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2023-03-31-accounts

Butterfly Conservation

Annual Report and Financial Statements

31 March 2023

Company Limited by Guarantee Registration Number 02206468 (England and Wales)

Registered charity number 254937 (England and Wales) and SC039268 (Scotland)

Contents

Reports

Reports
Reference and administrative information 1
Overview by the Chair 3
Overview by the Chief Executive 4
Report of Council 5
Independent auditor’s report on the
financial statements 30
Financial statements
Consolidated statement of financial
activities 35
Comparative consolidated statement of
financial activities 36
Balance sheet 37
Statement of cash flows 38
Principal accounting policies 39
Notes to the financial statements 46

Butterfly Conservation

Reference and administrative information

President Sir David Attenborough OM CH CVO CBE FRS FSA
Vice-Presidents Jim Asher
Maurice Avent
Nick Baker
John F Burton FZS FRES DL Cbiol
Dudley Cheeseman
Sue Collins
The Earl of Cranbrook PhD
David Dennis
Mike Dilger
Clive P Farrell
David Hanson
Ian Hardy MVO
Chris Packham CBE
Professor Jeremy Thomas
Alan Titchmarsh MBE
Council Members (Directors and Trustees) Karen Goldie-Morrison (Chair)
Ilija Vukomanovic (Vice Chair)
Hugh Ellerton (Honorary Treasurer)
Glenn Allison
Apithanny Bourne
Prof Laurence Harwood
Dr Elaine King
Simon Saville
Martin Spray CBE
Chris Winnick
Senior Leadership Team Julie Williams (Chief Executive and Company Secretary)
Dr Kate Dent (Director of Engagement & Volunteering)
Dr Dan Hoare (Director of Conservation)
Russel Hobson (Director of Evidence & Policy)
Elvira Meucci-Lyons (Director of Fundraising &
Communications )
Registered address Manor Yard
East Lulworth
Wareham
Dorset
BH20 5QP
Company registration number 02206468 (England and Wales)

Butterfly Conservation 1

Reference and administrative information

Registered charity number 254937 (England and Wales) SC039268 (Scotland) Website butterfly-conservation.org Twitter @savebutterflies Facebook Facebook.com/savebutterflies Instagram Instagram.com/savebutterflies Auditor Buzzacott LLP 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL Bankers NatWest plc 49 South Street Dorchester Dorset DT1 1DW Solicitors Stone King LLP Boundary House 91 Charterhouse Street London EC1M 6HR Investment managers Cazenove Capital Management 1 London Wall Place London EC2Y 5AU

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Overview by the Chair Year to 31 March 2023

Overview by the Chair

According to Butterfly Conservation’s State of Butterflies report (2022) butterflies have disappeared from almost half the places in the UK they frequented 50 years ago. Between 1976 and 2019, butterflies in the UK lost 42% of their range and decreased by 6% in abundance.

Against this shocking background, Butterfly Conservation’s purpose - to conserve and recover butterflies and moths and to champion them for the benefit of nature and people - acquires a new urgency. This urgency is expressed in our 2026 Strategy. We must be ambitious: because if we are not, we are otherwise committed to recording declines and extinctions in ever more detail.

The State of Butterflies also showed that carefully targeted and sustained conservation action has a real impact on species, and that we know how to help threatened butterflies and moths. Successes with the Chequered Skipper and Marsh Fritillary have restored them to historic habitats and extended their ranges. When partnered with another strategic goal - improving the condition of important landscapes for butterflies and moths - we have seen successes with projects such as our Bog Squad, Green Recovery and Kent’s Magnificent Moths.

People need to see butterflies and moths. Otherwise, how can people understand them and help to conserve them and their habitats? Our third strategic goal is therefore to transform Wild Spaces for people, butterflies and moths, with a major focus on bringing nature into people’s lives.

The Biodiversity Conference of the Parties (COP 15), held in late 2022, emerged with a global pact to protect 30% of the world’s land and sea by 2030, stop extinctions and restore 30% of degraded environments.

Local and central government policy has an enormous impact on conservation success. There is hope that this 30 x 30 commitment, coupled with the relentless advocacy work of wildlife organisations (including Butterfly Conservation) against the UK government’s recent prevarications, will be a powerful message to the government to deliver on its nature recovery promises and plans.

Combined with these forces, Butterfly Conservation’s continued success in species conservation is due to the work, dedication and resilience shown by our staff and our UK-wide network of volunteers and members. I thank them all.

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Overview by the Chief Executive 31 March 2023

Overview by the Chief Executive

We continue to live in unsettling times, but what has remained constant is the urgent need for everyone to fight for the natural world that underpins our lives and our economy. Never has nature needed us more.

That’s why Butterfly Conservation’s work to inspire people to take action for butterflies and moths continues at pace - focusing on more butterflies and moths in recovery, more landscapes improving and more people taking action.

We now hold over 55 million moth and butterfly records gathered by tens of thousands of recorders. This data is invaluable, enabling us to carry out research and gain further insight into the ecology of butterflies and moths, and the impact of climate change on their habitats. Our research collaborations also support us to deliver a step change in understanding other key drivers of change like land use and pollution.

We know that reversing declines in butterflies and moths requires action at a landscape scale. We have recruited our first ever Landscapes Manager who will develop partnerships with key landowners, businesses and communities to improve habitats on a large scale; including urban landscapes, green infrastructure and brownfield sites.

Underpinning our strategy is the idea that everyone should be able to enjoy and value butterflies, moths and nature. So, we have set out to create 100,000 Wild Spaces by the end of 2026 to create and enhance the habitats butterflies and moths need, and provide a new route for us to reach local communities especially in urban areas. Looking to the future, our young people will also have a big role to play in helping deliver our mission and over the next year we will be creating many more opportunities for them to engage with us in our work.

Finally, we remain determined in our efforts to continue pressing governments around the UK to deliver better actions for nature, including providing adequate funding to ensure nature’s recovery.

Our strategy is ambitious. but to tackle the nature and climate emergency we are facing we must take ambitious action. Together we are already making a difference.

To our members, our volunteers, our Branches, our Trustees, our partners, our funders and our dedicated staff – thank you – none of this would be possible without you.

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Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

The Council of Butterfly Conservation presents its report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity and its trading subsidiary, Butterfly Conservation Trading Limited, for the year ended 31 March 2023.

This report equates to a directors’ report as required by Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 and has also been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out on pages 39-45 and comply with the charitable company’s Articles of Association, applicable laws and 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 United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

Council members confirm they have given due regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit and have considered how our aims and activities demonstrate this to fulfil our charitable objectives.

Our Vision

A world where butterflies and moths thrive and can be enjoyed by everyone, forever.

Our Purpose

We conserve and recover butterflies and moths and champion them for the benefit of nature and people.

Our Strategic Goals

The Initiatives

We will deliver these Strategic Goals through a programme of Initiatives.

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The Enablers

Our Enablers are the essential platform for achieving our Strategic Goals.

Our Values

Our values underpin our culture, the way we do things and what we believe in.

