Registered Charity No. 200009 Company No. 00686799
The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Annual Report and Financial Statements
For the year ended 5 April 2024
The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Annual report and financial statements 2024
| Contents | Page | |
|---|---|---|
| Officers and professional advisers | 1 | |
| Trustees’ report | 2 | |
| Independent auditor’s report | 6 | |
| Statement of fianancial activities | 7 | |
| Balance sheet | 8 | |
| Cash flow statement | 9 | |
| Notes to the accounts | 10 |
The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Report and financial statements 2024
Officers and professional advisers
Trustees (Directors)
D S Levy S M Levy C J F Andrews
Company Secretary
A J Terroni
Registered Office
1 Hinde Street London W1U 2AY
Bankers
The Royal Bank of Scotland plc Manchester St Ann Street Office St Ann Street Manchester M60 2SS
Independent Examiner
Gravita II LLP 2 Leman Street London E1 8FA
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Trustees’ report
The trustees, who are also directors of the charitable company, present their annual report on the affairs of the charitable company, together with the financial statements and independent examiner’s report for the year ended 5 April 2024. This report is prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies under s415(a) of the Companies Act 2006, including the exemption from preparing a strategic report. In addition to the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the charitable company produces its financial statements in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and has adopted the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP 2019) “Accounting and Reporting by Charities” in preparing the annual report and financial statements. The Trustees’ Report meets the requirements for a Directors’ Report as required under the Companies Act 2006.
Name and registered office
The full name of the charitable company is The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited. Throughout this report the term charitable company will be used to refer to the company/charity.
The registered office and principal operating address is:
1 Hinde Street, London, W1U 2AY
Constitution
The company was formed as a company limited by guarantee on 17 March 1961.
The company registration number is 00686799.
The charitable company is registered with the Charity Commission, its Registered Number being 200009.
Trustees
The trustees who served during the year and to the date of this report were:
D S Levy S M Levy C J F Andrews
Objectives and activities
The Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company permit the application of its income and assets towards any purpose recognised by law as charitable.
The charitable company does however give particular consideration to bodies with educational, welfare, medical and arts objectives, each grant application being reviewed by the trustees.
During the year, the charitable company aimed to make 30 grants in the year and actually awarded 59 and thereby met its objectives. The benefit given by these grants is mainly within the fields of health, welfare and education. The charitable company gives grants to other charities to allow them to provide benefits to society as a whole within the stated fields of operation of the charitable company. For example, the charitable company has given a grant to a charitable company which provides a comprehensive network of soup kitchens and food banks, which is consistent with the objective to provide welfare benefit to the recipients.
Public benefit statement
The objectives of the charitable company are the promotion of education, welfare, medical and arts through making grants to appropriate institutions and charitable bodies; the company will continue current activities to further its charitable purposes for the public benefit. The trustees confirm they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the company’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Trustees’ report (continued)
Governance and Trustee Training
The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law. The trustees (directors) have acted on behalf of the charitable company for many years and are familiar with its aims and objectives. They give their time voluntarily and receive no remuneration or benefits. The Memorandum and Articles of Association of the company provide that the charitable company has a minimum of two and a maximum of five trustees. The recruitment and appointment of new trustees is managed by the trustees of the charitable company. The trustees may at any time coopt a suitably qualified individual to serve as a trustee, but any trustee so appointed may serve only until the next Annual General Meeting where he/she will be available for re-election. The induction process for any new trustee comprises a series of briefing meetings with the current trustees (directors). In addition, appropriate seminars and training courses are available if required.
The major risks to which the charitable company is exposed as identified by the Trustees have been reviewed, and procedures have been established to mitigate those risks. A full risk assessment is undertaken on an annual basis by the Trustees.
The key risk that has been identified and which is carefully monitored is the risk of fraudulent grant applications and use of funds which is mitigated by authorisation procedures.
Grant making policy
The trustees, who have day to day responsibility for the charitable company, meet monthly to review and approve grant applications and payments to ensure that all grants meet the objectives of the charitable company.
Investment powers
The Memorandum and Articles of Association permit wide powers of investment. During the year the charitable company held interest bearing accounts in Sterling and foreign currency.
The trustees look to retain approximately three months’ of funding in cash. The charitable company’s funds are all unrestricted and may be used in furtherance of its charitable objects.
Key management remuneration policy
The trustees (directors), who are the key management team for the charitable company, do not receive any remuneration.
Review of the development, activities and achievements during the year
Total donations received for year ended 5 April 2024 were £611,971 (2023: £521536).
During the year the company made 55 (2023: 54) grants to charitable and good causes in the UK and 4 (2023: 3) grants to overseas charitable institutions as disclosed in note 3.
Funding is derived from a settlement initially set up by Ralph Levy and all income is derived from that source.
