County Bridge Club Registered Charity 1179979 Trustees Annual Report year ended 31st March 2021
County Bridge Club runs a contract duplicate bridge sessions and is affiliated to the English Bridge Union. The Club was formed in 1961 and has approximately 250 members who play bridge at club sessions, competitions and represent the club in the league run by Leicestershire Contract Bridge Association. Due to Covid 19 Government restrictions the club has been closed since 16th March 2020 and no face-to-face bridge has been played at the Club. In June 2020 the Club began offering members organised duplicate sessions online via Bridgebase and later Realbridge and we have over two hundred registered online players. The Trustees have used the club closure to continue to improve the Club facilities with building work to create a committee room and to fit new kitchen units to the two tea rooms. Plans are in place to replace kitchen equipment. This would be the final part of the Club refurbishment since the purchase in 2019.
We have not charged our members any subscriptions this year and have had reduced income from table money as we are only operating three sessions on line. There has been no rental income, no bridge holiday and a much-reduced teaching offering which had to be online. We have received various government grants totalling £52,500 which has enabled the club to cover its costs and plan to reopen when Government restrictions allow. It has been a very strange year.
Our charitable objective is to further the playing and teaching of bridge. In furtherance of this objective our bridge sessions are open to visitors and we welcome members from all walks of life. We run a formal teaching program covering formal courses for beginners, intermediates, and on card play which this year was limited and had to move online. Our other bridge supporting activities has to be suspended while the Club was closed. We do offer bursaries to members unable to afford the teaching fees. We offer sponsored training for English Bridge Union qualifications for volunteers who either teach or run the duplicate sessions but these had to be cancelled this year.
As a Club we run specific sessions for Charitable purposes which this year has been limited to on line only. We continue to support Rainbows through this endeavour.
During the year we completed on the sale of our previous premises at 1 St James Road which sold for £351,000. This generated a
profit of £244,941 in the year and allowed us to repay member loans. The Club now has substantial surplus funds which we intend to invest and use the income to further our charitable objective.
The Trustees of the Club meet regularly, on Zoom during lockdown and have access to quarterly financial reports on the performance of the Club and continue to do financial and tax planning to maximise the financial position of the Club. The Trustees are happy that we have the financial reserves to support the Club in this difficult time and for an extended period while we restart the Club.
Secretary’s Report May 2021
Due to Covid restrictions the Trustees and co-opted committee members met remotely once every two months via Zoom. As Covid-19 made it impossible to hold our Annual General Meeting as planned at St. Oswald on 5 June 2020, the trustees decided, in the light of the latest advice from the Charity Commission, that the safest and most practical way forward was to delay the meeting until 15 July 2020 and hold it remotely, inviting members to take part electronically or by post where no email was registered.
The Trustees members at March 2021: Trustee/ Chairman: Ian Walkerdine Trustee/ Secretary: Kate Boulter Trustee / Treasurer : Anthea Byrne Trustee : Charles Gurr Trustee : Alastair Lennox Trustee : Simon Stokes Bryan Warraker resigned as a trustee in July 2020. Frank Travers, Iza Crump and Richard Bell were co-opted to the Committee for 2020/21. The Trustees of County Bridge Club are delighted to announce that Ian Walkerdine has been awarded Honorary Life Membership in recognition of the service he has given and
his substantial input to the club through his work as Chairman and Tournament Secretary over many years. Ian was presented with his trophy at a Trustee Zoom Meeting held in November 2020 and attended by the other Honorary Life members of the club. Congratulations Ian, this is well deserved
St Oswald, County Bridge Club premises, has been closed since March 2020 due to the Coronavirus pandemic, therefore no face-toface events have been held.
A Special General Meeting of County Bridge Club CIO was held remotely on Wednesday 5[th] May 2021 when members were asked to approve the following resolution:
The ‘County Bridge Club Articles of Association’ be adopted. The Articles of Association enable trustees to deal with organisational aspects of County Bridge Club. In the case of any conflict between this document and the Constitution, the Constitution shall take precedence.
Mr Terry Green was appointed by the trustees as examiner of all votes.
The resolution was approved .
