The William Leech Foundation Limited- The Charity Trust Trustee's report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 Registered Chirity Lyumber: 231674
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Trustee's report and financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 Contents Directors and advisors for the year ellded 31 March 2025................................................................. .................. ReEx)rt of the Truste¢ for the year ended 31 March 2025............... ................ ..................................................... Ethieal investmenl policy and practiB¢s...................................................-............. . ............................................ Risk management $t4tement.................................................................................................................................. Independ¢nt auditors, report to the TnJst¢¢ of The WiIliam Leech Foundaiion Limited- The Charity Trnst....I I Sthtenjent of fmallcial Activities for the year ended 31 Mar¢h 2025...................................................................14 Balance sheet as ai 31 March 2025.............-............................... . .15 Sthtelnent of a¢countin8 policies................................ .16 Notes to the finattcial statements for the year ¢nded 31 Mawh 2025..................................................................18
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Directors and advisors for the year ended 31 March 2025 Trllstee The Williajn Lcech Foundation Limited Directors of the Trustee Company AndrEW Brown OBE FRICS (Chair) AliceAmbrostrThurnian FCA FCIS (resigned 31 January 2025) Paul Burrage FCA Maureen Dixon Dagtnar Dvorak CFA IMC Johll Harri50n ACA Simon Harper FCA (appoint¢d 2 September 2025) Michael Joyn.8on John Marshall Philip Poole FCCA (resigned 31 January 2025) WillÉam Seddon CFA (Senior Director) lohr) Stansfeld CEn8 Fl MarEsf MIMeelLE Secretary aDd Registered Offlee Marcia Lant FCA AMCT Bank Chambers, 26 Mosley Street Ncwcastlc upon Tyne NEI IDF Independellt Audito Azets Audit Sffvi¢es Chart¢r¢d accountsllts and *tOry auditOTS Bulman House Regent Ceatre Newcastle upon Tyn¢ NE3 3LS Bankers Lloyds Battk plc 15-21 Northumberland Street Monurnent Mall Newcastle upon Tyne NEI 7AE Solicltor8 Womble BoTLd Di¢kiuson LLP The Spa, Draymans Way Newcastle Helix New¢a$tle upon Tyne NE4 5DE vestment Managers Columbia Thretheedle Managemcnt Ltd Exchange House 12 Prirnrose Streei London. EC2A 2HS Stewart Investors Finsbury Circus l.louse 15 Finsbury Circus Londo EC2M 7EB
The William Leech Foundation Lkniited - The Charity Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 As Tru8tee The WilliaTll Leecb Foundation Limited ("the Trustee" or'tbe Ttee Compally"). a company IncoOrated i England and Wales. presettts its r4)ort and audited financial statements of The WilliatTr LEech Foundation Limited- The Charity Tryst ('The Cfftwity Trnsf. tsr'the Trnst") for the yekr ended 31 March 2025. The financlal 5tatetDents have been prepared in a¢cordance with the Declaralion of Trust, the statemellt of accounting polici&$ set out on pages 16 and 17, tbe Charities Act 2011 and Accouuting and R¢portiog by Charities: Statemeryt of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements ill a¢cordau¢e with the Financial R¢portiug Standard applicable in the UK and RepubLi¢ of Ireland pllblished (FRS 102) (effe¢iive l Janumry 2019). Legal and administrative information se¢ oul on page I forn)s part of this reporL Structurey governance and njanagement A Declaration of Trust dated 16 August E960 estsblished the CEwity Tn1 for general charirable purposes. The Trust was created by a gift from the late Sir William Lecch of shares in his building COpany, William Leech (Builders) Litnited. A Deed dated 27 February 1973 vested the Trust in The William Leech Foundation Limited. ID 1976 the buIldll eotnpatty became a pttblic compatty with its shares quoted on the London Stock Exchange, and its name w&s changed to William Lcech PJ.C. Approxitnately half of th¢ shares held by th¢ Trusl were sold at that tie as part of th¢ flotation arrangements. In 1985 The remaining shares tsf William Leech PLC were ld on the takeover of the COpanybY C. H. Beazer (Holding8} PLC. Under the Declaration of Trust, the income of this Trust 14 to be applied for general charitable purposes. Until 1973 the Trust chos¢ to distribu one half of the income of the Tnjst to The British and Foreign Bible Society. Church Missjon Society, The Metbodis¢ Church ill Britain The Salvation Army alldThe Society for Promoting Christiall Knowledge (collectively l(nown as "the Five Charities") alld one half to local and other Tjational chatities. In 1973 this policy was changed and it was decided to distribute all the Trust's income for the benefit of the Fiye Charities, save in circumstallces wbich theBoard of the Tru8te¢ Company considered be exceptional. This policy Is reviewed by th¢ B08rd of the Trustee Company each financial year. In the past the T1 has created th¢ endowment fund for the William Leech Professorial F¢llow$hip in Applied Christian Theology {now lled the William L¢¢ch Research Fund) and has provided additional fmancial support from time to time to thi$ fi]nd as well a8 financing otherpry)jects in the North East. ThE Trust does not actively ndra1¥e but seeks to support th¢ work of the Five Charities tlm)ugh the carefi siewardship of the ¢ndowment fund. During the finan¢ial yejr ended 31 Marcb 2(X)8 the BoaTd of tbe Trustte Company r¢vi¢w¢d th¢ investment objective$ ar appn)ved the proposal to mauage the endowment fund on a totsl rettjrn basis. This removes the Constraint of w iucorne target to allow tbe inYe$tm¢nt managers greatcr flexibility in the Choice of inv&%tments and to increase the exposure to equi¢ies. An application was made to the Charity Commission to allow the of th¢ total [¢rn stsategy. On 16 May 2008. the Cbarity Commission prothkced a sealed Order agreeillg to the ¢bange. The Nomillations and R¢muneration Con)mittee of the TnL8tee Company provides a fornial, rigorcpus and trallsparent procedure forthe appointtn¢ut of direc¢or8 to the Board. Membership collsi8is of four directors. in¢luding the Chair. Senior Dircctor and two other directors. Th¢ Membe should include at least one independent director and at least ot]e director from the five nominated by the Five ClJarAties. The cutrent ineTnb¢rs are Andrew Brown, blaureen Dixon, William Seddon and JOI Stansfeld and all setved throughout the financial year. Jobn Stansfeld tocpk overas Chair of the Committee from Andrew Bro in November 2024.WhcD relting, tbe Nominations and Remutmtion Committee seeks to appoint indlviduals witb the llecessary skills ltr make a positive contribution to the Boar(i who are sympathetic to the Trnstee Company'g airns alld can make a positive impact on its diversiry. Under the TnLStee Company's cuttent artiele$ of association. dTrectors are appointed for a temi of three years after which they retire aDd eligible for re-appointtnellt. 7he o1*idIb¢effi¢{ry W¢ rAeMeÈkodtstMtsslonaryS¢Kkfy('MMS). Ipt 2013 tkÈFafEnElvdyofMMSdeCdedstyeQmliAe its rgsultMMSwo¥obsorbedl¥tro The Methodifl Church inBrttslA. Thefyuds rernaijrreslriedSo missiolipurposvs overseaF.
