The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Trustee's report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 Registered Charity Number". 231673
Tbe William Leech Foundation Limited- The Foundation Trust Trustee's report and finallcial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 Contents Direclors aod advisors for the year ended 31 Mah 2025.......................................................... Report of the Trustee for the vear ended 31 March 2025..................................................................................... Ethical itivestmeni policy and prtIce$...........-.-...-.................................................. . . Risk managcrnent stAteEnent........ .10 Indelldent auditors, reFOrt to tbe Trustee of The William Leech Foundation Limited- The FoundaLiotL Trugt.................................................................................................................. Ststemcnt of financial &ctivities for the year ellded 31 March 2025....................................................... ... .15 Balancesheetasat31 March 2025........-........................ .16 Statement of accounting policies..............................................-............................................. .17 Notes to the fu>¢11 8tatement5 for the year ended 31 March 2025................................................................. 19
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Directors and advisors for the year ended 31 March 2025 Trnslte The William L¢e£h Foundation Limited Directors of the Tr¥$tee Cothp#ny Andrew BrowTh OBE FRICS (Chair> Alice AmbroThUrMaft FCA FCIS {re8igned 31 JartU8ry 2025) Paul Burrage FCA Maurecn Dixon Dagmar Dvorak CFA IMC Jokn Harri50n ACA Simon Harper FCA (apw)ittted 2 September 2025) Michael Soynson John Marshall Philip Poole FCCA (re8ARned 31 January 2025) William Seddon CFA (Senior Director) John S(ansfeld CEng Fl MarEST MIM¢¢lLE Secretary aRd Regi$tsr¢d Office M¢19 Lant FCA AMCT Bank Thambers 26 Mosl¢y Street Newcastle upon Tyne NEI IDF Indep?lldeut AuditQTS Azets Audit Smi¢¢s Chartered accountants and statutory auditors Bulman House R¢1 CeAire New¢astle upon Tyne NE3 3LS Banker8 Lloyd5 Bank pl¢ 15-21 Northtsmberland Street Monllment Mall Newcastle upon Tynr NEI 7AE Soli¢itors Womble Bond Dickinson LLP The Spark, Drayjnans Way Newcastle Helix Newcastle upon T)ne NE4 5DE Investment Manag¢r$ Columbia ThreadTLeedle Management Ltd Exchange House 12 Primrose Streel Londoo EC2A 2HS Stcwart lttvestors Finsbury Circus House 15 Finsbury Circus Londo EC2M 7EB
The William Leech Foundation Limited- The Foundation Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 As trustee, The William L£ech Foundation Limited Che Trn5" or 'he Trusiee Company-). a company incorporated in England and Wales. presents its report and audId fancial statements of The Williarn L£ech Foundation Limited- The Foundatioll Trust ('The Foundation TTUSI" or'the Trust"} for the year ejthd 31 March 2025. The fjnancial statements have been prepared ill accordance with th¢ Declarati¢)n of TrnsL the stat¢ment of accounting policies s¢t out on pages 17 to 18, the Charities Act 2011 aTLd Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities pr¢parin¥ their fllMncial ststernentg in accordance the Financial Reporting Stsndard applicable iti the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102} {¢ffective l January 20191. Legal and administrative information set out on pagc I Forn part of this report. Strueturety governance and management A Declaration of Trust dated 16 August 1960 (as arnettded) by The William Leerh Foundation Limiied established The Foundation TNst for the benefit of The British and Foreign Bibl¢ Sockety, Church Mission Society, The M¢th(xlist Church in Britsin The Salvation Arniy and The sIety for Promoting Christian Knowledge (coilectively known as "the Five Charities"). The Tn]st was created by a gift from the late Sir Williatll Leech of shares in his buildiug company, William I£ech (Builders) Limited. tn 1976 the building copanY became a public compally with its shares quoted on the London Stock ExchaDgt. and ils. name was ¢hwed to willia Leecll PLC. Approximately half of the shares held by the Tnt weT¢ 501d at that time as part of the flotation arTang¢mentL tn 1985 the remaitiitjg slwes of Williatll Leech PLC were sold on the takeover of the ¢ornpatty by C. H. Beazer (Holdings) PLC. Under the Declaration of Trus4 the income of the Foundation Trnst is to bc applied in equal shares for the ben¢fit of the Five Charities. The Trnst does not actively fundraise but se¢ks ¢0 support the wotk of the Five Charities as detemiined in th¢ Truyt Deed through tbe carEful stewardsknp of the endowment fijnd. t)uring the fmancial y¢ar ended 31 Mah 2(K)8 the Trnstee reviewed the irtvestment ¢)bjcctivts and approv¢d the pr(Trposal ¢0 manage the endowmeni lld on a total reknn basis. This Temoves the constraint of an incom¢ target to allow the investment manager greater flcxibility in the choice of investments and to in¢r¢ase the exposure lo equities. An applicalion was made to the Charity Commisslon to allow the use of the total return strntegy. On 16 May 2008. the Charity Cornrnission produced a sealed Order agreeing to the change. The Nominations and Remuneration Committee of the Trn$tee Compjny provides a forrnai, rigorous and trdnsparent procedure for the appointment of directors to dke Board. Membership consists of four directors. includitig the Chair, Senior Director alld two other dire¢tor8. The members should include at least Olle indq)endent director and at least one direcror fro the five nominated by tbe Five Charities. The current members are Andrew Brown, MaureenDixon. William Seddoll aTLd Sohn Stansfeld and all setved tIOughOut the year. Jolw Stansf¢ld took over as Chair of the Committee from Andrew BroThm in November 2024. When recruiting, the Nominaiions and RemunerationCon]miti¢e Seeks th appointindividualswith the necessary skills to make a kx)sitive contribution to the Boar who are sympathetic to the Tjustee Company's aims and who can Tnake a positive iuwact on its diversity Under the"I'nLStee Company's ¢urr¢nt articles of as80¢iation, directo are appointed foT a terni of three years after which they retlTe and are eligible for re-appointsneni. Dire¢t(Trrs who have served mor¢ than 12 year.8 are eligible for re-appointment for futYhertenll$ of one year. The Board has expre5sedaprefercnce thatthe tem) of directors 18 limited to nine yeary unless there are ¢xceptional circurnstances. •7he onginalbenefiJary thp Mwhodii(AfosloMary&7ciery ('MMS). ljr 2013 th¢pdreniW ofMAISdÈthded tsstreamlttye 11$ op¢rttttons and Ltr a re5ulI MMS wd& ttb&orbed inro The M¥thod4s( Cltwch tn Bri. 7hefvid rt1 re31rictedfvr £%$1¢#&rP0s£S obw¥efty. 7h¢ Truft Deedha5 been 4wivndÉdLO rflecÉ the chaRge ofbeFi¢Js¢sury.