THE CHURCH EsfATE CHARITY. DURHAM No 250248 ANNUAL REPORT FOR YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 202 The Charity Cornrnission Scherne Order dated 8 January 21XII 8ovems the regulation of the charity known as The Church Estste Charity1250248} Durham. Under the Scherne. the objects are:. The repairof the fabric of the Parish Church of St Margaret and to maintsin the service5 therein, and subjert thereto In furthering the religious and other work of the Church of England in the area of the benefit The area of the benefft comprises the parishes of St Margaret of Antih. Crossgate Durham and St John's Neville's Cross, Durharn. In 2021 another parrsh was added to the united benefice, that of St Edmund's, Bearpark, but that does not affect this charity- it is not included in the secondary objerts of the charity and it would require various agreements to such an alteration to include them as well as Charity commissione approbryl to the amendment of the Scheme. The Trustees of the Chaiity during the year were:_ For St MargareYs- the Rector the Rev. BèrnabyT Huish (also appointed Chaim)anl; Jonathan Bramley Cook; Susan Helen Lsfjns: Peter Athen Srnith. P05y (YNeill, Jennifer Smurthvmite. For St John s-jo Cun(ty: Susan Massey: Kath Shanks. The Secretary of the Trustees is Peter Athen Srnth: the post is an honornrium. He keeps the minutes, advises the Trustees generally and is also responsible for keeping the accounting records of the Charity and mairrtaining the RegeT of Trustees. The Charity's independent examiner is Mf John Bamborough Gibson. a retired Assistsnt Durham County Council Treasurer. The Charity has one asse( namely an endowment-that is funds-which are invested to produce income and so coMEr the work tt undertakes, as desttibed above. Being an endowment. those funds cannot themselves be spent save with the prior consent of the Charity Cornmissioner5 first obtained. Presendy those funds are invested in Charrfunds. a unit trust managed by M & G. Further details of the investment are set out in the Ststement of Assets and Liabilities. As set out in that sepaTrte report there are other assets and there has been no change in the assets held in Charifunds during the year. Equally. the CharTty has no liabilitie5. ovethea(ts or staff and Trustees receive neither payment nor expenses. The prirnary objert of the Charity is the repair of the fabric of St Margaret's Church. which is a Grade I listed building.. its repair and upkeep is a heavy burden. As an added guidance, there is a requirement for every parish to obtain a quinquennial report from a suitsbly qualified architect as to the state of their church building and carry out the repairs specified within the stipulated time frame. The Trustees of the Charity held meetings within the period covered by this report in May 2024, July 2024. October 2024 and January 2025. Previously. it had been agreed to try and hold rneetin85
quarterly so as to assist St John's Church's cash flow (the Rectorfs secretsry is employed by St John s and initially paid by them but they then claim that payment together with office expenses and subscriptions frorn the Charity each quarterl. The Trustees, meetings were a mixture of Zoom and face to face meetings. to suit the changing other commitments of the Trustees. Attendances were good. and the time limit imwsed by Zoom suited the Trustees as it kept meetings short and to the pointl Dividend income in the year was increased by. in rrtd figures some £2.3ts) or so, and bank interest received on our accounts with CafBank were up about £150 on last year. Our bank charges were slightly lower. As interest Trte5 have changed over the past sra1 rnonths. our bank has been very quitk to pass on increases to investors but likewise Ilef rates lust as quickly if the base rate drops: they vrnrrant commendation for their faimess. The irterest received more than cowdrs the bank tharges. We do not do internet bankin& as we onty i55ue about 8 cheques each year at most. To further put the issue of bank charges into perspective. l am with Uoyds and I pay an account fee of £25 per