We use our wealth of scientific evidence and practical experience to deliver positive change for butterflies, moths and nature. We are the experts you can trust us to give you the information you need.

Nature is at the heart of all we do. We are dedicated to delivering positive change to conserve butterflies, moths and our environment. We are relentless in the pursuit of our vision, seeking new ways to make a difference.

We take action and speak up for what we believe in; we enable people to understand, enjoy and care for butterflies and moths.

We will achieve our vision by building networks, communities and partnerships to deliver success for nature. Our culture champions and promotes inclusion, equality and diversity.

Our Year in Numbers

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Recover butterflies and moths

Unlocking the power of our data

A new study led by Butterfly Conservation scientists has revealed complex patterns of change among Britain’s larger moths. This research builds upon the creation, last year, of a ‘traits’ database that draws together a wealth of information about the life cycles and ecology of our Lepidoptera. Both achievements spring from Butterfly Conservation’s new strategy, which recognises the crucial role that scientific research plays in underpinning our conservation work.

The study relates the characteristics, or traits, of moth species to long-term abundance and distribution trends calculated from the Rothamsted Insect Survey and National Moth Recording Scheme. These huge datasets mean that the resulting population trends are the most robust ever produced for moths, allowing us to look at associations with species traits in a more thorough way than has been possible before.

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Our analyses revealed that woodland moths are doing relatively well, whereas those associated with moorland tend to be declining. In response to this finding, Butterfly Conservation have instigated further research in an effort to determine why moorland moths such as Clouded Buff and Grey Mountain Carpet are struggling. Another finding of the study was that generalist moths with a flexible life history – those that have a wide range of foodplants and several generations per year – are faring better than more specialised species. Moths with caterpillars that feed on lichens and algae also tend to be faring well, a finding consistent with previous studies. There were however many conflicting results, where a trait was associated with abundance trends but not with distribution trends or vice versa. Reviewing previous studies of moths from across Europe shows that such inconsistencies are common, leading us to conclude that traits-based approaches have limited value in predicting population declines.

The Biodiversity of Conifer Forests at Stourhead

A Butterfly Conservation led research project has investigated biodiversity in conifer dominated forestry at the Stourhead (Western) Estate and National Trust Stourhead Estate. The studied conifer forest is managed using a technique called irregular forestry, which is gradually becoming adopted across the UK. Techniques such as irregular forestry promote the development of structurally diverse forests with a mixture of conifer and broadleaved trees. The project found a surprising level of biodiversity at Stourhead. A total of 128 plants, 248 moths, 13 bats and 26 bird species were recorded. Regarding moths this total includes 27% of the larger moths associated with woodland, a higher percentage than expected as surveys were limited to a two-week period in July. The number of bat species recorded was particularly impressive and is equivalent to 76% of all UK resident species. The project also found four key habitat structural features were particularly important for increasing biodiversity in conifer dominated stands; (1) lower basal area which facilitates the development of an understorey, (2) inclusion of broadleaved trees within the forest, (3) providing a patchy and open canopy and (4) greater quantities of deadwood. The results of the project provide important considerations for management of commercial, conifer forests.

Connect People to Nature

Creating Wild Spaces in allotments

During 2023 we will work with The National Allotment Society who kindly approached Butterfly Conservation in 2022 after reading about our Wild Spaces Goal, enquiring if we could work together on some aspects that would be relevant to allotment holders. Consequently, a range of resources and communications will be jointly created, supporting a campaign that will inform and encourage butterfly and moth friendly inclusions within allotments, and highlighting the benefits of doing so for both people and wildlife. Of course, all participants will be encouraged to maintain their Wild Space in future years and register it with us.

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Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

New Volunteer Training Programme Launched

You could say that volunteers are the wings of Butterfly Conservation; they help us to go further, do more and increase our reach. They support every corner of the organisation; from practical conservation to recording, engagement and communication. It’s vital that we invest in them, so they can help us create a world where butterflies and moths thrive and can be enjoyed by everyone, forever. This year has seen the launch of a new volunteer training programme, which allows volunteers to access videos and other resources to support them in their role. We have made the training available online where possible, as this is more flexible, accessible, reduces travel and the impact on the environment. We also now offer online drop-in sessions for volunteers, where questions can be answered directly by staff and everyone gets to meet new people. And, of course, our branches provide fantastic, local, inperson support too.

As well as benefitting existing volunteers, we hope this will make it easier for new people to volunteer with us, as the training will cover all the basic information they need – even if butterflies and moths are a completely new interest. Anyone interested in volunteering with Butterfly Conservation can now check our volunteer opportunities search.

Count butterflies, connect to nature

Each year the Big Butterfly Count involves tens of thousands of citizen scientists across the UK. The records they submit (an incredible 325,000 in 2022) contribute to the solid foundation of scientific evidence that underpins much of our work. While the benefits to butterflies and moths is clear, this year we have been exploring the impact that taking part in the count has on the participants themselves. In a new collaboration with the Nature Connectedness Research Group at Derby University, we measured changes in people’s wellbeing and sense of connection to nature using questionnaires completed before and after taking part in the Big Butterfly Count. Nearly 400 volunteers took part in the research. The results are in, and we’re really excited about them.

The study shows that participation is associated with increased nature connectedness, decreased anxiety and increased noticing of butterflies and nature. These improvements were linked to the strength of people’s emotional experience of taking part. That’s great news – as we’ve long suspected, taking 15 minutes out to count butterflies and moths is beneficial for you as well as helping conserve biodiversity. We’re now considering how we might use these findings to enhance people’s experience and maximise the benefits of taking part in future counts. We also hope that it will help us to reach new audiences and introduce even more people to the joys of observing and recording butterflies.

Participant quotations taken from the Derby report:

“I wish I had time to do more counts, as doing them really helps me relax and get my mind off things. Spending time alone with butterflies, identifying them and seeing how they interact with their environment is just the most amazing feeling.” “It was lovely to just sit and observe and a joy when butterflies did appear.”

“I love this because it’s a chance to sit, relax, observe, just ‘be’ without doing anything else.”

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Bringing Wild Spaces to Schools across the UK

The launch of our plans to transform 100,000 Wild Spaces across the UK has brought lots of exciting opportunities for our work in schools. To date, our education projects and programmes have sought to introduce primary aged children to butterflies and moths through hands-on workshops and outdoor learning opportunities. We have planted nectar sources and food plants in raised beds and containers with the children, but in aligning our schools work with Wild Spaces we’re now placing much greater emphasis on school grounds as viable potential habitat – and a fantastic learning resource. Over the year, we’ve had great fun testing new ways to introduce children to the habitat requirements of butterflies and moths – the importance of places to feed, breed and shelter. We’ve developed simple tools to help children survey their school grounds to identify which elements are missing and have been busy designing follow up lesson plans and resources for teachers.

We want to reach more children than ever before. Thanks to the generous support of individuals contributing to our Big Give fundraising appeal, we are ready to launch the ‘Discover & Learn’ hub – a new section of our website filled with ideas and resources for learning, creating and taking action. Many are linked to the national curriculums, but some are purely for fun and all will encourage children to forge a connection to nature.