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 (¢ontinU} New dictOrY T¢c¢ive a letter of appoititnLent and am inthjction pacL whi¢h includes tbe arti¢le$ of association of the Trustee Co]npany, a short history of the Trust and its structure, annual fu1¢la1 staiements, Board millute5, teTmS of reference of the sub-committees, latest financial forec&8L8. invesrment reports and any other docutnertts considered to be of importance. Th¢ duties of the Investellt Comtllitte¢ are to review the investtnent objectives, asset allocatio ethical investment policy and the perfornLatt¢e of the itivestment managers. It also makes recommendations to the BoaTd concerning the appointrnent of the investment managers and the establishment Cpf suitable benchrnarks. The InveStent Committee nomally meeL8 Wlth the investment managers ai least once a year. The current n]¢mbers are ADdrew Brown. Dagmar Dvorak. John Harrison, Michael Joynson, Marcia Lant and William Seddon. William Seddon twk over as Chair IrotTh Andrew Brown ill November 2024. The BoaTd of the Trustee Company Jneets at quarterly Éntervais at which the directors recVe reports from the tnvestmellt Committeeand the investmentmanagers. ll) addition. the inv¢stm¢ntmanagers make a fomjal presentauon to the Investment Committee each fmancial year. The Board alld Tnvestmellt Committee uonsider investment managernenL reserves, distributloll and risk management policies, attd the perforntsnce of the Investtnent Manager against a range of measures. The day-to-day administration of the Trust is delegated to tbe Director of Finallce. The Tmstee Compally is a member of the Church Investors Gmup. This acts as a forum to enable members to share inforniation and viewy on ethical. social responsibility and wrpoTatr governance matters relating to investment. Directors Having served for tllore than 12 ye8r8, Andrew Browll was reappointed for a fiuther ooe-y¢ar t¢rnk of otTi¢e at the Trustee CoTnpany'5 Annual General Meeting ("AGM"l on 27 November 2024 to continue his terni of oftice as Chair. In addition, Phllip Poole was reappointed as the Bible Society's nominated dircct(Trr for a further one-y&ir term flt the AGM due to the on-going Strdtegic Review. having already served nine years a director. Both reappoilltments w¢r¢ considered to be in the best iuter¢st$ of th¢ Compally. Paul ButTag£. John Hatrison, William Sedd0 Jol]n Stansf¢l(L Dagmar Dvorak and Mi¢ha¢l Joynsoll were also reappoiDtcd as direGtor5 at thi5 AGM. On 31 January 2025 Alice Ambrose-Thurnwi resigned to take up A role at Cathedral and Philip Poole resigned due ill health. Simon Haryer wa4 ap)inted as a director on 2 September 2025. A replacement for Philip is still to be nominatedby the Bible Society. All other diTeKtorg. a8 llamed on page l. setved throughout the fanciaL year and up to th¢ dat¢ of signing the fillaDcial $tateTnents. The Board cottsiders that its members have the necessary skills to conducl its busine58 effectively. Directors, indcnmity InsuTon iw been iti pla¢¢ fvr the Mthole of the year ended 31 March 2025 at a ¢08t of £282 {2024: £324}. Risk management The Board of the Trnstee Company ha5 ¢xamin¢d the Pri1PaI areas of the Trust's OPErations and considered the major risks ill each of these area$. The Trnstee Company m8intsin5 a dctailed risk registerwhith is kepl underregular rcyicw. The director8 have id¢tttified the principal ri8ks to the organisation as being.. Invesknent risks". macro-economi¢ and rna[k ¢(FnditlODS investtnent maoager risk 2. Governance and keypersonnel risks 3. Frdud 4. Repurational risk.
The Williarn Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundatlon Trust Report of the Trustee for the yeAr ended 31 March 2025 {contiLued) Con8ideratioll and management of these risks is a key di]n¢nsioll of Board agendag, and pages 10 and 11 sumtiwise urrent risk mitigation strategies and assessment of risk profile. The Board normally holds rnc¢titigs in person but uses videoconferencing technology for some meeting4 rncluding Conllnitte¢ meetings. In the opillion of the Board of the Trustee Company, the TNst has established resources alld 8yStems whici under nornial circumstallces, thould allow thege risks to be mitigaied to an ao¢eptabL¢ l¢vel in its day-tO•day operatiODS. Objeetives 2nd activities The obje¢iive of the Tru8t 15 the advancement of the Christian religion and this iy achieved by providing financial Support Lo the Five Charities selected as beneficiaries by the founder, thc late Sir William Leech. The Board of the Trustee Company confirnis thht Lt IMS referred to the Charity Commi89ion'9 gelle1 guidanc¢ ott public benefit when reviewing the Trust's aitns and objectives and is satisfi¢d that tlLe requirements have been rnet. The Trustprovides grants to tbe Five Charities, whose tnain pu0$¢ 1$ the advaTLcemeDt of the ChrÈstian rekngioll, and the Board of the Trustee Cotnpauy receives reports from the Five Chariti&4, vAiich detsil their work and the public benefit arising therefrom. The TNst does not have the power (o make grants other than to the Five Ch4riti¢s. Financial growth Set outbelow is a statement showing the growth of tbe endowmeTJt fimd since its creation in 1960.. Value of original gift of shares in William J.eK¢h {Builders) Limiied on 16 August 1960 Value of thc cndowmcni futtd at 31 March 2025 159,250 47,780,980 Fillancial review VdDd investment polley Following approval by the Clwity Commission on 16 May 2008, the Tnjst's investment 4trategy 18 a tottl rettun approach to the irtvestmeni of the pernanent eudowment. The Trustee believes thai the inveythient obj¢¢tives should over the lonB terni enable the investment rnana8ers to produce greater investment rthrns and so in due course this thould lead to greater distributions to the beneficiarics. In ac¢ordance with the ternis of the Order, the Trnstee Collfirms that in identifying the value of the portion of the pernwlent endovmient th&t represent unapplied total return. it hps id¢ntifLed the value ofthe initial foundin8 Rjft tn 1960; and when detejrnining the amount of unappli¢d total retLll ¢0 transfeF to income the Twslee has considered the amountof ill¢OllLe requited to maintain the cuent level of support forthe Five Chantie5 and th¢ lik¢lyneed$ of beneficitiries; and when r&whing the decision a4 to the uttapplied total rettun to transfer lo income. the Ttustee has tAken professional advice from the invesirnellt llwllagers regard]ng the markei outl(xTrK investent trends and yield and the prospects for future ¢api¢al growth. Th¢ inve5trnenls of the Foundation Trnst are ullits held th"rectly by the charity in th¢ Columbia Threadneedle Responsible Global Equiry Fund, the Columbia Threadneedle ResnsIble Sierling Corporate Bond Fund and the Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Ltaders Fulld. The Strwart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Sustaitiabiliry Fund was relabelled to the Stewart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund in December 2024 as a result of the Financial Conduct Autboriry's new Sustainability disclosuTt attd labellillg regime.
