## **Trustees’ Annual Report for the period**
**From 1 June 2020 Period start date To 31 May 2021 Period end date**
**Charity name: The London Society**
## **Charity registration number: 206270**
## **Objectives and Activities**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the purposes of
the charity as set out in its
governing document|Para 1.17|The Charity's object is "stimulating wider
concern for the beauty of the capital city, for the
preservation of its charms and for the careful
consideration for its development".|
|Summary of the main
activities in relation to those
purposes for the public
benefit, in particular, the
activities, projects or services
identified in the accounts.|Para 1.17 and
1.19|In pursuance of its objectives the Society
undertakes, inter alia, the following activities:-
•
Organises a programme of events
including, lectures and discussions, visits
walks and tours, and social and
networking occasions.
•
Produces and publishes papers and
discussion documents on a variety of
subjects relevant to London’s
development and quality of life.
•
Produces, publishes and distributes the
Journal of The London Society as part of
membership benefits.
•
Keeps a watching brief on major
planning and development issues and
encourages constructive involvement in,
and discussion thereon, among
membership and the public at large.
•
Issues regular newsletters and bulletins
to membership and those on the
Society’s mailing list covering coming
events and other current topics.
•
Maintains liaison with London’s local
amenity associations through
membership of London Forum of
Amenity and Civic Societies.
•
Advises the APPG on London Planning
and Built Environment|
|Statement confirming
whether the trustees have
had regard to the guidance
issued by the Charity
Commission on public
benefit|Para 1.18|The Trustees are aware of the Charity
Commission's public benefit guidance and are
confident that they comply.|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
SORP reference Para 1.38 Policy on grant making Para 1.38 Policy on social investment including program related investment Para 1.38 Contribution made by volunteers Other
## **Achievements and Performance**
||SORP reference||
|---|---|---|
|Summary of the main
achievements of the charity,
identifying the difference the
charity’s work has made to
the circumstances of its
beneficiaries and any wider
benefits to society as a
whole.|Para 1.20|During the past year the Society has:-
•
Continued with its financial goals to stabilise
finances, producing a small surplus
•
Successfully moved its events’ programme
online, with significantly increased reach for
its activities.
•
Expanded its online publishing programme,
with many new blog posts.
•
Acted as sponsors of an All Party
Parliamentary Group on London’s Planning
and Built Environment
•
Increased the visibility of the Society
through presence on social media and the
growth of the Society’s email marketing list
•
Published a well-received edition of the
Society_Journal_
•
Published a collection of essays, ‘_When This_
_is All Over_’, with a range of commentators
giving their views on the London that should
emerge after the pandemic.
•
The annual Banister Fletcher lecture in 2020
was given (online) by writer and broadcaster
Robert Elms.|
**Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Achievements against
objectives set|Para 1.41||
|---|---|---|
|Performance of fundraising
activities against objectives
set|Para 1.41||
|Investment performance
against objectives|Para 1.41||
|Other|||
## **Financial Review**
|Review of the charity’s
financial position at the end
of the period|Para 1.21|During the year to 31st December 2020 the
Society had an income of £56,069 (£66,581 in
2019) and an expenditure of £51,592 (£64,018 in
2019) giving net surplus of £4,477 (£2,563 in
2018).
Reduced income and expenditure were as a
result of lockdown – we could not run major
ticketed events during the period. Online events
were initially free, and then at a lower price than
‘in person’ events. Our part-time administrator
position was redundant at the end of 2020.
