Friends of Warden Abbey Vineyard Trustees. Annual Report and Flnancial statements for tha year ended 31 March 2025 Page Contents Committee m8mbers' annual report Independent examinerfs report R8ceipts & payments account ststement of assets & liabilities Notes to the accounts 10 11
Frlends of Warden Abbey Vlneyard Trustoes. annual report for the year ended 31 March 2025 Full name Friends of Warden Abbey Vlneyard Reglstered Charlty Number 1176602 Prfnclpal address 39. Broadacrns, Luton, LU2 7YF Trusts•s: Davld Charles Corfan John Leslie Handscornbe Louise Ann Wilson Colin Mccartney Deborah Ann Garwood Amanda Mary Gibson Chair Tr6asurer Secretary Membershlp Secretsry Tours & Talks AdmSnlstrator Markellng Manager Other Commlttee Members (Non Trustees) Indude: Kathrynn Harrls Kelth Sm5th Events Manager Monlca Cummlns and Carole Cox retired as committee members and truslees. Loulse W1180n and Debble Garwood were appolnted truslees at the December AGM on December 2024. Indepondont examln•r Bob Hughes. (Voluntsry), 7 C8rtwrlght Close, Bromham, Bedford, MK43 8QF Governan and management The charlty Is operated under the rules of Its (x)nstltutlon adopted 19 August 2016, as amended on 12 December 2017, as amended on 06 December 2022 and as most r8cently amended on 03 December 2024. Alms and objecllves To promote the 8dvanc8m8nt of educatlon In agrlculture. hort5culture, viticulture, medieval crafts and history, In the conlext of Warden Abbey Communlty Vineyard (fomiing part of Scheduled Monumenl of Warden Abbey). for the benefit of the community. To promote th8 conservalion. protecuon and Improvement of the natural environrnent at Warden Abbey Community Vineyard, to maintsin a facility for physical and leisure-time activities, aimed at improving the health and well-being of the local communty Page2ofll vl.1
Friends of Warden Abbey Vlneyard Trustees, annual report (contlnued) for the year ended 31 March 2025 Summary of the maln a¢hlevements during tho perlod Introduction The purpose of this report Is to update members and voluntsers on the activities of the Friends durfng the past year in relatlon lo the Objectives of Ihe Chaiity and to highlighl the goals ft)r the next year. Progross In the Vlneyard Vineyard Manager Nick Williams, who started in January 2024 on a short-te contract, soon established himself as a very personable and capable vineyard manager. Nlck's capabllities were quickly recognised by BedsRCC and Nick's Inltial six month contract was quickly extended to a year and has since been further extended on a rolling basis. 2024 saw a major effort to raise fvnds to support planting a further 400 Bacchus vines to fill in gaps among the existing rows of Bacchijs. Following the disease problems in 2023. the vines were looking good for a reasonable yield in 2024. However, as we We preparing for harvest towards the end of September the vlneyard was suddenly decimated by massive bird damage. This damage was unprecedented and unfortunately atK)Ut 90% of Ihe crop was lost. malnty to pigeons. It's hard to know what caused this, but a combination of pcy)r IcKal crop ylelds arKI a very wet late summer seemed to drive a huge number of birds towards our grapes. Yet again the poor harvest was scant reward for the all the volunteer effort expended throughout the year both tending the vines and running events to maintain the vineyard and enable FWAV to continue to provide finanGial support to the vineyard project. Charitable Objectives Charity achieves its Objectives by training volunteers in all aspects of operating the vineyard and by encouraging new volunteers to join. It also markets the vineyard to a wider audience, to maximise the use of tts facAlitles. The historical aspects of the vineyard and its surroundings have been furthef devdoped, so that the wider community Can better understand how the history of the area has impacted on the current operations there. The vlneyard's facllltles a increaslngly being used as part of horticultural therapy, wellbeing. arKI art prograrnmes by a variety of local organisallons. To ensure the continuation of Ihe vineyard project. the Charity has utilised multiple ways both to raise funds and to spread the word about the vineyard project. Page 3 of11 vl.1
