2024-03-31-accounts - The Royal Foundation Of St Katharine

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST. KATHARINE

REPORT AND ACCOUNTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

Registered Charity No. 223849

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CONTENTS	PAGE
Legal and Administrative Details	3
Report of the Trustees	8
Independent Auditors’ Report	12
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities	16
Balance Sheet	17
Statement of Cash Flows	18
Notes to the Accounts	19

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

PATRON

Her Majesty Queen Camilla

MEMBERS OF THE COURT

John O’Brien (Chairman) – David Swanney CA (Treasurer and Vice-Chairman) Geoffrey Richards Diana Banks Kay Brock CBE LVO DL Sophie Densham CVO Andrew Grigson Professor Joy Hinson Sheryl Lawrence FCA (from 26 January 2024) Elizabeth Marshall MBE The Rt Rev. & Rt Hon. Dame Sarah Mullally DBE, Bishop of London, ex officio The Ven Roger Preece, ex officio

MASTER

The Venerable Roger Preece

REGISTERED ADDRESS

The Royal Foundation of St Katharine 2 Butcher Row London E14 8DS

Telephone 0300 111 1147 Fax 020 7702 7603 Email info@rfsk.org.uk Website www.rfsk.org.uk

SECRETARY : Michele Price (from 1 January 2024) Graham Cooper (retired 31 December 2023)

SOLICITORS

AUDITORS

BANKERS

Farrer & Co. Saffery LLP Lloyds Bank plc 66 Lincoln’s Inn Fields 71 Queen Victoria Street 210 Commercial Road London WC2A 3LH London EC4V 4BE London E1 2JR

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE CHAIR’S STATEMENT

We were delighted to hear this year that Her Majesty , Queen Camilla has agreed to become the Patron of St Katharine’s, thus continuing the line of succession since the Royal Foundation of St Katharine was established nearly 900 years ago.

I said in my statement last year that we continue to live in challenging times, and this has continued to be the case in the year under review. Although the economy seems slowly to be improving, the hospitality sector has perhaps been slower than most to respond. Nevertheless, the Object of St Katharine’s remains the same: the promotion of Christian values, through worship, hospitality and service, and with a view to developing and coordinating Christian activities of every description for the public benefit, for those of all faiths and none.

The Master’s report again outlines how the Foundation has continued to fulfil its Object, and how the range of activities of St Katharine’s continues to extend.

We were glad when the Charity Commission last year approved our application to make a transfer from our endowment fund to free reserves, allowing us to make good the accumulated deficit at the end of the financial year which had arisen largely in the wake of the Covid pandemic.

Funding the work of the charity through rebuilding our business model profitably has continued to be a challenge. Good progress though has been made and we have seen an improvement in our financial performance on the previous year (outside our endowment fund). The staff have continued to work very hard in trying to close the gap, and I greatly appreciate all that they have done. Work continues on developing our business model with the aim of delivering a longterm financially sustainable approach that would enable us to continue and grow all that we aim to do.

The trustees are pleased that our hospitality offering continues to be applauded by our guests, who value the calm, peace and safety that is St Katharine’s. Our Retreat and community work continues to grow and expand.

We still await a decision from the local authority on the planning application for the Northern Site, on which the Master reports more fully.

During the year, we said goodbye to Dame Anabel Whitehead, a former Lady in Waiting to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, as a trustee and welcomed Sheryl Lawrence, who has extensive finance and board level experience with a number of posts, as non-executive director and a charity trustee.

We firmly believe that the Foundation continues a constant presence for good, both in Limehouse and more widely, and all of us look forward to taki ng the Christian message embodied in St Katharine’s forward into 2025.

John O’Brien Chair of the Court September 2024

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE MASTER’S REPORT

2023-24 has been a year of building capacity and resilience in the management and staff of RFSK and continuing the strategic direction set by the trustees post COVID of restoring and developing the RFSK offer. The main areas of work are outlined as follows.

A Retreat House in East London

The provision of a Retreat House is at the heart of St Katharine’s charitable objectives and for guests to be able to experience a place of peace and tranquillity in the heart of the busyness of London life is often commented on by guests in their feedback.

Some come to experience the guided, led retreats with inspirational writers, poets, artist or theologians. Others might come to the Open Reflective Days to enjoy a day of shared silence with others along with good hospitality.

