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2025-03-31-accounts

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Year
in review
Trustees’ annual
report & fi nancial
statements
year ended
31 March
2025
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“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it?” 2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV)

Contents

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ report and Strategic Report) for the year ended 31 March 2025 ...................................................................................................................... 1

Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisers..................................................... 1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................................... 2

Aims, objectives and activities ............................................................................................................................................... 3 Aims ...................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 Our Strategy – Revealing Jesus ............................................................................................................................... 3 Main objectives for the year ...................................................................................................................................... 4 Strategic report ........................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Review of activities and performance during the year ................................................................................... 4 Implementing our Revealing Jesus strategy ..................................................................................... 5 Organisational sustainability ................................................................................................................... 7 Involving volunteers .................................................................................................................................... 9 Supporting global partnership ................................................................................................................ 9 Plans for next year and beyond .............................................................................................................................. 10 Financial review ............................................................................................................................................................. 10 Financial position ....................................................................................................................................... 10 Reserves review ............................................................................................................................................11 Principal funding sources .........................................................................................................................12 Investment policy and performance ....................................................................................................12 Principal risks and uncertainties ..............................................................................................................................13 Structure, governance and management ........................................................................................................................13 Governing document and constitution .................................................................................................................13 Recruitment and appointment of trustees .........................................................................................................13 Induction and training of trustees ......................................................................................................................... 14 Organisational structure............................................................................................................................................ 14 Pay and remuneration of key management personnel ................................................................................. 16 Related parties ............................................................................................................................................................... 17 Grant-making policy and principles ....................................................................................................................... 17 Appointment of external auditor ........................................................................................................................... 18

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Scripture Union ...................................... 19 Statement of financial activities incorporating an income and expenditure account 22

Balance sheet ......................................................................................................................................... 23 Statement of cash flows ...................................................................................................................... 24 Notes forming part of the financial statements ......................................................................... 25

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

The Trustees are pleased to present their annual Directors’ report and financial statements of the Charitable Company for the year ended 31 March 2025, which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a Directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Articles of Association, and 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).

Reference and administrative details of Reference and administrative details of the charity, its trustees and advisers the charity, its trustees and advisers
Status Scripture Union is a charitable company limited by guarantee.
It is governed by its Articles of Association adopted with effect from
1 October 2009 and amended by special resolution passed on 17
October 2020
Registered name Scripture Union (also known as ‘SU’, ‘SU England and Wales’ and
‘Scripture Union Cymru’)
Charity registration number 213422
Company registration number 00039828
Country of incorporation England and Wales
Principal & registered office Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes MK15 0DF
Trustees Mr Richard Godden – Chair
Ms Kim Hurst – Honorary Treasurer
Mr Mark Binney (appointed 1 July 2025)
Mr Richard Evans
Mr Malcolm Forsyth
Rev Dr Mark Griffiths (resigned 29 June 2025)
Rev Ian Gulland (appointed 16 November 2024)
Mr Junior Johnson
Mrs Julie Kittow (resigned 16 November 2024)
Mrs Sandra Morris
Mrs Sarah Smart
Leadership Team Rev David Newton – National Director
Rev Dr Mark Griffiths - Mission Resources Director(from 30 June 2025)
Mr Richard Shaw – Mission Director
Mr Stephen Vis – Finance & Services Director(to 31 July 2024)
Mrs Sharon Esnard - Finance & Services Director(from 9 July 2024)
Mrs Rachel Warwick – Mobilisation Director
Company Secretary Mrs Susan Winning
Bankers HSBC Bank plc, 62 George White Street, Cabot Circus, Bristol, BS1 3BA
Solicitors Pothecary Witham Weld, 70 St Georges Square, London SW1V 3RD
Auditor MHA, 6thFloor, 2 London Wall Place, London EC2Y 5AU
Investment advisers Rathbones Investment Management Limited, 8 Finsbury Circus, London
EC2M 7AZ
Insurance brokers Zurich Municipal, 2 Gladiator Way (N2), Farnborough, Hants GU14 6GB

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Introduction

This time last year, Dave Newton (our National Director) had been in post only three months and Sharon Esnard (our Finance & Services Director) had just joined us. In the months that followed, a number of other long-serving senior members of the SU team left and their successors joined us and, early in 2025, we merged two of our regions as part of several changes designed better to align our resources with our mission.

In the light of these changes, it would have been understandable had this report indicated that the past year had been focussed on rebuilding our team and that, consequently, there had been only limited progress in our front-line ministry. However, this is not the case: the speed with which the new team members settled in and began making an impact was tremendous. There has been no loss of momentum and, over the past year, there has been significant progress in all of our main areas of ministry.

The number of Faith Guides, supported by local churches, has continued to grow. By the end of March 2025, there were 566 Faith Guides (a 22% increase over the course of the year) and we have developed a structured approach to their coaching, which we believe will prove to be of material assistance to them. Alongside this, Mission Support (our on-line support for our Local Mission Partners, Faith Guides and churches generally), which was launched in October 2023, has enjoyed a successful first full year of operation, with nearly 2,600 people signed up to receive support as at the end of March 2025. The review of our Revealing Jesus framework that was mentioned in last year’s Annual Report, indicated a need to adapt our resources, and, following a huge amount of work by members of our Development Hub and Digital Solutions teams, our new Resources Centre went live in January 2025. This provides both free and paid-for mission content and is designed with mobile device users in mind.

Our holidays and missions have likewise continued to evolve. Overall, the number of children and young people attending was lower than in the previous year, but over 1,500 did so and the new-style Faith Guide holidays, which were first trialled in 2023, continued to develop. There were four during the Easter and Summer holidays in 2024 and they provided opportunities for Faith Guides to offer a short Christian residential event to the groups of children and young people with whom they are working.

Our strategy of seeking to partner with other organisations has also been bearing fruit. The national partnership with the New Wine church network has developed and the equipping tour that is to take place later this year will result in the training of volunteers and staff in New Wine churches so that they can be pioneers of the Revealing Jesus framework and act as Revealing Jesus coaches for Faith Guides. We have also recently entered into a partnership with Prayer Spaces in Schools with a view to enabling school children to explore and respond to Jesus, and we hope that further partnerships with national para-church organisations and church denominations will follow.

As always, I thank all of those who have contributed to the work of SU and, in particular, our former Finance & Services Director, Stephen Vis (who oversaw the financial aspects of the implementation of our new strategy), our former Head of Mission Event Operations, Jo Morley (who for a long time oversaw our holidays and events) and the former Head of our Development Hub, Gemma Willis (who oversaw the many changes in our resources in recent years). We are most grateful for all that they did.

The recent Bible Society report, “The Quiet Revival”, suggests that the tide may be turning in terms of attendance at church and interest in reading the Bible. The harvest is plentiful and we pray that the Lord would send workers into his harvest and, in particular, would use us as pleases him. We continue to be grateful that he has provided us with the people and the financial resources that have been required over the past year and we pray that he would do so again over the coming year.

Richard Godden Chairman

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Aims, objectives and activities

Aims

SU’s overarching aim is to make God’s good news known to children and young people and to encourage them to meet God through the Bible and prayer. We work to fulfil this aim as effectively as possible with the resources that God gives us.

SU’s vision is for a new generation of children and young people who have a vibrant, personal faith in Jesus.

Our mission is to create opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith.

Our priority is to reach those who don’t yet know Jesus.

Our values underpin all we do: we serve the living God, depending on him in faith, and trusting him to transform us and the lives of those we work with: we are rooted in the Bible, seeking a sound understanding that is applied in daily living and encouraged in the lives of others; we trust in the power of prayer, embedding it into everything we do; we share God’s heart for children and young people, demonstrating his love to them and inviting them into lifelong relationship with Jesus; we have a responsibility to work to create a safe and caring culture in all we do, reflecting God’s heart as we strive to excel in the mission he has called us to; and we invest in relationships to advance mission opportunities, equipping and empowering each other in the kingdom.

All work carried out by SU is consistent with our charitable objects, as set out in the Articles of Association: to advance Christianity by sharing the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ with people throughout the world. The objects are carried out through, but not limited to, working with churches, by making God’s good news known to children, young people and families and by encouraging people of all ages to meet God daily through the Bible and prayer , so that they may come to personal faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, grow in Christian maturity, and become both committed church members and servants of a world in need.

Our Strategy – Revealing Jesus

Our strategic review in early 2019 resulted in the development of our Revealing Jesus strategy and its associated innovative mission framework. This culminated in an online launch in October 2020 and in a multi-year programme of development, field testing, and operational scaling that brought increased cohesion and focus to our activity (see su.org.uk/revealingjesus).

Building on our campaign to share the good news of Jesus with the 95% of children and young people not connected with a church (‘the 95’), the mission framework helps envision, resource and equip churches as they engage with the younger generations in their community. Setting out a fourstage journey of faith, the framework equips Christians to act as Faith Guides who accompany children and young people over the long term and create opportunities for them to connectwith Christians, explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in their faith in Jesus. Our Mission Enablers and Revealing Jesus Pioneers walk alongside the Faith Guides, using an SU-developed training programme, offering one-to-one coaching and providing early access to resources through the Faith Guide Hub.

