Registered Charity No 1183230
COMPLIMENTS OF THE HOUSE
TRUSTEES ANNUAL REPORT AND ACCOUNTS
FOR THE PERIOD ENDED 31 MAY 2025
COMPLIMENTS OF THE HOUSE
Accounts for the Period Ended 31 May 2025
Contents
| Page | |
|---|---|
| Trustees' Annual Report | 1 - 7 |
| Receipts and Payments Account | 8 |
| Statement of Assets and Liabilities | 9 |
| Receipts and Payments Account - Restricted Funds | 10 |
| Receipts and Payments Account - Unrestricted Funds | 11 |
Compliments of the House
Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st] May 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
Governing Document
Compliments of the House (‘COTH’) is a Charitable Incorporated Organisation formed by way of a governing document dated 02 May 2019.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATION DETAILS
Registered Charity No. 1183230
Address 3SPACE International House 6[th] Floor, Canterbury Crescent, Brixton, SW9 7QD Trustees Grace Bailey (Chair) Ashley Noriega Mark Aston Devon Dyer George Walfall CEO and Founder Sinead Browne Bankers HSBC Accountants Barnes Roffe Advisory Limited Chartered Accountants Charles Lake House, Claire Causeway, Crossways Business Park, Dartford, Kent, DA2 6QA
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Compliments of the House
Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st] May 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
STRUCTURE GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
The trustees of Compliments of the House are pleased to present our trustee report, providing an overview of the charity’s endeavours over the past year as it pursued our dual objectives of poverty prevention and relied and the promotion of social inclusion in Greater London.
Trustee Selection
The trustees are appointed on a basis that they can each bring a unique view and experience to the running of the charity.
Management
Compliments of the House currently has no paid employees and is run by volunteers and the trustees. The charity is reliant upon the time, skill and resources donated by its trustees and other supporters, for which it is extremely grateful. The trustees receive no remuneration or other benefits.
OBJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
Objects:
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The prevention or relief of poverty in Greater London, in particular but not exclusively, by providing food, toiletries, bedding and clothing and a signposting service to individuals in need and/or charities, or other organizations working to prevent or relieve poverty.
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The promotion of social inclusion among people who have become socially excluded due to unemployment, relieving the needs of such people and assisting them to integrate into society, in particular by providing opportunities to participate in a volunteer scheme which will enable them to gain skills for employment, undertake work experience placements, receive support and gain references with a view to securing long term employment and integration into society.
Summary of Main Activities in Relation to these Objects:
The charity carries out a wide range of activities in pursuance of its charitable aims: supported by a Board of Trustees who consider these activities provide benefit to our guests and the wider community of Lambeth.
Pre-pandemic, Compliments of The House (CoTH) had a pool of around 300+ volunteers who ran the food redistribution service in our flagship Brixton hub. After they collected fresh surplus food from surrounding restaurants, cafes and supermarkets, the around 65 guests (each weeknight) were offered the choice of a
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Compliments of the House
Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st] May 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
wide range of starters, main courses and desserts. Both before and during Covid-19, our service dignified guests with choice; respecting their cultural, religious and dietary requirements. However, as a result of the pandemic – which rendered the hub unusable – we were forced to change the way in which we serve our guests.
We started an emergency delivery service; providing food parcels – containing £40 worth of food – to households every two weeks.
A triage service, run by volunteers, was established; to manage new guests and their needs, as well as signpost them to other local support services where appropriate.
– – The acquisition of two vans with funding from DEFRA enabled us to collect surplus food from further afield. By activating the CSR of a larger pool of food businesses the vans allowed us to expand our service beyond Brixton and grow as a charity.
Realising that our innovative approach to tackling hunger and food waste could be adapted to any instance where food is sold, after running a pilot we decided to focus our attention on cutting food waste at festivals across London; with the hope of eventually rolling this operation out across the UK.
Grant Making Policy
The charity established its grant making policy to achieve its objectives for public benefit to support food provision for those in need. Our small grants help those who are struggling to pay their bills, either because they are in low-income households or have been adversely financially impacted.
We are not currently in the position to make larger grants to research or policy groups acting in the support of our objectives for public benefit, but hope to do so in the future where possible.
Contribution made by volunteers
Volunteers are the foundation of our charity. They are involved in the majority of our activities for the public benefit, and they give their time freely to help us achieve our aims and objectives because they believe in what we do.
Normally we would have an overall pool of 300+ volunteers. For our COVID-19 crisis service we had around 70 volunteers a week on delivery shifts. The significant drop in numbers was to reduce risk of spreading
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Compliments of the House
Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st] May 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
infection and the necessity for our volunteers to be locals, preventing many of our previous volunteers from helping. Despite the drop in numbers, we have retained a strong cohort of willing volunteers; contributing their time to the most vulnerable members of their community.
Our dedicated volunteers have also played a central role in the running of a donation point – in collaboration with Hondo – where members of the public could drop off donations of food and money.
All volunteers handling data or encountering guests are trained in GDPR protocols and work under the ethos and charitable aims of the Charity.
