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Strategic Report and Financial Statements 2024-2025
Charity number 1179810 Company number 11266143
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The Rosalind Franklin Institute Limited (A Charitable Company Limited by Guarantee) Annual and strategic report and financial statements Year Ended 31 March 2025
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## Contents
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Legal and Adminstrative Information 4
Chair’s foreword 5
Director’s foreword 6
Objectives and Activities 8
Franklin strategic goals 9
Highlights 2024-2025 10
Highlights 15
Performance in year 2024-2025 17
In year goals and progress 20
Future Plans 2025-2026 22
Engagement and Community Impact in 2024-2025 25
Sustainability 26
Equality, diversity and inclusion 29
Risks and uncertainties 30
Structure, Governance and Management 32
Financial Review 36
Statement of Trustees Responsibilities 38
Financial Statements 39
42
Statement of financial activities
Statement of Cash Flows 43
Balance sheet 44
Notes to the Financial Statements 45
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## Legal and Adminstrative Information
## **Our Directors**
The Directors of the charitable company are its Trustees for the purposes of charitable law
The Rosalind Franklin Institute Strategic Report and Financial Statements 2023-2024
Charity number 1179810 Company number 11266143
- Dame Dr Vivienne Cox CBE (Chair)
- Dr Gillian Burgess
- Professor Helen Cooper (Resigned 2024)
- Mr Stephen Dauncey (Resigned 2024)
- Professor Nora de Leeuw (Resigned 2024)
- Professor Mathias Gautel (Resigned 2024)
- Dr Barbara Ghinelli
## **Registered office:**
Rosalind Franklin Institute
Building R113 Rutherford Appleton Laboratory Harwell Campus Didcot Oxfordshire England OX11 0QX
- Professor Ewan McKendrick (Resigned 2024)
- Professor Nigel Titchener-Hooker (Resigned 2024)
- Professor Ben Davis (Joined 2024, resigned 2024)
- Dr David Rees
- Professor Paul Matthews (Joined April 2024)
- Emeritus Fellow Ian Charles (Joined January 2025)
- Mr Bruce Pritchard (Joined September 2024)
- Ms Caroline Carter (Joined September 2024)
- Ms Hilary Newiss (Joined September 2024)
- Dr Malcolm Skingle (Joined September 2024)
- Professor Andrew Mount (Joined January 2025)
**Auditor** : Richardsons 30 Upper High Street Thame
Oxfordshire, OX9 3EZ
In accordance with the company’s articles, a resolution proposing that Richardsons be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put to a General Meeting.
**Bankers** : Barclays Bank PLC, Marcham Road, Abingdon, OX14 1UB
- Professor John Holloway (Joined January 2025)
## **Solicitors** :
Keystone Law 48 Chancery Ln, Holborn, London, WC2A 1JF
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## Chair’s foreword
**I am pleased to endorse these Strategic Report and Financial statements for the year 2024 – 2025.**
**his year has been an exciting year for the Franklin and another year of change, as Professor Paul Matthews took up his role as Director in April 2024. Since joining, Paul Thas steered us through a refocussing of science leading to the launch of our new Science Strategy in March 2025.**
I would like to extend my thanks to the community members whose engagement has been crucial in shaping our new science strategy. This refocusing of our science has provided increasing clarity around our goals which has led to greater opportunities to collaborate with universities, institutes and industry partners. It was brilliant that so many of you could join the Franklin team at our Innovation Forum event in March to celebrate the launch of this new Science Strategy.
Technology innovation is essential to driving both healthcare advancement and economic growth across the UK. Our initial phase has already delivered tangible outcomes, with emerging technologies making a measurable difference within the Life Sciences sector. Our new strategic focus and partnerships within Harwell,
the Oxford-Cambridge Arc, and global collaborations, will ensure that our latest innovations are effectively deployed to deliver meaningful
healthcare improvements and drive economic growth.
This year was also a great year for our researchers engaging the public with our science. Over the summer, alongside the rest of the Harwell Campus, we welcomed over 10,000 visitors to the site. STFC did brilliant work coordinating site activities and engaging with underserved communities, linked to their Wonder Initiative. It was brilliant to see how engaged and enthusiastic the public were with our science, and how excited and proud our staff were in turn to share their science.
This will be my final year as the Franklin’s Chair, and as I reflect on my time here, I am deeply proud to have been involved in the development of this national institute from plans on paper to a vibrant and productive centre at the heart of the Harwell Campus, with influence across the academic community in the UK and beyond. I wish Paul Matthews, the new incoming Chair, and the rest of the Franklin continued success and continued impact. I will be supporting you in any way I can!
**Dame Dr Vivienne Cox DBE, CBE, PhD, Chair**
This year was also a great year for our researchers engaging the public with our science.
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## Director’s foreword
**am pleased to introduce this annual report, which has given me a useful I chance to reflect on a busy year. And what an exciting and positive year it has been!**
When I joined the Franklin, I immediately appreciated the tremendous opportunities offered by the advanced technologies that had been maturing over the first quinquennium. However, the effort was spread too thinly. This view was shared by our Scientific Advisory Board. From the outset, my principle priority therefore was to focus on doing fewer things with greater intensity. A second priority was to more rapidly translate the most promising of our technologies. This has been a deeply collaborative process, grounded in the belief that the Franklin’s strength lies in its people and their ideas.
The result is a strategy that reaffirms our core mission: to develop transformative new technologies for life sciences and human health. The collaborative approach to developing this strategy is fostering strong buy-in from our scientists, who now feel more empowered and engaged. This will accelerate our science, help us to more effectively engage with the “best and brightest” externally and boost the impact of what we do.
The strategy is being realised through six new Science Challenges and two Emerging Areas of Interest (EAI, further details on page 11). Each of the Challenges and EAIs link technology development with proofs of principle for their applications in addressing major, otherwise difficult to solve problems in life sciences for health.
We are also continuing to enhance our science leadership. Professor Helen Cooper joined us earlier this year on secondment from
the University of Birmingham to lead our Integrated Chemical Imaging in Cells and Tissues Challenge. She is combining the strengths of the Franklin with her expertise in native mass spectrometry imaging to work towards the grand vision of an integrated, 3D near cellular resolution spatial brain atlas of proteins, chemical information and ultrastructural structural data from cryo electron tomography. She and her team intend to apply their new technologies to defining potentially druggable elements in the links between molecular and systems level pathology in ALS. The Franklin also will be strengthening its expertise in AI and structural biology with new secondments planned from partner universities over 2026.
We are responding to government priorities in this difficult period for the nation and the world. The Franklin is redoubling its efforts to support the government’s growth agenda. We are reaching out to partner with pharma to overcome major barriers to early therapeutic development. We also want to better enable the success of UK spin outs and biotech. As a next step for this, the Franklin has become the first founding member for the new CO:LABS facility,
a pioneering biotech accelerator on the Harwell campus that is dedicated to fostering innovation and scaling early-stage ventures. CO:LABS will open its doors in 2026.
Finally, on behalf of everyone in the Franklin- I want to thank our outgoing Chair Dame Vivienne Cox for her massive contributions to the Franklin. She has led the Board since the foundation of the Franklin. She has had a singularly important role in shaping its path to the success we have enjoyed to date- and in ensuring foundations for future impact for economic growth and improved health.
## **Professor Paul Matthews OBE, DPhil, FRCP, FMedSci, Director**
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We are responding to government priorities in this difficult period for the nation and the world.
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## Objectives and Activities
**he Rosalind Franklin Institute is devoted to addressing important challenges in life sciences through the Tdevelopment and use of innovative technology, for the improvement of human health. Many of our challenges relate to our ability to see the structures of life more clearly; from novel imaging techniques which will allow us to see better into living systems, to the atomic detail of a drug binding with a target protein. This ability to visualise the inner workings of life, and to draw new understanding from this, is one of the reasons we are named in honour of Rosalind Franklin.**
As we develop and refine our technologies, we create opportunities to progress gain multiple insights into the mechanisms of disease and understand fundamental questions in biology. In the coming year, we will refine this concept further as we select key life science drivers where we believe we can apply and develop our technology to deliver globally important breakthroughs.
advancing the state of our collective knowledge and understanding of such fields of study;
- 2) the promotion and preservation of human health, including without limitation by furthering the progress of scientific discoveries and new technologies arising from research into therapeutic treatments, drugs, diagnostics, other technologies and/or information resources by conducting its own research and development activities and by means of collaboration with universities, industry, charities, the state and other relevant bodies.
## **Our Charitable Objectives**
The charitable objectives of the Rosalind Franklin Institute are for the public benefit:
- 1) the furtherance of education, including without limitation in the fields of the physical sciences, engineering, health and life sciences by means including:
## **Income**
The income of the Rosalind Franklin is derived from grants from UKRI, administered by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (UKRI/EPSRC) and grants awarded by other bodies for specific research projects and collaborations. Income is also generated through project based industrial collaborations. Additional income is also derived from commercialisation and translation of Franklin innovation through licencing and sponsored collaborative activity.
- (a) conducting research and publishing the useful results of such research;
- (b) collaborating and exchanging knowledge with universities, industry, charities and other notfor-profit organisations, the state and other relevant bodies; and
- (c) public engagement through educational outreach activities, in each case with a view to
## **Aim 1:** Deliver World-Class science
Our work under this goal is driven by our research values, which inform the ambition, risk profile, collaborative approach and desired outcomes for our technologies. All Franklin projects and technologies should exemplify these research values.