In addition to growing the number of Faith Guides and investing heavily in our resources and resource web platform, our focus areas this year have been from both a mission and an infrastructure perspective. We have sought to build the team, amplify our voice, increase support and increase missional effectiveness. Several senior staff changes during the year provided an opportunity to appoint and embed some key roles across the organisation. This included the appointment of a new Finance and Services Director, Sharon Esnard, who took over from Stephen Vis. We have also sought to streamline our management structures in line with strategy and embed a number of temporary mission roles into the permanent staffing establishment. We have

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

maximised opportunities during the year through events, print and broadcast media to increase the profile of SU across churches and the wider Christian community. Moreover, we continued to embed the Revealing Jesus strategy into the culture of the Movement, through our regional gatherings taking place in all English regions and in Wales. Additionally, we have prioritised growing our support base and widening our sources of income and have been encouraged by some of the early signs of response to the investment in this area. Alongside this we have invested in training to refine our support of mission through the Revealing Jesus strategy, particularly upskilling staff in offering coaching support. See Implementing our Revealing Jesus strategy below for further details of activity during the year.

Main objectives for the year

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to and have given due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charitable Company’s aims and objectives and when planning future activities. The focus of all SU’s activities is on sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with children and young people in the belief that the gospel is life-transforming and life-enhancing. It is our conviction that the gospel has a positive impact on individuals who, in turn, have a positive and transformative impact on their families and communities. The following pages highlight just some of the ways in which God has been at work through SU to deliver public benefit in the past year as we have continued towards achieving our strategic goals.

As set out in SU’s operating plan, we sought to fulfil our long-term vision by pursuing the following primary objectives:

Strategic report

Review of activities and performance during the year

The Trustees place great importance on ensuring that progress made in achieving the Movement’s strategic objectives is measured and monitored appropriately. Key performance indicators are identified for the Movement’s objectives and, alongside relevant commentary, form the basis of a quarterly progress report: the Mission Update. The Mission Update is prepared by the Leadership Team and key staff members and then reviewed by the Trustees before being circulated to members of Council and the full staff team. In addition, detailed monitoring and evaluation of activities, projects and programmes takes place on an ongoing basis by the relevant teams.

Keeping children and young people safe is of paramount importance to SU and the need to provide care for children and young people is always held as the highest priority in all our activities and is at the forefront of any event planning.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Implementing our Revealing Jesus strategy

Our Revealing Jesus strategy sets out how we intend to meet our objectives, fulfil our mission, and bring about our vision within our priority community, the 95.

Thought Leadership

We have continued to invest in thought leadership. Our focus this year has been on two significant reports exploring Hybrid Mission and Generation Alpha in Wales. The Hybrid Mission report, undertaken by our Research and Innovation Lead, has been completed and published. We are now seeking to disseminate the findings and ensure that the learning informs our mission practice through training and some pilot projects. The Generation Alpha research has run six months behind schedule due to staff changes; the field research is completed and the findings are now being analysed and written up.

We recognise the importance of building a culture within the Movement that supports our Vision, Mission and Priority (stated on page 3). We have sought to embed our values by taking opportunity to speak into them as often as possible and refreshing our staff induction process.

Faith Guides

Our strategy recognises Faith Guides as key to fulfilling our mission. They are passionate individuals who are commissioned by the local church and supported by SU’s Mission Enablers and Revealing Jesus Pioneers. These Faith Guides seek to journey with children and young people as they connect with Christians, explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in their faith.

The number of Faith Guides continued to grow from 463 last year to 566, while the number of associated churches increased from 338 to 430. We have clarified the support we offer Faith Guides, with a particular focus on training our Revealing Jesus Pioneers and Mission Enablers in ‘coaching’ through the Revealing Jesus framework. We have also developed partnerships with national Mission Partners, equipping them to act as coaches to work through the Revealing Jesus framework within their own denomination or network and thereby increasing our capacity and reach.

Mission Support

Since its launch in October 2023, the number of people registered for Mission Support has increased to nearly 2,600, including 565 Faith Guides. We have continued to consider how best to use this engagement tool and we now publish an on-line monthly ‘Mission Sparks’ resource, written by our field team, to help churches and individuals engage with the 95.

In early 2025, with the launch of the new Resource Centre (see Resources and publishing activity section below), all Revealing Jesus Mission Framework collections were made available to those who sign up to Mission Support to further aid their work with the 95.

Resources and publishing activity

This year has seen our Faith Guide Hub and Resource Centre go through a major transformation. The Resource Centre, digitally accessible from the website, now provides easily-searchable access to free and paid-for mission content. The site, which went live in January 2025, is the home for a range of resources to equip churches in their mission to Reveal Jesus. It has been designed with a mobilefirst approach, as this is how most users are accessing resources, and its functionality has vastly improved end-user searching, payment facilities and access. The Faith Guide hub, which is still active, provides a facility to pilot material and make resources accessible to Faith Guides prior to their official launch.

Printed resources are fully aligned to our Revealing Jesus strategy. This year we wrote and published So What Next, and reprinted It’s Your Move to celebrate the 25[th] anniversary of this much respected and well-used resource.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Despite experiencing significant challenges in July 2024 due to our primary distributor entering administration, income from product sales and royalties increased to £733,000, up from £681,000 last year.

Changes in the staff team during the year enabled an opportunity to reconsider our approach and build on recent technical work, and a new Mission Resource Department was launched in early July 2025. Rev Dr Mark Griffiths took up the role of Director of Mission Resources at that time.

Mission through Sport

Our mission-through-sport activities reached almost 4,000 young people this year. The team innovated in a number of key areas within the strategy, creating a brand-new resource, Half Time, using crafted video content and relevant activities to explore Mark’s Gospel for both 7-11s and 11-16s. The team has engaged in a variety of training events to increase the confidence of staff and Faith Guides in using sport in mission, and has piloted a number of mission event days and sport-focused discipleship events.

Grow Communities

An important part of the Revealing Jesus mission framework is the concept of a Grow Community. This is a culturally-appropriate worshipping community of children and/or young people that is peershaped, peer-served and adult-guided. It enables the faith of the 95 to flourish in their commitment to Jesus in a setting which is relevant to them.

Throughout the year we continued to help Faith Guides to progress the spiritual journey of their young people, such that by the end of the year there were some 60 established or emerging Grow Communities serving almost 700 children and young people.

Holidays and Missions

Our holidays and missions remain at the heart of our missional activity.

Responding to the Revealing Jesus strategy, during Easter and summer 2024, we ran four new-style Faith Guide Holidays where, supported by Mission Enablers and Pioneers, Faith Guides provided a residential experience for the children and young people with whom they are journeying. These events were very well received.

Over 1,500 children and young people attended one of our residential events, a decline of around 200 against the previous year, with many others attending missions. Early indicators for 2025 show an upturn in the number of guest bookings.

Three modules of our new Young Leader Development Programme were implemented during the year and feedback from those involved has been positive. This programme supports our strategic intent that ‘traditional’ events support the development of a future generation of SU volunteers and staff and wider Christian leaders.

Partnerships

Part of our strategy for scaling the impact of Revealing Jesus is to engage in strategic mission partnerships.

We continue to engage in positive conversations with national para-church organisations and church denominations regarding the Revealing Jesus Mission Framework. During the year we entered into partnership with Prayer Spaces in Schools which will enable children and young people to explore and respond to what they have experienced.

Our Local Mission Partners continue to engage in different elements of the Revealing Jesus Mission Framework, as we look to equip them in all aspects during 2025. Note: local mission partners are individual trusts or groups affiliated with SU and are an integral part of SU’s regional teams. The partnership enables trusts to respond to local needs whilst sharing the SU core values and identity.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Our partnership with the New Wine church network developed during the year, further reflecting the high alignment between SU’s Revealing Jesus framework and the network’s strategy for children and young people’s work. Following SU’s significant involvement at New Wine’s Summer Festival in 2024, a new “equipping” tour for 2025 has been put in place. This will include the training of church volunteers and staff in the New Wine network to be able to pioneer the Revealing Jesus framework and act as Revealing Jesus coaches, thereby widening our reach.

Organisational sustainability

Fundraising and Communications

SU embraces fundraising first and foremost as ministry. It is a way of inviting donors to partner in our vision to reach the 95, and our supporters are a vital part of our ministry and work. Through fundraising we proclaim that we believe all who support us will benefit through their involvement in seeing God’s kingdom grow through the transformed lives of children and young people. We share what God is doing with openness and honesty, providing opportunities for individuals, churches, and trusts to respond, in order to grow the ministry further.

We inform supporters of our activities, and our magazine Connecting You was sent directly to around 8,000 supporters by post and 8,000 by email each quarter during the year, as well as being available on our website and social media channels.