We expect to have another surplus in 2021, with
new corporate supporters being actively
recruited.|
|---|---|---|
|Statement explaining the
policy for holding reserves
stating why they are held|Para 1.22|The Trustees believe that the Society needs a
significant level of reserves in order to finance
plans to develop its range of activities and raise
its profile. Central to this is the need to increase
membership to a level that renders the Society
financially viable, and to reduce the per capita
level of costs.|
|Amount of reserves held|Para 1.22|The Society's reserves at 31st December 2020,
are invested in the COIF Charities Investment
Fund which has a book value of £105,000 and a
market value of £196,896, and in the Society’s
current and deposit accounts with CAF Bank UK
amounting to £32,825.|
|Reasons for holding zero
reserves|Para 1.22||
|Details of fund materially in
deficit|Para 1.24|None|
|Explanation of any
uncertainties about the
charity continuing as a going
concern|Para 1.23|None|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
||||
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s principal
sources of funds (including
any fundraising)|Para 1.47|Membership subscriptions, events receipts and
corporate donations.|
|Investment policy and
objectives including any
social investment policy
adopted|Para 1.46||
||||
Para 1.46 A description of the principal risks facing the charity Other
## **Structure, Governance and Management**
|Description of charity’s
trusts:|||
|---|---|---|
|Type of governing document
(trust deed, royal charter)|Para 1.25|The Charity's governing document is its
Constitution adopted in 1912 and last amended
21 July2020|
|How is the charity
constituted?
(e.g unincorporated
association, CIO)|Para 1.25|The charity is constituted as an unincorporated
association with membership open to the public
by subscription|
|Trustee selection methods
including details of any
constitutional provisions e.g.
election to post or name of
any person or body entitled
to appoint one or more
trustees|Para 1.25|Trustees who have been duly nominated and
seconded by current paid up members of the
Society are put forward for approval and
adoption at the Annual General Meetings of the
Society held in June/July each year, or as soon as
possible thereafter.|
## **Additional information (optional)**
You may choose to include further statements where relevant about:
|Policies and procedures
adopted for the induction and
training of trustees|Para 1.51||
|---|---|---|
|The charity’s organisational
structure and any wider
network with which the
charity works|Para 1.51||
|Relationship with any related
parties|Para 1.51||
|Other|||
## **Reference and Administrative details**
|Charityname|The London Society|
|---|---|
|Other name the charityuses||
|Registered charitynumber|206270|
|Charity’s principal address|Mortimer Wheeler House
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London N1 7ED|
|||
## **Names of the charity trustees who manage the charity**
|1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20|**Trustee name**|**Office (if any)**|**Dates acted if not for whole**
**year **|**Name of person (or body) entitled**
**to appoint trustee (ifany)**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
||Peter Murray|Chairman|||
||Neil Bennett|Vice Chairman|||
||Clive Price||||
||Mark Prizeman||||
||Nick McKeogh||||
||Jessica Cargill
Thompson||To 21 July 2020||
||Dave Hill||||
||Sarah Yates||To 21 July 2020||
||Andrew Reynolds||||
||Michael Coupe||||
||Barry Coidan|Treasurer|||
||Jonathan Manns||To 21 July 2020||
||Lucy Smith||||
||Darryl Chen|Vice Chairman|||
||Eric Sorensen||||
||Diane Cunningham||||
||Martha Grekos|Secretary|||
||Helen Parton||From 21 July 2020||
||||||
||||||
Corporate trustees – names of the directors at the date the report was approved
**Director name**
Name of trustees holding title to property belonging to the charity
**Trustee name Dates acted if not for whole year**
## **Funds held as custodian trustees on behalf of others**
Description of the assets held in this capacity Name and objects of the charity on whose behalf the assets are held and how this falls within the custodian charity’s objects Details of arrangements for safe custody and segregation of such assets from the charity’s own assets
## **Additional information (optional)**
## **Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**
|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|**Names and addresses of advisers (Optional information)**|
|---|---|---|
|**Type of**
**adviser**
**Name**
**Address**|||
|Financial &
