Company no. 10547581 Chanty no. 1178358 Wise Children Limited Report and Audited Financial Statements 31 March 2022 Wisa Children Limited Referonce and administrative dotails For the ear ended 31 March 2022 Company numb8r 10547581 Charlty number 1178358 Registeréd offic8 and operational addross Spike Island 133 Cumberland Road Bristol BS16UX Truste8s Trustees. who are also dire¢tors under company law. vtho seNed during the year and up lo the date ofthis rewt were as follows.. Matthew Armstrong Judith Dimant legra Galvin Anthony Gayle Pravanya Pillay Clare Reddin9ton Nicholas Rogers Yuko Thomas Resigned 25 April 2022 Artl8tl¢ Dlr¢¢tor Emma Rice Exocutlve Producor Poppy Keeling T•chnlcal Dlre¢tor Simon Baker Bankors Na￿est 40 Queens Road Bristol BS8 18F ststutory auditorn Godfrey Wilson Limited Charte￿d accountants and ststulory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS14QD Wl$o Chlldron Llmlt Report of the trustèos For the ear ended 31 March 2022 The Iruslees present their report along wth the financial ststements of the charity for the year ended 31 March 2022, ￿lch are also prepared to meel the requirements for a directors, report and a¢¢ounls for Companies Act purpo$e$. Reference and adminislralive information sel out on page 1 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply wth Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charits'es preparing their accounts in a¢￿[dance vAth the Finanoal Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Structure. gov•rnan¢• and manag•m•nt Constitution Wise Children is a private company limited by guarantee ￿gIStered in England & Wales. company number 10547581 and ils goveming document is ils Memorandum and Arts"cles of Association. The company is a reglstered ¢harty, number 1178358. Directors and trust88S The directors of the charitsble company llhe charrty'l are Tts tnjslees for the purpose of charity law and throughout this report are collectivety rele￿ed to as the trustees. As set out in the Arbcl8s of Association. the trustees are appointed by the existing Board of Trustees. A member of the 8oard of Trustees must propose such a person for election. Notice shall be given lo the Board of Trustees for the meeting al which il is intended lo propose such persons for eleclien, stating the object of the meeting. the name and address of the person to be proposed, and the name of the board member Policies an<1 procedures at1opted for the induction and training of trustees are ongoing and incerporaled into quarterly Iru$tees' meetings. So¢retary Poppy Keeling vras appointed Company Secretary on 4 August 2022. Prior lo this, the Company had no Company Secretary and is not required to have one by ils Memorandum and Articles of Association. Leadership Artistic Director Emma Rice. Executive Prtxlu¢er Poppy Keeling and Technical Director Simon Baker make up the company's Exe¢ubve Team. managed by antl reporting lo the Iruslees. They are jointly responsible for day-lrtrday running and decision-making. The trustees oversee Executive Team contracts and pay. are set in line with industry standards and reviewed annually. _“Theatre has to reinvent itself in order to survive. That’s always been true, of course, but one of the great pioneers of theatrical reinvention over the last 20 years has been Emma Rice. From Kneehigh to the Globe to Wise Children, she has rewritten every rulebook she’s found and won thousands of inspired theatre converts with every trail she has blazed.”_ _London’s Old Vic blossoms back to life with a joyous, funny, touching drama from Emma Rice and her Wise Children company. This is a warm, exuberant ensemble piece full of heart and hope – an absolute tonic.'_ _Emma Rice has thrown away the rulebooks and harnessed the beating heart and slippery soul of Emily Bronte's unwieldy gothic monster, Wuthering Heights, in a wildly imaginative, exhilarating piece of theatre.'