Underpinning all our fundraising is prayer, and an acknowledgement that God is the provider of all our needs through those who choose to partner with us. We ensure that anyone involved in fundraising activities is aware of and embraces these principles. The Fundraising Team runs a regular online prayer meeting for supporters which is well attended. We operate a relationshipbased approach to fundraising and are pleased to know many of our donors personally.

The wellbeing and safety of donors is important to us, and our Donation Acceptance Policy includes the care of, and support for, vulnerable donors. Our fundraising and supporter care teams receive regular training in Safeguarding Vulnerable Adults and we have procedures in place, should any concerns be raised.

Income received as a result of the managed fundraising programme during the year increased from £2,084,000 to £2,149,000. Legacies of every size are vital to the ongoing work of SU. Several large legacies contributed to income totalling £1,318,000. This was higher than the £929,000 received the previous year, with legacy income for both years exceeding our expectations. We are currently working with two agencies to encourage people to include SU in their will.

The cost of raising funds during the year increased from £479,000 to £535,000 (see Note 4 to the financial statements, page 30).

We have an in-house fundraising team which is assisted, when required, by the services of fundraising consultants. We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator, and we endeavour to meet the high standards promoted by their Fundraising Practice by ensuring our activities are open, fair, honest and legal.

Work continues to increase regular giving in order to sustain and grow the operations envisioned in our Strategic Plan. During the year, we successfully transitioned fixed-term roles, previously funded by the Project and Development Fund, to permanent positions funded from regular operational income. We engaged an external consultant to review our Church Engagement and corresponding data, which will guide our focus on increasing regular giving in the coming year.

We regard the lawful and correct treatment of personal information as of paramount importance, and we have policies and procedures in place to be compliant with the Data Protection Act 2018. We ensure that staff are fully trained and understand their responsibilities in their respective areas.

We take pride in treating the wishes of our donors and their privacy with the utmost respect. We contact supporters in the ways that they prefer, adapting them as needed. Supporters can change

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

their preferences at any time, and we will not contact them if they ask us not to. We never share names, addresses or other personal information with third parties for charity, commercial or fundraising purposes. We appreciate feedback from supporters and the public and we review our fundraising activities in the light of any feedback and complaints we may receive. We received four (2024: one) fundraising complaints this year, three relating to fundraising mailing permissions, and one from a customer who was struggling with our online systems. All complaints have been resolved satisfactorily and none were deemed by the team to be serious and requiring referral to the Fundraising Regulator.

Digital infrastructure

In January 2025, we significantly improved SU’s website by launching a new e-commerce platform, making our complete suite of Revealing Jesus resources accessible to the widest audience (available at su.org.uk/resources). Users now find it easier to identify relevant products, with free and paid resources integrated into a single checkout process. Enhanced data collection also provides a fuller picture of resource usage. Additionally, this update allows online orders to be sent directly to the distributor without manual processing, increasing our efficiency and delivery speed.

Environmental impact

We have continued to implement our Environmental Policy, recognising that, in Scripture, God specifically commands mankind to take care of his creation. This commitment to environmental stewardship is reflected in various aspects of our operations, activities and events.

We continue to see the benefits of the solar panels that were installed in the National Office. These panels have significantly reduced our reliance on non-renewable energy sources, contributing to a reduction in our carbon footprint.

In our daily operations and the events we run, we actively recycle consumables wherever possible. This includes paper, plastics and electronic waste. Additionally, we have made progress in reducing the use of single-use plastics across all our operations.

We have implemented measures to reduce paper usage, including promoting digital documentation and communication, which not only reduces waste but also enhances efficiency.

We encourage the use of public transportation and car sharing wherever possible. For longer distances, virtual meetings are encouraged to minimise the environmental impact of travel, unless there is an operational imperative to meet in person.

The adoption of flexible working arrangements, including working from home, has reduced the need for daily commuting, thereby lowering our overall carbon emissions.

We are committed to working with suppliers who share our environmental values. We prioritise partnerships with those who have robust sustainable practices, including the use of eco-friendly materials and processes, where it is financially viable to do so. All text paper used for the printing of our Bible Reading guides is from a FSC certified mill and the cover is from a PEFC certified mill.

Investments

A portion of SU’s reserves has been identified as available for investment and held as long-term reserves (£1,185,000 as at 31 March 2025 (£2,428,000 as at 31 March 2024)). This includes a capital endowment (£651,000 as at 31 March 2025 (£668,000 as at 31 March 2024)). In addition, we hold short term cash investments of £23,000 (£22,000 as at 31 March 2024) and disinvested cash of £800,000 (£1,015,000 as at 31 March 2024) . Income from the General Fund portfolio is reinvested whilst income from the Endowment Fund is used as restricted income to meet expenditure for the mission work of SU in England and Wales, and especially for work in schools.

We have been drawing on reserves to fund projects and our continuing investment in Revealing Jesus Pioneers and Sports Mission Pioneers. Close communication with our investment manager has

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

allowed us to draw down funds at attractive moments in the market and to optimise the short-term returns on cash that has been disinvested.

Please see the Investment Policy and Performance section (page 12) for an overview of the investments performance during the year.

Involving volunteers

SU is a volunteer-led movement, and we are grateful to the many individuals who give their time, energy and skills in support of SU. Volunteering at SU comes in many forms, including at holidays, missions, regional and national events and in governance, and volunteers join in our mission from a wide range of backgrounds, bringing a rich and diverse range of experiences, expertise and gifts. Recruiting sufficient volunteers has remained a challenge post-pandemic, but we continue to trust God to provide the workers for the harvest. Over the past year we created 1,428 (2024: 1,342) known opportunities for volunteer involvement, equivalent to 5,536 (2024: 5,282) working weeks, or 118 (2024: 112) full-time staff. These individuals have contributed significantly to the mission activity of the Movement, which would not be possible without them. Of these volunteer opportunities, 34 (2024:32) related to governance of the Charitable Company (for example, trustees and Council members) and therefore could not be filled by staff. These governance volunteers contributed the estimated equivalent of 58 (2024:56) working weeks.

Most opportunities for volunteer involvement relate to events, but many volunteers are becoming involved in regional and national initiatives.

In addition to SU volunteers, our local mission partnership programme involves many hundreds of volunteers working alongside 100 (2024:105) workers employed by 54 (2024:56) trusts.

Our Revealing Jesus strategy is also volunteer-focused; equipping and inspiring individuals in their mission with the 95, and supporting local churches to raise up church volunteers as Faith Guides to be equipped by SU Mission Enablers to reach out to the 95.

We have not included in our financial statements the value that volunteers bring through the time which they dedicate to the mission of the Movement, but we thank God and we thank each one of them for it all.

Supporting global partnership

There are over 130 independent SU movements around the world working in around 120 countries, all of which are united by Scripture Union’s aims, belief and working principles. SU England and Wales is one such movement. Each national movement seeks to work through local people in ways that are appropriate to the national culture, and the number of staff is typically very small compared to the number of volunteers. Facilitated by Scripture Union International, staff and volunteers globally pray for and support each other, share ideas and resources and have joint projects and publications. Extended partnerships have also been established between countries to provide additional support and funding.

SU England and Wales makes grants to support SU projects and other national SU movements around the world. The grants approved during the year totalled £71,000 (2024: £45,000). Amongst the projects supported were enabling children and young people from Ukraine to attend an SU residential camp in Hungary, the distribution of Bibles and Christian literature in Ukraine, the development of a Trauma Informed schools programme in South Africa and development of ministry for Roma children in Serbia. In addition to the grants made from our own resources, we receive gifts from our supporters restricted for international purposes which we use to make grants to support ongoing SU mission and specific SU projects in other parts of the world. Such grants this year totalled £79,000 (2024: £83,000) (see the Statement of financial activities, page 22, and Note 4 to the financial statements, pages 29-30).

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Plans for next year and beyond

Since the new Revealing Jesus strategic plan and its associated mission framework was launched in late 2020, the Movement has significantly altered its direction to better enable SU to operationally fulfil its renewed mission to its priority community, and hence better achieve its vision.

In light of changes to senior leadership within the SU executive team, a review of our strategic focus has been undertaken in consultation with staff, Trustees and Council members, in order to enable the entire Movement to fully identify and contribute to the Revealing Jesus strategy. Four key mission initiatives have been established under the banners of Regional Mission, Mission Resources, Residentials and Mission and Mission Partnerships. Clear definitions, focus and targets have been set against these initiatives to ensure progress, and these will be monitored operationally by a recentlyformed strategic development group. The aim is to ensure that all aspects of SU’s work better reflect the Revealing Jesus framework.

In addition to mission initiatives, foundations have been put in place to strengthen the organisation operationally. These foundation focuses include governance and compliance, people and culture, safer spaces, growing our supporters, and maximising organisational efficiency and digital technology at every level. Each year, our focus will be on at least two key areas in each of these foundations which will enable the mission to be better supported. After significant investment in digital systems over the last three years, it is now vital that we maximise the efficiencies that these systems afford.