The William Leech Follndation LiRnited - The Foundation Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 (eontinued) Th¢ distributions to the Five Clwities are fimded by realising units fTOm the Colutnbia Threadneedl¢ R¢sponsiblt Global Equity Fulld. No income is received the Funds. a¢¢umulate their dividellds and do not pay out any cash. Atty dividends arising in the FuThds will be reflected in their net asset values. Fees payable to Columbia Thr¢adneedle attd Stewart Investors for managing the investsnents are charged againstthe Fund The Trust's work is entirely dependeni on the irtve9tment returns from the eOF1Ment fimd and the perfonnau¢e of the investments in the portfolio durillg the financial year is Teported below. The global stock llkets have continued to be impacted by geopolitical issu¢s with the vaiuc of global equittes falling $18nificantly An the f]rsc quarter of 2025. tn February and Mar¢h 2025, markets rcacted to the impact of policy uncertaLDty L)n growrth and invc%tment as well as the potential inflationary impact (Trf trade restrlctions follovliug tariff announcetnents by President Trwnp. After hL8 re-election in November 2024. Ill allticipaiion of "r¢¢ipro¢al tariffs" being iposed and the potential IpaCt on global trade, stock uMrkets fell sharply on 31 March 2025. Markets fell fLtrther P41 the start of April 2025 once the actual "reciprocal" tariffs were anttounced and rallied 81ightly itt the following days following a pause in the implemcntation date of these tariffs {with the exception otthose imposed on Chin&)- The fvll impacl is therefore still to be seen andthere aTe concerns aroundthe irnpactoll global growth, inflation and interest ratcy. In additioll, major technology stock4 the"Magnificent 7" fell shaTply in the first quarter of 2025 as investor5 questioned theye firms, larg¢ ¢apital Speftdll commitsnents after the Chinese stattsp, D¢cpSc¢k, laun¢lL¢d a new low40st ArtifJ¢ial Intelligence (Al) model. The war in UkraitLe continues and the sithation in the Middle East remains a concern with the potential for fither ealatiOn and threats io supply chain8 given the eontinuillg distupllon to the Red Sea shippillg routes. The outlook for the 2025126 finatscial year becotD¢ challenging with a high kv¢l of uncertainty existing. The proposed US tariff& were broader and steeper expected, rovering more countries and at higher rates. Global trade flows are at greaterri5k and ¢ontinu£d market vtslatility ig expected nations resp(Trnd with retsliatory tariffs or seek Thegotiated solutions. It is possible that higher baseline tsriffs will remain but with the excessive Tates to be negotiated down and tbe impact on inflation, eGontsmic growth and ioter¢$t rat¢5 15 Still to be seen. Our inve.%knent rnana¥ers are looking at th¢ pot¢ntial itnpacts on their underlying portfolio5. Columbia Threadneedle have been making tactical adju5trllellt8 to upgrade portfolio qllality where they believe this is appropriate and reD]ain Gautious not ovcrreacl in the portfolios ai this siage. They believe that their focus on companies with good pricing power 8hould stand them in good stead. They ha a180 reduced their exposure to the IT Sector, whicb is particularly vulnerabk to tariffs. Stewart Investor8 have had a dis&ppoiniing year in t¢rrns of E*rfornI¢e. The Fund has r¢¢ained it5 large overweight position towards. Itldia and underweigbt position to China compared to its benchnwk and has continued to be hit by the reversal in performance of the8e two large m8rkets. From a tariff perspective, Indian phkrniaceuticals are of most concern as most of these companies Sell goods to tbe USA without having manufacturttig agsets in the USA. Stewart Inve5torsh8ve been Iwking to reduce ity holdings in those companies which ate vu]nerdble to tariffs and their strategy coniillues to be to invest in bigh quality compallies that are alig11 with suslainable develLymettt. Th¢ Trustee transferred a total of £1.74Q,175 from the unapplied return of the thdowment fijnd to tbe unre8trictcd fund. The net re8ult of these factors 18 that the etLdow]nent knd decre&sed in value frorn £51,20E,815 ÉO £47,780,980 at 31 March 2025,
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 leontitimed) A total rettm approach is taken to inv¢sth¢nt and the objective of the Distribuiion policy agreed by the T$1¢¢ is to provtde a sustainable and continuing fancial sUPPOrt to the Five Charities. Cunrntly, taking account of the long- lerni nature of the endowm¢nt fund, distribution5 are set at 4/ of the ToIITng five-year avernge of the TThst'$ net asset value. The Trnstee recogr¢ise8 that in establishing the level of distnbution ithas a duty of fairne8 Iow8rds bothpres¢nt and future beneficiaries- tht principle of inier-generauonal equity. Distrbutions kn ¢h¢ Fiv¢ Charities itL the fllwieial y¢ar arooullted to £1,734.000 {2024,, £1,648,020). The risk profile oFthe investrnent portfolio 15 medium to high. The Trnsr is a long-terni investor alld the Try5te¢, on professtonal advic¢, rNnains of the leW that 8 Portfolio weighted towards equities remains appropriate. The total Tetum on the p)nfolio is measured against the Collsumer Price tndex ('CPIH') and a weIghd benchmark reflecting the neutral asset allo¢a¢ion. Achlevements and perforni&nee Inve51tnents In the year ended 31 March 2025 the returll of the Columbia Threadneedle Responsible Global Equity Fund w&8 - 3.lo/g which was below the benchmark (MSCI World index) return of 5.20/ (gross of f¢e5). The Colurnbia Threadneedle Responsible Sterling Bond Fulld's rewrn was 2.20/0 which w85 $lightly below the ben¢1llna liBoxx Non-fjilts all nIatiLt1e$) rettmi of 2.4'h (gross of f¢es).The Stcwart Investors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund's remrn was -0.7 /*? wbich was below the benchmark (MSCI AC Asia Pacific ¢x Japan Net index) rettlln of 6.80A.kn the financial yeaT, tbe Collsumer Prices Index I'CPIH'I rose by 3.4¢1o. Overthe five-year period to 31 M8tth 2025, the anllualised return of the ColutDbiaTbreadlleedle Responsible Glob Equity Fund was I l.O/ts Compared to its benchmark return of 15.7 /0 (gross of fee5)., the annuali5ed return of the Colutnbia ThrEadnEedle Responsible Sterling Bood Fund over 5 yettrs was 4).1 /0 compared to its benchmark return of-0.2/. (gross of fees). Overthe same pcriod, CPIH roge by 25.3 /. The StewartInvestorsAsia Pacific Leaders Fund ha8 rerumed 3.OY. {annualised) since invesLTllent in Julle 2022 against tbe Fund's own benchmark return of 4.11Tr/0. At 31 March 2025. (be portfolio was valued at £47,770,731 and the asset allocation of the Tmst was 90.6010 cr Responsible Global Equity Fund, 1.6/0 cr Responsible Sterling Bond Fund and 7.8/0 Stewart Inve8lors Asia Pacifjc Leaders Fund. The investtnent managers report to the Twstee Company at quarterly Èttd aTJttual intentftls. These repons include economi¢ and market reviews transaction d¢tsi18 and portf(Tr]io valuatio]]s. Reserve$ pollcy At 31 March 2025, the balaDce in tbE unrestricted fund was £4.168 (2024.. £7274). This balance was used to fimd part of the distributÈon to the Five Charitieg in April 2025. The policy 18 not to hold significallt sums in the unrestri¢ted lld, so maxithisitig the amount in the endowment fuod that can be invested. The InStIllet rnallag¢rs are it&oEmed of the amount to be tmsferred from the unapplied total r¢turn el¢m¢ni of tbe endowment fuud at the start of eacb rmancial year. Withdrawals are spread evenly over the fun¢[al y&2r to fund the monthly distributiolls. This polK¢y is reviewed allnually.