LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 31 JULY 2025**
## **CONTENTS**
|**CONTENTS**||
|---|---|
|**COMPANY INFORMATION**|3|
|**THE PLACE AT A GLANCE**|4|
|**WELCOME FROM THE CHAIR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE**|6|
|**PART 1 – GOVERNORS’ REPORT**||
|**STRATEGIC REPORT**|8|
|AIM 1 – MOVING PEOPLE|11|
|AIM 2 – MOVING DANCE|19|
|AIM 3 – MOVING WITH CARE|22|
|**PRIDE IN OUR PEOPLE**|25|
|**FINANCIAL REVIEW**|28|
|**GOVERNANCE REVIEW**|33|
|**PART 2**||
|**INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS**|44|
|**FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**|48|
|CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES|48|
|BALANCE SHEET|49|
|CASH FLOW STATEMENT|50|
|NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS|51|
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
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## **COMPANY INFORMATION**
The Board of Governors presents this Annual Report, incorporating the Strategic Report and Financial Statements, for the year ended 31 July 2025.
London Contemporary Dance (The Place) Limited is the legal name of The Place. Prior to 1 October 2025, the legal name was Contemporary Dance Trust Limited.
Throughout this document the organisation is referred to as The Place.
**Board of Governors** The Board of Governors who served during the period and to the date of approval were: Alan Bishop (Chair) John G Stewart Jane Alexander (Vice Chair) Elizabeth Varley Michael ‘Mikey J’ Asante MBE Liz Wilson Lisa Baglin Rosalind Wynn (until 2 July 2025) Helen Bailey Molly Jackson (from 1 September 2025) David R Blackburn Antony Kingston (from 1 September 2025) Derek Hicks Susan Orr (from 1 September 2025) Shaparak Rahimi James Sanderson (from 1 September 2025) Eva Sarma **Chief Executive** Clare Connor **Company Clerk** Dr Lise Smith
**Senior Staff: Artistic** Eddie Nixon, Artistic Director Christina Elliot, Head of Programming and Producing **Senior Staff: Education** Dr Lise Uytterhoeven, Chief Academic Officer Baptiste Bourgougnon, Director of Higher Education: Performance and International Development Anna Helsby, Director of Student Well-Being and Lifecycle Dr Efrosini Protopapa, Director of Research Josh Slater, Director of Higher Education: Pedagogy and Enhancement **Senior Staff: Administration** Caroline Busby, Chief Financial Officer Anna Cassidy, Director of Development Holly Conneely, Director of Communications Sanjay Dasani, Head of Operations Laura Naldrett, Head of Human Resources Elin Williams, Executive Producer
**Registered Office** The Place, 17 Duke’s Road, London WC1H 9PY
**Company Registered Number** 883094
## **Charity Registered Number** 250216
**Auditors** HaysMac LLP, 10 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1AG
**Bank** Barclays Bank Plc, Hanover Square Corporate Banking Group, PO Box 15163H, London SW1A 1QD
**Solicitor** CMS Cameron McKenna Nabarro Olswang LLP, 78 Cannon Street, London EC4N 6AF
**Investment Advisors** McInroy & Wood, 53 Davies Street, London W1K 5JH
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
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## **THE PLACE AT A GLANCE**
## **INCOME AND EXPENDITURE**
## **SCHOOL INCOME**
**38%** GRANTS **24%** HOME UK FEES **27%** INTERNATIONAL FEES **8%** CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING **3%** OTHER
## **PUBLIC PROGRAMME INCOME**
**48%** GRANTS **36%** EARNED INCOME **16%** FUNDRAISING
## **SCHOOL EXPENDITURE**
## **PUBLIC PROGRAMME EXPENDITURE**
**26%** TEACHING AND LEARNING **17%** LEARNING RESOURCES **19%** PREMISES AND DEPRECIATION
**16%** ADMINISTRATION
**18%** ACADEMIC COSTS **4%** SCHOLARSHIP AND BURSARY FUNDING
**24%** THEATRE AND ARTIST DEVELOPMENT **24%** PRODUCING AND TOURING
**14%** PREMISES AND DEPRECIATION **12%** ADMINISTRATION **13%** COSTS OF RAISING FUNDS **9%** CLASSES AND COURSES **4%** CREATIVE LEARNING
## **WHAT DO WE USE OUR RESERVES FOR?**
TO ENSURE OUR ACTIVITIES REMAIN FINANCIALLY SUSTAINABLE IN THE LONG TERM
TO ENSURE WE CAN MAINTAIN AND UPDATE OUR BUILDING AND EQUIPMENT
TO PROTECT US AGAINST EVENTS WHICH MIGHT DAMAGE OUR FINANCIAL HEALTH
TO ENABLE US TO TAKE CREATIVE RISKS AND REMAIN AT THE LEADING EDGE OF CONTEMPORARY DANCE WORLDWIDE
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
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## **OUR REACH**
## **15,000**
PEOPLE SAW 98 PERFORMANCES IN OUR THEATRE
**11,300 PEOPLE** SAW 51 PERFORMANCES OF 5 PRODUCTIONS BY THE PLACE ON TOUR
**2,400** PEOPLE WATCHED 61 RURAL TOURING PERFORMANCES BY 18 DANCE ARTISTS
**OVER 1200 STUDENTS** FROM 16 PARTNER SCHOOLS IN CAMDEN TOOK PART IN 10-WEEK CREATIVE PROJECTS WITH PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS
OUR FLAGSHIP PLAYGROUND TOUR REACHED OVER
**6,700 CHILDREN** ACROSS CROYDON, CRAWLEY, CAMDEN, CORNWALL, DEVON, READING, MILTON KEYNES, BRADFORD, AND THURROCK IN 5 WEEKS
## **OVER 13,000 PEOPLE**
FROM 3 TO 83 YEARS OLD - TOOK PART IN WEEKLY DANCE CLASSES. THERE WERE OVER 30,000 ATTENDANCES IN TOTAL WITH OVER HALF OF YOUNG PARTICIPANTS FROM CAMDEN
## **OUR GLOBAL CONNECTIONS**
WE HOSTED INTERNATIONAL ARTISTS FROM **ICELAND, ITALY, FRANCE, KOREA, CANADA, LEBANON, BELGIUM AND TAIWAN** AND TOURED WORK INTERNATIONALLY TO BELGIUM, CANADA, FRANCE, GREECE, DENMARK, THE NETHERLANDS AND SPAIN
**OVER 39 NATIONALITIES** WERE REPRESENTED ACROSS THE STUDENT BODY
**OUR MA DANCE: PARTICIPATION, COMMUNITIES, ACTIVISM STUDENTS HOSTED A 12-HOUR SYMPOSIUM** TO REACH OUR GLOBAL LEARNING COMMUNITY MULTIPLE TIME ZONES
## **OUR STUDENT EXPERIENCE**
**100% OF BA GRADUATES WERE IN EMPLOYMENT** OR FURTHER STUDY 15 MONTHS AFTER COMPLETING THEIR DEGREE (HESA GRADUATE OUTCOMES SURVEY 2025)
## **97% OF STUDENTS RESPONDED**
**POSITIVELY TO HOW GOOD STAFF ARE** AT EXPLAINING THINGS, AS WELL AS HOW OFTEN THE STAFF MAKE THE SUBJECTS ENGAGING
**97% OF STUDENTS FEEL SUPPORTED TO EXPRESS** THEIR IDEAS, OPINIONS, AND BELIEFS
**98% OF STUDENTS EXPRESSED SATISFACTION** WITH THE QUALITY OF INFORMATION ABOUT LCDS’S MENTAL WELLBEING SUPPORT SERVICES
**63% OF STUDENTS** ATTENDING OUR PREVOCATIONAL CENTRE FOR ADVANCED TRAINING PROGRAMME RECEIVED GRANT FUNDING SUPPORT THROUGH THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION’S MUSIC AND DANCE SCHEME (MDS)
## **OUR ARTISTIC IMPACT**
## **70 VISITING COMPANIES**
PRESENTED 100 PERFORMANCES IN THE THEATRE
**23 COMMISSIONS** OF NEW ARTISTIC WORK FROM 20 ARTISTS
**100% OF ARTISTS** WHO TOOK PART IN CHOREDROME REPORTED BENEFITS TO THEIR ARTISTIC PRACTICE
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## **WELCOME FROM THE CHAIR AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE**
This year, The Place has been at the heart of vital conversations, connecting with individuals, sector-leading organisations, arts leaders, and policymakers - all in support of dance as a powerful and dynamic force for education, creativity, and social change. Here’s how we turned those conversations into action this year:
## **BOLD STEPS IN ADVOCACY AND POLICY**
In July, we welcomed Professor Edward Peck ahead of his appointment as incoming Chair of the Office for Students (OfS). His inaugural visit showcased our unique ecology by demonstrating progression and graduate employability in action, while allowing us to reflect on how regulation can enable excellence when paired with world-leading provision.
Throughout the year, we’ve been in close dialogue with Arts Council England to support the case for growth to the Treasury. Both Higher Education and the arts have endured sustained reduced investment. Yet the transformative power of dance remains largely untapped by government. Despite encouraging rhetoric about skills development, regeneration and place-making, dance’s potential within the creative industries continues to be undervalued at policy level.
## **BIG MOVES IN STRENGTHENING DANCE EDUCATION**
A key focus of our advocacy has been with the Department for Education, aiming to strengthen the provision of dance within the National Curriculum Review. Closer to home, we remain committed to sustaining the national Music and Dance Scheme, which supports our Centre for Advanced Training, now proudly marking its 20th year. Our front cover image, featuring Florence Iozzi Hodgson performing in choreography by André Fabien Francis (himself a CAT alum), powerfully symbolises the strength, dynamism, and creativity of a programme that empowers some of England’s most disadvantaged young people.
## **PROPELLING PARTNERSHIPS AND PATRONS**
As part of our national profile-raising efforts, we were honored to meet the formidable Angela Rippon CBE and to stand alongside her in the inaugural Let’s Dance campaign, delivered in partnership with the Sport and Recreation Alliance. This movement spotlighted the unrivalled health benefits of dance and will return in 2026 with renewed momentum. In March, we were thrilled to announce the appointment of our new Royal Patron, HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh. His engaging visit marked the beginning of an exciting and impactful relationship.
We remain profoundly grateful to all our Patrons for their unwavering support in advancing our mission. Lord Tony Hall has championed our advocacy work, while Lord Simon Russell has graciously hosted events and visits. Farooq Chaudhry CBE continues to inspire through his creative and international leadership, and Anthony Van Laast CBE’s fundraising efforts have made a tangible difference to student hardship support.
In July, following our nomination, Paloma Faith received an Honorary Doctorate from University of the Arts London at the Royal Festival Hall. Her courageous and heartfelt acceptance speech continues to resonate with digital audiences, offering a powerful message to graduating students and their families.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25** 6
## **LEAPS FORWARD IN ARTISTIC IMPACT AND REACH**
At our Open Studio fundraising event, we celebrated the imaginative work of dance artists operating at the cutting edge of the art form, and shared the evolution of our artistic model and the impact of our producing and touring activities. These continue to reach new audiences: The Rural Touring Dance Initiative has achieved success across the UK, while the Playground tour delights thousands of children and teachers in their own spaces; and international licensing of our work now supports more sustainable touring models.
## **ELEVATING GOVERNANCE**
Following recommendations from our Governance Effectiveness Review, we welcomed Michelle Howe (ACE, London), Professor Christopher Smith (Arts and Humanities Research Council), and architect Nigel Hetherington to The Place. Their insightful sessions with the Board enriched our strategic planning and brought thought leadership to the fore. Strengthening governance remains a key priority, and as part of a deliberate succession strategy, we were thrilled to welcome four new governors: Molly Jackson, Antony Kingston, Professor Susan Orr, and James Sanderson, whose collective expertise and lived experience align with our strategic plan and will help shape the future of The Place.
## **FLARING FUTURE VISION**
Our staff team has demonstrated exceptional strength and cohesion in supporting innovation in artistic and research practice, holding space for diverse perspectives amidst regulatory changes around Free Speech, and providing guidance and well-being support for students, colleagues, and partners at every stage. Their outstanding commitment to leaning into challenges and working toward collaborative solutions is remarkable. We are consistently rewarded for these efforts through artistic achievements from studio to stage, and through the progression of our staff into successful careers across the sector.
Finally, we successfully completed the first year of our new five-year plan, Move with the Times, which has enabled us to invest in new activities and leverage growth against our vision for “…a world with more dance.” This includes the advancement of international partnerships, creative pedagogical innovation through our valued relationship with University of the Arts London, further exploration of a larger estate footprint, and a committed investment in innovation through a thriving research culture and impactful Knowledge Exchange.
**Alan Bishop Clare Connor** Chair Chief Executive
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Duke of Edinburgh Visit to The Place Jan 2025, image by Henry Curtis
HRH The
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## **STRATEGIC REPORT**
The Place is a global leader in contemporary dance development. Our work across the entire ecology of dance is unrivalled, uniting research, education and training with the creative processes that lead to the conception, production and presentation of inspiring new work.
London Contemporary Dance School’s recognition as a World-leading Specialist Provider by the Office for Students (OfS), alongside our designation as an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation, affirms The Place’s leadership in dance development. These honours highlight our pivotal role in supporting artists whose work has global reach and influence.
We believe dance has the power to change lives, and we are fiercely committed to expanding access and breaking down barriers, whether in local and rural communities, major cities, regions, online platforms, or far beyond the UK’s borders.
By nurturing new artistic collaborations and building meaningful connections with audiences, we ignite imagination and mirror the rich complexities of the world. We cultivate a spirit of innovation and partnership, integrating learning from other disciplines and sectors to continually evolve our practice. What truly sets us apart is the balance of our unique creative ecology where education, artistic development, and community engagement work together to shape an organisation unlike any other in the global dance landscape.
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## **OUR PURPOSE**
We exist to develop, nurture and celebrate dance locally, nationally and internationally.
## **OUR VISION**
Our vision is a world with more dance where more people experience the possibilities of dance across their whole lifetimes, and where innovation, deep human connections, critical thinking and health benefits in dance are celebrated widely.
## **OUR MISSION**
We strive to power imagination through dance by teaching, researching, commissioning, co-creating, producing and programming in collaboration with leading international partners.
