## **The Brian D Newman Foundation for the Environment**
## **Unaudited**
**Annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2024**
**Registered Charity No. 1189900**
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Contents**
||**Page**|
|---|---|
|Report of the trustees|1-5|
|Report of the Independent Examiner|6|
|Statement of financial activities|7|
|Balance sheet|8|
|Notes to the financial statements|9-14|
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Trustees’ Annual Report For the year ended 31 December 2024**
The Trustees present their report along with the financial statements of the Charity for the year ended 31 December 2024. The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 2 to the financial statements and comply with the Charities Act 2011.
## **OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES**
## **The purpose of the Charity**
The purpose of the Charity, as set out in its objects within the constitution, is to advance for the public benefit the protection and improvement of the environment in the United Kingdom and Australia in particular but not exclusively by:
- (1) the conservation, protection and improvement of the natural environment, including recognised nature reserves, specialist gardens and protected habitats
- (2) promoting and facilitating public enjoyment and appreciation of the natural environment, and
- (3) advancing the education of the public in relation to the protection and improvement of the environment including the support, promotion, and dissemination of research for the public benefit within the United Kingdom and Australia
in such ways as the Charity trustees think fit.
## **Activities in the year**
The Trustees grants for the year are detailed in Note 5 of the report.
## **Public benefit**
The Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and will consider that guidance in their future activities.
## **Grant making policy**
Grants will be made in accordance with the objects of the charity and reflect the recommendations of the trustees and third-party grant applications.
The Charity makes grants to charities in the UK and Australia. Grants to unincorporated associations are limited to £2,500. The Charity considers grant applications from third parties and those nominated by the trustees. There are no multi-year grants, but the Charity will consider supporting applicants over a number of years provided the funds are available.
## **ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE**
The Charity’s work is measured by the degree to which each grant contributes to the stated objectives set out in the respective grant applications of recipients. Progress reports from the recipients are requested before the end of the Charity’s financial year. Local trustee knowledge helps to direct grants and establish whether on-going support can be justified.
All grants made have enabled the recipients to further their charitable purposes.
1
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
**Summary of the grants awarded during the year and their purpose**
|**Country**|**Name**|**Summary**|**Amount**|
|---|---|---|---|
|UK|CPRE Kent|Towards advocacy related to|£10,000|
|||preventing biodiversity loss||
|||caused by inappropriate development||
|UK|ShareAction|Towards~~e~~mbedding biodiversity in global|£10,000|
|||financial systems||
|UK|Friends of Holt Island|Towards a new boardwalk to prevent||
|||damage to habitat and improve|£5,000|
|||community access||
|UK
|Plantlife|Towards land purchase –extension
|£5,000|
|||of Ryewater Water Farm Nature||
|||Reserve||
|Australia|
Biolinks|Towards Phase 2 of the Spring Plains|£15,015|
|||Nature Conservation Reserve||
|||Watershed Repair Project||
|Australia|
Connecting Country|Towards ensuring the continuation|£15,015|
|||of the restored habitats’ bird monitoring||
|||programme which began in||
|||2010 – to better understand the||
|||threatened Victorian temperate bird||
|||communities and to gauge the impact||
|||of CC’s landscape restoration efforts||
|Australia|
Environment Victoria|Towards restoring the Murray-Darling|£5,015|
|||(rivers) basin to health campaign||
|Australia|
Trust for Nature|Towards protecting Plains-wanderer||
|||habitat|£5,015|
|Total Awards for the Year|||£70,060|
In addition to the above, the charity incurred other direct charitable expenditure of £2,500 relating to a research project into damage to SSSIs caused by information shortfalls in the conveyancing process.
2
**THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **FINANCIAL REVIEW**
## **Financial performance**
The Statement of Financial Activities shows the income and expenditure of the Charity for the year, together with the changes in value of the investments. Revenue was generated from the investment portfolio and expenditure was supplemented by funds carried forward from the previous year. The foundation received a gift of 3000 Commonwealth Bank of Australia shares on 10[th] September 2024 valued at £241,609. The charity paid donations totaling £70,060 in 2024 (2023: £66,650). These grants have enabled the recipients to further their charitable purposes.
Other direct charitable expenditure relates to a £2,500 final payment (2023: interim payment £2,500) to a trustee Janet Dear who undertook an internal research project into conveyancing and Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). The Trustee was deemed to be the best person to undertake the research having worked for Natural England for over 20 years and experienced much of the damage to SSSIs caused by inadequate information in the conveyancing process.