## **Aim 2:** Building a legacy to be proud of
Within this goal we consider our approach to people and place, encompassing talent development, creating an exceptional place to work, and sitting at the heart of a thriving life sciences cluster.
## **Aim 3:** Securing future success
Within this goal we consider the long-term success of the Institute, the destination and dissemination routes for the technologies we create, and our approach to sustainable collaboration.
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## Franklin strategic goals
**he Franklin was conceived to deliver technologies to industrial and academic communities which will advance our ability to see life in transformative, not Tincremental, ways. These advances will enhance human health through the development of new drugs, improved diagnostics, and better understanding of disease.**
This fundamental aim underpins our three strategy strands – to deliver world-class science, build a legacy to be proud of, and secure our future success.
## **Adventure**
Franklin projects have significant risk, balanced by significant pay off if successful
## **Engagement**
Franklin projects engage multiple partners from academia and industry and there is demonstrable support for their development
## **Utility**
## **Novelty**
Franklin technologies will be sought after by industrial and academic
Franklin technologies are globally original and ground breaking in their design and application
communities, generating research and economic benefits
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## **Become a global Centre of Excellence**
## **Seed a new life science cluster,**
for technology development and innovation
enhance the UK skills base
## **Training the next generation in collaborative science**
## **Leverage**
Optimizing the effectiveness of existing government investment in science infrastructure
Through our in-house Doctoral Training Programme (DTP) scheme, collaborative studentships, and engaging diverse audiences with our work
## **Value our people**
Create an environment which develops staff to their full potential, supports career progression, and centres equality and diversity in STEM
**Foster ‘many to many’ links**
across academia and industry, acting as a national focal point
## **Dive rsifying income**
**Expand global network**
The Franklin relies on a diverse portfolio of income sources, supported in the majority by Recurrent funding, industrial income through sponsored research collaborations, competitive grant income from a range of sources, including foundation and philanthropic funders. We aim to maintain a balanced portfolio which brings stability and enables the best application of our advanced technologies
establishing international partnerships, positioning and **Technology** benchmarking the Franklin **maturation** on the global stage
build bridges to clinical application, create a robust IP and commercialization strategy enabling the long-term success of our technologies, and collaborate effectively to show the utility of our work
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## Highlights 2024-2025
**or the Franklin, 2024 - 2025 has been a year of change with new leadership bringing forward new management structures, and a new strategic framework for Franklin Fscience and technology innovations.**
## **Transition from themes to Challenges:**
During 2024-2025, research teams were invited to workshops and engagement sessions which brought out common themes, interests, and strengths in Franklin work. Using this as a substrate, leadership teams re-cast their themes into new, more integrated Challenges.
These Challenges aim to bring renewed focus and synergy between teams, implementing a system of project working which will ensure that all Franklin projects are best placed to deliver their aims and have appropriate teams and collaborations to support them.
All Challenge leads are responsible for individually and collectively for creating opportunities to diversify funding through grants, translation, and collaboration. Challenge teams are led by a senior and established Challenge Lead, and during this year, leads have been joined by Deputies in most areas, enabling succession management, increased leadership capacity, and new opportunities and pathways to leadership for talented team members. In 2025-2026, our senior leadership will be joined by new seconded team members from partner Universities, bringing new ways of working and best practice into the Franklin.
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## **Multidimensional Imaging of Molecular Structures**
## **Seeing Molecules in Unprecedented Detail**
Our aim is to develop new technologies to visualise the molecules of life and their dynamics with near-atomic resolution.
## **This technology will be useful in a wide range of applications**
- for studies of molecules
- 1 in their native context, revealing how they work in healthy systems and how their dysfunction disease
for studies of molecular 2 dynamics in biological systems
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## **Integrated Chemical Imaging in Cells and Tissues**
## **Molecular Insights with Mass Spectrometry**
We advance mass spectrometry techniques to reveal how proteins and their broader molecular environment shape disease.
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Nano-DESI
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## **Novel technologies to accelerate discovery**
We will provide detailed information about the molecular environment for neurodegenerative diseases, such as ALS, to reveal new drug targets.
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SIMS
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Combining with electron microscopy
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**By combining mass spectrometry and structural biology techniques we will gain maximal information from our biological samples.**
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## **Molecular Perturbations: Chemistry Engineering Biology**
## **Innovative Chemistries**
We aim to use chemical tools to better understand and modulate the molecules of life.
**We are developing techniques to selectively edit the molecules of life within living cells and tissues.**
**Pushing the limits of therapeutic treatments**
These targeted changes:
provide insights into biology, 1 infection, and disease
open the door to new 2 therapies and diagnostic tools for hard-to-treat diseases
## **Artificial Intelligence (AI) & Informatics for Predictive Biology**
**Adapting AI and Machine Learning (ML) to Biology is challenging.**
the complexity and variability of biological systems.
**We are advancing cryo-ET data collection and curation through automation to improve reliability and lower the entry barriers.**
## **The Digital Twin Cell**
We are creating a virtual model of a cell that:
combines automated 1 high-throughput data collection and advanced AIand ML-driven processing
enables quantitative measures 2 for digital pathology and molecular pharmocodynamics in the cell.
```
Cryo-ET data input 100%
Loading biometric
parameters 100%
Modeling simulations in
progress...
```
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## **Quantitative Biology Across Scales**
## **Transforming Medicine**
## **New Insights Into Disease**
These 3D techniques will:
By creating 3D maps and virtual models, we aim to understand disease mechanisms and explore how treatments affect complex biological systems.
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1 provide detailed, multi-scale
views of human biology in the
context of women’s health
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2 offer new opportunities for
diagnostics, therapies, and
clinical decision-making.
Body
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TEM FIB/SEM MicroCT X-ray Ultrasound MRI
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**We are developing technologies that combine advanced imaging and AI to study organs, tissues, and cells seamlessly across different scales.**
## **How Pathogens Interact with Human Cells**
## **Innovative Tools**
## **Understanding Infections**
We track and modify key proteins by using:
We aim to uncover how viruses and bacteria interact with human cells and tissues to find new ways of preventing and treating disease.
1 nanometre-scale imaging
2 nanobodies
3 precision chemistry
By revealing pathogen molecular vulnerabilities opens the door to new classes of therapies.
## **Rather than only targeting viral replication,**
**we are exploring how to block pathogens from entering cells — a more conserved and harder-to-evade mechanism.**
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## **Cell-cell Interactions**
## **Understanding cell interactions**
We explore how cells stick together and organise themselves to build tissues that protect our bodies.
## **We investigate how cells form barriers**
- by developing cutting edge
- 1 microscopes that let us see deep inside human tissues
- 2 investigating the role of tiny droplet-like condensates, and how proteins, fats and sugars help organise them
- 3 creating models that more closely mimic the human environment for better biology and drug development
**We combine super-resolution imaging, biophysics, chemistry & AI to study cell-cell interactions from molecules to real human tissues.**
## **Structural Cell Pathology**
## **Seeing the Earliest Signs of Disease**
Halting the progress of neurodegenerative disorders, like Alzheimer’s disease, requires a fundamental understanding of the earliest molecular changes within diseased cells and tissues.
**We are building a molecular toolkit based on electron imaging and ion beam milling that allows these first signs to be imaged.**
## **From Footprints to Mechanisms**
By linking pathology to molecular footprints we:
- aim to explain how
- 1 early protein errors drive dysfunction and disease
- expand capabilities in
- 2 the study of molecular level changes within tissues
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## Highlights
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## **Professor Helen Cooper joining 1**
## **CO:LABS**
The Rosalind Franklin Institute was announced as the first founding member for the new CO:LABS facility, a pioneering biotech accelerator dedicated to fostering innovation and scaling early-stage ventures. CO:LABS is set to officially open its doors in 2026 at Harwell Campus.
We were delighted to welcome Professor Helen Cooper in January. Helen, a leading expert in mass spectrometry, joined us at a pivotal time for the Franklin as we refreshed our science strategy. Helen is seconded from the University of Birmingham, which is a founder member of the Franklin, and this appointment offers exciting opportunities to create closer connections between our organisations.
**3**
## **JEOL microscope arrives**
The UK’s first Chromatic AberrationCorrected Electron Microscope has arrived at the Rosalind Franklin Institute. This state-ofthe-art instrument will significantly enhance the resolution limits for biological sample imaging, especially for thicker specimens.
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## **New trustees**
We have appointed 7 new trustees this year. Our new trustees come from a diverse range of backgrounds, with a wealth of expertise and skills which will be a great asset to the Franklin. Their experience from the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, higher education and government organisations will help support the Franklin’s mission to advance technologies for the Life Sciences.
**The Franklin collects a petabyte of data 4** The Franklin has recently celebrated a massive data milestone, collecting one Petabyte of data from its research efforts. One petabyte of data is the equivalent of 500 billion pages of standard typed text. For the Franklin, this data consists of experimental data from our world class suite of imaging tools.