Others may discover St Katharine’s via the online travel agents. And when they arrive, they realise they are in a very different setting to a normal hotel. The green space, ancient trees, historic Georgian house and the chapel with the medieval furnishings all create an extraordinary setting to be a place of peace.

The daily pattern of prayer is open to all and includes morning and midday prayer that is led by the chaplain and the prayer team. This spiritual underpinning is a key part of St Kat harine’s life.

The RFSK led retreat offer for 2024 included speakers such as Richard Carter, Christopher Chapman, Mark Oakley, Jonny Baker and Brian Draper. Over 340 attended Open Reflective Days and many stayed over on the Sundy to enjoy more time at the centre.

We continue to host the London Diocese ordination retreat for all those who are about to be ordained at St Paul’s Cathedral. The four days spent at St Katharine’s are a special part of their final preparation that marks the start of a new ministry.

The feedback received from our numerous guests confirms that people do experience something very special during their stay, often describing feelings of being rested, renewed and encouraged in their faith journey through their time here with us.

Over 12,000 bedroom-nights were used by our guests during the year all enjoying this unique urban oasis.

Partnerships to support the work this year included St Pauls Cathedral Institute, CrossRoads Counselling and The Spirituals Gospel Chor, which was appointed as “Choir in Residence” bringing their vibrant, energy filled inspirational worship to the chapel. McCabe Pilgrimage have brought their expertise in pilgrimage programmes and have developed a residential London pilgrimage for 2025.

A meeting and event space for transforming organisations

The charities, missions and not-for- profit groups that use St Katharine’s for their trustee meetings, management retreats or training sessions comprise many of the most significant charities in the UK and Internationally. S t Katharine’s high standard of catering, combined with rooms that are light and looking onto the peaceful gardens, complete with advanced audio visual equipment, continues to be an attractive offer. In this context St Katharine’s exists to allow other organisations to have space to do their transforming work at our location.

During the year we hosted over 1500 different events with 18,000 delegates spending time with us.

Promoting Retreats

As part of the Trustees strategic vision for RFSK to raise National awareness of retreats with RFSK as a centre of excellence – encouraging Retreats for all and promoting retreats around the country. The inaugural National Retreat Week – renew:all took place from 23[rd] – 30[th] September 2023, launching the initiative to introduce new audiences to the benefits of contemplation, prayer and retreat activities rooted in ancient and contemporary Christian traditions.

Through the online resources, web sites, blogs and other media. We managed to see over 280,000 people connected to the message, with over 100,000 people actively engaging with content. There were around 4000 connections with related

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE MASTER’S REPORT

to retreat, with around 1200 active participants. 40 retreat houses took part in the launch and respected retreat leaders such as Archbishop of York, Malcolm Guite, John Bell, Richard Carter and Brian Draper all contributed content.

renew:all continues to develop for 2024 and is intended to develop more content and reach leading up to 21-27[th] September 2024 as the next National Retreat Week. So far RFSK has invested all the funds to create this national project (c£50K) and is looking for Grants to cover the future costs.

Serve the Local Community

The Yurt Community Café continues to be a significant public face of the Royal Foundation open seven days a week and hosting a variety of community activities. During the year, we served 282,000 items, that represents over 64,300 individual visits.

Community activities are diverse in reach and varied in content. A weekly lunch club, in partnership with the Limehouse Project, provides a nutritious meal at no charge to isolated residents living nearby. Links with the NHS-funded social prescribing network has allowed individuals to find a place of support and wellbeing in the St Katharine’s commun ity work.

Workshops around photography, poetry, knitting, and community gardening are all reaching different people with activities that support mental health and wellbeing. There is also a group providing drama for adults with learning difficulties that are able to have to use our community space. Thanks to a generous donation, we were able to design and build an outdoor meditation garden, inspired by monastic gardens. This is now open to the general public using the area around the Yurt.

Music and Arts continue to bring people together, and along with an outdoor music festival by the Yurt, there has been a programme of music of different styles in the chapel. Candlemas 2024, saw the Yurt, Precinct and Chapel bathed in an immersive light show, along with ambient music and meditations to help people understand the Christian Festival of Candlemas.

Connect and Change

RFSK continues to work on the area of food poverty following the conference we hosted in May 2023. From the conference, the Tower Hamlets Food Poverty Strategy Group emerged. Elizabeth Marshall Founder of Bow Foodbank and Court Trustee chairs this meeting supported by a secretariat from University College London. The participants are from local organisations some providing food aid through foodbanks, some food security advocacy and faith groups.