Unite for Wildlife

Landscapes Programme – Thinking bigger

Our new landscapes programme, aiming to improve the condition of 100 landscapes for butterflies and moths, is a commitment to achieve more by expanding on some of our most successful work of recent years. We know that most threatened species survive as populations across patches of suitable habitat within a landscape. For them to thrive we need to improve the amount and the quality of habitat available, as well as improving connections between habitat patches to encourage species to move around. This has been the basis of our landscape-scale conservation action for the last 20 years and underpins much of our success in species recovery. But with biodiversity continuing to decline it is more important than ever that we help to build well-connected, species-rich landscapes that are more resilient to rapid changes in climate and can provide space for butterflies, moths and other wildlife to thrive.

We have identified 100 areas as priorities for our landscape-scale approach, some where we already have well-established partnerships and others where new collaborations will be needed to deliver measurably better habitats for butterflies and moths. This is shaping our conservation action, partnership development and fundraising to make an even greater impact for nature.

Landscape Case Study: High Brown Fritillary on Dartmoor

Recovering populations of threatened species is a challenge that requires sustained effort over many years. 2022 brought good news for our long-term landscape-scale conservation efforts on Dartmoor, where the High Brown Fritillary population was at a twenty-year high on some of its sites.

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Since 2002 Butterfly Conservation ecologists and volunteers have conducted annual timed counts for this large and fast-flying butterfly which can be hard to track down on the steep bracken- and grass-covered slopes of its Dartmoor stronghold. By working in partnership with farmers, graziers, volunteers and local conservation partners we have provided detailed management advice and positive habitat management targeting High Brown Fritillary for 15 years across this landscape. In 2022, 13 of the 14 monitored sites were occupied, and five achieved their highest counts from the 20-year series with additional sightings of wandering individuals further afield showing the potential for colonization of new sites if they can be brought into suitable habitat condition. The long-term population trend for Dartmoor shows a significant increase of 165% since 2002, providing evidence that recovery is possible even for some of our most threatened butterflies.

Landscape Case Study: Kent’s Magnificent Moths

Butterfly Conservation’s biggest moth conservation project combines focused action for eight threatened species with activities in local communities to raise awareness of the wonder and value of moths. Supported by a grant from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, through collaboration with land managers and community groups we’re taking new approaches to saving species at scale.

Our focus on improving habitats in grassland, woodland and shingle beaches for threatened species includes working to improve habitat quality and increase connectivity between sites, as well as examining how moths are responding to the rapidly changing climate. By training volunteers to search for eggs of the elusive Fiery Clearwing, we’ve demonstrated that it is rapidly changing its distribution and spreading inland, which could be critical to its survival as its former coastal colonies are vulnerable to flooding. We’ve also documented the increasing abundance of Black-veined Moth, which is colonizing grassland sites restored by farmers with the support of Natural England, and tracked the changing distribution of the Sussex Emerald as it too shifts inland.

The project provides opportunities for local volunteers to take an active role in conservation for some of the UK’s rarest species, including more than 200 volunteers growing 1,500 foodplants for moth caterpillars, which have been planted out to improve breeding habitats. By harnessing the power of volunteers we can have more conservation impact, raise awareness of the unique moth fauna of the area and help people be a part of nature recovery on their doorstep.

Tackle Threats to Nature

COP 15

We took part in a joint NGO campaign in the lead up to the United Nations (UN) Biodiversity Conference, COP 15 in Montreal in December 2022. The conference was focused on how the world could halt and reverse biodiversity loss, one of the most pressing issues facing our planet. The COVID-19 pandemic had meant the conference had been severely delayed - we are already 2 years into the UN’s Decade of Ecosystem Restoration.

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People love nature and animals, but often they do not realise the threats that biodiversity faces, the nature loss we are already experiencing, or the consequences of rapid biodiversity loss. Neither do they readily connect biodiversity loss and climate change, which are inextricably linked.

The key aims of the campaign were to inform the public of the risks to biodiversity, the consequences of nature loss and the need to petition MPs to take action.

The campaign asked the UK government to support 5 key outcomes

35,000 people signed up to the campaign and almost 200,000 people viewed the choreographed “murmuration” produced as part of the campaign. While the COP was running the Government announced a species abundance target for England, Scotland is now starting the process to identify targets for biodiversity restoration with the expectation that this will include a species target.

The State of the UK’s Butterflies 2022 Report

The latest comprehensive assessment of the UK’s butterfly populations was published by Butterfly Conservation in February. Using 23 million observations from citizen scientists gathered through our recording and monitoring schemes, the report charts long-term changes in the abundance and distribution of butterflies.

The overall results provide strong evidence of decline in UK butterflies since the 1970s. Almost twice as many species have decreased significantly in either abundance or distribution (or both) than have increased. Habitat specialist species, those restricted to particular habitats such as flower-rich grassland, heathland and woodland clearings, have fared especially badly. As a group, their distribution has decreased by over two-thirds (-68%) since 1976, while their abundance has dropped by over one-quarter (-27%) at monitored sites (many of which are nature reserves).

Wider countryside species, butterflies that can breed in the farmed countryside and in urban areas, have also declined but less severely. As a group they have decreased by 17% in abundance and 8% in distribution since 1976.

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Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

Thanks to the ongoing growth of the UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme and Butterflies for the New Millennium (which incorporates verified records from projects such as Big Butterfly Count and Garden Butterfly Survey), we can now provide country-level trends in addition to the UKlevel assessment. Declines dominate the separate results for England, Northern Ireland and Wales, and even in Scotland, where butterflies show an overall increase in abundance and distribution, habitat specialist species are in trouble.

Despite the gloomy picture painted by the long-term trends, numerous examples show that sustained and targeted species conservation can turn around the fortunes of threatened butterflies at site, landscape and national levels. The data generated by tens of thousands of recorders each year drives this conservation action as well as enabling us to monitor its impact.

Manage Land Sustainably

Legacies of the Building Sites for Butterflies Programme

As the Programme enters its fifth and final year, one of its legacies will be the drawing together of examples of good practice around the four countries of the UK. These will be presented as case studies and shared through the Land Use Portal. The Programme has given advice on creation of species-rich grasslands in the built environment and managing existing amenity grasslands to improve their biodiversity value. Much of the work has targeted road verges but has included advice on management of public parks and open spaces, restoration of quarries and landfills, and creation of butterfly banks. The emphasis has been on promoting native perennial wildflowers which provide foodplants and nectar for butterflies and moths.

One audience for the Programme has been the infrastructure construction industry. A key output has been the publication of the Institute of Civil Engineers 2023 Manual of Blue-Green Infrastructure, which includes a chapter on highways coauthored by Butterfly Conservation and National Highways. This chapter presents a challenge to orthodox approaches of amenity grassland creation and management, presenting a series of case studies. These will form the basis of the information to be used in the Land Use Portal.

Rowland Wood – Major woodland felling works to benefit Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary

Following the extinction of the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly in South-East England in 2013, a group of dedicated volunteers from the Sussex Branch started a captive breeding and release programme.