month on my accountl What the Charity Pays is small beer in comparison. Expenditure was down by about £37.fxK) because there were no major repairslmaintenance works carried out in the year. The charrty ought not to aim to attumulate money, rather it should expend it in the furtherdnce of its objects. The PCC is now planning to carry out major refurbishment, namely replacement of a substsntial part of the r(x>f but this year has been spent in obtainin8 quotstions and the obtaining of a faculty for the work5. Over the course of the year the value of the end(h¥M has increased SIht1V buL as l repeatedly, there is no correlation between income and the value of the fund= look at the increased dividends this past year. A change in investment would require specialist advice. which would incur us in costs and one must bear in mind that any cash realised would need to be reinvested. The Trustees may well conclude now is not the riqht time to think about changing investments. Taking all in all, the perfomiance of the endowment has been encouraging during the course of the year. As I said last year, it is perhaps intere5tirw¥ therefore to at the incorne generdted bythe investment over the course of the past 12 years and the value of the investment, 50 as to put this year's figures in contexL DATE DIVIDEND INCOME VAWE OF INVESfMENT 3113124 44,646.01 755, 3113123 769,972 3V3n2 38.935 820,090 3113121 33.484 764.386 3113120 43.348 620.616 3113119 41.531 798.270 3V3118 39.065 792,830
3113117 36.988 809.427 3113116 35,950 734.645 3113115 34.652 785.821 3113114 33,136 754,071 3113113 32.165 681,189 3113112 592.594 3113111 29.658 603.323 Looklng at matters in the Tound, the Charity remains in a gTr)d position to meet likely calls for assistance by the PCC in funding works to the church as well as funding the furtherance of the Vrk of the Church of England in the benefice, such that no changes to policy are required, and I commend the adoption of this reporL P A Smith 27January 2026
TYPED COPY RECEIPTS AND PAYMENfs ACCOUNT AND STATEMENT OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES under section 42(3) of the Charities Act 1993 Charity Name: The Chureh Ejtste Charity, Durham. Charity Cornmission Number: 2x1248 Finaneial Year: 12 montbs to 31 March 2025 INDEPEI¥DE]Yr EXAMINER'S REPORT I have examined the Reipts and Payments Account of the Church Eslate Charity Durham for the yw ¢nd¢d 31 Mah 2025 with the vouchers. bank statements and infonnation submitted to me and I am of the opirnon the Accounts are a true record of the income and disburs¢m¢nts of the Charity for the aforementioned year. I further certify that thc infomwtion given in the Staten of Assets & Liabilities is )rrect. Signed l K GROVES DAIED 29" January 2026 Indendent Enminer DECLARATION ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES The Reccipts & Payments A¢t as allached for the year ended 31 March 2025 aThl the Statement of Ass¢ts & Liabilities al that date as also set out attached are as approved by th¢ TrusÉe¢s. Signed..................................................... Trustee authorised to sign on IKhalf of all Trust¢¢s.
RECEtPTS AND PAYMENTS ACCOUNT AND STATEMENf OF ASSETS AND LIABILrrIES under section 42(3) of the Charities Act 1993 Charity Name: The Chureh Estate Charity. DllrhaDI. Charity Commission Number: 250248 12 months to 31 Marcb 2025 IM)EPEIYDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT I have examined the Receipts and Payments Accouth of the Church Estate CharRty Durtmm for the year end¢d 31 March 2025 with the vouchers. bank statements and infornmtion submitted to m¢ and l am of the opinion the Accounts are a tsue rrford of the income and disbursements of th¢ CIMrity for the aforementioned year. I further certify that the infonnation given in the Stat¢ment of Assets & Liabilities is correct. DECLARATION ON BEHALF OF THE TRUSTEES The Receipts & Panellts Account as attached for the year ended 31 March 2025 aThl the Statsment of Assets & Liabilities at that date &8 also set out attached as approved by the TnL8tees. Trustee authoris¢d to sign on behalf of all Tn.