We are supporting various other Food Poverty fora in the Borough including Fair Food Futures UK - joint research between UCL and University of York comparing and contrasting food poverty in Tower Hamlets and Bradford and proposing innovative and effective models of practice.

We hosted the Felix Project teams here at RFSK. It is the first time their chefs and depots teams have had an awayday. They were delighted with our support for their work. The Felix project provide food for our Limehouse Aid foodbank.

Recognising the significant personal challenges that Charity Leaders face in their work, St Katharine’s is in the third year of our leadership development programme to support senior leaders of charitable organisations with a two- day retreat led by clinical psychologist, Dr Roger Bretherton of Lincoln University. This was preceded by a reunion of those who had participated in the programme before. RFSK wants to support and recognise the challenges senior leaders experience and invest in Strength Based resources to help.

Developing the Northern Site

After more than two years since submission, we are still waiting for a determination from Tower Hamlets Local Authority for planning permission. Our scheme, will bring much needed permanent community facilities, along with residential accommodation, one third of which will be affordable and social housing. More guest bedrooms around a new attractive courtyard will allow more guests to enjoy the facilities that St Katharine’s offers. There will also be an extensive package of community benefits and space including a double height permanent community café to replace the temporary Yurt tent.

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE MASTER’S REPORT

The Need for Generous Giving

The charitable work of St Katharine’s has been encouraged and facilitated through generous giving which has supported the work. This will be more of a priority in the future as the local needs are so great and the current resources are stretched. Legacy giving will also be an important component of supporting the charitable work.

RFSK provides generous subsidies to Charities and Non-Profits to allow them to use the facilities. In this year, these were in the region of £200,000. The investment in community and retreat work as in the region of £160,000

Despite our best efforts, the surplus from Bed and Breakfast, Events and the Yurt Café has not been sufficient to cover all the running costs and charitable work. The deficit on our unrestricted fund in the year under review was £50k (before fund transfers), down from £127k in the previous year However, this represents a further drain on our unrestricted reserves which, at £592k represent only slightly more than the level of free reserves that the trustees want to maintain as a prudent level of three months’ of operating costs. Although the deficit represent only 3% of turnover, it needs to be reduced to allow financial stability and ongoing investment in the charitable work. Senior management continue to work towards this goal.

St Katharine’s benefits from a permanent endowment which is represented by the land and buildings on which it sits and an investment portfolio which generates around £200,000 per year to be used for charitable purposes.

The Trustees have identified the importance of active fund raising to support the current level of charitable work and work is ongoing to identify the best way of encouraging giving to RFSK.

The following giving streams are being developed.

General Membership and Belonging

The Membership scheme is now being actively promoted as a way of supporting the charitable objectives of RFSK as well as receiving some membership benefits related to discount on accommodation and priority booking for retreats. Communication around the scheme includes regular newsletters as well as information available on check out. As at the end of March there were 200 members, including those who have transferred from the Penn Club in 2022.

Legacy Income

During the year RFSK received a generous legacy of £150,000 which is being used for repairs to the building to benefit all members and guests.

Point of Sale Donations

There is now a donations (tap and go) point at Reception if guests wish to make donations.

Trust and Individual Donations

We have received donations of around £50,000 this year. These donations and the legacy have enabled RFSK to deliver a significant part of its charitable work.

The charity will be actively continuing to fund raise through application to Trusts and from individuals that might have a link to St Katharine’s as well as encouraging people to consider the possibility of legacies.

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE MASTER’S REPORT

All the work that is delivered over the year is through the excellent staff team who are committed to giving guests the best experience possible. The regular positive feedback that is received confirms that this is being delivered. However, the managers and staff are always looking to improve and ensure that St Katharine’s delivers what is needed to give people a feeling of being cared for in a pleasant and beautiful environment to help them to rest, meet and to do their best work.

The Venerable Roger Preece Master September 2024

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE TRUSTEES ’ REPORT

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

The Governing Instrument

The Governing Instrument of the Charity is the Ordinances dated 27[th] April 2020 granted by Her Late Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.

The Object of the Charity

The Object of the Charity is the advancement of the Christian religion through worship, hospitality and service and the promotion of Christian values, with a view to developing and promoting Christian activities of every description for the public benefit.