FWAWS rnajor fijndraising events (i.e. wneyanl tours, talks, plcnics and paella events) were all popular. contributing over £9000 to FWAV profits. We believe that by increasing the number of such events. we can substantlally Increase our profits and we are exploring this possibility as well as introducing new events. There has been a continued inllux of new volunteers, bringing more energy, experience and ideas to the vineyard. Our amazing volunteers agaln contributed over 5000 hours lo vineyard actlviles In 2024125, another magntficent contribution to the Community Vlneyard Project. We again participaled in 'The Big Help Out, in June which generated further volunteer interest. As a sUIt of the fijnds generated, we were again able to contribute £10,0 to BRCC to help towards the Nnning costs of the vineyard. Grant Funding We dld not receive any grant fundlng in 2024125 but we did receive a donation of £500 plus a potential £500 in donations for *)ols' from our corporate volunteer days- these donations ar6 currently outstanding. We hosted Santander (twice). Wincanton Distribution and National Highways. who undertook several tasks including palnting the shed and earthing up new vines, for which they funded the topsoil. Local Partlclpatlon The number volunteers attending sessions at the vineyard has continued to grow wlth between 15 and 20 volunteers attending twice per week whenever sessions are running. The vineyard volunteers donated over 3700 hours and a further 1200 hours were experKled on other events and background work to keep the Friends thriving. There has been increased Inte5t In the vineyard from local schools and local social serVIS who offer wellbeing activities. An increasing number of companies have also expressed interest in supportlng the vineyard through corporate volunteering activities. Marketing The Facebook. Instagram and Twitter accounts have been essential marketing tools and very ably managed by Hannah Penwright and latterfy James Kelliher al BRCC in conjunction with knanda Gibson who c(rdInateS all our marketing activities. There are now over 1700 names on our datsbase of supporters who received 10 vineyard news updates in 2024 Tour Activlty In 2024 we ran 10 Tour and Tasting events and a fvrther 10 tours on Open Day, 171 visitors attending the public tours and tastings. Tours and Talks again generated over £5000 profit ft)r the Friends. Page4ofll vl.1
Carole Cox retired from the Commlttee and her tour responsibilities at the 2024 AGM. Carole contributed huge amounts of time and effort into running tours for many years and she'll be greatly mlssed. As a fOUrer member of FWAV Carole was granted lifetime membership of FWAV at the AGM. Lifetlme membership was also awarded to Gerry Nolan following his retirement from the committee and chainnanship in 2023. Carole's role will be undertaken by Debbie Garwood in 2025. Vlneyard Output Following the disease that blighted the vineyard in 2023. the vines recovered well under Nick's careful management and spraying regime and a asOnable harvest was eagerly anticipated, Unfortunatety. it all went wrong in the 10 days leading up to Harvest whlch was planned for 19th October. Sadly, the crop was devasted by birds over the weekend of 12th113lh and although harvest was brought foNard to 15th there was massive loss from birds and only 380Kg was picked from an estimated 3 tonnes. A very disappoinling outLx)me after 9 months hard and seemingly positive vineyard work. Several initiatSves are planned for Harvesl 2025 to mitigate the bird damage induding the use of bird scarers and opening the vineyard for volunteers to walk around to keep the birds at bay. Wlnomaking The grapes were sent to Halfpenny Green Vineyard this year and as the volume was so low some additional Reichensteiner grapes We purchased to make up the volume to a comrnercially viable quantity. This will become the 2024 Nonconfonnist. D•velopm•nt at th• Vlnoyard In 2024, 400 additional BacchLJS vines We planted to fill in gaps in the existing Bacchus rows. A very successful planting day was held on 191h May. Thanks to Monica Cummins who has very SussfUllY taken on the task of running the Plant a Vine Schem8. Membershlp Development. At the 2024 AGM. the constitution was amended to grant Friends membership to all volunteers who have contributed 10 hours over the preceding Iwo years. This recognises the contribution of as rnany volunteers as possible, some of whom make valuable sporadic contrilxjtions. Following the success of the social evening in February 2024 another evenlng was held on April 1st 2025. This was another opportunity to tsste wines from our back catslogue arKJ we were also treated to a talk by our historian, Margaret Roberts, on 'The Medieval Vineyard,. It was a great evening and an opportunity to taste some older vintages and make purchases at very reasonable prices. Subscription Membership of FWAV enables anyone to contribute to the development of the vineyard who may not be able to volunteer at the vineyard or events. We encourage elther purely monetsry donations. or donations of time, both of which help to take the project forward. Page5ofll vl.1