Alongside the key mission initiatives and foundational work mentioned above, we have sought to provide greater clarity and focus on our goals. As a result, the wording of our vision and mission statements (as stated on page 3) was updated from April 2025: Vision: Mobilise a movement to see a new generation with a vibrant faith in Jesus; Mission: Equip churches and individuals in England and Wales to Reveal Jesus to the 95.

The implementation of this new approach has meant some reorganisation. We have merged our south-east and south-west regions to create a new South region. We have created a new directorate to oversee development and distribution of our physical and digital mission content, and a Mission Resource Director was appointed. We are looking to streamline processes around our missions and increase the number of residentials that are ‘95’ focussed. Finally, we are looking to maximise partnerships both locally and nationally to accelerate the Revealing Jesus strategic roll out. Whilst we continue to invest funds to enable mission delivery, we are seeking to move towards a more balanced income and expenditure profile year on year. One key focus area to achieve this goal is to increase our church engagement in the coming year through a targeted campaign.

Financial review

Financial position

We thank God and our many supporters for their financial generosity in funding SU’s work, especially during the current difficult economic climate. We are extremely thankful for the faithfulness of our supporters as they continue to financially support the movement, and we have been blessed with an increase in donation income. We continue to be blessed by legacy income, but we also recognise that it is not wise to rely on legacy income in the long term and are therefore investing in growing our supporter base with specific new initiatives to encourage younger supporters to join with us.

For the year ended 31 March 2025, we had an overall deficit of £977,000, compared to a deficit of £863,000 last year. This reflects our continued deliberate investment in the Revealing Jesus strategy – see the Implementing our Revealing Jesus strategy section starting on page 5 for more details.

Project and Development Fund (PDF) reserves have funded our investment in the new resource centre (see page 5) and fixed-term mission roles, both of which have demonstrated the effectiveness of our Revealing Jesus strategy. Due to success in the fixed-term mission roles, these have been established

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

as permanent roles effective from 1 April 2025. As we have now delivered our significant project plans, there is no further requirement for PDF reserves, and the balance of the Fund was moved to our general reserves on 31 March 2025. We plan to significantly reduce our financial deficits over the next two years and invest in resources to grow donation income.

Total gift income, including restricted gift income but excluding legacies, amounted to £2,149,000 which represents an increase of 3% from £2,084,000 in the previous year. It includes gifts of £79,000 restricted for projects run by other national SU movements. Unrestricted legacy income of £1,299,000 was received; this is 40% higher than last year at £925,000. Further details are included in the fundraising section above (page 7). Holidays and Mission income at £384,000 is lower than last year’s £456,000. Publishing sales and royalty income at £733,000 is 8% higher when compared to last year’s £681,000. Publishing activity continues to be focused on a narrow range of products that directly support our Revealing Jesus strategy or key needs of our supporter base.

Total income at £4,715,000 is £500,000 higher than the previous year (11% increase). Meanwhile total expenditure of £5,714,000 is £471,000 higher than last year (8% increase), driven primarily by the impairment adjustment to the value of the National Office building (see Note 7 page 31) and investment in digital infrastructure (see page 8).

For the year ending 31 March 2026, the Trustees aim to reduce the deficit, and planned expenditure and income generation is in line with the reserves policy (see below). The budgeted General Fund expenditure is planned to exceed budgeted income by £674,000, as we continue to increase the adoption of our Revealing Jesus framework.

Reserves review

Our reserves have clearly reduced given the overall deficit for the year, and at 31 March 2025 amounted to £3,922,000 (2024: £4,899,000). The Trustees set aside funds during the year as described below and in Note 13 to the financial statements (see pages 33-34).

As noted in the Financial position section above, an operating deficit is planned once again for the year ending 31 March 2026, which will further reduce the General Reserves level.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

The level of required General Reserves is reviewed annually using a risk-based approach and within the process of budget preparation for the following year, to ensure that it remains relevant to SU’s current and future position, in particular reflecting the developments necessary to deliver our strategy. It is also included within monthly financial reporting for review by the Trustees throughout the year.

The risk-based approach focuses on the quantification of risk associated with items in the Movement’s Risk Register, together with an assessment of likely correlation of events happening concurrently. As a result, as at 31 March 2025 the Trustees considered it prudent to set the target level of general reserves retained by the Movement at between £1.1m and £1.5m.

Principal funding sources

SU relies substantially on voluntary income to fund our activities (see Fundraising and communications, pages 7-8), with the majority of donations coming from individual regular givers and from major donors. Other income shown in the Statement of Financial Activities (see page 22) includes sales of publications and fees for holidays, training and other events. When setting a price for our paid-for events and resources, appropriate consideration is given to how we can both maximise mission benefit and avoid pricing being a barrier to participation and partnership. We normally do not receive funding from the government, statutory bodies or the National Lottery. This remained true for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Investment policy and performance

The Trustees review the level of investments and cash flow demands periodically to ensure that the level of reserves available for investment remains appropriate for the Movement. SU seeks to produce the best financial return within an acceptable level of risk.

The key risk to long-term reserves is inflation – though volatility in the market can drive significant short-term fluctuations as experienced over the past few years – and our assets are invested to mitigate this risk over the long-term. SU aims to diversify its assets through investment in a multiasset investment fund that reflects SU’s ethical investment policy which specifically excludes companies that generate the majority of their revenue from armaments, gambling, tobacco, alcoholic drinks, production and dissemination of pornographic materials or high interest lending. The Trustees are aware that this may have some impact on investment performance.

Rathbones, our investment managers, continue to manage an investment portfolio of just over £1.2 million for SU. We continue to invest our portfolio of individual securities and pooled funds in Rathbones’ range of Managed Funds for Charities which aligns with SU’s ethical investment policy.

The investment portfolio is 67% invested in equities, with the balance in fixed income and alternatives. For the year to 31st March 2025, the returns of our portfolio were +7.3%, above the charity’s benchmark return of +5.7%. Over five years, returns have been +56.1%, exceeding the benchmark’s return of +53.0%.

The portfolio’s performance over the financial year has been pleasing. Global equity markets delivered solid returns through most of 2024, with US equities leading once again, driven by strong corporate earnings and optimism following the US presidential election. However, sentiment shifted in early 2025, as the USA’s unpredictable trade policy, higher inflation expectations and geopolitical tensions sparked renewed volatility, particularly in US markets. Despite these late headwinds, UK and European equities held up relatively well, supported by more defensive sector exposures and improving fiscal momentum in the EU. Our fixed income holdings have also been resilient, benefitting from good income yields and expectations of interest rates falling. These diversifying exposures away from US equities have allowed the portfolio to be more resilient amid the recent volatility. Whilst the start to 2025 has reminded investors that there are significant risks to economic growth and stock market performance in the short-term, we believe the portfolio remains well positioned for the longterm, and we continue to favour a globally diversified, high-quality approach.

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Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Rathbones also held cash deposits for us valued at £800,000 as at 31st March 2025. These are held as time deposits with maturities structured to fit in with our liquidity requirements, whilst also benefitting from attractive interest rates in excess of 4% for fixed-term money. Our investment policy reflects a shorter-term horizon, as we anticipate utilising our unrestricted investments during the 2025/26 financial year, unless there is an increase in donations.

Principal risks and uncertainties

The Movement has a risk management policy and procedures through which risks arising from existing operations and strategic developments are identified and evaluated. The Leadership Team identifies risks associated with activities, assesses their potential impact and probability of occurrence, and reports on procedures which are in place or are being developed to manage and mitigate the risks. Major risks are highlighted for consideration and monitoring by the Trustees and the suitability and effectiveness of the risk review and management process is monitored by the Audit and Finance Committee (see page 16).

During the year, the Leadership Team and the Trustees carried out detailed reviews of potential reputational, financial, mission and operational risks to the Movement. The major risks to which the Charitable Company is exposed have been reviewed and systems have been established to manage those risks.

Internal control risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects. Security of our IT networks, access control, phishing awareness and malware detection minimise the potential risk of a cyber security breach. Procedures are in place to ensure compliance with legislation, regulation, codes of practice and standards. All procedures are reviewed periodically to ensure that they continue to meet the needs of the Charitable Company.

Two primary risks have been identified:

Criticism, incident or allegation regarding work with children - Key elements of the prayerful management of this risk are safer recruitment processes, regular review of SU’s safeguarding policy, clear lines of responsibility and accountability, input from SU’s safeguarding advisory group, compliance with externally set activity standards and regular training and review.

Failure to generate sufficient income, falling numbers of supporters and mistrust of charities, particularly fundraising activity – Key elements of the management of this risk are prayer, maintaining a focus on trusting God to provide for His mission, ongoing building of personal relationships with donors, implementation of SU’s fundraising strategy, periodic Trustee review of SU’s fundraising ethos and strategy, and implementation of the strategic plan with a clear focus on income generation and expenditure.

Structure, governance and management

Governing document and constitution

SU was established in 1867. It is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 28 October 1893 and registered as a charity on 3 January 1966. It is governed by its Articles of Association which were adopted with effect from 1 October 2009 and amended by special resolution passed on 17 October 2020.