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## **New technique sheds light on how proteins organise and move on cell membranes**
Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute, the University of Oxford and the University of Southern California have developed a new method for studying how molecules behave on the cell membrane. The technique, known as brightness-transit statistics (BTS), will enhance our understanding of important biological processes including immune responses and cell signalling (the way cells communicate with each other).
**Imaging in liquid with unprecedented clarity** Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute have made a significant breakthrough by imaging bacteria in liquid with unprecedented clarity. The team were able to image on the 10s of nanometres rather than 100s of nanometres level, which is a factor of 10 improvement on where liquid phase electron microscopy was in biology.
**7**
## **First specific PET scan for TB could enable more effective treatment**
**9**
A more accurate way to scan for tuberculosis (TB) has been developed by UK and US researchers, using positron emission tomography (PET).
## **Llama derived nanobodies 8 neutralising new strains of coronavirus**
**10**
**A new greener chemical method for transforming native sugars**
Specific nanobodies have been isolated that can neutralise Omicron strains of Covid-19. This research was conducted by scientists at the Rosalind Franklin Institute and the Universities of Oxford, Liverpool and Zurich.
A team of scientists from the Rosalind Franklin Institute and National University of Singapore have developed a more efficient and sustainable chemistry for connecting sugars to diverse partner molecules in a way that mimics nature.
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## Performance in year 2024-2025
## **World class science**
**Statement of intent:** The Franklin will deliver to maturity at least one ‘factor of ten’ initiative recognised by our Strategic Advisory Board and community in each five year period. This will be unambiguous and will have reach into our communities.
## **Indicators of progress:**
- We have partnered with Universities of Oxford and Pittsburgh, and the National Institutes of Health in the USA, to develop a new radiotracer which provides a more accurate way to scan for tuberculosis.
- Researchers at the Rosalind Franklin Institute have made a significant breakthrough by electron imaging of bacteria in liquid cells with unprecedented clarity.
- Franklin researchers, alongside those at the University of Oxford and the University of Southern California, have developed a new method for studying how molecules behave on the cell membrane.
## **Securing our Future Success**
## **Funding sources**
**Statement of intent:** The nature of high-risk long-term research requires long term core funding. However, we expect to secure 25 % of the operating budget for the Franklin from other sources by 2026 (direct Industry funding, auditable in-kind contributions from Industry, grants from charitable organisations and other UKRI funding).
## **Indicators of progress:**
- The transition from themes to Challenge in 20242025 has created new groupings of staff working on more focussed projects. These are designed to create opportunities for external funding.
- We have invested in systems to make grant application processes internally smoother and more consistent, reducing the administrative burden of grant applications and greatly increasing our reporting and analysis capacity.
- We continue to seek diverse and international funding sources, and have been successful in attracting funds from trusts and foundations in addition to UKRI funding in this year.
## **Collaboration**
**Statement of intent:** The Franklin will establish collaborations across the UK. We aim to secure five new multi-centre collaborations each year. We will ensure these are geographically dispersed.
## **Indicators of progress:**
- During this reporting period, Franklin researchers were inventors on new patent filings with coinventors from Imperial College, National University of Singapore, University of Liverpool, and University of Oxford.
- We have entered into a new collaboration with Astra Zeneca, which enables access to Franklin technology and training.
- In October, we hosted the inaugural Volume Electron Microscopy conference. This conference welcomed more than 150 international delegates to Harwell. This community event was supported by a Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant to a consortia including the Franklin.
## **Training and skills:**
**Statement of intent:** Training and skills development in our community is essential in ensuring the success of our programmes as they mature. We will embed training programmes for industry and academic colleagues and collaborators alongside our projects at the earliest stage, with a KPI for the number of individuals from both industry and academia exposed to training and learning linked to our technologies. Training will range from undergraduate projects and placements to advanced skills development for established researchers in industry and academia, to technical training for engineers and support staff. We will monitor the types and balance of training offered between different communities.
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## **Indicators of progress:**
- Alongside Imperial College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute, the Franklin hosted a two-day workshop on ‘The Structural Frontiers of Neuroscience’. This workshop brought together leading experts to discuss the latest structural biology approaches to investigate neuronal function and misfunction.
- We successfully attracted European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO) funding to host a training course for international participants on ‘Transposable Elements in the Era of Data Science’, bringing for the first time a prestigious EMBO practical course to the Franklin
## **Building a legacy to be proud of**
**Statement of Intent:** Our goal is that every person (from student to science lead to support and professional functions) who works at the Franklin will do the best work of their career here. We will graduate ten PhD scientists a year from 2025. These students will stand out as future leaders in innovative Industries and in academia. As a KPI we will monitor the next destinations of our students.
- Our students are based at the Franklin, with awarding partners at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Manchester, Warwick, Oxford, Leeds, UCL, Birmingham, Southampton, St Andrews, Kings College, Imperial, and Bath.
**Statement of Intent:** As a dynamic research institute, we would expect to see a higher turnover of staff (around 10 % per year) as our people move on to the next steps in their careers. As a KPI we will monitor the turnover of our scientific workforce and their next destinations. At an all-staff level (including non-scientific staff) we will monitor the next steps with a goal of 90 % to have positive next destinations (employed at the same or high level, new training or personal development or desired life changes (retirement, career break).
## **Indicators of progress:**
- During this year of change, we have monitored staff wellbeing and internal communications closely, increasing all-hands and all staff meetings.
- The implementation of a new HR system within the year has improved our ability to record and report next destinations, with a majority of leaving research staff moving to academic roles.
## **Indicators of Progress:**
- The Franklin now has four cohorts of students in place. Our first cohort of students will graduate in 2025, an important milestone for the organisation.
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FRAN
ITUTE STRAT
IC REP
T AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 202S
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## In year goals and progress
## **Strategy:**
We will develop and launch a series of ‘Challenge’ projects which will drive internal and external collaboration with the Franklin, enabling our technologies to thrive against the most important and timely life science problems. During the development of these ‘Challenge’ projects we will consult with relevant communities to ensure these ideas will make for ambitious and impactful projects.
We will work with our funders to position the Franklin as a key national institute for technology in life sciences, in readiness for our next five-year period, and at a key moment of change for the UK with a new government.
## **Skills and talent:**
We will further develop the structure of our PhD scheme, which will see its first graduates in 2024/2025.
We will continue to develop our research talent in house, with opportunities for leadership emerging through the creation of the Challenges.
We will support more staff to apply for grants and fellowships, through mentoring schemes.
## **Achieved:**
Our restructuring throughout 20242025 was launched in March 2025 at our Innovation Forum.
During the creation of the challenges, input from teams was centred, with external input and guidance as ideas took shape.
Our work within the year has brought closer working links with UKRI-STFC in technology transfer, and the formation of the National Research Organisations network, which enables the Franklin to engage more directly with the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology.
## **Achieved:**
New collaborations which will diversify the scheme are in place and will be announced in the coming year.
Through the creation of the challenges new opportunities for leadership have emerged within this year.
Opportunities to access funding through the internal Growth fund call have enabled young researchers to apply for important funding.
We have supported multiple fellowship applications from both within and outside of the Franklin with an improved review process to ensure equity and diversity. We have provided training opportunities in grant application skills. Fellowship applications, and provided mentorship for aspiring fellows.
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## **Securing our future:**
We will, through our operations and quality teams, ensure that the Franklin is well equipped to take on challenging science in a compliant environment, supporting the development of new research capabilities in Human Tissue.
We will focus on the translation of our science, particularly from our first phase investments, ensuring that funding has impact in human health and on the UK as a whole. We will deliver training and mentoring for research teams in creating impact in diverse ways, including through entrepreneurship.
We will equip the Franklin for the future by embedding systems which support researchers and communicate the work of the Franklin effectively, including developing new websites, internal systems and processes for grants, and in HR.
## **Achieved:**
In this year, we have applied for a human tissue licence. With operational colleagues working closely with science colleagues to achieve a successful application. The first human tissue work will take place in early financial year 2025.
Within this year, we have conducted multiple training and awareness events on entrepreneurship. We have created new partnerships, including with Astra Zeneca. We have implemented new project funding streams for innovative projects.
New systems in HR and grants have been embedded this year. These have increased our capacity for reporting and increased productivity in the grants team whilst reducing administrative burden.
Our website has been refreshed and relaunched in line with our new strategy, a piece of work which enables the Franklin to communicate its aims and key areas of collaborative interest more clearly to our community.
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## Future Plans 2025-2026
## **Strategy:**
- We will continue to embed our Challenge Structure. Our growth fund projects will commence next year.
- We will embed project working across all challenges, with regular reporting across all challenges. We will deliver project leadership training for all project leads to support this.
## **Skills and Talent:**
## **Securing our Future:**
- We will develop further industry partnerships using a new model for collaboration, enabling easier access to our technologies.
- We will establish a new Translational Advisory Board to guide and advise our research teams on both the translational potential and commercialisation of our projects, and to build innovative potential into our project pipeline.
- We will deliver new studentship types in this year, with 50:50 funded studentships offered through new strategic partnerships.
- We will strategically partner with universities, to bring new talent into the Franklin at a leadership level through senior secondments, and will create long term partnerships with groups at partner Universities.