Kate Boulter Secretary & Social Secretary
- Treasurers Report 2020 2021
The Committee have the pleasure in presenting the Financial Statements of the Club to the membership, and report on another momentous year. The Club has made a profit of £285,508 primarily due to the completion of the sale of the old premises 1 St James Road. Profit on the sale was £244,941 and this allowed us to repay the member loans also giving a substantial balance which we intend to invest for the long term.
As the Club has been closed for the whole year, there is very little income from table money, only that generated by online games, no rental income and no holiday income. We have no charged subscriptions because we are closed and the teaching income was limited to online sessions. Therefore the costs of running the empty club are much less than our income from bridge activities but we have been in receipt of Government grants because we were forced to close of £52,500 and this has allowed us to cover our costs and plan for re-opening in a gradual way when Government restrictions allow.
We have put in place plans for the Club to go cashless on our return and now can take card payments, bank cheques remotely and are using the Bridgewebs attendance module to run individual accounts for the members. We have also researched a suitable Investment Manager for the Club to invest the surplus funds and are in the process of moving monies to them. This was a particularly onerous exercise for the Investment Subcommittee.
With the Club building closed for the year the Committee continued to improve the premises with the conversion of unused toilets into a committee room, new Kitchen units in the two tea rooms, provision of air conditioning in the main playing rooms and automatic opening doors on the main routes into the building. When we are able to open the Club, we hope all members will be proud of the Club and enjoy the new facilities.
Given our excellent results this year we have been advised by our honorary auditor that we should seek a formal audit for the Accounts prior to submission to the Charity commission. We thank Richard Smith for all his time and expertise in working with the Finance Team to produce the formal accounts.
Anthea Byrne Treasurer
Tournament Secretary Report
As it became clear that face to face [F2F] was not going to be a short hiatus, initially we had a member questionnaire to find out about online bridge activity. Then the committee divided the membership to contact all members to offer assistance in training to play online. This represented a huge effort by the committee and a few volunteers. 3 members undertook Tournament Director training and we launched our first online session in late June [2nd Leicestershire club to do so] and were the first Leicestershire club to move to multiple sessions [3]. Gradually participants have increased to now about 220 registered as online
members/associates/students. At times we have broken existing F2F attendance on both Monday and Friday sessions. We have 5 or 6 out of area participants including a life member who moved to Yorkshire over 15 years ago. [and hadn’t been back to the club since]
One evening session didn’t work and has been abandoned but a gentle session has been running for less experienced players and is being expanded to include students
In addition, we have run 2 league competitions and 1 charity event for Rainbows children’s hospice. Further competitions are in the pipeline including 1 to support a local food bank. Unfortunately, 1 planned charity event didn’t attract enough support to be viable.
Richard Bell Tournament Secretary
Membership
The Club has on record 253 current members following two nonrenewals. We are pleased to welcome 10 new members to the Club despite the Club being closed during the year.
We sadly have to report the death of a long-standing member Marjorie Gilbertson she will be sadly missed. We also know of two other members who passed away David Godfrey and Geoff Marlow .
Charles Gurr Membership Secretary
Teaching
Premises
With the club closing in March 2020 a number of upgrades and refurbishments were carried out.
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Both the Club and Tournament rooms have now had air conditioning fitted.
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The tea room in the foyer has been upgraded.
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The old committee room has been fitted out to be the new tea room for the Tournament room. The previous tea room is now a storeroom.
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The obsolete toilets in the club room have been converted to be the new committee room
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The front door, 2 internal doors and disabled toilet have been converted to hands-free opening.
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All toilets taps have been converted to hands-free.
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Installation of hand sanitisers throughout the club.
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The CCTV has been upgraded to cover all parts of the 2 car parks.
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A new honours board in the club colours has been added to the foyer.
As you can see although the club has been closed the committee has been very busy upgrading the club taking into account the safety of our members and new covid regulations and restrictions.
When we resume playing the Trustees will be looking at the benefits and cost of installing solar power. This will reduce our electricity bill to near zero, with any excess sold to the National grid, and also benefit our green credentials by reducing our carbon footprint.
