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REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1200102
Report of the Trustees and
Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
for
Treebeard Trust CIO
Fuller Spurling Statutory Auditors Mill House 58 Guildford Street Chertsey Surrey KT16 9BE
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Contents of the Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
| Page | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Report of the Trustees | 1 | to | 5 |
| Report of the Independent Auditors | 6 | to | 8 |
| Statement of Financial Activities | 9 | ||
| Balance Sheet | 10 | ||
| Cash Flow Statement | 11 | ||
| Notes to the Cash Flow Statement | 12 | ||
| Notes to the Financial Statements | 13 | to | 20 |
| Detailed Statement of Financial Activities | 21 |
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
The trustees present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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) (effective 1 January 2019).
OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES
Objectives and aims
Our mission is to support transformational initiatives which have the potential to create a healthier planet and a fairer society.
As a charitable foundation, our impact is primarily created by our partners, whom we support with either grant funding or investment capital (or both). We are not issue led, but our partners generally fit into (at least one of) four core themes: sustainable planet, vulnerable communities, justice and systems change. In all cases, we aim to support only exceptional projects run by exceptional leaders. We favour organisations which combine philanthropic purpose with commercial rigour. We have a relatively concentrated portfolio and we try to keep the bar high. That means we often say no to potential opportunities. We acknowledge this can be frustrating and we try to communicate our position clearly and quickly. Once we have decided to fund a partner we try to minimize any constraints we impose on them: no restricted grants (unless the circumstances dictate otherwise); no bespoke reporting or any other pointless bureaucracy which serves only to hinder their ability to deliver on their purpose.
We differ from most foundations in that we view our investment capital as a critical tool to create impact. We have long been irked by the limitations of the traditional foundation model, where the assets are invested for financial return leaving only the residual income to be deployed to support the mission. Any foundation which seeks to protect its endowment has a finite resource of "free money" (i.e. grant-making capacity). But this is only a constraint if one is wedded to the notion that grant-making is the only funding model available. We take a more holistic view. Every investment has an impact, either positive or negative. Our goal is to drive as much positive impact as possible through our investments, without materially compromising our financial objectives.
We are a funder first and foremost but we try to further our mission in less tangible ways. In part this is about getting out of our partners' way, ensuring we don't burden them with unnecessary reporting requirements and other bureaucratic constraints. We also try to support them where we can, connecting them with other funders or with other organisations operating in their field, advocating on their behalf and providing advice when sought and when we feel we have something to contribute. We are mindful that we are rarely the expert in the room and sensitive to the power dynamics which sometimes lead funders into thinking otherwise.
Public benefit
The Trustees confirm that they have complied with the duty in Section 17(5) of the 2011 Charities Act to have due regard to guidance published by the Charity Commission (public benefit requirement).
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE
Charitable activities
Last year we distributed a little under £950,000 in grants to nearly 50 partners. We also provided close to £800,000 in debt and over £500,000 in equity financing to nearly 20 partners. Our social impact investments now account for over 30% of our total capital base. In aggregate, we have close to 100 partners. Most are in the UK although we have a growing portfolio in East Africa. They cover a wide range of sectors and tackle a wide range of issues. But all fit within our four core themes (sustainable planet, vulnerable communities, justice and system change) and many fit in more than one. Details on all of them can be found on our website.
Distributing funds is what a foundation does but is not a satisfactory measure of performance. What matters surely is how effective the funding is. We have been thinking a lot about this recently. We are wary of performance metrics which can lead to an unhealthy obsession with quantifiable targets (what gets measured gets managed, etc) but we also feel we could do a better job of capturing our impact. With this in mind, we have developed a new framework for evaluating and monitoring our partnerships. Working together with partners, we try to clarify their core objectives, understand how their activities drive the outcomes associated with those objectives and agree on a template for measuring progress against them. Needless to say, the goal here is not to create a lot of extra and unnecessary work for our partners. Nor do we want to encourage them to focus on measurable targets at the expense of genuine impact. But we do believe there is a happy medium, where purpose connects with tangible objectives and a shared understanding of what success looks like. Initially we are rolling this out with our grant partners but over time we will do the same with our impact investees as well.