The research was published in May 2024 and has been well received by its main target audience – HM Land Registry and Natural England. We believe the price was competitive and that the Trustee was the best person to undertake the research given her professional credentials.
The assets of the Charity at the year-end were primarily the long-term investments representing the endowment fund. The investments primarily comprised equity investments, with a good geographic spread.
## **Investment policy**
The Charity’s investment policy is to seek income from the portfolio while simultaneously protecting the real value of the Charity’s assets. In conjunction with the asset manager, UBS, the Charity continued an investment approach of having circa 75% of the funds in a well distributed portfolio of high-quality mainly European equities, with the balance in cash / bonds. This policy is reviewed annually.
Total funds at the year-end amounted to £2,863,005 (2023: £2,585,550).
There was a capital gain of £77,697 for 2024 (2023: £89,289).
## **Reserves**
The Trustees are prohibited from spending the permanent endowment fund and therefore the Charity’s free reserves comprise only the General fund, which amounted to £98,553 (2023: £99,996) as at the year end.
The Charity is an endowed, grant making charity with no employees and limited recurring costs. As such, Trustees do not consider that the Charity needs to hold reserves within its general fund. The trustees intend to use the reserves over the coming year to fund further grants.
## **STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT**
## **Governing Document**
The Charity was formed as a charitable incorporated organisation on 11 June 2020; its governing document is its constitution.
## **Appointment of trustees**
The initial trustees were appointed by the founder trustee. Future trustees are appointed by the current trustees as a body.
## **Management**
The Charity has no staff and is managed by its trustees.
3
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **Risk management**
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the activities and finances of the charity and are satisfied those systems are in place to mitigate those risks. A risk assessment register is maintained and is reviewed biennially.
## **REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION**
## **Name and Registered Number of Charity**
The Charity is registered as “Brian D Newman Foundation for the Environment” and its registered number is 1189900.
## **Principal Address**
The principal address of the Charity is: c/o Royle Accounting Limited, Unit 1, Pluto House, 19-33 Station Road, Ashford, Kent, TN23 1PP.
The Charity’s email address is: BDNFoundation@gmail.com.
4
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Trustees’ Annual Report (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **Names of Trustees**
The Trustees who acted during the year and subsequently were as follows:
Louise Maxwell Barton Matthew Beardmore-Gray Janet Clare Dear Elizabeth Ann Skilbeck
## **Fundraising**
The Charity does not undertake any fundraising activities.
## **TRUSTEES’ RESPONSIBILITIES STATEMENT**
The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.
The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable regulations).Under that law the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the Charity for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:
- Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.
- Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
- Make judgements and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent.
- State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed.
- Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the Charity will continue in business.
The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which are sufficient to show and explain the Charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the constitution. They 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.
## Louise Barton
Louise Barton (Oct 16, 2025 19:24:49 GMT+1)
L M Barton Chair of the Trustees
Date of approval: 16/10/2025
5
**THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Independent examiner’s report For the year ended 31 December 2024**
I report to the trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Brian D Newman Foundation for the Environment for the year ended 31 December 2024, which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet and the notes to the accounts, including a summary of significant accounting policies.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
3. the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements concerning the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination.
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
~~ulie Mutton Ju~~ lie Mutton (Oct 21, 2025 08:42:48 GMT+1) ~~J~~
## Name: Julie Mutton
Fellow of The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England & Wales
Address: S&W Partners Audit Limited 4[th] Floor Cumberland House 15-17 Cumberland Place Southampton Hampshire SO15 2BG
DATE:
21/10/2025
6
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Statement of financial activities For the year ended 31 December 2024**
|**Income**
**Notes**
Donations and
legacies
Investment Income
**Total**
**Fundraising Costs**
**Investment**
**Management Fees**
**Expenditure on**
**Charitable activities**
Grants
5
Other Direct
Expenditure
Support costs
5
6
**Total expenditure**
Unrealised
gains/losses on
investments
**Net income**
Total funds brought
forward
**Total funds carried**
**forward**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**
**Endowment**
**Funds**
**£**
**2024 Total**
**£**
**2023 Total**
**£**
-
241,609
241,609
428,300
75,404
-
75,404
61,958|
|---|---|
||**75,404**
**241,609**
**317,013**
**490,258**|
||-
(40,408)
(40,408)
(43,022)
(70,060)
-
(70,060)
(66,650)
(2,500)
(4,287)
-
(2,500)
(4,287)
(2,500)
(3,762)|
||**(76,847**)
(40,408)
**(117,255**)
**(115,934**)|
||-
77,697
77,697
89,289|
||**(1443)**
**278,898**
**277,455**
**463,613**|
||99,996
2,485,554
2,585,550
2,121,937|
||98,553
2,764,452
2,863,005
2,585,550|
All activities are continuing.