Alastair Lennox (Buildings chairman)
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB
Registered Charity 1179979
Financial Statements
For the year ended 31 March 2021
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB ACCOUNTS ‐ Page 1 Statement of Financial Activities For the year ended 31 March 2021
| INCOME £ £ £ £ Subscriptions 35 2,264 Table rents 4,431 13,153 Room lettings ‐ 3,129 Bar ‐ 292 Catering ‐ 1,965 Teaching 1,870 6,220 Rents (sub‐let of 1 St James Road, Leicester) ‐ 11,110 Holiday surplus ( note 2(c) ) ‐ ‐ Donations 121 Sundry Income 167 68 Interest received 117 ‐ Grants (note 1(e)) 52,500 ‐ Profit on sale of 1 St James Road, Leicester (note 2(b)) 244,941 304,182 38,201 Total Income 2020/2021 2019/2020 |
INCOME £ £ £ £ Subscriptions 35 2,264 Table rents 4,431 13,153 Room lettings ‐ 3,129 Bar ‐ 292 Catering ‐ 1,965 Teaching 1,870 6,220 Rents (sub‐let of 1 St James Road, Leicester) ‐ 11,110 Holiday surplus ( note 2(c) ) ‐ ‐ Donations 121 Sundry Income 167 68 Interest received 117 ‐ Grants (note 1(e)) 52,500 ‐ Profit on sale of 1 St James Road, Leicester (note 2(b)) 244,941 304,182 38,201 Total Income 2020/2021 2019/2020 |
|---|---|
| Total Income | 38,201 |
The notes on pages 5 to 8 form part of these financial statements.
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB ACCOUNTS ‐ Page 2 Statement of Financial Activities
For the year ended 31 March 2021
| 2020/2021 | 2020/2021 | 2019/2020 | 2019/2020 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXPENDITURE | £ | £ | £ | £ |
| Direct costs | ||||
| Bar | ‐ | 309 | ||
| Catering | ‐ | 2,193 | ||
| Teaching | 997 | 997 | 5,730 | 8,232 |
| St Oswald costs | ||||
| Business rates | ‐ | 1,639 | ||
| Water | 1,475 | 1,393 | ||
| Electricity | 1,018 | 5,169 | ||
| Gas | 442 | 1,460 | 2,118 | 7,287 |
| Insurance | 2,884 | 2,369 | ||
| Repairs | 3,645 | 4,048 | ||
| Cleaning | 546 | 2,687 | ||
| Telephone and broadband | 254 | 198 | ||
| Health and Safety | 116 | 2,335 | ||
| Depreciation ‐ Freehold Property | 2,921 | ‐ | ||
| Depreciation ‐ Fixtures, fittings and equipment | 3,905 | 1,659 | ||
| Value of club usage charged to teaching account | ‐ | (3,089) | ||
| 17,206 | 20,526 | |||
| Bridge expenses | ||||
| Tea , coffee etc | ‐ | 909 | ||
| Promotion expenses | ‐ | 1,275 | ||
| Competition prizes and expenses | ‐ | 1,048 | ||
| Bridge consumables | 181 | 927 | ||
| Team costs | ‐ | 170 | ||
| Sundry expenses | 147 | 457 | ||
| Donations | 121 | 400 | ||
| Bridge equipment expenses | 160 | 168 | ||
| 609 | 5,354 | |||
| Finance & Administration | ||||
| Independent examiner fees | 650 | ‐ | ||
| Printing, postage & stationery | 212 | 244 | ||
| 862 | 244 | |||
| Total expenses | 19,674 | 34,356 | ||
| Surplus before non‐recurring items | 284,508 | 3,845 |
The notes on pages 5 to 8 form part of these financial statements.