There has been another material change in our grant strategy, which is not unconnected. We have decided to concentrate our grant portfolio around a much smaller number of core, strategic partners. Doing so will enable us to better understand their work and increase the level of our support, both directly through allocating more funds and indirectly through leveraging non-financial support. Needless to say, in the near term this will lead to a sharp increase in the number of partnerships which do not renew and a sharp decline in the number of new partners we bring on. We are mindful of this and have tried to mitigate the impact as far as possible by communicating our intentions promptly and clearly. We started this process towards the end of the year and will be able to provide a more comprehensive update in our 2025 annual report.
On the grant side, our portfolio continues to be skewed towards refugees and migrants, violence against women and girls, criminal justice and the environment. With nearly 50 in total, it's impossible to do them justice here. Our website has details on all of them. Most of our grant funding is multi-year and unrestricted. With our financial investments, we cast the net a little wider although there is still some overlap, with criminal justice and environment both common themes. Broadly speaking, we are issue neutral. There are, sadly, a wide range of intractable problems which need solving, and we struggle to determine which are more pressing. We tend to be more driven by our assessment of the people and the specifics of the project. We are less interested in the problem and more interested in the solution. Ultimately we are looking to back exceptional entrepreneurs with a clear vision and a compelling operating model.
Performance Monitoring
We carry out careful due diligence before committing capital to any partner. For both grant and financial investees, we have an evaluation framework which incorporates a range of criteria, with a view to ensuring consistency and rigour when it comes to making the critical decision of whether or not to invest. We maintain close contact with our partners post-investment to check that the project is progressing as we had hoped. We have a light touch annual impact measurement framework which is structured to be applicable to all our investees. The phrase "light touch" is key here. At all times we are mindful that our needs should never conflict with the needs of our partners. We are there to support them, not the other way round. We never ask for bespoke reporting and we try to be respectful of their time.
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Financial position
The charity's incoming resources are derived from donations with gift aid totalling £2,507,750, rental income of £100,000, dividends received of £125,113 and interest on bank deposits and other loans amounting to £338,198. Total expenditure amounted to £1,109,747 (2023: £1,036,939), of which grants costs made up £947,225. In addition, the charity benefitted from an upturn of £119,390 (2023: £817,004) in the value on its investment assets with investment management costs of £55,193 (2023: £76,416.) The charity ended the year with net assets of £25,270,579 (2023: £23,224,857).
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
FINANCIAL REVIEW
Investment policy and objectives
Under its Constitution the Charity has the power to invest in any way the Trustees decide.
As previously discussed, we intend to deploy a substantial part of our assets in social investments, where the goal is to achieve positive social or environmental impact alongside financial return. Generally, these will be direct investments: equity stakes in for profit businesses, debt funding to charities and social enterprises, property and other instruments. We source these investment opportunities through a variety of networks and intermediaries; increasingly, we are also sourcing opportunities directly from our existing partners.
Measuring the financial performance of these investments is only possible over the longer term (well in excess of five years). We will only know how a loan has performed once we have been repaid, and with our equity investments we hope that a small number of big winners will compensate for a likely larger number of total write-offs. While these are (what used to be called) mixed motive investments, our goal is that their financial return, in aggregate, will not be materially worse than our public market investments.
The rest of our assets are deployed, responsibly, with the objective of preserving and growing their real value over time. Some of these investments are held directly through our brokerage account at Cazenove. Others are with 3rd party fund managers. We have been very selective in our choice of managers. They are all boutiques, managed by their founders with strong business ethics.
One of our managers, Tourbillon, asked us last year if we would be their principal partner for their giving pledge (they have a stated goal of giving away 5% of profits). We were deeply honoured by this request and are very grateful for their trust. Our anticipation had been that when our chair and founder trustee retired from the investment industry last year our external income would dry up. The partnership with Tourbillon offers the potential for further growth (beyond the returns we generate on our investment portfolio).
Reserves policy
Under its Constitution the Charity has the power to invest in any way the Trustees decide.
Longer term, our goal is to maintain cash reserves amounting to at least 10% of our total net assets, on the grounds that would cover two years' worth of annual expenditure. Based on our current size and budget that would amount to roughly £2.5m. As of December 2024, we had cash at bank of £2.9m. We also held over £9m in a combination of cash and gilts in our Cazenove account. This conservative positioning is partly because we are still early in the process of building our social investment portfolio and partly a reflection of our extreme caution around the fragility of financial markets.