The William Leech Foundrltlon Limited - The Charity Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 {continued) DirECtors who have setved Anore tlwi 12 years are eligible forre-appointment for fiTrthertenn$ of one year. Th¢ Board has expressed a preference tknat the tenn of directors is limited to nine y¢ats unless there are exceptional ¢ircum8tallee$. New directors receive a letter of appointment and all iuduction pa¢k, which includes the articl¢$ of as80¢iation of the Trustee Company. 8 short history of the Trust and its structure, annual financial stateentS, Board minute$, tenns of reference of the sub-committecs. latest financial forecasts. investment reports and any other documents consider£d to be of importance. "rhe duties of the InveStent Committee ar¢ to review the illV¢8LTllent objectives. asset allocation. etbical illvestmeDtpoli¢y and theperformallce of the investment managers. It also makes recomtnendati¢)ns to the Board concerning the app)intment of the investment mallageTS and the &%tablishment of suitable benchrnarks. The Investment Committee normally meets witIL the itive$tment managets at least once a year. The current members are Andrew Brown, Dagmar Dvorak, John Harrison, Michael Joyn50n, Marcia Lant alld William Seddon. William Sedd(>n took over as Chair from Andrew Brown November 2024. The Board oFthe Trustee Company meets at quarterly intetvals at which the directors receive reportg from the Investment Committee and the iove51ment Jnanagers. In addition, the investnTrent managers make a fornial presentation to the Investment CottutLittee ea¢h finan¢i&l year. The Board and Investment Committee consider illveslmettt martagemcnl re$eryes. distribution and risk management poh"cies. aud the performance of the IDveslment Managers agaillsi a range of me&sures. The day-i(pday administration of the Ttust is delegated to the Director of FitLall¢¢. Th¢ TnTSt¢e Company i¥ a ember of the Church Inve8tOT8 Group. This acts as a forum tts enable members to share infonatiOll alld views on ethical, 90cial responsibility and collrdle goveruance ntterS relating to investment DMrcctor5 Having served for more thall 12 years, Andrew Brown wa5 reappoin¢ed for a further olle-yegr t¢nn of office at the Trus Company's Annual General Meeting ("AGM") on 27 November 2024 to contjnuc his te of offi¢e as Chair. tn addition. Philip Poole was reappointed as the Biblc Society's nominated director for a fijrther one-year term aÉ the AGM due to the on-8oill8 Strategic Review, having already $¢rved nine years as a dirECtor. Both reappointentS were Co11dered to bc in the best interests of the Company. Paul Burrng¢, Jobn Harrison. willia S¢ddon, Joljn Stansfeld. Dagtrnar DvoTak and Michael Joynson were also rppoInted as directors at this AGM. Oll 31 January 2025 Alice AMbrO8e-Thurn resigned to take up a role at Dutl)am Cathedial alld Philip Poole resigoed due to ill bealth. Simoll Harper was appointed a8 a director on 2 September 2025. A replacement for Phitip is still to be nominated by the Bible Society. All other directors, named on page l. gerved throughout ihe financial year and up to the date of signing the fjnaacial statements. The Board considers that its member5 have the nixessary skills to conduct Ets business effeciively. DirectOTS' indemnity insurance has been io ptace For the whole of tlL¢ year ended 31 March 2025 at a ost of £282 (2024.. £3241. Risk management The Board of the Tst¢¢ Company Iw examined the pri1paI areas of the Trust's operations and considered the ajor ri8ks in each of these areas. The Trustee CompaT]y maintaills a d¢¢ailed risk register wkn'¢h is kepi under regular review. The director8 bave identified the principal risks to the organishtion as being: Investment rAsks'. macro-economic and maTk¢t conditions invest]nent mallager risk 2. Govem&nce and key petSODll¢l risks Frnud 4. Reputational risk.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 (eontlnued) Consideration and management of these tisk5 is a key dirnen5ioll of Board agendas, alld page5 9 alld 10 SumuSe fUnEllt risk mitigation strat¢gies and assessment of risk profile. The Board normally holds meetings in person but uses video-conferencing frchnology for 4ome meetings, includitig cottte¢ meeting& In the opinion of the Boatd of the Trllstee Company, the Trust has established resources and system5 whi¢h. uader nornial circurnstancc5. Should allow ihese risk5 to be ll]itigated to acceptable level in its day-¢o-day operations. Objective$ and activities The objeetive of the Trnsi is to generate fimds for ¢haTithble purpose$ and this is achieved by providing financial.8upport to tbe Five Charitiey yelected by the found¢r, th¢ lat¢ Sir William Leech, and from time-t(Ftime other charitsble projects. Th¢ Board of th¢ Trust¢¢ Company Confirnis that it has referred the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when r¢viewing the Trnst's aims aud objectives and is satisfied that the requirements have been met. 'The Trust pr(>vide8 grants to the Five Cl)aritie8, whose main purpose is ¢he advancement of the Christian religion. and the Board of the Tru8te¢ Company elVeS rerA)rts from the Five Charities, which detail their work and the pbliC benefit arising erefronL. Financial growth Set outbelow is a sts*mettt showing the Erowth of th¢ endowmen¢ fuad since its Creatioa io 1960: Valu¢ of original gift of sharcs io William Leech (Builders) Limited on 16 August 1960 Value of the endowment at 31 March 2025 81.900 22.030,149 Financial review and investment policy Following approval by the Charity Coffjmissiou on 16 May 2008, the Trust's invesrmeDt strategy is a total return approach to the iZLvestTlleiit of the Perallent elldowmenl. The Trustee bekeves that th¢ investment obje¢lives should over the long rni enable tbe investment managers to produce greater investrnent return8 and so in due course this should lead to greater distributions to the beneficiarie8. In accordanGe with the tem15 of the OrdeT, the Trustee confirns that in identifying the value of the portion of thepern?anent endoNThent that repsented unapplied tot41 retw it hA$ id¢ntifi¢d the value of the initial foundillg gift in 1960" and when deterniinillg the amount of unapplied total rebjrn to trattsfer to income the Trustee has considered the amount of income required to maintsin tbe current level of support for the Five Charities and the likely need8 of future beneficiaries- ad when reachiug tILe decision as io the unapplied total return to transfer to income, tbe Trustee has iaken professional advice from th¢ lllv¢sttll¢nt Managers regardiog the market outlook, investmellt trends and yield and the prospecty fcpr capitsl grov/th. The inveslments of the Charity Trust are units held directly by the charity in the Columbia Threathieedle Responsible Global Equity Fund, the Colurnbia Threadneedle Responsible Sterliug Corporate Bond Fund and the Stewart lllvestors A$i& Pacific Leaders FuDd. The Stewart Invebtors Asia Pa¢ific Leaders Sustsinability Fund was relabelled to the Stewart Investor5 Asia Pacific LeadeT5 Fund ill DEcetnber 2024 as a result of the Ftnan¢ial ConthiotAuthority's new Sustainability disclosure and labelling regime. The distributions to the Five Chariues #re fimded by realisittg units from the Columbia Threadneedle Responsible Global Equity Fur. No illcome is received artd tbe Futtdg accuulate theTrr dividends and do not pay out any ¢h, Any dividends or interest arisiTig Tn the Funds will be r¢fleGted ill their net asset values. Fees payabl¢ to Columbia Thr¢adn¢edl¢ and Stewart Inve8iors for managing the investments are Charged against the Fund5.