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 leontitiued) Plans for future periods As noted above, on 16 May 2008 the investment objectEv¢s were changed to allow the use of a total return strategy. The directors believe that the total retllrn investment objectivcs should enable the Investment Managers tr) pmduce greater investment returns and so in thie co[8¢ this should lead to greater distributions to th¢ bcneficiaries. The directors of the TnL8tee Compaoy hav¢ agreed tb&t the distnl>utions tr> the Five Charities in the year ending 31 Mar¢h 2026 will amount lo £1,789,020 (2025.. £1,734,000). The Trustee Company reviewed the distribution policy in February 2024 and concluded d1 it remained apprtspriate. The next formal reYAew will take plac¢ in ihe year ¢nding 31 March 2027 with di%tributiOTI amounts reviewed 8Jmually by the Board. The Trustee Company expects the geopolitical landscape tts remain cha]lenging in the short to medium temi, with the u$ uncert4illty around global trade tanffg. the continuing war in Ukraine and concerns about furth¢r ¢s¢alation in the Middle East. The Board of the Tnjstee Company will continue to Jnonitor invesbnent perforrnallce closely thking into account this clevated risk profile. The Trnst's distribution policy should dampen the impact of volatility on the distributiOIL4 to the Five Charities and with a diver8ifLedportfolio, the Trnst shouldbe well-placed to provide increased rt loi the beneficiaries in the tte. The current Ethical Investment policy aud pra¢tie¢s s¢ate]nent can be fou]bJ on page 9. Statemellt of Tru$t¢¢'s responsibilities TheTnL$tee is TesEK)nsiblc forpreparing a report of the Trnstet and fllmncial statemenls in acconlance applicable law and regLtlati(Trns. Under that law the TTUSt¢e has pr¢par¢d the fIllclaI $ttGtS in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted A¢¢ounting Practice (United Kirlgdoru AGcounting Slandard5 alld applicable law). Under that law the Trustee Must not approve the financial statements unless it is saiisfied that they give a t¢ and fair view of the state of the affairs of the Trnst and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the Trust for that period. In preparing thestr financial staÉemenW the Trustee is required to.. select suitable aCWUDting policies and thell apply them con9iStendy- ob8etve the methods and principles in the applicable Charitte8 SORP. make judgements and estimales that are reasonable and prudent. state whether FRS 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicablc in the UK and Republic of Ireland" as been followed. subject to any at¢rIal d¢parths dI195¢d and explailled in the fin]cial statement$- prepare the fllwicial $tarenMts on the going concernbasis unless It LS illappropriate to presume that the Trust will Continue in business. Tbe Ttustee is responsible for keeping proper accounting records that digclose with reasonable accuracy at ally titne the fllwicthl posttion of the Tnt and enable th¢ Trust¢e t(Tr ensure that Lhe funcl81 statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, tbe applicable Charity (Accounts and Reports} Regulation5 and the provisions of thE Trust Decd. The Trnstee is also responsible for safeguarding the a&sets of the Trust and hen¢e for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detrdion of fraud aod other irregularities. Appointment of auditors ts Audit Setvices have indicated th¢ir willin¥nes$ to stand lor re4>poinLment at the fortheomin8 A[U31 General Meetitig. A resolution for the re-appointment of Azets Audit Services as auditors of the Trust is to be proposed at the forthcomiug Annual General M¢eting.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust The Te wishes t(> put on record its thath to Marcia Lant's aud Lindsey Ni¢holl$ for their support which has. enabled their work in support of the Five.CJJ8rÉtie¥. Approved by the Trustee and signed on its behalf by: rown WilliaTn Seddon Director Director 2025
The Willlam Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Ethical investment policy and practices for The Foundation Trust Our policy is to illvest ill a ner consistent with the promotion (Trf the objects and prillGiples of tbe Five Charitie5. We aim to strike a balance between illvesting in ways ihat loke account of Christian principles and ethical ¢otksiderations and securing Strong fmancial returns for the Five Charities over the lortg terni. It 1.9 our opinion thai in the long tenn an ethical investment policy along the lines set out below is unlikely to be of significant detrtment to rdtes of inv&8tmertt rewrn. We have PTepared thispolicy in consultatron with the Five Charittes bui recognise that this policy is ultitnately the responsibility of tbe dirtttors. Our policy takES into acciyunt the ChLThch of England Ethical Investslleut Advlsory Grp (EIAG)'s guidallce on ethical inves(llLent in the selection of our investments. We believe that thÈs guidattce broadly refte¢ts the Christian ethical perspectives of the Five Charities and that it IS helpfvl to draw upon EIAG'S expertise in such matters. The EIAG guid¢lilles are also readily available to our Investmen( Managers and will therefore be a help] and clearpoint of reference for them. Recognising thatwe should noi billd ourselvey absolulely to the views of an external body, we will review EIAG guidance oll a tegular basis to as%cs4 how far it remains appropriate forus. particularly major llew area9 of exclusion are brought in or as existiug striction5 are reconsidered. Expertise in Ettvironmental Social and Govemance investment issues is on¢ of the criteria we use lo select our Investment Managers: we will also Consider the ethical credentials (Trf tlLe Investsneni MaDager8 themselves in making tbat appointmeDt. Through our membershsp of the chUh Investot3 Group. we will shar¢ our perspectives Mryrh other like-mitided investors and together will to cneourage compani¢8 to perform in an ethical and responsible manner. Cash investmeTrls When rnaking cash deposits wewill ootuse allybArtk$ in whose shares EIAG wouldrecommend we should not invest. coll¢{ve investments The portfolios of The Foundation Trnst. The Clwity Trust, tbe William Leech Re&r¢b Fund and Williajn Le Ilnvesthients) Ltd are invested in Collective investjnent funds. The ethical investm¢nt policies adopted by these funds broadly ¢omply with EIAG guidelines. We will ¢outinu¢ to liaise with the rnanagers of these ndS and monitor any changes in their ethical ittvestrneni policies. Theie will be times when it 15 prudetLt to hold other collective investsnents in order io acce5% less liquid parts of the tnaTkets and hL¢Ve adequate diversification within our portfolio, lor ¢xampl¢ ¢0 ittvest in smaller companies or compantC8 listed in less developed countries. We recognise, however, that there arc particular challen¥es ill screening the ethical ¢r¢delltials of all the component parts of some collective investments. We will therefore review regularly the rationale forsuch invesunellts and th¢ extent to wbi¢h they aY illclude holdings that would nornially be excluded by ELAG 8uidelines. We will also liaise with inv&8ttnent managers over tbeir holdillgs and will monitor the iMpletAl211Ort of their policy. Monitoring reeW We will monitor our adherence to these principles and the financial ijnpact of this ethic investment policy annually. If the findings of ourperiodic review $lW a significallt detrim¢n&l impact that is expeEted to persis( ill the lollg term, then we will di$¢uss with the Five Charities whe¢her or not the policy should be aelldea. In addition, if tbe Board decides to cballge it5 investment approach and return to a directly held investmertts, Ihis policy will be revicwcd at updated accordingly. We will forn]ally review this policy a whole every tbree years. More inform4tiDn about EIAG and its policies may be foulld 4¢: btt :Ilwww.cburehofen aThd.or aboutl vernancolnational-cbllrcb-in$titutiottethlCa1-lnve$trneDt- advi50 rou Noie.. The EL4G Statement ofErh1cz Invesiment Policy has been withdrawn and is in theprocess ofbeing replaced with ¢7n EL4G gMidaneÈ paper elhical investment. Thi% policy will be updated as necessary once ihis paper hLL¥ beenpublished.