FUTURE PLANS
Our main focus going forward is the implementation of our new grant strategy and more comprehensive approach to impact evaluation. As always, the challenge is ensuring that we are robust and effective without becoming unwieldy and bureaucratic.
We also need to reconsider our organisational structure in the light of recent changes (see below).
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Governing document
The Charity is constituted as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation (CIO) and its governing document is its Constitution dated 17th August 2022.
Recruitment and appointment of new trustees
The Constitution stipulates a minimum of two trustees, and that Barnaby and Cassandra Wiener, as Founder Trustees, hold the responsibility for new appointments. We have three independent trustees: Mike Mompi, Elisabeth Barrett and Andrew Purvis. They all bring unique perspectives and invaluable insights, and they are unfailingly generous with their time. Trustees are provided with copies of the Constitution, our latest annual report and the Charity Commission leaflet "The Essential Trustee: What You Need to Know". The trustees meet formally four times a year and interact regularly on an ad hoc basis.
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT
Organisational structure
Jessamy Gould, who has been part of Treebeard since our inception in 2011 and grants director since 2016, will be leaving us at the end of September. She has had a profound impact on our evolution over the past fourteen years and worked tirelessly on behalf of Treebeard and our partners. We cannot begin to express our gratitude adequately. She is taking on an exciting new opportunity working for a prestigious and highly respected foundation, and we look forward to collaborating with her as a peer.
Risk management
The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.
The Trust is in essence an investment vehicle, not an operating charity. The key risk to which it is exposed is the misallocation of its funds. Funds are allocated for two purposes: 1) to change the world for the better; 2) to generate financial returns in order to perpetuate the trust's capacity to pursue the first purpose. Although the two objectives are (often, but not always) different, the risk management process is similar. In both cases it comes down to thorough due diligence, knowing the counterparty and identifying the risks in advance.
REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS Registered Charity number
1200102
Principal address
Glasses Graffham Petworth West Sussex GU28 0PU
Trustees
Barnaby Wiener Cassandra Wiener Michael Mompi Andrew Purvis Elisabeth Barrett
Grants Director
Jessamy Gould (until 30 September 2025)
Investment Director
Shishir Malhotra
Auditors
Fuller Spurling Statutory Auditors Mill House 58 Guildford Street Chertsey Surrey KT16 9BE
Solicitors
Russell Cooke 2 Putney Hill London SW15 6AB
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Report of the Trustees For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES
The trustees are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Charity law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law).
Under charity law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charity for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to
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select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
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observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
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make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011 and The Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. 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.
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Approved by order of the board of trustees on ............................................. and signed on its behalf by:
........................................................................ Barnaby Wiener - Trustee
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Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees of Treebeard Trust CIO
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Treebeard Trust CIO (the 'charity') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion the financial statements:
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give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;
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have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
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have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.
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 Auditors' 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 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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.
Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether 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.
Matters on which we are required to report by exception
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
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the information given in the Report of the Trustees is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or
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sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
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the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
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we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
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Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees of Treebeard Trust CIO
Responsibilities of trustees
As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements which give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
We have been appointed as auditors under Section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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:
We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the Charity and determined that the most significant are those that relate to the Charities Act 2011 and Charities SORP as they directly impact way the entity conducts its affairs and presents information in its financial statements.
We assessed the risks of material misstatement in respect of fraud by making enquiries of management and those charged with governance. The audit team discussed and identified particular areas that were susceptible to misstatement as part of their fraud discussion.
Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations identified above and made enquiries of management and those charged with governance. We corroborated our enquiries through the review of appropriate documentation. We did not find any contradictory evidence.
We considered the risk of fraud through management override and in response we incorporated testing of manual journal entries, both during the year and at year end, into our audit approach.
Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify and address material misstatements in relation to fraud in relation to the possibility of fraudulent or corrupt payments given the size of the entity and the limitation on the segregation of certain duties.
We incorporated an element of unpredictability in the selection of the nature, timing and extent of our audit procedures.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.