The William Leech Foundation Llmited - The Charity Trust Report of the Trustee for tbe year ended 31 March 2025 (eontlnued The Tn1.$ work 1$ ettiir¢ly depend¢ni on the investment re(urns from the endowment fund and the perforniance of the investjnents the portfolio during tILe flljancial year, is reported below. The global stock maTkets have continued to be irnpacted by geopolitical issues witb the value of global equities falllng 8ignifieantly in the first quarter of 2025. In February and March 2025, nwkets reacted lo the iEnpaci of policy ullcertainty on growth and illvestment as w¢ll as th¢ potential inthtionary inwaci of trade restrtciions follOltig rariff announcements by Ptesidellt TruP, after his re-ele¢tioll Nov¢mber 2024. In anticipation of'teciprocal wiffg" being imposed and the potential tTnpact ott global trade, stock markets fell sharply on 31 March 2025. Markets fell lurther ai the start OF Apnl 2025 once rbe a¢al're¢pr0Cdl" taritTs were allnouttced and rdllied slightly in the following days following & pause in the in)plementation date of these tariffs {with tbe exception of those irnposed on China). The full impact is thcrcfor¢ 8till to be seen and there are concerns around ibe impact on global gromob. infiation alld iDt¢rest rates. In addition, major thnOlOgY stocks, the "Magnificcnt 7" fell sharply in the fllst quarter of 2025 a8 investors questioned these finn5' large capital spending commitments after the Chinese.$tattsp, Deepseek. launched a new low-coit Artificial Intelligence (Al) n)odel. The war in Ukraine Continues and the situation in themiddle Eastremains a concern with thepotential forfilrtherescalalion and threats to supply chatns given the colliinuing disruption to the Red Sea shipping routes. The outlook for the 2025,'26 fInancial year has become mor¢ ¢haller¢ging with a high level of uncertainty existing. The proposed US tarifft were broader and stceper than expected, covering Jnore countrie5 and at 'gher rate5. Global trade flow8 aTe at greater risk and continued market volatility is expected as nations spOnd retoliatory tsriff8 trr seek ne8otialed solutions. It is possiTr¥le that higher baseline tartffs will remain but with the ¢x¢e1Ve rntes to b¢ n¢gotiJted down and the i]npact on inflation, ¢conomi¢ growth alld interest rates is still to be see Our investment managers are looking at the potential iTnpacts on their underlytng portfolio8. Columbia Threadneedle have been making tactical adjustrn¢nts to upgrdde portfolicTr quality where they beliwe this is appropriaie and remain cautiOU8 Ilot overreact in the PLlrtfoli08 at this stage. They believe that their focus on companies with good pricing power should stand them in good stead. They have atso reduced their exposure lo the IT sector, which is particularly vulnerable to tariff5. Siewart lllvestors bave had a disappoirtting year in tcrnis of perfOrnncC. The Fund ha5 retsined its large overweight position towards India and undenveight SItion to China compared to it$ benchmark and has continued to be hii by the reversal in perforniance of these iwo large market9. From a tariff perspective. Iudian phanllac¢utica]8 are of most coocern as most of these companies sell goods to the USA withouthaving anufaClri% a55¢ts in the USA. St¢wartInveston hav¢ been looking to reduce it8 holdings in those companies which are Tru]nerable to tariffs alld their Straiegy continues to be to invegt in high quality companies that are aligned with sustsinable developtnellt. The TnLStee transferred a totsl of £807.720 from the unapplied rerLm of the endowmcnt fimd to the unrestrieted ttd. The net resuli of tbeye f10r$ is that the dowmellt fulld decreased in value from £23.6L2,398 to £22,030.149 at 31 Mar¢ 2025. A total rrn approach is tsken to inveslthent artd tbe objective of the Dt$tribution poli¢y agreed by the Trustee is to provide a sustainable and continuing fllMncial 8UPlX)rt to the Five Ch2rities. Currently, kIng account of ihe long-terni nature of the endowment fid, distriblon8 are set at 4.kn of tbe rolling five-y¢ar av¢rag¢ (Trf th¢ Tn$,8 n¢t &4set value. The Truste¢ re¢ogDises thai in establishing the leyel of distrkbution it has a duty of faÉrn¢ss toward5 both present 4nd fvture ben¢fici8rie$ - the prin¢ipl¢ of int¢r-g¢n¢rational equity. Distributions to the FEve Charities Èn the financial year atnount¢d to £800,010 (2024.. £760,500). The ri%k profile of the investment portfolio is medium to high. The Tnt 18 a long-terni investor and the Ttustee, oll professiollal advice, Temains of the view that a WTrrtfolio weighted towards equities remain8 appropriate. The total return on the portfolio is measured agaillst the Consutner Price Index and a wcighted benchmark reflecting the neutral asset allocation.
The William Leech Foundatlon Limited - The Charity Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 (totttillued) Investtnents In thc year ended 31 March 2025 the return of the Colutnbia Threadneedle Responsible Global Equity Fund was-3.1% which was below the bettChnrk {MSCI World index) relL of 5.20/D (gross of fee$). The ColUbI ThreadneIe Respousible Sterling Bond Fund's return wa5 2.20/0 whirh was slight]y below the benchtuark (iBoxx Non-Gilts all mamriti¢S} return of 2.4 /• (gro of fees). The Stewart lllYe8tors Asia Pacifi¢ Leaders Fund's return Was-0.70/ which was below the benchmark (MSCI AC Asia Pa¢ifi¢ ex Japan Net index) reiurn of 6.8fj/ Ill rhe fthanci&l yeaT, the Consum¢r Prices Index ("CPIH") rose by 3.4/0. Over th¢ five-year period 10 31 March 2025, the annuallsed tllrn of the Columbia Threadneedle R¢spon$ible Global Equity Fund was I I.OO/o wmpared to IL% bcnchmaTk rern of 15.P/th (gro&s of fcesl. the annualised return of the Columbia Threadneedle Responsible Sterling Bond Fund over 5 years was-O.l /0 compared to its beDchtnark rern of -0.2Q/o {gross of fees). Over the same pertod, CPIH rose in 10t by 25.3Vo. The sWart Investors Asia Pacific Leader8 Fund has returncd 3.00/(* (annu81i5ed) since invcsknent in June 2022 against the Fund's own benc]llnark return of 4.1010. At 31 Mar¢h 2025. the portfolio was valucd at £22,025,422 and the asset allocali¢m of the Tjust was 90.6/0 ColuuLbia Threathieedle Respollsible Global Equity Fund, 1.60/0 Columbia Threadlleedle Responsible Sterling Bond Fulld and 7.8° Stewart Inve$tors Asia Pacific Leaders Fund. The investment managers report to the Tru$t¢e Company at quarterly and atuwal intervals. These report8 includc eoon¢)mic and market review8, transaction details and portfolio valuations. Reserves policy At 31 March 2025. tbe balance in the unrestricied wai £4,736 (2024.. £6.J07). This balance was used to fund part of the distribution to the Five c11te5 in April 2025. The policy is not to hold SilfiCant sums in the unrestricted fund. so aximisittg the amount in thE end0ellt fvnd that Can be invested. Th¢ investmentmanagers are infonned of th¢ amount tr) be transferred from the unapplied total rebmi element of the en(hw¢0I fimd at the start of eacb financial year. Willrawal8 are spread evenly over the financial ye¥r to fiu]d the monthty distributions. This poliGy is reviewed annually. Plans for future periods As noted above, on 16 May 2008 the invc8tment objectives were changed to allow the use of a total r¢tum strace¥y. The directors believe that the total return investment objectives should enable the investment nlagerS to produce greater inve51ment returns and so in due cours¢ this should lead to greater di%tributions to the beneficiArie.4. The directors of the Truste£ Company have agreed that the dtstribulions to the Five Chatities in the year ending 31 March 2026 will amount to £800.010 (2025.. £800,010). The TNstee Cotllpany reviewed the distribution policy in Febary 2024 and coll¢lud¢d thai it rell1Cd appropriate. The llexi formal review is gcheduled to tske place ill the ycar ending 31 March 2027 with distribution amounty reviewed annually by the Buard of the Trnstee Compally. The Ttee Company expects the geopolitical landscape to remain challen¥ing in the Short to mediutll terni, wtth the current uncertainty around global trade tariff5. the colltrnuing war in Ukrdine and coD¢erns about filltber e9calation in the Middle Easi. The Board of the Tru8tee Company will continue to monitoi investmellt perfornL2nce Closely taking into a¢cL>Ullt this contirtuin¥ elevated risk profile. The Tnjst's distribution policy should dampeTh the impact ofvolatility on tbe distributions to the Five Clwitiey and with a diversified wrtfolio. the Tryst shwld be well-placed to provide continuing support to beneflarI¢S in the future. Th¢ wrrent Ethical lllvestment p)lioy and praciices statemeDt can be found on page