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## Engagement and Community Impact in 2024-2025
## **Franklin Innovation Forum (March 2025)**
The Franklin hosted an Innovation Forum at the Royal Institution in London. The event brought together life sciences leaders from across the sector to discuss methods to drive innovation for human health and disease. With over 150 guests from academia to industry, the event also launched the Franklin’s new science strategy and fostered new relationships between groups leading to visits to the Franklin from industry partners as a result of the event.
## **Harwell Open Week (June 2024)**
For the first time since its inception the Franklin opened its doors alongside other Harwell Campus Facilities for Harwell Open Week in June 2024. Through the UKRI stakeholder tours, school workshops and public open day, the Franklin interacted with over 2,000 visitors to showcase some of our research and help the others to further understand the work that is conducted at Harwell Campus.
## **Other public engagement**
## **Volume EM Technology Forum (October 2024)**
The Franklin hosted the inaugural vEM Technology Forum, led the vEM Community. Attended by over 130 people, the goal of the forum was to bring together the vEM community to share new advances and discuss common challenges in the field through panel discussions and presentations.
## **DRI Joint Workshop (November 2024)**
Alongside Imperial College London and the UK Dementia Research Institute, the Franklin hosted a two-day workshop on ‘The Structural Frontiers of Neuroscience’. This workshop brought together leading experts to discuss the latest structural biology approaches to investigate neuronal function and misfunction.
Continuing our engagement with the public, the Franklin also attended many local science fairs such as Reading Community Festival, ATOM Science Market in Abingdon and the Festival of Tomorrow in Swindon reaching over 1,500 members of the public with hands-on researchbased activities. The Franklin has also hosted a visit for Witney’s U3A (University of the Third Age) Science and Technology interest group for a series of tours and talks from some of the Franklin’s PhD Students.
## The Franklin has also continued to engage with
schools, delivering workshops with Education Business Partnership and running work experience programmes for year 10 and 12 students each year. For the 2024/2025 academic year we introduced workshops to year 5/6 pupils in addition to our current programmes with secondary school pupils reaching over 300 pupils through these programmes.
## **BioTrinity (April 2024)**
We attended OBN’s annual flagship conference BioTrinity in April, here we presented a poster and pitch of an exciting commercial opportunity emerging from our academic research - photoredox protein modification. We engaged with a wide-ranging audience around this technology and also in targeted partnering meetings around other Franklin technologies.
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## Sustainability
## **t the Franklin we are committed to creating an environment which is diverse, gives equality of opportunity and provides a welcoming and inclusive culture. A**
The Franklin acknowledges the vital importance of sustainable science in the face of the climate emergency.
Our funders UKRI are committed to achieving Net Zero by 2040, a full decade earlier than the UK target. As the Franklin sits on a UKRI campus and is part of the UKRI ecosystem, we align with this goal and fully support this work.
In line with funder requirements and best practice, in 2024-2025 we will be formally aligning with the Concordat for Sustainable Research, and introducing the Laboratory Efficiency Assessment Framework (LEAF) accreditation into our laboratories.
## **Energy efficiency:**
- Our new building is efficient by design - the building achieved its ‘very good’ BREEAM rating for sustainability before opening – and we continue to work with our landlords, STFC, to monitor energy use and environmental impact. We also benefit from their site wide efforts to reduce our carbon impact, including extensive solar panel installation.
## **Supporting staff to make sustainable choices:**
- We are working with Campus partners to improve access to public transport. All Franklin students have funded bus travel as part of their studentship package.
- We have also partnered with the Green Commute Initiative to introduce a cycle-to-work scheme for our employees.
## **Role modelling sustainable choices:**
- All Franklin catering is vegetarian, making small reductions to our carbon footprint and role modelling more sustainable choices.
## **Waste management and supply chain:**
- Pipette recycling, glass recycling and polystyrene recycling have been integrated into our existing waste streams working alongside our waste supplier Select Environmental. We do not send our waste to disposal, but it is sent for Recycling or Recovery of Energy from Waste.
- Through the implementation of an improved Marketplace solution, we have greater control of suppliers, accessing strong procurement Frameworks with established sustainability strategies. We are a member of the Southern Universities Procurement Consortium.
## **Laboratory management:**
- Laboratory managers and technicians maintain an inventory of chemicals in the building, which all users are encouraged to use rather than buy new. In addition, sample labelling is well maintained.
- We also have an equipment booking system in place do that equipment use can be managed and monitored efficiently. Equipment, which is not being utilised has been sold, so that it can be re-used. In addition, we do look to purchase second hand equipment where appropriate.
- The Campus provides free access to bikes for local travel and has strong biodiversity programmes across both public and private spaces.
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## Equality, diversity and inclusion
**reating a safe, supportive and inclusive environment where all our people have the opportunity to contribute and fulfil their potential is a guiding principle of Cthe Franklin. With diversity of lived experience, culture, skills, experience and backgrounds our people unite around their love of science.**
## **Our approach to ED&I**
Our approach to ED&I is built around the following areas of focus;
- Promoting Inclusive recruitment and leadership practices
- Creating diverse teams which are representative of society
- Developing fair and representative policies and practices
- Developing our Line Managers and Leaders to support inclusive behaviours and practice
- Supporting wellbeing at work for all staff
- We are part of the Onvero (previously ENEI) employer network which helps support us with identifying gaps in our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion practices and building a plan to address these.
- A new committee created ground up by staff and students has formed in 2025. This new group is cochaired by the Director of HR and has direct links to the Institute Management Group.
This group are focused around three distinct areas;
- Analytics and Insights
- Policy and Procedures
- Engagement and Awareness
Each area meets regularly, and the whole committee has received training and action plan development assistance from Onvero to ensure that they able to maximise impact and focus.
Implementation of the new management structure has enabled significant improvements in leadership opportunity at the Franklin, as shown below.
## **Composition of Franklin Leadership by gender 2023-2024 and 2024-2025**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
7 4 6
3 5 6
Executive Group Institute Management Challenge Leadership
Composition Group composition Group composition
2023-2024 2024-2025 2024-2025
**----- End of picture text -----**
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## Risks and uncertainties
**n common with all organisations, the Franklin recognises a set of internal and external risks which must be mitigated to ensure successful delivery of the Charitable Iobjectives of the organisation. Risks are recorded in a corporate risk register, reviewed and amended as required on a regular basis by the senior management team. Local risks within projects are managed by project leads. The Audit and Risk committee manage overall corporate risk, and determine appetite for risk and approach in each domain.**
## **Key external risks:**
Some key areas for the Franklin in the last 12 months include;
## **1. Risks relating to change**
As the Franklin has transitioned its strategy during the year from a ‘theme’ to a ‘Challenge’ based system, we have faced and mitigated several risks relevant to change, including:
**Risk:** Loss of staff morale, leading to higher turnover
**Mitigation:** We have mitigated this risk by increasing communication efforts internally and creating multiple opportunities for staff to contribute to and shape the developing strategy. Turnover has remained at usual levels.
**Risk:** Uncertainty reduces momentum in scientific programmes, reducing output.
**Mitigation:** Close working between science leadership has enabled productivity by science teams to be maintained, with new collaborations forming during period. Implementation in this period of a new management structure with a dedicated Challenge Leadership Group to focus on our science and maintain momentum has been a key mitigator. Implementing new Growth Fund projects, backed by internal funds and reviewed externally, has encouraged new and existing scientific leaders to step forward and visibly implement the new structures.
**Appetite for risk:** While some uncertainty is natural during periods of change, our appetite for risk in this domain was low. It is essential that we retain top talent and momentum throughout this transition.
## **2. Increasing cost pressure**
Inflation continues to drive higher costs across the business.
**Risk:** Inflationary pressures reducing the spending power of our funding, reducing our ability to meet our scientific goals
**Mitigation:** Reprofiling our budget using underspend from the last financial year largely mitigated this risk and enabled the Franklin to deliver against its objectives. In addition, a limited number of value and savings projects were established, bringing together Franklin staff to identify savings opportunities, which also helped get the best out of the funds we have, without compromising scientific delivery.
**Appetite for risk:** Low, it is essential that we maintain spending within budget envelope available to us.
## **3. External funding landscape**
Competitive grant funding success rates have reduced across the UK, reducing the available pool of important opportunities to leverage Franklin technologies in partnership with the wider community.
**Risk:** The Franklin is unable to create new collaborations due to reduced availability of funding. This creates delivery risks for the Franklin in meeting our obligations to embed our technologies in the research landscape.
**Mitigation:** We have invested in grant management systems in year, which have increased efficiency in the grants team. This enables a more diverse range of funders and partnership types to be pursued, with the team offering more strategic support to research teams. The Challenge structure is explicitly designed to make it easier for collaborators to work with the Franklin, further reducing barriers to success.
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**Risk:** Volatility in the life sciences sector reduces appetite for collaboration with pharmaceutical partners
**Mitigation:** More flexible and responsive modes of collaboration have been developed, creating lower barriers to entry for new partners and reducing risks for both partners.
**Appetite for risk:** Medium: Our projects rely on collaboration. We must explore flexible means of delivery to take account of these external pressures.
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## Structure, Governance and Management
**he Rosalind Franklin Institute is governed by its Board of Trustees whose members are also its Directors. Until December 2023, of the Board members, six Directors Twere drawn from Member organisations on a rotational basis, with nominees selected for their ability to bring appropriate skills and experience to the Franklin board. Independent directors were drawn from industry and allied fields and are selected for their unique skills and experience.**
The terms of board membership are set out in our governing Joint Venture agreement.