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Risk management statement The Trustee Company's approach to the management of risk is de8j8ned to enable the Board tcp proactively identify and manage risks to support the hIeveMent of the Trnst's obje¢tiv¢s. The Board is responsible for ett$uring that adequate systems of risk tnanagement are iti place and that IL has a consistent appetite for risk and that thc level of risk ig COItiIllellsurat¢ with achievem¢nt of its objectives. A key part of the proce4% is the maint¢nallce of a detail Risk Register. which i5 reviewed regularly with any significant changes beillg reported io ihe Board. The Board has identified a nUmr of key risks and these are Set out below to¥ether with an explanation of its mitigaiion strategies alld assessment of cach KEY RISK AREA l. Inv¢stment rlsk5 MFfiGATION STRATEGIES al Matroecortomlc alld market collditiorts (including ¢han8e rdt intere8t ra and intlotiott risks) could rcduce our ability to d¢liv¢r long- tenn rcal growth of incoTn¢ to our b¢n¢ficiarie3. Although we will always b¢ expos] to short-t¢TTD ark volatility, we bast distributions on our rolling fivyear aveTage n¢t #$$et valu4 whith helps to $mooth the impact of short-term maTk¢t fluctuauons. OurinveStmls 8reheldin div¢r5ifiedfiJnds. which ¢ompri¥¢8lobal equiti¢¥ and stCTling bonds. 10 sprcad risk. The Board considw that a globally div¢Tsified portfolio is a g(Kxl hedge against th¢ m&croe¢onomit atsd nJarkL risks. As a long-tcrtn investor we con8ciou$ly hold a high w¢ixhtirtg ts)wards uitics as we believc thi5 offers the best pr05pKts' of prO¢tIng our cndowment è8ainsl iofi&tiDn delivering real gr(Trwth over th¢ long term. Most of our invesuncThts be liquidarLyq ¢ilY iti the short tem?. ¢nabling lis to siistatn 8hon-t¢m disiribuTion5 ev¢n whgrt fftieregt 0rdividd rateg are low. W¢ do not hedge currcncy risk b¢cttu%e we bcliev¢ th¢ eosis of doing so outWLYgh the bcncfit5, givcn our liquidity and long-tm ptIve. Asse&fmen¢.. Cthrr¢itfmqrke¢ cond15 are &themdy votstue. The reciprowl" Éoriff by ihe US athinistrotl(+n J April 2Q25 cltssed Cert&ty w glgblll trade t7rrallgeinent sttsck M¢Trkets fdl sharply i anticipation ofthese ¢ht¥Nges 31 March 2025 Andip ih¢ftrllowing 904qy prtuse the most punitlve Mrijys (with the of ihose o MVS an0¢¢¢& 10 Aprd 2025 tp En4blelunher NegotiaÉioRs th teke plac& The of dll ofrhiy g1ob4lgro¥h, inlerésr rales 15 Still ¢0 be Jèe This MllCgrt4ipty b dditIOn lo the oNoirtx sil1&#$ i Ukroiné M¥ddl¢ E&sr whlch pemoin of HoHYver, to the lortg4erm of•MrndtpwMenÉ rfndourgbllity 1o.frn0hfloW$ ofincomes webeliev¢ Kvorelrt rfgoodposilion lo ride t)MishortgTrter&Jlurtu#iioNs4lldthe r ¢n t¢oKomlc tonddion.f. The geopoltii¢41 14ndstw will io challenxlrtz In lh¢ short term And Ihe TrustÈe eontlnues lo inveslmentperforman¢e Iqklng Inth occouniihi élÉMtedrKgkprofil4 R¢gular meaings ar¢h¢ld with our manager5 to tnonitor th¢irp&fonnJnte. WecompAre the manag<75' perforniance agaitt¥t external beDchmark5 to hclp hold thcm to a¢ro>unt. b) Inve¥tm¢iit ma4ger rlsk underperfomanc¢ by investment managers could Nlucethereturns we art abl¢ to deliver. Our liCY is its cany out regular rtdering exerci5¢s for AttvegtmeDT managgntht seNices. Th¢ Inve%tmcnt Committe¢ u%es the sLYVic of I]tslyliCS. a s¢7a115t investmcttt rcporting service fjrm. and an indwwdeni investme1 conbult2ttt to assist in monitnrirt8 Ihc InvtEll¢nI perfornianc¢ of th¢ TTusi'5 fund managffs., to &8aess whethcr th¢ pvrtfolios meei their objebiives: that the funds are being managed 4$ ¢xpected: and wh¢th¢T th¢rc is an efficient mix f managers. ARgÉssmeni.' Improvem¢ftr th valuqrions were sldrrfng to ht Keen until 31 JrtNudry 2025 bui sirtce ihen sttp¢k markets hovefoll¢A significrfn¢ly lighl iu
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust KEY RISK AREA MITIGATIOE4 STIL4TEGtEs mard Around the imp4d of thepuviltve trt$ NT01¢ed by the US. ThepausEin ihe iMpos&ion oftsrijls IQApr112Q25st¢44iédthe m4rA4$ $118htly ¢helulure remains Kowrakep14ce¢4fy0 rhe aclu41 level of tar¥J5 whleh will k knposetL Omr thvesrmen¢ m4n&gers conlinue to rewiew ihff ithpad thése 4qAhoullcem¢nts on rheir 5tstk holdings the Investmeryt lttndscape looks outremely vothtile in th¢ short ierm. The Trustee corytirtues ttTr ihe pyrlor&N¢e of th¢ Invrent Munoger closely. 2. Governauce •tsd key per50ttlltl risks As a sjnall OTganisation we hav¢ a higher- thatt-average dependency on our two membrr> of staff. and r¢ly on having sufficient specialist Bxptttise on our Board. App)irttin8 indcpajdenl dire¢ttsrs ailuws specifi¢ skills to be r¢miited where these are not aJr¢Èdy itt plac¢ thri)u8h our chaTiry-nominated dir¢ctor8. A bietla] BoaTJ self-a3se55ment pr(tss lakes plaLt to monitor th¢ quality of ourgovcnjance. CaTeful d(Kumentation of proEedures and rwords has bL%ll 5¢t up to able rtew statTladvisers to pick up infomialion quickly should our $taff leave or be inwacittied un¢KpectaJy. Assessm¢nl We belleve thai we have good levels ofgoverKttAee 11 ppropri&iÉ &Ypertis& l+hllsi ihere HYU rtlmvys be rethrittg to ihe It>ss of key st&Jl membeFS, we h#ve good pl4r& AddiiloMo1 irtves¢ment $kill$ Mre t7ddedio ihe Boardof Tre¢ Coyony IN 2024 increose its erte ill this or 3. FrY4wd We need tD b¢ vigilant about th¢ ri%ks of intetnal aDd extemal fraud impacting upon our operati(xJs. and $Te our fund5 Are u8¢d fortheirproptr charitabl¢purposes. Dual authori10 Gontrols are itt pl> For o¢Tr-line payrnrnls. Inve5ttnertt withdrawwl$ can only be rnadc by authorised signaiorie8. SIgnary limit¥ are in place fur all oh¢qlles. External audit5 are r¢quirtd to look out for poteThtia] tnarid] irregulaTiU and have ditLXt a¢c¢5$ to the Chair as well as reporting specifically on this ea eaLh year. W¢plaLerelice oll the syst¢m$ and internHJ auditoperatiotLS of our bankers d inv¢sttnent Thanag¢r% reglllat bodies. We revi¢w th¢ annual financial 5tatemi7)ts of ourbencficiari¢$ to sure tky coniinu¢ 10 use our fiJTrds foi appropriat charitable poSeS. Assessment.. IYtyhiM iheprrfcticqlcofts¢raints ofasMallorg4rtlsArtOM, bdlev¢ hqve &llMsonublestspslopreveMtlM¥ 4. Reputational ri$k William L¢¥¥h itself is a relatively low- profJl¢ organisation but our poli¢i¢s gnd behaviOU could impact on the replltstioll of the Fiv¢ Chariu&4 as our benefjriaries. We h&ve adq)ted snd Implement an ethical inyestsnt l1¢Y i cortsultaiion with the Five CharitiE? artd aitn to follvw the recommendatiOIIS of the Church of England's EthiLai Invc8tm¢nt Advisory Gr(bUP IEIAG). W¢mainlain highprofcssional standards inourhandling of reJatiOll5hipswith pmfe5510rtal adVI8s. Assessmerf.. Gtvex thal w¢follow eihicolxuideliAeJ eKqblished by ihe EIAG, v conslder h unlikely the lyl11 Leech benefffclzons b¢ the rticlr of odverse SORFe pressure grow Mlght nt Qndoihei church thvuiors io 4dop¢stroRgérpoli¢ies Spec7¢ are4k Thelanfornwl reviewufihe EihleallnveJlmeRtpolicyby the TriL¥tÉe Company tookpl&tÉ 7 February 2(123. The policji siatement 1% olso revt•ved by the Trusiee Io fflsureiha¢i¢remoirts up io dqte The ft&ttformulrevlthiollh¢ policy will luAeplace im thefinurtcialye4¥r endrng 31 March 2026.