Charities
(Authorised
by HMRC to
submit
accounts)|Stuart Edwards|Stuart Edwards & Co
Kemp House
152-160 City Road
London
EC1V 2NX|
||||
||||
||||
## **Name of chief executive or names of senior staff members (Optional information)**
Don Brown - Director
## **Exemptions from disclosure**
Reason for non-disclosure of key personnel details
## **Other optional information**
## **Declarations**
**The trustees declare that they have approved the trustees’ report above.**
**Signed on behalf of the charity’s trustees**
**----- Start of picture text -----**
Signature(s)
Full name(s) Barry Coidan Alpa Depani
Position (eg Secretary,
Hon. Treasurer Hon. Secretary
Chair, etc)
Date
29 October 2021
**----- End of picture text -----**
# **The London Society**
## **Financial Statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2020**
**Charity Registration No. 206270**
**AS APPROVED AT THE LONDON SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 5 JULY 2021**
**Stuart Edwards & Co Chartered Accountants Kemp House 152-160 City Road, LONDON, EC1V 2NX**
1
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF**
## **THE LONDON SOCIETY**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The London Society**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended
31[st] December 2020 which are set out on pages 3 to 6
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
**Stuart Edwards Chartered Accountant Kemp House,152-160 City Road, LONDON, EC1V 2NX**
**...........................................................Date.**
2
## **The London Society**
## **Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 December 2020**
||**Note**|**2020**|**_2019_**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|**_£_**|
|**Receipts**||||
|Subscriptions & Gift Aid Recovered|2|25,205|28,702|
|Visits, Events & lectures||6,754|15,676|
|Corporate Donations||15,236|14,986|
|Investment Income||5,668|5,559|
|HMRC CVJRS||2,293|-|
|Donations||901|1,648|
|Library, tie and map sales||12|10|
|||_____|_____|
|**Total Receipts**||**56,069**|**66,581**|
|||_____|_____|
|**Payments**||||
|Visits, Events & Lectures||1,273|12,375|
|Events’ Administration||749|9,303|
|Journal||8,234|8,594|
|Printing, Postage, Stationery||1,952|2,957|
|IT, Website, Telephone||2,059|1,810|
|Equipment||-|7|
|Publicity and Promotion||-|-|
|Subscriptions Refunded||438|120|
|Subscriptions||167|252|
|Administrative Services||13,505|10,073|
|Directors Fees||19,208|17,835|
|Redundancy Payment||3,302|-|
|Insurance||230|218|
|Accountant’s Fees||475|475|
|||______|______|
|**Total Payments**||**51,592**|**64,018**|
|||______|______|
|**Net Receipts/ (Payments) From Ordinary Activities**||**4,477**|**2,563**|
|**Reserves Brought Forward**||**133,348**|**130,785**|
|||_______|_______|
|**Reserves Carried forward**|**2**|**£137,825**|**£133,348**|
|||_______|_______|
3
## **The London Society**
**Balance Sheet As at 31 December 2020**
||**Note**||**2020**||**_2019_**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|**£**|**_£_**|
**_£_**|
|**Fixed assets**|||-||-|
|**Investments at Cost**|4||105,000||105,000|
|**Current assets**||||||
|Debtors and prepayments||-||-||
|Cash at bank||32,825||28,348||
|||_______||_______||
|||32,825||28,348||
|**Less: Current liabilities**||||||
|Creditors and accruals||-||-||
|||______||______||
||||32,825||28,348|
||||________||_______|
|**Total net assets**|||**£137,825**||**£133,348**|
||||________||________|
|**Reserves:**||||||
|General Reserve|3||**137,825**||**133,348**|
||||_______||________|
||||**£137,825**||**£133,348**|
||||_______||________|
The financial statements on pages 3 to 6 were approved by the Executive Committee of the Society on
5 JULY 2021 and signed on its behalf by the following:
......................................................... (LEANNE TRITTON) Chair ......................................................... (BARRY COIDAN) Hon. Treasurer ......................................................... (ALPA DEPANI) Hon. Secretary
The notes on pages 5 & 6 form part of these accounts.
4
## **The London Society**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2020**
## **1. Accounting policies**
## **1.1 Accounting Convention**
The accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments basis.
## **1.2 Subscriptions & Gift Aid Repayments**
These are included in the accounts when received and no amount is carried forward in respect of Life memberships.
## **1.3 Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation**
Equipment purchased is written off in the year of purchase.