New Trustees were recruited to this structure during 2024 through an open recruitment process.
To ensure good governance in line with best practice, and with the Charity Governance Code, as updated in December 2020, a board effectiveness review was undertaken in 2021-2022, with the structure of the review underpinned by its seven principles of Organisational Purpose; Leadership; Integrity; Decision making, risk and control; Board Effectiveness; Equality, Diversity and inclusion; Openness and accountability. Analysis and monitoring of Board Skills is periodically carried out.
The results of this review, supported by further skills analysis, have informed a discussion with members on the process for seeking new Trustees, to ensure that the Franklin is able to maintain a high quality board into the future.
From December 2023, the Members of the Rosalind Franklin Institute, following extensive consultation, agreed a new Governance structure through amendment of the Joint Venture Agreement and the Franklin’s Articles of Association which will change the balance of the Board to the following structure.
- Chair
- Institute Director
- Senior Independent Director
- Independent Trustees (6)
- Member appointed Trustees (2)
- STFC/UKRI appointed Trustee
The revised structure gives the Franklin greater latitude to recruit the best talent to the Board of Trustees, representing the skills and experiences required for excellent Governance.
## **Recruitment and appointment of Trustees**
The members of the Board who served during the year and up to the date of the Report are listed on page 2. The Members of the Board are Directors for the purpose of company law, and Trustees for the purpose of charity law. Under the Joint Venture Agreement and Company’s Articles, Independent Board Members are elected to serve on the Board for a period of three years. The Board seeks to recruit a diverse membership. Periodically, they consider the skills mix of the Board as a means of succession planning. Other than our Independent Non Executive Chair, Board Members do not receive fees or other remuneration as Directors and Trustees but are entitled to recover expenses as outlined in the notes to the Accounts.
The induction programme seeks to inform Directors of the strategic priorities through a schedule of meetings and briefing documents as appropriate.
## **Organisational structure**
The Rosalind Franklin Institute has a clear organisation structure with documented lines of responsibility and authority and that sets out the composition of each group and committee within the structure.
**Member Representatives** - represent the interests of the member organisations. Their role is to ensure that the institute is delivering strong partnerships with its members and delivering its aims. Collectively, they drive the direction of The Franklin. The Joint Venture Agreement sets out several decisions that are reserved for the Members and those matters that are delegated
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to the Board, Institute Director and Executive Group. The Members appoint the external auditors.
## **Members of the Rosalind Franklin Institute**
**Remuneration Committee (RemCom)** - has oversight of the preparation of policies and procedures in respect of salaries, emoluments, conditions of service of employees of the Franklin including Equality and Diversity, performance reviews and personal development.
- University of Birmingham
- University of Cambridge
- Diamond Light Source
- University of Edinburgh
## **Members of the Remuneration Committee at April 2025**
Gillian Burgess (Chair), Hilary Newiss, Caroline Carter
- Imperial College London
- University of Leeds
- Kings College London
- University of Manchester
- University of Oxford
- University of Southampton
- University College London
- UKRI-STFC
**The Board** - have primary responsibility for the Franklin (Joint Venture Agreement and Memorandum and Articles). The Board is responsible for setting the aims and strategic direction of the Franklin. They monitor risks, approve the annual business plan, budget and expenditure targets, and monitor the financial results (actual and forecast). The Board has final approval of funding bids and the resourcing of projects. UKRI/EPSRC may nominate a representative to attend Board meetings as an observer, but such representative will not be a Director.
The Board meets four times a year to monitor the operations of the Franklin and there is regular contact with Board Members in between meetings. During the financial year 2023-2024 the Board oversaw all of the organisations finances and activities.
Three subcommittees were established by the board prior to this reporting year: the Remuneration Committee, the Audit and Risk Committee, and the Nominations Committee.
**The Strategic Advisory Board** also advises on the direction and development of science at the Franklin (via the Board). Theme Advisory Panels advise the Science Directors and the Strategic Advisory Board on the quality, progress and impact of current programmes.
**Audit and Risk Committee** – is responsible for audit, finance and risk management. They review The Franklin’s internal controls, risk management processes and compliance with funding and reporting requirements. They monitor the work of the external auditors and the resulting financial statements and receive and review the annual audit report.
## **Members of the Audit and Risk Committee at April 2025**
Bruce Pritchard (Chair), Andy Mount, Ian Charles
**Nominations Committee** – This committee oversees the appointment of new Trustees, monitor Board skills and effectiveness, and ensure that Board members are suitably inducted and trained during their time as a Trustee. The NomCo is chaired by the Chair of Trustees, supported by the Senior Independent Director. Where the duties of the NomCo concern Chair recruitment, the SID will chair.
## **Members of the Nominations Committee:**
Vivienne Cox, David Rees (Senior Independent Director) , John Holloway
**Strategic Advisory Board** – has been established to advise the Franklin, via its Board, on the development and implementation of the research and development strategy of the institute. Members are independent experts from academia and industry, both national and international. The Board met for the first time in February 2020 and reviewed the current direction and future for each theme. An annual cycle of meetings is now established, with the SAB contributing significantly to the scientific strategy of the organisation.
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## **Members of the Strategic Advisory Board in 2023-2024:**
- Professor Sabine Flitsch, Manchester University (chair)
- Dr Tom Muir, Princeton University
- Dr John Pollard, DarkBlue Tx
- Professor Iain Styles, Queens University Belfast
- Professor Vicki Wysocki, Ohio State University
- Professor Amanda Petford Long, Argonne National Laboratory
- Dr Chris Brain, Novartis
The day-to-day management of The Franklin has been delegated to the Institute Director who works with the Executive Group to deliver The Franklin’s operations, activities, and projects.
The Executive Group – the Group is made up of the senior operations team and the science directors. They consider developments across the themes and form part of the decision-making in advancing proposals to the Value for Money Panel. They are responsible for implementing the agreed strategy and policies and report on performance to the Board (Stood down January 2025).
## **Executive Group Membership (to January 2025)**
## Institute Director
**Paul Matthews**
Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Chief Operating Officer **Mark Driver** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Director of Next Gen Chemistry
**Ben Davis**
Director of Biological Mass Spectrometry (resigned December 2023)
## **Zoltan Takats**
Seconded from Imperial College London
Interim lead: Biological Mass Spectrometry (from Dec 2023)
**Bela Paiz** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Interim lead: Structural Biology (executive team representative) (from Dec 2023 **Ray Owens** Seconded from Oxford University
Head of Technology
**Gwyndaf Evans** Seconded from Diamond Light Source
## Financial Controller
## **Caroline Rudman**
Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Director of Strategic Marketing **Laura Holland** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Director of Human Resources **Lydia Armes** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
## **Our new management structure**
Institute Management Group
Institute Management Group (IMG) chaired by the Director, integrates HR, finance, estates, safety, and communications so that resources align with scientific priorities, a collaborative culture flourishes, and the impact of our work is amplified through stakeholder engagement and partnership development.
Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
## Director of Correlated Imaging
**Angus Kirkland** Seconded from Oxford University
Director of Artificial Intelligence and Informatics **Mark Basham** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
## **Membership of the Institute Management Group**
## Institute Director
## **Paul Matthews**
Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Chief Operating Officer **Mark Driver** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
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Head of Technology
**Gwyndaf Evans** Seconded from Diamond Light Source
## **Additional non-voting attendees:**
- Graduate Studies Board Representative
- Early Career Group Representative
## Financial Controller
**Caroline Rudman**
Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Director of Strategic Marketing
**Laura Holland** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Director of Human Resources
**Lydia Armes** Employed Rosalind Franklin Institute
Challenge Lead Representative **Ray Owens** Seconded from Oxford University
## **Challenge Leadership Group**
The delivery of our science strategy, including our research challenges and supporting projects, is led by our Technology Innovation and Challenge Leadership Group.
## **Voting attendees:**
Chair: Professor Paul Matthews – Director
Professor Ben Davis
Professor Angus Kirkland Professor Helen Cooper
Dr Mark Basham Dr Michele Darrow
Professor Ray Owens
Mark Driver (COO)
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## Financial Review
**he Institute ended the year in a strong position, consolidating the transition to challenge led science from FY25/26, by repurposing reserves to build a fund T specifically to support new projects and secondments. Hence, for the 12-month period ended 31 March 2025, the Institute recorded a deficit on general unrestricted funds of £1,217,397 after transfers of £2,432,748 to the designated funds to support our growth plans.** Total income FY24/25 was £20,571,730, £13,907,086 designated to support the reserves policy and other of which was unrestricted. Unrestricted income was significant commitments including costs associated made up of funding from a grant of £13,428,173 from with building works required to house a new instrument UKRI/EPSRC, and £478,913 of other funding. Restricted due for delivery during FY2526. income was made up of grants of £3,505,268 from UKRI/ EPSRC, along with other restricted funds of **Reserves Policy** £3,159,376.
designated to support the reserves policy and other significant commitments including costs associated with building works required to house a new instrument due for delivery during FY2526.
In accordance with Charity Commission guidance and best practice, the Reserves Policy for the Institute is designed to ensure the stability of the on-going operations of the organisation. The reserves of a charity are defined in relation to the level of both unrestricted and designated funds.