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Report of the Trustee for the year ended 31 March 2025 Icontinued Statement of Trllstee's responslbllities The TDJse Company ts responsible for preparing the Trustee's report and the financial statetlleots io accordallce with applicable law ottd re8ul&tions. Under that law th¢ Trust¢¢ h&8 prepared the fitMllcial $taternents in accordance with Unid Kingdom Accounting Standards. Gorllprisillg FRS 102 "The Finaocial Reporting Stattdard applicable in the UK ¥nd Republic of Ireland" and applicable law (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accountiug Practice). Under that law the Trustee must not approve the financial siatement8 uDle%g it is satlsfied thai they gxve 8 true and fair view of th¢ state of the affairs of the Tmst and of the in¢oming resources alld appli¢ation of resources of the Trusi for that peri4xI. tll pr¢pariug these financial statements. the Trustee is required to.. 8elecl suitable a¢¢ountiJg policies and then apply them ¢onsiStenlly' observe the methods and principles in tbe appli¢abl¢ Charities SORP. make judgemenlb. and estinydtes tbat aTr r¢a$onable and pnmlent; slate whether FRS 102 'Yhe FirciaL Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" has been follow. subject to any material departures disclosed and explained ill the financial 5tstements' ad prepare the financial atements ott the going concern basis unless it 15 inappropriate to presullle that th¢ TTU5t will ¢ontinue in business. The TNsiee 18 responsxble for keepin& proper accounting records that disclose with reasonablc accllTacy at any time the fjnaocial position of the Trust and enable the Trustee to ensure the fwallcial ststetllents comply with th¢ Charities Act 2011, the applicable Charity (Accounts and Reports) Regulations and the provibions of the Trust Deed. The Trust¢¢ is also resFK)n8iblc for safeguarding the assets of the trust and hence for tsking reasonable steps for the prevention and detcction of fraud alld othel iTregularities. Appointment of audltor$ Azets Audit Services have indicated their willingness to stattd for reappointtnent at the forthcoming Annual Gelleral MeetiT]g. A rt%olution for th¢ re-appointment of Azeis Audit Services as auditors of the Trust 15 to be proposed at the forthcoming Annual Genernl Meetitig. The Trns¢¢e wish¢s to pul on record irs thanks to MaTcia Lant aud Lindsey Nicbolls for their 8UPPOrt which has ettablcd their work in support of the Five Charities. Approved by th¢ TnL8tee and signed on its behalf by.. LQ.C SacL Andrew Dire¢tor William Seddon DiTECtor J 2025
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charlty Trust Ethical investment policy and practices for The Charity Trust Our policy is to invesl in a tnanller consistent with the protllotion of the objects and principles of the Five Charities. We aim to strike a balance bettyeen investin8 iti ways that take account of Christian princEples and ethical considerations and $¢¢uring strong financial returns for the Five Charities over the long terni. It 18 our opinion that in the long terni an ethical iovestment policy along the lines set out below iy unltkely to be of sigllificant detriment to rates of investmellt retLWll. We have prepared this policy in consultation with the Five Clwitie5 but reco8llise that this policy 15 ulti[atelY the responsibility of the directors. Our policy take8 into account the Church of Ellgland Ethical Investment Advigory Cjroup (EIAG)'s guidance on ethical inv¢stm¢nl iu the Selection of our investments. We believe that this guidance broadly retIts the Christiau ethical persptiVeS of the Five Charities aud that it is helpful to draw upon EIAG'S expertise it) such mattets. The EIAG guidelilles are also r¢adiiy avai]able to ourlllve5knent MaDag¢ and iherefore be a helpful and Clear point of reference for them. Recognising that we should not bind ourselves absolutely to the views of an external body, we will review EIAG guidance on a regular basis tts asse88 how far it retnaitis &ppiopriate for us, porti¢ularly as major new areas of exclusion are brougbt in or ag existin¥ restrictions are reconsidered. Exp¢rti8e in EnviroDmentaI Social aod GovernallGC investment i5sue5 is one of the ¢riteria we us¢ to $¢l¢ct our Inv¢5tm¢nl Matsttgers. we willal80 considerthe ethical credentialsofthe Investment MaDagers themselves in tnaking that appointment. Through our membership of the Church Investors Group, we will gi)are ourper8pective8 witb other like-minded investors and together will aim to encourage con]panie8 to wfortn in an ethical and r&8ponqible msnner. Cash Investments When making cash deposits we will not use any banks in Bthose shares EIAG would reconllllend we should not illves(. Colledive investments The portfolios of The Foundation TrusL The Charity Trust, th¢ William Lewh Research Fund and William Leh (Investh)ents) Lid are invested in Collective 1nVebtellt fimds. The ethical investniellt policies adopted by these funds br¢)adly comply with EIAG guidelines. We will continue to liaise with the nllagerS of these filllds and monitor any changes in their ¢thi¢al investment policies. There will be times when it is ptudent io hold othereollective inveslmEnt8 in order to access less liquid parL8 of the markets aud achieve adequate diverstfication within our portfollo. for exarnple to invest in smaller companie8 or companies lisied iti less developed countries. We recogniye, however. that ththE are particular¢haU¢nges in 8cr¢ening th¢ ¢thical credentials of all the compolltnt parts of some ¢olle¢tive Investtn¢rLts.. We will tberefore r¢vi¢w r¢gularly th¢ ratiotwle for $u¢h itive.%tmetits and th¢ tent to which th¢y may include holdings that would nomially be exGluded by EIAG guideline5. We will also liaise with invegtment rnanagers over their holdings and will tnonitor the impltmentation of their policy. mOltOrIg alld revltw We will JnonitOT our adberence io theye principles and the fiDancial irnpt of this ethical investment policy at]nually. If tbe findings of ourpertodi¢ Teview show a significant detiitncntal impact that is eXted lo persist in the k)ng terni, then we will discuss with the Five Charitie% whether or not the poli¢y.%hould be amended. In additioll, if the Board decides to change its iIiVEsiTnent approach atMI return to a directly held iDvestsDents, this policy will be reviewed wd ated accoidingly. We will fortllally revicw this policy as a whole ¢v¢ry three years. More ittformlion &bDut EIAG aDd its policies may be found at: s'.Ilwww.¢hur¢h f I d. h-instilionSleth7ca1-Ivestrnct-adVis NOIÈ.. The EL4G steMt ofEtAical JpkvesÉment Poltcy has been wiihdraww and Is In thepr¢>eess ofbeing replaced with an EIAG guidaRce paper ethical inveslmenl. This policy will be updatéd tLs n&c¢ssary once (kis papgr hLU been publ£shed.
