**Company registration number 13652600 (England and Wales) Charity registration number 1199206 (England and Wales)**
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE ANNUAL REPORT AND CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE LEGAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE INFORMATION**
|**Patron**|Dame Judi Dench||
|---|---|---|
|**Trustees**|Laurence Clark||
||Jacqueline Fisher (Co-vice Chair)||
||Kate Haldane (Chair)|(Appointed 28 June 2024)|
||Joanna Hargreaves (Co-vice Chair)||
||Paul Khan|(Appointed 26 September 2025)|
||Sarah Maxfield|(Appointed 5 December 2025)|
||Simon O'Brien|(Appointed 21 February 2025)|
||Joseph Yates|(Appointed 13 December 2024)|
|**Secretary**|Gillian Miller||
|**Senior management**|Gillian Miller|CEO|
||Kevin Fearon|Executive Producer|
||Gary O'Connor|Executive Finance Director|
||Jess Bolger|Creative Producer|
||Miriam Mussa|Head of Community Engagement|
||Kofi Ohene-Djan|Head of Marketing and Sales|
||Sean Gannon|Head of Technical and Production|
||Ailsa Morris|Head of Operations|
||David Asell|Head of Catering|
|**Country of incorporation**|United Kingdom|13652600|
||(England and Wales)||
|**Charity registration**|England and Wales|1199206|
|**Principal address**|Royal Court Theatre||
||1 Roe Street||
||Liverpool||
||L1 1HL||
|**Registered office**|Royal Court Theatre||
||1 Roe Street||
||Liverpool||
||L1 1HL||
|**Auditor**|DSG Audit||
||Castle Chambers||
||43 Castle Street||
||Liverpool||
||L2 9TL||
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE CONTENTS**
||**Page**|
|---|---|
|Report of the CEO|1|
|Trustees' report|2 - 13|
|Statement of trustees' responsibilities|14|
|Independent auditor's report|15 - 17|
|Consolidated statement of financial activities|18|
|Consolidated balance sheet|19|
|Charitable company balance sheet|20|
|Consolidated statement of cash flows|21|
|Notes to the financial statements|22 - 43|
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE REPORT OF THE CEO**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
This year has been one of ambition, growth and renewed confidence for Liverpool’s Royal Court. From our first West End transfer and national tour for Alan Bleasdale’s Boys From The Blackstuff, to the ambitions of a Community Company integrated with professional actors on our main stage in Phillip Breen’s adaptation of Red or Dead, reaffirming our vision that the theatre is a space where everyone, regardless of background or experience with the arts feels welcome and inspired. Our year-long programme presented the best of Liverpool Lives on Stage through new writing with a commitment to making great theatre accessible to all.
Our stage collaboration highlights also included welcoming writer Jonathan Harvey back for his new Sisters of Mersey comedy, and working in partnership with Phillip Breen who adapted the David Peace novel, Red or Dead, for our stage creating a unique company of over 50 professional and amateur actors led by star of film and screen, Peter Mullan.
Alongside our main stage successes, we continued to invest in talent development, supporting emerging writers, performers and creatives through programmes that nurture skills, confidence and opportunity. Our Stage Write Playwright Development Programme has now reached over 100 aspiring writers for stage with many going on to have their work produced on our stages and at other venues across the country. Our commitment to providing free access to young people aged 11-17 continued with weekly workshop sessions and summer school training opportunities while our second Mentor Creatives programme ran in partnership with Everyman & Playhouse and Shakespeare North Playhouse theatres, providing focused support to help develop skills and employment opportunities for creatives from the Global Majority.
Most importantly, this year has been about people – our audiences, artists, participants, staff and supporters. Their passion and belief in this theatre make everything we do possible, and I am immensely proud of what we have achieved together.
## **Gillian Miller Chief Executive Officer**
Date: 28 January 2026
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**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)".
## **Objectives and activities**
The objects of Royal Court Liverpool Ltd as defined in its Articles of Association are to advance the arts for the public benefit by the promotion in particular, but not exclusively, of the art of drama.
The charitable company aims to promote, maintain, improve and advance education through the production of plays and the encouragement of the arts of drama, dance, singing and music and to formulate, prepare and establish schemes provided that all the objects are to produce accomplished, innovative and relevant plays that are artistically excellent and tour them nationally and to develop a love and understanding for the theatre as an art form through performance, training and other developmental methods.
Royal Court Liverpool Ltd will aim to advance the education of the public by making theatre that is accessible by all and celebrates, inspires and challenges; developing the desire and ability to express ideas and break down social and cultural barriers. Royal Court Liverpool Ltd will aim to increase access to the arts by focusing on attracting audiences who would not class themselves as theatre audience members.
**Belief** – that the theatre speaks to the experiences and aspirations of the people of Liverpool and is dedicated to represent the city’s vibrant culture and heritage.
**Vision** – that the theatre is a space where everyone regardless of background or experience with the arts, feels welcomed and inspired.
**Mission** – to entertain, educate and uplift people by creating an environment that makes theatre accessible to all and strengthens the cultural fabric of Liverpool.
## _Measuring Success_
Throughout 2024-2025, the organisation collectively created a visual strategy tree designed to provide a 1-2 page visual representation of the strategy for the organisation.
## _Purpose_
To ensure clarity on what we want to achieve so that there is understanding and ownership of this both internally - across the organisation and externally – for funders and stakeholders. Each department is able to identify their own ambitions and strategies within this so that they can direct their efforts effectively. It also provides a tool to gauge activity and determine whether it helps us to reach our ambitions.
## _Public benefit_
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
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**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## _About the Organisation_
Royal Court Liverpool Ltd, also known as Liverpool’s Royal Court (LRC) is dedicated to and distinguished by the telling of stories about the people of Liverpool. This creates a truly Liverpudlian theatre venue with loyal audiences who enjoy a big night out.
We operate both a main house with 1,150 seats, and a 150 seat studio offering comprehensive entertainment experiences with pre-show dining and drinks. This community-focused approach has established the Royal Court as a cornerstone of Liverpool’s cultural landscape, celebrating local identity while maintaining professional theatrical standards.
## _Progress and Success_
In the year to 31 March 2025 Royal Court Liverpool Ltd delivered:
- 163,653 tickets sold
- 230 main stage performances
- 120 Studio performances
- 203 creatives employed
- 1,836 bowls of Scouse served
- 674 sessions with Children & Young People
- 11,212 Youth Theatre Engagements
- 166 community choir and am-drams sessions
## **Achievements and performance**
Significant activities and achievements against objectives are as follows:
## **Main house shows**
## _**Come Together**_
We began the year by wrapping up a successful production of _Come Together_ . This concert show, written by and starring Tom Connor and Mark Newnham as John Lennon and Paul McCartney, delighted Beatles fans and music lovers in general with a fantastic selection of classic Beatles tunes and compelling performances from its central duo.
## _**Boys from the Blackstuff**_
_Alan Bleasdale’s Boys From the Blackstuff_ adapted for stage by James Graham is a show we are particularly proud of. It was a resounding success when we premiered it in 2023, exceeding box office targets and receiving praise from audiences and critics.
A partnership with The National Theatre transferred the show to London in 2024 and Bill Kenwright Ltd took the show to the West End, before taking the show on a national tour in 2025 reaching venues throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
This partnership and touring represents a significant development in our producing capabilities and had a significant and positive impact on our reputation as a producing theatre.
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## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## _**The Netherley Hillbillies**_
Barbara Phillips’ comedy, inspired by sitcom _The Beverly Hillbillies_ , was a rags to riches tale that saw a workingclass Scouse family win it big and move to the rich suburbs.
Unfortunately, their lifestyle doesn’t click with the new neighbours and family patriarch Ged struggles with the responsibility of his newfound wealth.
This comedy of class (or lack of it), entertained audiences across May-June 2024 with its talented cast and classic local humour.
## _**Sisters of Mersey**_
After delivering Eurovision crowd pleaser _A Thong for Europe_ in 2023, Jonathan Harvey (creator of TV show _Gimme Gimme Gimme_ and play _Our Lady of Blundellsands_ ) delivered his second summer comedy on our stage: _Sisters of Mersey_ .
In this _Sister Act_ inspired caper, two nuns - Royal Court stalwarts Lindzi Germain and Keddy Sutton – are on the hunt for a hidden treasure …and on the run from a dangerous gangster. This outrageous show was full of gutbustingly funny jokes and 80s hits from the likes of Madonna, Bon Jovi and the Buggles.