## **OUR VALUES**
- **Taking Risks** – research and innovation
- **Unlocking Potential** – participation and pipeline
- **Equity** – new paradigms with distributed power
- **Cultural Activism** – impact and relevance
- **Entrepreneurship** – income generation and resilience
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
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## **STRATEGIC AIMS 2024-2029**
We believe that dance makes lives better and is vital to improving people’s health and wellbeing. In pursuit of a world with more dance, our achievements in the last 12 months against our five-year strategic aims are:
|**Aims**|**Outcomes**|**Outputs 2024-2025**|**Target**|
|---|---|---|---|
|**Moving People**
Evolve our reach
and engagement|**– **MP1 Access and Participation
Plan (APP)
**– **MP2 Programme and commissions
**– **MP3 Participation and engagement|2024-25 APP targets – Closing gaps in Global
Majority, Polar4 and IMD
Submission of new 2026-2030 APP –
New targets for male-identifying,
Global Majority and IMD
50% of artist commissions from artists
with protected characteristics
New theatre audiences - 36%
Illuminate surveys 75% or above reviewed
the performance with 4 or 5 stars
32K participation and engagement across
Children and Adults, against 25K target
Creative Learning exceeded targets for
public engagement - 5K against 3k target
with 3-year funding secured|
Partially
Met
Exceeded
Partially
Met
Exceeded
Met
Exceeded
Met|
|||||
|**Moving Dance**
Pursue world-leading
quality dance
education, creation,
research and
knowledge exchange|**– **MD1 LCDS course recruitment
**– **MD2 Knowledge Exchange
Partnerships
**– **MD3 Independent artist practice
research|Implement strategies to increase student
recruitment overseas and domestically
Targets met - evolution of existing
partnerships with new commercial
partnerships secured
100% positive artistic feedback for
Choreodrome, new LCDS scholarships
activated, and practice research
augmented for 8 staff|Met
Met
Met|
|**Moving with Care**
Ensure quality,
sustainability and
preparedness to
future-proof|**– **MC1 Preparedness for ACE and
OfS funding
**– **MC2 Sector leadership
**–**MC3 Environmental Responsibility
**– **MC4 Commitment to
strengthening equity|Quarterly reporting against performance
indicators to governors with timely
submissions to ACE/OfS/DfE
National campaign and lead advocacy
partner for Music and Dance Scheme and
Let’s Dance International profile of staff
contributing to festivals, conferences and
competitions
Successful £1m capital upgrade
with further bids for £1m to improve
accessibility and environmental
sustainability across the building.
Annual Submission to Julie’s Bicycle
shows sustained efforts to reduce energy
consumption
Renewed framework and plan for EDA
signed off with revised communications
channels and structure|Met
Met
Met
Met
Met|
|||||
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## **AIM 1 – MOVING PEOPLE: EVOLVE OUR REACH AND ENGAGEMENT TO BRING US CLOSER TO OUR VISION OF A WORLD WITH MORE DANCE**
At the core of our artistic vision is a commitment to presenting a vibrant, inclusive, and future-focused dance programme that reflects the ever-changing world of contemporary performance. Through curating partnerships with a variety of local and national partners, we extend our reach and bring in unique creative perspectives that help us move closer to our vision: a world with more dance.
**Programme, commission and produce highest quality dance reflecting the London and UK audiences we serve**
## **Theatre programme**
Over the past year, our theatre has championed independent voices by presenting diverse work from some of the UK’s most innovative artists, including Ebony Rose Dark, Tilly Lee Kronick, Rosemary Lee, Eva Recacha, Louise Orwin, J Neve Harrington, Tom Cassani, Amarnah Ufuoma Cleopatra and Stefania Pinato, Eli Lewis and Joe Garbett, Lea Tirabasso, Maya & Toussaint and Sivan Rubinstein.
We remained committed to international programming, showcasing work from Iceland, Italy, France, Korea, Canada, Lebanon, Belgium and Taiwan to create a rich, multicultural offer.
Our contextual events and post-show talks enhanced audience engagement, with 23 shows including discussions (11 BSLinterpreted) and 42% of audiences staying to take part.
We continued to collaborate with valued partners such as Dance Umbrella, Afro Dance Xplosion, BOP Jazz Theatre Company, Korean Cultural Centre UK and Queer East. Our renewed partnership with Shubbak Festival highlighted our commitment to amplifying underrepresented voices.
Our family programme featured bold new work from leading Theatre for Young Audiences companies, including Screensaver Series, The Mountain Witch, Prancer the Dancer, Early Weaves and Little Murmur. Our festive show The Little Prince ran for 11 performances, drawing 2,091 audience members – a 15% increase on the previous year.
We closed our summer with Family Dance Day at Coram’s Fields – a free, inclusive festival featuring Folk Dance Remixed, Gandini Juggling and SAY – reflecting our commitment to local, community-centred engagement.
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## **Residencies, Commissions and Producing**
In 2024/25, we commissioned nine new works, including pieces by Bakani Pick-Up, Gary Clarke, Chandenie Ghobardan, Holly Thomas, and Simone Mousset. We also awarded 17 Choreodrome commissions in 2025, launching a new partnership with Bradford Arts Centre. Another new collaboration with East London Dance supports Jade Hackett in developing a full-length show, including a residency at The Place. Our Propeller artist residency for LCDS graduates continued, supporting four recent alumni to create new work for Resolution 2026.
The Place Producing & Touring team backed R&D for two productions: a mid-scale show by SAY, and RONiN by Yukiko Masui, blending swordplay and projection mapping to tell the story of a lone female samurai.
We premiered two major commissions in Autumn 2025: Little M by Anders Duckworth, reimagining The Little Mermaid for ages 8+, and Anatomy of Survival by Vivienne Franzmann and Frauke Requardt, exploring public responses to conflict.
We broadened our reach through workshops and work-in-progress sharings with partners including Gloucester Guildhall, CHISPA, Kakilang, Impact Theatre, RNIB, Illuminate Freedom, Bournemouth Care Home, and Gendered Intelligence.
As lead partner of Stomping Ground, a network of outdoor arts presenters and producers in the UK and Spain, we awarded this year’s £22K commission to Francesca Baglione for Lady Garden, a bold new outdoor work.
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## **Participation and Engagement**
It’s been a great year for participation and Creative Learning at The Place. Our Camden Primary Partner Schools programme reached 835 children across 16 Camden primary schools through workshops, performances, and 10-week creative projects led by professional artists. We also continued our work with Woodlands House, the Autism Unit at Netley School. A highlight of the year was the Partner Schools Dance Festival, where children performed to a near sell-out audience of 902 across four shows.
We launched a new holiday dance pathway with Christopher Hatton Primary School, encouraging children to join classes at The Place. Fifteen took part in a three-day project, with families offered bursaries for continued participation. Eight children joined regular classes with full bursaries, and three received free places on weekly Centre for Advanced Training associate sessions.
The Youth Dance Platform, curated by our Youth Focus Group, and the Camden Youth Dance Festival brought 216 young people to our stage. We also continued our six-week creative project with artist Cailin Mallin and the SEN Unit at Robson House. The 25 members of our Youth Focus Group selected a school for Camden Council’s Summer Youth Celebration, curated and hosted our annual youth showcase Fresh, and joined a marketing workshop and Q&A with dance artist Kloe Dean.
Second-year undergraduates at LCDS completed five-week community placements across London, this year working with groups including Baked Bean Dance, a Vietnamese women’s group in Woolwich, stroke survivors at St Joseph’s Hospice, Amici Dance Theatre, the Story Garden community, and older dancers with Damn Fine Dance. Their projects culminated in the Community Commissions Festival at The Place.
In Camden, we co-designed Moving into Confidence, a six-week course with Recovery College (North London NHS Foundation Trust), which consistently improves wellbeing, with participants reporting feeling more positive after each session. Our partnership with New Horizon Youth Centre included monthly Afro Beats workshops, yoga for the Women’s Group, and art sessions with the October Gallery. With Clean Break, artists Corinne Meredith and Darinka Bojorquez Pavlovich created a new performance with nine women, shown at both The Place and Clean Break. A new collaboration with Holborn Community Association offered dance classes for 4–10-year-olds and free theatre tickets for families.
## **Let’s Dance 2025**
We were proud to take part in Let’s Dance, the national campaign founded by Angela Rippon CBE to get the UK moving for better health, connection, and joy. The Place brought the celebration to Camden with a vibrant three-day programme that included the Camden Youth Dance Festival, free taster classes, a CAT Open Day, and Meet and Move in our café.
The weekend closed with Super Normal Extra Natural at the O2 Finchley shopping centre, with pop-up performances and free LED dance-hula hoop and Bollywood taster sessions for everyone to enjoy. The Let’s Dance press launch at Guildhall starred Angela Rippon, Dame Arlene Phillips, and Strictly Come Dancing stars, with standout performances from our Over 60s Community group, Shift Youth Dance Company and showcased on the BBC and ITV, and in The Guardian.
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Family Dance Day 2025, image by Roswitha Chesher
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## **Classes & Courses**
Our regular Classes & Courses deliver inclusive, high-quality dance experiences for all ages, from children and youth to adults, professionals, and over 60’s. We deliver a full range of styles for all abilities, inspiring dancers at every level. In 2024–25, over 12,500 adults joined our weekly sessions in Contemporary, Ballet, Improvisation, and Tanztheater. Attendance reached 25,080, exceeding our target by 25%.
More than 800 young people aged 3-18 attended weekly children and youth dance classes, totalling over 6,750 attendances. We celebrated with our bi-annual Summer Show, Dreams and Wishes, which sold out to enthusiastic audiences. Thanks to the Iris Tomlinson bursary, 40 young dancers were supported financially to access our classes.
Our Summer 2024 Intensives were a standout success. Across two vibrant weeks in August, 840 adults took part in Flamenco, Waacking, Contemporary, and Ballet. Classes ran at 93% capacity, our highest yet. Our Children and Youth Summer Intensives welcomed 70 young participants, exploring aerial circus with Ella Mesma, hip hop with Boy Blue, and contemporary dance with Solène Weinachter.
Our youth companies, Shuffle and Shift, performed on 10 stages this year from Move It to the Let’s Dance Press Launch at Guildhall and RE: DANCE at Tower Bridge. Shift created a bold new work with artist Sung Im Her and premiered original choreography developed with Studio Wayne McGregor at their world-class Here East space.
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## **Participant Feedback**
As part of our Classes & Courses programme, we conduct termly surveys with participants, tracking their experiences and using the data to make informed improvements. The feedback we receive highlights the profound impact our programmes have on participants. These stories, along with other testimonials, reinforce the importance of our work in fostering both artistic and personal growth.
- **“ I CAN’T TELL YOU HOW MUCH, AS AN OVER 60’S DANCER, I LOVE WHAT THE PLACE HAS TO OFFER ME - THE JOY AND PHYSICAL BENEFITS OF BEING ABLE TO DANCE HAVE BEEN ENORMOUS!”**
Over 60’s Class Participant
- **“ THE TEACHERS ARE KIND, THOUGHTFUL, OBVIOUSLY VERY KNOWLEDGEABLE AND EXCEPTIONALLY PERSONABLE. THEY MAKE CLASS AN ABSOLUTE JOY TO DO”**
Adult Class Participant
- **“ MY SON HAS REALLY ENJOYED ATTENDING THESE CLASSES. IT’S IMPROVED HIS CONFIDENCE, AND HE TELLS EVERYBODY THAT HE IS A DANCER!”**
Parent of Children and Youth Participant
- **“ DANCE HELPS ME GO THROUGH MY LIFE IN DIFFICULT MOMENTS AND IT MAKES ME FEEL RELAXED. I FEEL LIKE I AM TRANSPORTED INTO A WONDERFUL CREATIVE PLANET WHEN I AM DANCING AND IT’S JUST ME AND DANCE”**
Children and Youth Class Participant, Age 12
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Family Dance Day 2025, image by Roswitha Chesher
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## **New engagement opportunities, particularly for young people**
## **National Touring**
Super Normal Extra Natural by Requardt & Rosenberg toured to Crawley for another well-received run featuring local community participants. Our new production, OKAN by Maya & Toussaint, toured to Bournemouth, London, and Latitude Festival. We also produced An Evening with OKAN, a social event format of salsa classes, performances, talks, and live music, which reached new audiences in Leeds and will arrive in London this Autumn.
Our flagship Playground Tour travelled for five weeks, reaching 6,746 children across Croydon, Crawley, Camden, Cornwall, Devon, Reading, Milton Keynes, Bradford, and Thurrock. This year’s double bill featured a new commission, You Too Can Tutu by Gandini Juggling, and the album: skool edition by SAY. The tour has been made possible through strong regional partnerships, with Start Thurrock, Bradford 2025, and MKIF joining the network this year.
## **Rural Touring**
In 2024–25, the Rural Touring Dance Initiative (RTDI) brought 65 performances to 42 venues, reaching nearly 3,000 audience members. We supported 15 shows with tailored local PR through the National Rural Touring Forum’s new press office, helping promoters grow their marketing reach and networks.
One standout moment was a partnership with a South Indian restaurant in Poulton-le-Fylde, which helped draw a bigger crowd and sparked great conversation during the post-show Q&A for Pagrav Dance. At Vicars Cross, Lila Dance boosted attendance and community connection by involving a local recovery group in the cast.
Looking ahead, RTDI will run six residencies, including two focused on developing Hip Hop work for rural touring. Working with Jamaal O’Driscoll, this is a big step toward expanding the range of artists and styles we bring to rural audiences, making sure they experience the full energy and diversity of contemporary dance.
## **International Touring**
Last summer we concluded the first European tour of our co-production with Igor x Moreno, Karrasekare, visiting Aarhus, Den Bosch, and Brussels. the album: live by SAY was performed at Festival Quartiers Danse in Montreal with guest rapper Naya Ali.
Yukiko Masui became the first artist based outside the Netherlands to feature at Korzo’s Here we live and now festival in The Hague, where we staged a 20-minute version of her new show RONiN 0. Following our collaboration on Fresh From The Place at La Villette, the British Council invited us to perform at the closing party of their UK/France Spotlight Year at Palais de Tokyo in Paris, with LCDS alumni Jude Vero and Elvi Christiansen performing alongside SAY.
Our children’s show Is This A Dance? toured to primary schools around Barcelona in its Catalan version and had four performances at the internationally renowned arts centre El Mercat De Les Flors.
We were proud to collaborate with Greek National Opera to bring Requardt & Rosenberg’s extraordinary work Future Cargo on a summer tour across eleven towns and cities in Greece, from Paros, Naxos, and Syros to Kalamata, Sparta, Astros, Nafplio, Xylokastro, Tripoli, Pylos, and Ancient Olympia. Supported by producers Third Version Creative and the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), the production used the bespoke shipping container set from the UK, with dancers from the Greek National Ballet. Our UK creative team worked with their Greek counterparts to hand over the production, giving the show a new, sustainable touring life without the full company needing to travel. This model reflects our commitment to keeping successful work alive while reducing its touring footprint.
We continue to take a conscious approach to international productions touring to the UK, activating partnerships to extend their reach beyond London. In 2024–25, we supported Lovísa Ósk Gunnarsdóttir’s When The Bleeding Stops to tour to Bournemouth, while our annual Festival of Korean Dance once again toured to Newcastle, Salford, and Bournemouth.
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## **London Contemporary Dance School programme**
LCDS students continued to shine both on stage and in the community, performing to over 3,000 live and online audience members through a wide range of bold, exciting projects.
In January 2025, third-year BA students lit up Wilton’s Music Hall with three striking repertoire works by Lea Anderson, Yuval Pick, and Maxine Doyle, performed as an immersive five-show run. They also took to the stage in Percolator, a vibrant triple bill of new commissions by Vicky ‘Skytilz’ Mantey (hip hop), Jreena Green (jazz), and Urja Desai Thakore (South Asian dance), highlighting the cultural range now embedded in LCDS training.