The full comparative statement of financial activities is given in note 10.
7
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Balance sheet As of 31 December 2024**
|**Notes**
**Fixed assets**
Investments
8
**Total fixed assets**
**Current assets**
Cash at Bank
**Total current assets**
**Current liabilities**
Accruals
**Total current liabilities**
**Total net assets**
**The funds of the charity:**
Endowment funds
9
Unrestricted funds
9
**Total funds**|**31 December**
**31 December**
**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
2,844,424
2,550,444|
|---|---|
||2,844,424
2,550,444|
||22,005
38,530|
||22,005
38,530|
||(3,424)
(3,424)|
||(3,424)
(3,424)|
|||
||2,863,005
2,585,550|
||2,764,452
2,485,554
98,553
99,996
2,863,005
2,585,550|
Approved and signed on behalf of the Trustees
## Louise Barton
Louise Barton (Oct 16, 2025 19:24:49 GMT+1)
L M Barton, Chair of Trustees
Date of approval: 16/10/2025
8
**THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **1 Status**
The Brian D Newman Foundation for the Environment (“the Charity”) is a charitable incorporated organisation governed by its constitution dated 11 June 2020. The charity number is 1189900. Its principal address is Unit 1, Pluto House, 19-33 Station Road, Ashford, TN23 1PP.
## **2 Accounting policies**
The principal accounting policies are summarised below.
## **Basis of preparation**
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (“FRS 102”) and with the Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with FRS 102 (effective 1 January 2019). The financial statements are also prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.
The charity is a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
## **Fund accounting**
The funds held as at the year-end are in the form of a permanent endowment fund and unrestricted funds. Income from the endowment is available for the general purposes of the Charity.
Unrestricted funds are spent or applied at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity’s purposes. The use of unrestricted funds is not restricted to any particular charitable purpose of the charity. Trustees may choose during the reporting period to set aside (designate) a part of the unrestricted funds to be used for a particular project or commitment.
## **Going concern**
The trustees are confident that the Charity will continue to be a going concern and the financial statements have been prepared on this basis.
## **Income**
All incoming resources are included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the Charity is legally entitled to the income, when its receipt is probable and when it can be measured with reasonable certainty.
## **Expenditure**
All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been included under expense categories that aggregate all costs. Costs have been allocated on a basis consistent with the use of the resources.
## **Grants to beneficiaries**
Grants to beneficiaries are recognised when the trustees judge that the recipients have a valid expectation that they will receive the funds. This is usually when the recipients have been informed of the grants and when any substantive performance obligations have been met.
9
**THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **2 Accounting policies** (continued)
## **Investments**
Investments are a form of basic financial instruments and are initially recognised at their transaction cost and subsequently remeasured at fair value at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. The statement of financial activities includes the net gains and losses on revaluations and disposals throughout the year.
## **3 Employee information**
The Charity had no employees (2023: none).
## **4 Trustees**
No trustees were remunerated in the period, other than the specific payment of £2,500 for research referred to in the Financial Review on page 3.
Expenses reimbursed to the trustee’s amounted to £75 (2023 - nil).