## _**“Rude, riotous and raucous”**_ **(Wirral Globe)**
## _**“Enjoyably larky”**_ **(Arts City Liverpool** ★★★★ **)**
## _**Lost Soul 2**_
Dave Kirby, writer of iconic Royal Court play _Brick up the Mersey Tunnels,_ and many others, brought us this sequel to the popular _Lost Soul_ which ran throughout August-September 2024, picking up years after the original Lost Soul. Once again, audiences were taken back to the 70s sometimes literally, (through the use of dodgy wigs and disco lights), to relive classic soul tracks, as they follow Smigger on his journey through a midlife crisis and towards selfrealisation.
## _**“The performances are all top- notch"**_ **(Wirral Globe** ★★★★ **)**
## _**Girls Don’t Play Guitars**_
Ian Salmon’s _Girls Don’t Play Guitars,_ the untold story of the world’s first all-female rock n’ roll band _The Liverbirds_ , returned for seconds in September - October 2024 after a successful debut run in 2019.
This was our second best-selling musical show after _Lennon_ – ironic, perhaps, given that John Lennon is credited with the quote that the play’s title comes from!
The show went down brilliantly with music lovers and Royal Court regulars alike, and many were delighted to meet two of the original Liverbirds, Sylvia Saunders and Mary McGlory, who rocked up to several performances.
_**“Whether you have heard of The Liverbirds or you haven’t. Whether you’re from Liverpool or you’re not, this is a performance worth shouting about.” (Reviews Hub)**_
## _**Scouse Red Riding Hood**_
It wouldn’t be a Royal Court Christmas without our adult panto, and The Scouse Red Riding Hood ticked all the boxes. It was packed with silly jokes, spectacular music numbers, a game cast, and was deffo NOT for kids!
As usual, our menu offered a traditional Christmas dinner for audiences, and this year we were able accommodate more diners by expanding our stalls seating. In addition, we provided a Christmas pre-show meal option in our Courtyard restaurant next door to the theatre, allowing more audience members to enjoy dinner before the show.
Over a whopping 75 performances throughout November 2024 - January 2025, the show brought in 59,500 audience members, making this our best-selling show ever. A Merry Christmas indeed!
## _**‘The jokes are plentiful...a very enjoyable show’**_ **(The Guardian)**
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**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## _**The Peaceful Hour**_
Royal Court regular Gerry Linford, the playwright who brought us classics like The Miracle of Great Homer Street and Menlove Avenue Murder Mystery, turned in his seventh play for the main stage this year.
Taking place across one chaotic night, during the broadcast of the radio show of the same name, _The Peaceful Hour_ was a funny and heartwarming tale of a Kirkby girl who brings home a posh Southerner to, inadvertently, meet the family. This was both an affectionate tribute to 80s era Liverpool radio and a witty romantic comedy about class and identity.
Audiences were obviously on the same wavelength; almost 13,000 tuned into The Peaceful Hour and reviews praised the writing and performances.
The show was so successful that The Peaceful Hour 2 was commissioned for early 2026, with the majority of the cast reprising their roles. Being able to produce direct sequels, which allow our audience to catch up with their favourite characters, is part of what makes our inhouse shows so unique and appealing.
We also introduced a special deal for Valentine’s Day - audiences attending on 14 February were offered the chance to book a romantic dining experience for two, including a bottle of wine.
## _**Red or Dead**_
Our production of _Red or Dead_ , an adaptation of the David Peace novel of the same name, hit the main stage in March 2025. Phillip Breen wrote and directed this ambitious production, which told the story of Bill Shankly’s phenomenally successful tenure as manager of Liverpool Football Club, and its aftermath. Approaching Shankly as both the legend and the man, it depicted his and LFC’s euphoric rise to League Champions, and the bittersweet years following his departure from the club he dedicated his life to.
This was all anchored by star Peter Mullan, who captured Shankly’s voice and mannerisms down to a fine art, in a performance that The Stage called ‘captivating’ and The Telegraph said, ‘impresses mightily’.
With a professional cast of 12, and a community company of 40 volunteers from the Liverpool City Region, this was the largest ensemble of performers we have ever deployed on our main stage. Whilst working with a company of this size posed challenges, it also reaped huge rewards, allowing us to animate the stage with sound and movement in a way we’ve never been able to before, and give the appropriate heft and scale to this epic story. This also gave the company – many of whom had no experience in stage performance - an opportunity to be part of a large-scale production and perform to hundreds of people. The company were invited to a launch event, where they celebrated the production’s opening along with the cast, crew and Royal Court board and staff. _**“Both Inspired and Inspiring”**_ **(The Guardian** ★★★★ **)** _**”Sensational”**_ **(The Times)**
## **Studio & Commissions**
Our Studio Theatre hosted an array of solo artists, plays and variety shows across 120 performances. This included three full inhouse productions, with the majority of involved writers coming from our Stage Write Playwright Development Programme. This year, we had…
- Three inhouse productions, which included annual festive favourite Stocking Fillers, Sarah Whitehead’s Pass the Parcel, and The Independent Socialist Republic Of The Upper End Of The Lower Breck Road through collaboration with Welsh theatre company The Other Room
- Six visiting stage plays, which included returning show _Making It_ from Life in Theatre, Tip Tray Theatre’s _am Steven Gerrard_ , and the return of the hugely popular _It’s a Wonderful Life_ from Old Fruit Jar Productions, who have become a regular collaborator with our theatre
- 11 variety shows and showcases like our Alternative Black Cabaret Showcase for Global Majority comedians and our Stage Write Nights, where pieces of new writing are brought to life by professional actors
- 10 solo comedians and performers, including the likes of Pauline Daniels, Daliso Chaponda and Rachel Fairburn
This all made for a robust 2024-25 programme which continued to grow both our Studio’s audience – turnouts for our inhouse Studio productions were higher than any previous year’s – and the Studio’s reputation as a home for alternative programming, and exciting new work by emerging writers.
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**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## _**The Independent Socialist Republic Of The Upper End Of the Lower Breck Road**_
This political satire, which Arts City Liverpool described as ‘The Thick of It' meets 'Dog Day Afternoon’ came from the mind of Laurence Quilty, who won the 2022 Hope Playwriting Prize for the same play, under the title Peter Byrne is Standing Here. Successfully collaborating with The Other Room theatre company to bring this to our Studio in May 2024 has encouraged us to explore more transfers for small regional shows.
## _**Stocking Fillers**_
The third iteration of our annual Christmas anthology _Stocking Filler_ s hosted seven more festive short-plays, written by graduates of our Stage Write Playwright Development Programme.
The show was brought to life across December 2024 by four talented multi-rolling actors; this time including Royal Court favourite Lynn Francis and Emmerdale star Joe McGann amongst the cast. Director Sam Donovan innovated on the Stocking Fillers formula, seamlessly linking pieces together through audience interaction and cabaret style interludes of music and comedy and taking advantage of the intimate Studio space for a cosy evening’s entertainment. This was the most successful _Stocking Fillers_ yet, and our best-selling Studio show to date.
_**“Homegrown entertainment delivered with a cosy, charming, homespun feel”(**_ ★★★★ _**Arts City Liverpool)**_
## _**Pass the Parcel**_
_Pass the Parcel_ was written by Sarah Whitehead, a graduate of our Stage Write Playwright Development Programme, and who previously wrote a short play for Stocking _Fillers._ This story of three sisters reconnecting after their mother’s death encapsulates the kind of intimate story that is perfect for our Studio space.
The show garnered positive reviews across its January - February 2025 run. This included a write up from The _-_ Guardian, visiting our Studio for the first time, who praised Whitehead’s writing _“Bubbling with quirky detail, Sarah Whitehead’s full length debut captures the contradictions of close relationships between sisters without sentimentality,” –_ a positive indicator that major publications are starting to take notice of the Studio’s output.
## **Talent Development**
We expanded and refined our Talent Development programme this year, strengthening existing initiatives and introducing more quality arts training for emerging creatives.
## _**Stage Write Playwright Development Programme:**_
The fourth year of our Stage Write Playwright Development Programme welcomed another 16 emerging writers, who all completed a full-length stage play as part of the course. These were showcased across three nights of rehearsed readings in February and March 2025.
## _**Mentor Creatives:**_
Our Mentor Creatives Scheme, in partnership with the Everyman & Playhouse and Shakespeare North Playhouse theatres, recruited 12 Global Majority actors, writers and makers, and paired them with Global Majority industry professionals. This delivered one-to-one mentoring sessions, nurturing and career guidance, equipping mentees with the tools, confidence and knowledge to succeed in a challenging industry. In addition to mentoring sessions, mentees were invited to networking events with each other, and social and performance events at our own theatre and our partners’.
_**“Thank you so much for the opportunity. Being part of this scheme has been massively game changing, and it's inspired confidence/hope within me that it's possible to have a career in the industry as a mixed heritage creative.”(Mentor Creatives mentee)**_
## _**Performance Workshops:**_
We rolled out brand new monthly workshops, free of charge for emerging performers. Delivered by our new Head Talent Development, these provided in-depth training for jobbing actors in skills like monologuing, auditioning, clowning and breath & projection.