In the spring, 75 students performed at the Roundhouse in Camden to perform in Love To Love You Baby: Donna Summer Reimagined, choreographed by Sarah Golding - a high-energy fusion of club culture and contemporary performance.
The 2025 Graduation Performances were a powerful finale to the year, with original works by LCDS alumni Joseph Toonga, Monique Jonas, Léa Tirabasso, and Ekleido.
Our postgraduate students have also had a busy year: in the autumn, MA Screendance students curated Frame Rush, selecting 10 standout films from nearly 200 international submissions. In November, they transformed Studio Wayne McGregor with FIELDS, a hybrid installation of screenings, immersive environments, and live performance.
MA Dance: Performance students created A Great Unsettling with Theo Clinkard, performed in the round and filmed by Screendance students. They also danced in Mokita by Dickson Mbi, explored new work with Holly Blakey, and collaborated on projects with Hannes Langolf and Benjamin Jonsson.
Finally, our graduating MA Dance: Participation, Communities, Activism students presented their research at Future Bodies: The Dance That Persists, a twelve-hour symposium connecting their global learning community across multiple time zones.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
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## **Access and Participation**
Widening participation remains at the heart of our mission, driving our work to create fairer access to arts education. This year, we expanded our reach, strengthened regional and national partnerships, and embedded student voices in shaping our future plans.
Alongside delivering our current Access and Participation Plan (APP), a major focus has been developing the new four-year plan for 2026/27–2029/30. It sets out meaningful steps to support fair access, equity, and inclusion for students from disadvantaged backgrounds, ensuring participation remains central to everything we do. We worked with current LCDS students through a focus group representing a variety of underrepresented backgrounds. Their insights directly informed the proposed projects.
Our National Partnership Programme continues to grow, engaging more than 900 students through workshops, visits, fairs, and festivals. Regionally, we strengthened partnerships across Essex, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, and Cornwall, whilst in London, we developed new relationships with LaSWAP sixth form consortium, Southwark College, St Marylebone School, and several youth groups. This work is further supported by our partnership with One Dance UK and their Young Creatives programme.
Last autumn, The Place contributed to the national Curriculum and Assessment Review led by Professor Becky Francis CBE, emphasising the importance of arts – and particularly dance – education across all key stages. At the time of writing, we await the final report, and we continue to advocate for a broader, more inspiring curriculum that ensures all pupils can access a full range of subjects.
**The Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) Programme** continues to transform the lives of young people aged 11–18, opening doors to high-quality prevocational training and bringing together students from a wide range of backgrounds.
In 2024–25, 127 young dancers were part of the programme, with 63% supported through Music and Dance Scheme (MDS) funded places, ensuring that talent and passion, not financial means, remain at the heart of entry. Although the National CAT partnership was informed in December 2024 that outreach funding would no longer continue, our commitment to widening access and participation has only strengthened.
We delivered our first Boys in Motion project in partnership with New Adventures, designed to inspire male-identifying young people to engage with dance through workshops based on Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake. The project attracted strong attendance nationwide and directly led to two new participants joining CAT. Building on this success, we are planning to deliver a second, similar project in February 2026.
Looking ahead, 145 students will join the CAT Programme in 2025–26, alongside 14 in our Associate Programme - a 15% increase on last year. This growth, despite funding challenges, reflects the determination of students, families, and staff, and the importance of ensuring opportunity in dance is open to all
As one student shared: “CAT has given me the chance to train with amazing teachers and meet friends who share my love of dance. Without the support, I would never have believed this was possible”.
## **Alumni Engagement and Graduate Success**
We actively support recent graduates’ transition into professional practice. The 2025 LCDS Alumni Resource Pack provides essential industry information, networking opportunities, and ongoing institutional connections. Our new Propeller programme further supports recent graduates through choreographic residencies, Studio Assistant roles, international performer contracts via ArtsCross, and a new Festival Assistant internship with Dance Umbrella, creating exciting, tangible opportunities for emerging artists.
LCDS courses demonstrated 100% positive employment outcomes in the Graduate Outcomes Survey (July 2025). The new B3 Progression data published by the Office for Students for 2019–23 shows consistently strong employment outcomes, well above threshold: undergraduate courses achieved 77.0% (up 2.9 percentage points), and taught postgraduate courses reached 78.8%.
Alumni career trajectories are showcased digitally on our website, on the alumni profile board in our building, and through our social media initiative, Feature Friday / Alumni in Spotlight. This comprehensive presentation of graduate achievements inspires current and prospective students while demonstrating both the diverse pathways available to our graduates and the impact they have within the industry and beyond.
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## **AIM 2 – MOVING DANCE: PURSUE WORLD-LEADING QUALITY ACROSS DANCE EDUCATION, CREATION, RESEARCH AND KNOWLEDGE EXCHANGE**
At The Place, we are redefining how the next generation of dance artists, producers, and researchers are trained, supported, and connected. Through world-leading pedagogy, international recruitment, cutting-edge research, and artist development, we are continually expanding our global reach and impact. Our growing network of partnerships, pioneering research initiatives, and commitment to inclusion, sustainability, and creative health are shaping the future of dance - on stage, in communities, and across disciplines.
## **World-leading Creative Pedagogy**
London-based, regional, and international recruitment across BA and MA courses continues to give applicants choice of where to audition. Our open days, in person and online, are thriving, with around 50 applicants and parents/carers attending each event.
Overseas recruitment is supported by a far-reaching International Development strategy. LCDS cultivates a global outlook, preparing students for international careers, developing a sense of worldwide advocacy and empowering them to use artistic practice as a force for change. Admissions workshops took place worldwide, including our first recruitment visit to India. We also secured three new international exchange partnerships, expanding our network across Asia, Europe, North America, and South America. Participation in the ArtsCross project in Hong Kong further deepened collaborative partnerships in East Asia.
The newly published B3 Outcomes data demonstrates excellent student outcomes. The Continuation indicator for undergraduates rose by 0.9 percentage points to 95.0%, while postgraduates remain high at 96.6%. Completion rates also improved: undergraduates up by 2.5 points to 92.5%, and postgraduates up by 0.7 points to 97.5%.
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## **Research and Knowledge Exchange across Arts and Education**
In the first year of our Research and Knowledge Exchange strategy, we strengthened our research culture through staff mentoring and expanded funding bids to AHRC, Innovate UK, and the British Academy. We launched our new PhD programme with UAL, welcoming the first cohort of researchers benefiting from interdisciplinary arts training and a vibrant research environment. All supervisors completed doctoral training.
As partners in the AHRC-funded CRICA programme, we support PhD scholarships addressing inclusivity in the creative economy, with recruitment starting in 2026. The Place hosted the Future Ecologies: Producing Dance Network project, fostering collaboration across universities and arts organisations with roundtables and publications. We also continue to partner with Cultures of Dance (CoDa), a Research Network for Dance Studies, which recently secured five more years of funding to advance dance as both an academic and practice-based discipline, locally and internationally.
## **Creative Health and Dance Science**
In December, The Place’s Patron, Lord Russell of Liverpool, hosted a roundtable discussion to explore the role of dance and creative health in the NHS 10-Year Plan and its potential to lead innovations in cost-effective and preventative healthcare. The discussion was chaired by James Sanderson, Chief Executive of Sue Ryder, and was attended by representatives of NHS England, the National Academy for Social Prescribing and the National Centre for Creative Health, as well as local creative health practitioners in Camden. The Place also contributed a response to the Government’s new NHS 10-Year Plan.
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Leron Gabriel in BANK by Gary Clarke, performed at Choreodome: making progress 2025, photo by Jemima Wong
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## **Artist Development**
We continued to grow our international Artist Development partnerships, supporting artists to expand their networks internationally. Through our residency programme with Gorizia Dance Festival in Italy, Eli Lewis and Joe Garbett undertook a weeklong residency and performance. At The Place, we also hosted international residencies with Da Soul Chung (supported by Arts Council Korea) and Chih-Chia Huang and I-Ling Liu (supported by Taiwan Cultural Division).
The Artist Associate role entered its second cycle, as we welcomed Temitope Ajose to the post, following J Neve Harrington. Over nine months, Temitope will support both Choreodrome and Work Place artists in the studio.
This year marked the final cycle of the Work Place Artist Programme, featuring two intensive residencies. In September, Misha Goldberg led sessions with face paint, clowning, and participatory performance; in January, Tali Fergus led a version of her professional development scheme identity. ideas. industry (iii), a programme and method designed to encourage dance artists’ curiosity about their creativity and the industry at large, through movement, conversation, reflective writing and literature.
To support new approaches to choreography and artistic documentation, we piloted a new initiative within Choreodrome, funded by the Higher Education Innovation Fund (HEIF). The Knowledge Exchange Booster Pack brings together artists, researchers, and communities to create a lively space for innovation and experimentation. This year, artists Christopher Matthews and Zaki Bin Musa collaborated with LCDS researchers Dr Efrosini Protopapa and Dr Andrew Sanger respectively, working as peer experts to enrich the research dimension and documentation of their projects.
## **Producing Models for the Future**
Through our leadership of Future Ecologies: Producing Dance Network, we surveyed over 300 arts professionals who self-define as ‘making dance happen,’ revealing that producers are often-invisible catalysts for how dance reaches and resonates with audiences. Their role is varied: they are entrepreneurs, administrators, fundraisers, dramaturgs, counsellors, managers, and often serve as the lynchpin of creative projects, bridging artists and audiences. The research also uncovered key barriers, including limited funding, minimal infrastructure for knowledge-sharing, and under-recognition, particularly for mid-career producers. Many cited the need to feel “valued,” “seen,” and “free to experiment” as essential enablers of their practice.
These insights are shaping the new undergraduate Producing and Arts Management pathway launching in September 2025, informing the professional development offered to our staff and freelance producers, and guiding new initiatives to better support the sector.
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## **AIM 3 – MOVING WITH CARE: ENSURE QUALITY, SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE, ULTIMATELY FUTURE-PROOFING THE PLACE**
From exceptional student outcomes and impactful community engagement to strategic advocacy and international partnerships, The Place continues to lead the sector with a bold vision and measurable results. This year’s work reflects a clear commitment to innovation, inclusion, and sustainability, reflected by strong visibility of our sector leadership in the media and reinforced by infrastructure investment and a growing influence on policy, practice, and pedagogy in dance and beyond.
## **Preparedness for World-Leading status and ACE National Portfolio Organisation (NPO)**
In the second year of our Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funding cycle, which spans from April 2024 to March 2025, we achieved over 85% of our planned portfolio activities with 80% of our monitoring targets for outputs and participant numbers either met or exceeded.
Particular highlights of the ACE reporting year (April-March) include Creative Learning activity reaching 2,223 attendances - against a target of 600 - across 88 workshops in Camden community settings outside of schools; and our producing and touring programme reached 6,349 audience members over 49 performances, doubling the original target of 25 shows. International works have also drawn excellent audience numbers, both at The Place theatre and through onward touring. We are committed to sustaining this momentum through the entire funding cycle, which has now been extended to 2028.
Student feedback remained consistently strong across our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes. Undergraduate students highlighted the quality and consistency of practical training, while postgraduate students praised the clarity of teaching, the relevance of assessments, and the accessibility of tutors. On the MA Dance: Performance Unit 1, 100% of students agreed staff made the subject intellectually stimulating and explained key concepts clearly.
Results from the National Student Survey saw high scores in key areas including library resources (96.6%) and learning resources overall (95.5%). 96.6% of students felt free to express their ideas, opinions, and beliefs during their studies, while 83.1% agreed their views about the course were valued. These outcomes reflect our ongoing commitment to inclusive dialogue and studentcentred learning.
## **Commitment to Specialist Sector Leadership**
Over the past year, significant advocacy efforts across our organisation have focused on protecting funding for the National Centre for Advanced Training (CAT) programme, administered by the Department for Education via the Music and Dance Scheme (MDS). Despite the loss of dedicated funding to support CAT access and outreach work from March 2025 onwards, our continued lobbying of the Department for Education with support from MPs, the House of Lords and partners in the sector has resulted in the programme and bursary funding being maintained for 2025-26. This successfully safeguards access to high quality prevocational training for students from a wide range of backgrounds - for the time being at least.
Our engagement with the DfE’s National Curriculum Review chaired by Professor Becky Francis CBE has at the same time pushed for a stronger presence of dance in schools. Our response to the review emphasised the need to rebalance the curriculum towards a broader and more holistic set of skills, improve teacher training, and develop more inclusive assessment methods to support creative education for all students. We welcomed the findings of the interim report in March this year and look forward to the final review this autumn.
The Place’s engagement with Arts Council England this year has been extensive, including participation by both Chief Executive Clare Connor and Artistic Director Eddie Nixon in roundtables convened by ACE addressing leadership, education, health, and funding priorities. In addition, sector-wide campaigns like Let’s Dance!, led by Angela Rippon and backed by NHS and government support, have highlighted the physical and mental health benefits of dance.
Our ongoing collaborations with London Higher, GuildHE, and the newly-launched GuildHE Creative have further strengthened our voice in the sector, driving advocacy efforts to influence government spending, policy, and strategies that support the future of dance education and the creative industries.
In July, Dr Efrosini Protopapa spoke on the panel Practice Research: Where Are We Now? at the closing festival of the AHRC-funded Dance Research Matters Network, advocating for an expanded, more inclusive understanding of artistic practice as a recognised mode of research in dance. As an organisation, we continue to advocate for the recognition of practice research in consultations with Research England, and staff contributed to workshops developing indicators for assessing research culture in preparation for the next Research Excellence Framework exercise, REF2029.
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## **Press Coverage and Media Engagement**
Against a backdrop of shrinking arts coverage and the closure of specialist cultural publications, our programme continued to attract strong media attention, securing around 20 national mentions, including 13 reviews, previews and features in The Guardian, our most important outlet. While star ratings are increasingly rare, our 2025 Spring opener Heka by Gandini Juggling received 5 stars, while Jungle, opening the Korean Festival, and Ekleido’s debut double bill each earned 4 stars. The 2024 Aerowaves double bill When the Bleeding Stops/Because I Can was included in The Guardian’s annual roundup of the year’s best theatre, comedy and dance, described as “one of the year’s most unexpectedly joyful performances.”
London Contemporary Dance School also maintained strong press visibility with 63 mentions. Resolution generated 11 pieces in outlets including The Observer, The Guardian and The Spectator, alongside lifestyle coverage in Voice Mag and FAD. The Korean Festival achieved 18 features across the UK, our family programme appeared in local outlets such as The Londonist, Ham & High, Islington Tribune and Camden New Journal, Classes & Courses featured in a London Active guide, while Artistic Director Eddie Nixon and Chief Executive Clare Connor contributed national commentary in The Guardian.