## **1.4 Legacies**
Legacies unless otherwise specified by the testator, are included in the accounts in the year when they are received
## **2. Income**
|**Income**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2020**|**_2019_**|
|**Subscriptions & Gift Aid Recovered**|**£**|**£**|
|Subscriptions & memberships|20,962|21,227|
|Gift Aid Recovered|4,243|7,475|
||______|______|
||25,205|28,702|
||======|=====|
5
## **The London Society**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2020**
## **2. Income (Cont’d)**
|**Corporate Donations:**|||
|---|---|---|
|Allies & Morrison LLP|1,250
|1,000|
|Almacantar|1,250|1,000|
|Berkeley Group|1,000|-|
|Buckley Gray Yeoman|1,250|1,000|
|Cadogan Estates|1,250|1,000|
|Derwent London|-|1,000|
|E.H. Smith Builders|-|1,000|
|Fletcher Priest Architects|-|986|
|ft’work|2,000|-|
|Grosvenor Estate|
1,250|1,000|
|Hawkins Brown|986|2,000|
|Howard De Walden|-|1,000|
|Metropolitan Works|-|1,000|
|Portman Settled Estates|1,250|1,000|
|Rockwell Properties|1,250|1,000|
|Shaftesbury PLC|1,250|-|
|Stiff & Trevillion|1,250|-|
|Weston Williamson|-|1,000|
||_______
|_____|
||£15,236
|14,986|
||======|=====|
## **3. Reserve and Investment Policy**
The Trustees believe that the Society needs a significant level of reserves in order to finance plans to develop its range of activities and raise its profile. Central to this is the need to increase membership to a level that renders the Society financially viable, and to reduce the per capita level of costs. The Trustees refine their business plans as each financial year proceeds.
|**4.**|**COIF Charities Investment Fund**|||
|---|---|---|---|
|||**2020**|**_2019_**|
||**Holding: No of Units**|10,931.72|_10,931.72_|
||**Cost**|£105,000|_£105,000_|
||**Market Value (mid-market value)**|£196,896|_£185,060_|
|||=======|========|
6
# **The London Society**
## **Financial Statements**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2020**
**Charity Registration No. 206270**
**AS APPROVED AT THE LONDON SOCIETY ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING 5 JULY 2021**
**Stuart Edwards & Co Chartered Accountants Kemp House 152-160 City Road, LONDON, EC1V 2NX**
1
## **INDEPENDENT EXAMINER’S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF**
## **THE LONDON SOCIETY**
## **FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020**
## **Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of The London Society**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended
31[st] December 2020 which are set out on pages 3 to 6
## **Responsibilities and basis of report**
As the charity’s trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the Act’).
I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act.
## **Independent examiner's statement**
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act; or
2. the accounts do not accord with those records.
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.
**Stuart Edwards Chartered Accountant Kemp House,152-160 City Road, LONDON, EC1V 2NX**
**...........................................................Date.**
2
## **The London Society**
## **Receipts and Payments Account for the year ended 31 December 2020**
||**Note**|**2020**|**_2019_**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|**_£_**|
|**Receipts**||||
|Subscriptions & Gift Aid Recovered|2|25,205|28,702|
|Visits, Events & lectures||6,754|15,676|
|Corporate Donations||15,236|14,986|
|Investment Income||5,668|5,559|
|HMRC CVJRS||2,293|-|
|Donations||901|1,648|
|Library, tie and map sales||12|10|
|||_____|_____|
|**Total Receipts**||**56,069**|**66,581**|
|||_____|_____|
|**Payments**||||
|Visits, Events & Lectures||1,273|12,375|
|Events’ Administration||749|9,303|
|Journal||8,234|8,594|
|Printing, Postage, Stationery||1,952|2,957|
|IT, Website, Telephone||2,059|1,810|
|Equipment||-|7|
|Publicity and Promotion||-|-|
|Subscriptions Refunded||438|120|
|Subscriptions||167|252|
|Administrative Services||13,505|10,073|
