The Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
Charity Registration No: 1182769
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES 2020
1 Administrative details
Name: The Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club, also referred to as Cocks and Hens Cambridge Tennis
Registration number: 1182769
Location: Grantchester Road, Cambridge, CB3 9ED
Trustees: Ben Chivers (Treasurer), Simon Elliott (Chairman), Ruth Golombok (Trustee), Paul Handy (Trustee), Guy Seaborn (Trustee), Julija Shabanova (Trustee)
2 Structure, governance and management
The Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO), first registered with the Charity Commission on 3 April 2019. Prior to that, the Club was a member’s club, operating as an unincorporated organisation, believed to have been founded in the late 1870s. An Extraordinary General Meeting of the Club on 21 June 2018 voted that the Club should apply for CIO status and agreed the draft constitution to be submitted to the Charity Commission. It is governed by six Trustees, named in that submission. All original Trustees retired at the first Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 11 February 2021. Immediately following, at the same AGM, the current Trustees were elected (or re-elected) to their respective positions.
The Charity Commission offer significant documentary support for new Trustees, which was circulated to all six shortly after registration. An initial meeting of the Trustees was held in May 2019 to discuss issues arising from the new status and the role of the former Management Committee. Draft Terms of Reference for this Committee were agreed and a subsequent meeting between the Trustees and members of the Management Committee has provided further clarification of their respective responsibilities in the decision-making process. A set of Financial Regulations and Procedures was agreed at the second meeting of the Trustees.
The process for the election of the new Trustees at the AGM is transparent and supportive. A circular to members makes it clear when Trustees are retiring and when positions are open to all members of the Club.
3 Financial Review
The Club policy on financial reserves states:
“The Club must hold financial reserves in order to:
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Maintain its ability to continue operating despite a significant delay in income streams;
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Protect against fluctuations in income streams and unforeseen costs;
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Enable replacement and repair of major capital items, particularly courts and floodlights;
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To fulfil contracted obligations in the event of having to cease its operations;
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Hold funds to restructure or finance future growth and development.
The Trustees believe that an ideal level of reserve for the Club is the amount of the sinking fund required to cover depreciation of courts and floodlights over their agreed lifespan together with one quarter of the annual outgoings of standard running costs for the previous financial year. It is however recognised that, on occasions, it may be necessary to depart from this in the short term in order to achieve long term objectives.
An annual review of reserves will be carried out by the Trustees in order to:
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compare current reserves held with current policy level;
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ensure the reserves level requirement continues to be appropriate after consideration of all financial risks and current/future plans;
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ensure current budgets and future financial plans remain consistent with the reserves policy.”
In order to meet the recommendations of the LTA regarding depreciation, the Club aims to put £14,400 pa into the sinking fund. The Club operated a cash surplus of approx. £36,000 in 2020 and the Trustees took the view that the sum added to the sinking fund for 2021 should be £18,500.
Projections for the sinking fund show the need to accumulate around £120,000 by 2028 in order to pay for resurfacing of courts. Reserves on 31 December 2020 were £69,932 (with a sinking fund of £45,000 for the replacements of courts and floodlights and a further £24,932 earmarked to cover payments due in early 2021).
4 Public benefit statement
In exercising their powers, the Trustees believe that they have complied with the requirement to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission
5 Objectives and activities
The object of the Club is “the promotion of community participation in healthy recreation for the benefit of the inhabitants of Cambridge and the surrounding area, in particular by the provision of facilities for playing tennis.”.
Our activities have reflected the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit. The game of tennis promotes health, physical and mental skills and our core activities are designed to encourage members to play the game through a variety of options:
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Regular Club sessions for members to play with a variety of opponents;
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The provision of a substantial programme of tennis coaching for all ages, genders and standards;
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A booking system that allows members to play pre-arranged games with other members or in regular groups;
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A programme of internal competitions for both juniors and adults varying from fun tournaments, through to a Club Ladder and an annual Club tournament.
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The provision of 20 adult and 4 junior teams that play in local and National leagues.
These activities benefit the local community through the provision of healthy recreation, development of tennis skills through the progression routes provided and simple enjoyment of fresh air and exercise.
6 Achievements and performance
During the past year the Club has managed to achieve an increase in its membership, consolidating its position of provider of tennis to the local community. It has improved its induction of members and reduced its subscriptions for mini-juniors to £5. Further improvements to the Club’s safeguarding procedures have been made, with the result that a highly satisfactory result was achieved in an LTA audit in March 2019.
The designation of CIO status has resulted in the need to review the operation of the Club and the five-year development has been reviewed to give greater focus on our community objectives.