Tbe William Leech Foundation Limited - The Cbarity Trust Risk management stfttement The Trnstee Company's appn)a¢h to the managetnent of riyk is designed to eiydble the Board to proactively id¢ntify and manage risks to 5UPPOrt the a¢hiEvetDeDt of the T$¢.& obje¢tiv¢s. The Board is responsible for ensuring that adcquate systems of risk Etwjagement are in place and that it has a consistent appetite for risk aud that the level of risk 15 cornmensurate with achiev¢nwllt of its objeetive¥. A key part of the process is the maintenallce of a detailed Risk Register, whicb is reviewed regularly with any significant changes betng TEPOrted to the Board The Board identified a number of key risks and these are s¢¢ ou¢ below together with an explanation of it8 mttigation Strategie5 and asscssment of each ri9L KEY IUSK AREA l. Inveytmellt MITIGATION STRATEGIES al M&croetonomi¢ rk comdlilDll$lincluding exchangerat4 interestr&t¢and inflation risks) Could r¢duce our Ability to deliver long- term real growth of inwme to our Etn¢ficiari¢$. Alihou8b will always be ¢xpOS to thort-lcm) tnatket volatility. we base dssthbulion5 on ourrolling five-year av¢rage na asser value, which h¢lps to smooth the iD)pact of short-t¢rm markct flucmati(>ns. Our irtvesttn¢rLts art beld in diversifi¢d fund5. which tOmPTtse global equities and sitrlirtg ixMd5, to spread risk. Thr Bu8 considers (hat a globally div¢rsified Infolio is a go(Klh¢dge against the matroe£onomic and maEketTi$ks, As a lortg-tuttl investor we consriously hold a high weighting thward5 equities. 89 we belicv¢ this offers the best prospec¢5 of proittiin8 our endowrn¢nt agaillst infiation and d¢Jivering r&Jl growth tsver the long temi. Most of our inve5e¢S can b¢ liquidated in the 8h()rt term. enabling us to siistairt short-tcnn disiribulions Even wha7 interest or dividend ral¢b yr¢ low. W¢ do not hedge cutrenry risk bccausc we believe the costs of doing so outweigh the berJefil¥ given our liquiitity and long-tenn perspettiV¢. Assessmeni.. Curre&Yt mork¢t Cond10$ dre £rfremdy vo141ile. ThÉ "retlprotlll"Iqriff rtOUaFe¢weMtsbyrhe US&dmixiFtrAtioA l Apri12Q25cAuseduncertdlrtty loglob41 trnde and ttock moretsfellshorply l# ofihese chunges o 31 Mor¢h 2025 in Ihefollojving until o 904&y poi¢se on the mosrpmhilive l#riJls (w4thtectPr1o ofihoseon Chi#¥) 10 Apnl21125to en&blff Imrthep hÉgoÉi4lions io Mkepltt¢e. Th¢ imp4ci ofall t>lihis on globu1groj, inflaiio And interest r&Éés i¥ silll to bv $eff Thts Hncertuittty Lg In odditson to ¢he ortoing siluaiions th U1(rne qnd the Middle Eusl wht¢b rem4in of ¢oMeepn However, to the lon84erm h4rture ofour endowMeAt&nd o¥r qbdttyio Siiioothflow. olineomeJ, econtpmic ld condi¢ion& The 8eopfjlilicql 1onds¢ape Mrfll CLTr#tinuE lo r¢m4AA thollenging th Ihe short ihe TruJte¢ ¢On1/nH ro performqnce tsking #c¢owiiihi5 elevatedr1skpr0f Regular meetings aTchcld with th]T Thanagcrs to monitor their perfomian¢e. We Compa the Magers. perfortnanrc against extL¥ttal benchmarks to help hold them to ace4)Ullt. Our policy is lo catry out regularre-t¢ndering exerci for inve5thient managem¢rLt SaViCeB. b) Illvestment Mxn•ger rlsk undcrperformanc¢ by investmujt managerg could tYdur¢ the rtmms wc are ablc io deliver. Th¥ frLV¢Stment Committee US¢5 the sctvice8 of InttI1C$, a spccialist irtvestrnent rcporting scrvi¢e firm. an ind¢wdent investtn¢nt ronsulrant io assist in monitoring th¢ investrncnt perfornian¢¢ of the Ttusr's fund mllnggws.. to dSSe55 whethLY the portfolios meei Iheir Obj¢]Ve5. thai the furtds b¢ing managed as ?ccted' trtd wh¢ther thcr¢ is an efficient mix of man88Ct5. A&%usmen¢.. Iwrovenith w¢reslarringio beseen unti131 2025 bui since tlie# siotk h4vef#llen 5igNiftcuMdy in Ilght of murkel uncerttTiAty rvimd ihe Imprfci of the punitive twijys by rhe U& The prtuse in Ihe lposilioN ol trifft on JO April 2Q25 sie&di¢d ihg msvrkets sllgh¢ly but the fe certolnty remains os negofvilifrns now Mke pl&cÉ ihe level which Hvllbeiwoset£ 04rthvthentmqnagersco#tin¥¢loreviewrhe lmpact0fike
nnouAcÉhtents on thetYs¢ock holdthgs OJA4 the Irtveslmeni Icjrydseape l¢Jokf utrérnely
th¢ile in the shon The Tr¥slee conrinues to ¢heperfo¥MaNce of ihe Investme closd
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust KEY RISK AREA 2. Covernantt ad kry rgone1 ri5k5 As a small organisation wchave a hi8hw- than-average dependertcy OTr our two ctnb¢r5 of staff. and rely on having sufficient spalist cxpertist On OUT Board. MITIGATION STRATEGIES Appointing independent dirwtors allows wific $ki118 to be rmiled where th¢se are not alre8dy in place througll Out charity-nominaied ditWlvTS. A biennial BoatKI sdf-a55¢55ment proces5 takes pl8L¢ to monitor the quality of our Bov¢rnanc& Care] d[LLm¢nlatloTh of proceduJEs And word5 hws been sct up to e4)able new staff/advis$ to pick up information quickly Should our staff leave or be irlcapacitated unexpect¢dly. A&fe5sMeAt.' We bdieve ih4t we hove good levels of governance ottd oeegss lo appropriuie I1{ ihere will &lw4ys be q ruk relArin8 ro the Ios5 ofkry3tqff embers, weh&vegoodconiinuitymeasur£glnplace. Addllionl1V&SrmeThlklII5 Jvere ddea io Ihe Bo#rd olthe Trusiee Cowrty ui Febpuqry 2(124 ¢0 Increrfse its rp¢rtly¢ In ihly 3. Fraud We need lobe vigilant about the risks of internal and external fraud impactitig upon our oper&tions, and sure our fund5 are usttj for th¢iT prop¢r ¢h8riiable PUEPOS¢& Dual authorisation controls are in pla¢r for on-lin¢ payments. Inyestmenl wiihdrawa]s ¢an only be made by authorised sigll4tvriE& Signatory limits are in place tor all Cheques. External oudiiors tr¢ rqutrcd to look out for potential mat¢r¢al irregulltieS and have direct a¢Le88 t(>th¢Chair a5 well as tEwrting spxifjrallyonthi's arca eachyear. Wt pltcr reliance on the sysiwns a]xd int¢rnal audit operations of OUT bank¢ts and investment manttgEf5 regulated bodies. We revi¢w the annua] flnancial %tat¢¥nents of our beficIaritt$ tts ensure they coniinuc to use our fvnds for appmpTiat¢ charitable PULposes. Assdgsjneftt.. Ih1• the pmrttcol eoAsfvin¢$ of 54wo11 orygni50tiw4 WE believe have o1lrEwn&l¢ sieps roprév¢nifwM& 4.R¢ utath)nAI rlsk WilliaJn Le<ch iiself Ès a relètively low- pr()File organisation but our poliLi4% and behaviour% could impact on thc reputation tsf th¢ FÉve Charities &8 our berI¢laTi¢%. Wehav¢ adopted and imple]nrDt¢d an cthiLxI investmentw)licy in ¢onsultation with the Five Charities and ttiTn to follow the reMmendatio]IS of th¢ Church of En8land's Ethi] Investsnent Advisory Group IEIAGI. We rnaintain high professtonal standards in our handin8 of T@1I0n$hipS with profcssiothal advisf#Y. ASS581.. Glven ih#¢ Jve follow dhlcdl zuldelthes &strthlLsAéd by Ihe EIAGP Jve ¢QNsIder unlikelp ¢h&t the Leeth b•refuc110115 would be rhepurtieular iars Of&dr5¢PUbliC- ulthoyxh sornepress#egroiip$ Thigh¢wim w tTnd•ther church Thg thrtfomtYI revlÉJv olthe Erhical Inve5tsXfttpolicy Qv ihe Truslee Comp4ny placert 7Febn14ry2Q23. ThplI¢S1O1ert1 1s&1so r¢viewed4nnuallyby¢he Trtsrfee eNsMre th4turemdirt$ ¥ lo The Athformrtlrev Df*hepolicN wlllthkÉplffcè 10
