The Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
Charity Registration No: 1182769
ANNUAL REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES 2022
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), Julija Shabanova (Trustee), Lionel Sheffield (Trustee)
2 Structure, governance and management
The Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club is a Charitable Incorporated Organization (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 organization, 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 Annual General Meeting (AGM) held on 7 March 2023. 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 recognized 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 £18,500 pa into the sinking fund. The Club operated a cash surplus of approx. £63,000 in 2021 and the Trustees took the view that the sum added to the sinking fund for 2022 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 2022 were £128,276 (with a sinking fund of £71,320 for the replacements of courts and floodlights).
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 15[th] Oct 2023 Simon Elliott (Chairman of the Trustees)
Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
Final Financial Statements For the Year Ending 31st December 2022
Ben Chivers 7/3/2023
Cocks and Hens Lawn Tennis Club
Treasurers Report 2022
Following the disrupted Covid years it was good to get a more ‘normal’ year under the club’s belt and to try and gauge what this may look like financially. Although a slightly easier year from a budgeting perspective the impact of higher inflation is now being felt on the club’s finances. Following discussion at the 2021 AGM, subscriptions for 2022 were maintained at the previous year’s levels although this decision was taken before any impact of the Ukrainian invasion had started to bite. Headline subscriptions and member numbers were both up again from 2021 which is very pleasing and a reflection on the facilities and tennis on offer to members across all standards and age groups. Once again, my thanks go to the club’s administration team who have allowed the club to continue to develop and grow to the benefit of all the members. To summarise after a sinking fund contribution of £18,500 there was an increase to the club’s general fund of £6,122.
Sinking Fund:
To meet the recommendations of the LTA regarding depreciation, the Club aims to put £18,500 per annum into the sinking fund. The Club operated a cash surplus of £24,622 in 2022 and the Trustees took the view that the net sum added to the sinking fund for 2022 should be £18,500. During 2022 we undertook the repainting of the hard courts, this was a sinking fund expense, so members will see in the balance sheet the £18,500 contribution into the fund with a claim in the year of £10,680 which was the full cost of the repairs. I have checked with our financial advisor Andrew Warne who signs off the accounts and he is happy with how this has been treated.
Other Costs and Income:
As mentioned, subscriptions and member numbers were up on the previous year and there has been a small increase in visitor fees. There was a successful plant sale and social event held at the club and once again many thanks to all those who helped organise and run those events. I think it would be good to note the generosity of our neighbours at the rugby club who allow us to use their site for overflow parking on those occasions.
The access road was patched again in Spring 2022 at a cost of £4,800 and the management committee and trustees have budgeted for this to be done twice a year rather than once to provide members with better access as we realise a long term solution may be several years away.
If looking solely at 2022 and changes from 2021, costs would appear stable except for electricity which will be of no surprise to members and rent where the landlords agent applied an RPI increase which also impacted 2021 rent and so we have had to show the
full cost in the 2022 accounts. We do though expect further cost increases to feed through to most areas of the club’s expenses in 2023 and must look to subscription levels and member numbers to allow us to meet the budget cost levels of almost £80,000 and still allow us to make the annual sinking fund contribution over and above this.
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 Coaching 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 |
2021 2022 £ £ 79,980 86,085 936 1,160 1,641 2,063 498 110 382 1,415 1 6 387 125 472 1,651 0 0 20,431 0 1,139 0 698 1,500 |
| 105,867 94,813 5,343 9,575 8,092 8,563 2,685 6,990 4,916 4,829 14,869 15,008 4,800 4,800 300 0 13,404 14,671 1,846 1,192 1,200 1,376 599 556 180 420 1,188 0 2,043 2,211 |
|
| 61,465 70,191 |
|
| 44,403 24,622 18,500 18,500 |
|
| 25,903 6,122 |
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 Claim in year Closing Balance |
2021 2022 £ £ 338 0 8,495 2,063 0 0 7,019 7,025 107,918 124,183 |
|---|---|
| 123,671 123,671 9,337 4,995 |
|
| 9,337 4,995 |
|
| 114,334 128,276 |
|
| 50,834 56,956 63,500 71,320 |
|
| 114,334 128,276 |
|
| 24,932 50,834 25,902 6,122 |
|
| 50,834 56,956 45,000 63,500 18,500 18,500 (10,680) |
|
| 63,500 71,320 |
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 4[th] August 2022 Mr A B Warne Chartered Tax Adviser