## **Environmental Responsibility**
In line with our commitment to environmental sustainability, we continue to drive our plan to reduce our carbon footprint. In 2024–25, energy consumption decreased by 0.5%, from 195 to 194 tonnes CO2e (carbon dioxide equivalent), while waste emissions increased by 18%, from 33 to 39 tonnes CO2e. This rise reflects the adoption of Julie’s Bicycle’s newly updated ‘whole-cycle’ methodology for calculating waste emissions, though actual waste volume remained unchanged. Water-related emissions fell by 4.2%. The energy mix shifted, with gas use increasing and electricity reliance decreasing.
Smart energy savings were driven by initiatives such as LED lighting upgrades, motion sensors, efficient appliance replacements, and heating optimisations including reduced timers and lower thermostatic temperatures. The year’s capital refurbishment prioritised sustainability through recycled materials, water-saving fixtures, upgraded LED lighting and improved air duct efficiency. These efforts collectively advanced environmental efficiency despite a minor increase in gas use from shower replacements. In future years we will investigate opportunities to install solar panels on our building and seek a low-carbon heating system to support our efforts to make dramatic reductions to our carbon emissions.
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Anatomy of Survival by Frauke Requardt & Vivienne Franzmann, image by Camilla Greenwell
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## **Our Commitment to Equity And Diversity**
Equity, diversity and access are at the heart of our mission at The Place. The Equity, Diversity and Access Action group have been working on feedback from staff, students and artists collected via focus groups held by Spotlight Inclusion to produce a new Action Plan to guide our efforts to create a more inclusive environment for all. Our accreditation as a Disability Confident Employer (Level 2), and our updated commitment to ensure that all staff are paid at or above the London Living Wage signals our ongoing commitment to fostering a diverse and supportive workplace.
## **Capital and Financial Strategy**
Our first major building refurbishment works in almost 20 years were carried out from June to October 2024. Over 17 weeks, five key areas were transformed: the café, the male, female and staff changing rooms, three-floors of toilets and the theatre dressing rooms.
The following updates and upgrades were made to the building:
- **Changing rooms and toilets** Across three floors, communal showers have been replaced with private cubicles, the provision of accessible toilets has been increased, the number of female showers has been significantly expanded, and new gender-neutral facilities have been introduced.
- **Theatre dressing rooms** have been refurbished with upgraded lighting, seating and worktops.
- **Café and kitchen** The café has been expanded to provide additional seating, a new staff and student kitchen equipped with microwaves and fridges has been installed, and a new student area with 200 secure lockers has been introduced.
- **A new café service** has been set up to meet student and user needs throughout the week, offering a nutritional, seasonal menu prepared daily by the on-site chef and supported by a trained barista; the service is currently operated by Benugo.
Reused and recycled materials were used in the works wherever possible. To further improve sustainability of the café in use, all café cups and cutlery are recyclable with no single-use plastics, and the café has new energy-efficient lighting with sensors. Energy and water use will be reviewed against the new systems. The total project spend was £951k, £230k of which was secured from external funding sources.
The project was delivered smoothly and on budget in an operational building, and only slightly over the planned timeframe. Use of the newly upgraded spaces has been strong, and feedback on the results has been overwhelmingly positive.
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## **PRIDE IN OUR PEOPLE**
## **Awards and Achievements**
- Chief Executive **Clare Connor** joined the Executive Board of GuildHE, representing over 60 specialist institutions responsible for over 150,000 students
- **Dame Siobhan Davies** , founding member of London Contemporary Dance Theatre, won the De Valois award for Outstanding Achievement in Dance at the National Dance Awards
- Alum **Hannah Shepherd** won the National Dance Award for Outstanding Modern Performance
- Head of Dance Science **Stephanie De’Ath** was nominated for a One Dance UK award in the Health and Wellbeing in Dance category
- Visiting Professor **Dr Christopher Bannerman** chaired the jury panel for the inaugural Rose International Dance Prize at Sadler’s Wells
- Creative Learning Producers **Maria Ryan** and **Ania Straczy ń ska** were invited to attend the Garden Party at Buckingham Palace, celebrated in recognition of those working in Education and Skills
-
- Alum and Patron **Anthony van Laast** directed the Royal Variety Show and Olivier Award’s ceremony
- Our Governor **Mikey “Mikey J” Asante** won the Universal Music Best Original Music at the British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) for the film Kneecap in November 2024.
- Mikey also won the inaugural Sky Arts Award for Dance, for his and Kendrick “H2O” Sandy’s body of work with pioneering hip-hop company **Boy Blue** .
- Governor **Helen Bailey** was appointed Vice-Principal (International) and Professor of Interdisciplinary Performance Practice at Queen Mary University of London.
- The Place hosted **South Asian Dance Equity: The Arts That British South Asian Dance Ignores** , a vital symposium
- featuring research and conversations on the innovative practices of a wide range of under-represented and minoritised South Asian dance artists
- Our Patron **Paloma Faith** was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from University of the Arts London, following a nomination by London Contemporary Dance School
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Choreodrome 2025, photo by Jemima Yong
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## **Sector Leadership, Keynotes, Publications, and Conferences**
- **Clare Connor** was invited, as a founding member, to the launch of the World Dance Education Alliance (WDEA) in
- Beijing, where **Dr Lise Uytterhoeven** delivered a speech titled Dance Power: Powering Imagination Through Dance; Shaping Person-Centred Education in Pursuit of a World With More Dance.
- **Clare Connor** and LCDS alumna **Ellie Peacock** gave a keynote address at the Royal Ballet and Opera for a national symposium for headteachers on dance education and leadership.
- **Eddie Nixon** and **Clare Connor** contributed to Arts Council England roundtable discussions on leadership, education, employment, and health.
- Faculty member and alum **Eva Recacha** co-authored and co-presented a paper at the International Federation for Theatre Research (IFTR) Annual Conference (Cologne, 9–13 June 2025).
- **Dr Lise Uytterhoeven** presented a paper at the same conference. She also hosted a seminar on Choreographic Humour: Korean-British Connections and Divergences as part of the Festival of Korean Dance at The Place. In June, she presented the outcomes at the SWEAT Festival/World Dance Alliance Conference at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.
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- **Khyle Eccles** , Lecturer in Physical Development (Strength and Conditioning), presented at the Wolverhampton
- Dance Science Symposium (May 2025) from a practitioner-wisdom perspective on applying his RAPID-R framework. His paper was titled RAPID-R: Applying Strength and Conditioning Principles in Vocational Dance Training.
- Faculty members **Josh Slater** and **Baptiste Bourgougnon** presented at ELIA Biennial 2024 in Milan with a paper titled Bursting the Bubble – Participation as Artistic Intelligence.
- Faculty member **Olu Alatise** presented a case study at The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama Symposium on Motion Capture Performance and Pedagogy, speaking on the LCDS x UAL collaboration in immersive media, together with third year student student **Jack Baron** .
- **Dr Sam Wilson** co-organised the London Conference of Critical Thought at Birkbeck, University of London in June; contributed a chapter to The Music of Absence: An Aesthetics of Loss in the New Millennium (Edinburgh University Press); and presented papers at the Composing with Systems Conference (Sheffield, March 2025), the Performance Studies Network 7th International Conference (Guildhall School of Music and Drama, July 2025), and the Royal Musical Association Annual Conference (University of Southampton, September 2025).
- **John Chan** presented at Energy-in-Motion at V&A Dundee, sharing Ghost and John’s research on Embodied Ecology, including their work with LCDS during the Improvisation Performance Project. He also presented at TaPRA (University of Warwick) on collaborative research with Kim Pearce on queer devised theatre-making and East Asian politics.
- **Jo Parkes** collaborated with Grinnell University (May 2025) and Lucinda Jarrett to deliver a week-long practice research project with Rosetta Life stroke survivor ambassadors at The Place, exploring the question: “When language is lost, what do we find?”
- **Dr Efrosini Protopapa** hosted a roundtable as part of NEUROLIVE Symposium II (Siobhan Davies Studios, June 2025). She was also guest artist-researcher at an AHRC-funded residency, Performance, Possession + Automation (Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool, June 2025). Alongside Dr Lise Uytterhoeven, they both presented at the Academy of Dramatic Art, University of Zagreb, Croatia.
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## **FINANCIAL REVIEW – 2024-2025**
For the year ended 31 July 2025, The Place recorded a surplus on general unrestricted funds after taxation of funds and transfers of £13,807 (£432,947 in 2023/24). The net movement of the restricted funds amounted to a deficit of £314,300 (deficit of £75,842 in 2023/24) as costs were allocated to grants received and recognised in previous years as well as the depreciation allocation to the Place for the Future Fund that was created in 2010.
The previous three years saw total income increase significantly: an increase of 13% last year and 30% the year. In contrast this year showed only a 1% increase in income (2024/25: £10,750,405; 2023/24: £10,595,462).
Unrestricted reserves have remained in line with the prior year, despite the financial challenges that the organisation has faced with income similar to last year’s but expenses facing further inflationary increases.
Grant income in 2024/25 was £4,526,936 (£4,718,803 in 2023/24). Included in this income is ACE NPO funding which is awarded until March 2027 and World Leading Specialist Provider Funding, a 5-year grant which runs until July 2027. Other grant income includes our Music and Dance Scheme grant to support our Centre for Advanced Training students and grants from Esme Fairburn and Arts Council England to support our Rural Touring Dance Initiative.
Student fee income was £4,367,164 (£4,265,852 in 2023/24) an increase of 2%, with increases in the number of overseas postgraduates. In contrast undergraduate income fell with fewer overseas undergraduates joining and a large post Covid overseas cohort having left last year.
Performance income (£263,157; £245,672 in 2023/24) and earned income (£357,708; £325,300 in 2023/24) showed increases on the prior year primarily driven by price increases.
Other charitable income increased by 78% from £227,696 to £406,242 with increases in project funding to develop touring and theatre works.
Fundraising income of £702,536 (£661,128 in 2023/24) included funds donated to specifically support students and artistic programming.
|programming.|||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||
|**Total Income**
**(Restricted and Unrestricted)**|**Year Ended July 2025**
**£000s**
**%**||**Year Ended July 2024**
**£000s**
**%**||
|Grants|4,527|42%|4,719|46%|
|School Fees and Education|4,367|41%|4,266|40%|
|Donations and Legacies|703|7%|661|6%|
|Other Charitable income|406|4%|228|2%|
|Earned income|357|3%|324|3%|
|Performances|263|2%|246|2%|
|Investments|127|1%|151|1%|
|**Total Income**|**10,750**|**100%**|**10,595**|**100%**|
||||||
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Total expenditure in 2024/25 was £11,239,472, an increase of 7.9% on last year (£10,420,253 in 2023/24) with increases primarily driven by inflation but also increase in educational activities.
|**Total Expenditure**
**(Restricted and Unrestricted)**|**Year Ended July 2025**
**£000s**
**%**|**Year Ended July 2025**
**£000s**
**%**|**Year Ended July 2024**
**£000s**
**%**|**Year Ended July 2024**
**£000s**
**%**|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|**Cost of Raising funds**|||||
|Fundraising|142|1%|156|1%|
|Premises relating to lettings and grants|625|6%|607|6%|
|**Cost of Charitable Activities**|||||
|School and Education|6,630|59%|6,097|59%|
|Theatre Productions|3,842|34%|3,560|34%|
||||||
|**Total Expenditure**|**11,239**|**100%**|**10,420**|**100%**|
Theatre Tax Relief in 2024/25 was £189,153, an increase of 10% on last year (£172,446 in 2023/24). Theatre tax relief is claimed on productions made across the organisation with the increase this year being due to more productions being developed by the public programmes team.
## **RESERVES**
At the end of the financial year, the retained reserves of the charity were as follows:
||**Year Ended July 2025**
**£000s**|**Year Ended July 2024**
**£000s**|
|---|---|---|
|Unrestricted Funds|3,899|3,885|
|Restricted Funds|4,387|4,702|
|**Total Reserves**|**8,286**|**8,586**|
Restricted funds include funds donated for a project to improve the building in 2000, funds raised for educational purposes as well as to fund creative and artistic risks and support ground-breaking initiatives.
Further information concerning the amounts and purposes of the remaining restricted funds is contained within Note 14 of the Financial Statements.
## **RESERVES POLICY**
In accordance with Charity Commission guidance and good practice, The Place maintains reserves in order to provide for contingencies that may arise in the future. This has been particularly necessary given the continuing challenges within the current funding environment and was heightened further with the cost-of-living crisis.
The Finance and General Purposes Committee reviewed The Place reserves policy in October 2025, and it was agreed that it was important that a realistic policy was set based on the five-year plan, taking into account uncertainties relating to specialist funding and fee income in Higher Education and the future levels of Arts Council England funding.
To ensure The Place can meet liabilities if income was to be significantly reduced or delayed and also to allow for appropriate decision-making regarding investment and growth during the budget setting process, a reserve policy to retain a minimum of 2.5 month’s unrestricted expenditure (approx. £1.8m) has been set.
The unrestricted reserves at 31 July 2025 were £3.9m, which comfortably exceeds this level. Free reserves (unrestricted reserves excluding fixed assets) total £2,561,966 (£3,061,196 in 2024).
While the reserve levels exceed the minimum level set by the reserve policy, they are in line with the previous budget set (for 2024-25) and five-year plan projections. The level of reserves held at 31 July 2025 will allow us to comfortably maintain the reserves at a level above the minimum requirement for the next five financial years enabling the organisation to respond to any unexpected events.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
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## **GOING CONCERN**
The activities of The Place together with the factors likely to affect its future development are set out within this report. The financial position of The Place, its cashflow and its liquidity, are described in the Financial Statements and the supporting notes.
Having made enquiries, the Board of Governors believe that it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis. The Board consider The Place’s current and forecast cash resources to be sufficient to cover the working capital requirements of the charity for at least 12 months from the date of signing this report and financial statements. Cash flow forecasts are carried out monthly as are budget reviews by senior management and reforecasts take place to allow activity to be adjusted to respond to any unforeseen variations.
The budgets and forecasts have been prepared recognising future uncertainty of significant funding decisions as well as fixed student fees along with continued higher than normal inflation. A number of scenarios were considered by management and budgets have been set reflecting the most likely outcomes.
Having considered these budgets and forecasts, the Board of Governors remain satisfied that it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis.
## **PRINCIPAL FUNDING SOURCES**
The income of The Place is derived from grants from Arts Council England, Office for Students, UK Research and Innovation (including Research England), the Department for Education through the Music and Dance Scheme and regional funding bodies; and sponsorship, grants and donations from trusts, companies and private individuals.
Income is also derived from student fees paid to London Contemporary Dance School; performances in our theatre; running courses and classes in dance; and letting space in our premises to other bodies engaged in the arts and consultation services.
## **INVESTMENT**
As at 31 July 2025 The Place held an investment in a unit trust with a market value of £194,926 (£195,505 in 2024). The investment is managed by McInroy and Wood and held within their Balanced Fund.
The investment objective of the Balanced Fund is to maximise the total return to investors, by preserving and growing the real value of investors’ capital and income, placing an equal emphasis on the generation of income and on capital growth. Real value is defined as the value of capital and income after adjusting for the impact of inflation.