When acquired in 2010, Rowland Wood, adjacent to our Park Corner Heath reserve was little more than a large area of densely planted conifers. Management has since looked to remove many of the conifers, replacing them with native broadleaved species, as well as creating, more, longer and wider woodland rides, essential for violets, the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary butterfly’s larval foodplant.

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To support the continued management of the reserve, in 2022 a new woodland management plan was approved by the Forestry Commission and a new five-year £16,000 Countryside Stewardship agreement granted. During the autumn of 2022 more than 400 tonnes of conifers were felled and these will be sold this summer to produce sawn timber and chip wood for biomass boilers.

So a foothold has now been established at our Park Corner Heath and Rowland Wood reserve for the Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, which is now the only known site in South-East England for this spectacular butterfly. During a two-and-a-half week period in May 2022, 53 adults were recorded on the wing.

Enablers

The platform of success

There has been a considerable amount of work during 2022/23 to review where we are now and where we need to get to deliver our new strategy.

Inspiring communications

In 2022 we published an updated Red List of British butterflies. This new Red List categorises half of Britain’s remaining species as threatened (Endangered or Vulnerable) or Near Threatened. Unfortunately, five more species were classified as Threatened this year. This includes the Scotch Argus, which was classed as Vulnerable after its southerly ranges in northern England were reduced to just two sites. However, the list found some cause for optimism, with the Large Blue butterfly, which went extinct in Britain just over 40 years ago, now classed as Near Threatened following a successful reintroduction project.

The List garnered a lot of media attention for the charity including pieces on BBC Breakfast, BBC Radio 4 Today, The Times, Daily Telegraph, The Guardian, The Sun and The Scotsman. In all, there were over 650 separate pieces of national and regional media coverage on the List and what it means for butterflies.

Lean and scalable organisation

Our Digital Transformation Roadmap was developed during the year. This was produced by a seasoned IT professional (and Butterfly Conservation member). With that support onboard we have already moved into the development phase of our Digital Transformation Programme. This includes multiple projects including a Volunteer Database and Wild Spaces portal (both commissioned in the year) and will be followed by a Supporter platform, Land Use portal, and new finance system. We are consulting staff, volunteers and where appropriate external partners to ensure new systems are fit for purpose and will be introducing training programmes for all users as the roll out begins. These new systems will modernise the way Butterfly Conservation supports our members and volunteers, manages our fundraising, shares our expertise with the public and land managers and streamline our internal working practices.

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High performing staff and volunteer team

We believe in providing opportunities for all through our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) Statement of Intent. We worked closely with Rethink Nature and the Wildlife and Countryside Link to support a cross-organisational peer support network for under-represented groups.

We collected baseline data from three groups: volunteers, staff, and Big Butterfly Count participants, which identified three key under-represented groups we wish to prioritise: younger people, people from minority ethnic backgrounds, and people experiencing green space deprivation. In support of this work, we successfully secured funding from the National Lottery’s Heritage Innovation Fund to help us find out how young people want to volunteer in conservation.

Our focus on values-based recruitment during 2022 has helped to increase the number of younger people applying and being recruited into our new roles. We have seen an increase of 5% in representation from people aged 25-34 in the last 12 months.

Sustainable funding

Despite another year of economic volatility creating an uncertain atmosphere for fundraising, our results remained on course thanks to the dedication of our staff and volunteers, and the generosity of our supporters who continued to support the charity, despite the hardships felt by many.

We received a good response to The Big Give, and to our ‘emergency’ appeal on the State of Butterflies report.

In the current climate it is more difficult than ever for charities to raise awareness of causes. We are getting ready to future-proof support and income for Butterfly Conservation by testing new meaningful ways to engage our supporters, encouraging dialogue and involvement, informing directly, and offering changes to give in other ways.

Data and insight will underpin our test and learn programmes of work, and this will be delivered through our new CRM, ensuring we stay agile and ready to amend our tactics and focus.

We will expand our work through innovative digital activities and campaigns alongside a refreshed membership product. A diversified fundraising portfolio will help us face future challenges and mitigate income shortfalls in the future.

Future Priorities

2023 - 2024

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2024-2026

Beyond 2026

Risk Management

Risk management is well established and integrated into every aspect of our work. Our business contingency planning was thoroughly tested during the Coronavirus crisis and a COVID-19 contingency plan was implemented at the start of the pandemic. This has continued to be updated and reviewed and has delivered successful over the last three years.

Council takes all reasonable steps to ensure that major risks are identified and recorded in a Risk Register. In preparation for each Council meeting, the Audit & Risk Sub-committee reviews the full Risk Register and advises Council on the most significant risks, so that appropriate mitigating actions can be in place. Once a year, in December, the Audit & Risk Sub-committee undertakes a more robust, in-depth review of the Risk Register to ascertain the principal risks facing Butterfly Conservation. These reviews ensure the risks are accurately described, no significant risks are omitted, suitable mitigations are in place and are being satisfactorily managed. Council is aware that such processes are designed to mitigate rather than to eliminate major risks and will continue to improve and refine risk management principles in all aspects of our work delivered successfully over the last three years.

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Principal Risks and uncertainties

Fundraising has become increasingly challenging. Post pandemic and with the Cost-of-Living crisis impacting so many people the fundraising environment has become more unpredictable, making defining suitable mitigations difficult. On top of this Butterfly Conservation has a new fundraising team and the ongoing challenge posed by our existing CRM which we are unable to use to its full potential.

The external environment is even more challenging than a year ago. This can be split into several strands:

The ongoing impacts of COVID-19 (and its ramifications) on employers – organisations have still not fully recovered from COVID-19 and we are still understanding how best to operate in a hybrid world. Maintaining organisational cohesion, employee well-being and collaborative working is challenging. It is a very tight labour market, and companies are finding it hard to recruit, and to agree terms.

The Cost-of-Living crisis is creating real hardships for employees and employers alike. All the above are having knock-on effects on Butterfly Conservation internally, especially relating to culture change. As with other employers, the long-term effects of remote/home working are being seen.

In addition, we face continuing uncertainty from the UK Government that is impacting tackling the nature crisis across the UK countries in areas such as Land Management schemes, the Retained EU Laws Bill and its potential ramifications. This makes it an extremely challenging environment for advocacy and policy work.

The Threatened Species Programme and Landscapes Programme are ambitious. As such, delivery was always going to be challenging especially as they depend on external factors such as mentioned above in the sections on fundraising and external environment. It is becoming apparent that the original deadlines will need constant reassessment to ensure delivery can be achieved. The key has always been to see a seismic shift not just in ambition but also conservation delivery and that remains a key focus in the year ahead.

There are many internal changes that are required to deliver the strategy, both in the staff organisation and in branches. Some of these are structural changes needed to focus activity such as fundraising, processes changes such as new IT or systems to make us leaner. Some of these are about training and helping our staff with new ways of working, catching up on development plans that were derailed by COVID-19.

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Health & Safety

Butterfly Conservation’s health and safety (H&S) policy, codes of practice and risk assessments are reviewed on a regular basis. The need for H&S training is assessed regularly and implemented for staff and volunteers. H&S updates are reviewed quarterly by the Audit & Risk Sub-committee and where H&S incidents arise, they are properly followed up and reviewed by Council.