Review of transactions
Grants made during the year increased to £583,418 from £533,998. The charitable company has a dispensation from the Charity Commission regarding the submission of the names of the institutions and the value of grants made.
Financial position and future plans
The reserves as at 5 April 2024 are £132,393 (2023: £113,737) and are all unrestricted. The trustees review the financial position of the charitable company to ensure that it has sufficient reserves to meet its obligations as they fall due.
The trustees do not anticipate any significant changes to the activities of the charitable company in the foreseeable future, at least twelve months from the date of signing the financial statements, hence, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.
The trustees intend to continue to distribute the charitable company’s funds in future periods in the furtherance of its charitable objectives.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Trustees’ report (continued)
During the year, there were no significant events that affected the financial position. The trustees expect funding to continue and therefore grants to continue to be made in the future and therefore do not anticipate any factors will affect the financial position of the charitable company going forward.
Related parties
All income is dervived from the RBC Trustees (Guernsey) Limited. There were no other related party transactions during the current or prior year.
Going concern
The charitable company is in a net surplus position at year end and has sufficient funds to cover the total amount of grants payable. In the previous year the company was in a net surplus position as well. The charitable company only makes grants from available cash reserves, there is no expectation of significantly reduced donation income, however were this to occur grants made would be reviewed to ensure that the charitable company can continue as a going concern. The trustees therefore consider that the going concern assumption is an appropriate basis on which to prepare these financial statements.
Approved for Issue by the Board
C J F Andrews Trustee (Director)
Date 19/12/2024
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Trustees’ responsibilities statement
The trustees (who are also directors of The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland". 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these 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 judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
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state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed and
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prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company 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 charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Independent Examiner’s Report to the Trustees of The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
I report to the charitable company’s trustees on my examination of the accounts of The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited (“the company”) for the year ended 5[th] April 2024 which comprise the income and expenditure account, the balance sheet and the related notes 1 to 6.
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 and regulations made under section 154 of that Act. My work has been undertaken so that I might state to the charitable company’s trustees those matters I am required to state to them in an independent examiner’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, I do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s trustees as a body, for my work, for this report, or for the opinions I have formed.
Responsibilities and basis of report
As the charitable company’s trustees (and also its directors for the purposes of company law), you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 (“the 2006 Act”). You are satisfied that your charitable company is not required by charity law to be audited and have chosen instead to have an independent examination.
Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of your charitable company’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (“the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Independent examiner's statement
Since the company’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
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accounting records were not kept in respect of the company as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or 2. the accounts do not accord with those records; or
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the accounts do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair view’ which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
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the accounts have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
Sarah Wilson FCA
ICAEW
for and on behalf of Gravita II LLP
2 Lehman Street, London, United Kingdom, E1 8FA
Date: 19/12/2024
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account) For the year ended 5 April 2024
| Total unrestricted funds | Total unrestricted funds | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2023 | ||
| Note | £ | £ | |
| Income from: | |||
| Donations | 611,971 | 521,536 | |
| Investments | 1,589 | 153 | |
| Foreign exchange gains | 0 | 4,452 | |
| Total income | 613,560 | 526,141 | |
| Expenditure on Charitable activities: | |||
| Grants awarded and support costs | 3,4 | 594,903 | 541,569 |
| Total expenditure | 594,903 | 541,569 | |
| Net (deficit) for the year | 18,657 | (15,428) | |
| Net movement in funds | 18,657 | (15,428) | |
| Reconciliation of funds: | |||
| Total surplus on funds brought forward at 6 April | 113,737 | 129,165 | |
| Net movement in funds for the year | 18,657 | (15,428) | |
| Total surplus on funds carried forward at 5 April | 132,394 | 113,737 |
All activities were continuing both in the current and the prior year.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Balance Sheet For the year ended 5 April 2024
| Note Current assets Cash at bank Creditors: amounts falling due within one year Sundry creditors and accruals 6 Net assets Represented by: Unrestricted funds |
2024 £ 140,894 (8,500) 132,394 132,394 |
2023 £ 140,647 (26,910) 113,737 113,737 |
|---|---|---|
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies’ regime.
For the year ended 5 April 2024 the company was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.
Trustees’ responsibilities:
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The trustees have not required the charity to obtain an audit of its accounts for the year in question in accordance with section 476.
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The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of accounts.