_ Wl$o Chlldron Llmlt Report of the trustèos For the ear ended 31 March 2022 Our Trainee programme gives talented young professionals the char￿e to take a paid role on a Wise Children project. Working alongside our wodd-class production leam, Trainees join us as we creale, rehearse and pertomi a new show for national touring. learning first-hand how a large-scale collaboratively devised piece is made. In 2021r22 we employed four Trainees and also created a short paid placement for an emerging Lights"ng Designer. We launched The After School Club. a ne￿￿)rk offering ongoing support for School lor Wise Children alumni. Members of the Club get access to bespoke events, surgeries with members of the WC team. discounted lickels lo our shows. and monthly emails news and opportLJnities. Events in 2021122 included sessions on." the importance of practio, led by our Musical Director lan, ￿nfIdenCe and ne￿OrkIng wlh Associate Director Laura Keefe., and appI￿.ng to the Arts Council with Sophie Moysey, our ACE Relationship Manager. Fundraislng The fundraising land￿ape Still felt unstable after the shocks of the pandemic, ￿￿th many TnJst$ & Foundations having paused granl-making, or divertsng funds lo Covid-related emergencies. In response to the situation, the Arts Council made ¢hange$ to procedures, meaning we were able to access addity'onal financial support from them. Thi8 included successful applications lo the 2022123 National Portfolio 0rg8nisats.on Extension, the National Lottery Project Grants scheme l%there secured a grant towards the tour of Wuthering Heighl$l and the Culture Recovery Fund. Ail our existing major givers renewed their support of the charity, wth key individuals committing lo mutti-year lunding lor The School for Wise Children. The Wise Children Club brought in £3,134, a significant drop from la$¢ year %there we raised £7,504. This reflects a general Irentj in indiwdual giving in the sector. We look part in the Big Give Christmas Appeal for the first lime, and raised a ltslal of £15,072 in seven days.. £3,000 more than target. The Appeal's match fvnding gave us a compelling reason to ask people to give wthin a fixed ts'me frame, and prompted one donor to give twce a$ much a$ originally pledged once we had used all our mal¢h fvnding. The ￿mpaIgn helped us identify a number of potential new supporters for the future. We received five grants from Trusts and Foundations, a small increase on last year's results. Wise Child￿n is registe￿d bmth the Fundraising Regulator. and we have never knowingly contravened the Regulator's guidelines or recewed a complaint for our fundraising aclivrties. All activity is carried out by employees of the company and we never make unsolicited approaches lo individuals. This ensures that vulnerable people and other members of the public are protected from fundraising approaches which represent an unreasonable intrusion on a person's privacy, are unreasonaNy persistent, or place undue pressure on a person to give. Flnanclal r•vlew The company is reporting a surplus of £443,136 on a tumover of £2.025,059. One key sotJr¢e of fijnding is Arts Council England". Wise Children is an Arts Council England National Portfolio organisats.on for 2018-23, receiving annual funding of £483,000. In 2021r22, this represent5 24°A of total incorne, a relum to pr&pandemic level5. Wl$o Chlldron Llmlt Report of the trustèos For the ear ended 31 March 2022 Our other major source of income is Productions, for Ithich we receive a mix of COvPToduction fees (contributions frorn partners towards the creat￿n of a show). presentation fees (from theatres in respect of the weekty costs of presenting a show) and box office income (unsecured income directly related to b'ckel sales). Wrth each production. v* ty to balance these income sources lo ensure the production can be safely realised bul that il also stands lo benefit from box office success. In 2021122, Production income accounted for 50% of annual income. This is lower than in pre-pandemic years, largely because of additional Covid-related fvndraising, which pushes the proportion of voluntary income higher than in previous years. Other sources of income include grants fr¢)m Trusts & Foundab"ons. with applicats.ons focused on trusts which feel aligned with the organisalion's value5. In 2021r22 the company raised £57,000. Gifts from individuals also represent a small but important part of the company's income and include major gifts, a Christmas Appeal and our privale gimng scheme. The Wise Chiklren Club. We were also successful in applications for emergency funding from the Arty Council, receiving a National Lottery Project Grant (prior lo the pandemic. NPOS were not eligible for this strand of ACE funding) of £100.000 towards Ihe tour of Wuthering Heights and £173,598 in Culture Recovery Funding, a portion of which was directed towards the creabon of Bagdad Cafe. The School for Wise Children brings in a small amtyjnl in parts'cipants, conlribulions, bul due to ils 'pay what you can. model is understood as a Ioss•making activity. In previous years a small amount of ¢gmmer¢ial trading, including programme and other merchandise sales, has also added to annual income. In 2021122 this income line reached £10.500. %thich