1175005
The Abinger Green Charitable Incorporated Organisation
Annual report for the period from 1[st ] June 2024 to 31[st ] May 2025
Contents Page 3 Reference & administrative details 4-7 Trustees' report 8 Independent Examiner’s report 9 Receipts and Payments Account 10 Statement of Assets and Liabilities 11 Notes to the financial statements
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Reference & administrative details
| Registered charity | # 1175005 |
|---|---|
| Principal address | c/o Ian Nolan |
| Circularity Capital | |
| 6thFloor | |
| 14, Berkeley St | |
| London | |
| SW1Y 6QY | |
| Ian Nolan | |
| Trustees | Jamie Butterworth |
| Andrew Reicher | |
| BKL Audit LLP | |
| Accountants | 1stFloor |
| 5 Fleet Place | |
| London | |
| EC4M 7RD |
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Trustees' Report
The Trustees are pleased to present the report of The Abinger Green Charitable Incorporated Organisation ("the CIO") for the year from 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025.
The Trustees' Report and accounts are prepared in accordance with sections 132-166 of the Charities Act 2011.
Structure, governance & management
The Trustees who served throughout the whole period were Ian Nolan, & Jamie Butterworth. As reported in last year’s accounts, Robert Craig resigned as a Trustee on 18 July 2024, wishing the charity every future success. He was replaced on the same day by Andrew Reicher.
The Trust is governed by its constitution, dated 5th October 2017, and is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation. Future Trustee appointments will be made by a resolution passed at a properly convened meeting of the charity Trustees.
None of the Trustees receive any remuneration from the CIO in respect of their role as Trustees.
The only ongoing costs incurred by the CIO are to maintain its bank account and to have its year end accounts reviewed.
The CIO has to date been funded by donations from a single individual and this is expected to remain the case.
Objectives & activities
The object of the CIO is to promote sustainable development for the benefit of the public by:
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the preservation, conservation and protection of the environment and the prudent use
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of resources.
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the relief of poverty and the improvement of the conditions of life in socially and
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economically disadvantaged communities; and
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the promotion of sustainable means of achieving economic growth and
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regeneration.
"Sustainable development" means development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
The charity seeks to meet its object by pro-actively seeking out projects, in the UK or overseas, which are aligned with these objectives, and which they judge to be worthy of financial support. Such support may be in the form of grants, loans or investment. In so far as the CIO makes social investments (as defined by section 292A of the Charities Act 2011) it will comply as appropriate with sections 292B and 292C of the Charities Act 2011.
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For the first few years of its life, the principal activity of the CIO will be pro-actively to seek out, and provide financial support by way of investment in, social enterprises whose missions are aligned with those of the CIO. Potential recipients will be evaluated against the criteria of fit with the CIO's objectives; the credibility of their plans to fulfil their mission and the prospects of their using the social capital provided to develop themselves into self- sustaining ventures.
Finding and evaluating these projects is undertaken by Ian Nolan, who makes recommendations to the Trustees.
The nature of the projects supported means that the CIO may find itself providing investment alongside other "impact investment" organisations. "Impact Investing" refers to investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate social and environmental impact alongside a financial return" - ref. Global Impact Investing Network (GIIN).
Our ambition, as Trustees, is to achieve both the "impact" return on our investments, as well as to sustain, or grow, our financial capital. If we are successful in this regard, then these resources will become available again for future deployment and further Impact, alongside any future donations received.
In the medium to longer term, it is the expectation of the Trustees that the activities of the CIO will evolve and move to the disbursement of its then remaining capital by means of grants. This will seek to achieve the same charitable objectives but will involve the disposition of all of the CIO's then resources, and therefore be followed by its winding-up.
Achievements and performance
As foreshadowed in last year’s report we made further disbursements to our existing investee, SteamaCo . These disbursements totalled £89,677.
SteamaCo is an enterprise focused on the important and difficult mission of enabling access to clean and reliable power for remote and poor communities in Africa. SteamaCo’s product is an IoT (Internet of Things) smart metering platform which crucially enables accurate and reliable control and billing of off-grid renewable energy systems for poor communities in remote locations. The SteamaCo solution therefore allows the energy project developer the means to control the grid, bill and collect revenue, thereby generating an income stream against which to finance the project. The same technology also allows much more reliable and cost-effective operation at the edge of the main grid; thereby supporting grid extensions which are the other required key component of a solution offering poor African communities much improved access to cheap, reliable and clean power.
Founded in 2012, SteamaCo has secured support from a variety of impact investors, including the Ashden Trust, as well as from Shell Ventures. The CIO’s disbursements during the year, as well those totalling £86,271 made in the previous year, helped SteamaCo to bridge to a substantial funding round of $4m completed in November 2024 and supported by a variety of investors including Equator VC. The Trustees are therefore pleased to have been able to use the CIO’s capital to help SteamaCo to secure this very significant milestone.
The CIO continues to hold the remaining proportion of its original investment in Pula, which we have valued at proportionally the same price of the stake sold last year. Post closing its funding round, Pula had
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a challenging 2024 as it sought to prioritise the markets in which it can make its most effective contribution.
Currently, these are believed to be Zambia, Kenya, Malawi, Ethiopia, Uganda & Mozambique. Pula hopes to trade at close to a break-even level in 2025.
