secondly, my thanks go lo David Crudge who retired after 11 years with the Trust, during whlch time he provided a consistently high standard of advice and scrutiny of our financial investsnent and risk management, which was of great reassurance to the Trust. Thirdly, my thanks go to Keith Smalls, who after 4 years as a Tlustee, and 33 year5 as a successful employee of BHS, had to retire due to ill health. His contribution will be greatly missed by his Trustee colleagues. Page 2 Overall. the Trust remains in a good financial state of funding, and the challenge for the coming year will be to conlinue to reach out to our potential beneficiaries through our social media aclivty. work with the BHS Retired Staff Association, and refinement of our direct mailing list. Ensuring Ihat every penny we spend is for Ihe benefit of former BHS colleagues is optimised in the coming year. Martyn Jones Chair of Trustees- BHS Trust Fund THE AIM AND MISSION OF THE BHS TRUST FUND The BHS Trust Fund (Charity Numb8r- 1171705) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation ICIO), fomierly known as the Bhs Limited Employees Trust Fund. It was established by Bhs Limited in 1951 to support the relief of hardship amongst its employees. Upon the closure of Bhs Limited in August 2016, it was agreed by the Trustee5 to continue the Fund's work by becoming a CIO and supporting former BHS employees with one year's seNice or more. PUBLIC BENEFIT STATEMENT In setting out and planning Ihe activlties of the charity, the trustees have given carefijl consideration to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit. OUR VISION To ensure that no fom8r BHS Employee struggles lo meet their daily financial I wellbeing needs. Our strategy: We need to reach more of our potential qualifying audi8nce, to optSmise the use of the Trust's funds. To do thls we are Developing a naw direcl emailing list. Extending the membership of the Retired Staff Association and utilising thelr ne￿Ork. Contacting the BHS p&nsion scheme providèrs to see if we can communiGate with their BHS schema members. Monitoring and responding to the feedback from our succ98sful appllcants to keep the applicalion process 8 simple and user friendly as possibl8. Reflection on 2024 -2025 Marketln Spreading the message - along wilh spreading the rnessage about what we do through word of mouth and vla charity links, our regular Facebook posts continue lo remind former BHS colleagues of how wè can support. ¢)ften with real life examples. We hope to encourage individuals facing challenging times to step forward via our website contact link or by telèphoning our small, friendly team. Increasing our retSred staff social ne￿Ork - we already have a thrlving sodal ne￿rt£ of c230 BHS former colleagues, who meet regularly for a coff8e and ch81, supported by the BHS Trust Fund. Our aim is to welcome new Individuals to our Retired Staff Association {RSAI, so expanding our network of 26 groups of retirees. We have started to strengthen our communications with RSA mombers, ensuring they are fully aware of how we support former employees facing difficult times. Feedback on how we're helping - we introduced our Feedback questionnaire in September 2024 to better undgrstand our impacl on beneficiaries. Ilves. Comprising a simple set of questions sent to all beneficiaries, it can be completed online or via paper in just a few minutes. We are delighted to have a 72 % relum rale and receive helpful feedback about how wo're supporting individuals, most of which is extremely positive. 770/Tr of returns confirm that our help is benefitting individuals for the longer tsrm, which is excellenl news! Examples of feedback are given below. Page 3 Feedback Quotes from individuals hel ed '1 sufferfrom anxiety & have ADHD, but the Trust Fund team helped me every step of the way. making it easy to understand what to do & how to gather information, 'The process was very straightforward - I felt anxious as I hadn't encountered anyone from BHS for years, however, the empathy of the team was very comforting. I didn't feel judged, I felt heard and supported, 'For the first time in years, I haven't had to pay £60 a month on overdraft fees! And the vouchers will help me so much - having food in my fridge will be one less worry for me, as sometimes I couldn't even afford milk, 'The Fund helped me massively after I suddenly lost my job and didn't receive any wages owed, as my employer went into liquidation. It meant I was able to pay bills and buy food and essentials, '1 was helped to be at home with no fear of bailiffs knocking and have food in the fridge, 'You've helped me & my daughter restart life, alleviating so many financial worries, 'A very fair process, the team made me feel comfortable throughout- we are truly grateful, '1 hope others know about the help you offer- my faith in humanity has been restored by you, Page 4 Financial and Risk Mana ement Financial The BHS Trust Fund consists of a portfolio of financial assets. from which the core objective is to provide an income. over a reducing time horizon. Income and Capital withdrawals from the portfolio fomi an important part of our overall expenditure. To achiève this the portfolio has a balanced objectbve. The Trustees recognise the realisalion of such an objective is dependent upo¥J favourable market condltions and the sound discretionary invesbnent management performance entrusted to our advisors Rathbones - Incorporating Investec Wealth & Investment (UK). Rathbones maintain an active oversight of the Fund's financial assets. Assets are broadly spread, with perfomance being measured against a benchmark that reflects the Fund is comfortable with a lowlmedium risk profile. A reasonable weighting in more conseNalive assets. allows for slzable capital withdrawals, quarterly. Fund perfomance statistics are reported to the Trustee's on a quartedy b8SiS. Infomialion conceming the current global investment environment and the likely impart is shared with the Trustse's as and when necessary, Rèserves Poll This Poliw sets out th8 Trusteas ¢ommitm8nt to 8nsuring that the BHS Trust Fund complles with its legal duty of managing Ihe Funds resources responsibly. A sum equivalent lo al least six months lolal expenditure of £150,000 in unrestricted Reserves across its savings and current bank accounts at HSBC, separate from that of the main investment fund. Flnanclal Revlew Grant awards summary 2024- 2025 £95, 383 - 60 Grant awards~ covèring rent & mortgages. food vouchers, whlte goods, credit cards. councll tax and utilities. £9,288- 5 Wellbeing awards - coverlng short breaks, days Out and subscription to online wellbelng plafform. £18,644- 62 Christmas Grants- covering food vouchers and hampers. Rlsk Mana ement The BHS Trust Fund maintain5 a Risk Register that idèntifies potsntial organisational risks, assesses their impact, and outlines mitigation