Signed 17[th] Oct 2021 Simon Elliott (Chairman of the Trustees)
Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
Final Financial Statements For the Year Ending 31st December 2020
Ben Chivers 29/1/2021
Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
Treasurers Report 2020
The club went into 2020 hoping for a year to build on the success stories of 2019 and continue to improve the financial stability of the club. COVID-19 has obviously changed all of this so it will be difficult to use 2020 as any sort of benchmark going forward but we have, due to available grants been able to maintain our financial position and with an increase in members seen subscriptions rise. We do not know what percentage of the new members we will keep once indoor venues start to reopen in 2021, however it is hoped that a majority of the new 2020 cohort will choose to remain at the club due to what we have to offer over and above other clubs.
Even with the complications of the pandemic the club’s new floodlights were successfully installed during the year and by all accounts have made a huge improvement to the quality of lighting and availability of court time. Many thanks are due to the team organising this headed up by Barrie Hunt. The total costs of the lights came in at £83,092 including legal work, with a total of £80,305 raised through a combination of grants £49,500, Donations £14,655, and 10-year subscriptions £16,150, the shortfall of £2,787 was funded out of the club’s funds.
Sinking Fund:
To meet the recommendations of the LTA regarding depreciation, the Club aims to put £14,400 pa into the sinking fund. The Club operated a cash surplus of £36,418 in 2020 and the Trustees took the view that the sum added to the sinking fund for 2020 should be £18,500. This increase over the budget figure has made up the shortfall of £2,400 paid in 2019 and adds a further £1,700 to bolster the reduced payment in 2018.
Other Costs and Income:
Although at first glance the clubs in year surplus of £36,418 is an increase over 2019, members must bear in mind that within this are two COVID-19 related grants, one from Sport England and one for South Cambs District Council which together totalled £18,033 so if this is removed the surplus becomes £18,385 a more comparable figure to 2019. The access road was patched in early 2020 at a cost of £4,800 however the management committee and trustees and aware that this is a major ongoing issue and Guy Seaborn has been in discussion with our Landlord to look to achieve a long term solution.
Other income streams were in line with budgets, the ball machine has brought in some revenue and it was excellent to see almost £1,000 raised from the Pizza evening and Club raffle which is being used to fund benches and chairs around the clubhouse and courts.
Overall the cost structure of the club is now settled and we would hope to be able to accurately budget going forward for 2021 and beyond. The target must now be to
achieve an income stream that provides sufficient cash to not only cover annual costs and the sinking fund but also start to build a small pot of money to fund other developments which will hopefully add to members enjoyment going forward.
J B Chivers Treasurer
Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
| Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club | |
|---|---|
| General Fund Income and Expenditure for year -> Income Subscriptions Visitor Fees Gift Aid Ball Machine Hire Social Functions Interest Tennis Ball Sales Sundries Contribution to Access Rd Grants (Floodlights/Covid 2020) Donations and contributions due Expenditure Rent Rates & Insurance Turnover Rent Electricity and Water Clubhouse Maintenance & Repairs Upkeep of Courts and Grounds Access Road, net of Contributions Coaching Costs Club Administration Adverts and Marketing LTA Levy/League Fees Tennis Balls Social Functions Capital Costs/Exceptional Items Floodlights Sundries In year Surplus/(Deficit) Contribution to Sinking Fund Net adjustment to General Fund |
2019 2020 £ £ 49,787 60,535 462 660 3,439 3,413 0 586 0 0 1 1 160 175 368 1,230 0 0 1,014 67,533 4,070 32,949 |
| 59,300 167,082 5,687 6,800 5,025 6,119 3,714 2,609 5,772 4,517 11,391 12,417 0 4,800 292 662 6,158 6,566 2,470 523 1,001 1,700 603 488 54 336 0 83,092 2,303 35 |
|
| 44,469 130,664 |
|
| 14,831 36,418 12,000 18,500 |
|
| 2,831 17,918 |
Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
| Balance Sheet as at 31st December Current Assets Debtors HMRC Gift Aid Payment in advance (rent) Scottish Widows Bank Account Current Liabilities Creditors Prepayments Net Assets Represented by General Fund Sinking Fund Memorandum - fund movement in year General Fund Opening Balance Surplus/(Deficit) for year Closing Balance Sinking Fund Opening Balance Contribution in year Closing Balance |
2019 2020 £ £ 646 - 3,439 6,853 1,250 1,250 7,017 7,018 27,460 61,300 |
|---|---|
| 39,812 76,421 6,298 6,489 |
|
| 6,298 6,489 |
|
| 33,514 69,932 |
|
| 7,014 24,932 26,500 45,000 |
|
| 33,514 69,932 |
|
| 4,183 7,014 2,831 17,918 |
|
| 7,014 24,932 14,500 26,500 12,000 18,500 |
|
| 26,500 45,000 |
I have examined the books and records of the Cocks and Hens LTC and confirm that the attached Income and Expenditure figures, together with the Balance Sheet are correct as shown.
Signed: Date 19[th] March 2021 Mr A B Warne Chartered Tax Adviser