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

Policies and procedures for the recruitment, appointment and induction of all new trustees are in place and maintained by the Trustees.

Responsibility for the trustee recruitment process lies with the Chair of Trustees. Each candidate is interviewed by a panel that usually comprises the Chair, at least one other trustee, and a member of Council. In the case of candidates whom the group believes may be called to be trustees, a second interview by the same or similar panel is normally conducted. Each candidate is assessed having

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

regard to the overall composition of the Board of Trustees, including any skills and experience that its then current members lack. The Trustees themselves may proactively approach and co-opt additional trustees to fill vacancies, and such appointments are effective until the next Annual Meeting.

The Council appoints new trustees and reappoints those who have come to the end of their current term of office and who are eligible, willing and nominated for re-election. Trustees, who are also Directors of the Charitable Company for the purposes of the Companies Act, are appointed for a three-year period in accordance with the Articles of Association. After serving a maximum of three consecutive terms of office, a retiring trustee is not eligible to serve any further term of office until at least one year of non-service has elapsed.

The Articles of Association provide for a minimum of six and a maximum of twelve trustees.

Induction and training of trustees

All trustees receive induction training, information and support to acquire the necessary detail of how the Movement and the Board of Trustees work, so that they can play a full part in discussion and decision-making. Every effort is made to broaden trustees’ knowledge on an individual level so that they are up to date with the whole of the Movement and the Strategic Plan. Where there has not been any previous involvement, care is taken to introduce them to the Movement, with an emphasis on SU’s aims, belief and working principles and the Strategic Plan. Participation in induction processes run principally for new staff is encouraged, both for new trustees and by way of a ‘refresher’. All new and serving trustees are encouraged to attend or participate in a local, regional or national SU holiday, mission or other event as part of their induction and ongoing development.

Organisational structure

The members of the Council are the Members of the Company. The Council appoints the members of the Board of Trustees (listed on page 1) and the Trustees appoint the National Director and approve the process for the appointment of other members of the Leadership Team (also listed on page 1). The National Director and, in relation to their respective areas of responsibility, the members of the Leadership Team, are responsible for the day-to-day running of SU.

A trustee-approved document is in place which describes the governance structure of SU, including the division of powers between the Council and the Trustees and the delegation of powers by the Trustees. The document focuses on the legal structure and legal allocation of powers and responsibilities.

Trustees – The Trustees have ultimate responsibility for the strategic leadership and the management of the affairs of SU in accordance with its Articles of Association and applicable law (including company law and charity law). The Board of Trustees has four scheduled meetings each year and meets physically or by conference call on other occasions as necessary.

The Trustees seek to apply the principles set out in the Charity Governance Code having regard to the aims, belief and working principles of SU, and have implemented a three-year cycle to assess SU’s application of the principles described in the Code. An external review of our compliance is currently being undertaken by an experienced volunteer auditor. Upon completion, their report and recommendations will be carefully considered by the Trustees.

Council – Council provides a forum for the development of spiritual vision and discernment of God’s leading and advises the Trustees on the overall direction of the Movement. It has no executive powers and its key responsibilities are to ensure that the Statement of Aims, Belief and Working Principles is applied, to review the progress made towards fulfilling the Strategic Plan and to elect trustees. The Council, comprising up to 38 members (including trustees and leadership team members), normally meets for a full day twice a year. The aim is for the membership of Council to be broadly representative of SU’s areas of work and community. SU’s Nominations and Advisory Committee has responsibility for proposing individuals for admission as members of the Council (see Sub-committees, page 16).

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also Directors of SU for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company 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), including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland. Under company 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 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:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Charitable Company’s transactions and 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 confirm that:

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.

Qualifying third party indemnity provisions

During the reporting period and up to the date of this report, the Charitable Company maintained liability insurance and third-party indemnity provisions for its Trustees, under which the Charitable Company has agreed to indemnify the Trustees to the extent permitted by law in respect of all liabilities to third parties arising out of, or in connection with, the execution of their powers, duties and responsibilities as Directors of the Charitable Company.

Internal controls

The Trustees have overall responsibility for the system of financial and other controls of the Charitable Company and for providing reassurance that:

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

It is recognised that such a system can provide only reasonable but not absolute assurance against errors and loss. Detailed monthly financial management reports are prepared by the finance team and circulated to the Trustees, Leadership Team and senior management, and are reviewed and discussed at each of the quarterly Board meetings.

The Movement operates a comprehensive annual planning and budgeting process which is approved by the Trustees. Performance is monitored through the use of activity and financial targets and reports made to Trustees comparing actual results against activity targets and the phased budget.

Sub-committees

The Trustees have delegated certain tasks to the Audit and Finance Committee. The Committee, which comprises trustees and volunteers, meets quarterly and has responsibility for:

The Nominations and Advisory Committee, comprising members of Council, a trustee and a staff member, is a sub-committee of Council. It meets as required and has responsibility for:

Management and staff

The Trustees delegate to the National Director the day-to-day management of the Movement and the implementation of policies and other decisions of the Trustees. The National Director may subdelegate the management and implementation and the exercise of powers to members of the Leadership Team (members listed on page 1). The Trustees are thankful to God for a committed staff team who work hard to support volunteers and to advance the aims of the Movement.

Pay and remuneration of key management personnel

The members of the Leadership Team (listed on page 1) are the key management personnel of the Movement in charge of directing, controlling and operating SU on a day-to-day basis.

Members of the Leadership Team need to have a breadth and depth of expertise and credibility which requires drawing from the best senior level talent within the Christian community. This is balanced with seeking to keep salary costs under control and ensuring that senior staff pay is connected to the pay of other staff.

The Trustees annually review and determine the pay of the Leadership Team with reference to comparable national charities’ pay levels (XpertHR Voluntary Sector Salary Survey). The Trustees follow the principle that the pay of the highest paid employee is not more than four times the average full-time-equivalent salary of the administrative-level roles within the Movement.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Details of the employment benefits paid to the Leadership Team during the year are included in Note 5 to the financial statements (page 30).

Related parties

All trustees give of their time freely and no trustee received remuneration during the year. Details of trustees’ expenses and any related party transactions are disclosed in Note 6 to the financial statements (page 31).

Trustees are required to disclose all relevant interests and register them with the Company Secretary and, in accordance with the Movement’s policy, withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises.

Grant-making policy and principles

One of the ways in which SU works out its mission is by setting aside a proportion of income and resources each year to make grants to other national SU movements and to organisations with a very close association to SU, for example local mission partners (see page 6). In addition, we receive gifts from our supporters which we use to make grants to support specific projects in other parts of the world. We do not fund individuals. The overriding purpose of any grant made is to further SU’s mission locally, regionally, nationally or internationally.

Grants are made at the discretion of the Trustees and this responsibility is delegated to the Leadership Team. Robust procedures are followed to ensure that consideration and awarding of grants is in line with the principles set out below, and that the quality and timeliness of reporting meets the requirements of SU’s Audit and Finance Committee (see pages 16). Grant allocations amounting to £162,000 were made during the year (2024: £140,000). (See Note 4 to the financial statements, pages 29-30, for a summary of grant allocations.)

The following principles set out the way in which SU allocates its grants:

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Report of the Trustees (incorporating the Directors’ and Strategic Reports) for year ended 31 March 2025

Appointment of external auditor

MHA was appointed as external auditor in 2019 and has expressed willingness to continue in that capacity.

The auditor, MHA, previously traded through the legal entity MacIntyre Hudson LLP. In response to regulatory changes, MacIntyre Hudson LLP ceased to hold an audit registration with the engagement transitioning to MHA Audit Services LLP.

MHA will be proposed for reappointment in accordance with section 485 of the Companies Act 2006.

The Trustees submit their annual report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the Articles of Association and the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice (FRS 102).

This Trustees’ Annual Report, which incorporates the Strategic Report, was approved by the Trustees in their capacity as Company Directors on 18 July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Richard Godden Chairman

Kim Hurst FCA Honorary Treasurer

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Scripture Union for year ended 31 March 2025

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Scripture Union (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s Responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report.

We are independent of the charitable company 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. Our evaluation of the Trustees’ assessment of the entity’s ability to continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting included critical reviews of budgets and forecasts provided.

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 charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, 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 there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Scripture Union for year ended 31 March 2025

other information. 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of our knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Trustees’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ responsibilities statement included in the Trustees’ Annual Report, the Trustees (who are also the Directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charitable company’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 charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members of Scripture Union for year ended 31 March 2025

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

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 auditor’s report.