Safeguarding

Butterfly Conservation is committed to ensuring the safety and welfare of children and vulnerable adults. We ensure our staff, volunteers and contractors comply with best practice and regulatory requirements across all the physical and virtual spaces where we operate. A Safeguarding update is reviewed quarterly by the Audit & Risk Sub-committee and all suspicions or disclosures of abuse are properly reported, recorded and acted upon. Our Safeguarding Policy is published on our website.

Equality, Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)

Our work on equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) gained momentum this year. We signed up to the ‘Route Map towards greater ethnic diversity in the environment sector’ and took part in the first annual ‘RACE (Racial Action for the Climate Emergency) Report’ to help build a picture of diversity amongst staff and trustees of charities, trusts and foundations that work predominantly on environment, climate, and nature issues. The aim is to increase transparency and support action towards increasing diversity and inclusion.

We delivered a workshop to all staff in September 2022 to raise awareness and understanding of privilege, which supported a 13% increase in staff feeling encouraged to embed equality, diversity and inclusion into their day-to-day work.

An initial EDI Working Group met in January 2023 and is developing a more detailed action plan, including when and how to open the group to a wider group of volunteers and members.

Sustainability Policy

The development of Butterfly Conservation’s new Sustainability Policy and Action Plan was put on hold in 2020/21 due to the pandemic and subsequent staff changes. We are undertaking a baseline audit in 2023/24 and will launch an Action Plan by the end of the financial year. The Action Plan will look at reducing the impact of our work but also at how we mitigate our impact, adapt to climate change and increase our resilience. We will also consider how we monitor and report on our performance and the changes we are making. Sustainability must be a key objective of the organisation to ensure it is embedded in all our decision making. However, we should follow a recognised process to ensure that changes we make are robust and open to scrutiny.

Butterfly Conservation 18

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

Financial Review

Income increased by 44.6% to £6.25m (2022: £4.35m). Grant funding increased by 12.7% to £1.24m (2022: £1.10m). We are extremely grateful for a wonderful £1m donation and a significant legacy. Income from donations and legacies increased by 131.2% to £2.89m (2022: £1.25m). This included a major donation of £1m to enable us to set up the Heather Corrie Lepidoptera Research Fund. Despite the pandemic, we continued to have a good response to all our individual appeals and general donations (including Gift Aid). Membership subscription income remained at the same level at £1.27m (2022: £1.27m).

Expenditure increased by 30.2%, to £5.56m (2022: £4.27m). During the year we increased our average headcount by 14: building capacity in the staff team was a strategic action to ensure we can deliver Butterfly Conservation’s ambitious strategy.

The result was a net income of £0.39m (2022: £0.37m) and the closing total net assets were £12.70m (2022: £12.31m).

The balance on our endowment fund decreased by £302k to £5.28m (2022: £5.58m) due to unrealised losses.

Fundraising Policy

We are registered with the Fundraising Regulator and comply with the key principles embodied in their Code of Fundraising as set out in our Fundraising Promise (butterflyconservation.org/legal/our-fundraising-promise).

Several safeguards are in place for our supporters: we include data protection permission options and a three-point ‘Our promise to you’ on all fundraising materials; a detailed Supporter Guarantee can be found on our website (butterfly-conservation.org/legal/ourfundraising-promise). All fundraising is conducted in-house and we monitor activity to ensure it adheres to our strict guidelines. No external professional fundraiser or third-party organisation is engaged in fundraising activities on behalf of the charity. Corporate businesses have agreements in place to use Butterfly Conservation’s logo for promotional purposes. All agreements can be terminated with immediate effect if the commercial partners do anything that could bring our reputation into disrepute. Butterfly Conservation operates a strict opt-in policy for all direct marketing in line with the EU General Data Protection Regulation. All direct mail fundraising communications sent out are covered by active, informed and specific permission by the individual. Supporters are offered the opportunity to revise consent preferences in each communication. We also monitor the level of asks sent out to ensure unreasonable requests are not made to any individual. All staff adhere to our Policy for Supporters in Vulnerable Circumstances, which provides guidance to help identify vulnerable individuals and ensure that all supporters are treated fairly. Butterfly Conservation has received one complaint regarding aspects of our fundraising during the year. This complaint was fully investigated, appropriate action was taken, and a detailed response was sent to individuals within seven days. We received one notification from the Fundraising Preference Service during 2022/23 and this was dealt with immediately.

Butterfly Conservation 19

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

Investment Policy

Our investment income is derived from an Endowment Fund intended to provide the charity with a permanent source of income. We are bound to invest this to seek a balanced return from income and capital growth: we aim to grow in line with inflation (CPI) over the long term. To achieve an appropriate balance between risk and return, we invest in a diversified portfolio of equities, bonds and alternative assets: a breakdown of investment holdings is given in Note 15. We invest through pooled funds and third-party managers.

On 31 March 2023 our Endowment Fund had a market value of £5.28m (2022: £5.59m). The Trustees have appointed Cazenove Capital Management as professional investment managers to manage the Endowment Fund in accordance with the investment policies.

At their meeting on 10 June 2020 Council passed a resolution to invest on a Total Return basis. The initial value of the trust for investment and the initial value of the Unapplied Total Return were established on 31 March 2020. The initial value of the Trust for investment was determined at £3.09m by reference to our records: the Unapplied Total Return was calculated as the difference between that value and the portfolio value at 31 March 2020. To ensure that we meet our obligations to balance the needs of current and future beneficiaries, trustees agreed a policy annually to allocate 3.25%, after fees, of the portfolio value to income and any remaining balance of the Total Return to be reinvested in the Endowment Fund; The percentage allocated to income is agreed each year with the investment managers, Cazenove Capital Management.

Council has further resolved that we should follow the principles of socially responsible investment. We will do so by holding sustainable assets, in particular those that support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. We seek to engage, through our investment managers, with companies to encourage changing behaviours to reduce consumption and emissions. We have no direct and de minimis indirect exposure to companies with fossil fuel reserves (0% at 31 March 2023). We identified both ethical and financial reasons for taking this approach. A further consequence of this policy is a significant reduction in the carbon footprint of our portfolio.