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Independent auditors, report to the Trustee of The William Leech Foundatio Limited- The Charity Trust Oplnioll We have audited the finaucial $taternellts of The Williatn Leech Foulldalion Lirnited- Th¢ Chlty Trust (the,Cltsri for the year ended 31 March 2025. which coprise the Stateellt of Finallcial Activitie5. Balallce Sheet and Notes to the Financial Statements, in¢dIng a summary of sisnificani accounting wlicies. The fitsancial reporting framework that has been applied in thetr preparation is United Kingdom Accounting Stsndard. comprising Charities SORP - FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Srandard applicable ill the UK alldRepublic of treland, and app]icable law Iutjited Kingdom Generally Accepted Ac¢ountitYd Practice). In our opinion the financial statements.. give a trt and fair iiew of the $tate of the charity's affairs as 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expendimre for the year then ended" have been PToperly prepared in cOrdanCe 7th United Kingdom Generally Accept Accounting Pra¢tiGe,' and haye be¢u prepared its ac¢ordan¢e with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011. Ba818 for oplnlon We ¢onducted our audit ina¢¢ordanc¢ with International Standards onAuditing (UK) (ISAS (UKI) 8nd applicable law. Our responslbilities under those stalldards are fLLrther described in the Auditor'5 responsibilkties for the audit of the fiDallcial statetnents section of our report. We are indBpendent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevdllt to our audit of ihe fin&n¢i81 statements in the UK, including the FRC'S Ethical Standard. and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilitie8 in acconlance with the9e requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtaitied is sutYi¢ient and appropriate to provide a basis forour opinion. Conclusions relating to going concern In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustee's use of the going coocern basis of accountillg io the PTeparntion of tbe fiaancial 5tatem¢nts is appropriate. Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified ally material uncertainties relating to events or conditiolls thai, individually OT collectively, may casi significant doubt on the ¢hariiy'8 ability to continue as a going concem for a period of at least twelve tnonths from when the original fmancial Statements werc auihorised for issve. Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of ihe Trnstee with respect to going Collcem are described in the relevattt 5tiOnS of this report. Otber infortnllitin The Trnstee is responsible forthe otherinfom)ation. The other Inforntiott comprises the illfornialion included ill the annual report. other than the fuwlcial statements and our audiror's report the)n. Our opillion on the r]nancial statements does not cover the other inforniation and, except to the extent otherwise explicttly stated in our report, we do not express any forni of assurance conclusion thereon. In ¢onnKtion with our wdit of th¢ financial statements, our r¢sponsiThility is to read the other iofonnation anrl in doing so, ¢onsi(ler wh¢th¢r the other infotmation is rnaterially ill¢ODSiSt¢nt with the futan¢ial stat¢m¢nts or our knowledge obtained ill tILe audii or otherwise appear5 to be matcrially mi5Stated.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Independent auditors, report to the Trustee of The William Leeeh Foundatlon Limited - The Charity Trust (eontillued) If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material mi.$8latements, we are required to deterniitte whether there 1$ a material misstatemeni in the financial Statements or a rnaterial mi&statement of the otber itiforniatioll. If, based on the work we bave perfornied, we conclude that there is a rnateri41 misstatement of this other InforntiOll, we are required to reportthat fa. We have nothing to report in this re8&rd. M4lters on whl¢h w¢ •re requlred to report by except(oll In the light of our knowl¢dg¢ and understanding of the charity aod its environment obtained in the course of the audii. we have not identified material mis$tateJnents ill the Trnstee's Report. Wc hav¢ nothiag to report ill respect of the following matters where the Charities Act 20L I reqLLires us to report to you if, ill our opinion.. adequate ac¢ountin8 Mords have not becn k¢pL or returns adequate for our audit have not bee received from branches not VlgLted by us; or Inctal statements are not ill agreement with the accounting re¢ords and retUrn5,' 01 certain di%losures of Tru5tee'5 reu¢[at1Oll spxified by law are not thade. or we have not received all the inforniation and explanations we require for our audit. ResJMbnslbMltle8 of the Trllstee AS explain¢d mor¢ llY in the Ststemellt of Tntee,8 Re8pon%ibilitie5 (set out on page 7), the Trnstee is respongible for tkne preparation of th¢ fllbincial statemeots and for being satisfied th?t th¢y give a trne and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustee d¢terniine5 is ue¢essary to enable the prepardtion of flluncial stsiements thal are free from nydtrrial misstatemen¢ whether due to fraud or error. Itt preparing the financial statement% the TLUStee is responsible foT assessing the charity's ability to ¢ontinuc a8 a going disclosin¥, as applicable, matters relaied to goitig ¢on¢¢rn and using the going concern basis of arcotsnting unless the Trustee either intends to liquidate the cbarity or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so. Audits>r's rswonsibilities for the audlt of tbe finaDeial Statements Our objectives are to obtsin reasonable &$suranc¢ about whether the financial statement8 as a whole are free from material isstatemenL whether due to ftaudorerror, a1 tQ issue an auditor'sreportthat includes our opinion. Rea8onable assurance is a bigh level oFassurance. but is not a guarante¢ that an audit Conducted in acccprdance with ISAb (UK) will alwa)F detect material misstatem¢nt when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or ettor and are CCbn5idered teriaL if, individually or in the aggtTgate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of tbes¢ fanCial statenMts. Irregulariti¢s, IlUdIng fraud, are inytsnces of lloll-complianc¢ with laws and regulations. We desi¥n procedur¢8 in lille wtth our re9ponsibilities, outlitted above, to detect Tnaterial [$State]nents its respect of irregulatilie& includillg frau(L Th¢ extrnt to which our proccdure8 are capablc of detecting irreEthlaritieg, including fraud is dctailed below.. Enquiries with raanagement, about any known or suspected illstallces of non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud. Reviewing board Tnillutes; Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their significant accounting estlmates; and Auditing the risk ofmallagementovettide of contr(Tr18, inclllding through testing journal entries and otheradjustsnents for appropriatenes5. l2