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Report of the Independent Auditors to the Trustees of Treebeard Trust CIO
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity's trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Fuller Spurling Statutory Auditors Mill House 58 Guildford Street Chertsey Surrey KT16 9BE
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Statement of Financial Activities For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
| Notes INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Donations and legacies 2 Investment income 3 Total EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities 4 Charitable activities Net gains on investments NET INCOME RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD |
Year Ended 31.12.24 Unrestricted fund £ 2,507,750 563,311 3,071,061 1,144,729 119,390 2,045,722 23,224,857 25,270,579 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 Total funds £ - 263,323 |
|---|---|---|
| 263,323 | ||
| 1,071,481 | ||
| 817,004 | ||
| 8,846 23,216,011 |
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| 23,224,857 |
The notes form part of these financial statements
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Balance Sheet 31 December 2024
| Notes FIXED ASSETS Investments Investments 10 Investment property 11 CURRENT ASSETS Debtors 12 Cash at bank CREDITORS Amounts falling due within one year 13 NET CURRENT ASSETS TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES NET ASSETS FUNDS 14 Unrestricted funds TOTAL FUNDS |
31.12.24 Unrestricted fund £ 18,562,044 2,869,154 21,431,198 26,621 3,825,918 3,852,539 (13,158) 3,839,381 25,270,579 25,270,579 25,270,579 25,270,579 |
31.12.23 Total funds £ 17,239,670 2,000,000 19,239,670 - 4,002,571 4,002,571 (17,384) 3,985,187 23,224,857 23,224,857 23,224,857 23,224,857 |
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The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on ���������� ............................................. and were signed on its behalf by:
............................................. Barnaby Wiener - Trustee
............................................. Cassandra Wiener - Trustee
The notes form part of these financial statements
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Cash Flow Statement For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
| Notes Cash flows from operating activities Cash generated from operations 1 Net cash provided by/(used in) operating activities Cash flows from investing activities Purchase of fixed asset investments Purchase of investment property Sale of fixed asset investments Social loans repaid Rents received Interest received Dividends received Net cash used in investing activities Cash flows from financing activities Transfer of assets from former charity Net cash provided by financing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period |
Year Ended 31.12.24 £ 1,332,174 1,332,174 (10,747,837 ) - 8,461,309 214,390 100,000 338,198 125,113 (1,508,827) - - (176,653) 4,002,571 3,825,918 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 £ (1,054,097) (1,054,097) (17,474,353 ) (2,000,000) 1,046,700 4,987 75,000 77,610 110,713 (18,159,343 ) 23,216,011 23,216,011 4,002,571 - 4,002,571 |
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The notes form part of these financial statements
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Cash Flow Statement For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
1. RECONCILIATION OF NET INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES
| Net income for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities) Adjustments for: Interest received Dividends received Net gains on investments Rents received Increase in debtors (Decrease)/increase in creditors Net cash provided by/(used in) operations |
Year Ended 31.12.24 £ 2,045,722 (338,198) (125,113) (119,390) (100,000) (26,621) (4,226) 1,332,174 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 £ 8,846 (77,610) (110,713) (817,004) (75,000) - 17,384 |
|---|---|---|
| (1,054,097) |
2. ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS
| Net cash Cash at bank Total |
At 1.1.24 £ 4,002,571 4,002,571 4,002,571 |
Cash flow £ (176,653) (176,653) (176,653) |
At 31.12.24 £ 3,825,918 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3,825,918 | |||
| 3,825,918 |
The notes form part of these financial statements
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of preparing the financial statements
The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, with the exception of investments which are included at market value, as modified by the revaluation of certain assets.
The financial statements of the charity, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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) (effective 1 January 2019)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Charities Act 2011. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.
Income
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Expenditure
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
Investment property
Investment property is shown at most recent valuation. Any aggregate surplus or deficit arising from changes in fair value is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.
Taxation
The charity is exempt from tax on its charitable activities.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees. Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes. At 31st December 2024 and 31st December 2023 the charity had no restricted funds.
Fixed asset investments
Managed funds are stated at the closing prices of the underlying securities within the funds at the balance sheet date. Unrealized gains or losses on revaluation are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities.
Illiquid investments include social investments and financial investments which are valued as follows:
Debt and related investments are valued at amortised cost, unless the Trustees have reason to believe that the counter-party will have difficulty redeeming (e.g. missed interest payment), in which case they will conduct an impairment test.
continued...