The fund was initially set up with money received from a legacy donation made in support of postgraduate students and a capital donation made in support of artistic commissions. Income and gains earned in the year are allocated to the restricted Student’s Hardship Fund and Pioneering Fund.
## **DATA QUALITY**
The Place is required to operate in accordance with the guidance of Office for Students on the management of data.
In 2024/25 Kingston City Group (KCG), a specialist risk assessment and internal auditor to the Higher Education sector in England, conducted their annual review focusing on areas highlighted and prioritised by the Audit Committee.
The Audit Committee oversees the adequacy and effectiveness of The Place’s arrangements for the management and assurance of data submitted to the Office for Students, the Student Loan Company, the Higher Education Statistics Agency and other bodies. The Board has overall responsibility for the fulfilment of The Place’s legal and regulatory obligations.
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## **FUNDRAISING**
As a registered charity, The Place seeks support from statutory organisations, trusts and foundations, individuals, and companies in a variety of ways from small online donations to significant restricted grants and strategic partnerships. We communicate with existing and potential supporters by email, telephone, and post, strictly in line with permissions provided. We do not cold-call or carry out street collections. Our dedicated fundraising team engages directly with supporters to raise funds for our work, and we do not currently employ third-party or professional fundraisers.
We are committed to respecting the privacy of individuals with whom we engage and never share or swap personal details without explicit consent. We do not place pressure on anyone to donate.
The Place is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and has subscribed to its Fundraising Code of Practice. Our Board has overall responsibility for our fundraising strategies and plans. Our designated Data Protection Officer has overall responsibility for ensuring that The Place complies with the requirements of the relevant data protection legislation. We received no complaints about our fundraising practices in 2024–25 (nor in 2023–24).
Philanthropic donations underpin our work. In pursuing these, we may conduct research to identify potential financial supporters and carry out appropriate due diligence checks using publicly available information or, if necessary, with the assistance of third parties. This ensures compliance with both the Fundraising Regulator and the Charity Commission, and enables us to target approaches that are appropriate, responsible, and relevant.
The Board take their responsibilities under the Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016 seriously and have considered the implications on our fundraising activities.
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## **OUR HEARTFELT THANKS**
We are deeply grateful to every individual and organisation who supported The Place during 2024/25. Our supporters are fundamental to our journey, they help us empower dance artists to reach their full potential, foster the creation of new works, and expand access to dance for people of all ages, backgrounds, and experience levels. Each contribution, no matter the size, enables us to deliver life-changing opportunities and drive innovation in our programmes.
While it is not possible to recognise everyone individually here, we would like to give special acknowledgment to those whose exceptional support exceeded £5,000 and whose generosity has had a transformative impact and is vital to sustaining our mission:
The Leverhulme Trust
Chelsea Arts Club Trust South Square Trust The Harold Hyam Wingate Foundation Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Cockayne Foundation – Grants for the Arts (London Community Foundation)
John Lyon’s Charity
Lord Marks of Broughton Anthony Van Laast CBE Judy Craymer Nick Grace Phoenix Court Works Scorfen Charitable Trust Bloomberg Philanthropies
In memory of Peter Farley, gift generously arranged for by John Granger and Sylvia Granger
We also recognise and warmly thank those donors who prefer to remain anonymous; your generosity is pivotal to our work, and we deeply respect your wish for privacy.
## **PATRONS**
We are extremely fortunate to have a loyal group of Patrons who support our work, primarily through advocacy, fundraising, lobbying and student engagement. We are truly grateful for the ongoing support of this noteworthy group.
## **2024-25 Patrons:**
Farooq Chaudhry OBE
Paloma Faith
Bonnie Greer OBE Tony Hall CBE, Lord Hall of Birkenhead
Dr Haruhisa Handa
Sir Tim Lankester KCB
Sir Wayne McGregor CBE Simon and Gilda Russell, Lord and Lady Russell of Liverpool
Kenneth Olumuyiwa Tharp CBE
Anthony Van Laast CBE and our Royal Patron: HRH Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
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## **CORPORATE GOVERNANCE AND INTERNAL CONTROL**
## **CHARITABLE OBJECTS**
The charitable objects of The Place identified in the Articles of Association are:
**To foster, promote and increase the interest of the public in the knowledge, understanding and practice of the art of contemporary dance and to promote and assist presentation of contemporary dance and the training of contemporary dance practitioners.**
## **PRINCIPAL OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITY OF THE CHARITY**
The principal objective of The Place is to be of service to and through dance. The Place seeks to transform and enrich the lives of dance artists, students, young people, audiences and the public through training, creating, performing and sharing contemporary dance.
The principal activity of The Place is the development of contemporary dance through a higher education establishment, producing and touring work, a theatre and other artistic and educational activities.
In considering the strategies and policies of the charity, the charity trustees (who are also the Board of Governors) have had due regard to the public benefit guidance published by the Charity Commission, in accordance with the Charities Act 2011. The core elements of public benefit are:
- producing exceptional artists who shape the future of dance
- fostering talent and creativity through world-class vocational training
- finding and nurturing the finest talent
- supporting the cultural infrastructure
- fuelling development in the creative industries
- international leadership in dance.
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## **LEGAL STRUCTURE**
The Place, a company limited by guarantee (company number: 883094), is governed as described in the Articles of Association and is a registered charity in England and Wales (charity number: 250216). The Board of Governors are the directors for the purposes of company law, and charity trustees for the purposes of charity law. All Governors are non-executive and considered to be independent.
On 23 April 2025, The Place Board of Governors passed a resolution to change the legal name of the company from Contemporary Dance Trust Limited to London Contemporary Dance (The Place) Limited with effect from 1 October 2025. This change of name is to bring our registered and trading names into better alignment; and to improve the visibility and accessibility of information about The Place, particularly when searching lists and league tables published by our funders, regulators and other stakeholders. As the name change took effect on 1 October this year, this Annual Report refers to The Place by its new legal name where the registered name is used.
The Place continues to be a National Portfolio Organisation (NPO) funded by Arts Council England; and following a further review of NPO funding in 2025, the current funding cycle has been extended to the end of March 2028. Our five-year strategic plan, approved by the board in April 2024, aligns with Arts Council England’s ten-year strategy Let’s Create, as well as Office for Students ongoing conditions of registration and TEF quality framework.
Since 9 June 2022, The Place has been a higher education provider directly registered with the Office for Students and reports directly to the OfS regarding all ongoing conditions of registration; and since the 2021-22 academic year, our undergraduate and postgraduate degrees have been validated by University of the Arts London (UAL). In 2025 we signed a new five year partnership agreement with UAL building on the success of the past 5 years; and we began an exciting new PhD co-supervision agreement with UAL. We look forward to working with UAL as the validating partner of our undergraduate and postgraduate programmes into the future.
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## **RESPONSIBILITIES AND DELEGATED AUTHORITY**
The primary responsibility for The Place is vested in the Board of Governors, in accordance with the Articles of Association. Governors:
- Support the Chair and the Board to ensure that The Place is continuously driving the next era of innovation in dance by approving strategy, policy and procedures and overseeing their implementation
- Provide leadership experience to input into Board deliberations and offer advice, guidance and support to the senior leadership team
- Ensure that The Place meets its legal and financial responsibilities as a registered charity, Arts Council England client and a registered higher education provider with the Office for Students
- Act as passionate advocates for the work of The Place in all its diversity and contribute to successful relationships with stakeholders
- Help to attract funding, individual support and sponsorship to support The Place and its work
- Appoint and set pay and conditions for the Chief Executive.
The Board meets four times a year to monitor the operations of The Place. The Board delegates specific authority to committees as determined in the approved Scheme of Delegation and Committee Terms of Reference, which are updated each year. To aid transparency, key governing documents, including Terms of Reference for all committee are made publicly available on The Place’s website. The committees comprise:
- Audit Committee
- Finance and General Purposes Committee
- Nominations Committee
- Remuneration Committee
- Academic Board (chaired by Chief Executive with membership including staff and students)
- Equity, Diversity and Access Committee (co-chaired by Governors with representation from across the organisation)
Each Committee (other than the Academic Board) is chaired by an independent board member. In addition, effective use has been made of smaller Board Working Groups, established to address specific issues, enabling rapid decision making, including a Capital Working Group, established to provide strategic oversight of planned or proposed future capital developments.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25 35
Tutor and participant on the Move into Confidence Course; a co-pro- duced Partnership Project between The Place & Recovery College (North London NHS Foundation Trust), image by Henry Curtis
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In support of good governance, the Nominations Committee of The Place commissioned an external governance review in Spring 2024, conducted by external consultant Aaron Ross Porter. The final report includes nine recommendations for further development of the board, all of which are ongoing.
The Head of Governance and company secretary, Dr Lise Smith, works closely with the Chief Executive, the Chair, the Vice Chair and the Committee Chairs to provide effective administrative support and advice to ensure the Board and Committees are properly constituted and that information is managed in accordance with legal requirements. This includes maintaining a corporate workplan and regularly updated register of Board of Governors’ interests. Governors’ attendance at The Board and at Board and committee meetings is indicated in the table on page 39.
Day to day management of The Place has been delegated to the Chief Executive, Clare Connor. Clare is the designated Accountable Officer for (and reports to) the Office for Students, Department for Education, Research England and Arts Council England. As Chief Executive, Clare is also responsible for managing the partnership with the validating institution, the University of the Arts London (UAL). Clare is supported by a Senior Leadership Team comprised of Chief Financial Officer, Artistic Director and Chief Academic Officer.
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## **ANNUAL REMUNERATION STATEMENT**
Remuneration of the Chief Executive and other members of the senior leadership team is reviewed annually. In the 12 months to July 2025 the Chief Executive’s (Head of Institution) basic salary was £103,273 (£99,301 in 2023-24) which is 2.72 times the median pay of staff (2.58 in 2023-24). The Chief Executive’s total remuneration was £120,829 including pension (£116,182 in 2023-24), which is 2.94 times the median remuneration of staff (2.95 in 2023-24) (page 55).
The Chief Executive’s performance is reviewed annually through an appraisal by the Chair of the Board of Governors. The Chief Executive’s remuneration is considered fair given the hybrid nature of The Place as both an arts organisation and a higher education provider. In comparison to other small and specialist Higher Education Providers in London it is below average. Due regard is given to good practice as set out in relevant guidance, including the Committee of University Chairs Higher Education Senior Staff Remuneration Code.
In relation to income derived from external sources, The Place’s Secondary Employment Policy states that where the work is related to a staff member’s role at The Place and occurring in normal working time, any income should be received directly by The Place.
The Remuneration Committee is required to approve any individual changes in remuneration that represent more than a 5% increase in salary unless the change is required by a statutory requirement. Non-contractual salary increases for all staff are considered annually by the Remuneration Committee. The principal factors that are considered are affordability, inflation and relevant industry guidelines.
The Place signed a recognition agreement with UCU (Universities and College Union) in August 2024 and has set up a JNCC (Joint Negotiation and Consultation Committee) where we will discuss future pay settlements. The first meeting of this committee was in March 2025.
As of July 2025 the Remuneration Committee consists of five governors, who are also members of the Finance and General Purposes Committee. The Chief Executive, Chief Financial Officer and Head of HR attend Remuneration Committee meetings but are not members of the committee. In line with the committee terms of reference, no employee of The Place (including the Chief Executive) attends any section of the meeting involving the discussion of their own salary or remuneration package. Since December 2022 all permanent staff, trainees and hourly paid staff have been paid at least the London Living Wage. Changes to the London Living Wage are implemented within 6 months of being announced. An annual increase to salaries was made on 1st August 2025 in line with budget.
Governors are not remunerated but are entitled to recover expenses as outlined in the notes to the Financial Statements. In 2024-25, £0 was paid to Governors in expenses (£0 in 2023-24)
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## **RETIREMENTS FROM AND APPOINTMENTS TO THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS**
The members of the Board of Governors who served during the year and up to the date of the report are listed on page 3.
The policy on the Appointment and Retirement of Governors states that Governors are elected to serve on the Board for a period of three years and that this may be extended by re-election every three years, usually to a maximum of nine years. The term of the Chair is usually limited to a maximum of six years. The maximum number of Governors is 15; as at 31 July 2025, there are 12 Governors currently serving on the board.
Governor Rosalind Wynn retired after the Board meeting on 2 July as a Governor of The Place after seven years’ service. We thank Roz for her contributions to the Board and Audit Committee over three terms.
In anticipation of the planned retirement of three long-serving governors over the next year, in May 2025 The Place recruited four new Trustees who will join the Board of Governors from 1 September 2025 for an initial three-year term. We are delighted to welcome Molly Jackson, Antony Kingston, Professor Susan Orr and James Sanderson to the Board from this autumn, bringing to the Board a wealth of expertise in finance, higher education leadership, capital development, and healthcare.
Governor Jane Alexander, Vice-Chair and Chair of Nominations Committee, will be retiring in December 2025 after nine years of service. Current governors Professor Helen Bailey and David R Blackburn will take over the roles of Vice-Chair and Chair of Nominations Committee respectively from January 1 2026. John G Stewart will be retiring as Chair of Audit in summer 2026, with Molly Jackson taking on the role of committee chair; and governor Derek Hicks will also be retiring next summer. Our sincere thanks go to John, Jane, and Derek for their many years of dedication and service to the Board.
As at 31 July 2025 the composition of the Board was 59% female and 41% male (62/38 in 2023-24). The Board included 25% ethnically diverse members (24% in 2023-24) and 17% identifying as LGBTQ+ (16% in 2023-24). The mode average age was 35-49 years (35-49 in 2023-24). 66% of board members report primary or secondary caring responsibilities (62% in 2023-24). At the time of survey, one individual (8%) disclosed a disability or neurodivergence (0 in 2023-24); it is an ongoing priority for new appointments to represent diversity of lived experiences.
## **GOVERNOR INDUCTION**
The Nominations Committee is responsible for reviewing the process of inducting new Governors as well as seeking feedback from those who have experienced the process first-hand. An induction pack is shared which includes the Committee of University Chairs and Charity Commission Governance Codes, Articles of Association, Terms of Reference and minutes for Committees, previous Annual Report and Financial Statements as well as other useful information.
A series of meetings to explain the role of a Governor and introducing the work of The Place is arranged, and new Governors are appointed a mentor (a more experienced member of the Board of Governors) who can be approached with any questions. The new governors who have been appointed to join the Board from September 2025 will complete this process in the coming year.