Activities in the Year
The loss of a designated hub severely restricted the scope of our activities, which had to be substantially pared back and adapted accordingly. So securing a consistent and reliable hub that CoTH and its guests can all call home remains the main focus of the charity. To this end we are in contact with multiple landlords, councils and estate agencies and have lettings agents working on our behalf. Many avenues are being explored and we remain hopeful that one will prove fruitful, despite facing a lot of discrimination. Faced with an apparent dearth of suitable properties in Lambeth we extended our Lambeth based charity to boroughs such as Croydon, Southwark and Bromley. Options available in these areas are also being considered.
The trustees will continue working with the CEO to take stock of the Charity's delivery strategy and approach to finding a hub.
In the interim our activities will centre around reducing food waste from festivals.
Festivals can be some of the leading contributors to food waste and further environmental damage, the festival industry creating around 400 tonnes of food waste per year; and that excludes campsite waste.
Festival audiences are becoming increasingly more conscious of social and environmental issues and want to support events that are proving part of the solution.
By partnering with a large number of festivals across London CoTH is able to redirect and redistribute their surplus food, that would otherwise go to waste. All food donated can be redistributed by CoTH to those that need it most in the festival’s local community; through partnerships with organisations that house young people, care leavers, those with mental health issues and those with disabilities.
These partnerships enable festivals to meet their sustainability and CSR goals and continue to further our mission and vision.
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Compliments of the House
Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st] May 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
Work on maintaining the relationships we have with businesses is on-going; so CoTH can continue to collect from them once we get a hub.
We have worked hard to develop and nurture new and existing relationships with members of the community, similar organisations, council members, MPs, food or corporate partners; building long-term bonds which allow us to continue to expand our reach within the community.
Achievements against objectives set
Achievements of CoTH’s objectives for public benefit are measured by:
- Awareness of the charity and its services by potential guests, food donors, volunteers, corporate donors and the wider community
We use our presence at numerous festivals to have an on-site stall where festival-goers can engage with our volunteers; to find out about who we are, and what we are doing at the festival to combat food waste. In addition, our festival stall offers a space for the public to interact with current volunteers, learn more about our cause and engage in donating their time or money to the charity.
Through this process we hope to show festival-goers how CoTH operates, while also promoting ecological practices of food waste prevention; which can influence their attitudes to food waste at future events.
– No matter where the festival is, food waste is always created be it Glastonbury, Brockwell – Park or Crystal Palace and there are always local people in need of this food.
So we felt it was more important than ever for CoTH to have a presence at music festivals: to harness the food resources that would otherwise go to waste.
- Meeting demand of food provision in the Borough of Lambeth and surrounding boroughs
Despite halting the established service, CoTH managed to continue meeting the demand of food redistribution in the Borough of Lambeth and surrounding boroughs, through its continued food parcel service to our most isolated guests. We were able to continue providing food to vulnerable guests by adapting our usual service to focus on festivals.
Our festival operations proved successful in reducing food waste; which means a reduction in landfill costs, carbon emissions and more food for those who need it.
- A guaranteed high-quality service that meets the needs of our guests now and in the future
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Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st] May 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
Compliments of the House
Notwithstanding the current scaled back operation, Compliments of The House continued to provide high quality food parcels to isolated guests; accommodating religious, cultural and dietary needs wherever possible.
Towards the end of each festival our volunteers collected surplus food from stalls and traders throughout the event, then took it to our festival stall where it was sorted. The food was then transported out of the festival grounds, in specialist food collection bags, to our Charity Van. In order to ensure the impact is felt by those in the local community, we work with local social housing providers within a 1-mile radius of the event.
- Ensuring the charity and its guests have a voice and agency within the community
Our self-referral, disability friendly triage service respects the diversity of our guests’ needs and is inclusive, to support the agency of guests within the community. Thanks to fundraising, we are able to give guests a choice of what kind of food they receive in their food and sanitary parcels every week, just like they would at a normal supermarket. We uphold their dignity of choice through this operation, as is a key aspect of our usual service. 5. Securing funding for guaranteed longevity of the charity
Through on-going fundraising efforts CoTH continues to secure necessary funding; to achieve its charitable aims and ensure longevity. Not only have we carried out successful – fundraising campaigns, we have invested in nourishing new and existing relationships whether with members of the community, similar organisations, influencers, council – members, MPs, food or corporate partner. We work hard to develop these relationships – to build long-term bonds expanding our reach within the community in order to continue serving our guests as best we can.
FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE
Reserves Policy
The trustees aim to maintain free reserves in unrestricted funds at a level which equates to approximately six months of unrestricted charitable expenditure. The trustees consider that this level will provide sufficient funds to respond to applications for grants and ensure that there are sufficient funds available to cover support of guests, employees, and operational costs. The trustees consider that a level of six months is sufficient given the flexibility afforded by the total return approach toward the investment of the permanent endowment which allows trustees to transfer amounts from the unapplied total element of the endowment fund in case of urgent need.
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Compliments of the House
Accounts for the Period Ended 31[st] May 2025
Trustees’ Annual Report
Financial Performance
The charity continues to prepare its accounts on the receipts and payments (cash basis) as permitted by the Charity Commission.