Financial Reserves Policy

At 31 March 2023 Butterfly Conservation had total funds of £12.69m (2022: £12.31m). These funds included our permanent endowment totalling £5.28m (2022: £5.59m), which was given to provide future income for Butterfly Conservation. Restricted funds totalled £0.72m (2022: £1.18m) as set out in detail in Note 19 to the financial statements. A further £1.39m (2022: £1.42m) represents freehold nature reserves and other tangible and intangible fixed assets. Council has designated a total of £1.30m (2022: £0.32m) for the purposes as detailed in Note 20 to the financial statements. Butterfly Conservation’s unrestricted funds at 31 March 2023 amounted to £6.69m (2022: £5.54m). These funds include £1.39m (2022: £1.15m) being the tangible fixed assets fund balance and £20,000 being the retained profits of Butterfly Conservation Trading Company. Both funds are central to Butterfly Conservation’s charitable activities and the funds would not be available to meet future contingencies should they arise. The funds available for meeting ongoing future reserves, i.e., free financial reserves, therefore total £3.99m (2022: £4.06m) These free financial reserves are held to ensure that Butterfly Conservation:

Butterfly Conservation 20

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

These funds equate to approximately six months’ operating costs. Council has reviewed the charity’s Financial Reserves Policy with the designation of this money and has also taken into consideration the continued reduction in statutory agency funding and the need to invest financial resources into achieving our 2026 Strategy. Considering these factors, Council has calculated that the amount of financial reserves it needs to hold is £3.5m (2022: £3.5m). The members of Council are therefore satisfied with the year end reserves position. In 2023/24 we will continue to implement our Fundraising Strategy to maintain our conservation effort and financial reserves to the target level. However, with the ongoing uncertainties that may have some negative impact on our finances during the next few years. Positive action is planned to mitigate potential reduction in income during this period.

----- Start of picture text -----
How we raised our funds How we spent our funds
Total Income £6.25m Total Expenditure £5.56m
(2021/22 £4.35m) (2021/22 £4.27m)
Conservation £4.82m
Donations and legacies £2.89m
Membership services £0.45m
Membership subscriptions £1.27m
Raising funds £0.29m
Conservation activities - grants £1.24m
Contracts and Royalties £0.50m
Investments £0.23m
Primary purpose trading £0.09m
Other trading activities £0.03m
----- End of picture text -----

Butterfly Conservation 21

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

Structure, Governance and Management

Members of Council

Council members constitute directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006 and trustees of the charity for the purposes of charity legislation. Each member of Council has responsibility for monitoring the charity’s activities in specific operational areas and constant regard is paid to refreshing the experience mix of members of Council to ensure that Council continually develops the skills required to contribute fully to the charity’s advancement.

The following Council members were in office during the year to 31 March 2023 and served throughout that year (and up to the date of approval of this report) except where shown:

Council Members Re-elected/Resigned
Karen Goldie-Morrison – Chair Re-elected in November 2022
Martin Spray - Chair Elect (from February 2023) Elected in November 2022
Ilija Vukomanovic – Vice Chair
Nigel Symington – Honorary Treasurer (until
November 2022)		 Retired in November 2022
Glenn Allison
Apithanny Bourne
Hugh Ellerton – Honorary Treasurer (from
November 2022)
Prof Laurence Harwood Re-elected in November 2022
Dr Elaine King
Simon Saville
Chris Winnick

All members of Butterfly Conservation are eligible to seek election to Council at the Annual General Meeting (AGM). One-third of Council members (also known as trustees) stand down each year on rotation and new Council members are elected at Butterfly Conservation’s AGM in November. New Council members receive comprehensive information to understand their roles and responsibilities to the charity. A detailed induction is arranged to provide new and re-elected Council members with a strategic and operational overview of Butterfly Conservation. The induction is also optional for all Council members to attend as a refresher.

Butterfly Conservation 22

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

A Board Buddy system was introduced in 2021 to assist new trustees joining Council to be paired with an existing trustee as a mentor. This system has been incorporated into the trustee cycle and forms part of the annual review process. To familiarise themselves with the work of the charity, Council members are invited to key meetings and events. The Chair holds annual review meetings with individual Council members, to discuss his/her contribution during the year and agree plans for self-development, as well as an annual Board performance review, which includes feedback from the Senior Leadership Team.

A trustee skills audit is undertaken each year to identify any gaps in expertise and highlight future requirements to ensure that Council has sufficient skills to operate as a diverse and effective Board. All Council members are encouraged to undertake training seminars from external professionals and are offered subscriptions to relevant governance resources. Council is responsible for identifying and recruiting new Council members who complement the expertise of existing members and who fill the gaps identified in the skills audit. Emphasis has been applied this year to attempt to increase the diversity amongst new Council members. Various methods are used including widespread advertising through national recruitment platforms and social media, as well as in Butterfly magazine, and the Branch email updates.

Succession planning has been at the forefront of Council’s agenda due to the past Honorary Treasurer’s retirement in November 2022 and the Chair’s forthcoming retirement in November 2023. In November 2022, following several months as Treasurer Elect, Hugh Ellerton became Honorary Treasurer, taking over from Nigel Symington.

Council’s Chair succession planning, and recruitment preparations began in 2021. An external recruitment company was used to assist with recruiting a new Trustee in 2022 with the potential to become, and interest in becoming, Chair. All existing Trustees were invited to put themselves forward for the position, and, following an election, Martin Spray was appointed as Chair Elect in January 2023. Martin assumed this position from the beginning of February, allowing him time to ‘shadow’ the current Chair until the AGM in November 2023 when he will become the new Chair.

The AGM was held in Huddersfield in November 2022. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, AGMs were held online in 2020 and 2021. This year, the AGM was held both in person and online. Eligible members were able to vote on the Resolutions and Trustee Elections by proxy in advance of the AGM, and just under 290 people attended.

Council members declare all relevant interests and register them with the Company Secretary and, in accordance with Butterfly Conservation’s Code of Conduct Policy, withdraw from decisions where a conflict of interest arises. Details of any relevant transactions can be found in Notes 11 and 25 of the accounts.

Council continues to adopt the Charity Governance Code (CGC), which assists charities to develop and maintain a high level of governance through continuous development.

Butterfly Conservation 23

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

Responsibilities of Council

The members of Council (who are also directors of Butterfly Conservation for the purposes of company law and trustees for the purposes of charity law) are responsible for preparing the annual report and financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice). Company law requires the members of Council 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 the group and of the income and expenditure of the group for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the members of Council are required to:

Council members 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, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and applicable Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and the group and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Each member of Council confirms that:

This confirmation is given and should be interpreted in accordance with the provisions of s418 of the Companies Act 2006.

Butterfly Conservation 24

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

The members of Council are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information contained on the charitable company’s website. Legislation in the UK governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Strategy and Policy Setting

Council determines the overall strategy and policy of Butterfly Conservation.

Council currently meets at least four times a year and some of these meetings were held online during 2022/23 due to COVID-19 considerations. Council delegates some of its responsibilities to three committees who report back to Council with recommendations: Audit & Risk, Governance, and Investment. From time to time the Chief Executive initiates individual Task and Finish Groups designed to work on specific areas. These groups report directly to the Chief Executive and are made up of a mixture of members of staff, Council members and external individuals depending on the topic and their expertise.

Staff and Branches

The Chief Executive, assisted by the Senior Leadership Team, is responsible for the day-today management of Butterfly Conservation, acting under authority delegated to her by Council. During the year, we employed on average 91 members of staff (77 in 2021/22) who are grouped into six main work areas: Conservation, Evidence & Policy, Engagement & Volunteering, Fundraising and Communications, Finance and Operations, Chief Executive’s Office. Our local action is co-ordinated by a UK-wide network of 31 Branches and a European Butterfly Group. Each Branch is managed by a volunteer committee. Our dedicated Branch Committee members are true ambassadors for Butterfly Conservation and all the fantastic work we do. We are indebted to everyone who contributes to making our Branch network so strong and successful.

