Trustees' Report and Audited Financial Statements
Sept 2024 – Aug 2025
Contents
| Contents | |
|---|---|
| REFERENCE AND | |
| ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS | 2 |
| INTRODUCTION | 3 |
| ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE | 4 |
| GOVERNANCE REPORT | 6 |
| INDEPENDENT AUDITORS’ REPORT | 8 |
| FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 11 |
| NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS | 14 |
| THANK YOU | 30 |
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Cover photo: Tom Price/Ella's
Welcome gifts for a new safe house resident. Photo: Staff/Ella's 1
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Reference and administrative details for the year ended 31 August 2025
Ella's Home (known as Ella's) Company number: 12178531
Charity number: 1187529
Registered office and operational address: The Whitechapel Building, 10 Whitechapel High St, London, E1 8QS
Trustees
L. Russell, Chair (appointed 28 February 2025) R. Claydon, Chair (resigned 23 April 2025) C. Davis
G. Edwards (appointed 20 January 2026, after accounting period)
E. Imeraj
N. Jaffer
C. Kiddy (appointed 28 February 2025)
H. Langford (appointed 20 January 2026, after accounting period)
W. Leyland, Treasurer (resigned 8 May 2025)
E. Shoultz (resigned 30 September 2024)
K. Slevin, Treasurer (appointed 8 May 2025)
‘ I just want to say thank you... I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me. For the first time in months I was able to have actual sleep and feel like a human. I just want to say you are a super hero. I don’t think you’ve realised what you did for me, you saved my life.’
Bankers
The Co-operative P.O. Box 250, Skelmersdale, WN8 6WT
KAREN
Auditors
Godfrey Wilson Limited Chartered accountants and statutory auditors, 5th Floor Mariner House, 62 Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4QD
Directors
Emily Chalke, Founding Director Joy Moyo, Director of Finance and Fundraising Minke van Til, Managing Director
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Front cover photo: Tom Price/Ella's
Introduction
Our mission at Ella’s is to do everything we can to ensure survivors of trafficking and exploitation have all they need to recover and build lives that are safe and free.
This Trustees’ Report covers September 2024 to August 2025, the second year of our current five-year strategy.
Our strategy is focused on enabling us to: (1) provide even more comprehensive support, and for more women; and
(2) step up to fill more of the gaps in existing services for survivors in the UK.
Based on our experience within the sector, and our direct work and consultation with survivors, we have identified the following needs and gaps on which to focus our development between now and 2028:
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Lack of tailored, trauma-informed support for survivors who are mums, and their children. Insufficient trauma-informed support to help survivors find safe and sustainable employment, including building the skills and coping mechanisms needed for the workplace as well as finding appropriate job opportunities.
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Shortage of accommodation for those with no recourse to public funds, as well as women with children.
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Lack of availability of appropriate ‘move-on’ accommodation for women exiting safe houses. Lack of awareness among survivors, from the UK as well as other countries, of the support available to them.
This report covers our year two progress, as well as some key highlights, statistics, and stories* from the year.
*Names changed to protect identities.
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Achievements and performance
Throughout the year we made strong progress against our strategic goals - to reach more women and provide more comprehensive support to fill more of the gaps in the system.
The Survivor Development programme went from strength to strength in 2024/25, with 66 sessions being run across the course of the year including sessions organised in response to feedback and suggestions from survivors.
For the whole family
In February 2025 we opened our second family safe house, with two bedrooms and three beds for a mum and up to two children. With support from partners including The National Lottery and Prop Up, the property was transformed into a warm and welcoming space and somewhere that families can call home.
Our plan to recruit a dedicated Children and Families Worker came to fruition last year in June. Their impact is already evident in the increase in numbers of children directly benefitting from our support (up from 59 in 23/24 to 75 in 24/25), as well the feedback we receive from mums who value the childcare support making it easier for them to attend our Survivor Development events.
By and for survivors
At Ella’s we believe women are experts of their own lives and must be vital in shaping Ella’s services. Our Survivor Advisory Board continued to ensure that survivors are involved in the growth and running of Ella’s as a charity in a meaningful way, coming together quarterly throughout the year. The Survivor Advisory Board is a vital source of advice and guidance for Ella’s leadership team. It also ensures that survivors are shaping the services Ella’s provides and its direction of growth and development, including our practice framework, safeguarding procedures and how safe houses are run.
'I feel that my soul has changed a lot, it has become stronger'.
ROSE
With the help of brilliant, committed partners, survivors participated in a wide range of classes from make-up masterclasses from our friends at Beauty Crop, to exercise with support from The Movement Charity to the ever-popular floristry tuition at Strength and Stem, and all things dough-based at Luminary Bakery.