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Independent auditors, report to the Trustee of The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Opinlon We have auditcd the fman¢ial statement8 of The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Tntst {the 'chariW) forth¢ year ended 31 March 2025, which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet attd Notes to the FI[n¢1a1 Staments, including a swnmary of signifioant accowitillg p)licies. Th¢ fknancial reporting framework that ha¥ been applied in their preparation iy Ut)iTrd Kingdom Accourtting Stsndard, comprising Cbari¢ies SORP- FRS 102 Thc Financial Reporting Staudard applicable ill the UK and Republic of Ireland, and applicabl¢ law (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accoun¢iDg Practice). In ow opinion the financial ¥tatements'. give a trne and fair view of the stale of the charity's affairs as at 31 M8r¢h 2025 and of its illcorning resources and application of resources, including its illcume And expenditure for the year then ended. have been properly prq)ar¢d ill a¢cordao¢e with United Klngdom Generally Acc¢pted Accounting PF&¢tice; and hav¢ been prepared ill a¢¢ordan¢e with the requirement$ of the Chariti¢s Act 2011. B8Jiy for opilllon We ¢ollducted our audit in acc(>rdan¢e with Iniernational Standards on Audiiing (UK) IISAS (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibiliti&8 under tb08e standardg are further described in the Audilor's responsibilities for the audit of the lttMDcial statemellts scction of our report. W¢ are indvpendent of the charity ill aOrdance with the ethical rcquirements thai arerelevant our audit of the fJnan¢ial ststements in the UK, inclllthng theFRC's Ethical Standard. and we have fulfilled our other ethical reswknsibilities in accordattce with these requir¢rn¢uts. We believe that the audit eYid¢nc¢ w¢ have obtsin¢d i5 su1¢1¢n¢ and apptDpriate to provide a basis for our opinion. Cou¢lu5iOll$ Telating to going eoncern tn auditing the f]nAncial staternenw we have concluded that the tThs¢ee's use of tbe going ¢on¢ern basis of accountittg in the preparation of the financial statem¢llts is appropriate. B&sed oll the work we have perfornied, we have not identified any maierlal uncertainties Telating to events i>r conditions that, individually or colle¢tively, may ca8t significant doubt on the charity's ability to ¢ontiTLue as a goiD8 concern for a p¢riod of at least twelve months from when the original fjnancial statelllents were autborlsed for i8sue. Our responsibilities and thc responsibilitie8 of the Trnst¢¢ with respect to going ¢oncem are described ill the relevattt sections of this rcporL Other infomAtIo The Tnjsiee 1$ resp)n8ible for the other inforniation. The other inforniation ¢omprise8 tbe informati(n included in the annual report, other than the finattcial statements and our fluditor's report thereon. thr opiniort on the FllLancial statements does not cover the other inforniation and. except to the extellt oth¢nvise expli¢itly stated in our reFKlrt. we do not express any fomi of a$SranCe conc]usion thereon. In connection with our audit of the fmancial statements, our responsibility is to read the other inforniatioD and, ill doing 80, ennsider whether th¢ other inforrnation is materially inconsistcnt with the fmancial statements or OUT knowledge obtained iti ibe audit or otberwise appcars to be materially missts*d. If we idenlify sucb material iticonsistettcies or apparent material mi&8tatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material isstatemenl in the financial statements or a maierial misstatement of the other ittfonnation. If, based on the work w¢ have perfomied, we con¢lude that there is a material mi5Statement of this other infornrdtiO w¢ are requId w rep)rt that facL
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Independent auditors, report to tbe Trustee of The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust (eontinued} We have nothing to r¢port iti this regard. MAttcrs whleh we are required tsb report by exception In the light of ourknowledge and understanding of the clwity and its enNironment obtained iti the course of the audiL we have not identified Materi misstatements in the TnL8tee's Report. We have nothing to report in respect of the following lllalters where the Charitie5 Act 2011 r¢quire$ us to rq)ort to you if, our opinion: adequate accounling records have not Ien kepL or returns adequate for our audii have not been rec¢iv¢d from bran¢b¢s not N7Sited by ll8; or the financial statsments are not in agem¢llt with the a¢¢(Truntitig rordS aod retums. or certain disclow¢s of Trustee's rernuneratioll specified by law are nol made. or we have noi received all the infOrntion and ¢xplaJLations w¢ require for our audit. Re$pDnslbilities of Trnstee As explained mole fvlly in the stateryt of Trustee's Responsibilities (set out on page 7), the Truytee is responsible for ihc prep8ratioll of the financial statemellis and for being sat18fied tha¢ they give a true and fair view. and for such intemal ¢ontrol as the Trustee determiney is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements thai are free from material misstatetnettt, whether due io fraud or error. ltt prq)aring the financial statements. th¢ Trustee is responsible for as8essing the abilrty to continuc as a going concern, disc105ing, as applicable, matters related to going cottcern and using the going Concern basis of accounting wiles& the Trustee either intends to liquidaie the Charity or to ceose Operatiot or bave no r¢alistic Itemative but to do so. Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of ibe fill*ll¢lAI statements (kn objectives a io obtain r¢a50n&ble assurance about whether the financial statctuen¢s as a whole are free frot terial Jnisstatcment. whether due to fraud or error, aud to issue an audilor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonoble as5uran¢e is a high level of assuranc4 but is not a guarantee that an audii coJMJucted iti a¢¢ordance with ISAS {UK} will always delect a material mi8ytatement when li exists. Miystatelllents can aris¢ from fraud or error and are considered material if, indivtdually or in the aggregate, they ¢ould reasonably b¢ expected ts itlfiuence th¢ economic de¢ision5 of users takell on th¢ basis of ihese rUwLa1 slatements. IrregulaTities. including fraud, are instsn¢¢$ of non-compliance with laws and regulauon& We d¢5igTh procethires in lin¢ with our responsibilities, outtined above, to deleci material mi$8tAtemertts in respect of irregularities. including fraud. The extent to which ourprocedur¢s are ¢able of detectiD¥ i¢glantles, including fraud is detailed below.. Enquities with mana8¢menL about any knoFm or susPted instances of non-compliaD¢e with law8 alld regula¢ions and fraud., Reviewit)g board rniDUtes', Challenging assumptiot]8 and judgements by managemell¢ iti their sigllificant ac¢ounting estitnatcs: and Auditing the risk of nwiagemeat oveide of ¢(trol$, iluding tbrough testing journal entries and other adjusttnents for appropriatene$5. Becaus¢ of the field in which the client operates, we identified the following areas as those most likely to have a matcriai itnpact on the financial statements.. Health and Safety. anti-bribery and comipiion,. and compli¢¢ with the iJK Charilies Act.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Independent auditors, report to the Trustee of The William Leecb Foundation Lamited - The Foundation Trust (contlnued) Owing to the itthcrent liTnitatiotL5 of an audit, there 15 atl unavoidable risk that 50rDe materral mi55tstemeuts in the financial statements may not be detected. even though the audit is properlyplanned And perfornied its acc(Trrdance with tbe ISAS (UKI. For instance, the thrther removed non-compliance is from the events and ttallsa¢tiotts reflected in tbe fUnClaI siatements. the less likely the auditor is to become aware of it or to recognise the non-¢ompliance. A furtb¢r des¢ription of our resw)nsibilitie$ for the audit of the fllwiat $iat¢m¢nts is looated ¢)n the Financial Reporting Council's websiie at www.frc.org.uklauditotsregponsibilities. Thi9 desorÈption fornig part of (X auditoey report. Use of our report This report is made solely io the ¢harity Trustee in accordance with section 144 of the CIMities Act 2011 and regulatiotL% Tnade under section 154 of that Act. Ollr work ha8 been undcrtaktn so that wc rnight state to the Trnstee those maiters we are required to stste to the TTU5tee in an auditors, Teport and for no other pu0. To the lIeSt ¢xtent perrnitted by law. we do not a¢pt or assum¢ responsibility to YOne other thau th¢ chority and its Trustee for our audit work, for this rep)rL or for the OPilliODS we have fornled. Simon Brown BA ACA DChA (Senior Statytory Auditor) For and on behalf of Azets Audit Scrvices Chartered Aecourttants Statutory Auditor Bulman House Regcnt Centre Gosforth Newcastle uwn Tylle NE3 3LS Date". /9/ 2025 Azets Audit Servic&8 is eligible to act ag auditor iti ternis of Scction 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. Azet5 Audit SerYi¢cs 1$ a tradjng name of Azets Audit SErvices 1.ilted 14