The UKRI/EPSRC grants and the collaboration income are awarded in respect of the delivery of specific projects including the purchase of instrumentation. For the 12-month period ended 31 March 2025, total expenditure was £25,442,171.
## **Reserves**
At the end of the financial year, the retained reserves of the charity were £36,238,700 of which £22,752,067 were restricted and not available for the general purposes of the charity. The timing of spend of these financial commitments remains under review with our grant funding bodies and relevant suppliers.
After making an allowance for these restricted, designated funds – the charity holds unrestricted reserves of £13,486,632 of which £11,204,029 are
The Institute reviews its Reserves Policy each year, taking into account its planned activities and the need to provide a financial buffer against unexpected events, included the impact of unbudgeted expenses.
In the previous accounting period, the policy was to maintain sufficient reserves to fund Five months of forecast core operating expenditure. As at 31 March 2025, adherence to the policy was met by retaining the designated fund of £3.5m (see Note 17) along with a general unrestricted fund of £2.3m.
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## **Investment Policy**
At this stage, the investment policy continues to be limited to the management of instant access, liquid funds. Moving forward it is anticipated that the investment policy will be developed to facilitate the secure investment of excess cash resources through diversification of the portfolio. Investments will remain risk averse and non-speculative in line with charitable objectives, careful treasury management has increased interest received to £227k.
## **Funding Sources and Sustainability**
The principal funding source of the Institute in the year was the award of grant applications. The Institute does not engage in fundraising. The Institute works in close partnership with funders to ensure that the grant profiles and project funding remain appropriate and support financial sustainability.
Following discussions with UKRI/EPSRC in respect of core funding post March 2025, in accordance with the planned quinquennial review, the institute has received confirmation of funding to March 2027. In addition, the Institute continues to work with both existing and new partners, seeking to diversify income to support new projects in line with charitable objectives. It should be noted that new grant funding streams are becoming increasingly difficult to secure.
## **Going Concern**
Whilst future funding of the Institute is in place to March 2027, discussions around funding beyond this date have begun with UKRI/EPSRC, based on this assurance, the Board believe that it is appropriate to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis. The Board consider that the Institute has adequate resources available to cover the working capital requirements of the charity for at least 12 months from the date of signing this report and financial statements. Cash flow forecasts and budget reviews are carried out monthly by the Institute Management Group and quarterly reforecasts allow activity to be adjusted to respond to any unexpected variations.
So far as each director is aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the auditor’s are not aware; and each director has taken all the steps that he ought to have taken in order to make himself aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the company’s auditors are aware of that information.
The strategic report was approved by the Board of Trustees
## **Dame Dr Vivienne Cox**
Chair of Trustees
> Date: 19/11/25
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## Statement of Trustees Responsibilities
**he trustees, who are also the directors of The Rosalind Franklin Institute for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and T the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).**
Company Law 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 the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP);
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that 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 Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
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## Financial Statements
## Independent auditor’s report to the Trustees of the Rosalind Franklin Institute
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of The Rosalind Franklin Institute (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is 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 Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
## **Basis for opinion**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **Conclusions relating to going concern**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded
that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
## **Other information**
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
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- the information given in the trustees’ report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **Matters on which we are required to report by exception**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the trustees’ report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
- the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
## **Responsibilities of trustees**
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees’ responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined
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above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity and determined that the most significant are those that relate to financial reporting, FRS 102, the charities SORP and the Companies Act.
We assessed the risks of material misstatement in respect of fraud through enquiries of management and those charged with governance before the audit began and throughout the audit process. We used analytical review throughout the audit to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships. No movements were identified where there was not a reasonable explanation for the change.
There were no significant fraud risk factors identified in relation to Related Party Transactions due to the nature of Related Parties.
Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify noncompliance with such laws and regulations identified above. To gain an understanding of the entity’s policies and procedures for compliance with those laws and regulations we made enquires of management and those charged with governance. We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and tested to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
Through discussions with management, we gained an understanding of how instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations or knowledge of actual, suspected, or alleged fraud is documented. We corroborated our enquiries through review of board minutes. We did not find any instances of contradictory evidence.
We considered the risk of fraud through management override, and, in response, we incorporated testing of manual journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness into our audit approach.
Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify and to address material misstatements in relation to fraud. We applied an element of unpredictability in the selection of the nature, timing and extent of audit procedures.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors’ report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
**Jemima King** (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of Richardsons
Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor 30 Upper High Street, Thame, Oxfordshire OX9 3EZ
## Date: 19/11/2025
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## Statement of financial activities including income and expenditure account for the year ended 31 March 2025
||**Notes**|**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**funds**|**funds**|**funds**|**2025**|**funds**|**funds**|**funds**|**2024**|
|||**general**|**designated**|**2025**||**general**|**designated**|**2024**||
|||**202**5|**2025**|||**2024**|**2024**|||
|||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Income and**||||||||||
|**endowments**||||||||||
|**from:**||||||||||
|Charitable||||||||||
|activities|**3**|13,590,392|-|6,644,951|20,235,343|14,480,486|-|5,902,922|20,383,408|
|Other income|**4**|316,692|-|19,691|336,383|125,056|-|-|125,056|
|**Total income**||13,907,084|-|6,664,642|20,571,726|14,605,542|-|5,902,922|20,508,464|
|**Expenditure**||||||||||
|**on:**||||||||||
|Raising funds|**5**|203,828|-|27,484|231,312|97,771|-|20,592|118,363|
|Charitable||||||||||
|activities|**6**|12,487,905|353,007|12,369,94|25,210,859|10,742,876|-|12,245,969|22,988,845|
|**Total**||||||||||
|**expenditure**||12,691,733|353,007|12,397,431|25,442,171|10,840,647|-|12,266,561|23,107,208|
|**Net income/**||||||||||
|**(expenditure)**|**for the**|||||||||
|**year/Net movement**||||||||||
|**in funds**||1,215,351|(353,007)|(5,732,789)|(4,870,445)|3,764,895|-|(6,363,639)|(2,598,744)|
|Gross||||||||||
|transfers||||||||||
|between||||||||||
|funds||(2,432,748)|2,220,788|211,960|-|(3,764,895)|2,840,937|923,958|-|
|**Net income/**||||||||||
|**(expenditure)**|**for the**|||||||||
|**year/Net movement**||||||||||
|**in funds**||(1,217,397)|1,867,781|(5,520,829)|(4,870,445)|-|2,840,937|(5,439,681)|(2,598,744)|
|Fund balances||||||||||
|at 1 April 2024||3,500,000|9,336,248|28,272,897|41,109,145|3,500,000|6,495,311|33,712,578|43,707,889|
|**Fund**||||||||||
|**balances at**||||||||||
|**31 March**||||||||||
|**2025**||2,282,603|11,204,029|22,752,068|36,238,700|3,500,000|9,336,248|28,272,897|41,109,145|
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under the Companies Act 2006.
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## Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 March 2025
|**Notes**
**Cash fows from**
**operating activities**
Cash generated from
operations
**20**
**Investing activities**
Purchase of tangible fxed
assets
Interest Received
**Net cash generated**
**from/(used in) investing**
**activities**
**Net increase in cash and**
**cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents
at beginning of year
**Cash and cash**
**equivalents at end of year**|**£**
(3,059,449)|**2025**
**£**
5,975,180
(2,831,961)
3,143,219|**2024**
**£**
**£**
2,182,875
(3,057,455)
(3,057,455)
(874,580)
14,039,706
13,165,126|**2024**
**£**
**£**
2,182,875
(3,057,455)
(3,057,455)
(874,580)
14,039,706
13,165,126|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||227,488||||
||||||
|||13,165,126||14,039,706|
|||16,308,345||13,165,126|
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## Balance sheet
## as at 31 March 2025
|**Notes**
**Fixed Assets**
Tangible Assets
**10**
**Current Assets**
Debtors
**11**
Cash at bank and in hand
Creditors: amounts falling due within
one year
**12**
Net Current Assets
**Total Assets Less Current Liabilities**
**Income Funds**
Restricted Funds
**15**
Unrestricted Funds:
Designated Funds
**16**
General Unrestricted Funds|**2025**
**£**
2,081,692
16,308,345|**£**
22,261,419
13,977,281|**2024**
**£**
2,768,728
13,165,126|**£**
27,190,804
13,918,341|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||18,390,037
(4,412,756)||15,933,854
(2,015,513)||
||11,204,029
2,282,603||9,336,248
3,500,000||
|||36,238,700||41,109,145|
|||22,752,068
13,486,632||28,272,897
12,836,248|
||||||
|||36,238,700||41,109,145|
> The financial statements were approved by the Trustees on 19/11/2025
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
## **Dame Dr V Cox CBE**
Chair of Trustees
Company Registration No. 11266143
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Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 31 March 2025
45
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **Charity information**
The Rosalind Franklin Institute is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Rosalind Franklin Institute Building, R113 Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Harwell Campus, Didcot, Oxfordshire, OX11 0QX, England.
## **1.1 Accounting convention**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity’s Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
## **1.2 Going concern**
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements. Further details on this assessment can be found within the Trustees’ Report.