Use of this report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Sudhir Singh FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of MHA, Statutory Auditor

London, United Kingdom

Date: 12 August 2025

MHA is the trading name of MHA Audit Services LLP, a limited liability partnership in England and Wales (registered number OC455542)

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Statement of financial activities incorporating an income and expenditure account for year ended 31 March 2025

Notes
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Income and endowments
Income from generated funds:
- Income from donations and
legaciesb
2a
3,047
- Income from investments
2b
109
Income from charitable activities:
- Holidays and missions
384
- Other fee income
4
- Publishing sales and royalties
733
_
Total income
4,277
_
Expenditure
Expenditure on raising funds:
- Cost of raising funds
4
535
Expenditure on charitable activities:
- Face-to-face mission
in England and Wales
4
2,964
- Advocacy
4
152
- Content creation
4
480
- Commercial publishing
4
986
- International activities
4
202
_
Total expenditure
4
5,319
_
Net gain/(loss) on investment
assets
8
39
___
Net (expenditure)/income for
the year being net movement
in fundsc
(1,003)
_
Reconciliation of funds:
Fund balances brought forward
4,092
_
Fund balances carried forward
13
3,089
___		 Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
420
-
18
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
_
___
438
-
_
_
-
-
316
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
79
-
_
_
395
-
_
_
-
(17)
_
___
43
(17)
_
_
139
668
_
_
182
651
_
_		 Total
2025
£’000
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
3,467
2,626
127
39
384
456
4
9
733
681
_
_
4,715
3,811
_
_
535
479
3,280
2,891
152
203
480
175
986
904
281
172
_
_
5,714
4,824
_
_
22
135
_
___
(977)
(878)
_
_
4,899
4,970
_
_
3,922
4,092
_
___		 Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
387
-
17
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
__
_
404
-
_
__
-
-
336
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
83
-
_
_
419
-
_
_
-
30
_
___
(15)
30
_
_
154
638
_
_
139
668
_
___		 Total
2024
£’000
3,013
56
456
9
681
_
4,215
_
479
3,227
203
175
904
255
_
5,243
_
165
_
(863)
_
5,762
_
4,899
_

The Notes on pages 25-36 form part of these financial statements.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

As at 31 March 2025

Balance sheet

Notes
Fixed assets
Tangible assets
7
Investments
8
Total Fixed Assets
Current assets
Short Term Investment Assets
8
Cash equivalent holdings (available on 28 days’ notice)
8
Stocks
9
Debtors
10
Cash at bank and in hand
Total Current Assets
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
11
Net current assets
Total assets less current liabilities
Provisions for liabilities
12
Net assets
The funds of the Charitable Company
13
Unrestricted funds
Fixed assets fundb
Project and development fund
International fund
General fund
Restricted funds
Income fund
Endowment funds
Endowment fund
Total charity funds		 2025-
£’000
546
1,185
____
1,731
____
800
23
133
993
1,112
____
3,061
(869)
____
2,192
____
3,923
(1)
____
3,922
_
546
-
-
2,543
____
3,089
182
651
____
3,922
_		 2024
Restateda
£’000
852
2,428
____
3,280
____
1,015
22
159
517
597
____
2,310
(685)
____
1,625
____
4,905
(6)
____
4,899
_
852
1,539
186
1,515
____
4,092
139
668
____
4,899
_

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees on 18 July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Richard Godden Kim Hurst FCA Chairman Honorary Treasurer

The Notes on pages 25-36 form part of these financial statements.

Company Registration Number 00039828

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Statement of cash flows

for year ended 31 March 2025

Notes
Net cash (used in) operating activities
See (a) below
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received
2b
Dividends received
2b
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
7
Sale of investments
8
Purchase of investments
8
Movement in investment cash
8
Net cash from investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents for the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
See (b) below		 2025
£’000
(1,076)
____
70
57
(15)
800
(35)
714
____
1,591
____
515
597
____
1,112
____		 2024
£’000
(779)
____
17
39
(85)
3,144
(1,961)
(964)
____
190
____
(589)
1,186
____
597
____

Reconciliation of net debt - the Charitable Company does not have any debt in the current or prior year. There was no change in cash and cash equivalents due to exchange rate movements during the year (2024: no change).

Notes to statement of cash flows

(a) Reconciliation of net (expenditure) for the year
Notes
Net (expenditure) for the reporting period
See SOFA
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges
7
Capital Impairments
7
Net (profit) on investments
8
Dividends and interest from investments
2b
Decrease/(increase) in stocks
9
(Increase)/decrease/ in debtors
10
Increase/(decrease) in creditors
11
(Increase) in provision for pensions
12
Net cash (used in) operating activities
(b) Cash and cash equivalents
Notes
Cash at bank and in hand
See Balance Sheet
Net funds		 2025
£’000
(977)
74
247
(22)
(127)
26
(476)
184
(5)
_
(1,076)
_
2025
£’000
1,112
____
1,112
____		 2024
£’000
(863)
71
-
(165)
(56)
(12)
366
(115)
(5)
_
(779)
_
2024
£’000
597
____
597
____

The Notes on pages 25-36 form part of these financial statements.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

1. Accounting policies

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the accounts are as follows:

SU constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

These financial statements are presented in £’000s.

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about SU’s ability to continue as a going concern. For the year ending 31 March 2026, an operating deficit is planned. Income is reviewed regularly against budget targets. Budgets and forecasts include the use of scenario analysis to support decision making. In addition to ownership of a building used as the national office and long-term reserves, SU has a healthy cash balance. Cash flow forecasts indicate that ongoing operational activity will continue beyond the twelve months from signature of these financial statements.

Publishing sales represent the amounts receivable for goods sold in the normal course of business, net of trade discounts and Value Added Tax (VAT).

Interest on funds held on deposit are accrued for in line with the current advised interest rate.

Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been declared and notification of the dividend due has been received.

The Movement receives funds on behalf of other national SU movements. These funds are recognised as income and expended as grants within the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) and are shown as a liability or creditor on the Balance Sheet. The Charitable Company holds these granted funds within a ‘client account’.

No amounts are included in the financial statements for services donated by volunteers.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings. For more information on this attribution refer to Note 1(e).

Charitable expenditure comprises expenditure related to the direct furtherance of SU’s charitable objects. Where costs cannot be directly attributed, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with use of the resources.

Cost of generating funds includes fees paid to fundraising consultants, staff time, database development costs and apportioned overhead costs.

Grants payable are payments made to third parties in the furtherance of SU’s charitable objects. Grant awards are subject to the recipient fulfilling performance conditions. The provision for a multi-year grant is recognised at its present value where settlement is due over more than one year from the date of the award, there are no unfulfilled performance conditions under the control of the Movement that would permit SU to avoid making the future payment(s), settlement is probable, and the effect of discounting is material.

Termination benefits, including redundancy costs, are recognised when the Charitable Company has the obligation to pay the benefits and they can be reliably measured.

The allocation of support and governance costs is set out in Note 4 (pages 29-30). The basis on which these costs are allocated is:

Finance Staff time Human Resources Headcount Facilities National Office Digital Solutions Headcount Mobilisation Staff time Management / Leadership Team Staff time

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

SU provides pensions to a small number of former staff on an unfunded basis. These staff worked for the Movement before a formal pension plan was set up or were ineligible to join a Revenue approved scheme. All the people entitled to such pensions are either retired or no longer employed by SU and the regular cost of the scheme is immaterial. Assessment of the unfunded pension liability is carried out annually and appropriate provision made in the Balance Sheet and the SOFA. SU’s contribution is restricted to the contributions disclosed in Note 5 (page 30). There were no outstanding contributions at the end of the year.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

2. Income

2a. Income from donations and legacies

Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
Donations
1,748
401
-
Legacies
1,299
19
-
_
_
_
3,047
420
-
_
_
_		 Total
2025
£’000
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
2,149
1,701
383
-
1,318
925
4
-
_
_
_
_
3,467
2,626
387
-
_
_
_
_		 Total
2024
£’000
2,084
929
_
3,013
_

Of the donations income, advertising services donated by GoogleAds was received at a value of £30,149 (2024: £29,643) and was attributable to restricted income.

2b. Income from investments
Interest receivable
Dividends receivable		 2025
£’000
70
57
____
127
____		 2024
£’000
17
39
____
56
____

Of the investment income, £18,000 (2024: £17,000) was attributable to restricted income with the balance of £109,000 (2024: £39,000) adding to unrestricted funds.

3. Net income for the year is stated after charging:
Auditor remuneration: Audit fee
Auditor remuneration: Other services (corporation tax)
Depreciation charges
Operating lease rentals: machinery		 2025
£’000
27
1
74
4
____		 2024
£’000
23
2
71
4
____

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

4. Expenditure Grant funding of activities Support costs
(see below) Direct costs (see below) Total 2025 Total 2024
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Costs of raising funds - 139 396 535 479
Face-to-face mission in England and Wales
12		 2,241 1,027 3,280 3,227
Advocacy - 59 93 152 203
Content creation - 216 264 480 175
Commercial publishing - 702 284 986 904
International activities 150 26 105 281 255
____ ___ ____ ____ ____
Total 2025 162 3,383 2,169 5,714 5,243
____ ___ ____ ____ ____
Total 2024 140
____		 3,544
___		 1,559
____		 5,243
____

Full comparative numbers for year ended 31 March 2024 are included as a separate Note on page 35.