## _**Connecting with Talent:**_
To augment the delivery of these new workshops, we sought to connect with unknown local talent. We held several rounds of open auditions for both represented and unrepresented actors, to cast the net as wide as possible. Additionally, we offered (and continue to offer) free drop-in meetings with our producers, bookable through our website. This gave promising performers from across the Liverpool City Region a chance to meet our producing team, to hone their audition skills and receive free career advice.
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**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **Community Engagement**
Our Community Engagement Programme continued to provide Community Choir and amateur dramatics workshops (People’s Players) to underserved communities, with an emphasis on engaging older and vulnerable adults.
Weekly sessions teach new skills in a relaxed, welcoming environment, where participants can make friends, and develop support networks. Year-round performance opportunities, meanwhile, build confidence and nurture a love for the arts within our participants. Performances included:
- _Twice in July 2024’s Happiness Show_
- Twice at _Tickle the Ivories_ in August 2024
- The Met Quarter Art Market in November 2024
- Four times at various venues over Christmas 2024
• A showcase to friends and family at The City of Liverpool College, Arts Centre Initiatives like our Community Choir and People’s Players are increasingly important due to a rise in social isolation, particularly amongst older adults. We are determined that these will remain free-to-access, with no auditions or fees required to join, in order to reach those most in need.
## _**94 Choir Sessions**_
## _**72 People’s Players Sessions**_
## **Royal Court Youth Theatre**
Weekly Youth Theatre sessions delivered training for children and young people in acting, improvisation, singing, choreography, and stagecraft. These sessions also encouraged social development in participants, building on their critical thinking skills, empathy and understanding, as well as promoting overall well-being. Over Christmas, our 11-17 year olds developed their skills in preparation for their Bronze, Silver and Gold Arts Award qualifications.
Our Summer School, meanwhile, opened up to children and young people 6-17yrs in July 2024. A huge cast of 68 devised _The Talent Terminator,_ which was performed at The City of Liverpool College Arts Centre to an audience of family, friends and Royal Court colleagues. This received fantastic feedback from family and friends:
## _**“Brilliant show. So impressive by all the young people involved.”**_
## _**“All of the children were amazing, you could feel the energy and hard work. You should all be so very proud!”**_
Other performance opportunities for our children and young people included a gig at Toxteth TV, a performance at _Africa Oye_ in Sefton Park, and an intergenerational, devised performance with our 18-25 year olds.
Promising Youth Theatre participants are offered the chance to attend a two-day leadership and mentoring development course which build confidence, communication and leadership skills, priming them to assist Youth Theatre practitioners in their delivery.
These were carried out in October 2024 and February 2025, with participants responding positively. They reported improved confidence and communication skills, as well as having learned more about empathy, decision making and teamwork:
## _**“It was very fun. I learnt a lot and gained a lot of experience.”**_
## _**“I think the course was great, and I feel I can help others when they are down or need guidance.”**_
## _**Schools Engagement**_
## _**Eve’s Story:**_
Maurice Bessman’s _Eve’s Story_ toured both Merseyside and Walsall. The play, which examines the grooming and sexual exploitation of vulnerable children by other young people, was delivered by our professional actors to over 17,000 audience members across 22 schools and other community venues.
Our Schools Touring programme provides invaluable educational theatre to those at risk of engaging in, or becoming a victim of, violent crime and harmful ideologies. It also brings professional level drama to those may not have the chance to access high quality theatre elsewhere.
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## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## _**Backstage Class:**_
This year, we welcomed primary school age children into our historic theatre for more sessions of Backstage Class. This programme offers a free tour of the Royal Court, as well as backstage sneak peeks and special effects demonstrations, all of which show our young participants how the theatrical magic happens. 99% of participants said they enjoyed _Backstage Class_ , with 57% reporting that they “loved it.”
In addition to our extensive free programmes, we continued to work with grass roots partners like Capoeira For All on their _Rise Up Rebel_ project, a development programme for Global Majority writers.
## _**Variety Shows:**_
Our Variety Lunch Clubs continued, offering a variety show and scouse lunch for just £7.50. These remained hugely popular, with demand so high we expanded our capacity for several performances, opening our balcony level to audience members.
Our Variety Film Club also returned, offering the same quality lunch deal with a film. This year audiences were treated to screenings of The Beverly Hillbillies, The _Commitments_ and _It’s a Wonderful Life_ .
We also arranged, in collaboration with The Ken Dodd Charitable Foundation, a special screening of _Ken Dodd: The Man I Loved._ This was shown in October 2024, to coincide with our _Doddy Day_ celebration.
## **The People's Theatre**
Over the years, we have built a reputation as ‘The People’s Theatre’, due to crowd-pleasing shows which showcase our great city, our friendly atmosphere and our great service, where the staff go above and beyond.
We’re determined to give audiences the best experience possible, cultivating a safe space where anyone can enjoy a few hours’ quality entertainment in a welcoming and comfortable environment.
We invested in new accessibility equipment, including devices, headphones and hearing Loops, which allowed us to offer a better experience to a greater number of audience members during both regular performances, and accessible performances with audio-description (AD) or a British Sign Language (BSL) interpreter. We’re happy to report that uptake for our accessible performances has increased, with more audience members taking advantage of hearing Loops, captioning, and AD & BSL performances than the year before.
We have employed a permanent EDI Officer, to support us in putting together a long-term EDI Plan. This has begun with the forming of a Diversity Action Group.
We also made some big improvements to the audience experience, installing a pop-up bar on our Circle level and going live with the QR Bar, both of which helped to relieve queues and gave more audience members access to pre-show and interval drinks.
The new QR Bar allows audience members in the Stalls to order drinks and snacks to their seats, and it’s been going down a storm. Just ask Lindzi Germain and Keddy Sutton!
## _Fundraising practices_
The organisation maintains compliance with all applicable fundraising regulations. All fundraising materials and communications contain required disclosures, and donation receipts are issued in accordance with guidelines for charitable contributions. The organisation adheres to donor privacy policies and respects donor intent for restricted gifts. Financial controls are in place to ensure accurate tracking and appropriate use of donated funds, with clear segregation between fundraising expenses and program costs. The organisation meets state-specific percentage limitations on fundraising costs where applicable and files required annual reports in a timely manner.
Royal Court Liverpool Ltd (RCLL) operates an Ethical Fundraising Policy and follows the Code of Fundraising Practice (2025), ensuring that all fundraising activity is legal, transparent and aligned with our organisational values. RCLL fundraises through staff, volunteers/board members and an external fundraising consultant. Our external fundraising consultant is paid a fee for their services, ensuring our relationship focuses on expert guidance rather than a commission structure that would classify them as a 'commercial participator' under charity law.
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**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
We subscribe to all relevant fundraising standards and review compliance regularly; no significant failures to meet these standards occurred during the reporting period. All fundraising activity - including that carried out by the consultant - is monitored through established internal oversight processes. During the year, RCLL received no fundraising-related complaints. If we receive a complaint it would be reviewed, resolved and used to inform future improvements.
Protecting the public, including vulnerable people, is central to our approach. Our staff, volunteers/board members and external consultant follow clear guidance designed to prevent unreasonable intrusion into privacy, undue persistence or any pressure to give. Training and procedures ensure that signs of vulnerability are recognised and that fundraising conversations are adapted or ended where appropriate. Due diligence checks are undertaken for donors, sponsors and partners to ensure alignment with RCLL’s values and avoid ethical or reputational risk. We decline or return donations where necessary and maintain records of these decisions. This overall approach ensures that RCLL’s fundraising is ethical, compliant, respectful of supporters and fully aligned with regulatory expectations.
## **Financial review**
The results for the year and the group's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements.
Total income for the year ended 31 March 2025 was £7,075,247 (2024: £6,613,055) which included unrestricted income of £6,635,466 (2024: £6,158,830) and restricted income of £439,781 (2024: £454,225).
Total expenditure for the financial year was £7,570,558 (2024: £6,047,758) which included unrestricted expenditure of £7,310,154 (2024: £5,874,712) and restricted expenditure of £260,404 (2024: £173,046).
The result is a net deficit for the year ended 31 March 2025 of £495,311 (2024: surplus of £565,297) which is made of an unrestricted deficit of £623,285 (2024: surplus of £193,660) and a restricted surplus of £127,974 (2024: surplus of £371,637).
## _Going concern_
The trustees have considered the financial position of Royal Court Liverpool Limited and its subsidiaries, Simply Tickets Ltd and Liverpool Food Company (Theatre) Ltd, as at 31 March 2025, together with detailed forecasts for the year ending 31 March 2026 and strategic projections beyond this period.