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Statement of financlal Ylctivitles for the year ended 31 March 2025 Ullre5tricted EndDTrvment Total funds Unrestricted Endowment Total fullds fund fund 2025 nd fund 2024 NDte Income Investment income 93.147 93,147 53,049 53,049 Total Income 93,147 93,147 53,049 53,049 Expenditur¢ Rouingfunds.. Allnual Manag¢m¢nt Charge rcbates charitble Qelrvilié Expenditure on ¢harilable activities 1166,253) (166,2S3) 170,797) {70,797) 1.743,281 1,743.281 1.662,722 1.662.722 Tot81 expendlture 1,743281 {166,253) 1,$77,028 1,662.722 (70,7971 1,59l,925 et {upendIre>l iDcome befDre Oossesy yins OD inve8tmell¢8 (1,743,281) 259,400 (1,483,881) (1,662,722) 123,846 (1,538,876) Net {IDsses)Ig8ins DD Inve5ttllenty {1,940,06D) {1,9411,06O 6.806.690 6.806.6g4) Net {expeDdltureV llleome (1,743.281) (1ffj80,660) (3,423,941) (1,662.722) 6.930,536 5.267.814 Flld transfer5 1,740,175 (1,740,175> 1,662,722 (1,662,722) N¢t movement In funds (3,106) 13,420,835J (3,423,941) 5,267,814 5,267,814 Total ful8 at the beginning of the rmancial year 7,274 5I,201,815 51,209,089 7,274 45,934,001 45,941,275 Totsl fulld$ At the end of the Ilnanelal year 4,168 47.780.980 47.785.148 7274 51,201,815 51.209,089 There were no gains and losses in the financial y&vs other than those aoted above. All incolning resrceS and resources expended derive from Continuing activÉties. The notes on pages 19 to 22 forni part of these fllwicial 5tatetnents.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Balydnce sheet as at 31 March 2025 Unrestrieled Endowment Total funds Ullreslricted Endowrnent Total fill fuDd fulld 2025 und fulld 2024 Note Flxed assets Investments 47,771I,731 47,7711,731 51,192,583 51,192,583 Totthl fixed *et# 47,7711,731 47.770,731 51.192.583 51.192.583 Current assets Debtor5 1,130 10,249 11,379 9,056 10,187 Cash ai bank and in hand 8,1185 8,085 11,745 176 11,921 Total current assets 9,215 10,249 19,464 12.876 9,232 22,108 Li4bili¢fies Creditors.. amounts falling due within one year 15.1147) (5,047) (5,602) (5,602) Net eurrent Set 4,108 10,249 14,417 7,274 9,232 16.506 Net se1& 4,168 47,780J80 47,785,148 7274 51201,815 51,209,089 The funds of the charity Endowmellt fimds 47,780,980 47,780,98(1 51.201.815 51.201,815 Unrestricted Eundg 4.168 4,168 7,274 7.274 Total funds 4.168 47.780.980 47,785,148 7,274 51,201,815 51,209,089 The finan¢ial stat¢m¢nts on pages 15 to 22 were approved by the Trustee, The WillÈam I£ech Foundatton Limited, on 2 Septembcr 2025 and were signed on its behalf by the under-mentioncd two directors of The William Leech Foundation Limited. .1.4q£c Andr William Seddon Director Director The notes on pog¢$ 19 to 22 forni part of th¢8¢ finwial ststem¢ttts. 16
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundatlon Trust Statement of accounting policies a) Basts of prepar%tlon aDd assessment of going concern These financial state]nents have been prepared oll a gtring concern basi8, under the historic cost conventiott a$ modified by the inclusion of itivestmenL8 at market value. in aordaCe with the Accoullting and Reporting by Cbariue$'. Siatement of Reconllllended Pr4ctice applicable to Charities preparing their financial statyments in a¢cordauGe WAth United Kingdom A¢courLting Standards, wmpri8ing FRS 102"Th¢ Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Rqiubli¢ of Ireland" {effecuve l Janllary 2019), al applicable law (Ullited Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Prdcticel. and the Charities A¢t 2011. The Tnkst CODStituies a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The TTu8e ¢onsiders that there are no material unccrtaintie5 about the Trnst's ability tts eontinue as a going concern. The most sigllificant areay of uncertainty that affect the CaYing value of assets held by the Trus¢ are the level of investment return and the performance of ittvestmellt Jnarkets {¥ee the investment policy and perfortnallce and ri%k manage¢ll1 sectiotL4 of the TNslee's aDllual report for more infOrntiOn) and this is trne of the followitig financial periods also. b) Income recogllition All in¢ome isrecognisedonce tbe Trnst has et)titlement to tbe income, i¢is probabl¢ tba¢ the inGotne will be teceived and th¢ amount of income receivable can be m¢asured reliably. tnt¢rest on Eut)ds held on deposit is included when receivable alld the amount can be measured reliablyby the Trn8t,' this is nornially upon notification of the illtere8r paid or payable by the bank. Dividends are tOgnIsed once the dividend bas b¢en declared and notift¢ation has been receivcd of the thvidertd due. Bot interest is recogni5¢d once notified of payneTht due. c) Expelldlture re¢ognitioll Liabilities are recogntsed as expendAture as 500n os there is a legal or constrllctiv¢ obligation c¢)mmittitig ibe Tt to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be r¢quired and the amount of the obligation can b¢ measured reliably. All expenditure 18 accounted for on the accruals basis. d) Charitable activitie& The% include payments to beneficiaries and govemance administsation costs as set out in note 2. Governanc¢ costs comprise audit fee8. legal and prof¢ssiollal fees and directors. indemnity iDsurallce premiums (gee note 2). Adrnini8tration Costs include bank a¢¢otmt maintenance fees and ¢harge5. The costs of preparing amiual fu]anctal slatements and Twstee meetings are borne by Williarn Leech (Invesknents) Limited and details are set out in 0t¢ 8. e) Investmellt# InVeSentS are a (OML of ba$1¢ futsncial instnllnellt and are initially recognised at their transaction vafve and ubsequ¢ntly measured at th¢tr fair value as at the balance sheet date lls1t the clo1¥ price. The statement o fillallcial activities includes the net gains and108ses ari5illg on T¢valuation alld dispo¥als throughout tb¢ FclaI year. The Tt holds in tb¢ ColumbiaThreadn¢¢dle Responsible Global Equity Fund, th¢ Columbia Threadneedle Responsible SrI]ng COrate Bond Fund andthe Stewart Investors A8ia Pacific Leaders Fund. Until 5 September 2023, these uniÈS were held in the IL4IF with Columbia Threadneedle. The units were tben re-registered directly i the name of the FLWlldati0nTnÉ so the units in the lld$ ar¢ DOW held directlyby the Foundation Trust as opposed to the RAIF.