THE CHURCH EsfATE CHARrrY. DURHAM No. 2248 RECEIPTS & PAYMENTSACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 REIpTs 114123 to 3V3124 Y4m to 3113nS Charifund dividends 44.646.01 46.982.14 Interest on CafGold account 2,826.11 2,998.36 Interest on Cafcash account 21.45 17.47 TOTAL RECEIPTS IA) 47,493.57 49,997.97 PAYMEKrs To Stjohn's Rector's Secretsry Salary* office expenses and contribution to cost of Youth Worker 13,310.82 23,113.18 To St Margarevs Youth Ministry 2080.CKI Insurance 3.5LM).(KI 4,171.49 Bibles for school leavers 521.98 652.79 Bank charges 65.25 64.50 Redecoration 13.440.(K) Lighting 28.795.(Kl Architecvs Fees 3.587.50 TOTAL PAYMENTS (B) 653CM).55 2&IX)1.96 Financial Year 202312024 Financial Year 202412025 Opening Balance on 114123 Opening balance on 114124 Cafcash 10.384.29 6.505.19
THE CHURCH ESTATE CHARTfY. DURHAM No 250248 STATEMEKf OF A&SETS & LIABtLrrtES YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2025 The only asset of the Charity is moneys invested in M & G ChaTifimds. a Ckwity Authorised Investment Fund. This fund constitutes an eDdowrnenL that is the actual fund cannot be spent sav¢ with the Charity CommissioneTS' COA8enL whereas the Income it Wlmluces is available to spend on all authonsed pUrySes. M & G opernte an ethical investment tx)licy and the dividen(Is gross quarterfy. The Charity holds 51.913.975 units and in the finla1 year covered by this Statement neither acquired nor dis of any units. The Charity has no other assets of any kind save moneys it holds in its bank accounts with CAFBank. The moneys in these accounts do presently earn interest and in this financial year. earned £3.015.83 in inieresL which handsomely covers total bank charges and fees amounting to £64.50. The sole source of income of the Charity (save for the interest mentioned above) are the th'vidends produced by the investm¢nt in th¢ M & G Chan'funds. The Charity does not trade, nor mak¢ collections of any kind nor solicit donations. It is not owed rnoney by any person or In the past M & G havc ¢xplained their investment PK)licy.' some of the funds are in interest bearing securities but is invested in carefully chosen smaller comEonies with a go(MJ recorit likely to grow to th¢ w)int thai tly will i&sue shares under a rights issue and from such the bulk of th¢ inwm¢ is g¢n¢rated To an extent tlKTe is not a real correlation betweth the value of the fuDd and the income it produces. Table A below shows the dividend distribution rate and amounts received. Table B gives the Val of the futKI at tim¢s stat¢d TABLE A PERIOD DIVIDEND DISTRIBUTION IL4TE PER UNrr 24.5 20.5 31.5 14. DATE OF PAYMENT AMOUNT 112124 to 3014124 115124 to 3117124 118124 to 31110124 1111124 to 3111125 3115124 3118124 13112124 2812125 12 718.92 10 642.36 16 352.90 7.267.96 46 982.14
TABLE B DATE 3113122 3016122 3019122 31112122 3113123 3016123 3019123 31112123 3113124 3016124 3019124 31112124 3113125 3016125 3019125 VALUE OF HOLDING 820 090.25 771015.97 712207.82 762,886.25 769 972.50 729 489.99 742 904.56 744 960.35 755.909.01 787 415.60 788 438.30 764 381.37 788 209.88 816,596.44 842 174.46 The dividends received this year show a slight increase over the previous year. Fund vaiucs for daks outside the financ1 year are included to demonstra* that there is no Correlation lthve¢n income tThluccd and the value of th¢ fund In some Lxses the fluctuation is what one could extwt to sec on a day to (kny b1$ (if one follows the v81ue of the fid on a daily basis. rises or fa]Is in the region of £20.(KKI to £40.( are quite nornial). The variations in value of the fund and the slight improvement in income may well suggest that a change of investment fund would not be appropriate at present. StrkS and shares might produce a better return but an investment in such would require activ¢ management by a sla11$t which would incur charges and such an investment is gcnerally prrc¢iv¢d to ¢xpose one to an increas¢d risk of loss. Th¢ Charity does not have any lith'litics: it Lkns not make any forn] of Yrn¢nt to its TnLSttts" does not have any cmpdoy¢cs" thes not employ canva&s¢rs" does not engage in door to door or street collections. does not OWT4 rent or bave any fonn of interest in real property" it does not t)ssesS any chattels. it does not have any outgoings of any sorL Signed... ....................... ......................... ... ........... Chainnan OfTnteeS On beRlf of all Thc TnLSt¢cs.