## **GOVERNOR ATTENDANCE AT COMMITTEE MEETINGS (1 AUGUST 2024 – 31 JULY 2025)**
||**Board**
**(includes**
**Away Day)**|**Audit**|**Equity,**
**Diversity &**
**Access**|**Finance &**
**General**
**Purposes**|**Nominations**|**Remuneration**
**Committee**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|Alan Bishop
(Chair)|3/4|||3/4|1/2|3/4|
|Jane Alexander
(Vice Chair)|4/4|3/3|||2/2||
|Michael ‘Mikey J’
Asante|2/4||1/3||1/2||
|Lisa Baglin|4/4|3/3 Observer||4/4||4/4|
|Helen Bailey|3/4||||1/2||
|David R Blackburn*|4/4||3/3|1/4|1/2 Observer|1/4|
|Derek Hicks**|4/4|||1/1 Observer|||
|Shaparak Rahimi|2/4|||3/4||3/4|
|Eva Sarma|3/4|2/3|||||
|John G Stewart|4/4|3/3||2/4 Observer|2/2||
|Elizabeth Varley|0/4|||1/4||1/4|
|Liz Wilson|2/4|2/3|||||
|Rosalind Wynn***|4/4|1/3|||||
* David R Blackburn attended Nominations Committee in May 2025 as an observer and will join the committee from 2025-26, taking over as Chair of Nominations in January 2026 ** Derek Hicks attended F&GP as observer in October only
*** Rosalind Wynn retired from the Board of Governors in July 2025
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## **THE PLACE KEY RISKS AND MITIGATIONS**
|||||
|---|---|---|---|
|**Key Risk**
||**Timeframe**|**Mitigation**|
|Financial challenges
because of high inflation
against a backdrop of low
investment in the arts,
student poverty impact-
ing recruitment and
continuation, and lack of
increase in student fees||
Medium
term
|Implementation of first year of 5-year strategic plan. Focus on investment in key
areas, “right-sizing” delivery of programmes, managed growth in relation to
demand/opportunity while making capacity for staff salary increases.
Considered financial planning for the short and long term.
Communications promoting the benefits of living in London together with the Study
London campaign and our London Higher partnership to bolster recruitment.
Concerted work with the development team to raise funds for:
A) Student wellbeing and support for students experiencing poverty
B) Ongoing support for the Artistic programme from a range of funding sources
C) Exploration of income-boosting Knowledge Exchange initiatives.|
|Lack of arts provision,
especially dance studies
in statutory education
||On-going|Advocacy and campaign efforts to retain the Music and Dance Scheme and
specifically the Dance Centres for Advanced Training (CATs). Consultation
response to the Department for Education review of the National Curriculum and
“ ”|
|impacting student
recruitment and putting
access and widening
participation targets
at risk|||the development of a gold standard dance curriculum with One Dance UK.
The submission of a new Access and Participation Plan as well as fundraising efforts
to support Creative Learning.
Concerted Student Recruitment Strategy with a focus on conversions alongside
implementation of Alumni Engagement Strategy to promote careers in dance and
evidence successful Graduate Outcomes.|
|Insufficient space in
our building impacting
our ability to increase
revenues||Medium to
long term|In line with the 5-year Strategic Plan:
A) Continued use of The Place 2 to give more capacity.
B) With the Capital Working Group pursue local capital investment and
real estate|
|Reputational risk of
working with artists and
individuals whose
behaviours and/or
values do not align with
the organisation||On-going
|Proactive use of Know Your Principles guidelines and Risk Management Framework.
Use communications crisis playbook to manage communication as appropriate.
Partnership with external provider to source specialist resource such as
external investigations.
Annual Review of complaints to review trends over time and inform interventions.|
|Malware; Ransomware;
Virus attack||On-going|As identified in the Risk Register – mitigations include working closely with
an outsourced IT provider to continue to improve practice in Cybersecurity
practices, fostering organisation awareness and proactive behaviour.|
|||||
|||||
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## **RISK MANAGEMENT**
**–** a Risk Management policy and strategy have been effectively implemented and
**–** a Risk Appetite statement has been approved by the Board of Governors and the organisation’s performance
**–** a control strategy is determined for each of the significant risks and opportunities
**–** The Place’s Senior Leadership Team is charged with overseeing the management of risk
**–** Risk management reports are received by the Senior Leadership Team and the
**–** a Know Your Principles document has been developed to outline ethical
## **INTERNAL CONTROL**
The Board of Governors acknowledges that it is responsible for ensuring that a sound system of internal control, supporting the achievement of policies, aims and objectives, while safeguarding the public and other funds and assets of the organisation is maintained and confirms that it has reviewed the effectiveness of these arrangements. The system of internal control is designed to manage rather than eliminate the risk of failure to achieve policies, aims and objectives. It can only provide reasonable and not absolute assurance of effectiveness.
The Board of Governors has taken reasonable steps in the period 1 August 2024 to the date of signing these financial statements to:
- ensure that funds from Arts Council England, direct funds from the Office for Students (OfS World-leading specialist provider funding), funds from Research England, and funds from the Department for Education Music and Dance Scheme are used only for the purposes for which they have been given and in accordance with the conditions which these bodies may from time to time prescribe
- ensure that there are appropriate financial and management controls in place to safeguard public funds and funds from other sources
- ensure that The Place has a robust and comprehensive system of risk management, control and corporate governance, which includes the prevention and detection of corruption, fraud, bribery and irregularities, and safeguards the assets of The Place
- secure the economical, efficient and effective management of The Place’s resources and expenditure; and
- ensure that the activity of The Place delivers a broad public benefit in line with the organisation’s charitable objects.
The key elements of The Place’s system of internal control, which is designed to discharge the responsibilities set out above, include the following:
- clear definitions of the responsibilities of, and the authority delegated to, budget holders
- a comprehensive medium and short-term planning process, supplemented by detailed annual income, expenditure, capital and cash flow budgets
- quarterly reviews of key performance indicators, business risks and financial results
- clearly defined and formalised requirements for approval and control of expenditure, with investment decisions involving capital or revenue expenditure being subject to formal detailed appraisal and review according to approval levels set by the Board
- comprehensive Financial Regulations including procurement, detailing financial controls and procedures, approved by the Audit Committee and the Finance and General Purposes Committee
- a professional internal audit service, whose annual programme has been tailored in such a way that their audit conforms to the latest professional standards reflecting the adoption of risk management, is approved by the Audit Committee with a remit to promote economy, efficiency and effectiveness (value for money). In 2024/25 the Internal Audit service was provided by Kingston City Group.
- Defined Terms of Reference for Audit Comittee regarding the recommendation to the Board for the appointment of External Auditors, including the approval of fees and the commissioning of any non-audit services by the External Auditors, and in line with good practice ensuring that the audit retender process is scheduled on a regular basis
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## **STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE BOARD OF GOVERNORS**
The Governors are responsible for preparing the report of the Governors and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.)
Company law requires the Board of Governors to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year. In preparing these financial statements, the Governors are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP
- prepare financial statements that comply with the Accounts Direction issued by the Office for Students (OfS 2019.41)
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable group will continue in business.
The Governors are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company, and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Insofar as the Governors are aware:
- there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company’s auditor is unaware; and
- the Governors have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditor is aware of that information.
The Report of the Board of Governors, incorporating the Strategic Report, was approved by the Board on 19 November 2025.
## **19 November 2025**
Signed on behalf of the Board of Governors by **Alan Bishop** , Chair Date
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## **INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS**
## **OPINION**
We have audited the financial statements of London Contemporary Dance (The Place) Limited for the year ended 31 July 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the cash flow statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
- give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company’s affairs as at 31 July 2025 and of the charitable company’s net movement in funds, including the income and expenditure, for the year then ended; and
- have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
- have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 and the Office for Students Accounts Direction.
## **BASIS FOR OPINION**
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
## **CONCLUSIONS RELATING TO GOING CONCERN**
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Governors’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Governors with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
44
## **OTHER INFORMATION**
The Governors are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Governors’ Report (incorporating the strategic report). Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.
## **OPINIONS ON OTHER MATTERS PRESCRIBED BY THE COMPANIES ACT 2006**
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:
- the information given in the Governors’ Report (incorporating the strategic report) for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and
- the strategic report and directors’ report included within the Governors’ Report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
## **MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT BY EXCEPTION**
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Governors’ Report (which incorporates the strategic report and directors’ report). We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
- adequate accounting records have not been kept by the charitable company; or
- the charitable company financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
- certain disclosures of Governors’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
- we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
## **MATTERS ON WHICH WE ARE REQUIRED TO REPORT IN RESPECT OF THE OFFICE FOR STUDENTS**
In our opinion, in all material respects:
- funds administered by the charitable company for specific purposes during the year ended 31 July 2025 have been applied to those purposes and managed in accordance with relevant legislation;
- funds provided by the OfS, UK Research and Innovation (including Research England) and Department for Education have been applied in accordance with the terms and conditions attached to them during the year ended 31 July 2025; and
- The requirements of the OFS’s accounts direction have been met.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matter in relation to which the Office for Students requires us to report where:
- grant and fee income, as disclosed in the note 3 and 4 to the accounts, has been materially misstated;
- expenditure on access and participation activities for the financial year has been materially misstated.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
45
## **RESPONSIBILITIES OF GOVERNORS FOR THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
As explained more fully in the Statement of Governors’ Responsibilities statement set out on page 35, the Governors (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Governors determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the Governors are responsible for assessing the charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Governors either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
## **AUDITOR’S RESPONSIBILITIES FOR THE AUDIT OF THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:
Based on our understanding of the charitable company and the environment in which it operates, we identified that the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to the regulatory requirements of the Office for Students and the Charity Commission, and we considered the extent to which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financial statements. We also considered those laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements such as the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011.
We evaluated management’s incentives and opportunities for fraudulent manipulation of the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls), and determined that the principal risks were related to the potential for management to post inappropriate journal entries and to manipulate accounting estimates. Audit procedures performed by the engagement team included:
- Inspecting correspondence with regulators and tax authorities;
- Discussions with management including consideration of known or suspected instances of non-compliance with laws and regulation and fraud;
- Evaluating management’s controls designed to prevent and detect irregularities;
- Identifying and testing journals, using data analytics to focus on higher risk entries; and
- Challenging assumptions and judgements made by management in their critical accounting estimates
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor’s report.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
46
## **USE OF OUR REPORT**
This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
05/12/2025
**Richard Weaver** Date Senior Statutory Auditor
For and on behalf of HaysMac LLP, Statutory Auditors 10 Queen Street Place London EC4R 1AG
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
47
## **FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES**
## (INCORPORATING AN INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT) FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2025**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**||
||||||||
|**Income from:**|||||||
|Donations and legacies|2|363,344|339,192|**702,536**|**661,128**||
|**Charitable activities**|||||||
|Grants|3|2,367,713|2,159,223|**4,526,936**|**4,718,803**||
|School fees and education|4|4,367,164|-|**4,367,164**|**4,265,852**||
|Performances||263,157|-|**263,157**|**245,672**||
|Other||210,815|195,427|**406,242**|**227,696**||
|**Other trading activities**|||||||
|Lettings||293,339|-|**293,339**|**259,174**||
|Other||64,369|-|**64,369**|**66,126**||
|Investments||126,662||**126,662**|**151,011**||
|**Total income**||**8,056,563**|**2,693,842**|**10,750,405**|**10,595,462**||
||||||||
|**Expenditure on:**|||||||
|**Raising funds**|||||||
|Donations and sponsorships||142,487|-|**142,487**|**156,233**||
|Costs of premises maintenance
relating to lettings and grants||433,378|191,392|**624,770**|**606,980**||
|||575,865|191,392|**767,257**|**763,213**||
|**Charitable activities**|||||||
|School and education||6,389,585|240,172|6,629,757|6,096,557||
|Theatre productions||1,445,880|2,396,579|3,842,459|3,560,483||
|||7,835,465|2,636,751|9,657,040|9,657,040||
|**Total expenditure**|5|8,411,330|2,828,142|**11,239,472**|**10,420,253**||
||||||||
|Net income / (expenditure)
before investment loss||(354,767)|(134,300)|**(489,067)**|**175,209**||
|Net gain/(loss) on investments||(579)|-|**(579)**|**9,450**||
|Net income / (expenditure)||(355,346)|(134,300)|**(489,646)**|**184,659**||
|Taxation||189,153|-|**189,153**|**172,446**||
|Net income/ (expenditure) and net
movement in funds for the year after taxation||(166,193)|(134,300)|**(300,493)**|**357,105**||
|Transfer of Funds||180,000|(180,000)|-|-||
|Net movement in funds||13,807|(314,300)|**(300,493)**|**357,105**||
|**Total funds at 1 August 2024**||3,884,779|4,701,568|**8,586,347**|**8,229,242**||
|**Total funds at 31 July 2025**|14|3,898,587|4,387,268|**8,285,854**|**8,586,347**||
|There were no recognised gains or losses other t|han those|reflected above.|||||
||||||||
|The notes on pages 51 to 63 form part of these fi|nancial sta|tements.|||||
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
48
## **BALANCE SHEET** AT 31 JULY 2025
|**BALANCE SHEET**AT 31 JULY 2025||||
|---|---|---|---|
|||||
||**Notes**|**2025**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|
|||||
|**Fixed assets**||||
|Tangible assets|9|5,681,042|5,334,306|
|Intangible assets|9|87,666|105,328|
|Investments|10|1,877,567|1,798,337|
|**Total fixed assets**||**7,646,274**|**7,237,971**|
|||||
|**Current assets**||||
|Debtors|11|858,060|551,700|
|Cash at bank and in hand||1,225,491|2,394,548|
|**Total current assets**||**2,083,551**|**2,946,248**|
|||||
|**Liabilities**||||
|Creditors: amounts falling due within one year|12|1,443,971|1,597,872|
|**Total current liabilities**||**1,443,971**|**1,597,872**|
|**Net current assets/(liabilities)**||**639,580**|**1,348,376**|
|Creditors: amounts falling due in more
than one year|13|-
-|-
-|
|**Net assets**||**8,285,854**|**8,586,347**|
|**Financed by:**||||
|**Income Funds**||||
|Restricted|14|4,387,268|4,701,568|
|Unrestricted|14|3,898,587|3,884,779|
|||**8,285,854**|**8,586,347**|
|**Total charity funds**||**8,285,854**|**8,586,347**|
The notes on pages 51 to 63 form part of these financial statements.
Approved and authorised for issue by the Board of Governors on 19 November 2025 and signed on its behalf by
**Alan Bishop** Chair, The Place
**Clare Connor** Chief Executive, The Place
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
49
## **CASH FLOW STATEMENT** FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JULY 2025
||**Note**|**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|
|||**£**|**£**|
|Net cash inflow from operating activities|2|**(583,152)**|**972,701**|
|**Cash flows from Investing activities**||||
|Bank interest||126,662|146,808|
|Purchase of tangible fixed assets||(703,875)|(339,126)|
|Purchase of intangible fixed assets||(8,694)|-|
|**Cash outflow from investing activities**||**(585,907)**|**(192,318)**|
|||||
|Increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year||(1,169,057)|780,382|
|Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year||2,394,548|1,614,166|
|**Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year**||**1,225,491**|**2,394,548**|
|||||
## **Notes to the Cash flow statement**
|**Reconciliation of net incoming resources to net cash flow from operating activities**|**Reconciliation of net incoming resources to net cash flow from operating activities**|**Reconciliation of net incoming resources to net cash flow from operating activities**||
|---|---|---|---|
|Net movement in funds||(300,493)|357,105|
|Depreciation charges||383,494|319,779|
|Bank interest||(126,662)|(146,808)|
|Investment income||(79,809)|(87,731)|
|(Increase)/decrease in fair value of investments||579|(9,450)|
|(Increase)/decrease in debtors||(306,360)|125,112|
|Increase/(decrease) in creditors||(153,901)|414,695|
|**Net cash inflow from operating activities**||**(583,152)**|**972,701**|
|||||
The notes on pages 51 to 63 form part of these financial statements.