At year end, the Group reported total funds of £130,263, comprising restricted funds of £499,611 and negative unrestricted funds of £369,348. The parent charity reported total funds of £464,499, comprising restricted funds of £499,611 and negative unrestricted funds of £35,112. The trustees have reviewed the underlying performance of the charitable company and its trading subsidiaries, the resilience of key income streams, and the group's overall liquidity position.
Secure multi-year revenue funding of £333,000 per annum from Arts Council England is confirmed until 2027 and Liverpool City Council funding of £25,000 per annum is secured until March 2027. The charity has a strong track record in earned income, including box office, food and beverage sales, and ticket levy income, and maintains a robust fundraising pipeline with targets for 2025/26 expected to be met. Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) remains an important source of income, and claims continue to be made in line with legislation.
While the group reported a deficit of £495,311 in the year, the trustees note that management has implemented cost control measures, restructured underperforming subsidiaries, improved financial oversight, and developed new income-generating initiatives. Forecasts for 2026 indicate a return to surplus, supported by advance ticket sales, positive audience trends, and operational efficiencies already realised.
The trustees have also considered severe but plausible downside scenarios reflecting economic uncertainty, inflationary pressures, and potential fluctuations in audience demand. Even under these scenarios, the group retains access to sufficient mitigating options—including flexible programming, scaling of discretionary expenditure, and use of restricted reserves only for their designated purposes—to ensure liquidity can be maintained.
On the basis of these considerations, and after reviewing detailed budgets and cash flow forecasts, the trustees are satisfied that the charity and its subsidiaries have adequate resources to meet their liabilities as they fall due for at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements. Accordingly, the financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. The trustees have not identified any material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt on the ability of the charity or its subsidiaries to continue as a going concern.
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## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## _Reserves policy_
It is the continued objective of the charity to accumulate reserves of at least 6 months of operating costs. The charity has a strategic and robust saving plan in place developed by the leadership team to achieve its reserves target in future years.
Simply Tickets Ltd, a subsidiary of the RCLL has a deficit due to historic accounting policies. Moving forward the business has revised their on-cost charging methodology which will enable the business to ensure surpluses moving forward.
Liverpool Food Company (Theatre) Ltd, a subsidiary of the RCLL has a deficit due to issues with costing methodology, overstaffing, and market positioning. The LFC(T) has gone through a major restructure which has resulted in a period where the business did not trade and has reopened in August 2025 with new management, market positioning, and provision to generate a surplus moving forward.
## _Investment policy_
The charity takes a low risk approach to investments with cash for working capital held in current bank accounts. Surplus cash can be placed on short term deposit.
## _Major risks_
We maintain a Strategic Risk Register and will undertake specific Risk Assessments for all programmes and projects. Strategic Risks are assessed on the basis of probability and impact and those of high importance are regularly monitored and ameliorated through appropriate mitigation actions. The risk register is presented at each Board meeting for discussion by the Board and is a standing item on the agenda.
Key items on the register include:
- Closure of the theatre as a result of further pandemics;
- Downturn in ticket sales as a result of the continuing financial climate;
- Staff shortages due to remuneration/lack of skills in the industry (technical);
- Major failure of the grade ll listed building;
- Changes to employment law which will increase wage bill; and
- Depleting public funds affecting revenue grants.
There is a full risk register with plans for mitigation in the Business Plan 2023-2026. The trustees continue to monitor the risk register at each quarterly Board meeting.
## **Plans for future periods**
Our plans for the future are outlined in our 2025-2028 Business Plan which provides a comprehensive roadmap for Liverpool’s Royal Court to achieve its vision of being a welcoming, inspiring space for all. Through strategic focus on our eight core themes of programming, audiences, talent development, community engagement, people, governance, cultural ecology and finance, and commitment to our belief, vision and mission, we will continue to entertain, educate, and uplift people from Liverpool and beyond while strengthening the city’s cultural fabric.
Success will be measured not only by financial sustainability and artistic excellence, but by the depth of engagement and positive change we create in the lives of our audiences, participants and community.
By 2028 Liverpool’s Royal Court will further establish its reputation for inclusive, accessible, and environmentally sustainable theatre, proudly celebrating Liverpool Lives On Stage and the vibrant culture and heritage of the city on the world stage.
The implementation of this plan includes staff, board members, volunteers, creatives, freelancers, audiences and the communities we serve. Together, we will continue building a theatre that truly speaks to the experiences and aspirations of Liverpool’s people while nurturing the next generation of artists, audiences, creatives and communities.
- 10 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **Structure, governance and management**
The charity is a company limited by guarantee governed by its memorandum and articles of association.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
Maurice Bessman (Resigned 4 July 2025) Jude Bird (Resigned 13 December 2024) Laurence Clark Jacqueline Fisher (Co-vice Chair) Kate Haldane (Chair) (Appointed 28 June 2024) Joanna Hargreaves (Co-vice Chair) Kim Johnson (Resigned 21 February 2025) Paul Khan (Appointed 26 September 2025) Sarah Maxfield (Appointed 5 December 2025) Simon O'Brien (Appointed 21 February 2025) Chris Pavlou (Resigned 5 December 2025) Lynn Saunders (Resigned 4 July 2025) Joseph Yates (Appointed 13 December 2024)
## _Recruitment and appointment of trustees_
We have developed our trustee recruitment and induction process. This consists of:
- A detailed Trustee Recruitment Process
- A prospect Trustee pipeline
- A recruitment pack containing charity documents and organisational Business Plan
- Skills assessment and interview process
The Board of trustees believes that good governance is fundamental to their success. The trustees are committed to:
- Ensuring that the charity complies within the governing documents, charity law and other legislation, including reporting;
- Ensuring that the charity operates within its charitable objectives;
- Making sure that the charity only spends money and uses resources for activities that contribute to its objectives, and not on things that do not, no matter how worthwhile they are;
- Contributing to the strategic guidance and goals of the charity, help to set policies, monitor and evaluate progress against strategic objectives;
- Safeguarding the values and reputation of the charity; and
- Ensuring the financial stability and sustainability.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
## _Qualifying third party indemnity provisions_
All trustees are covered by the charity's professional indemnity insurance.
- 11 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## _Organisational structure_
The charity’s organisational structure together with the relationship between the charity and its subsidiary undertakings, Simply Tickets Limited and Liverpool Food Company (Theatre) Limited which were acquired with effect from 1 April 2023.
## _Induction and training of trustees_
Current trustees receive continual training support to ensure they have the necessary skills to oversee the governance of the organisation. Training includes charity governance and management.
## _Remuneration policy_
The Trustees have responsibility for setting the pay and remuneration of the charity’s key personnel and this is done on an annual basis, including a formal cost of living review.
Salaries are benchmarked with other similar organisations across the sector.
## _Relationship with related parties_
Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited is related due to a common trustee sitting on both boards, and a common Chief Executive.
## **Auditor**
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that DSG Audit be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
- 12 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE TRUSTEES' REPORT (INCLUDING DIRECTORS' REPORT) (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **Disclosure of information to auditor**
Each of the trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditor is aware of such information.
## **Small company provisions**
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Jacqueline Fisher (Co-vice Chair) **Trustee**
Kate Haldane (Chair) **Trustee**
28 January 2026
- 13 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
The trustees, who are also the directors of Royal Court Liverpool Limited for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (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 incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company 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 estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures
- disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- 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 adequate accounting records that 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 Companies Act 2006. 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.
- 14 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS OF ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED**
## **Opinion**
We have audited the financial statements of Royal Court Liverpool Limited (the 'parent charity') and its subsidiaries (the 'Group') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated and Charity balance sheets, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including 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 group's and parent charity's affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of the group's 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 accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
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 group's or parent 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 contained within the annual report. 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. 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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. 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.
- 15 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE MEMBERS OF ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED**
## **Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
- the information given in the trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the directors' report included within the trustees' report has 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 group and parent charity 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 by the parent charity, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
- the parent charity 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 trustees**
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the parent charity for the purpose 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 group and parent 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 group or parent charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **Auditor's 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.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
- 16 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORT (CONTINUED) TO THE MEMBERS OF ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED**
Based on our discussions with the group and parent charity’s management and the Trustees, we identified that the following laws and regulations are significant to the entity:
- Those laws and regulations considered to have a direct effect on the financial statements include UK financial reporting standards and Charity Law.
- Those laws and regulations for which non-compliance may be fundamental to the operating aspects of the group and parent charity and therefore may have a material effect on the financial statements include compliance with the charitable objectives, public benefit, fundraising regulations, safeguarding and health and safety legislation.
These matters were discussed amongst the engagement team at the planning stage and the team remained alert to non-compliance throughout the audit.