Analysis of support costs
Finance
£’000
Human
Resources
£’000
Costs of raising funds
103
3
Face-to-face mission in
England and Wales
121
30
Advocacy
12
1
Content creation
42
3
Commercial publishing
31
5
International activities
34
1
__
_
Total 2025
343
43
_
_
Total 2024
254
49

____
Basis of allocation
Staff time
Headcount
N
H		 Facilities
£’000
Digital
Solutions
£’000
Mobilisation
£’000
Management
/ Leadership
Team
£’000
Total 2025
£’000
Total 2024
£,000
62
98
109
21
396
361
161
547
37
131
1,027
748
23
41
10
6
93
162
69
105
26
19
264
123
85
118
5
40
284
122
16
17
29
8
105
43
_
_
_
_
_
_
416
926
216
225
2,169
1,559
_
_
_
_
_
__
139
585
305
227
1,559
_
_
_
_
_____
ational
Office
eadcount
Headcount
Staff time
Staff time

The basis on which costs have been allocated is outlined in Note 1(e) (page 26). Cost allocation includes an element of judgement and SU has had to consider the cost benefit of detailed calculations and record keeping. To ensure full-cost recovery on projects, SU adopts a policy of allocating costs to the respective cost headings through the year. This allocation includes support costs where they are directly attributable. The support costs shown are therefore a best estimate of the costs that have been so allocated.

The increase in support costs during the year for Facilities is primarily due to the impairment adjustment to the value of the National Office (see Note 7 page 31) and for Digital Solutions due to investment in digital infrastructure (see page 8).

Included within support costs is £61,000 (2024: £54,000) of Governance costs which comprise all costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the Charitable Company. It includes external audit costs of £27,000 (2024: £23,000), Board and Council meeting costs of £7,000 (2024: £6,000) and an allocation of indirect costs to cover support from members of staff of £27,000 (2024: £25,000).

Grant activity in furtherance of the
Charitable Company’s objects
Activities
undertaken directly
£’000
Grant funding
of activities
£’000
Support
Costs
£’000
Total 2025
£’000
International grant activity
Worldwide
-
54
38
92
Africa
-
36
25
61
Former Soviet Republics
-
26
19
45
Europe
-
14
10
24
Americas
-
10
7
17
Pacific
-
6
4
10
Asia
-
2
1
3
Rest of Britain & Northern Ireland
-
2
1
3
_
_
_
_
Grant activity - international
-
150
105
255
Grant activity - England and Wales
39
12
15
66
_
_
_
_
Total 2025
39
162
120
321
_
_
_
_
Total 2024
33
140
63
236
_
_
_
_		 Total
2024
£’000
38
42
19
40
13
9
9
4
_
174
62
_
236
_

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

Grant allocations amounting to £162,000 (2024: £140,000) were made during the year. There were no new multiyear grant commitments (2024: £nil) which are payable in future years. There were no grant commitments (2024: £nil) accrued at the start of the year which remain payable in future years.

Charitable commitments accrued Movement in recognised funding commitments during the year £’000 Grant commitments accrued at the start of the year - New grant commitments charged to the Statement of Financial Activities during the year 162 Grants paid during the year (162) _ Amount of grant commitments accrued as at 31 March 2025 - _

Movement in recognised funding commitments during the year

Further details on grants are available on request to the Movement.

SU England and Wales works in partnership with, and makes grants to, independent SU movements around the world as noted on pages 9and 17.

5. Staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel

Staff costs
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Reorganisation costs
Pension costs
Scripture Union (L&G) Personal Pension Plan
Unfunded pension scheme
Average number of employees, analysed by function
Income generation
Advocacy
Face-to-face mission in England and Wales
Content creation
Commercial publishing
International activities
Administration and support of staff and volunteers		 2025
£’000
2,348

229

82
246

5
_
2,910
_
2025
Number
4
1
43
4
8
1
15
_
76
_		 2024
£’000
2,350
230
18
229
5
_
2,832
_
2024
Number
6
3
44
4
6
1
11
_
75
_

The average number of employees during the year was 76 (2024: 75), including 32 (2024: 22) part-time employees, with no adjustment in the above table to take account of the number of hours worked. The average number of full-time equivalent employees during the year was 61 (2024: 68).

Contractual reorganisation costs of £81,000 were incurred during the year (2024: £9,000 contractual and £9,000 non-contractual under the authority of the Trustees considered to be in the Charity’s best interests). These costs relate to contractual obligations arising from the organisational restructuring, including redundancy and termination payments. We recognise reorganisation costs, including redundancy and termination payments, as liabilities and expenses in the period in which the obligation arises, in accordance with our accounting policy for employee benefits. The £81,000 is the total cost of the reorganisation and is fully expensed in the financial year ended 31 March 2025.

SU’s key management personnel are the members of the Leadership Team (listed on page 1). The employment benefits of the key management personnel – including employer pension and national insurance contributions – totalled £365,000 (2024: £352,000).

During the year, four employees (2024: three employees) earned between £60,001 and £70,000, one employee (2024: no employee) earned between £70,001 and £80,000, one employee (2024: no employee) earned between £80,001 and £90,000 and no employee (2024: one employee) earned between £90,001 and £100,000, excluding employer pension contributions. This includes individuals who received redundancy and lieu of notice payments relating to the reorganisation referred to above. Excluding these costs, two employees earned between £60,001 and £70,000 and one employee earned between £80,001 and £90,000 in the year ended 31 March 2025.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

6. Related Parties

The Trustees received no emoluments in their role as trustees during the year, but ten of eleven trustees received reimbursement of travel expenses totalling £1,427 (2024: £3,070 reimbursed to ten of ten trustees).

7. Tangible fixed assets
Cost:
Freehold land
and buildings
£’000
At 1 April 2024
810
Additions
-
Disposals
-
_
At 31 March 2025
810
_
Depreciation:
At 1 April 2024
130
Charge for year
16
Disposals
-
_
At 31 March 2025
146
_
Impairment:
At 1 April 2024
-
Charge for year
247
Disposals
-
_
At 31 March 2025
247
_
Net book value:
At 31 March 2025
417
_
At 31 March 2024
680
_		 7. Tangible fixed assets
Cost:
Freehold land
and buildings
£’000
At 1 April 2024
810
Additions
-
Disposals
-
_
At 31 March 2025
810
_
Depreciation:
At 1 April 2024
130
Charge for year
16
Disposals
-
_
At 31 March 2025
146
_
Impairment:
At 1 April 2024
-
Charge for year
247
Disposals
-
_
At 31 March 2025
247
_
Net book value:
At 31 March 2025
417
_
At 31 March 2024
680
_		 Computer
equipment
£’000

237

14

(17)
_
234
_

198

25

(17)
_
206
_

-

-

-
_
-
_
28
____		 Computer
network
£’000

15

-

-
_
15
_

5

3

-
_
8
_

-

-

-
_
-
_
7
_

10
_		 Fixtures
and fittings
£’000
283
1
-
_
284
_
193
28
-
_
221
_
-
-
-
_
-
_
63
____

Machinery
£’000
Solar panels
£’000

10
34

-
-

-
-
_
_

10
34
__
_

10
1

-
2

-
-
______
_

10
3
_
_

-
-

-
-

-
-
_
_

-
-
_
___

-
31

_
_

-
33

_
_

Machinery
£’000
Solar panels
£’000

10
34

-
-

-
-
_
_

10
34
__
_

10
1

-
2

-
-
______
_

10
3
_
_

-
-

-
-

-
-
_
_

-
-
_
___

-
31

_
_

-
33

_
_
Total
£’000

1,389

15

(17)
_
1,387
_

537

74

(17)
_
594
_

-

247

-
_
247
_
546
____

680
___
39
____
90
____
33
____
852
____

At 31 March 2025, the Trustees had authorised capital expenditure for the ensuing year of £49,000 (2024: £50,000). Disposals as shown on the SOFA are shown net of depreciation. There were no capital commitments as at 31 March 2025 (2024: £nil).

A review was undertaken during the year to assess whether a triggering event had occurred due to structural damage in the National Office building. It was concluded that an impairment adjustment of £247,000 was necessary, which reflects the costs of remedial works to resolve the issue.

8. Investments

Investments at market value
Fixed asset investments
Investment cash
UK Listed Stock Exchange Investments, Unit Trusts and OEICs
Total Fixed asset Investments
Current asset Investments
Short-term cash deposits
Cash equivalent holdings (available on 28 days’ notice)
Total Current asset Investments
Total investments at market value
Movement during the year:
Market value at 1 April
Less: Disposals at open market value
Add: Acquisition at cost
Net gain on revaluation
Movement in investment cash
Market value at 31 March		 2025
£’000
-
1,185
_
1,185
_
800
23
_
823
_
2,008
_
3,465
(800)
35
22
(714)
_
2,008
____		 2024
£’000
500
1,928
_
2,428
_
1,015
22
_
1,037
_
3,465
_
3,519
(3,144)
1,961
165
964
_
3,465
____

The historic cost of investments is £1,899,000 (2024: £3,258,000).