Our in-house team also ran workshops and information sessions including managing household budgets, and navigating the housing market, while the ever-popular beach trip and Christmas party offered some of the many opportunities to socialise, make connections, and forge friendships.
A strong community
Our strength as an organisation relies on the hard work and expertise of our Board and staff team, the cooperation and support of delivery partners, and the generosity and compassion of funders and donors.
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The right team
Our senior management was strengthened with the introduction of our Director of Finance and Fundraising role alongside the Managing Director, and Founding Director. A new role of Head of Service was created to increase our capacity to support our casework team. We also welcomed a new Head of Fundraising. These five members of staff now make up our Senior Leadership Team.
Our trustee board welcomed three new members - Chair, Treasurer, and Safeguarding Lead. All bring valuable experience and connections to support our growth and development as a charity.
The right support
With 59% of income coming from voluntary funding, we are always pleased to welcome new funding partners. This year we were grateful to receive the support of Impact London Collective and Global's Make Some Noise with multi-year funding agreements. We also secured the generous support of The National Lottery’s Reaching Communities Fund to support our Children and Family support work over a five-year period.
Plans for the future
Looking ahead, our strategic goal is to continue this sustained growth, both in reach and in the impact we have on the lives of women and children. To that end, in 2025/26 we will:
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Open three new safe houses.
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Broaden our outreach, enabling more women to access support by trialling drop-in session locations and advertising our services more widely.
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Build on the initial success of our work with families and children, learning from survivors to grow our programme of activities and range of support. Develop a collaborative network of specialist organisations working collectively beyond statutory systems to identify and address persistent gaps in housing, mental health and long-term support for survivors.
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Continue to become more survivor led through coproduction initiatives.
Tailored, one-to-one support is crucial to what we do. Photo: Tom Price/Ella's5
Governance Report
The objects of the charity are listed with the Charity Commission as follows:
1) to provide relief for women and other victims affected by human trafficking and sexual exploitation including, but not limited to, the provision of safe and restorative accommodation, counselling, medical care, financial assistance, education and other services to support long-term aftercare and recovery; and
2) to advance public awareness and understanding of issues surrounding sexual exploitation and human trafficking throughout the United Kingdom and elsewhere.
Public Benefit
The trustees have complied with their duty in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have due regard to the guidance published by the Charity Commission. The charity supported 75 women and 60 children during this reporting period.
Structure, governance and management
Reference and administrative information set out on page 2 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Memorandum and Articles of Association and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (effective from January 2019).
Ella’s is overseen by a board of up to eight trustees including a trustee with lived experience of trafficking. This year we established a Finance, Audit and Risk Committee that meets quarterly to provide extra oversight to these areas. The board also meets quarterly, with additional interim meetings when required to support the work of the charity.
Day to day management is conducted by three Directors and their Senior Leadership Team. Ella’s has 18 staff members and receives the support of volunteers. In the year to 31 August 2025, Ella’s engaged 46 volunteers.
We have also been fortunate to receive pro bono support from Caplor Horizons, Farrer &Co., Lloyds Academy, Lockton, The Beauty Crop, Moringa, The Movement Charity, The Money Charity, Jigsaw Branding, St Paul’s Church Covent Garden and Superdrug, as well as several individual donors.
Risk Management
At Ella’s we are acutely aware of the vulnerability of those that we work with, and our staff and volunteer team. Our policies are designed to manage and mitigate against such risks as well as those challenges that could hinder the organisation’s own short- and long-term sustainability. All such risks are captured in our risk register and reviewed quarterly as well as in response to significant events. This process is overseen by the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee who then report to the wider board.
We have strong safeguarding policies and procedures to mitigate the very real risks to our service users. We are also aware of the risks to our staff of burnout due to the nature of the work and regularly review our wellbeing policy to ensure we are taking care of our staff. Finally, we regularly review our reserves and financial position in order to ensure that our income is sufficient to cover both our ongoing costs and our growth.
In recognition of our growth and the increased demand for our services, we review the risk register every quarter and key risks are reviewed by the trustees at each board meeting.
‘Thank you. You always push me. You're amazing. My life has changed since living here. I'm always so happy when I see you.’
VERONICA
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Financial Review
Our income grew to £ 1,155,610, a 23% increase on the previous year. This growth allowed us to continue to grow our housing and support provision so that we ended the year with 15 single rooms and 2 family homes.
We were also able to invest in more cohesive support, strengthening the leadership of our frontline team. 48% of our income came from trusts and foundations, 11% from voluntary donations and 41% from charitable activities.