Audit procedures undertaken in response to the potential risks relating to irregularities (which include fraud and noncompliance with laws and regulations) comprised of: inquiries of management and the Trustees as to whether the entity complies with such laws and regulations; enquiries with the same concerning any actual or potential litigation or claims; inspection of relevant legal correspondence; review of Trustee meeting minutes; testing the appropriateness of journal entries; and the performance of analytical review to identify unexpected movements in account balances which may be indicative of fraud.
No instances of material non-compliance were identified. However, the likelihood of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is limited by the inherent difficulty in detecting irregularities, the effectiveness of the entity’s controls, and the nature, timing and extent of the audit procedures performed. Irregularities that result from fraud might be inherently more difficult to detect than irregularities that result from error. As explained above, there is an unavoidable risk that material misstatements may not be detected, even though the audit has been planned and performed in accordance with ISAs (UK).
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https:// www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
## **Use of our report**
This report is made solely to the parent 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 parent charity's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's 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 parent charity and the parent charity's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
## **Andrew Moss BA FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)**
for and on behalf of DSG Audit Chartered Accountants Castle Chambers 43 Castle Street Liverpool L2 9TL 28 January 2026
- 17 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCLUDING CONSOLIDATED INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|**Restricted**||**Total**||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Restricted**||**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**funds**|||**funds**|||||**funds**||**funds**|||
|||**2025**|||**2025**||**2025**|||**2024**||**2024**||**2024**|
||**Notes**|**£**|||**£**||**£**|||**£**||**£**||**£**|
|**Income and endowments from:**|||||||||||||||
|Donations and legacies|**3**|29,620|||348,378||377,998|||20||343,971||343,991|
|Charitable activities|**4**|6,258,381|||91,403||6,349,784|||5,590,207||110,254||5,700,461|
|Other trading activities|**5**|289,969|||-||289,969|||567,066||-||567,066|
|Investments|**6**|3,572|||-||3,572|||1,537||-||1,537|
|Other income|**7**|53,924|||-||53,924|||-||-||-|
||||||||||||||||
|**Total income**||6,635,466|||439,781||7,075,247|||6,158,830||454,225||6,613,055|
|**Expenditure on:**|||||||||||||||
|Raising funds|**8**|482,053|||-||482,053|||825,813||-||825,813|
|Charitable activities|**9**|6,828,101|||260,404||7,088,505|||5,048,899||173,046||5,221,945|
||||||||||||||||
|**Total expenditure**||7,310,154|||260,404||7,570,558|||5,874,712||173,046||6,047,758|
|**Net income/(expenditure)**||(674,688)|||179,377||(495,311)|||284,118||281,179||565,297|
|Transfers between|||||||||||||||
|funds||51,403|||(51,403)||-|||(90,458)||90,458||-|
||||||||||||||||
|**Net movement in**|||||||||||||||
|**funds**|**12**|(623,285)|||127,974||(495,311)|||193,660||371,637||565,297|
|**Reconciliation of funds:**|||||||||||||||
|Fund balances at 1 April|2024|253,937|||371,637||625,574|||60,277||-||60,277|
||||||||||||||||
|**Fund balances at 31 March**|||||||||||||||
|**2025**||(369,348)|||499,611||130,263|||253,937||371,637||625,574|
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
- 18 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET**
## _**AS AT 31 MARCH 2025**_
|||**2025**|||**2024**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|
|**Fixed assets**|||||||
|Goodwill|**17**||130,791|||147,140|
|Tangible assets|**18**||181,015|||31,022|
|Investments|**19**||63,000|||-|
||||||||
||||374,806|||178,162|
|**Current assets**|||||||
|Stocks|**22**|37,656|||40,028||
|Debtors|**24**|1,878,507|||2,126,779||
|Cash at bank and in hand||25,161|||389,094||
||||||||
|||1,941,324|||2,555,901||
|**Creditors: amounts falling due within**|**26**||||||
|**one year**||(2,185,867)|||(2,108,489)||
||||||||
|**Net current (liabilities)/assets**|||(244,543)|||447,412|
||||||||
|**Total assets less current liabilities**|||130,263|||625,574|
|**The funds of the charity**|||||||
|Restricted income funds|**28**||499,611|||371,637|
|Unrestricted funds|**29**||(369,348)|||253,937|
||||||||
||||130,263|||625,574|
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.
As permitted under Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006, the trustees have not presented a separate Statement of Financial Activities for the parent charity. The parent charity made a deficit of £379,288 for the year.
The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 28 January 2026
**Jacqueline Fisher (Co-vice Chair) Kate Haldane (Chair) Trustee Trustee**
Company registration number 13652600 (England and Wales)
- 19 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE CHARITY BALANCE SHEET**
## _**AS AT 31 MARCH 2025**_
|||**2025**|||**2024**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**|
|**Fixed assets**|||||||
|Tangible assets|**18**||181,015|||31,022|
|Investments|**19**||63,002|||2|
||||||||
||||244,017|||31,024|
|**Current assets**|||||||
|Stocks|**23**|37,656|||25,178||
|Debtors|**25**|2,538,976|||2,499,473||
|Cash at bank and in hand||983|||8,546||
||||||||
|||2,577,615|||2,533,197||
|Creditors: amounts falling due within one|**27**||||||
|year||2,357,133|||1,720,434||
||||||||
|Net current assets|||220,482|||812,763|
||||||||
|Total assets less current liabilities|||464,499|||843,787|
|Restricted income funds|**28**||499,611|||371,637|
|Unrestricted funds|**30**||(35,112)|||472,150|
||||||||
||||464,499|||843,787|
These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.
The financial statements were approved by the trustees on 28 January 2026
**Jacqueline Fisher (Co-vice Chair)** Trustee
**Kate Haldane (Chair)** Trustee
Company registration number 13652600 (England and Wales)
- 20 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS**
## _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
|||**2025**||**2024**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Cash flows from operating activities**||||||
|Cash (absorbed by)/generated from|**36**|||||
|operations|||(246,257)||561,828|
|**Investing activities**||||||
|Purchase of intangible assets||-||(163,489)||
|Purchase of tangible fixed assets||(121,248)||(23,524)||
|Investment income received||3,572||1,537||
|||||||
|**Net cash used in investing activities**|||(117,676)||(185,476)|
|**Net cash generated from financing activities**|||-||-|
|||||||
|**Net (decrease)/increase in cash and cash**||||||
|**equivalents**|||(363,933)||376,352|
|Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year|||389,094||12,742|
|||||||
|**Cash and cash equivalents at end of year**|||25,161||389,094|
- 21 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **Charity information**
Royal Court Liverpool Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Royal Court Theatre, 1 Roe Street, Liverpool, L1 1HL.
## **1.1 Basis of preparation**
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
## _Exemptions under FRS 102_
The parent charity has taken advantage of the following exemptions in its individual financial statements:
- From preparing a statement of cash flows, on the basis that it is a qualifying entity and the consolidated statement of cash flows, included in these financial statements, includes the company’s cash flows.
- From disclosing the company key management personnel compensation, as required by FRS 102 paragraph 33.7.
## _Basis of consolidation_
The consolidated financial statements incorporate Royal Court Liverpool Limited and its subsidiary companies (ie the entities that the group controls through its power to govern the financial and operating policies so as to obtain economic benefits). Subsidiaries acquired during the year are consolidated using the purchase method. Their results are incorporated from the date that control passes.
All intra-group transactions, balances and unrealised gains on transactions between group companies are eliminated on consolidation. Unrealised losses are also eliminated unless the transaction provides evidence of an impairment of the asset transferred.
## **1.2 Going concern**
The financial statements have been prepared on a going concern basis. At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have assessed the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of these financial statements. This assessment has considered the charity’s current financial position, reserves, cash flow forecasts, and the availability of secured funding streams, including Arts Council England revenue funding committed until 2027 and Liverpool City Council funding secured until March 2027.
The trustees have also reviewed downside scenarios to reflect risks such as cost inflation, potential reductions in ticket income, and uncertainties in the wider economic environment. Based on these considerations, and the mitigating actions available,including cost controls, flexible programming and the ability to scale expenditure,the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.
Accordingly, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting. No material uncertainties have been identified that may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.
- 22 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **(Continued)**
## **1.3 Charitable funds**
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
## **1.4 Income**
Income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Income from government and other grants, whether ‘capital’ or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the Charity has entitlement to the funds and has met any performance conditions attached to the grant. And where it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Theatre Tax Relief claims are recognised in the SOFA when the charity is entitled to the income, the income is probable and it can be measured reliably.
## **1.5 Expenditure**
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities, and include building running costs and administration costs.