The CIO’s other investment, made in 2020, is in Recoolit, an ambitious, start-up social enterprise seeking to mitigate the environmental damage which arises from the escape of CFC's from used refrigerants. It has launched its activities in Indonesia, where a large volume of such refrigerants are currently uncollected and treated. Refrigerants are 2000x worse than CO2 on a pound-for-pound basis, with some gases trapping up to 10,900x as much heat as CO2. Refrigerants account for 3 billion tonnes CO2 emissions per year, 6% of total global emissions.
For some years Recoolit has struggled to scale its carbon credit business in line with its impact ambitions but in May of this year made a breakthrough by securing an offtake agreement with Google. 1 This will provide Recoolit with a revenue stream by monetizing the carbon savings which are created by Recoolit’s destruction of super-polluting used refrigerant gases. The Trustees are therefore hopeful of reporting next year on further progress for Recoolit.
Financial review
The CIO's assets, net of liabilities, stand at £338,160. This reflects the value of the investments in Pula, SteamaCo and Recoolit, plus cash of £36,731, minus provisions for accounting costs associated with these accounts.
Public benefit
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when making investments and generally in pursuing the objectives of the charity in the period. These objectives will continue to be pursued in the coming period.
Investment Policy and Performance
The investment policy of the charity is primarily to preserve the capital of the charity, while carrying out investment in social enterprises as explained above, and with a view to long- term income and capital growth. The investments held will continue to be monitored against the policy of the charity. Where the social enterprises which we support do prosper, the ClO will look to take the opportunity of realising the value of its investment, and recycling the capital into other, new earlystage opportunities which fit with its charitable objects.
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Achievements and Performance
The trustees are glad that they were able to contribute to the launch and growth of Pula, which is now well funded by large impact investors, enabling it to scale the real social contribution it makes in helping farmers in emerging markets to manage the climate risks which they face. They are encouraged by the partnership which Recoolit, has struck with Google and hopeful that it can establish a viable social enterprise mitigating refrigerant emissions in Indonesia. They are pleased to have been able to support SteamaCo through to achieving funding from others in a significant round which should allow significant progress towards its mission.
1 https://www.recoolit.com/post/google
Reserves Policy
Reserves are maintained at the discretion of the Trustees. They aim to maintain reserves at a level to provide sufficient funds to respond to further applications for social investment, and to ensure that sufficient funds are available to meet support and governance costs.
Risk Assessment
The Trustees have considered the major risks to which the charity is exposed. They consider that the principal risk is investment risk, which they minimise by a careful evaluation of all possible investments, and subsequent monitoring. They believe that systems are in place to meet such other risks as they have identified.
Declaration
The Trustees declare that they have approved the Trustees' report above. Signed on behalf of the charity's trustees
Ian Nolan
Trustee
Date: 5th February 2026
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INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES OF THE ABINGER GREEN CIO FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MAY 2025
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Abinger Green CIO for the year ended 31 May 2025, which comprise the Receipts and Payments Account, Statement of Assets and Liabilities and related notes.
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the charity’s trustees those matters I am required to state to them in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for my work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the Trustees of the Charity you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the Charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the 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.
An independent examination does not involve gathering all the evidence that would be required in an audit and consequently does not cover all the matters that an auditor considers in giving their opinion on the financial statements. The planning and conduct of an audit goes beyond the limited assurance that an independent examination can provide. Consequently, I express no opinion as to whether the financial statements present a ‘true and fair’ view and my report is limited to those specific matters set out in the independent examiner’s statement.
Independent examiner’s report
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:
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
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the financial statements do not accord with those records.
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 financial statements to be reached.
Nikki Crane FCA BKL Audit LLP Chartered Accountants 5 Fleet Place London EC4M 7RD Date: 06/02/26
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The Abinger Green CIO Charity
number 1175005
Receipts and Payments Account f o r the year 1 June 2024 to 31 May 2025
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Total & Total &
Unrestricted Unrestricted
Funds Funds
2025 2024
£ £
Receipts
Interest income 417 121
Donations received 51,000 75,000
Partial sale of investment - 47,534
Gift aid repayment 32,112
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Total receipts 83,529 122,655
Payments
Accounting fees (5,100) (3,090)
Bank charges (60) (66)
Disbursements (89,677) (86,270)
Total payments (94,837) (89,426)
Net receipts/(payments) (11,308) 33,228
Cash b/fwd 48,039 14,811
@ 1 June 2024
Cash c/fwd @ 31 May 2025 36,731 48,039
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The Abinger Green C/O Charity
number 1175005
Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 May 2025
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Assets £
Cash funds bank deposits 36,731
Investment assets social investments 306,529
Liabilities
provision for accounting fees (5,100)
Total 338,160
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Signed on behalf of all the trustees
Ian Nolan
Date: 5th February 2026
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The Abinger Green CIO
Charity Number 1175005
Notes to the financial statements Note
1: Basis of preparation
These accounts have been prepared on a receipts and payments basis and include a statement of assets and liabilities at 31 May 2025.
Note 2: Transactions with related parties
No remuneration or expenses were paid to any Trustee or related party.
Note 3: Investment assets
Investment assets are dollar denominated. These are carried at the Trustees' assessment of market valuation which is retranslated into sterling on 31 May 2025.
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