BedsRCC BedsRCC is the operator and manager of the vineyard. wtth whom The Friends work closely to keep the vtneyard running. The financial backing of BedsRCC and the volunleer hours provided by FWAV are essentlal to the vlabllity of Ihe project. In round numbers, FWAV sold 1930 bottles of Warden Abbey Wine between Aprll and December, of which 1000 were botue sales managed by FWAV volunteers on behalf of BedsRCC (ie Tours plus Open Day and Christmas bottle sales), plus 930 at FWAV events. induding Paella nights, Picnics) and sales to Volunteers and Frlends. The latter FWAV sales (x)ntributed around £1900 of the yearfs £13.866 profit. BedsRCC also agreed to change the wine discount structure. Volunteer-Friends may purchase wlne at trade price plus 10% and paid-up Friends at retsil minus looh. FWAV has generated around £135,000 net income (profit) since its fomiation in 2013. Major contributors have been Open Days (£41,000). Tours and Talks {£43,000) and Grants (£23,000). These ndS have enabled FWAV lo donate over £128,000 to BedsRCC, made up of 'annual' (non-specffic) donations of £85,800, £33,300 for specific items and improvements to the facilities, topped up with grants of £9,300 that we applied for on their beha. The product5on of sparkling wine, whilst more profftable than still. qUireS a slgnlflcant need for cash, to pay for the more complex production costs and for it to be held in stock for the extra couple of years required for it to fully mature. The website is a joint venture between FWAV and BedsRCC and continues to work as our main marketing and sales channel for the Vineyard and FWAV events. The Futur• The Friends has become an effective organisation over the past few years and has been able to make corlsiderable donations to and work in partnership with BedsRCC lo help with all aspects of the vineyard. In the coming year, FWAV intends to build on these developments and to expand its efforts still further. The main targets are: To develop better ways to market the vineyard. its activities and wines; To increase the return8 from furKJ-Taising events during the year; To Increase the number of jrs, lectures and other events, To seek further grant funding sources to help develop the vineyaffl. To seek funding for work with schools and other establishments. and To expand the membership of FWAV. The organising committee of FWAV is in a good position to help tske forward these kleas and. as ever. Is always IkIng for enthusFastic voluntsers to help. Page6of11 vl.1
The CharltV8 Pollcy on Reserv•s In tenns of expenditure. the Friends employs no stsff and onty spends funds when they have already been generated through fund-raislng actlvltles. This means thal there Is risk of the Friends running into cash defidt, as the Frfends only Spend cash they have already genera1. Nevertheless. it is pNdent for the Fr116 to build up r6s&rves of $h for the followlng reasons: Fur-raI5ln9 events often may requlre the oxpendlture of fvnds In advance of such events, on the basis that thls expendlture wlll be recovered vla the fun raislrvJ actlvlty to which It relates When grant appllcations are made, the furKlers will often requlre matched fundlng to be provided by the Frfends, to support the furKllng application When a grant has been agreed In principle, It may be necessary to expend an element of the fundlng In a(Ivance of recetving the fomial grant The vlneyard uses 8ever81 Important pleces of equipment, arKI the cost of repair or replacement of such equlpment cannot be aasily planned, so reserves are needed to enable such unplanned costs to be more easlly met There are occaslons when expert consulting 8eNic8s may be needed, to ensure that the vineyarfl can benefit from extemal expertise at the rKJht tlme. These occaslons, by deflnldon, are not easlly planned, so funds need to be retslned to manage such drcumstsnces. For these reasons, the Trustses have dedded thal an appropriate reserve should be retsined annually, nomwlly not exceeding £5,000. This policy wlll b8 reviewed regularly for approprfatene88. The closing balancè of cash In March 2025 was £18401, whlch Is hlgher than the amount Ihat has been agreed as a prudent retentlon, but It Is planned to invest in some new equipment to Improve the athities that are needed to keep the vlneyard running effectively. Slgn8d on behalf of the Charlty's Trustees SSgned Date Davld Corfan Chalr of the Charltys TnLgtee8 Page7ofll vl.1