Governance costs include expenditure on administration of the charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
## **1.6 Intangible fixed assets - goodwill**
Goodwill represents the excess of the cost of acquisition of unincorporated businesses over the fair value of net assets acquired. It is initially recognised as an asset at cost and is subsequently measured at cost less accumulated amortisation and accumulated impairment losses. Goodwill shall be considered to have a finite useful life, and shall be amortised on a systematic basis over ten years
## **1.7 Tangible fixed assets**
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
- 23 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **(Continued)**
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
Plant and equipment 25% p.a. straight line Fixtures and fittings 25% p.a. straight line Computers 25% p.a. straight line Motor vehicles 25% p.a. straight line
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
## **1.8 Fixed asset investments**
Fixed asset investments, including investments in subsidiaries, are measured at cost, less impairment where appropriate. The Group does not hold any quoted investments carried at fair value.
Investments include income-generating rights (production/performance rights). The Group may hold production or performance rights for the purpose of generating future royalty and licensing income. Such rights are recognised at cost and assessed annually for impairment. Where rights are considered to have an indefinite useful life, no amortisation is charged; instead, the carrying amount is reviewed each year and written down if impaired.
## **1.9 Impairment of fixed assets**
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible and intangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
## **1.10 Stocks**
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost comprises direct materials and, where applicable, direct labour costs and those overheads that have been incurred in bringing the stocks to their present location and condition. Items held for distribution at no or nominal consideration are measured the lower of replacement cost and cost.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
## **1.11 Cash and cash equivalents**
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
## **1.12 Financial instruments**
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
- 24 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **1 Accounting policies**
## **(Continued)**
## _**Basic financial assets**_
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
## _**Basic financial liabilities**_
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
## _**Derecognition of financial liabilities**_
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
## **1.13 Employee benefits**
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
## **1.14 Retirement benefits**
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
- 25 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **2 Critical accounting estimates and judgements**
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated 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 where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
## **Critical judgements**
## **Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) income recognition**
The trustees exercise judgement in determining the timing of recognition for Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) income. TTR is recognised in the financial statements only when the charity is entitled to the income, the amount can be measured reliably, and receipt is probable. Where entitlement cannot be reliably measured at the reporting date, such as when claims are subject to HMRC review or significant estimation, the income is deferred and recognised in the period when the claim is agreed and receipt is certain. This approach is consistent with the requirements of FRS 102 and the Charities SORP.
## **Classification and measurement of production rights**
Management judged that the Boys From The Blackstuff production/performance rights are best presented as investments held to generate future income, carried at cost and assessed annually for impairment. The rights are considered to have an indefinite useful life; accordingly, no amortisation is charged.
## **3 Income from donations and legacies**
||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Restricted**||**Total**|**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Restricted**||**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**funds**||**funds**||||**funds**||**funds**|||
|||**2025**||**2025**||**2025**||**2024**||**2024**||**2024**|
|||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|
|Donations and gifts||29,620||348,378||377,998||20||343,971||343,991|
|**Donations and gifts**|||||||||||||
|Ticket Levy||-||281,478||281,478||-||343,971||343,971|
|Donations||29,620||66,900||96,520||20||-||20|
||||||||||||||
|||29,620||348,378||377,998||20||343,971||343,991|
- 26 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **4 Income from charitable activities**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**funds**|**funds**||**funds**|**funds**||
||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|**2024**|**2024**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|**£**|
|**Charitable activities**|||||||
|Sale of goods|3,607,582|-|3,607,582|2,994,135|-|2,994,135|
|Performance related|||||||
|grants|464,361|91,403|555,764|404,510|110,254|514,764|
|Ancillary trading income|1,677,543|-|1,677,543|1,768,058|-|1,768,058|
|Other income|508,895|-|508,895|423,504|-|423,504|
||||||||
||6,258,381|91,403|6,349,784|5,590,207|110,254|5,700,461|
## **Performance related grants analysis**
||**Charitable**|
**Charitable**|
|---|---|---|
||**activities**|**activities**|
||**2025**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|
|Arts Council: NPO Funding|333,864|333,864|
|Arts Council: All Stages All Ages Project|-|4,950|
|Terriers Project|40,000|50,000|
|Liverpool City Council - Core Funding|26,220|20,976|
|Department for Culture Media and Sport|73,737|-|
|Arts Council Capital grant|46,403|-|
|Johnson Foundation|-|10,000|
|Pilkington Charity|-|10,000|
|Space CIC|-|23,736|
|Other|35,540|61,238|
||||
||555,764|514,764|
## **5 Income from other trading activities**
||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|
|---|---|---|
||**funds**|**funds**|
||**2025**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|
|Sales of food and beverages|289,969|567,066|
- 27 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **6 Income from investments**
|||**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|**Unrestricted**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||**funds**||**funds**|
||||**2025**||**2024**|
||||**£**||**£**|
||Interest receivable||3,572||1,537|
|**7**|**Other income**|||||
|||**Unrestricted**||**Unrestricted**||
||||**funds**||**funds**|
||||**2025**||**2024**|
||||**£**||**£**|
||Insurance claim||53,924||-|
|**8**|**Expenditure on raising funds**|||||
|||**Unrestricted**||**Unrestricted**||
||||**funds**||**funds**|
||||**2025**||**2024**|
||||**£**||**£**|
||**Fundraising and publicity**|||||
||Other fundraising costs||346,161||598,043|
||Staff costs||135,892||227,770|
|||||||
||||482,053||825,813|
- 28 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **9 Expenditure on charitable activities**
||**Charitable**|**Charitable**|
**Charitable**|
**Charitable**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**activities**||**activities**|
|||**2025**||**2024**|
|||**£**||**£**|
|**Direct costs**|||||
|Staff costs||2,183,205||1,895,200|
|Project costs||131,710||149,390|
|Show costs||1,367,963||839,628|
|Production costs||800,491||376,744|
|Food and beverage||787,056||527,802|
|Security||75,333||95,341|
|General expenses||114,220||122,460|
||||||
|||5,459,978||4,006,565|
|Grant funding of activities (see note 10)||84,450||-|
|**Share of support and governance costs (see note 11)**|||||
|Support||1,479,406||1,161,239|
|Governance||64,671||54,141|
||||||
|||7,088,505||5,221,945|
|**Analysis by fund**|||||
|Unrestricted funds||6,828,101||5,048,899|
|Restricted funds||260,404||173,046|
||||||
|||7,088,505||5,221,945|
## **10 Grants payable**
|**Grants payable**||
|---|---|
||**Charitable**|
||**activities**|
||**2025**|
||**£**|
|Grants to institutions:||
|Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited|84,450|
During the year, the charity made a restricted grant of £84,450 to Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited. The grant was funded from the Ticket Levy restricted fund and was awarded to support expenditure on the Happiness Centre project, a capital development initiative aligned with the purposes of the Ticket Levy.