The Patron

Under Queen Eleanor’s charter of 1273, the Patrona ge of the Foundation was reserved unto the Queens of England and the Trustees were delighted that HM The Queen agreed to accept the role.

The Court

The governing body of the Foundation is its Court, which currently consists of 12 trustees.

The Court is assisted in its work by two committees: the Finance, Audit and Risk Committee, which comprises six Trustees, and the Operations Committee, which has seven members.

Day to day operational responsibility for the Foundation is delegated to the Master. The Court ensures that appropriate training is available to its members and provides an induction process for new trustees.

Organisation

The Charity’s work is principally to operate and manage a Conference and Retreat Centre at Butcher Row in Limehouse in East London, which is used by a wide range of local, national and overseas church and charitable bodies, as well as by individuals. The bedrooms provide residential accommodation for up to 87 guests, and the Foundation has meeting rooms for up to 175 people with full catering services in the main building as well as for 80 people in the St Katharine’s Community Centre. Audio-visual, internet and conference support facilities are provided.

The Foundation also operates a Community Café, The Yurt, and provides a space for community activities in St Katharine’s Precinct. St Katharine’s Community Centre has increased the capacity for the Foundation to host community and commercial events. The Foundation continues to fund the Limehouse Aid Foodbank, providing nutritious food to more than 50 families a week, and partners with the Limehouse Project to offer lunch and a warm welcome twice a week in the St Katharine Community Centre. Local Rainbow groups, a Gospel choir and other local charities are now regular users of the space. The Foundation also supports work with refugees by funding a conference for London churches and facilitating ESOL (English for speakers of other languages) classes in the community hub as well as running arts workshops and a community garden club to support the improvement of participants health and well-being. The event offer has been expanded to include a light show and other performance art, in addition to music evenings in The Yurt and concerts in the chapel featuring local artists.

Public benefit

The Court confirms that it has complied with the duty set out in Section 17 of the Charities Act 2011, to have due regard to Public Benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission, in determining the activities undertaken by the Foundation. The Court reviews the activities of the Charity against its aims on an on-going basis and is satisfied that all activities continue to be related to the aims, which are set in such a way as to benefit society as a whole. The benefits are set out in the review of activities shown below , and in the Master’s report .

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE TRUSTEES ’ REPORT

Review of Activities

In the year to 31 March 2024, the Foundation aimed to return to break-even, but for a number of reasons, outlined below, this aim was not realised.

Financial Review

Operating Income and Expenditure

The Foundation’s Income and Expenditure is shown in the Statement of Financial Activities on page 17.

Turnover for the year increased from £3 million in 2023 to just under £3.2 million in 2024.

Inflation has been a major issue in many businesses in the last year, and hospitality has been particularly hard hit. Utility bills continued to be particularly high and although during the period covered by these financial statements inflation was down from its peak, the Foundation again implemented a generous pay increase to all staff as part of its ethical approach to looking after its staff and to acknowledge that the low-paid suffered more in periods of high inflation.

The Foundation’s Assets

The Foundation has wide investment powers under its Ordinances. The Endowment Fund represents its functional assets, being its buildings and Chapel in Butcher Row, the majority of its portfolio investments, and the 0.7 hectares between the Foundation’s pri ncipal site and the Docklands Light Railway viaduct, known as the Northern Site.

Its portfolio investments are held in a range of investment funds set up for charities under Charity Commission schemes, managed by professional investment managers and regularly reviewed by the Trustees. The investments are primarily held to provide an income to finance the Foundation’s activities but in addition are expected to maintain their value in real terms.

Additions to the fixed assets in the current year were negligible and the largest component was the replacement of two parts of the roof. The net book value of the Foundation’s Tangible Fixed Assets at year -end was £ 7,299,153 (2023: £ 7,511,271).

The investment portfolio, managed by CCLA, performed strongly and the value of Investments at year-end was £ 6,956,042 (2023: £ 6,447,402) including a disposal of £100,000 from the CCLA Ethical Fund early in the year.

Net Current Assets were £ 51,876 (2023: £ 86,267) including cash at bank of £ 360,929 (2023: £ 385,548). The majority of the creditor balance is deposits for future bookings.

Notwithstanding the deficit in the Foundation’s operations, the commercial subsidiary, RHL made a profit for the year. The directors of RHL therefore decided that they will continue to make a gift aid payment to the parent Charity.