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

9. Stocks
2025
£’000
Work in progress
36
Finished goods
97
_
133
_
Value of stock recognised as an expense on the SOFA is £179,000 (2024: £175,000).
10. Debtors
2025
£’000
Trade debtors
102
Tax recoverable
15
Other debtors
-
Legacies receivable
677
Prepayments and accrued income
199
_
993
_		 2024
£’000
31
128
_
159
_
2024
£’000
49
64
10
323
71
_
517
_

Value of stock recognised as an expense on the SOFA is £179,000 (2024: £175,000).

Prior to sign-off of the financial statements, SU has been notified of further legacies with an estimated value of £541,000 (2024: £743,000). In accordance with Note 1(c) as noted on page 25, it was not considered appropriate to accrue for this amount in the financial statements, as at 31 March 2025 all criteria for recognising legacy income in these instances had not been met.

11. Creditors

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
Accruals and deferred income
Taxation and social security costs
Interest free loans from supporters
Other creditors
Deferred income
Deferred income at 1 April
Resources deferred during the year
Amounts released from previous periods
Deferred income at 31 March		 2025
£’000
429
348
63
20
9
_
869
_
2025
£’000
163
197
(163)
_
197
_		 2024
£’000
245
356
60
20
4
_
685
_
2024
£’000
159
163
(159)
_
163
_

Deferred income relates to subscriptions on dated published products and holiday income in advance of the event taking place.

12. Provisions for liabilities
Ex-gratia pensions
Balance at start of year
Pensions paid
Increase in provision
Balance at end of year		 2025
£’000
6
(5)
-
_
1
_		 2024
£’000
11
(5)
-
_
6
_

Ex-gratia pensions are provided to a small number of former staff on an unfunded basis. See Note 1(l) (page 27) for more details.

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

13. Statement of funds
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds:
Fixed Assets
Project and Development
International
General fund
Total unrestricted funds
Restricted funds
Income funds:
Endowment income
Gifts for SU overseas
Good News Fund
Google AdWords
Hybrid Research
SU Holiday Fund
Team support
Others
Total restricted funds
Endowment funds
Endowment fund
Total endowment funds
Total funds		 Balance
1 April
2024
£’000
852
1,539
186
_
2,577
1,515
_
4,092
_
-
-
4
-
-
99
-
36
__
139
_
668
_
668
_
4,899
____		 Income
£’000
Expenditure
£’000
Net investment
gains
£’000
-
-
-
-
(652)
-
-
(186)
-
_
_
_
-
(838)
-
4,277
(4,481)
39
_
_
_
4,277
(5,319)
39
_
_
_
18
(18)
-
79
(79)
-
1
-
-
30
(30)
-
41
-
23
(29)
-
210
(210)
-
36
(29)
-
_
_
_
438
(395)
-
_
_
_
-
-
(17)
_
_
_
-
-
(17)
_
_
_
4,715
(5,714)
22
_
_
_		 Transfers
£’000
(306)
(887)
-
_
(1,193)
1,193
_
-
__
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
_
-
_
-
_
-
__
-
__		 Balance
31 March
2025
£’000
546
-
-
_
546
2,543
_
3,089
_
-
-
5
-
41
93
-
43
__
182
_
651
_
651
_
3,922
____

Full comparative numbers for year ended 31 March 2024 are included as a separate Note on page 36.

Unrestricted funds

Designated funds are as follows:

The remaining unrestricted funds, referred to as the General Fund, are available for use in the event of an unanticipated downturn in the level of income received and to fund any deficits on current charitable activities.

Restricted funds

Income funds are as follows:

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

With the exception of in-kind Google AdWords grants, restricted income funds are represented by cash balances.

Endowment funds

The Endowment fund represents a capital endowment which is normally held in a designated portfolio of stocks and shares. Income from the fund is restricted as explained under Restricted Funds: Endowment Income above.

Analysis of funds by asset Analysis of funds by asset Tangible fixed Fixed asset Liabilities and
assets Investments Current assets provisions Total 2025
Funds £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
General - 1,185 2,227 (869) 2,543
Designated 546 - - - 546
Restricted - - 182 - 182
Endowment - - 651 - 651
____ ____ ____ ____ ____
Total 546
____		 1,185
____		 3,060
____		 (869)
____		 3,922
____

14. Financial commitments

At 31 March 2025 SU had remaining commitments under non-cancellable leases as follows:

2025 2024
Expiry date Machinery
£’000		 Machinery
£’000
Within one year 5 4
Two to five years 14 6
Over five years 6 -
__ __
Total 25
__		 10
__

The value of lease payments included in the SOFA in the year was £5,000 (2024: £4,000).

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

Comparative data for year ended 31 March 2024

4. Expenditure(2024 comparative) 4. Expenditure(2024 comparative) Grant funding of Grant funding of Grant funding of
activities Support costs
(see below) Direct costs (see below) Total 2024
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Costs of raising funds - 118 361 479
Face-to-face mission in England and Wales 12 2,467 748 3,227
Advocacy - 41 162 203
Content creation - 52 123 175
Commercial publishing - 782 122 904
International activities 128 84 43 255
____ ___ ____ ____
Total 2024 140 3,544 1,559 5,243
____ ___ ____ ____
Analysis of support costs Human Digital Management/
Leadership
Finance Resources Facilities Solutions
Mobilisation
Team
Total 2024
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
£’000
£’000
Costs of raising funds 90 5 26 70 154 16
361
Face-to-face mission in
England and Wales 105 34 67 351 57 134
748
Advocacy 11 2 14 29 61 45
162
Content creation 19 3 12 70 5 14
123
Commercial publishing 27 5 17 53 14 6
122
International activities 2 - 3 12 14 12
43
______ _ _ _ _ _ _
Total 2024 254 49 139 585 305 227
1,559
______ _ _ _ _ _ _
Grant activity in furtherance of
Charitable Company’s objects		 the Activities
undertaken directly
£’000


Grant funding
of activities
£’000

Support
Costs
£’000

Total 2024
£’000
International grant activity
Worldwide - 28 10 38
Africa 2 30 10 42
Americas - 10 3 13
Former Soviet Republics - 14 5 19
Europe 1 29 10 40
Pacific - 7 2 9
Asia - 7 2 9
Rest of Britain & Northern Ireland - 3 1 4
_ _ _ _
Grant activity - international 3 128 43 174
Grant activity - England and Wales 30 12 20 62
_ _ _ _
Total 2024 33
_		 140
_		 63
_		 236
_

Charitable commitments accrued Movement in recognised funding commitments during the year £’000 Grant commitments accrued at the start of the year - New grant commitments charged to the Statement of Financial Activities during the year 140 Grants paid during the year (140) _ Amount of grant commitments accrued as at 31 March 2024 - _

Movement in recognised funding commitments during the year

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

Notes forming part of the financial statements for year ended 31 March 2025

13. Statement of funds (2024 comparative)

Balance
1 April
2023
£’000
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds:
Fixed Assets
839
Project and Development
2,024
International
304
_
3,167
General fund
1,803
_
Total unrestricted funds
4,970
_
Restricted funds
Income funds:
Endowment income
-
Gifts for SU overseas
-
Good News Fund
13
Google AdWords
-
SU Holiday Fund
107
Team support
-
Others
34
__
Total restricted funds
154
_
Endowment funds
Endowment fund
638
_
Total endowment funds
638
_
Total funds
5,762
_
Analysis of funds by asset
Funds
Tangible fixed
assets
£’000
General
-
Designated
852
Restricted
-
Endowment
-
_
Total
852
____		 Income
£’000
Expenditure
£’000
Net investment
(losses)
£’000
Transfers
£’000
Balance
31 March
2024
£’000
-
-
-
13
852
-
(485)
-
-
1,539
-
(118)
-
-
186
_
_
_
__ _
-
(603)
-
13
2,577
3,811
(4,221)
(135)
(13)
1,515
_
_
_ _ _
3,811
(4,824)
(135)
-
4,092
_
_
_
___ _
17
(17)
-
-
-
83
(83)
-
-
-
1
(10)
-
-
4
30
(30)
-
-
-
9
(17)
-
-
99
215
(215)
-
-
-
49
(47)
-
-
36
_
_
_ _
__
404
(419)
-
-
139
_
_
_ _
__
-
-
(30)
-
668
_
_
_ _ _
-
-
(30)
-
668
_
_
_
__ _
4,215
(5,243)
165
-
4,899
_
_
_
_
_



Fixed asset
Investments
£’000
Current assets
£’000
Liabilities and
provisions
£’000
Total 2024
£’000
981
1225
(691)
1,515
801
924
-
2,577
-
139
-
139
668
-
-
668
_
_
_
_
2,450
2,288
(691)
4,899
_
_
_
____

Creating opportunities for children and young people to explore the Bible, respond to Jesus and grow in faith

www.scriptureunion.org.uk

Registered Office: Trinity House Opal Court Opal Drive Fox Milne Milton Keynes MK15 0DF T 01908 856000 info@scriptureunion.org.uk

Limited Company 39828 Registered in England and Wales Registered Charity 213422