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Independent auditors, report to the Trustee of The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust (colllinuedl BeCa(e of the field in which ihe client operates, we identified the following areas as those most likely to have a mat¢rial impacton the financial statements.. Health aud Safety: anti- bribery and corruption,. and complianGe with the UK CJwitie5 Act. Owing to the itherent limitatiolls of an audit, there Ès an wyo1dab1e nsk thal some materiat mi$statements in the financial statements may tsot be detected, even though the audit is properly planned and perfo[lld in accordance with th¢ ISA (UK). For instance, the rther remcTrved non-compliance is from the eventg and traDsactions reflected in th¢ faDcIal statemellts, the less likely the auditor ts to become aware of it or to rQgnISe the llOD-COtnpliau¢e. A lurtber description of our r¢spoll¥il)ilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reportitig Council's website ai www.frc.org.uklauditorsre5ponsibilities. Thi8 dcscription fo9 part of our auditors repon. Use of our report This report 18 tyade solely to the charity Trnstee in accordance with seclion 144 of the Clwities Act 2011 and r¢gulationg made under swtion 154 of thai Act. Our work has been undertak¢n 80 that we rnigbt state to the Trustee those rnatters we are requir¢d to state to tbe Tru9tee in all auditors, report and for no other puOSe. To dLe fullest exteTrt perniitted by law. w¢ do not a¢cept oiassLUn¢ fe5PL)nsibility to anyone otb thau the charity and itsTrustee for ouraudit work, forthis rew OE fgr the opinions we have fom]gd. Simon Brown BA ACA IKhA (Senior Stathtory Auditor) For and on behalf of Azets Audit Services Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditor Bulrnan House Regent Centre Gosforth Newcastle upon TyTh¢ NE3 3LS Date.. 2025 Azets Audit Services is eligible to act as auditor ill terojs of S¢¢tion 1212 of the Companies Act 2006. Azets Audii Services is a trading name of Azets Audit Services Limited 13
The William Leech Foundatfion Limited - The Charity Trust Statement of financial activities for the year ended 31 March 2025 Ullrestricted Ettdowmellt fuDd Total funds 2025 Unrestricted Endowmellt Total fLmds fund 2024 Note IDcome Iaves¢ment incom¢ 42,959 42.9S9 24,469 24.469 Total illcome 42,959 42,959 24,469 24,469 Expelldlture Annual Mallagement Charge r¢bates Chrvilable aclivits#S Expendinwe on charitabl¢ activitics (7C600) (76,660) {32.655) (32,655) 809,291 809,291 772.692 772.692 Total expeDdlturt 809,291 (76,660) 732.631 772.692 (32,655) 740,037 Net (expendithre)I income before Oossesygains OD Inves¢rneDts {809,291) 119.619 (689.672) {772.692) 57.124 (715.568) Net (losges)Igalns o illv¢$trneDts (894J48) (894J48) 3,139,278 3,139,278 Net (ExpendltMre)I (809.291) (774,729) {1,584.020) (772,692) 3.196,402 2,423,710 income FuDd transfers 8117,720 (8117,720) 772,692 (772,6921 Net movemeni Ill funds (1.571) (1082,449) {1584,0201 2,423.710 2,423.710 Total Cunds at th¢ begiwiing oEthe financial year TotAI funds Mt the end of tbe flnd21 6J07 23,612,598 23,618,905 6,307 21,188.888 21,195,195 4,736 22,1130,149 22,1134,885 6.307 23.612,598 23,618.905 There We no gains and loiges in the fJnan¢ial years other than those ted above. All incoming resources and r¢souEces expended (krive from Continltig a¢tivitie&. The notes on pages 18 to 21 forn) part of these fmancial stalements. 14
The Wfilllam Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Balance sheet as at 31 March 2025 Unrestrieted ElldoTYtnenl Totsl funds fund Unrestricted Endowment nd fid Total funds 2024 2025 Note Fixed assets ILve8tments 22,025,422 22,025,422 23,607,100 23,607.100 Total fixed a88ets 22,Q25,422 22.025.422 23.607,EOO 23,607,100 Current assets Debtors 1,130 4,n7 5,857 1.131 4.177 5,308 Cash at bank and in 8,653 8,653 10,778 1,321 12,099 Total currellt 9,783 4,727 14,510 11,909 5,498 17,407 Llabilides Creditor5= aTnounts falling due within olle year 5.602) 5.602 r4et eurrellt assets 4,736 4.727 9,463 6,307 5,498 11,805 r4et asstts 4,736 22,030,149 22,034,885 6.307 23.612,598 23.618.905 The funds of the ¢harSty Endowtnent funds 22,030,149 22,f130,149 23,612,598 23.612,598 Ullrestricted fiulds 4.736 4,736 6,307 6,307 Total funds 4,736 22,030,149 22,034085 6,307 23.612,598 23.618,905 The financial statements on pages 14 to 21 were approved by th¢ Twstee, The Willtam Leech Foundation Limited, on 2 September 2025 and were signed on its behalf by the under-mentioned two directors of The Wtlliam Leech Foundation Limited: And Dlrtetor William Seddon Director Th¢ not¢$ on pagcs 18 to 21 fonn part of these fanCIal ytstement&
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Statement of accounting policies Basis of preparation and assewnent of golng ¢ODcern These financial statements have been prepared on agoing concernbasis, under the historical cost Collventionas modified by the inclusion of investments at market valu< in accordance with the Aceoullting and Rq)orting by Charities.. State]nent of Recommended Practice applicable to charities prepaying their financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Ac¢ouutillg Stsndards, compTising FRS 102"The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Repubhc of Ireland" (etyective l January 2019), ond applicable law (United Kingd¢)m Generdlly Accepted Accounting Practicc), and the Citsrities Act 2011. The Trnst ¢on5trtut¢s a public benefit erAtity as deflned by FRS 102. The Trustee considers thai there ore no maierlal uncertainiieg about the Trust's ability ts> eoniinue as a going cottcern. The most sigllificant areas of un¢enainty that affeci the carrying value of a&sets' held by the Ttust are the level of ittvesttDent relum and the performance of the investments ark¢t5 (5e¢ investment policy and p¢rfotmancc and risk management se¢ti¢)ns of the Trustee's annual rep)rt for more inforniation) and this is tsue of the following financial perio(L8 also. b) Income recogllldon All Encome is r¢wgnis¢d once th¢ Trnst bas ¢utitlement to the income. it is probable that the income will be received and the atnoullt of the income receivable can be m¢Lsur¢d reltably. Interest on lunds held on deposit is iucluded when receivable and the amwrtt can be measured reliably by the Trust. this is norrnally on notifieatiott of the intereit paid or payable by tbe bank. Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been deelared attd notification hA8 been rettiv of the dividend due. Bond interest is recognised once notifted of payment due. Expenditure reeognitioll Liabilities are recogni5ed ds expendrture as on as there is a l¢gal or wnstNctive obligation ¢ODJrnitting the Trnst to that expendittire, it is probablethatsettlementwill Lie required and the smountof the obligation¢an be m¢ayured reliably. All expenditu AS accLled for oll the accDJtls ba818. d) Ch74ritble •ctivities These include payments to beneficiaries and governance and administration co¥t$ as s¢t out in note 2. Governance costs cotnprise audit fees, legal and professional fees and directors, indemnity insurance premiums (see note 2). Athninisttati(*n costy includc bank account maintenance fees and charges. The costs of preparing annual financial statements and Tnlee Jneetings are borne by William Leech Unvestmellt$) Lilted 2nd d&ails are set out ill note 8. tnvestments Investments are a forni of basic financial instrument and ar¢ initially recognised at their transactioll value and subsequently rneasured at thehr fair valuc as at the balance sheet date Using the closing price. The statement of fuJan¢ial acti3ryties include5 the Thct gains alld Ios¥eb atising on revaluatioll alld disposa]s throughout the flnancial year. The Trust hold$ units iti the Columbia Threadue¢dle Responsible Global Equity Fund, the Columbia Threadneedie Respoll5ible SterlitL8 Corporate Bond Fund a[ tbe Stewart Investors A¥ia Pacific Leaders Fund. Until 5 Septernb¢r 2023, these units were held iti the RAIF with Columbia Threadtkeedle. The units were then re-registered diTeCtly in the llame of the ctwi.ry Trnsl 80 the utts in the lld8 are now held directly by the Ciwity Trnst as opposed to thc RAIF. The funds are valued at a single price and this reflects the netasset value of the underlying illvesttnents. The lllvestent managerneat fee for the filnds 1$ Cbarged against the individual fund values.