is a $i9nificanl increase on previous years resuking from our having purchased film and ￿adcast equipment vknich we are now hiring out lo others. Thè current financial climate The Iruslees have considered a range of issues currenuy facing the charty, including the ongoing impacts of Covid-19 and Brexrt, rising inflats.on and the UK'S cosl-of-living crisis. Although Wise Children's business model meant it was able to wthsland the immediate impacts of the pandemic. the long-term effects. combined wth m¢ye recent add￿Onal i$$ues affecting the UK and international economies, are wde-ranging. These include.. The theatres that commission and CO•produce our wDrk havin9 dramatically reduced income and reserves, and being unable to collaborate us to make new work, or onty being able to support new work vith much ￿d￿ce￿ budgets. Inflation and other major M)dd events disrupting national and global infrastructure and logiglics. and causing prices for services to spiral. The self employed artists, technicians and suppliers Y￿ rely on either leaving the industry or having their resources so decimated that they are no longer available to us, or only in reduced form. In¢￿ased demanLI for donations from Indi￿dual$ and Trusts and Foundab'ons, combined wlh the cosl-of-living crisis, means fundraising is already much harder.. In 2020, the industry saw a 30% drop in donations to the arts and this barely improved over the course of 2021122. Wl$o Chlldron Llmlt Report of the trustèos For the ear ended 31 March 2022 The charity is taking the followng steps to mrtigate these threats.. Drawing down reserves to invest in a base for the company, giving us the freedom to make work rithout needing to rely on overstretched theatres. We will also explore the commercial polenbal of our new home, bringing in new sources of income outside of the theatre industry. Making shows on a smaller scale for the next few years, vthile resources are strained. Prioritising relationships wth existr'ng donors. and rewewng our fundraising strategy. Ringfencing the 2021122 year end surplu$ lo support the tour of Wuthering Heights in an unstable climate. Creating an Investment Policy whi¢h will seek to invest a portion of ￿$t￿e$ in a conservative manner, particularfy designed lo try lo offset inflationary costs. The Iruslees consider that the ¢harty will continue as a going con¢em for a period of al least 12 months from the dale on which these financial sl*emenls are approved due lo the facts that as at 31 March 2022 the charity's cash p0511ion was over £965.000 and ils pnncipal funder. Arts Council England, has extended its funding to March 312023. The Iruslees therefore consider rt appropriale to adopt Ihe going concem basis for the preparation of the accounts, as detsiled in note 1lbl to the financial slatemenls. R•s•rv•s Al 31 March 2022, the company held £654,011 in general reserves and £385,000 in tsvo designated lunds.. £160.000 in an Operational Fund an¢J £225.000 in a Development Fund. The Iruslees aim to maintain an Un￿$tr￿led Operational Fund at a level of be￿n three and six months of core expenditure. lo a maximum figure of £160,000. This level will ensure there are sufficient funds available to cover wre running and governance ￿$1$ in the event of the company's dissolution. In addrtion, the trustees are building a Devel¢)pmenl Fund of £250.000, designed to allow the company lo take risks wth new *vrk, including through touring. We made a transfer this year to the Development Fund from the general reserve of £25,000, bringing r( to £225,000. Touring theatre is still facing considerable challenges ￿lated lo the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. With the charity commthed to continuing to make and tour live work, the Tru51eey Consider il prudent to maintain general reserves of £300,000. This leaves a balance of general reserves al £354.011. which the charity has used lo purchase and begin renovations on a building Ilhe pur¢hase completed in August 20221. The trustees review the company's reserves policy in detail on a regular basis. Plans for future periods Plans for 2022123 include the UK tour of Wuthering Heights vthich continues on after ils run at the National Theatre. The show is booked lo play in TruTo, Brighton, Norwch, Nottingham, Sundertand, Salford. Edinburgh and Inverness. After that, the show will embark on a five-month tour of America, th dates in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago. This wll be Wise Children's fi'rst inlemalional lour. after a planned tour in spnnglsummer 2020 was cancelled due to the pandemic. Across the year we'll also be developing new work, wth several projects in the pipeline. Wl$o Chlldron Llmlt Report of the trustèos For the ear ended 31 March 2022 As part of the School for Wise Children, V￿ plan to consolidate Y￿rk done in 2021122, building on successes and refining the programme. We're also hoping lo run a number of revenue generating ¢ourses in Ameri￿, alongside the tour of Wutherin9 Hewhts. And finally. 