Pay and Remuneration Policy

Butterfly Conservation is committed to ensuring that we pay our staff fairly and in a way that ensures we attract and retain the right skills to have the greatest impact in delivering our charitable objectives. In November 2022 we became an accredited Living Wage employer and are planning to undertake a pay and benefits review in 2023/24.

The key management personnel of the charity in charge of directing and controlling, running and operating the charity on a day-to-day basis comprise the members of Council, Chief Executive and the Senior Leadership Team.

Butterfly Conservation conducts a fair recruitment process, with clear person specifications for each role to ensure objective criteria are used to shortlist and interview applicants, including values-based interviewing to support our commitment to our values of Excellence, Passionate, Inspiring, and Collaborative. Individuals are recruited based on their commitment and alignment to our values, as well as their skills and technical expertise. This helps to reduce unconscious bias, creates a positive work environment, and enhances staff engagement and morale.

Butterfly Conservation 25

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

The results of the gender pay gap calculations for 2022/23 show that the full time equivalent mean weekly earnings for men is 9% more than women. This demonstrates an improvement since 2021/22 when the mean weekly earnings for men was 16% more than women. The 2022/23 full-time equivalent median weekly earnings for men are 14% more than women. This remains the same as in 2021/22. The differential arises as currently 65% of our workforce is women, but more men hold senior positions within the organisation (64% of men fall within the top two pay quartiles). The charity’s Pay and Remuneration Policy states how salary and pay awards are set, including remuneration for the Chief Executive and Senior Leadership Team. The same benefits arrangements, including pensions, and terms and conditions apply to all employees, including the Senior Leadership Team. Pay bands and salary increments are reviewed annually against several other NGOs and using benchmarking tools widely available in the voluntary sector. Further salary banding information on the Senior Leadership Team’s remuneration is included in Note 11. Council members are not remunerated but are reimbursed for reasonable out-of-pocket expenses (as stated in Note 11).

Trading

Butterfly Conservation Trading Limited was incorporated in February 2010 to conduct trading activities in support of Butterfly Conservation’s charitable activities. The company is registered in England and Wales under company number 07166835 and is a wholly owned trading subsidiary. The directors of the trading company have elected to donate, in accordance with an agreed deed of covenant, all of its annual taxable profit to its parent charity, Butterfly Conservation, under Gift Aid. For the year ended 31 March 2023, the donation amounted to £49,187 (2022: £49,551).

Thank you

We are extremely grateful to all our members, supporters and funders and the organisations that have generously continued to support the charity in 2022/23, including all donors who wish to remain anonymous.

On behalf of Butterfly Conservation, thank you to everyone who supported our work. Unfortunately, we do not have space to individually name all funders but would like to acknowledge the following, who provided support of £1,000 or more:

Grant Funders

Blackdown Hills AONB British Entomological Society British Ecological Society Buckinghamshire Community Foundation Carmarthenshire County Council Chapman Charitable Trust Dartmoor National Park Authority The David Family Foundation Devon County Council Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty Esmé Mitchell Trust Gleeson Homes

Butterfly Conservation 26

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

Hampshire County Council Mendip Hills Area of Natural Beauty National Lottery Heritage Fund National Trust Natural England Natural Resources for Wales NatureScot North York Moors National Park Authority Northern Ireland Environment Agency Pembrokeshire County Council Pilkington General Charity Rural Payments Agency Scottish Forestry Severn Trent Water Limited South Downs National Park South of Scotland Enterprise Stirling Council The Botanist Foundation The Dulverton Trust The Edward and Dorothy Cadbury Trust The Highland Council The Hiscox Foundation The John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust Worcestershire Wildlife Trust

Charitable Trusts and Foundations

The A E B Charitable Trust Alfred William CharitableTrust The Big Give Trust Binks Trust D G Albright Charitable Trust DFN Charitable Foundation Gordon Fraser Charitable Trust Henocq Law Trust J & JR Wilson Trust The John William Hay Charitable Trust Kathleen Beryl Sleigh Charitable Trust Lochlands Trust Marsh Charitable Trust Martin Laing Foundation Mrs M A Lascelles Charitable Trust Orr Mackintosh Foundation Limited Pump House Trust Sabina Sutherland Charitable Trust The Hugh Fraser Foundation The Marlow Trust The Reed Foundation

Butterfly Conservation 27

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

Corporate Partners and Supporters

Amazon C J Wildlife Give as You Live Limited Habitat First Group Hamton Decking Limited NHBS Limited Papillion Dartmoor Distillery Rapanui Richemont UK Limited ROC Technologies Limited Sophia Webster Limited

Corporate Members

AJB Funerals Bathurst Estate Blue Print Direct Mail Ground Control Ltd Highland Titles Nature Reserve I can Lawn Landscaping Solutions Limited Northumbrian Water Nurture Landscapes Limited Propology Boutique Properties The Botanist Foundation The Friendly Seed Company Limited The Mayfield Group Limited

Legacy gifts

Much of our successful conservation work is underpinned by the generosity of supporters who have left a gift in their Will. All gifts, whatever their size, are hugely valuable, making a lasting difference to butterfly and moth conservation. We would like to thank our generous benefactors for these important gifts:

Legacies

Martin Eric Anthoney Geoff Ashton Ann Collier Mrs J Davis Patricia Mary Froud David Liddle Gwen Hargreaves J C Heaps Carole Evelyn Hodgson Fay Katz Margaret Manson

Butterfly Conservation 28

Report of the Council Year to 31 March 2023

James Howard Mason Herbert William Terence Mayes Joan McCagney John Mclaren Terence W J Mullins Sylvia Anne Niblett Barbara Violet North Frances Ann Ronald Bridget Alyson Terry Michael Drake Whitear Arthur John Williams Ian Gordon Woolsey Peter Allen Yeo

If you would like to find out more about leaving a gift in your will, please call Amanda Brazington on 01929 406048 or email abrazington@butterfly-conservation.org.

We are extremely grateful for a significant donation that has allowed Butterfly Conservation to set up the Heather Corrie Lepidoptera Research Fund to enhance our science and research work.

Report of the council approved for on and behalf of council:

Karen Goldie-Morrison Chair

Julie Williams Secretary

Approved by Council on: 16 August 2023

Butterfly Conservation 29

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2023

Independent auditor’s report to the member of Council and members of Butterfly Conservation

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Butterfly Conservation (the ‘charitable parent company’) and of Butterfly Conservation and its subsidiary company (collectively the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 March 2023, which comprise the group statement of financial activities, the group comparative statement of financial activities, the group and charitable parent company balance sheets, the group statement of cash flows, the principal accounting policies and notes to the financial statements. 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:

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the group 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

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the ISAs (UK) require us to report to you where:

Butterfly Conservation 30

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2023

Other information

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

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:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the group and the charitable parent company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Council including the strategic report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

Butterfly Conservation 31

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2023

Responsibilities of Council

As explained more fully in the Responsibilities of Council statement included in the Report of the Council, the members of Council (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 members of Council 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 members of Council are responsible for assessing the group’s and the charitable parent 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 members of Council either intend to liquidate the group or the charitable parent 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:

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

Butterfly Conservation 32

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2023

We assessed the susceptibility of the group’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements (continued)

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the trustees and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Butterfly Conservation 33

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2023

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

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.