Risk Management

The Trustees recognise their responsibility for ensuring adequate risk management and internal control; dedicating one of the Court committees to Finance Audit and Risk (FAR) reflects the importance placed on this. A risk register, incorporating control and mitigating measures, is maintained and is subject to regular review by management. The major risks to which the Foundation is exposed, in particular those related to its hospitality operations such as Health and Safety, Food Hygiene and Security, and to its finances are reviewed by Trustees each quarter. Following a review of the risks facing the Foundation the Court has asked the FAR committee to undertake a wholesale review of the risks in conjunction with management.

Independent customer satisfaction statistics are regularly reviewed at management meetings, all investment decisions are authorised by the Chairman and Treasurer, and a business contingency plan is maintained.

The Trustees are satisfied that adequate measures are in hand to manage and minimise all significant risks.

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE TRUSTEES ’ REPORT

Reserves

The Endowment Fund has been regarded as representing the original endowment to provide income for the aims of the charity. The Charity Commission has made an order under section 105 of the Charities Act 2011 to treat a part of the Endowment as being available for general, ie unrestricted, purposes. This is reflected on the statement of financial activities on page 17 and in the funds note on page 26.

Going Concern

The forecast outturn for the current financial year, and for the 2025/26 preliminary forecast, is for a deficit in both years.

The s105 Order from the Charity Commission dated 25 September 2023 eliminated the accumulated deficit on free reserves, and created a positive balance on free reserves at that date. Although the deficit in the year under review, and the expected deficits in the current financial year and in 2025/26 will reduce this balance, the trustees have taken steps to ensure that measures are taken to balance the books on a year-by-year basis by the end of 2025.

The trustees feel is right to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis.

Fundraising

The Trustees take their responsibilities under the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 seriously. The Trustees have reviewed the Charity Commission guidance: Charity fundraising: a guide to trustee duties (CC20) and, having considered the Foundation’s activities, are confident that trustee duties are being fulfilled. The Foundation does not work with any commercial participators or professional fundraisers. The majority of fundraising is from visitors to St Katha rine’s and through its website. The Foundation is currently developing a fundraising strategy but this will not actively solicit donations from the general public more widely. The Trustees are not aware of any complaints made in respect of fundraising during the period under review.

Future Plans

– The future plans are in two parts the development of a sustainable business operating model post pandemic, and the development of the area to the north of the current buildings currently occupied by the Yurt Café and the St Katharine’s Precinct. The Northern Site project is more fully detailed in the Master’s Report.

Remuneration of Key Management Personnel

The levels of remuneration of all key personnel are reviewed annually in the context of similar roles in the Charity Sector or Hospitality industry according to the position.

Statement of Trustees ’ Responsibilities

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

The law applicable to charities in England & Wales requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the income and expenditure of the charity for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP (FRS 102);
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
State whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE TRUSTEES ’ REPORT

The Trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and with the Royal Foundation of St Katharine's Ordinances dated 27 April 2020. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by the Court on 25 September 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

John O’Brien (Chairman) David Swanney CA (Treasurer)

On

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of the Royal Foundation of St Katharine (th e ‘parent charity’) and its subsidiary (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheets, Statement of Cash Flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

give a true and fair view of the state of the group and parent charity’s affairs as at 31 March 2024 and of the group’s and the parent charity’s incom ing resources and application of resources for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group and parent charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we ha ve fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees ’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group or the parent charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

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

Other information

The Trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information; we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

the information given in the Trustees ’ Annual Report is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or
the parent charity has not kept sufficient accounting records; or
the parent charity’s financial statements are not in agreeme nt with the accounting records and returns; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of Trustees

As explained more fully in the Trustees ’ Responsibilities Statement set out on page s 11 and 12, the Trustees are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.

In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the group and the parent charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applica ble, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the group or the parent charity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditors’ responsib ilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditors under the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with regulations made under that Act.

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the group and parent 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

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud are detailed below.

Identifying and assessing risks related to irregularities:

We assessed the susceptibility of the group and parent charity’s financial statements to material misstatement and how fraud might occur, including through discussions with the Trustees and management, discussions within our audit team planning meeting, updating our record of internal controls and ensuring these controls operated as intended. We evaluated possible incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements. We identified laws and regulations that are of significance in the context of the group and parent charity by discussions with Trustees and updating our understanding of the sector in which the group and parent charity operate.

Laws and regulations of direct significance in the context of the group and parent charity include the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and guidance issued by the Charity Commission for England and Wales.