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES - continued
Fixed asset investments
Unlisted equity investments are valued at cost, unless further information allows the Trustees to update the valuation. This could include: a follow-on capital raise at a different valuation; a positive or negative development in the company's trading; a revaluation of the company's assets.
Investment Property
Investment property is shown initially at cost plus any refurbishment work. Once rental income commences it is shown at most recent valuation. Any aggregate surplus or deficit arising from changes in fair value is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities.
Debtors and accrued income
Debtors are recognised at the settlement amount where recoverability is certain.
Accrued income represents interest receivable on bank deposits and other loans where interest has not been applied to an account within one month of the year end.
Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity.
Creditors
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provision are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
2. DONATIONS AND LEGACIES
| Donations Gift aid |
Year Ended 31.12.24 £ 2,007,750 500,000 2,507,750 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 £ - - |
|---|---|---|
| - |
3. INVESTMENT INCOME
| Year Ended 31.12.24 £ Rents received 100,000 Dividend income 125,113 Deposit account interest 128,464 Other interest 209,734 563,311 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 £ 75,000 110,713 73,257 4,353 |
|---|---|
| 263,323 |
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
4. CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS
| Grant | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| funding of | ||||
| activities | Support | |||
| Direct | (see note | costs (see | ||
| Costs | 5) | note 6) | Totals | |
| £ | £ | £ | £ | |
| Charitable activities | 162,522 | 947,225 | 34,982 | 1,144,729 |
5. GRANTS PAYABLE
| Year Ended 31.12.24 £ Charitable activities 947,225 The total grants paid to institutions during the year was as follows: Year Ended 31.12.24 £ Asylum Matters 25,000 Centre for Women's Justice 35,000 DARA 25,000 Eco Cascade 25,000 Egmont Trust 30,000 Furnishing Futures 25,000 IPPR 30,000 KMEWO 25,000 Medical Justice 25,000 Our Future (SASC Trust) 25,000 Prison Advice & Care Trust 32,000 Re-Alliance 25,000 Right to Remain 30,000 Rights of Women - SafeLives 35,000 Seed Sovereignty (Gaia Foundation) 25,000 The Howard League 50,000 Wildlife Countryside Link 25,000 Young Roots 30,000 Social finance (Impact Incubator) 50,000 The Fore 30,000 Ecological Land Co-op 25,000 24 grants less than £25,000 320,225 947,225 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 £ 925,884 |
|---|---|
| Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 £ - 35,000 - - - - 30,000 - - - 32,000 - 30,000 35,000 35,000 30,000 30,000 - 30,000 - - - 638,884 |
|
| 925,884 |
Further information on the purposes of the grants is included in the Trustees' Report.
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
6. SUPPORT COSTS
| SUPPORT COSTS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Governance | ||
| costs | ||
| £ | ||
| Charitable activities | 34,982 | |
| Support costs, included in the above, are as follows: | ||
| Period | ||
| 6.4.23 | ||
| Year Ended | to | |
| 31.12.24 | 31.12.23 | |
| Charitable | Total | |
| activities | activities | |
| £ | £ | |
| Auditors' remuneration | 13,930 | 8,262 |
| Auditors' remuneration for non audit work | 1,313 | 815 |
| Sundries | 13,418 | 4,843 |
| Legal fees | 6,321 | 19,436 |
| IT software and website | - | 1,186 |
| 34,982 | 34,542 |
7. TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS
There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 December 2024 nor for the period ended 31 December 2023.
Trustees' expenses
There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 December 2024 nor for the period ended 31 December 2023.