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LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25 50
Little M by Anders Duckworth, image Camilla Greenwell
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**NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS**
## **1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES**
## **BASIS OF PREPARATION**
The financial statements are prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (Charities SORP (FRS 102), second edition effective from 1 January 2019); the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102); the Companies Act 2006; and the Accounts Direction issued by the Office for Students (OfS). London Contemporary Dance (The Place) Ltd meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note(s).
Having made due enquiries, the Board believes that it is appropriate to prepare the financial statements on a going concern basis. This view is based, on the review of the reserves position referred to in the Financial Review section of the Annual Report, and also an examination of the budget for the current year and the business plan and forecast cashflows for future years.
The preparation of the financial statements in accordance with FRS 102 requires the Board to make estimates and assumptions concerning the future. The estimates and assumptions that could have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amounts of assets and liabilities within the next financial year include accruals, depreciation, revenue recognition and debtor recovery. Accounting in these areas requires management to use judgement. In relation to accruals this is with regards to a best estimate of costs that will be incurred based on contractual requirements. For depreciation these estimates are driven by the useful economic life of the associated assets. For revenue recognition management apply judgements in concluding on the point at which revenue should be recognised. Debtors are provided for when it is more likely than not that the payment will not be received.
## **TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS AND DEPRECIATION**
All assets costing more than £750 are capitalised at historical cost and stated at cost less depreciation. Assets with a value of less than £750 are written off in the financial statements in the year of purchase.
No depreciation is provided on freehold land.
Depreciation is provided on freehold buildings at a rate calculated to write off this cost over fifty years on a straight-line basis. Capital expenditure on building improvement is written off over ten years.
Furniture, IT hardware and equipment assets are depreciated over a three-year period.
## **INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS**
Major IT systems and software development are classed as intangible fixed assets and are depreciated over a ten-year period.
## **FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS**
Investments are a form of financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. The Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) includes the net gains and losses arising on revaluation and disposals throughout the year.
## **CASH AT BANK AND IN HAND**
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and short-term deposits with a maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
51
## **INCOME**
All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, when it is more likely than not that the income will be received, and the amount of the income receivable can be measured reliably.
Grants and donations are, where appropriate, brought into the financial statements in the year in which they are receivable. Income is classified as a grant where it funds an entire stream of work. Income is recognised as a donation where it helps to fund our work.
Donated services and facilities are recognised when received, based on the estimated value of the donation to the charity. An equivalent amount of expenditure is also recognised.
## **GRANTS PAYABLE**
Grants payable are recognised in the financial statements in the year in which they are paid.
## **EXPENDITURE**
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings. Irrecoverable Value Added Tax (VAT) is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include administration, finance, premises and communications departments, which support The Place’s artistic programmes and educational activities. Support costs are allocated based on space used, to fairly recognise the demands on the building and staff.
Governance costs comprise all costs involving the public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice.
## **TAXATION**
London Contemporary Dance (The Place) Limited is a charity registered in England and Wales and is not liable to United Kingdom income tax or corporation tax on its charitable activities. The charity claims theatre tax relief in respect of its productions, the benefit of which is recorded in the SOFA. The charity is unable to recover all of its Value Added Tax (see note 7).
## **FOREIGN CURRENCIES**
Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated at the rate ruling in the month the transaction takes place. All differences are taken to the SOFA.
## **PENSION FUNDING**
The charity has a stakeholder pension scheme in place for all staff, which makes provision for an employer contribution. The annual cost of the pension scheme is charged to the SOFA.
## **FUND ACCOUNTING**
Restricted funds are created where a donor specifies the intended future use of their donation. These are spent in accordance with the donor’s wishes. Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Board in furtherance of the general objects of the charity.
## **FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS**
Basic financial assets, including trade and other receivables, cash and bank balances, and receivables from the subsidiary are recognised at the transaction price less any provision for non-recoverability. Investments, which are a form of financial instrument, are initially recognised at their transaction value and subsequently at fair value as explained above. Basic financial liabilities, including trade and other payable, are recognised at the transaction price.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
52
## **2. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES**
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2025**
**£**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**|
|Donations and legacies|256,045|339,192|**595,237**|142,892|452,246|**595,138**|
|Donated services|107,299|-|**107,299**|65,990|-|**65,990**|
|**Total**|**363,344**|**339,192**|**702,536**|**208,882**|**452,246**|**661,128**|
||||||||
## **3. GRANT AND FUNDRAISING INCOME**
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted**
**2025**
**£**|**Restricted**
**2025**
**£**|**Total funds**
**2025**
**£**|**Unrestricted**
**2024**
**£**|**Restricted**
**2024**
**£**|**Total funds**
**2024**
**£**|
||||||||
|**Grant Income**|||||||
|Office for Students|1,593,104|37,294|**1,630,398**|1,592,936|35,164|**1,628,100**|
|Research England|482,395||**482,395**|514,039||**514,039**|
|Arts Council England Grant|-|1,836,799|**1,836,799**|-|1,826,994|**1,826,994**|
|Arts Council England|||||||
|Other Grants|-|180,000|**180,000**|-|259,885|**259,885**|
|Department for Education Grant|284,564|-|**284,564**|323,531|-|**323,531**|
|Other Grants and Fundraising|7,650|5,130|**12,780**|-|66,254|**66,254**|
|Esmée Fairbairn|-|100,000|**100,000**|-|100,000|**100,000**|
|**Total**|**2,367,713**|**2,159,223**|**4,526,936**|**2,430,506**|**2,288,297**|**4,718,803**|
||||||||
|**4. FEE INCOME BREAKDOWN**||||
|---|---|---|---|
||**2025**|**2024**||
||**£**|**£**||
|UK Undergraduates|1,330,135|1,213,285||
|Overseas Undergraduates|919,030|1,235,123||
|UK Postgraduates|158,738|257,305||
|Overseas Postgraduates|665,444|424,822||
|Part-time students|100,781|36,900||
|Short classes and courses|666,334|531,906||
|Centre for Advanced Training|526,702|566,511||
|**Total paid by or on behalf of individual students**|**4,367,164**|**4,265,852**||
|||||
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
53
## **5. EXPENDITURE**
||**Staff costs**|**Other direct**|**Support**||**Allocation of**|**Total**||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**costs**|**costs**||**other costs**|**2025**||
||**£**|**£**|**£**||**£**|**£**||
|||||||||
|**Raising funds**||||||||
|Donations and sponsorships|126,558|15,929|-||-|142,487||
|Costs of premises maintenance relating||||||||
|to lettings|377,833|170,508|76,429||-|624,770||
||**504,391**|**186,437**|**76,429**||**-**|**767,257**||
|||||||||
|**Charitable activities**||||||||
|School and education|2,788,705|1,325,523|274,990||2,240,538|6,629,757||
|Theatre productions|1,419,777|1,218,430|100,703||1,103,549|3,842,459||
|Other costs of premises maintenance|1,349,745|1,994,342|-||(3,344,087)|-||
||5,558,227|4,538,296|375,693||-|10,472,215||
|||||||||
|**Total expenditure**|**6,062,618**|**4,724,732**|**452,122**||**-**|**11,239,472**||
|Other costs of premises maintenance figure includes support staff costs of £858,042 (£777,587 in||||2024).||||
## **Prior Year Comparative - Expenditure 2023/24**
||
**Staff costs**
**Other direct**
**Support Allocation of**
**Total**
**costs**
**costs**
**other costs**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Raising funds**
Donations and sponsorships
124,615
31,618
-
-
**156,233**
Costs of premises maintenance relating
to lettings
356,641
187,584
62,755
-
**606,980**
**481,256**
**219,202**
**62,755**
**-**
**763,213**
**Charitable activities**
School and education
2,445,091
1,364,724
350,763
1,935,979
6,096,557
Theatre productions
1,341,772
1,169,315
95,854
953,542
3,560,483
Other costs of premises maintenance
1,204,378
1,685,142
-
(2,889,520)
-
**4,991,241**
**4,219,182**
**446,617**
**-**
**9,657,040**
**Total expenditure**
**5,472,497**
**4,438,384**
**509,372**
**-**
**10,420,253**|
**Staff costs**
**Other direct**
**Support Allocation of**
**Total**
**costs**
**costs**
**other costs**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Raising funds**
Donations and sponsorships
124,615
31,618
-
-
**156,233**
Costs of premises maintenance relating
to lettings
356,641
187,584
62,755
-
**606,980**
**481,256**
**219,202**
**62,755**
**-**
**763,213**
**Charitable activities**
School and education
2,445,091
1,364,724
350,763
1,935,979
6,096,557
Theatre productions
1,341,772
1,169,315
95,854
953,542
3,560,483
Other costs of premises maintenance
1,204,378
1,685,142
-
(2,889,520)
-
**4,991,241**
**4,219,182**
**446,617**
**-**
**9,657,040**
**Total expenditure**
**5,472,497**
**4,438,384**
**509,372**
**-**
**10,420,253**|
**Staff costs**
**Other direct**
**Support Allocation of**
**Total**
**costs**
**costs**
**other costs**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Raising funds**
Donations and sponsorships
124,615
31,618
-
-
**156,233**
Costs of premises maintenance relating
to lettings
356,641
187,584
62,755
-
**606,980**
**481,256**
**219,202**
**62,755**
**-**
**763,213**
**Charitable activities**
School and education
2,445,091
1,364,724
350,763
1,935,979
6,096,557
Theatre productions
1,341,772
1,169,315
95,854
953,542
3,560,483
Other costs of premises maintenance
1,204,378
1,685,142
-
(2,889,520)
-
**4,991,241**
**4,219,182**
**446,617**
**-**
**9,657,040**
**Total expenditure**
**5,472,497**
**4,438,384**
**509,372**
**-**
**10,420,253**|
**Staff costs**
**Other direct**
**Support Allocation of**
**Total**
**costs**
**costs**
**other costs**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Raising funds**
Donations and sponsorships
124,615
31,618
-
-
**156,233**
Costs of premises maintenance relating
to lettings
356,641
187,584
62,755
-
**606,980**
**481,256**
**219,202**
**62,755**
**-**
**763,213**
**Charitable activities**
School and education
2,445,091
1,364,724
350,763
1,935,979
6,096,557
Theatre productions
1,341,772
1,169,315
95,854
953,542
3,560,483
Other costs of premises maintenance
1,204,378
1,685,142
-
(2,889,520)
-
**4,991,241**
**4,219,182**
**446,617**
**-**
**9,657,040**
**Total expenditure**
**5,472,497**
**4,438,384**
**509,372**
**-**
**10,420,253**|
**Staff costs**
**Other direct**
**Support Allocation of**
**Total**
**costs**
**costs**
**other costs**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Raising funds**
Donations and sponsorships
124,615
31,618
-
-
**156,233**
Costs of premises maintenance relating
to lettings
356,641
187,584
62,755
-
**606,980**
**481,256**
**219,202**
**62,755**
**-**
**763,213**
**Charitable activities**
School and education
2,445,091
1,364,724
350,763
1,935,979
6,096,557
Theatre productions
1,341,772
1,169,315
95,854
953,542
3,560,483
Other costs of premises maintenance
1,204,378
1,685,142
-
(2,889,520)
-
**4,991,241**
**4,219,182**
**446,617**
**-**
**9,657,040**
**Total expenditure**
**5,472,497**
**4,438,384**
**509,372**
**-**
**10,420,253**|
**Staff costs**
**Other direct**
**Support Allocation of**
**Total**
**costs**
**costs**
**other costs**
**2024**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**£**
**Raising funds**
Donations and sponsorships
124,615
31,618
-
-
**156,233**
Costs of premises maintenance relating
to lettings
356,641
187,584
62,755
-
**606,980**
**481,256**
**219,202**
**62,755**
**-**
**763,213**
**Charitable activities**
School and education
2,445,091
1,364,724
350,763
1,935,979
6,096,557
Theatre productions
1,341,772
1,169,315
95,854
953,542
3,560,483
Other costs of premises maintenance
1,204,378
1,685,142
-
(2,889,520)
-
**4,991,241**
**4,219,182**
**446,617**
**-**
**9,657,040**
**Total expenditure**
**5,472,497**
**4,438,384**
**509,372**
**-**
**10,420,253**|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||
|||**Staff costs**
**£**|**Other direct**
**costs**
**£**|**Support**
**costs**
**£**|**Allocation of**
**other costs**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**|
||||||||
||**Raising funds**||||||
||Donations and sponsorships|124,615|31,618|-|-|**156,233**|
||Costs of premises maintenance relating
to lettings|356,641|187,584|62,755|-|**606,980**|
|||**481,256**|**219,202**|**62,755**|**-**|**763,213**|
||||||||
||**Charitable activities**||||||
||School and education|2,445,091|1,364,724|350,763|1,935,979|6,096,557|
||Theatre productions|1,341,772|1,169,315|95,854|953,542|3,560,483|
||Other costs of premises maintenance|1,204,378|1,685,142|-|(2,889,520)|-|
|||**4,991,241**|**4,219,182**|**446,617**|**-**|**9,657,040**|
||**Total expenditure**|**5,472,497**|**4,438,384**|**509,372**|**-**|**10,420,253**|
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
54
## **6. PARTICULARS OF STAFF AND THE COST OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL**
The average number of employees during the year was 279 (2024: 282). This includes full-time and part-time employees and casual staff.
|||**2024**
**No.**
24
10
46
18
**98**
**£**
4,744,791
382,973
261,622
**5,389,386**|
|---|---|---|
|**Full time equivalent**|**2025**
**No.**||
|Administration|26||
|Services|11||
|Educational|57||
|Theatre|23||
|**Total**|**117**||
||||
|**Total staff costs were:**|**£**||
|Wages and salaries|5,294,611||
|Social security costs|477,278||
|Other pension costs|290,729||
|**Total**|**6,062,618**||
Redundancy costs paid during the year were £12,865 (2024: £4,750) The key management personnel comprises The Place Directors
The total employee benefits of the key management personnel were £791,066 (2024: £732,611).
During the year the following employees were paid in the following bands:
||**12 months to July 2025**|**12 months to July 2024**|
|---|---|---|
|£60,001 - £70,000|2|1|
|£70,001 - £80,000|2|2|
|£80,001 - £90,000|0|1|
|£90,001 - £100,000|1|1|
|£100,001 - £110,000
1
0|||
The Chief Executive (Head of the Institution) was paid:
|The Chief Executive (Head of the Institution) was paid:|||
|---|---|---|
||||
||**12 months to July 2025**|**12 months to July 2024**|
|Salary|103,273|99,301|
|Pension Contributions|17,556|16,881|
|**Total**|**120,829**||
|||**116,182**|
||||
The Chief Executive’s basic salary is 2.72 (2.58 in 2024) times the median pay of staff, where the median pay is calculated on a full-time equivalent basis for the salaries paid by the charity to its staff.