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Statement of accounting policies (continued) Inve8tmeDts Where rebates Ofantal mageellt charges arc received, the8e are r¢invested directlybk into units oftheunderlying funds by the investment managers. The Trnst does not acquire put options, derivatives or other COD]plex financial instsillnents. The main Eorni of fllMn¢ial risk faced by the Trust is thai of volatility in equity Ènd inve51ment market8 dlle to wider economic co1ltIOns, the attitude of investors to investjnent risk alld cbattges iti sentirnent CODccrning equilieg and within particular Ctor8 or sub-sectors. All gains and losses are takeD to the Statement of F1thCIal Activities as they arise. Realised gains and losses oa investtncnt8 are calculated as the difference between sales proceeds and their opening Carrytng value or their puwha5e value if acquired subsequent to the first day of the finall¢1 year. Unreali5ed gains and losses are calculated as the diff¢ren¢e between the fair value at the year-end and their earrying valu¢. R¢allS and unr¢ali5¢d gaIr and Ios5¢s ar¢ ¢ombined in the Statement of Financial Activities. Fund accounting Th¢ Trust has a single endoThent fund, wb1chprodeS forthe Truytee to Iijvest the capital in perpetuity and is managed ou a total return basis. The Trnstee at irs discreuon may allocaie any part of thcunapplied total return to thc unrestricted fiukd of tb¢ TTUSt to be used for charitable purposes in accordance with th¢ Ttust Deed. The unrestricted comprises the current assets and liabih.ties thai the Trn$ is free ¢0 use in o¢¢ordan¢e with the ebaritablc objects. h) Forelgn eurreney The Tru¥t's fictional and prcsent&tion rrencY is the pound sterling. i) Cash flojy statement The TTU$t has taken advalltag¢ of the exemption available to small entities from pr4)arEtig a Cash flow statement ulldtr section IA of the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102). 17
The Willlam Leech Foundatlon Llmited - The Charity Trust Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 Taxation Th¢ Charity Tnt is a registered charity gnd ils non-trading inco]ne is exempt from t&xation. Analysis of expenditure on ¢harltable actlvfitles The following pawients wer¢ made to the Five Ciwities during the fmancial year.. 2&25 2024 Payments to benefieiaries The Briti8h alld Foreig Bible Society 16fl,IX12 152,100 Church Mission Society 100,002 152,100 The meth(15¢ Chuwh in Britain 160,002 152.100 The Salvation Army 160,IKJ2 152,100 The Sociery for Prtsmoiing Cbristian KDowled8e 100,002 152,100 Total payment5 to beneficiarie$ 800,010 760.500 Governance Costs Audit services 4,470 4,140 Legal and professional fees 4,497 7,727 Directors, indemtiity insurance 282 325 Total governaD¢e ¢o¥ts 9,249 12,192 Admlnlstratloll eosts Bank ac¢ount maintenance fees and charges 32 Total admillistratlOD costs 32 Total expenditure on charitable actiirfdes 772 692 Trustee S remuneratioD Th¢ Tru5te¢ did not rciv¢ was wt entitled to ony reAnuneratiO]L and expense9 iIi re¥peGt of its serviceg during the financial year (2024.. £JJil). There were no ejnployees during the financid y¢ar12024'. none).
The William Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Notes to the Financial Statements for the yeAr ended 31 Mareh 2025 (continued) Fund transfers A Charity Cornmission Order gr4nt¢d th¢ power of investing on a total r¢tum basis on 16 May 2008. At tbe time the power was granted the Trustee identified the value of the gift of permattent endowment received iti 1960. The difference between the value of the endowrnentfunds as at 15 May 2008 and the vaC of the gift component represented the opening balance of uttapplied renmi. The power permits the Trustee to invest pernlanently endowed fimds to maximi5e total return and io apply alk appropriate portion of the unapplied total return to income each financial year. Until the power is exercised to trdnsfer a portion of unapplied totsl return to income, the unapplied total return remains itivested as pan of the pernrdnent endowment. The powerallows the Tstee to decide in each financial yearhow muchof the ullapp total return is transfared to illcorne fulldy al available for expendibjre. Havillg considered its obligations under the duty of even-han(kdne&% btheen present and futIe betteficraries, the Trnstee made a transfer of £807,720 of unapplied iotal rettwn to unrestricted income 5Jllds. decision is in accordanc¢ with th¢ distribution p)licy estsblished in July 201 2025 2025 2025 Ullapplled total return Total Opening value of endowment Gift componettt of pernlallt endowrnent 81,900 81,900 Unapplied tothl retwn 23,530,69 23,530,698 To¢41 81.9(X) 23,530.698 23,612,598 Movement in unapplied total return and endowment ID the year". Investm¢nt i¢turn'. recognis¢d and UDrecognised (losses)Igains Investment retum.. dividends accumulated (894.348) (894J481 42,959 42,959 AMC rebate8 reinvested 76,660 76,660 Total {774,729) (774,729) Unapplied total return allocated to income (807,720) (807,720) L¥et movement In the year {1,582.449) (1582.449) Closillg value ofpermanent ¢ndoTvJueD¢ Gift oornpon¢n¢ of p¢rniall¢nt elldovdment 81,900 819IMI UDapplied total return 21,948,249 21,948,249 Total 81.900 21.948.249 22.030,149 19
The William Leech Foundatlon Llmited - The Charity Trust Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 leoDtinued) Investments 20Z5 2024 Market value at tbe beginning of th¢ f]Dancial year 23,61b7,100 21.185.376 Sales proceeds from dio$i5 (806,400) (770,501) AdditioL$ at cost 119.070 52,947 (Lossesygains in the fiDan¢Tal y¢ar (894J48) 3,139,278 M8rket value at the end of the fU1¢Ial year 22,025,422 23,607,100 Investmettts ai market value compri8e&. 2025 2024 Global cquity ndS Sterling bond fimds 19,95&658 21,532,874 3S7,fJ13 349.845 Asia Pacific equity fulld$ 1,711,751 .724,381 Matket value as 8t 31 March 21025,422 23,607,100 Historical ctsst as ai 31 March 13,508,516 13,846,292 Investments are ¢aTried ai fair value. lllvestcnts in equities and fixed interesl se¢urities are all traded in quoted public markets. Holdittgs in unit tmsis aod open-ended investtn¢nt companies aTe valued at the bid price. The basis of fair value for quoted investments is equivalent to the rna¢t value, u8ing the bid price. Asset sales and purchases are recogtiised at the d&tr of trade. The signifi¢an¢¢ of fuwicial instruments. to the ongoing flnancial sustsinability of the Trust 15 con5i(kred in the fwanckal review and inve5tmeDt policy and perfom)on¢e sections of the Ttltee,3 Annual Report. Debtors 2025 2024 Pr¢paym¢nts- illwratt¢e premium and investsnent perfcpnnance reporting services 1,130 1,131 Ac¢ndbottd inter¢$t 4.727 4,177 $,857 5,308 The insurance prenjiurn and investtnent performan reporting services prepayments relate to the unrestricied nd. A¢crned bond interest relates to the endowment fund.
The Williarn Leech Foundation Limited - The Charity Trust Notes to the Financial Statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 (colltinued) Credltors: amounts falling due within one year 2025 2024 Accrnalg- audit services 4,476 4,140 Creditors 571 ,462 5.047 5,602 All creditors relate to the unStriCted fun Related pY4rties Thc Trustee considers that it is related to William Leech (]nvestments) Limited by vitThe of baving coTDmon directors. Certain admiJll"gttation s¢rvic¢s areprovided free of charge byth¢ staff of William Leech (Investments) Limit¢d. These services bave aot been quantified for inclusioll in tknse financial statements as the amounis ore considered irnrnaterial. The TNstee considcr% it is the parent undertaking and Ultima controlling pariy of The Chaiity Tnt. It is a private compony limited by shares, incorporated in Euglall(L registration number 00664118. and 1.% a charity. registration nwnber 232062. The principal activity of the Company is to act as the sole Trustse for t1Ce charithble trusts, including The Willtarn Leech Foundation Limited- The Foundation TDJSI and Th¢ Williarn Lee¢h ReseaTGILFund. These are ¢onsid¢red to be fellow subsidiaries of the sarne parentundertaking aDdultimate controlling party. Paul Burrage. Maureen Dixtsn, John Harrison, Philip Poole (to 31 Jalluary 2025) and John Stallsfeld ar¢ representatives of the Five Chariiies. which have re1Ved paYents as set out ill not¢ 2. The consolidated fllmncial Statements of Th¢ William LeEch Foundation Litnited can be obtained from the Company S¢cretary at Bank Chambers, 26 Mosley Street, Newcastle upon Tylle, NEI IDF. 21