- 29 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **11 Support costs allocated to activities**
|**11**|**Support costs allocated to activities**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**2025**||**2024**|
|||**£**||**£**|
||Staff costs|423,837||400,030|
||Depreciation and amortisation|63,936||24,967|
||Office expenses and marketing|251,852||202,391|
||Theatre building costs|482,680||408,749|
||Workshop building costs|64,600||78,623|
||Other staff costs|34,578||45,281|
||General expenses|157,923||1,198|
||Governance costs|64,671||54,141|
||||||
|||1,544,077||1,215,380|
||**Analysed between:**||||
||Charitable activities|1,544,077||1,215,380|
|||**2025**||**2024**|
||**Governance costs comprise:**|**£**||**£**|
||Audit fees|21,500||18,250|
||Accountancy|8,250||3,075|
||Legal and professional|34,921||32,816|
||||||
|||64,671||54,141|
|**12**|**Net movement in funds**|**2025**||**2024**|
|||**£**||**£**|
||The net movement in funds is stated after charging/(crediting):||||
||Fees payable to the charity's auditor:||||
||- for the audit of the charity's financial statements|21,500||18,250|
||- for tax advisory services|1,750||3,075|
||- for other financial services|6,500||-|
||Depreciation of owned tangible fixed assets|47,587||8,618|
||Amortisation of intangible assets|16,349||16,349|
- 30 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **13 Auditor's remuneration**
|Fees payable to the charity's auditor and associates:|**2025**||**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**£**||**£**|
|**For audit services**||||
|Audit of the financial statements of the charity|21,500||18,250|
|**For other services**||||
|Taxation compliance services|1,750||3,075|
|All other non-audit services|6,500||-|
|||||
||8,250||3,075|
## **14 Trustees**
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
One trustee was reimbursed travel expenses of £450 from the charity during the year (2024: 2 trustees received travel expenses of £225)
## **15 Employees**
The comparative figures are for the parent charity only.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
|The average monthly number of employees during the year was:||||
|---|---|---|---|
||**2025**||**2024**|
||**Number**||**Number**|
|Charitable activities|123||118|
|Other trading activities|7||15|
|||||
|Total|130||133|
|**Employment costs**|**2025**||**2024**|
||**£**||**£**|
|Wages and salaries|2,518,883||2,325,060|
|Social security costs|183,933||159,689|
|Other pension costs|40,118||38,251|
|||||
||2,742,934||2,523,000|
- 31 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
|**15**|**Employees**||**(Continued)**|**(Continued)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||The number of employees whose annual remuneration was more than £60,000||||
||is as follows:||||
|||**2025**||**2024**|
|||**Number**||**Number**|
||£60,000 to £69,999|1||1|
||£70,000 to £79,999|-||1|
||£90,000 to £99,999|2||-|
||**Remuneration of key management personnel**||||
||The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:||||
|||**2025**||**2024**|
|||**£**||**£**|
||Aggregate compensation|288,788||212,821|
|**16**
**Taxation**|||||
||The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.||||
## **17 Intangible fixed assets (Charity)**
|**Intangible fixed assets (Charity)**||
|---|---|
||**Goodwill**|
||**£**|
|**Cost**||
|At 1 April 2024 and 31 March 2025|163,489|
|||
|**Amortisation and impairment**||
|At 1 April 2024|16,349|
|Amortisation charged for the year|16,349|
|||
|At 31 March 2025|32,698|
|||
|**Carrying amount**||
|At 31 March 2025|130,791|
|At 31 March 2024|147,140|
- 32 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **18 Tangible fixed assets (Group and Charity)**
||**Plant and**|
**Fixtures and**|
**Computers**|
**Computers**||**Motor**||**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**equipment**|**fittings**||||**vehicles**|||
||**£**|**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|
|**Cost**|||||||||
|At 1 April 2024|6,708|26,382||9,673||-||42,763|
|Additions|5,073|51,495||21,890||42,790||121,248|
|Other changes|-|76,332||-||-||76,332|
||||||||||
|At 31 March 2025|11,781|154,209||31,563||42,790||240,343|
||||||||||
|**Depreciation and impairment**|||||||||
|At 1 April 2024|2,563|6,622||2,556||-||11,741|
|Depreciation charged in the year|2,476|30,111||5,719||9,281||47,587|
||||||||||
|At 31 March 2025|5,039|36,733||8,275||9,281||59,328|
||||||||||
|**Carrying amount**|||||||||
|At 31 March 2025|6,742|117,476||23,288||33,509||181,015|
|At 31 March 2024|4,145|19,760||7,117||-||31,022|
The Boys from the Blackstuff (BFTBS) physical set was transferred from Other debtors to Fixtures & fittings to reflect its nature as a tangible asset used in productions and tours.
## **19 Fixed asset investments (Group)**
|||**Other**|
|---|---|---|
||**investments**||
|||**£**|
|**Cost or valuation**|||
|At 1 April 2024||-|
|Transfers||63,000|
||||
|At 31 March 2025||63,000|
||||
|**Carrying amount**|||
|At 31 March 2025||63,000|
|At 31 March 2024||-|
The charity holds the stage rights to _Boys From The Blackstuff_ , which entitle it to future royalty and licensing income. The rights are carried at cost. The trustees performed an annual impairment review considering historical income and expected future exploitation; no impairment has been recognised.
- 33 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **20 Fixed asset investments (Charity)**
|||**Other**|
|---|---|---|
||**investments**||
|||**£**|
|**Cost or valuation**|||
|At 1 April 2024||2|
|Transfers||63,000|
||||
|At 31 March 2025||63,002|
||||
|**Carrying amount**|||
|At 31 March 2025||2|
|At 31 March 2024||2|
The charity holds the stage rights to _Boys From The Blackstuff_ , which entitle it to future royalty and licensing income. The rights are carried at cost. The trustees performed an annual impairment review considering historical income and expected future exploitation; no impairment has been recognised.
|||**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|
|Other investments comprise:|**Notes**|**£**|**£**|
|Investments in subsidiaries|**21**|2|2|
|Production rights||63,000|-|
|||||
|||63,002|2|
## **21 Subsidiaries (Charity)**
Details of the charity's subsidiaries at 31 March 2025 are as follows:
||**Name of undertaking**|**Registered**|**Nature of business**|**Class of**|**% Held**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**office**||**shares held**|**Direct Indirect**|
||Simply Tickets Ltd|England|Ticket agent|Ordinary|100.00|
||Liverpool Food Company|England|Sales of food and beverages|Ordinary|100.00|
||(Theatre) Ltd|||||
|**22**|**Stocks (Group)**|||||
|**Stocks (Group)**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|
|Finished goods and goods for resale|37,656|40,028|
- 34 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
|**23**|**Stocks (Charity)**||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**2025**||**2024**|
|||**£**||**£**|
||Finished goods and goods for resale|37,656||25,178|
|**24**|**Debtors (Group)**||||
|||**2025**||**2024**|
||**Amounts falling due within one year:**|**£**||**£**|
||Trade debtors|6,878||6,731|
||Other debtors|1,850,104||2,097,268|
||Prepayments and accrued income|21,525||22,780|
||||||
|||1,878,507||2,126,779|
|**25**|**Debtors (Charity)**||||
|||**2025**||**2024**|
||**Amounts falling due within one year:**|**£**||**£**|
||Trade debtors|6,248||4,440|
||Amounts owed by subsidiary undertakings|1,727,882||1,461,884|
||Other debtors|783,321||1,010,369|
||Prepayments and accrued income|21,525||22,780|
||||||
|||2,538,976||2,499,473|
|**26**|**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (Group)**||||
|||**2025**||**2024**|
|||**£**||**£**|
||Other taxation and social security|201,743||86,616|
||Deferred income|1,334,154||1,258,381|
||Trade creditors|199,601||189,758|
||Other creditors|400,751||529,827|
||Accruals|49,618||43,907|
||||||
|||2,185,867||2,108,489|
- 35 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **27 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (Charity)**
|**Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (Charity)**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**|
||**£**|**£**|
|Other taxation and social security|200,981|52,743|
|Deferred income|1,334,154|1,258,381|
|Trade creditors|121,987|85,282|
|Amounts owed to subsidiary undertakings|42,082|-|
|Other creditors|618,311|280,121|
|Accruals|39,618|43,907|
||||
||2,357,133|1,720,434|
## **28 Restricted funds (Group and Charity)**
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
||**At 1 April**||**Incoming**|
**Resources**|
**Resources**||**Transfers**||**At 31 March**|**At 31 March**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2024**|**resources**||**expended**||||||**2025**|
||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|||**£**|
|Terriers Project|-||40,000||(40,000)||-|||-|
|Red or Dead|-||66,900||(66,900)||-|||-|
|Ticket levy fund|367,637||281,478||(149,504)||-|||499,611|
|Arts Council Capital Grant|-||46,403||-||(46,403)|||-|
|EV government grant|-||5,000||-||(5,000)|||-|
|Summer Schools|4,000||-||(4,000)||-|||-|
||||||||||||
||371,637||439,781||(260,404)||(51,403)|||499,611|
|**Previous year:**|**At 1 April**||**Incoming**|
**Resources**|||**Transfers**||**At 31 March**||
||**2023**|**resources**||**expended**||||||**2024**|
||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|||**£**|
|Terriers Project|-||50,000||(50,000)||-|||-|
|Youth Theatre Funding|-||17,618||(17,618)||-|||-|
|Later Life|-||12,000||(12,000)||-|||-|
|Summer Schools|-||7,500||(3,500)||-|||4,000|
|Ticket Levy Fund|-||343,971||(66,792)||90,458|||367,637|
|Others|-||23,136||(23,136)||-|||-|
||||||||||||
||-||454,225||(173,046)||90,458|||371,637|
- 36 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **28 Restricted funds (Group and Charity)**
## **(Continued)**
Terriers Project - Terriers and Terriers 2: Eve's Story. Funding of plays for schools about the dangers of gun and gang crime.
The Summer School opened up to children and young people 6-17yrs in July 2024. A huge cast of 68 devised The Talent Terminator, which was performed at The City of Liverpool College Arts Centre to an audience of family, friends and Royal Court colleagues.
The Red or Dead fund relates to a donation to support the theatre in funding the community choir element for the production of Red or Dead.
Ticket Levy Fund – the charity does not charge booking fees for any of its shows, however each ticket price includes a £2 donation which is used to help to refurbish the building. During the year, the trustees approved a restricted grant of £84,450 from this fund to Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited (RCLT) to support the Happiness Centre project. This expenditure has been recognised as Grants Made – Restricted. The restriction continues to attach to the funds while held and applied by RCLT.
- Youth Theatre Funding Funding for The Royal Court Youth Theatre which delivers a range of opportunities free of charge for young people aged 6 – 25 from every part of the City.
During the year the charity purchased an electric van which was funded by the Arts Council Capital Grant of £46,403 and an EV government grant of £5,000.