The Chief Executive’s total remuneration is 2.94 (2.95 in 2024) times the median total remuneration of staff, where the median total remuneration is calculated on a full-time equivalent basis for the total remuneration by the charity to its staff.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
55
## **7. NET INCOME**
|**7. NET INCOME**|||
|---|---|---|
||||
||**2025**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|
||||
|**This is stated after charging:**|||
|Depreciation|383,494|319,779|
|Auditors remuneration:|||
|**– **Current year audit|39,250|37,400|
|**– **Non-audit services|21,200|19,500|
|Irrecoverable VAT|331,810|306,647|
|**Total**|**775,754**|**683,326**|
||||
## **8. ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION EXPENDITURE**
|**8. ACCESS AND PARTICIPATION EXPENDITURE**|||
|---|---|---|
||||
||**2025**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|
|Access Investment|205,331|176,330|
|Financial Support|90,348|112,054|
|Support for disabled students|16,054|15,443|
|Research and Evaluation|16,230|15,910|
|**Total**|**327,964**|**319,736**|
||||
||||
Included in the above are costs of £146,386 (2024: £91,046) relating to staff who were intrinsic to the delivery of the organisation’s access and participation activities during the year.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
56
## **9. TANGIBLE AND INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS FOR CHARITY USE**
|||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Freehold**
**land and**
**buildings**
**£**|**Plant**
**replacement**
**and IT**
**equipment**
**£**|**Furniture**
**and**
**equipment**
**£**||**Building**
**improvements,**
**fixtures and**
**fittings**
**£**|**Total**
**tangible**
**fixed assets**
**£**|||
|||||||||||
||At Cost 31 July 2024|8,766,737|258,881|613,291||1,127,666|10,766,575|||
||Additions|-|23,332||83,647|596,896||703,875||
||Disposals|-|-||(127,706)|-||(127,708)||
||Transfers|-|-||-|-||-||
||**At 31 July 2025**|**8,766,737**|**282,213**||**569,232**|**1,724,562**||**11,342,742**||
|||||||||||
||**Depreciation**|||||||||
||At Cost 31 July 2024|3,912,975|233,767|503,066||782,461|5,432,269||140,713|
||Provided this year|170,307|19,766|75,142||91,922|357,137|||
||Depreciation on Disposals|-|-|(127,706)||-|(127,706)|||
||Transfers|-|-|-||-|-|||
||**At 31 July 2025**|**4,083,282**|**253,534**|**450,502**||**874,382**|**5,661,701**|||
||**At 31 July 2024**|**4,853,762**|**25,114**|**110,225**||**345,206**|**5,334,306**||**105,328**|
||**At 31 July 2025**|**4,683,455**|**28,679**|**118,730**||**850,180**|**5,681,042**||**87,666**|
All fixed assets are used for direct charitable purposes.
A deed of covenant signed by the Board in 2014/15 in respect of the capital grant of £581,518 from Arts Council England contracts The Place to register a further charge and not, without written consent of Arts Council England, to assign, transfer or charge the Land.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
57
## **10. INVESTMENTS**
||**£**|
|---|---|
|**Fund Value as at 31 July 2024**|**195,505**|
|Investment Income: re-invested in fund|-|
|Increase/(decrease in investment value)|(579)|
|**Fund Value as at 31 July 2025**|**194,926**|
|95 day deposit account|1,682,640|
|**Total investment valuation at 31 July 2025**|**1,877,566**|
## **11. DEBTORS**
||**2025**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|
||**£**|**£**|
|Trade debtors|254,065|157,739|
|Other debtors|3,835|13,939|
|Prepayments and accrued income|600,160|380,022|
|**Total**|**858,060**|**551,700**|
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
58
## **12. CREDITORS**
|**12. CREDITORS**|||
|---|---|---|
||||
||**2025**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|
||||
|**Amounts falling due within one year:**|||
|Trade creditors|284,621|497,635|
|Other taxes and social security|171,164|92,251|
|Accruals and deferred income|988,186|1,007,986|
|**Total**|**1,443,971**|**1,597,872**|
||||
## **Deferred income**
Deferred income comprises fees receivable in advance
|Deferred income comprises fees receivable in advance|||
|---|---|---|
||||
||**2025**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|
|**Opening balance**|**266,659**|**182,904**|
|Amount released to income|(266,659)|(182,904)|
|Amount deferred in period|369,045|266,659|
|**Closing Balance**|**369,045**|**266,659**|
||||
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
59
## **13. MEMBERS’ GUARANTEES**
The charity is a company limited by a guarantee not exceeding £5 per member. The number of members as at 31 July 2025 was 12 (13 in 2024) and the total of such guarantees amounted to £60 (£65 in 2024). The Governors are the members of the charity.
## **14. FUNDS**
## **a) Fund movements**
|**a) Fund movements**|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||||||||
|||**Movements in**|||||
||**Balance as at**
**31 July 2024**
**£**|**Income/**
**Investment**
**gains**
**£**|**Expenditure**
**£**|**Taxation**
**£**|**Transfers**
**in/(out)**
**£**|**Balance as at**
**31 July 2025**
**£**|
||||||||
|**Unrestricted funds**|3,884,779|8,055,984|(8,411,330)|189,153|180,000|3,898,587|
|**Total unrestricted funds**|**3,884,779**|**8,055,984**|**(8,411,330)**|**189,153**|**180,000**|**3,898,587**|
||||||||
|**Restricted funds**|||||||
|Student Hardship Fund|14,718|195,220|(203,467)|-|-|6,471|
|Pioneering Fund|44,291|41,248|(41,279)|-|-|44,260|
|Place for the Future|4,580,056|104,000|(191,392)|-|(180,000)|4,312,664|
|Other Theatre Grants|10,564|149,540|(154,866)|-|-|5,237|
|Other Educational Grants|35,995|37,294|(36,705)|-|-|36,584|
|Arts Council of England|-|1,836,799|(1,836,799)|-|-|-|
|Rural Touring Dance Initiative|15,945|329,742|(363,635)|-|-|(17,947)|
|**Total restricted funds**|**4,701,568**|**2,693,842**|**(2,828,142)**|**-**|**(180,000)**|**4,387,268**|
||||||||
|**TOTAL funds (2024/25)**|**8,586,347**|**10,749,826**|**(11,239,472)**|**189,153**|**-**|**8,285,854**|
||||||||
||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|||**Movements in**|||||
||**Balance as at**
**31 July 2023**
**£**|**Income/**
**Investment**
**gains**
**£**|**Expenditure**
**Investment**
**£**|**Taxation**
**£**|**Transfers**
**in/(out)**
**£**|**Balance as at**
**31 July 2024**
**£**|
||||||||
|**Unrestricted funds**|3,451,832|7,770,636|(7,539,899)|172,446|29,764|3,884,779|
|**Total unrestricted funds**|**3,451,832**|**7,770,636**|**(7,539,899)**|**172,446**|**29,764**|**3,884,779**|
||||||||
|**Restricted funds**|||||||
|Student Hardship Fund|62,514|242,418|(260,450)|-|(29,764)|14,718|
|Pioneering Fund|37,046|45,381|(38,136)|-|-|44,291|
|Place for the Future|4,587,640|180,000|(187,584)|-|-|4,580,056|
|Other Theatre Grants|1,615|165,251|(156,302)|-|-|10,564|
|Other Educational Grants|32,047|35,164|(31,216)|-|-|35,995|
|Arts Council of England|-|1,826,994|(1,826,994)|-|-|-|
|Rural Touring Dance Initiative|56,548|329,742|(363,635)|-|-|15,945|
|**Total restricted funds**|**4,777,410**|**2,834,276**|**(2,880,354)**|**-**|**(29,764)**|**4,701,568**|
||||||||
|**TOTAL funds (2023/24)**|**8,229,242**|**10,604,912**|**(10,420,253)**|**172,446**|**-**|**8,586,347**|
||||||||
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
60
## **Student Hardship Fund**
Funds raised that are to be used for educational purposes are held in this fund. The fund is used to encourage and support current students at the Board’s discretion.
## **Pioneering Fund**
The Pioneering Fund has been established to help provide The Place with the financial resources necessary to allow it to take creative and artistic risks and support ground-breaking initiatives, and to support those ideas which push contemporary dance into previously unexplored territory.
## **The Place for the Future Fund**
This fund represents the income and expenditure on the Lottery and King’s Cross Partnership funded project to undertake the rebuilding and improvement of The Place in 2000 and additional capital works completed with the aid of further grant income. Depreciation is charged against this fund every year. This fund includes Bloomberg income received for implementation of a new CRM.
## **Other Educational Grants**
This fund represents the income and expenditure relating to educational projects for which specific grants have been received.
## **Arts Council England**
This fund represents funding received from the Arts Council England relating to non-school activities which they fund. These grants have been treated as restricted expenditure for activity.
## **Rural Touring Dance Initiative**
The Rural Dance Touring Initiative is a national dance project working in rural areas funded by Esmée Fairburn and Arts Council England over 4.5 years.
## **b) Analysis of net assets between funds**
||**2025**|**2025**|**2025**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted Funds**
**£**|**Restricted Funds**
**£**|**Total Funds**
**£**|
|**Fund balances at 31 July 2025**|**are represented by:**|||
|Intangible fixed assets|87,666|-|**87,666**|
|Tangible fixed assets|1,331,794|4,349,248|**5,681,042**|
|Investments|1,873,104|4,463|**1,877,567**|
|Current assets|2,049,993|33,557|**2,083,551**|
|Current liabilities|(1,443,971)|-|**(1,443,971)**|
|**Total**|**3,898,586**|**4,387,268**|**8,285,854**|
|||||
||**2024**|**2024**|**2024**|
|---|---|---|---|
||**Unrestricted Funds**
**£**|**Restricted Funds**
**£**|**Total Funds**
**£**|
|**Fund balances at 31 July 2024**|**are represented by:**|||
|Intangible fixed assets|105,328|0|**105,328**|
|Tangible fixed assets|718,255|4,616,051|**5,334,306**|
|Investments|1,793,556|4,781|**1,798,337**|
|Current assets|2,865,512|80,736|**2,946,248**|
|Current liabilities|(1,597,872)|-|**(1,597,872)**|
|**Total**|**3,884,779**|**4,701,568**|**8,586,347**|
|||||
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
61
## **15. OPERATING LEASE COMMITMENTS**
||**2025**
**£**|**2024**
**£**|
|---|---|---|
|In 1 year|99,656|3,733|
|In 2 to 5 years|22,661|0|
|Outstanding Lease commitments|122,317|3,733|
## **16. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS**
The Charity received donations without conditions or restrictions from members of the Board during the year of £4,840 (£2,000 in 2024).
Michael Asante who served as a Governor (charity trustee) in the year, has his own company MikeyJDotNet Ltd. The company provided a composer for the production HOT in Her/e, for the value £1,500. All amounts due to MikeyJDotNet Ltd were fully paid during the year. Michael Asante was employed as Artistic Director of Boy Blue Entertainment Ltd. The company provided a panelist for an event totalling £100. This has been fully paid. Michael Asante is on the board of Barbican Centre. During the year tickets were purchased from Barbican Centre for a Boy Blue production to the value of £103. Boy Blue provided choreographer sessions for LCDS during Term 2 to the value of £2,750, the invoice was sent in September 2025 and paid within the same month.
Rosalind Wynn who served as a Governor (charity trustee) in the year, was the Executive Producer at Dickson Mbi Company until December 2024 and retired as Governor on the 2nd July 2025. The company provided artist commission services to MA Dance Performance students totalling £7,200 in the year, this has been fully paid.
Clare Connor is a member of One Dance UK Honours Advisory Group. The charity paid £1,142 to One Dance UK for services rendered. All amounts were fully paid during the year. Clare Connor is an executive member of the Board at GuildHE. During the year £13,983 was paid to Guild HE for research membership and conference fees. All amounts were fully paid during the year.
Eddie Nixon who is the Artistic Director at The Place, is also the Co-Chair for Pavilion Dance South West. The company provided gifts in kind to The Place relating to use of theatre space; 56 hours of theatre space was provided to the value of £3,360.
During the year £53 was paid for a sympathy gift for a trustee.
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
62
## **17. STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE PREVIOUS PERIOD (31 JULY 2024)**
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
||**Notes**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Restricted**
**Funds**
**£**|**Total**
**2024**
**£**|**Total**
**2023**
**£**|
|||||||
|**Income from:**||||||
|Donations and legacies|2|208,882|452,246|661,128|415,842|
|**Charitable activities**||||||
|Grants|3|2,430,506|2,288,297|4,718,803|4,577,757|
|School fees and education|4|4,265,852|-|4,265,852|3,602,318|
|Performances||245,672|-|245,672|275,586|
|Other||147,615|80,081|227,696|127,410|
|**Other trading activities**||||||
|Lettings||259,174|-|259,174|248,845|
|Other||66,126|-|66,126|62,969|
|||||||
|**Investments**||146,808|4,203|151,011|53,159|
|||||||
|**Total income**||**7,770,636**|**2,824,826**|**10,595,462**|**9,363,886**|
|||||||
|**Expenditure on:**||||||
|**Raising funds**||||||
|Donations and sponsorships||156,233|-|156,233|119,882|
|Costs of premises maintenance
relating to lettings and grants||419,396|187,584|606,980|598,494|
|||575,629|187,584|763,213|718,376|
|**Charitable activities**||||||
|School and education||5,804,890|291,667|6,096,557|4,834,862|
|Theatre productions||1,159,380|2,401,104|3,560,483|3,079,342|
|||6,964,270|2,692,770|9,657,040|7,914,204|
|||||||
|**Total expenditure**|5|7,539,899|2,880,35|10,420,253|8,632,580|
|||||||
|Net income / (expenditure) before investment loss||230,737|(55,528)|175,209|731,306|
|Net gain/(loss) on investments||-|9,450|9,450|(5,096)|
|Net income / (expenditure)||230,737|(46,078)|184,659|726,210|
|Taxation||172,446|-|172,446|171,822|
|Net income/ (expenditure) and net movement in
funds for the year after taxation||403,183|(46,078)|357,105|898,032|
|Transfer of Funds||29,764|(29,764)|-|-|
|Net movement in funds||432,947|(75,842)|357,105|898,032|
|||||||
|**Total funds at 1 August 2023**||**3,451,832**|**4,777,410**|**8,229,242**|**7,331,210**|
|||||||
|**Total funds at 31 July 2024**|**14**|**3,884,779**|**4,701,568**|**8,586,347**|**8,229,242**|
|||||||
LONDON CONTEMPORARY DANCE (THE PLACE) LIMITED | **ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2024-25**
63
REPORT DESIGNED BY LUCY MAY DESIGN