## **1.3 Charitable funds**
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds within unrestricted funds are amounts that the trustees have set aside for a particular purpose.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by grant providers as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
## **1.4 Incoming resources**
Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
## **1.5 Resources expended**
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings that have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
## **1.6 Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
Scientific Equipment 20% Straight Line Office equipment 25% Straight Line Computer equipment 33% Straight Line
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No depreciation is charged on assets under construction.
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
## **1.7 Fixed asset investments**
Entities in which the charity has a long term interest and shares control under a contractual arrangement are classified as jointly controlled entities.
## **1.8 Impairment of fixed assets**
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
## **1.9 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
## **1.10 Financial instruments**
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity’s balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
## **Basic financial assets**
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
## **Basic financial liabilities**
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
## **Derecognition of financial liabilities**
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
## **1.11 Retirement benefits**
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
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## **2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements**
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
## **3 Charitable activities**
|Grant income
Industry Income
Other income
**Analysis by fund**
Unrestricted funds - general
Restricted funds|**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
20,114,457
19,486,917
120,889
896,491
-
20,235,346
20,383,408|
|---|---|
||13,590,392
14,480,486
6,644,951
5,902,922|
||20,235,343
20,383,408|
## **4 Other income**
|**Other income**||||
|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|
|||**funds**|**funds**|
||**RESTRICTED**|**general**|**general**|
||**2025**|**2025**|**2024**|
||£|**£**|**£**|
|Net gain on disposal of tangible fxed assets|Nil|700|Nil|
|Other income|19,691|315,992|125,056|
||19,691|316,692|125,056|
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## **5 Raising funds**
|**Raising funds**|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Total**|
||**funds**|**funds**|||
||**general**||||
||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Partnerships & business development|Nil|Nil|Nil|Nil|
|costs|||||
|Publication fees|9,792|5,889|15,681|10,368|
|Engagements & Publicity|194,036|21,595|215,631|107,994|
||203,828|27,484|231,312|118,362|
## **6 Charitable activities**
|Staf Costs
Depreciation and impairment
Entertainment
Catering and events
Printing, postage and stationery
Recruitment
Insurance
Rent
Secondments and temporary staf
Travel and accommodation
IT costs
Project costs
Other expenditure
Equipment hire
Repairs, maintenance and equipment servicing
Collaboration costs
Building works and repairs
Share of support costs (see note 7)
Share of governance costs (see note 7)
**Analysis by fund**
Unrestricted funds - general
Unrestricted Designated
Restricted funds|**Operational**
**expenditure**
**Operational**
**expenditure**
**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
8,183,486
7,188,970
7,988,834
7,806,785
9,000
2,973
-
-
6,842
7,712
280,603
284,030
77,359
62,124
1,471,059
963,339
1,713,949
1,197,587
243,108
176,922
1,352,82
1,216,153
1,505,353
2,547,952
83,480
222,031
8,210
1,840
1,420,732
1,020,892
274,186
16,863
533,675
244,060
25,152,696
22,988,845
49,463
15,623
8,700
12,990
25,210,859
22,988,845
12,487,905
10,742,876
353,007
12,369,947
12,245,969
25,210,859
22,988,845|
|---|---|
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## **7 Support costs**
|Accountancy
Legal and professional
Audit fees
Legal and professional
Analysed between
Charitable activities|**Support**
**costs**
**Governance**
**costs**
**2025**
**Support costs**
**Governance costs**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
760
Nil
760
3,541
Nil
3,541
48,703
Nil
48,703
12,082
Nil
12,082
Nil
8,700
8,700
Nil
12,990
12,990
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
Nil
49,463
8,700
58,163
15,623
12,990
28,613|
|---|---|
||49,463
8,700
58,163
15,623
12,990
28,613|
Governance costs include payments to the auditors of £8,700 (2024: £12,990) for audit fees. In addition, £760 (2024: £3,541) was paid for other services.
## **8 Trustees**
V Cox received remuneration of £20,000 (2024: £20,000) during the year ended 31 March 2025 for trustee duties. Social security costs of £1,504 (2024: £1,584) and pension contributions of £1,600 (2024: £1,600) were incurred in relation to this remuneration. Written approval was received from the Charity Commission in respect of this payment.
£Nil (: £192,617) was paid to the University of Oxford in respect of secondment payments for J Naismith. These payments were made for his duties as director of the Institute and not his trusteeship.
Prof P Matthews received remuneration of £188,000 (2024: £Nil) during the year to 31 March 2025. Social security costs of £23,391 (2024: £Nil) and pension contributions of £33,840 (2024: £Nil) were incurred in relation to this remuneration. These payments were made in relation to his duties as Director of the Institute and not his trusteeship.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any benefits from the charity during the year.
Three (2024: One) trustees were reimbursed expenses totalling £718 (2024: £457)
Dr V Cox received £216 during the year ended 31 March 2025 for trustee duties.
Dr M Skingle received £413 during the year ended 31 March 2025 for trustee duties.
Mr B Prichard received £89 during the year ended 31 March 2025 for trustee duties.
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## **9 Employees**
The average monthly number of employees during the year was 136 (2024:128).
|Employment costs
Wages and salaries
Employee benefts
Social security costs
Other pension costs|**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
6,408,951
5,620,466
74,798
122,669
702,694
603,831
997,043
842,004|
|---|---|
||8,183,486
7,188,970|
## **The number of employees whose annual remuneration was £60,000 or more were:**
|£60,000 - £69,999
£70,000 - £79,999
£80,000 - £89,999
£90,000 - £99,999
£100,000 - £109,999
£110,000 - £119,999
£120,000 - £129,999
£130,000 - £139,999
£140,000 - £149,999
£150,000 - £159,999|**2025**
**2024**
**Number**
**Number**
8
8
5
1
3
1
2
3
-
-
1
1
-
-
1
1
1
-
-
-|
|---|---|
||21
15|
## **10 Tangible fixed assets**
|**Cost**
At 1 April 2024
Additions
At 31 March 2025|**Assets under**
**construction**
**Scientifc**
**equipment**
**Ofce**
**equipment**
**Computer**
**equipment**
**Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
6,179,484
39,623,870
180,049
443,449
46,426,852
954,716
1,636,063
1,701
466,968
3,059,449|
|---|---|
||7,134,200
41,259,933
181,750
910,417
49,486,301|
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## **Depreciation and impairment**
|At 1 April 2024
Depreciation charged in the year
At 31 March 2024
**Carrying amount**
At 31 March 2025
At 31 March 2024|-
18,838,093
126,420
271,534
19,236,048
-
7,784,059
42,372
162,403
7,988,834|
|---|---|
||-
26,622,152
168,792
433,937
27,224,882|
||7,134,200
14,637,781
12,958
476,480
22,261,419|
||6,179,484
20,785,777
53,629
171,915
27,190,804|
## **11 Debtors**
|**Debtors**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**|
|**Amounts falling due within one year:**|**£**|**£**|
|Trade debtors|386,467|898,255|
|Other debtors|326,622|235,443|
|Prepayments and accrued income|1,368,603|1,635,030|
||2,081,692|2,768,728|
## **12 Creditors**
|**Amounts falling due within one year:**
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Accruals
Deferred income|**2025**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
3,253,662
782,880
304,935
271,394
696,868
843,876
157,291
117,363|
|---|---|
||4,412,756
2,015,513|
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## **13 Government grants**
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
|Deferred income is included within:
Current liabilities|**2025**
**£**
157,291
157,291|**2024**
**£**
117,364|
|---|---|---|
|||117,364|
## **14 Retirement benefit schemes**
## **Defined contribution schemes**
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
The charge to Statement of Financial Activity in respect of defined contribution schemes was £997,043 (2024: £842,004). The costs were expensed in line with payroll costs allocated to restricted and unrestricted activities.