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Statement of aceounting policies (contillued) These funds are valued at a single price and this reflects tbe net a59et value of the UDderlyinB investtnents. The invesiment management fee for thE funds is char8¢d against the Individual fi]nd value. Where rebates of an1 management charges are r¢ceived, these are reinv¢sted directly ba¢k into units of the underlying funds by th¢ investjnent mallagers. The Tt do¢s not acquir¢ put options, derivaiives or other complex finallcial instrumenls. Th¢ forni of f]nancial risk faced by the Tnjst is thai of volatility in equity and investhient rkets due to wider economic conditlOn8, the &ttityde of investoTr to itLvestsDenl ri¥k, and clwiges in senttment coocerning equiiies and within particular sectors or sub yectors. All gains and losses are taken to the StatemEDt of Finaticial Activities as they arise. Realised gains and losses OD invesiments are calculated a5 thc difference between sales proceeds and their opening carrying value or their purchase value if acquired subsequent to the first day of the fanCIal year. Unreali$ed gains and lo$sc% are calculated as the difference betw¢¢n tbe fair valu¢ at the year-end and their callying value. Realised andunreaiised investrneut gains aDd losses are combiuvd in the Statement of Fitw)¢ial Activities. D FuDd accoulltlng The TNsi has a Single endowment thnd, which provideg for the TrnstEe to invest the capital iti perptty 8nd is naged on A total return basig. The Trustee at its discretioll may allocate any part of the unapplied total return to th¢ unrestricted lld of the Tn1 to be used for charitsble purp08es in accordanc¢ with th¢ Trnst Deed. The unrestricted fijnd ¢ompri8es rhe current assets and liabiiities tha¢ the TNste¢ 1$ free to Use in accordallce with the clwitable objects. Forelgll Currency The Ttust's functional and presentation ellenCY is the pound sterling. b) Cash floTV Statement The 1.rust bas taken advantage of the exemption availabl¢ to sfflall entities from prepanng a Cash flow statement uDder section IA of the Finan¢ial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republi¢ of Ireland (FRS 102). 18
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Notes to the fmancial ststements for the year ended 31 March 2025 Taxation Th¢ Foundation Trust is a registered ¢han"ty and its llon-trading illcoe is exempt from taxation. Expenditure on ebv4ritable activltles 2025 2024 PaymeDts to beneflci3ries The British and Ftsteign Bibk Society 346,800 329,604 ur¢h Missiott Society 346,800 329,604 The Methodist Chur¢h iti Britain 346,800 329,604 The Salvation Arniy The Society for Pmmoting chrilan Knowledge Totsl payments to benefielaries 346,81111 329.604 346,800 329,604 1,734,000 1,641t.020 Governan¢e eosts Audit services 4.470 4,140 Direcwrs, ittdemnity Insurance 282 324 Legal and professional fees 4.497 10,238 Tot#l governwllee costs 9,249 14.702 Adjnilllstration eosts Bar accollnt nl0t¢DarlCe fees and charges 32 Tot*1 admkn5siratioll ¢OSts 32 Total expenditure tsn charit&ble activitie$ 1743 281 1662 722 Trustee's remuneration The Trnstee did not recelve and was not ¢tLtitled to receive ony remun¢rdtlOll or expenses in Tesp¢ct of 118 services during the financial year (2024: £nll). There wer¢ no employ¢es during the finat)cial year (2024.. none). 19
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Notes to the financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (eontiDued) Fund transfers A CFLarity Commission Ord¢r granted the power of investing on a total return balis on 16 May 2008. At the time the power was granted the Trustee kdelltified the valu¢ of the gift of pem)aneni elldowment receiv¢d in 1960. The difference between the value of the endowment fiwds as at 15 May 2008 and the Yalue of the gift ¢otnponeDt repT&SCnted the opening balance of unapplied return. The power permit8 (be Trustee to invest peanentty end(Trwed funds to tnaxirnist total remrn and to apply an appropriate porti(Trn of th¢ unapplied total Tethrn to illLom¢ each fiDallcial year. Until the w)wer is exercised to trallsfer a portion of utPplied totAI rettuD to incotue, tbe unapplied totsl return remains invested as part ot the pem)aDent endowment. The power ailo¥ws the Tnjstee to decide in each fJDancial year how much of the uttapplied total return is tTan8fetTed to incorne fLmds and so available forexpenditure. Havillg considercd its obligations under the duty of ev¢Th-handedness b¢tw¢en present and Thre betteficiariey. the Trusiee lljade a transfer of £1,740,175 of unapplied total retyrn to VestrICted iticom¢ fillyJ& Thi5 decision is in a¢cord8Doe with the distribulion policy established in July 2011. 2025 Endowment 2025 2025 Total Uttttpplied total return Opening value of endDwment Gift cornponeol of perniattent ¢ndoThThent 159,250 159.250 Unapplied total rettjrn 51,042,565 51,042,565 Total 159,250 51.042,565 51.201,815 Movement ID llnapplled total return and endowment Ill the yeir- Investment retuttL-. rccogllised and Ur081$ed (losses)Igains Investment return.. aldendS accumulated and interest accrned AMC rebates ieinve5ted {1.940,060) {1,940,060) 93,147 93,147 166,253 166,253 Totlll {1.680,660) (1.680,660) Unapplied r¢turn allocated to income Net movement In the year (1.740.175) (1,740,I75) (3.420.835) {3,420,835) C105ing value of pernianen¢ endoTyettt Gift component of pennan¢nt endowmcnt 159,250 159,250 UDapplied total retum 47,621,730 47.621,73Q Total 159,2S0 47,621,730 47,780,980 2D
The Wllliam Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Notes to the financial statements for the year etlded 31 March 2025 (eontinned) Investments 2025 2024 Market value at the beginning of the fJJwhcial year Sales prcKeeds from disposals Additions- 8t Cost 51,192,583 45,928,883 (1,740,000) <1,657.780) 258,208 114,790 (Los%sygains) ill the f]nwcial yeat Market value at the end of th¢ financial year (1,940,060) 6.806.690 47,770,731 51,192,583 Inve$thients at rnarket value compriyed: 202S 2024 Global equity funds Sterling bond fiu 43,285,714 46,695,723 773.990 758,452 Asia Pacific equity funds 3,711,027 3,738,408 Market value &s at 31 March 47,770.731 51,192.583 Historical cost as at 31 Nlarch Investments are carried ai fair value. tnve5tments in equitieg and r]xed intereyt securities are all traded in quoted public rnarkets. HoldiD¥s in unit tmsts attd open-ended investment companies are valued atthe bid price. The basis of f&irvalue forquoted investments is equivalent LO the market value, using thebidprice. Asset sales and purchases re recognised at the date of trade. Th¢ significance of fillancial itisttum¢nts to the ongoing financial sustsinability of the Trust is considered in the FIn¢la1 revi¢w and investment policy and perfomiance sections of tbe TrystEe's Annual Report. 29,298,974 30.026,537 Debtors 21125 2024 PrepaymeT)ts- irall¢8 premium and investsnent perfornwLce reporting ervices 1,130 1,131 Accrued Ix)nd interest 10.249 9,056 11,379 10,187 The illsurance premiwll and inve5tsnent Fthorniauce reporting services prepayrnents relate to the unrestri¢t¢d fi. Accrued iw)nd illtcresr relates to the endowment fid.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Foundation Trust Iyotes to the financial statements for tbe year ended 31 March 2025 (coDtlnued) Creditors: amounts falling due witbin one year 2025 2024 A¢cruals- audi¢ 8ervice& and bank cbarges 4,476 4,140 571 1,462 Creditors 5.047 5.602 All creditors relate to the unre$trled fimd. Related parties The Trnstee ¢onsider8 that Lt 15 Telated to William Leech (tnyestments) Limited by vittue of havin8 commoii directors. Certain adJ01tratiotJ services are provided free of charge by the staff of William t£e¢h OnvestTr]ellts) Limited. These setvices have llot been quantified for inclugion in these fthancial ststements 88 th¢ arnounts are considered immaterial. The Ttustee c(Trnsiders that it is tbe parent ulldertaking aad ultimate controlling party of The Foundation Trust. It is a private company lilted by shares, illcorpoiated in England. rcgistrdtioll number 00664118. and is a clwity. regisrratioll llUbtr 232062. Thc principal activity of the Company is to act as the 501e ttvstee for three charitable trst$, including The William L£ecb Foundation Limited - Th¢ Charity Truit and The Williatn Leech Research Fund. These are considered ro be frllow sub8idiaries ofthe same parcntundertAking alldultimale ¢ontrolling party. Paul Burrage, Maureen Dixon, John E{arriso Philip Poole {to 31 January 20251 and John Stansfeld aTE rq)res¢ntauve% ofthe Five Ctwities, which have e]ycd payments set out in note 2. The coDsolidated finaft¢ial stat£ments of The William Leech Foundation Limited can be obtained from th¢ Company S¢Gretary at Bank Chatnber5, 26 Mosley Street, Newc&%tle upon Tyne, NEI IDF. 22