Independent examlnerfs report to the Trustees of Friends of Warden Abbey Vlneyard for the year ended 31 March 2025 I report on the accounts of the charity which are set out on pages 9 to 11. Re8p•ctiv• rn•pon8lblllties of tru•tws and •xamln•r The charty's trustees are responsible for the preparation of the a)unts. The charity's trustees nSider that an audit ts not required for this yoar under section 144(2) of the Chatities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act) and that an indopendent examination is needed. It is my responsibilty to: examine the accounts under section 145 of the 2011 Act.. lollow the procedures laid down in general directions gtven by the Charity Commissioners under 8OCtion 145(5){b) of the 2011 Act". and state whettr particular malters have come to my attention. Basis of indopondent •xamln•f• report My examination was carried out in accordance with the general directions given by the Charity Commission. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the chanty and a comparison of the accounts presented wrth those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeking explanations from you as trusteas Conrning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the eviden that would be required in an audit, and consequentty no opinion is given as to vthethor the accounts present a 'true and fair view and the report is limited to those matters set out in the statement below. Independent oxamln•f• 8tat•mont In connection wilh my exarnination, no matter has ci)me to my attention.. 1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements.. to keep accounting Tecord8 in accordance with section 130 of the 2011 Act; and to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with the accountin9 reqUIrnents of the 2011 Act have not been met: 2. to which, In my opinion. attention Shou be drawn to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached. Signed Bob Hughes ACIB Independent Examin Date oluntsry) Pa¥e8orii
Frlends of Warden Abbey Vlneyard Receipts & payments account for the year ended 31 March 2025 2024 Lhw•lctsd R•l¢l•d Tolal Funds Funds Funds Fund• Recelpts Grants & donations 848.56 Corporate Elerts 0.00 Tours 3046.14 Talks 2342.46 Open Day 6551.09 Memberstr#p 624.59 Picrics. Paella arKI ErtS 8686.23 interest Recei 145.70 Volurteers Er4[j 0.00 Soltrill HoLBe Visit 117.40 Warden PearM)rostic Bwk Sales 487.86 Ctrwisknas Sale 241.13 Dorote-a-vi 689.20 WrE sales-members, lUrteers,retall 2255.23 MerchalISe 752.48 Gift Aid Tax refuThJ 164.45 MisceKareous 73.92 Totsl receipts 27026A4 Paymonts DorBtion lo BRCC 14445.76 Tours 0.00 Talks 266.46 Open Day 1753.13 Picrics, Paella arxl Events 4509.76 Volunteers E*nr 0.00 Warden PearlMonasticBook Sabs 12.10 Wine saleswmembers, m)lteers,retsil 1695.06 CIYFslmas Sale 21.00 Equiprnent 0.00 Repair5 a1 Rerewals Merchatyjise Miscemareo Total paymonts 6413 848.56 4397 1671 6432 1151 5767 109 854 956 170 406 525 3046.14 2342.46 6551.09 624.59 8686.23 145.70 0.00 117.40 487.86 241.13 689.20 2255.23 752.48 164.45 73.92 0.00 27026A4 328 117 29296 10000 788 350 1379 3157 1107 21 82 108 6900 597 14445.76 266.46 1753.13 4509.76 12.10 1695.06 21.00 0.00 792.52 498.21 23994.00 792.52 498.21 23994.00 479 24968 4327 9041 0.00 13368 Net receiptsl(paym•nts) Cash fiJrKls at start of tr¥s period Trarsfers between fvrKJs Cash funds at end of this perlod 3032.44 13368.88 3032.44 0.00 13368.88 1640132 16401.32 Page9of11 vl.1
Friends of Warden Abbey Vlneyard ststement of assets and liabilitios at 31 March 2025 2024 2025 Cash assets Bank CThnt Account Bank Resep¥e Account Pety Cash 3236 10132 6122.86 10278.46 0.00 16401.32 13368 Other monetsry assets Debtors 0.00 Llabllldes Credito AdvarKe receipts 0.00 0.00 These financial statements are accepted on behalf of the organlsation by: Signed Dated ZS John Handscombe, Trustee (Treasurer) Pageloofll vl.1
Frlends of Warden Abbey Vineyard Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 l. Recelpts & payments accounts Receipts and payments accounts contain a summary of money received and money spent during the perK)d and a list of assets and liabilitFes at the end of the period. Usually, cash received and cash spent will include transactions through bank accounts and cash in hand. 2. Grants & Donatlons Unr•lcted Relcled Total Sinjry Dor£tions 848.56 848.56 848.56 0.00 3. Trustees, Remuneratlon The Trustees received no expenses. mneratiOn or benefits in this period 4. Independent Examin•r The Independent Examiner conducted the examinaion on a voluntary basis and received no fee or expenses. 5. Glossary of t•rnis Restrlcted funds: These are funds given to the organisalion, subject to specific restrictions set by the donor, but still within the general objects of the organisation. Page 11 of11 vl.1