Audit response to risks identified:

We considered the extent of compliance with these laws and regulations as part of our audit procedures on the related financial statement items including a review of financial statement disclosures. We reviewed the parent charity’s records of breaches of laws and regulations, minutes of meetings and correspondence with relevant authorities to identify potential material misstatements arising. We discussed the parent charity’s policies and procedures for compliance with laws and regulations with members of management responsible for compliance.

During the planning meeting with the audit team, the engagement partner drew attention to the key areas which might involve non-compliance with laws and regulations or fraud. We enquired of management whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations or knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud. We addressed the risk of fraud through management override of controls by testing the appropriateness of journal entries and identifying any significant transactions that were unusual or outside the normal course of business. We assessed whether judgements made in making accounting estimates gave rise to a possible indication of management bias. At the completion stage of the audit, the engagement partner’s revi ew included ensuring that the team had approached their work with appropriate professional scepticism and thus the capacity to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the further removed noncompliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it. Also, the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery or intentional misrepresentations, or through collusion.

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities . This description forms part of our auditor’s report.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the parent charity’s Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the parent charity Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other

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REPORT OF THE INDEPENDENT AUDITOR TO THE TRUSTEES OF THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the parent charity and the parent charity’s Trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Saffery LLP Statutory Auditors

71 Queen Victoria Street London EC4V 4BE

Date: 18 November 2024

Saffery LLP is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The notes on pages 20 to 29 form part of these financial statements.

The Statement of Financial Activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All incoming resources and resources expended derive from continuing activities.

A comparable statement of financial activities is provided in note 14

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

BALANCE SHEETS AS AT 31 MARCH 2024

The financial statements were approved by the Court of Trustees on 25 September 2024 and signed on its behalf by:

John O’Brien David Swanney Chair Treasurer On

The notes on pages 20 to 29 form part of these financial statements.

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE

STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

1 ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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) 2[nd] Edition, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The charity meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).

(a) Going Concern

The forecast outturn for the current financial year, and for the 2025/26 preliminary forecast, is for a deficit in both years.

The s105 Order from the Charity Commission dated 25 September 2023 referred to in the trustees ’ report eliminated the accumulated deficit on free reserves, and created a positive balance on free reserves at that date. Although the deficit in the year under review, and the expected deficits in the current financial year and in 2025/26 will reduce this balance, the trustees have taken steps to ensure that measures are taken to balance the books on a year-by-year basis by the end of 2025.

The trustees feel is right to prepare the accounts on a going concern basis.

(b) Income

All income is included in the Statement of Financial Activities when the Charity is legally entitled to the income and the amount can be quantified with reasonable accuracy.

(c) Expenditure

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and, where possible, directly allocated to the related activity. Where costs cannot be directly attributed, they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.

Charitable expenditure consists of all expenditure directly relating to the objects of the Charity. Governance costs include expenditure on compliance with statutory requirements.

Irrecoverable VAT is included with the category of expense to which it relates.

(d) Tangible Fixed Assets

Prior to 31 March 1996 expenditure on fixtures and fittings was written off as incurred. As at that date the Trustees estimated the current value required to be shown in the balance sheet. Subsequent acquisitions or improvements are capitalised at cost when their purchase price exceeds £2,000. The classification of fixed assets in the financial statements has been amended in 2024 to provide greater analysis. Depreciation of tangible fixed assets held for charitable use is calculated by the straight-line method to write off the cost/value over the expected useful lives of the assets as follows:

Freehold buildings	25 to 50 years
Temporary buildings	3 to 10 years
Furniture fixtures and fittings	3 to 10 years
IT, plant and equipment	3 to 10 years

Assets in the course of construction are not depreciated until brought into use.

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

(e) Investments

Investments are stated at market value.

Surpluses or deficits (realised or unrealised) are allocated to the appropriate Fund.

(f) Subsidiary

The charity holds 100 ordinary £1 shares in a wholly owned subsidiary company, Ratcliffe Hospitality Limited, which were valued at cost.

The Statement of Financial Activity on page 16 and Balance Sheet on page 17 incorporate the results and assets and liabilities of Ratcliffe Hospitality respectively.

(g) Funds

The Charity’s Funds comprise the following:

Endowment Fund

The Endowment Fund has been regarded as representing the original endowment to provide income for the aims of the charity.