Signed on behalf of the Board of Trustees (Directors)
C J F Andrews Director
19/12/2024
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Cashflow Statement For the year ended 5 April 2024
| Note Net cash flows from operating activities 7 Cash flows from investing activities: Interest received Net cash flows from investing activities Net increase in cash and cash equivalents Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of year Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year |
2024 £ (1,342) 1,589 1,589 247 140,647 140,894 |
2023 £ (34,919) |
|---|---|---|
| 153 | ||
| 153 | ||
| (34,766) | ||
| 175,413 | ||
| 140,647 |
Cash and cash equivalents are represented by cash at bank and in hand.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 5 April 2024
1. Company and charitable status
The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited, a public benefit entity, is incorporated in England and Wales as a company limited by guarantee not having a share capital. There are currently three Trustees who are also the members of the company. Each member has undertaken to contribute to the assets in the event of winding up a sum not exceeding £10. The charitable company is a registered charity. The registered office is given on page 1.
Accounting policies
The principal accounting policies are summarised below.
Basis of accounting
The financial statements are prepared under the historical cost convention, in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice “Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2019)” 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 and the Companies Act 2006.
Preparation of financial statements - going concern basis
The company is in a total surplus position at 5 April 2024 and 5 April 2023. The trustees do not anticipate any significant changes to the business in the foreseeable future, at least twelve months from the date of signing the financial statements. Hence, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing financial statements.
The Trustees, therefore, consider that the going concern assumption is an appropriate basis on which to prepare these financial statements.
Fund accounting
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charitable company.
Income
All income is included in the statement of financial activities when the conditions for receipt have been met, receipt is probable and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy:
Donations are included in full in the Statement of Financial Activities when receivable.
Investment income is included when receivable.
Expenditure
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All administrative costs are donated by the trustees and those services cannot be valued.
Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:
Expenditure on charitable activities includes:
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grants given by the charitable company in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. The charitable company has taken the exemption conferred under SORP paragraphs 16.21/22 not to disclose individual grants paid and it has received The Charity Commission's approval for this.
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support costs include governance costs which are those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charitable company and include the independent examiner fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charitable company.
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support costs are allocated on a pro-rata basis across each grant making activity.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 5 April 2024
1. Company and charitable status (continued)
Financial instruments
The charitable company only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short term highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charitable company has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
2. Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty
In the application of the company’s accounting policies, which are described in note 1, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amounts 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 if the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods if the revision affects both current and future periods.
The trustees do not consider there are any critical judgements or sources of estimation uncertainty requiring disclosure.
3. Grants made and donations received
The company made 59 (2023: 57) grants totalling £583,418 (2023: £533,998), a dispensation regarding the submission of details has been received from the Charity Commission. The bodies concerned are all institutions and are involved in the areas of medical research, welfare, education and the arts.
All of the charitable company’s income related to donations received during the current and prior year, which enables it to make grants to other bodies. Due to the risk of serious prejudice, the charitable company has not disclosed details of the institutions that have received material grants.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 5 April 2024
3. Grants made and donations received (cont.)
| Education Welfare Medical Total |
Grant funding £ 259,547 226,385 97,486 583,418 |
Support costs £ 5,110 4,457 1,919 11,485 |
2024 £ 264,657 230,841 99,405 594,903 |
Grant funding £ 256,972 141,817 135,209 533,998 |
Support costs £ 3,643 2,011 1,917 7,571 |
2023 £ 260,615 143,828 137,126 541,569 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4. Support costs
| Independent examiner’s fee Bank charges and other costs Foreign exchange loss Total support costs |
Total funds 2024 £ 2023 £ 7,500 7,500 228 71 3,757 - 11,485 7,571 |
Total funds 2024 £ 2023 £ 7,500 7,500 228 71 3,757 - 11,485 7,571 |
|---|---|---|
| 7,571 |
The company does not have any employees and hence no key management personnel are disclosed.
The trustees received no remuneration or reimbursement of expenses during the current and preceding year, nor were any expenses paid on their behalf. No other expenditure is incurred by the company.
5. Taxation
The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited is a Registered Charity No 200009 with the benefit of exemption from taxation granted Chapter 3 of Part 11 to the Corporation Tax Act 2010. On the basis that the charitable company’s activities fall within their charitable purposes and their funds are applied only for these purposes, no provision for corporation tax is made.
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The Ralph Levy Charitable Company Limited
Notes to the Financial Statements For the year ended 5 April 2024
6. Sundry creditors and accruals
| Donations Accruals 7. Note to cashflow statement Reconciliation of net income to cash generated by operations: Net income for the year Adjustments for: Interest receivable Operating cash flow before movement in working capital (Decrease)/increase in creditors Cash generated by operating activities |
2024 £ 1,000 7,500 8,500 2024 £ 17,068 (1,589) 18,657 (18,410) 247 |
2023 £ 19,410 7,500 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| 26,910 | |||
| 2023 £ (15,428) (153) |
|||
| (15,581) (19,338) |
|||
| (34,919) |
8. Related parties
All income is dervived from the RBC Trustees (Guernsey) Limited.
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