For the period ended 31 May 2025 total receipts were £8,167 ( 2024 - £25,215) . Total payments, in furtherance of the charities’ activities, were £18,334 (2024 - £61,202) , of which £Nil (2024 - £100) related to restricted funds. In addition, payments for asset purchases, motor vehicles, were £3,324 (2024 - £4,916), of which £Nil (2024 - £ Nil ) related to restricted funds. Total funds at the end of the period were £75,319 (2024 - £88,810) split between restricted funds of £100 (2024 - £100) and unrestricted funds of £75,219 (2024 - £88,710) , and these funds were represented by cash at bank.
Financial Position
The trustees also gratefully acknowledge all the voluntary and financial support received throughout the year which has enabled it to continue ensuring that the objects of the charity are reached.
Declaration
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I declare, in my capacity as a charity trustee, that
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the trustees have approved the report above; and
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have authorised me to sign it on their behalf.
Signature:
Grace Bailey - Chair
Date:
24-Feb-2026
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COMPLIMENTS OF THE HOUSE
Accounts for the Period Ended 31 May 2025
Receipts and Payments Account
| General Donations Online Donations Monthly Donations Total receipts Costs of activities in furtherance of the objects of the charity Public Liability Insurance Fundraising & Publicity Motor running costs Travel & Subsistance Office & Storage Costs Wages & Salaries Management & Administration Volunteer Expense Total costs Asset purchases Fixed Assets - Motor Vehicles HP payments Total asset purchases Total payments Net receipts / (payments) Bank balances at 1 June 2024 Bank balances at 31 May 2025 |
Unrestricted Funds 2025 £ 3,800 526 3,841 8,167 2,134 198 1,267 - 7,350 3,499 3,885 - 18,334 3,324 3,324 21,658 (13,491) 88,710 75,219 |
Restricted Fund 2025 £ - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 100 100 |
Total 2025 £ 3,800 526 3,841 8,167 2,134 198 1,267 - 7,350 3,499 3,885 - 18,334 3,324 3,324 21,658 (13,491) 88,810 75,319 |
Total 2024 £ 17,056 716 7,444 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25,215 7,167 722 1,833 1,433 5,376 39,782 4,773 115 |
||||
| 61,202 4,916 |
||||
| 4,916 | ||||
| 66,117 | ||||
| (40,901) 129,711 |
||||
| 88,810 |
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COMPLIMENTS OF THE HOUSE
Accounts for the Period Ended 31 May 2025
Statement of Assets and Liabilities at 31 May 2025
| Monetary assets Bank Current Account Petty Cash Total Tangible Fixed Assets - Motor Vehicles: - Cost - Accumulated Depreciation Total (Net Book Value) Liabilities Hire Purchase Liability: Motor Vehicles <1 year Total Liabilities Assets retained for the Charity's own use |
£ 75,219 - 75,219 25,983 (25,983) - - - General Fund |
£ 100 - 100 11,005 (11,005) - - - Restricted Fund |
Total 2025 £ 75,319 - 75,319 36,988 (36,988) - - - |
Total 2024 £ 88,810 - |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88,810 | ||||
| 60,986 (40,093) |
||||
| 20,893 | ||||
| (14,810) | ||||
| (14,810) |
The charity's trustees acknoweldge their resposibilities for the preparation of the accounts.
The charity's trustees consider that the charity is entitled to exemption from the requirement to have an audit under section 144(1) of the Charities Act 2011.
The accounts were approved by the trustees on and signed on its behalf.
Grace Bailey - Chair
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COMPLIMENTS OF THE HOUSE
Accounts for the Period Ended 31 May 2025
Fund Receipts and Payments Account - Restricted
| Grant Income Total receipts Costs of activities in furtherance of the objects of the charity; Costs Total payments Net receipts / (payments) Bank balances at 1 June 2024 Bank balances at 31st May 2025 |
Covid 19 Response Fund £ - - - - - 100 100 |
Total 2025 £ - - - - - 100 100 |
Total 2024 £ - |
|---|---|---|---|
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - | |||
| - 100 |
|||
| 100 |
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COMPLIMENTS OF THE HOUSE
Accounts for the Period Ended 31 May 2025
Fund Receipts and Payments Account - General
| General Donations Online Donations Monthly Donations Total receipts Costs of activities in furtherance of the objects of the charity; Insurance Fundraising & Publicity Motor Running Costs Travel & Subsistance Office Costs Wages & Salaries Management & Administration Volunteer Expense Total costs Asset purchases Fixed Assets - Motor Vehicles Total asset purchases Total payments Net receipts / (payments) Bank balances at 1 June 2024 Bank balances at 31st May 2025 |
Total 2025 £ 3,800 526 3,841 8,167 2,134 198 1,267 - 7,350 3,499 3,885 - 18,334 3,324 3,324 21,658 (13,491) 88,710 75,219 |
Total 2024 £ 17,056 716 7,444 |
|---|---|---|
| 25,216 | ||
| 7,167 722 1,833 1,433 5,376 39,782 4,773 115 |
||
| 61,202 4,916 |
||
| 4,916 66,117 |
||
| (40,901) 129,611 |
||
| 88,710 |
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