- 37 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **29 Unrestricted funds (Group)**
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
||**At 1 April**||**Incoming**|
**Resources**|
**Resources**||**Transfers**||**At 31 March**|**At 31 March**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2024**|**resources**||**expended**||||||**2025**||
||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|||**£**||
|General funds|253,937||6,635,466|(7,310,154)|||51,403|||(369,348)||
|**Previous year:**|**At 1 April**||**Incoming**|
**Resources**|||**Transfers**||**At 31 March**|||
||**2023**|**resources**||**expended**||||||**2024**||
||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|||**£**||
|General funds|60,277||6,158,830|(5,874,712)|||(90,458)|||253,937||
## **30 Unrestricted funds (Charity)**
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
||**At 1 April**||**Incoming**|
**Resources**|
**Resources**||**Transfers**||**Gains and**|**Gains and**|
**At 31 March**|
**At 31 March**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**2024**|**resources**||**expended**||||||**losses**||**2025**||
||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|||**£**||**£**||
|General funds|472,150||6,345,497|(6,904,162)|||51,403|||-||(35,112)||
|**Previous year:**|**At 1 April**||**Incoming**|
**Resources**|||**Transfers**||**Gains and**||
**At 31 March**|||
||**2023**|**resources**||**expended**||||||**losses**||**2024**||
||**£**||**£**||**£**||**£**|||**£**||**£**||
|General funds|60,277||5,591,764|(5,089,433)|||(90,458)|||-||472,150||
## **31 Analysis of net assets between funds (Group)**
||**Unrestricted**|**Restricted**|**Restricted**|**Total**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||**funds**||**funds**||
||**2025**||**2025**|**2025**|
||**£**||**£**|**£**|
|**At 31 March 2025:**|||||
|Intangible fixed assets|130,791||-|130,791|
|Tangible assets|181,015||-|181,015|
|Investments|63,000||-|63,000|
|Current assets|(744,154)||499,611|(244,543)|
||||||
||(369,348)||499,611|130,263|
- 38 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
|**31**|**Analysis of net assets between funds (Group)**|||||**(Continued)**|**(Continued)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|||**Total**|
||||**funds**||**funds**|||
||||**2024**||**2024**||**2024**|
||||**£**||**£**||**£**|
||**At 31 March 2024:**|||||||
||Intangible fixed assets||147,140||-||147,140|
||Tangible assets||31,022||-||31,022|
||Current assets||75,775||371,637||447,412|
|||||||||
||||253,937||371,637||625,574|
|**32**|**Analysis of net assets between funds (Charity)**|||||||
|||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|||**Total**|
||||**funds**||**funds**|||
||||**2025**||**2025**||**2025**|
||||**£**||**£**||**£**|
||**At 31 March 2025:**|||||||
||Tangible assets||181,015||-||181,015|
||Investments||63,002||-||63,002|
||Current assets|(279,129)|||499,611||220,482|
|||||||||
||||(35,112)||499,611||464,499|
|||**Unrestricted**||**Restricted**|||**Total**|
||||**funds**||**funds**|||
||||**2024**||**2024**||**2024**|
||||**£**||**£**||**£**|
||**At 31 March 2024:**|||||||
||Tangible assets||31,022||-||31,022|
||Investments||2||-||2|
||Current assets||441,126||371,637||812,763|
|||||||||
||||472,150||371,637||843,787|
- 39 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **33 Operating lease commitments**
## **Lessee**
At the reporting end date, the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
||**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|
|Within one year|85,000|-|
|Between two and five years|340,000|-|
|In over five years|830,500|-|
||||
||1,255,500|-|
The above commitments are based on the current annual rent. The underlease for 44 Birkett Street provides for rent reviews every three years to open market value, and the underlease for 46 Birkett Street & 19 Mansfield Street is subject to annual increases in line with the Retail Prices Index. The minimum lease payments disclosed do not reflect any increases that may arise from these reviews or indexation.
The underleases which were put in place during the year formalised existing arrangements.
## **34 Retirement benefit schemes**
|**Retirement benefit schemes**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**|
|**Defined contribution schemes**|**£**|**£**|
|Charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes|40,118|38,251|
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
- 40 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **35 Related party transactions**
**Royal Court Liverpool Limited** is the parent company **of Liverpool Food Company (Theatre) Limited** and **Simply Tickets Limited** , both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries. In accordance with FRS 102 section 33.1A, transactions and balances between these group companies have been eliminated on consolidation and are not disclosed in these consolidated financial statements.
## **Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited**
Royal Court Liverpool Limited is related due to Jacqueline Fisher sitting on both boards of trustees and a common Chief Executive in Gillian Miller.
The charity makes a donation in kind for administrative services to the Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited, the value of which could not be quantified and therefore has not been included in these financial statements.
During the year, Royal Court Liverpool Limited paid rent and utilities of £310,726 (2024: £191,368) (net of VAT) to Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited.
During the year, Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited passed over grants of £166,030 (2024: £90,338) to Royal Court Liverpool Limited.
During the year, the charity approved and recognised a restricted grant of £84,450 to RCLT, funded from the Ticket Levy restricted fund, to support expenditure on the Happiness Centre project. The grant is recognised within Grants Made – Restricted in the Statement of Financial Activities. The restriction continues to attach to the funds whilst held and applied by RCLT.
During the year, Liverpool Food Company (Theatre) Limited paid rent and utilities of £37,088 (2024: £66,343) (net of VAT) to Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited.
At the year end, Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited was owed £605,113 by Royal Court Liverpool Limited (2024: £250,567). There is no interest charged on this and the balance is repayable on demand.
At the year end, Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited owed £456,000 (2024: £183,000) to Simply Tickets Ltd. There is no interest charged on this and the balance is repayable on demand.
- 41 -
**ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **35 Related party transactions**
## **(Continued)**
At the year end, Royal Court Liverpool Trust Limited was owed £238,440 (2024: £193,588) by Liverpool Food Company (Theatre) Ltd. There is no interest charged on this and the balance is repayable on demand.
## **Royal Court Limited**
Kevin Fearon, Executive Producer, was sole director of Royal Court Limited. He is also the husband of Gillian Miller, Chief Executive Officer.
At the year end, Royal Court Limited owed £28,354 (2024: £28,354) to Royal Court Liverpool Limited. In the previous year, a provision of £14,177 was made against this balance. During the current year, a further provision of £14,177 was made, resulting in a total provision of £28,354 and a net balance owed of £nil at the year end.
## **Liverpool Food Company Limited**
Gillian Miller, Chief Executive Officer, is the 100% shareholder in Liverpool Food Company Limited and Kevin Fearon, Executive Producer is the sole director of Liverpool Food Company Limited.
At the period end, Simply Tickets Limited was owed £64,544 (2024: £64,544) by Liverpool Food Company Limited. In the previous year, a provision of £32,272 was made against this balance. During the current year, a further provision of £32,272 has been made, resulting in a total provision of £64,544 and a net balance owed of £nil at the year end.
## **The Comedy Trust**
Gillian Miller, Chief Executive Officer, is a director of the Comedy Trust and at the year end Royal Court Liverpool Limited was owed £1,434 (2024: £nil) by the Comedy Trust.
## **Other related parties**
Trustee Chris Pavlou is a Partner of Excello Law an organisation which was paid £9,212 during the year in relation to legal advice provided (2024: £4,702).
Trustee Laurence Clark is a director of Difference Matters an organisation which was paid £450 during the year in relation to meeting expenses (2024: £450).
## **36**
|**Cash (absorbed by)/generated from operations (Group)**|**2025**||**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**£**||**£**|
|(Deficit)/surplus for the year|(495,311)||565,297|
|**Adjustments for:**||||
|Investment income recognised in statement of financial activities|(3,572)||(1,537)|
|Amortisation and impairment of intangible assets|16,349||16,349|
|Depreciation and impairment of tangible fixed assets|47,587||8,618|
|**Movements in working capital:**||||
|Decrease/(increase) in stocks|2,372||(22,028)|
|Decrease/(increase) in debtors|108,940|(591,784)||
|Increase in creditors|1,605||573,814|
|Increase in deferred income|75,773||13,099|
|||||
|**Cash (absorbed by)/generated from operations**|(246,257)||561,828|
- 42 -
## **ROYAL COURT LIVERPOOL LIMITED COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE NOTES TO THE CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (CONTINUED)** _**FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025**_
## **37 Analysis of changes in net debt (Group)**
The charity had no material debt during the year.
## **38 Events after the reporting date (Group and Charity)**
Royal Court Liverpool Limited expects to submit a Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) claim in respect of the year ended 31 March 2025. The claim for the year ended 31 March 2024 was £492,922. As the value of the 2025 claim cannot be reliably estimated at the date of approval of these financial statements, no income has been recognised in respect of the 2025 claim. Any amount subsequently received will be recognised in the year of receipt.
- 43 -