méasures. Numeric measures of probability and Impact are calculated against specific risks to detemiine relative levels of potential concérn. Thé Risk Register Is subject to Operational sub-group overslght. Identification of the six risks wilh the greatest probability and impact scores collated annually. Trustee Risk assuranc8 reports are completed quartedy on the above, ensuring issues and emerging tronds are captured and action taken if required. Peo Succession planning and development will continue to be an integral part of People priorities Two new Trustees have been recruf(ed lioined 0110612025) using a robust recruilment proces5. Induction, training plans with Buddylmentoring support implemented during the first 6 months. All current employees and volunteers are encouraged to pursue outside personal development if desI￿d. Costs would be mered by the Fund after approval agreed. Yearly development discussions have been completed for all Case Workers and employees. This has established developmenl requirements and highlighled future requirements to fulfil long tem Su￿$s1on planning needs. Trustees and Case Workers actively encourage parttcipation in meetings. Quartedy Zoom meatings with Case Workers have included interactive training. consisting of refresher and coaching sessions to assist in ongoing and future personal development. Page 5 What's to Come 2025 - 2026 Marketin New ways lo reach former BHS colleagues - reaching individuals is key if we ar6 to provide 5UPPOrt to those in need. Not 8veryone is aware that we're still here today or of how we can help, and we appreciate that social media isn't for everyonel So. we're renewing our database platform lo enable our messages to be conveyed MO￿ effectively. Encouraging individuals to come fO￿ard - w8 continue to find new ways to spread the word about what we do. We know that individuals can be anxious about reaching out and recognise the importance of reassuring applicants Ihat we're a small, friendly. and professional team, so we've started to post profiles of our team members to help do this. In addition, we use stories of individuals we've helped with their permission and identities anonymised. to help others realise that they're not alone in needing support. Finance Key objective going fO￿ard is that Ihe potential decrease in applicanls is carefully monitored. Looking al the potential variances in budgets and the cost base of the fund. The movlng longevity of the fund should continually ba addressed. The solvency of the fund will Gontlnue to be monltored on a monthly basis. Variances In Budgets v Actual spend should be understood and addressed as required. Continue to benchmark the Funds operational efficiency. Looking at the ratio of costs v grants 8warded. Recognising that costs are fixed and grants awarded are variable in both numbers and cash amounts awarded. The stock markets. where a large amount of the Funds money is invested remains volatile, du8 to global events, Regular updates and meetings with the fund's investment manager supports our understanding of our portfolio aclivit18s. Managed by Rathbones, in Ilne Wlth our agreed investment slra18gy. Longevity of the fund will continue to be monitored. considering the grant numbers. cash awards glven, and a volatile stock market, will continu8 to present challenges and debate. Peo leandR 2025-26 should bè a busy period for the Pgople & RSA sub-group. We wlll review & updats our succession plans. The recent development of a structurèd self-help programme to support the induction of new Trustee8 Is currenlly being evaluated by our 2 new Trustee recruits and will be adapted for use by new Case Workers. The first edition of a Iwlce-yearty newsletter for our Retired Staff Associatlon members to raise awareness of the Fund and for them to share their memories & activities will be sent out to group leaders for distribution In Septsmber and we look forward to receiving their feedback & sugg6slions for fiJlure edilions. In addition, as the applications we receive become more complex. we will continue to provide development for our Case Workers, to support triem, share experience and build confidence. The next session is due to lake Pla￿ at November's meeting. Finally, we will conduct a review of Ihe re￿ntlY rè-worked Skills Matrix to ensure the infomiation gathered is being used to benefit both individuals and the wider Fund through further Irdining Icoaching. Page 6 eratlonal Effi¢sen Au it and Rlsk The operational team is now a consolidated team. with clear objectives for each role within the team. There are regular meetings to ensure consistency with pro￿sseS and pr0￿dureS. Inlroduction of Dropbox holding electronic casefiles. developing shared work ffiles. and limiting paper files. Introduction of new appllcation prO￿s5 to rellect the diverse nature of appllcant requests received requiring support. Continued evaluation to reduce administration costs to a minimum, without impacting on our operational efficiencies and professionalism. Introduction of detailed data reports - provided monthly for Markating, grant giving breakdown infonnation to assist in supporting both our marketing and longevÉty planning. Independent Examination audit- new auditors appointed. 2024-2025 is the first year with this new process in place. Quarterly review of policies and risk assurance reports to be presented at OTM'S for approval. Risk Register reviewed regularly Evaluation and update of our current malllng list. Page 7 BHS Trust Fund Trustees. report (continued) For the year ended 31 May 2025 Statement of Trusteos. r0sponsibilities The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees, report and the financial slatements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Stsndards {United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). The law appllcable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of its incoming resources and application of resources, induding its income and expenditure, for that perfod. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees ar8 requir8d to= select suitable accounting policies and then apply them conslstently., observe the methods and principles of the Charities SORP (FRS 102)., make judgments and accounting estimatas that are reasonable and prudent., state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards (FRS 102) have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; prepare the financial ststements on the going concern basis unless It is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business. The Trustee5 are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charitys transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of Ihe Charity and hence for taking ￿asOnable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities. Approved by order of the members of the Board of Trustees and slgned on their behalf by: CMJ Chair Date: o