Total expenditure for the year was £1,030,013, with 91% spent directly on charitable activities. These included frontline survivor support, prevention initiatives, advocacy, and capacity-building with partner organisations. Support and governance costs were carefully controlled to ensure maximum impact for beneficiaries.
Reserves Policy
Ella’s’ policy for setting reserves is to ensure that the next three months of core running costs are covered by free reserves.
As the vast majority of Ella’s restricted funds are contributions towards core running costs there is not a requirement to ensure that these free reserves are unrestricted. However, any restricted funding that is not permitted to cover the core running costs of the business is not included in free reserves.
On 31 August our reserve policy required a reserve of £306,000. At the end of the period, Ella’s retained £301,343 in unrestricted funds and £65,164 in restricted funds for core running costs, a total of £366,507, in line with our policy.
Declarations
Statement of responsibilities of the trustees
The trustees (who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees' report and the financial statements in accordance with 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).
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 income and expenditure of the charity for that period.
In preparing those financial statements the trustees are required to:
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK accounting standards and statements of recommended practice have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
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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 proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and which enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. The trustees 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.
In so far as the trustees are aware:
there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions. Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The trustees are members of the charity but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.
Auditors
Godfrey Wilson Limited were appointed as auditors to the charitable company during the period and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity. Approved by the trustees on 17 March 2026 and signed on their behalf by
L.Russell
Laragh Russell, Chair
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Independent Auditors' Report
To the members of:
accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Ella's Home
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Ella's Home (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 August 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, balance sheet, statement of cash flows and the related notes to the financial statements, including a summary of 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 charity's affairs as at 31 August 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, 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
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. 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.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. 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.
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Opinion on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
▪ the information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and ▪ the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report have 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 company 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. 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 the trustees
As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out in the trustees’ report, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes 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 charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our 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.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of noncompliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The procedures we carried out and the extent to which they are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, are detailed below:
(1) We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, and assessed the risk of non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Throughout the audit, we remained alert to possible indications of noncompliance.
(2) We reviewed the charity’s policies and procedures in relation to:
▪ Identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations, and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
▪ Detecting and responding to the risk of fraud, and whether they were aware of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and
▪ Designing and implementing internal controls to mitigate the risk of non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud.
(3) We inspected the minutes of trustee meetings.
(4) We enquired about any non-routine communication with regulators and reviewed any reports made to them.
(5) We reviewed the financial statement disclosures and assessed their compliance with applicable laws and regulations.
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(6) We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected transactions or balances that may indicate a risk of material fraud or error.
(7) We assessed the risk of fraud through management override of controls and carried out procedures to address this risk. Our procedures included:
▪ Testing the appropriateness of journal entries; ▪ Assessing judgements and accounting estimates for potential bias; ▪ Reviewing related party transactions; and ▪ Testing transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity'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 charityʼs members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditorʼs 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 charity's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Date: 17 March 2026
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. Irregularities that arise due to fraud can be even harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.
This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
Robert Wilson FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)
For and on behalf of:
GODFREY WILSON LIMITED Chartered accountants and statutory auditors 5th Floor Mariner House 62 Prince Street Bristol BS1 4QD
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All of the above results are derived from continuing activities. There were no other recognised gains or losses other than those stated above. Movements in funds are disclosed in note 16 to the accounts.
Prior period income has been restated to reflect the requirements of the Charities SORP (FRS 102) and to be comparable with the current year. Further detail is provided in note 2 to the accounts.
WHAT WE DO
Guided by dignity, choice, and compassion, Ella’s is a women-centred organisation working alongside survivors of trafficking and exploitation to support safety, healing and long-term recovery.
Our mission is to ensure survivors of trafficking and exploitation have all they need to recover and build lives that are safe and free.
To achieve this, we offer safe house accommodation for women when they are most vulnerable, care to help them recover and move forward, and long-term community based support to help survivors build safe, independent lives.
Our support for survivors is tailored to every individual, including help with:
| Medical care/therapies | Immigration and legal support | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emotional support | Bringing abusers to justice | |||
| Education/skills training | Emergency money and essentials | |||
| Employment opportunities | Budgeting and managing money | |||
| Reuniting with family | 15 | Confidence and life skills | ||
| Finding and moving into new homes | Attending appointments | |||
| Community integration | Moving countries (if wanted) | |||
| 7 11 |
Photo: Tom Price/Ella's
Ella’s Home Balance Sheet
These accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.
Approved by the trustees on 17 March 2026 and signed on their behalf by
L.Russell
Laragh Russell - Chair
Our annual beach trip, one of 66 amazing community events this year. Photo: Staff/Ella's12
Ella’s Home
Analysis of net changes in debt are given in note 18.