|Directors Fees||19,208|17,835|
|Redundancy Payment||3,302|-|
|Insurance||230|218|
|Accountant’s Fees||475|475|
|||______|______|
|**Total Payments**||**51,592**|**64,018**|
|||______|______|
|**Net Receipts/ (Payments) From Ordinary Activities**||**4,477**|**2,563**|
|**Reserves Brought Forward**||**133,348**|**130,785**|
|||_______|_______|
|**Reserves Carried forward**|**2**|**£137,825**|**£133,348**|
|||_______|_______|
3
## **The London Society**
**Balance Sheet As at 31 December 2020**
||**Note**||**2020**||**_2019_**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|**£**|**_£_**|
**_£_**|
|**Fixed assets**|||-||-|
|**Investments at Cost**|4||105,000||105,000|
|**Current assets**||||||
|Debtors and prepayments||-||-||
|Cash at bank||32,825||28,348||
|||_______||_______||
|||32,825||28,348||
|**Less: Current liabilities**||||||
|Creditors and accruals||-||-||
|||______||______||
||||32,825||28,348|
||||________||_______|
|**Total net assets**|||**£137,825**||**£133,348**|
||||________||________|
|**Reserves:**||||||
|General Reserve|3||**137,825**||**133,348**|
||||_______||________|
||||**£137,825**||**£133,348**|
||||_______||________|
The financial statements on pages 3 to 6 were approved by the Executive Committee of the Society on
5 JULY 2021 and signed on its behalf by the following:
......................................................... (LEANNE TRITTON) Chair ......................................................... (BARRY COIDAN) Hon. Treasurer ......................................................... (ALPA DEPANI) Hon. Secretary
The notes on pages 5 & 6 form part of these accounts.
4
## **The London Society**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2020**
## **1. Accounting policies**
## **1.1 Accounting Convention**
The accounts are prepared on a receipts and payments basis.
## **1.2 Subscriptions & Gift Aid Repayments**
These are included in the accounts when received and no amount is carried forward in respect of Life memberships.
## **1.3 Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation**
Equipment purchased is written off in the year of purchase.
## **1.4 Legacies**
Legacies unless otherwise specified by the testator, are included in the accounts in the year when they are received
## **2. Income**
|**Income**|||
|---|---|---|
||**2020**|**_2019_**|
|**Subscriptions & Gift Aid Recovered**|**£**|**£**|
|Subscriptions & memberships|20,962|21,227|
|Gift Aid Recovered|4,243|7,475|
||______|______|
||25,205|28,702|
||======|=====|
5
## **The London Society**
## **Notes to the Accounts**
## **For the year ended 31 December 2020**
## **2. Income (Cont’d)**
|**Corporate Donations:**|||
|---|---|---|
|Allies & Morrison LLP|1,250
|1,000|
|Almacantar|1,250|1,000|
|Berkeley Group|1,000|-|
|Buckley Gray Yeoman|1,250|1,000|
|Cadogan Estates|1,250|1,000|
|Derwent London|-|1,000|
|E.H. Smith Builders|-|1,000|
|Fletcher Priest Architects|-|986|
|ft’work|2,000|-|
|Grosvenor Estate|
1,250|1,000|
|Hawkins Brown|986|2,000|
|Howard De Walden|-|1,000|
|Metropolitan Works|-|1,000|
|Portman Settled Estates|1,250|1,000|
|Rockwell Properties|1,250|1,000|
|Shaftesbury PLC|1,250|-|
|Stiff & Trevillion|1,250|-|
|Weston Williamson|-|1,000|
||_______
|_____|
||£15,236
|14,986|
||======|=====|
## **3. Reserve and Investment Policy**
The Trustees believe that the Society needs a significant level of reserves in order to finance plans to develop its range of activities and raise its profile. Central to this is the need to increase membership to a level that renders the Society financially viable, and to reduce the per capita level of costs. The Trustees refine their business plans as each financial year proceeds.
|**4.**|**COIF Charities Investment Fund**|||
|---|---|---|---|
|||**2020**|**_2019_**|
||**Holding: No of Units**|10,931.72|_10,931.72_|
||**Cost**|£105,000|_£105,000_|
||**Market Value (mid-market value)**|£196,896|_£185,060_|
|||=======|========|
6