Statement of Financial Activities
For the year ended 31 March 2021
| For the year ended 31 March 2021 Statement of Financial Activities |
For the year ended 31 March 2021 Statement of Financial Activities |
|---|---|
| NON‐RECURRING ITEMS £ £ £ £ INCOME EBU Grant ‐ 450 Bank compensation ‐ 225 Total non‐recurring income ‐ 675 EXPENSES St James costs Rental costs ‐ 2,348 Business rates ‐ 513 Water ‐ 646 Electricity and Gas ‐ 703 Insurance ‐ 895 Cleaning ‐ 343 Telephone and broadband ‐ 92 Sale of furniture ‐ (417) Health and Safety ‐ 540 ‐ 5,663 St Oswald set‐up costs Deep clean before opening ‐ 616 Kitchen set‐up ‐ 835 Small items of fixtures and fittings ‐ 1,141 ‐ 2,592 Other Accountant ‐ 210 Interest on loans ‐ 976 Total non‐recurring expenditure ‐ 9,441 ‐ (8,766) 284,508 (4,921) Allocation Teaching reserve 873 490 Accumulated reserves 283,635 (5,411) 284,508 (4,921) 2020/2021 Surplus / (deficit) for the period (Deficit) of non‐recurring items 2019/2020 |
|
| 675 | |
| 2,348 513 646 703 895 343 92 (417) 540 |
|
| 5,663 | |
| 616 835 1,141 |
|
| 2,592 | |
| 210 976 |
|
| 9,441 | |
| (Deficit) of non‐recurring items | (8,766) |
| Surplus / (deficit) for the period | (4,921) |
| Allocation Teaching reserve Accumulated reserves |
490 (5,411) |
| (4,921) |
The notes on pages 5 to 8 form part of these financial statements.
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB ACCOUNTS ‐ Page 4 Balance Sheet As At 31 March 2021
| £ £ 359,318 6,470 318,821 325,291 2,484 0 2,484 322,807 682,125 397,127 283,635 680,762 1,363 682,125 31 March 2021 |
£ £ 437,591 25,614 4,208 29,822 29,796 40,000 69,796 (39,974) 397,617 402,538 (5,411) 397,127 490 397,617 31 March 2020 |
£ £ 437,591 25,614 4,208 29,822 29,796 40,000 69,796 (39,974) 397,617 402,538 (5,411) 397,127 490 397,617 31 March 2020 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| FIXED ASSETS | |||
| Tangible fixed assets (note 2(b) ) | |||
| CURRENT ASSETS | |||
| Debtors and prepayments Bank balances |
|||
| 29,822 | |||
| CURRENT LIABILITIES | 29,796 40,000 |
||
| Creditors and accruals Member Loans ( note 2(d) ) |
|||
| 2,484 | 69,796 | ||
| NET CURRENT (LIABILITIES) / ASSETS | |||
| TOTAL NET ASSETS | |||
| 397,617 | |||
| 402,538 (5,411) |
|||
| UNRESTRICTED CHARITY FUNDS | |||
| General funds Balance at 1 April 2020 Surplus / (Deficit) for the period Designated funds Teaching reserve ( note 2(e) ) |
|||
| 397,127 490 |
|||
| 397,617 |
The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 22 May 2021 and signed on their behalf by:
Anthea Byrne
Treasurer
Ian Walkerdine
Chairman
ACCOUNTANT'S REPORT
I have examined the attached income and Expenditure for the year ended 31 March 2021 and the Balance Sheet at that date. In my opinion these show a true and fair view of the results for the year and the state of affairs at that date and are in accordance with the books of account.
Richard Smith Accountant
The notes on pages 5 to 8 form part of these financial statements.
22nd May 2021
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB ACCOUNTS ‐ Page 5 Notes To The Accounts
1.Accounting Policies
(a) Basis of preparation of financial statements
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transactional value unless otherwise stated in the relevant notes to these accounts. The financial staements have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice. : Accounting and Reporting by Charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (Effective 1 January 2019) ‐ (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.
County Bridge Club constitutes a public benefit entry as defined by FRS 102.
The functional currency of the charity is Sterling (£).
(b) Fund accounting
General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the descretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.
(c) Income
All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. Grant income is included on a received basis.
Our income from subscriptions is collected in a three month period at the start of the year, table money collected at the bridge sessions and competition money collected at the event. We hire out our premises to other bridge clubs and associations who pay monthly in arrears.
Income tax recoverable in relation to donations under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation
(d) Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
All expenses are allocated to the period in which they relate. Accruals and prepayments are calculated for all categories of expenditure.
Grants payable are charged in the year when the offer is made except in those cases where the offer is conditional, such grants being recognised as expenditure when the conditions attaching are fulfilled. Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end are noted as a commitment , but not accrued as expenditue.