Photo: Tom Price/Ella's
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Ella’s Home
Notes to the financial statements
For the year ended 31 August 2025
1. Accounting policies
a) Basis of preparation
Ella's Home is a charitable company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales. The registered office address is The Whitechapel Building, 10 Whitechapel High St, London, E1 8QS.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities in 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)), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Companies Act 2006.
Ella's Home meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.
b) Going concern basis of accounting
The accounts have been prepared on the assumption that the charity is able to continue as a going concern, which the trustees consider appropriate having regard to the current level of unrestricted reserves. There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
c) Income
Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the item of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Income from the government and other grants, whether 'capital' grants or 'revenue' grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.
Income from housing benefit is recognised when entitlement to claim is met.
d) Donated services and facilities
Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item, is probable and the economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised.
On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.
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1. Accounting policies (continued)
e) 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.
f) Funds accounting
Unrestricted funds are available to spend on activities that further any of the purposes of the charity. Designated funds are unrestricted funds of the charity which the trustees have decided at their discretion to set aside to use for a specific purpose. Restricted funds are donations which the donor has specified are to be solely used for particular areas of the charity's work or for specific projects being undertaken by the charity.
g) Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
h) Allocation of support and governance costs
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Governance costs are the costs associated with the governance arrangements of the charity, including the costs of complying with constitutional and statutory requirements and any costs associated with the strategic management of the charity’s activities. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities based on the proportion of staff costs, as follows:
i) Tangible fixed assets
Depreciation is provided at rates calculated to write down the cost of each asset to its estimated residual value over its expected useful life. The depreciation rates in use are as follows:
Household goods 5 years straight line basis Office equipment 3 years straight line basis Leasehold property 50 years straight line basis
Items are capitalised where the purchase price exceeds £500.
j) Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
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1. Accounting policies (continued)
k) Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and cash in hand 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.
l) Creditors
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
m) Financial instruments
The charitable company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently recognised at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
n) Accounting estimates and key judgements
In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying values of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and underlying 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 if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
The key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant effect on the amounts recognised in the financial statements are depreciation of fixed assets as described in note (i) above.
‘Finally, I have a vision of myself in the future. I dream of it. I can't wait. I would describe Ella’s as a big happy family who always support each other no matter what. There should be more Ella’s in the world,... because communities like Ella’s change lives. Like they're changing mine. To contribute to that, I think it's priceless.'
Photo: Tom Price/Ella's
LAURA
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2. Prior period restatement
Prior year accrued income has been restated to reflect Greater London Authority contract income which the charity was entitled to at year end. As a result of the restatement, accrued income has increased by £40,615, and income has increased by £40,615 at 31 August 2024.
3. Prior period comparatives: statement of financial activities (restated)
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Run 4 Love in Namibia with the awesome TRIBE. Photo: TRIBE 17
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4. Income from donations and legacies
Promoting wellbeing through creative activities such as embroidery. Photo: Staff/Ella’s18
4. Income from donations and legacies (continued)
*Gifts in kind include legal advice, room hire, and consultancy services donated to the charity.
The split of expenditure between funds has been restated to correctly allocate expenditure against the BCBN fund.
5. Income from charitable activities
All income in the current and prior period was unrestricted.
6. Government Grants
The charitable company receives government grants, defined as funding from MOPAC and The National Lottery Community Fund to fund charitable activities. The total value of such grants in the period ending 31 August 2025 was £101,510 (2024: £145,460). There are no unfulfilled conditions or contingencies attaching to these grants in 2024/25.
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7. Total Expenditure
*Professional services, fundraising support, client support and office costs include gifts in kind made to the charity.
Total governance costs were £8,000 (2024: £3,600).
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We opened two new safe houses this year.
Photo: Staff/Ella’s 20
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7. Total Expenditure (continued)
Prior period comparatives
*Professional services, fundraising support, client support and office costs include gifts in kind made to the charity.
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Photo: Tom Price/Ella's
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8. Net movement in funds
This is stated after charging:
In common with other charities of our size and nature we use our auditors to assist with the preparation of the financial statements.
9. Staff Costs
Staff costs were as follows:
No employee earned more than £60,000 during the year.
The key management personnel of the charitable company comprise the Trustees, the Co-Directors, and the Management Team. The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £250,103 (2024: £232,918).
10. Taxation
The charity is exempt from corporation tax as all its income is charitable and is applied for charitable purposes.
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11. Tangible fixed assets
Ella's’ property portfolio is primarily made up of rented properties. Ella's purchased its first property (a 2-bed flat) in 2024 with support from funders and two social investors who came together to offer a joint mortgage on the property, Trust for London and Charity Bank. This will help to build more financial stability and resilience for Ella's over time.