2022123 looks Sel lo be the year that we achieve our dream of finding a home for Vvise Children, as we take over the old Portway Methodist Church in Frome. The Church, vthich we'll rename The Lucky Chance, will be our office, rehearsal and training space. We wll also open it to the public, making rt available to other artists and members of the community. as well as exploring ils potential lo offer a new income stream through Commercial hires. Statemènt of responslbllltlos of tho trusts•s The trustees (who are also directors ol ihe charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees, report and the financial $latemenls in a¢¢ordan¢e wth applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards. including Financial Reporting Standard 102." The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Praclicel. Company law requires the trustees lo prepare financial $lalemenls for each financial year, lthich give true and fair wew of the stsle of affairs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial ststemen15 the Iruslees are required lo.. select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistenUy', observe the method$ and principles in the Charitie$ SORP., make judgements and accounting estimates that a￿ ￿aSOnable and prudent.. stsle whether applicable UK accountsng standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures dis¢1ts5ed and explained In the financial ststements., and prepare the financial siatements on the going concem ba$1$ unle$$ rt 1$ inappropriate to presume that the charity bMII continue in operation. The trustees are responsible for keeping proper aecounting reeords vkni¢h disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and vthich enable them to ensure that the financial statements ¢omply wth the Companies Act 2006. The tnjstees are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity an¢J hence for taking reasonable sleps tor the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularrties. In so far as the trustees are aware.. there is no relevant audit inforniation of Nthich the charitable company's audrtors are unaware., and the Iruslees have tsken all steps that they ought to have tsken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information. The trustees are responsible for Ihe maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable companls websiie. Legislation in the United Kingdom goveming the preparation and dissemination of financial slatements may differ from legislation in other junsdictions. Members of the charity guarantee to conlribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the Charity in the event of wnding up. The lotsl number of such guarantees at 31 March 2022 was 8. Wl$o Chlldron Llmlt Report of the trustèos For the ear ended 31 March 2022 The trustees are members of the charity but Ihis ent￿eS them only lo voting right5. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity- Auditors Godfrey Wilson Limited were re-appointed as auditors to the charitable company during the year and have expressed their willingness to conts.nue in that capacity. Approved by the trustees ¢)n 28 September 2022 and S￿ned on their behalf by C Reddinglon - Chair N Rogers- Truslee Independent auditors. report To the membars of Wise Childrnn Limited Oplnion We have audited the financial statements of Wise Children Limrted Ithe 'charity'l for the year ended 31 March 2022 vthich Comprise the sl*emenl of financial acb'vilies, balance sheet. stslement of cash flows and the related notes lo the financial statements. including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporb'ng framewr)rk that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and Unrted Kingdom Accounting Standards. including Financial Reporting Standard 102.. The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IUnf(ed lfj'ngdom Generally Accepted Accounting Pra¢licel. In our opinion, the financial slatemenls.. give a true and fair view of the state of the chartys affairs as at 31 March 2022 and of rts incoming resources and appli¢*ion of fesour¢e$, including ils income and expenditure, for the year then ende