8. STAFF COSTS
| STAFF COSTS | |
|---|---|
| Year Ended 31.12.24 £ Wages and salaries 107,329 107,329 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 £ 33,165 |
| 33,165 |
The key management personnel of the charity comprise the the trustees, the grants director and the investment director. The total costs of the key management personnel of the charity were:
| director. The total costs of the key management personnel of the charity were: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Period | ||
| Year ended | 6.4.23 to | |
| 31.12.24 | 31.12.23 | |
| £ | £ | |
| Wages and salaries | 97,729 | 30,150 |
| Fees | - | 28,800 |
| Pension costs | 9,600 | 3,015 |
| £107,329 | £61,195 | |
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
8. STAFF COSTS - continued
The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:
| Year Ended 31.12.24 Management 2 No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000. 9. COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM Investment income EXPENDITURE ON Charitable activities Charitable activities Net gains on investments NET INCOME RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS Total funds brought forward TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD 10. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS 31.12.24 £ Shares 13,683,366 Loans 1,099,568 Managed funds 3,779,110 18,562,044 |
Period 6.4.23 to 31.12.23 1 Unrestricted fund £ 263,323 |
|
|---|---|---|
| 1,071,481 | ||
| 817,004 | ||
| 8,846 23,216,011 |
||
| 23,224,857 | ||
| 31.12.23 £ 9,215,601 564,843 7,459,226 17,239,670 |
||
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
10. FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS - continued
Additional information as follows:
| MARKET VALUE At 1 January 2024 Additions Disposals Revaluations Reclassification/transfer At 31 December 2024 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 December 2024 At 31 December 2023 At 1 January 2024 New in year Repayments in year Revaluations At 31 December 2024 |
Social investment shares £ 3,536,272 553,110 (11,563) (205,500) (276,180) 3,596,139 3,596,139 3,536,272 |
Financial investments shares £ 5,679,329 7,635,211 (2,757,838) 90,025 (559,500) 10,087,227 10,087,227 5,679,329 |
Totals £ 9,215,601 8,188,321 (2,769,401) (115,475) (835,680) 13,683,366 13,683,366 9,215,601 Social investment loans £ 564,843 777,664 (214,390) (28,549) 1,099,568 |
|---|---|---|---|
Social investments loans include £263,855 held outside of the UK. This includes £99,652 advanced in the period to entities outside of the UK.
The charity does not have original cost information surrounding assets transferred from the former Charity. All investments are stated at values according to the accounting policies adopted
Investments (neither listed nor unlisted) were as follows:
| Managed funds brought forward Managed funds additions Managed funds disposals Managed funds revaluations |
31.12.24 £ 7,459,226 1,781,852 (5,691,908) 229,940 3,779,110 |
31.12.23 £ - 6,993,702 (45,000) 510,524 7,459,226 |
|---|---|---|
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
11. INVESTMENT PROPERTY
| FAIR VALUE At 1 January 2024 Revaluation Reclassification At 31 December 2024 NET BOOK VALUE At 31 December 2024 At 31 December 2023 Fair value at 31 December 2024 is represented by: Valuation in 2024 Cost 12. DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Other debtors 13. CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR Trade creditors Other creditors 14. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS At 1.1.24 £ Unrestricted funds General fund 23,224,857 TOTAL FUNDS 23,224,857 |
31.12.24 £ 26,621 31.12.24 £ 1 13,157 13,158 Net movement in funds £ 2,045,722 2,045,722 |
£ 2,000,000 33,474 835,680 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,869,154 | |||
| 2,869,154 | |||
| 2,000,000 | |||
| £ 33,474 2,835,680 |
|||
| 2,869,154 | |||
| 31.12.23 £ - 31.12.23 £ - 17,384 17,384 At 31.12.24 £ 25,270,579 |
|||
| 25,270,579 |
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Treebeard Trust CIO
Notes to the Financial Statements - continued For The Year Ended 31 December 2024
14. MOVEMENT IN FUNDS - continued
Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS Comparatives for movement in funds Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS |
Incoming resources £ 3,071,061 3,071,061 |
Resources expended £ (1,144,729) (1,144,729) At 6.4.23 £ 23,216,011 23,216,011 |
Gains and losses £ 119,390 119,390 Net movement in funds £ 8,846 8,846 |
Movement in funds £ 2,045,722 2,045,722 At 31.12.23 £ 23,224,857 23,224,857 |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Comparative net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:
| Unrestricted funds General fund TOTAL FUNDS |
Incoming resources £ 263,323 263,323 |
Resources expended £ (1,071,481) (1,071,481) |
Gains and losses £ 817,004 817,004 |
Movement in funds £ 8,846 8,846 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
15. RELATED PARTY DISCLOSURES
During the year, £1,100 was paid in fees to Yellow Hat Advisory in exchange for coaching services provided to the CEO of one of Treebeard Trust's charity partners.Yellow Hat Advisory is owned and operated by Andrew Purvis, a trustee of Treebeard Trust.
Barnaby Wiener is a director of 2 companies in which the charity has investment, with a value of £1,343,000 in total.
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