## **15. Restricted funds**
The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust for specific purposes:
|||||**Transfers**|**Balance at**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Balance at**|**Incoming**|**Resources**|**between**|**31 March**|
||**1 April 2024**|**resources**|**expended**|**funds**|**2025**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|EMBO|-|19,691|2,566|-|17,125|
|NCP01|(21)|-|-|-|(21)|
|PHDCH1|112,839|282,112|232,217|-|162,734|
|PHDCH2|(31,534)|483,337|497,382|-|(45,579)|
|PHDCH4|-|204,372|1,892,051|-|12,973|
|Core Capex 2022-25|(21,920)|2,000,000|23,299|(86,029)|-|
|Additional CAPEX|22,225|-||-|(1,074)|
|Catalysis Hub|946|-|-|-|946|
|Open Access Block Award 23-24|8,882|(8,882)|-|-|-|
|Open Access Publishing 24-25|-|14,474|5,889|-|8,585|
|MAX01|(1,130)|128,402|164,270|-|(36,998)|
|Ruedi bridging funding|-|211,200|31,609|-|179,591|
|Asfandyar Sikandar|-|25,761|27,731|-|(1,970)|
|Electrifying Life Science|-|-|3,973|-|(3,973)|
|ISO01|6,061|88,417|108,371|-|(13,893)|
|IMA01|(9,284)|56,384|56,770|-|(9,670)|
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|CCP01|(284)|3,498|3,493|-|(279)|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|UTE01|61|212,753|210,359|-|2,455|
|18F|396,679|37,894|163,864|-|270,709|
|18F (OU part of grant)|-|47,109|7,704|-|39,405|
|AUS01|15,048|2,645|-|-|17,693|
|AUS01 (Sydney & Rothampstead)|-|6,046|-|-|6,046|
|T6P01|169,546|-|135,383|-|34,163|
|T6P01 (OU)|-|-|-|-|-|
|C-C Nucleoside|68,016|(8,868)|48,274|-|10,874|
|DIS01|116,795|71,605|256,922|-|(68,522)|
|ARDAT|(108,204)|117,737|25,939|-|(16,406)|
|EU bOPEN Access|144|76,489|77,152|-|(519)|
|Disease X|-|-|-|-|-|
|DIX01 (RFI)|(50,530)|84,938|149,583|-|(115,175)|
|UofL invoices|-|76,945|82,540|-|(5,595)|
|UofOxford invoices|-|104,162|92,210|-|11,952|
|ELS01|(374,108)|1,167,776|789,156|-|4,512|
|HDF01|(66,166)|201,147|181,594|-|(46,613)|
|BRA01|(78,574)|326,152|325,266|-|(77,688)|
|Jake Smith|32,699|-|11,799|-|20,900|
|C100|-|-|-|-|-|
|CZI01|23,999|28,945|44,895|-|8,049|
|HTD01|22,915|145,000|128,084|-|39,831|
|Nata Manufacturing|-|114,667|114,667|-|-|
|Azadyne PoC Collaboration|2,505|-|-|-|2,505|
|BOM01|-|63,391|63,391|-|-|
|NATA Discovery - TransNAT|-|-|-|-|-|
|ISI01|-|8,835|8,131|-|704|
|Azadyne Cross Cluster|(32,253)|34,101|3,028|-|(1,180)|
|Engineering Novel Cell guidance Systems|(4,302)|48,730|42,335|-|2,093|
|Spark Award, Patricia|2,500|5,000|6,133|-|1,367|
|Oxford Target Therapeutics|13,984|(14,000)|-|-|(16)|
|Neuro-Bio SME|-|-|-|-|-|
|Hypha Discovery - SME|-|-|-|-|-|
|Merck Sharp Dohme|-|-|-|-|-|
|Quantum Detectors Ltd - Cross-Cluster|-|-|-|-|-|
|Southampton Villi|-|30,222|30,222|-|-|
|CCP02|-|4,327|4,324|-|3|
|23TRT Felicia|-|90,505|50,999|-|39,506|
|23TRT Maud & Michael|-|71,670|30,572|-|41,098|
|Prepayments|844,558||-|(844,558)||
|Fixed asset purchases|27,190,804|-|6,071,932|1,142,547|22,261,419|
||28,272,897|6,664,688|12,397,479|211,960|22,752,068|
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## **16 Designated funds**
The income funds of the charity include the following designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
|Designated fund towards operating costs
STFC Plant & Equipment replacement
provision
Contribution to emergency CapEx
purchases
Contribution to hub ft out costs
3 Year Phasing
Growth fund
Unrestricted funds have been designated to co
funds and designated funds.|Designated fund towards operating costs
STFC Plant & Equipment replacement
provision
Contribution to emergency CapEx
purchases
Contribution to hub ft out costs
3 Year Phasing
Growth fund
Unrestricted funds have been designated to co
funds and designated funds.|**Balance at 1 April**
**2024**
**Resources**
**expended**
**Transfers**
**Balance at 31 March**
**2025**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
3,500,000
Nil
Nil
3,500,000
1,800,000
Nil
(1,800,000)
Nil
1,214,083
803,758
(19,602)
390,723
522,165
353,007
400,000
569,158
2,300,000
Nil
(2,300,000)
Nil
Nil
Nil
6,744,148
6,744,148|
|---|---|---|
|||9,336,248
1,156,765
3,024,546
11,204,029|
|||ver fve months of future operating costs. Full operating reserves are made up of free|
|**17 Analysis of net assets between funds**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Designated**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Total**
**Unrestricted**
**funds**
**Designated**
**funds**
**Restricted**
**funds**
**Total**
**2025**
**2025**
**2025**
**2025**
**2024**
**2024**
**2024**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
Fund
balances at
31 March
2025 are
represented
by:
Tangible
assets
-
-
22,261,419
22,261,419
-
- 27,190,804
27,190,804
Current
assets/
(liabilities)
2,282,603
11,204,029
490,649
13,977,281
3,500,000
9,336,248
1,082,093
13,918,341
2,282,603
11,204,029
22,752,068
36,238,700
3,500,000
9,336,248 28,272,897
41,109,145|||
||2,282,603
11,204,029
22,752,068
36,238,700
3,500,000
9,336,248 28,272,897
41,109,145||
Unrestricted funds have been designated to cover five months of future operating costs. Full operating reserves are made up of free funds and designated funds.
## **18 Capital commitments**
At 31 March 2025 the charity had capital commitments of £230,604 (2024: £335,596) in relation to fixed asset purchases.
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## **19 Related party transactions**
The joint venture was formed on 20th March 2018 and the following entities are the members of the Institute:
- The Rosalind Franklin Institute
- Diamond Light Source Limited
- The Chancellor, Masters and Scholars of the University of Oxford
- Science and Technology Facilities Council
- The University Court of the University of Edinburgh
- The University of Southampton
- Imperial College London
- The University of Leeds
- The University of Manchester
- University College London
- King’s College London
## **Transactions with related parties**
During the year the charity entered into the following transactions with related parties:
## **Diamond Light Source Limited**
During the year, Diamond Light Source (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £158,129 (2024: £231,064), of which: £158,129 (2024: £218,736) related to secondment services. And RFI invoiced DLS £600
## **The University of Oxford**
During the year, The University of Oxford (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £689,887 (2024: £759,713), of which: £372,397 (2024: £539,752) related to secondment services; and £317,490 (2024: £219,961) were projectrelated costs. RFI invoiced UoO £144,560 (2024: £108,745), of which £56,994 was outstanding at the year end.
## **Science and Technology Facilities Council**
During the year, The Science and Technology Facilities Council (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £2,924,154 (2024: £2,006,201), of which: £1567 (2024: £399,333) were project related; £1,150,757 (2024: £631,614) were data storage related; and £1,771,830 (2024: £975,253) were service charge related. RFI invoiced STFC £10,502 (2024; £47,821).
## **The University Court of the University of Edinburgh**
During the year, The University of Edinburgh (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £118,836 (2024: £95,768) for student fees, and RFI invoiced UoE £nil (2024: £nil).
## **University of Southampton**
During the year, The University of Southampton (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £nil (2024: £180), and RFI invoiced UOS £30,222 (2024: £nil) of which £8,432 was outstanding at the year end.
## **Imperial College London**
During the year, Imperial College London (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £25,468 (2024: £97,228) of which £270 were Project, £20,486 were Secondment, £4,712 were Student related costs.
## **The University of Leeds**
During the year, The University of Leeds (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £27,216 (2024: £23,448) of which ££9,572 were Student and £ £17,644 were secondment costs. RFI invoiced UoL £128,402 (2024: £147,792) of which ££35,737 was outstanding at the end of the year.
## **The University of Manchester**
During the year, The University of Manchester (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £9,498 (2024: £nil), and RFI invoiced UoM £327,419 (2024: £194,550) of which £115,865 was outstanding at the end of the year.
## **University College London**
During the year, University College London (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £15,262 (2024: £11,720), and RFI invoiced UCL £nil (2024: £nil).
## **King’s College London**
During the year, King’s College London (a member of the joint venture) invoiced The Rosalind Franklin Institute £9424 (2024: £180), and RFI invoiced KCL £nil (2024: £nil).
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## **20 Cash generated from operations**
|**Cas generate rom operatons**
Surplus for the year
Adjustments for:
Interest received
Gain on disposal of tangible fxed assets
Depreciation and impairment of tangible assets
Movements in working capital:
(Increase) in debtors
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
Increase in deferred income|**2025**
**£**
(4,870,445)
(227,488)
-
7,988,834
687,036
2,397,243
5,975,180|**2024**
**£**
(2,598,744)
-
7,806,785
(1,399,024)
(1,557,781)|
|---|---|---|
|||2,182,875|
## **21 Deferred Income**
Deferred income comprises advance payments received from contracts where deliverables are not yet complete.
|Balance as at 1 April 2024
Amount released to income earned from charitable activities
Amount deferred in year
Balance as at 31 March 2025|**2025**
**£**
117,363
(117,363)
157,291
157,2914|**2024**
**£**
185,725
(185,725)
117,363|
|---|---|---|
|||117,363|
## **22 Non adjusting post balance sheet events**
In April 2025 the Rosalind Franklin Institute vested shares in IntegerBio (previously TopSpin), following an agreement entered into in April 2023, where the shares remained unvested for a period of 2 years and no consideration was due.
## **23 Reconciliation of net debt**
|**Reconciliation**|**of net debt**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**At start of year**|**Cashfows**|**Other non cash changes**|**At end of year**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|Cash at bank and in hand|13,165,126|3,145,219|Nil|16,308,345|
|Loans|-||-|-|
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www.rfi.ac.uk | @RosFrankInst | info@rfi.ac.uk