## **5 Grant Analysis**
|**Charity Name**
**Conservation, protection and improvement of the**
**environment**
Future Trees Trust
BioLinks
We are Grow
CPRE Kent
Trust For Nature
Connecting Country
Environment Victoria
ShareAction
Seawilding
Plantlife
Surfers Against Sewage
**Subtotal carried over**|**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
-
8,590
15,015
-
10,000
-
4,000
10,000
5,015
6,015
15,015
15,015
5,015
11,030
10,000
-
-
7,000
5,000
-
-
2,500|
|---|---|
||65,060
64,150|
10
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
|**5**|**Grant Analysis (continued)**|||
|---|---|---|---|
||**Charity Name**|**2024**
**£**|**2023**
**£**|
||**Subtotal carried forward**|65,060|64,150|
||**Advancing the education of the public**|||
||Ecological Continuity Trust|-|2,500|
||**Promoting and facilitating the public enjoyment of**|||
||**the environment**|||
||Friends of Holt Island|5,000|-|
||**Total**|**70,060**|**66,650**|
||All grants were made to institutions and all recipients are charities.|||
||Other Direct Charitable expenditure|2024|2023|
||Conservation, protection and improvement of the environment|
£|£|
||Research project re conveyancing and SSSI’s|2,500|2,500|
|**6**|**Support Costs**|||
|||**2024**|**2023**|
|||**£**|**£**|
||Accountancy|624|624|
||Trustee expenses|91|-|
||Sundry|79|5|
|||794|629|
||Governance costs:|||
||Independent examination fees|3,493|3,133|
||**Total**|**4,287**|3,762|
## **7 Taxation**
The Charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within sections 524 to 536 of the Income Taxes Act 2007 or section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects. No tax charges have arisen in the period.
11
**THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **8 Investments**
|1 January 2024
Additions
Withdrawals
Investment Management Charges
Income receivable
Unrealised gain
**31 December 2024**
**Analysis of investments by category of holding**
Cash and cash equivalents
Bonds (listed)
Equities (listed)
**Total**|**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
2,550,444
2,093,558
241,609
387,300
(60,322)
(40,408)
(38,639)
(43,022)
75,404
61,958
77,697
89,289|
|---|---|
||2,844,424
2,550,444|
||**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
126,953
105,770
524,123
451,988
2,193,348
1,992,686|
||2,844,424
2,550,444|
## **Analysis of investments by location**
|Europe
United Kingdom
Singapore
USA
Japan
**Total**|**2024**
**£**
**2023**
**£**
1,430,160
1,330,842
866,496
749,284
16,889
5,141
505,935
441,519
24,944
23,658
2,844,424
2,550,444|
|---|---|
12
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **9 Analysis of Charitable funds**
|**Analysis of fund**
**movements**|**Balance**
**b/fwd**|**Income**|**Expenditure**|**Gains and**
**(Losses)**|**Balance**
**c/fwd**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Endowment||||||
|Funds|2,485,554|241,609|(40,408)|77,697|2,764,452|
|Unrestricted||||||
|funds|99,996|75,404|~~(7~~6,847)|-|98,553|
|**Total**|2,585,550|317,013|(117,256)|77,697|2,863,005|
|**Analysis of charitable funds – prior year**||||||
|**Analysis of**
**Fund**
**movements**|**Balance**
**b/fwd**|**Income**|**Expenditure**|**Gains and**
**(losses)**|**Balance**
**c/fwd**|
|Endowment||||||
|Funds|2,051,987|387,300|(43,022)|89,289|2,485,554|
|Unrestricted||||||
|Funds|69,950|102,958|(72,912)|-|99,996|
|**Total**|2,121,937|490,258|(115,934)|89,289|2,585,550|
The endowment fund is a permanent fund and is comprised solely of investments. The income fund is unrestricted and may be used for any general purpose of the charity.
13
## **THE BRIAN D NEWMAN FOUNDATION FOR THE ENVIRONMENT Notes to the financial statements (continued) For the year ended 31 December 2024**
## **10 Comparative Statement of financial activities**
|**Income**
Donations and legacies
Investment Income
**Total**
**Fundraising Costs**
**Investment Management**
**Fees**
**Expenditure on**
**Charitable activities**
Grants
Other Direct Expenses
Support costs
**Total expenditure**
Unrealised gains/(losses) on investments
**Net income**
Total funds brought forward
**Total funds carried forward**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**Endowment**
**Funds**
**2023 Total**
**£**
**£**
**£**
41,000
387,300
428,300
61,958
-
61,958|
|---|---|
||**102,958**
**387,300**
**490,258**|
||~~-~~
(43,022)
(43,022)
(66,650)
(2,500)
-
-
(66,650)
(2,500)
(3,762)
-
(3,762)|
||**(72,912**)
(43,022)
**(115,934)**|
||-
89,289
89,289|
||**30,046**
**433,567**
**463,613**|
||69,950
2,051,987
2,122,937|
||**99,996**
**2,485,554**
**2,585,550**|
14