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Christmas fun at Ella’s. Photo: Staff/Ella’s
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12. Debtors
13. Creditors: amounts due within 1 year
14. Creditors: amounts due after 1 year
On 22 May 2024, Ella's Home Ltd entered into two mortgages. A mortgage with the Charity Bank for £90,000 which has an interest rate of the base rate plus 3.5%, and a mortgage with Trust for London for £160,000 which has an interest rate of the base rate plus 0.5%, capped at 4%. Both loans are repayable over 10 years.
Analysis of debt maturity
Debt due after more than one year:
15. Analysis of net assets between funds
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Analysis of net assets between funds Prior Period Comparatives (restated)
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Photo: Tom Price/Ella's
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16. Movement in funds
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We are grateful to friends at Hyatt Hotels, The Beauty Crop, Lockton, TRIBE, Balham Baptist
and more for their support this year. Photos: Staff/Ella’s
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16. Movement in funds (continued)
Purposes of restricted funds
Big Give – Children and families worker B&Q – Safehouse home improvements Charles Plater Trust – Resettlement caseworker Cicely Northcote Trust – Accommodation caseworker City Bridge Foundation – Outreach & head of service salaries Cottman Foundation – Safehome improvements Fir Tree – Creating promotional video Global Charities – Accommodation caseworker Islamic Relief – Assistant Service Manager M&G PLC – New home Meeting Needs – New home MOPAC Outreach – Support for outreach worker National Lottery Community Fund (1) – Community resettlement scheme National Lottery Community Fund (2) – Visit to Kew Gardens National Lottery Community Fund (3) – New home Peter Stebbing Memorial Trust – Safehouse costs Skipton Building Society – Move-on housing support South Hackney Parochial Charity – Safehome improvements Stef & Philips Foundation – Crisis fund The Allen & Overy Foundation – Resettlement caseworker Tribe Freedom Foundation – Ella's core objectives The London Community Fund – Co-director & head of services salaries
Funds in deficit
The MOPAC Outreach fund and the London Community fund are in deficit at the year end as these projects are ongoing and further funds will be received in 2025/26.
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Joy and creativity at our family fun day.
Photo: Staff/Ella’s
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16. Movement in funds (continued) Prior period comparatives (restated)
17. Analysis of changes in net debt
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18. Operating lease commitments
The charity had operating leases at the year end with total future minimum lease payments as follows:
19. Related party transactions
N Jaffer, a trustee, is also the programme manager in the grants team at the London Community Foundation. During the year the charity received £65,950 of grant income from The London Community Foundation (2024: £22,566).
'I am a lot happier, and my confidence has improved. I am enjoying my job and have met new people, and made friends.’
SALLY
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Thank you
Our work is made possible through the generosity and partnership of individuals, funding partners, companies and volunteers. Through donations, grants, time and expertise, supporters help ensure that women who have survived trafficking and exploitation can access safety, specialist support and the chance to rebuild their lives with dignity and choice.
We are deeply grateful to those who already walk alongside us. Every contribution helps enable Ella’s to stand with women for the long term. If you are interested in deepening your support, here’s what you can do:
Partner with us: join our growing network of companies who are working with us to create meaningful, values-led partnerships that support women’s recovery while engaging staff and demonstrating social impact.
- Philanthropy: harness the power of your personal passion for the cause by investing in our work with survivors. Your gifts could help us pilot a new project or expand an existing area of our work to reach more survivors. Talk to us about the impact you want to create.
Funding: trusts and foundations play a vital role in enabling our long-term, specialist services through funding our projects and programme areas and providing vital core funding.
- Individuals: every single person who supports Ella’s is part of our story. If you are interested in volunteering, taking part in a challenge event, and more, we would love to hear from you.
Landlords: a lack of suitable, affordable housing is a huge barrier to recovery. We’re building a network of property owners who are willing to rent out their properties at affordable prices to help survivors. Get in touch to join or learn more.
However you choose to support Ella’s, you are part of a community committed to hope, justice and lasting change. Thank you for believing in women’s strength and for helping to make recovery possible.
Visit ellas.org.uk or email fundraising@ellas.org.uk to find out more.
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ELLA'S
1ST FLOOR,THE WHITECHAPEL BUILDING, 10 WHITECHAPEL HIGH ST, LONDON E1 8QS INFO@ELLAS.ORG.UK
020 3633 6535
WWW.ELLAS.ORG.UK
Ella's is a company limited charity (company number 12178531) with a registered office address (England and Wales). We are also a charity registered in England and Wales, charity registration number 1187529. Photo: Tom Price/Ella's