Ardingly Mission Fund

The Ardingly College Mission Fund consists of investments and cash transferred to the Foundation as Endowment Funds for administration on 1 April 2007. Under the terms of the transfer, the income from the fund is available for the charitable objectives of the Foundation.

Limehouse Aid: The Foundation holds funds donated for the community work of Limehouse Aid.

Unrestricted Funds

The order made by the Charity Commission under s151 of the Charities Act (2002) means that the Foundation now has positive unrestricted funds. These funds are available to spend on the general charitable purposes of the Foundation.

(h) Financial instruments

The charity has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method. At present the charity does not have any bank loans.

(i) Key judgements and uncertainties

In application of the charity’s accounting policies, the Trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

The Trustees consider the main area of judgement to be the assessment of the useful economic life of fixed assets utilised in delivering the charity’s objects, in particular, that of the freehold buildings .

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

(j) Taxation

The Foundation is a registered charity and as such is not liable to tax on income derived wholly from charitable activities. The wholly owned subsidiary, Ratcliffe Hospitality Limited which is the commercial arm of the Foundation remits the entirety of its profits to the Foundation with the benefit of gift aid so as to reduce the taxable profits to nil.

2 INCOME

Income includes £ 8,148 dividend income attributable to the Ardingly Mission Fund (2023 £ 7,762).

3 EXPENDITURE

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The average number of employees was The average number of Full Time Equivalent employees was	Number 2024 Number 2023 58 65
	39 47

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

The number of employees who received remuneration during the year above £60,000 was:

		Number	Number
		2024	2023
£60,000	to £69,999	-	-
£70,000	to £79,999	-	1

The only trustee to receive remuneration is The Venerable Roger Preece for his services as Master to The Foundation for which he was paid a salary of £68,594 and pension contributions of £8,836. In addition, The Master is required to live on site and an apartment is provided by The Foundation. No other trustee received any benefits, or remuneration in either year.

Key Management Personnel are: The Master, Lay Chaplain, Commercial Director, Lead Chefs, Housekeeping Manager, Yurt Manager, Events Manager, Finance Director and Finance Manager who collectively received total remuneration of £ 418,058 (2023: £ 333,932). T he staff included as ‘key personnel’ have changed since 2023 as management structures have changed.

4 Fixed Assets

Group & Charity

All fixed assets are held for charitable use.

The ‘Asset Under Construction’ is primarily the Northern Site development mentioned in the Master ’s Report and includes the cost of professional fees incurred in negotiating with developers and formulating initial, outline plans for the site. The Trustees are confident that even though the development is at an early stage, the value of the work done exceeds the valuation in these financial statements. There are also included some costs associated with the replacement of part of the roof that had not been completed at year end.

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

5 Capital Commitments

At 31 March 2024 there were no capital commitments (2023, none). The Foundation continues to incur expenditure in connection with development of the Northern Site, mainly professional fees for preparing

the submission of a planning application. These costs are capitalised as Assets Under Construction.

6 Investments

The historical cost of the investments is £ 5,018,351 (2023: £5,100,619)

The Charity holds shares in Ratcliffe Hospitality Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary company with a value of £100 (2023: £100)

7 Debtors

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

8 Creditors

9 Analysis of Net Assets between Funds

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

10 Summary of Fund Movements

11 Pension Liability

The Foundation participates in the Church of England Funded Pensions Scheme for stipendiary clergy in respect of The Master. This is a defined benefit pension scheme administered by the Church of England Pensions Board and each participating Responsible Body pays contributions at a common contribution rate applied to pensionable stipends.

The scheme is considered to be a multi-employer scheme as described in section 28 of FRS102. This means that it is not possible to attribute the Scheme’s assets and liabilities to each specific Responsible Body, and so contributions are accounted for as if the Scheme were a defined contribution scheme. The pensions costs charged in the Statement of Financial Activities in the year are contributions payable towards benefits and expenses accrued in that year and amount to £8,836 (2023: £10,643).

12 Operating Lease Commitments

At the reporting end date the Foundation had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

13 Financial Instruments

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

14 COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

For the year ended 31 March 2023

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THE ROYAL FOUNDATION OF ST KATHARINE NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2024

15 Ratcliffe Hospitality Limited

16 Related Party Transactions

The charity had the following transactions with its trading subsidiary Ratcliffe Hospitality Limited:

There were no other related party transactions in the year.