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB ACCOUNTS ‐ Page 6 Notes To The Accounts
(e) Going Concern
Due to the COVID‐19 lockdown the Club shut on March 16th 2020 and has not yet reopened. The Trustees of the Club are happy that the Club has sufficient financial reserves to sustain a prolonged period where the club is closed due to this situation with COVID‐19. Therefore the trustees have prepared the financial statements on the basis that the charity is a going concern. During the financial year the charity received grants of £52,000 from the Government to cover the loss of income during the shutown due to COVID‐19.
(f) Interest receivable
Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the Bank.
(g) Capital Expenditure
During the year a further project to alter the new premises at 67 St Oswald Road was completed. This involved building work, fitting out the interior of the building not previously touched, air conditioning , and automatic doors. As this was a complete project all expenditure within the project has been capitalised as buildings renovations or fixtures and fittings.
(h) Depreciation
Land and buildings relating to the original St Oswald's purchase price of £275,000 are not depreciated by the Charity. Additions to land and buildings over the original purchase price are being depreciated over 25 years on a straight line basis. Fixtures and fitting are being depreciated over five years on a straight line basis.
(i) Debtors
Debtors are recognsed at the settlement amount after any discount offered.
(j) Cash at Bank
Cash at bank includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB ACCOUNTS ‐ Page 7 Notes To The Accounts
2. Notes
(a) Financial Controls
The Trustees of the Charity have reviewed the internal controls of the Finance Team and are satisfied that sufficient reporting is completed during the year in a timely manner, and that where possible appropriate segregation of duties is in place with oversight on both income recording and expense authorisation. With a small volunteer staff the Trustees accept that internal controls are limited due to the number of people with authorisation.
(b) Fixed Assets
| (b) Fixed Assets | |
|---|---|
| Cost As at 1 April 2020 Additions (note 1(g)) Dispoal As at 31 March 2021 Depreciation As at 1 April 2020 Charge for the year (note 1(h)) As at 31 March 2021 Net book value 31 March 2021 Net book value 1 April 2020 |
Total £ £ £ £ 439,250 100,615 330,338 8,297 29,168 ‐ 17,689 11,479 (100,615) (100,615) ‐ ‐ Freehold Property Fixtures and fittings St James St Oswald |
| 367803 ‐ 348027 19776 |
|
| 1,659 ‐ ‐ 1,659 6,826 ‐ 2,921 3,905 |
|
| 8485 ‐ 2921 5564 |
|
| 359,318 ‐ 345,106 14,212 |
|
| 437,591 100,615 330,338 6,638 |
The sale of the Club's premises at 1 St James Road, Leicester was completed on 9th April 2020. Profit on the sale is £244,941 on which there is no tax to pay as the Charity is exempt from Corporation Tax and Capital Gains Tax.
(c) Club Holiday
Due to the COVID‐19 lockdown the Club shut on March 16th and has not yet reopened. The Club holiday to Torquay in March 2020 had to be postponed and we have refunded members having received refunds from the hotel and coach operator. There has not been a holiday in this financial year but we are planning one in March 2022, COVID‐19 position permitting.
COUNTY BRIDGE CLUB ACCOUNTS ‐ Page 8 Notes To The Accounts
(d) Member Loans
These were short term loans bearing interest at 1% over base rate. The Club repaid all loans out of the proceeds of the sale of the premises in April 2020.
(e) Teaching Reserve
The charity has set up a separate account to hold the surplus income generated by the teaching activities of the Club. This reserve is to be used to fund expansion in the teaching provision at the Club in future years. This year teaching has been online via Zoom, therefore no establishment costs have been charged this year.
| in future years. This year teaching has been been charged this year. |
online via Zo |
|---|---|
| Balance as at 1 April 2020 Teaching surplus for the year Balance as at 31 March 2021 |
£ 490 873 |
| 1,363 |
(f) Payments to trustees and employees
No trustees, who are the key management personnel or persons with a family or business connection with a trustee, received remuneration in the year, directly or indirectly , from the charity (2020 ‐ none).
No expenses were reimbursed to the trustees during the year (2020 ‐ none). There were no employees of the charity during the year (2020 ‐ none).
(g) Related party transactions
During the year one trustee had loaned money to the Club and received interest on the same terms as other members who loaned money to the Club. Mr I.D.Walkerdine loaned £7,000 and received interest of £51. The loan from Mr I.D.Walkerdine has been fully repaid during the year.