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 and to the charity’s members of Council (the trustees and directors of the charitable company) as a body, in accordance with Section 44(1)(c) of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 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.

Gumayel Miah (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of Buzzacott LLP, Statutory Auditor 130 Wood Street London EC2V 6DL

8 September 2023

Butterfly Conservation 34

Consolidated statement of financial activities Year to 31 March 2023

Notes
Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000		 2023
Total
funds
£’000		 2022
Total
funds
£’000
Income from:
Donations and legacies
1
Other trading activities
2
Investments & interest receivable
3
Charitable activities
. Conservation activities –
grants receivable
4
. Contracts and Royalties
. Primary purpose trading
. Membership subscriptions
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
5
Charitable activities
. Conservation
6
. Membership services
7
Total expenditure
Net income (expenditure)
before investment gains
(losses)
Net investment (losses) gains
15,18
Net income (expenditure)
10
Transfer between funds
19,21
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation
Total funds brought forward at 1
April 2022
Total funds carried forward at
31 March 2023
2,823

31

39

389
459
89
1,268		 65
—
11
850
40
6
—		 —
—
178
—
—
—
—		 2,888
31
228
1,239
499
95
1,268		 1,245
47
237
1,097
355
94
1,270
5,098 972 178 6,248 4,345

276

3,513

444		 —
1,311
—		 13
—
—		 289
4,824
444		 224
3,650
392
4,233 1,311 13 5,557 4,266
865

—		 (339)
—		 165

(302)		 691
(302)		 79
287

865

287		 (339)
(122)		 (137)
(165)		 389
—		 366
—
1,152
5,543		 (461)
1,179		 (302)
5,585		 389
12,307		 366
11,941
6,695 718 5,283 12,696 12,307

All of the group’s activities derived from continuing operations during the above financial periods.

The group has no recognised gains and losses other than those shown in the consolidated statement of financial activities.

No summary income and expenditure account has been produced as the only difference to the statement of financial activities would be the omission of endowed income of £221,000 (2022: £225,000); endowed expenditure of £13,000 (2022: £13,000).

Butterfly Conservation 35

Comparative consolidated statement of financial activities Year to 31 March 2022

Notes
Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000		 2022
Total
funds
£’000
Income from:
Donations and legacies
1
Other trading activities
2
Investments & interest receivable
3
Charitable activities
. Conservation activities –
grants receivable
4
. Contracts and Royalties
. Primary purpose trading
. Membership subscriptions
Total income
Expenditure on:
Raising funds
5
Charitable activities
. Conservation
6
. Membership services
7
Total expenditure
6
Net income (expenditure)
before investment gains
(losses)
Net investment (losses) gains
15,18
Net income (expenditure)
10
Transfer between funds
19,21
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation
Total funds brought forward at 1
April 2021
Total funds carried forward at
31 March 2022
1,191

47

10

241
294
83
1,270		 54
—
2
856
61
11
—		 —
—
225
—
—
—
—		 1,245
47
237
1,097
355
94
1,270
3,136 984 225 4,345

207

2,535

392		 4
1,115
—		 13
—
—		 224
3,650
392

3,134		 1,119 13 4,266
2

—		 (135)
—		 212

287		 79
287

2

130		 (135)
83		 499
(213)		 366
—
132
5,411		 (52)
1,231		 286
5,299		 366
11,941
5,543 1,179 5,585 12,307

Butterfly Conservation 36

Balance sheet 31 March 2023

Notes Group Group Charity Charity
2023
£’000		 2022
£’000		 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Fixed assets
Intangible fixed assets
13
Tangible fixed assets
14
Investments
15
Current assets
Stocks
Debtors
16
Cash at bank and in hand
. Short term deposits and interest
bearing accounts
. Current accounts
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts falling due
within one year
17
Net current assets
Total net assets
Funds of the charity
Capital funds
. Endowment funds
18
Income funds
. Restricted funds
19
Unrestricted funds
. General fund
. Non-charitable trading funds
. Tangible and intangible assets
(including freehold nature
reserves) fund
20
. Designated fund
21
Total funds		 40
1,353
5,283		 60
1,364
5,585		 40
1,353
5,283		 60
1,364
5,585
6,676 7,009 6,676 7,009
6
1,363
3,162
2,125		 7
1,480
3,113
989		 6
1,389
3,162
2,083		 7
1,542
3,113
906
6,656
(636)		 5,589
(291)		 6,640
(640)		 5,568
(290)
6,020 5,298 6,000 5,278
12,696 12,307 12,676 12,287
5,283
718
3,983
20
1,393
1,299		 5,585
1,179
4,057
20
1,148
318		 5,283
718
3,983
—
1,393
1,299		 5,585
1,179
4,057
—
1,148
318
12,696 12,307 12,676 12,287

Approved by the Council of Butterfly Conservation, Company Registration Number 02206468 (England and Wales) and signed on its behalf by

Karen Goldie-Morrison Chair

Date: 16 August 2023

Butterfly Conservation 37

Statement of cash flows Year to 31 March 2023

Note 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities
A
Cash flows from investing activities
Investment income and interest received
Proceeds from the disposal of listed investments
Purchase of listed investments
Net cash provided by investing activities
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Change in cash equivalents at 1 April 2022
B
Change in cash equivalents at 31 March 2023
B		 957
228
—
—		 (659)
224
238
(306)
228 156
1,185
4,105		 (503)
4,608
5,290 4,105

Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 March 2023

A Reconciliation of net expenditure to net flows from operating activities

2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Net income (as per the statement of financial activities)
Adjusted for:
Depreciation and amortisation charge
Losses/(gains) on investments
Investment income and interest receivable
Decrease (increase) in stocks
Decrease (increase) in debtors
(Decrease) increase in creditors
Net cashprovided by (used in) operating activities		 389
31
302
(228)
1
117
345		 366
30
(287)
(224)
—
(612)
68
957 (659)
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash at bank and in hand: current accounts
Cash at bank and in hand: short term deposits and interest bearing
accounts
Cash held by investment managers
Total cash and cash equivalents		 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
2,125
3,162
3		 989
3,113
3
5,290 4,105

B Analysis of cash and cash equivalents

No separate reconciliation of net debt has been prepared as there is no difference between the net cash (debt) of the charity and the above cash and cash equivalents.

Butterfly Conservation 38

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2023

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the accounts are laid out below.

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared for the year to 31 March 2023 with comparative information provided in respect of the accounts are laid out below.

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention with items recognised at cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policies below or the notes to these financial statements.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (Charities SORP FRS 102), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) and the Charities Act 2011.

The charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102. The financial statements are presented in sterling and are rounded to the nearest one thousand.

Basis of consolidation

The consolidated statement of financial activities and group balance sheet consolidate the financial statements of Butterfly Conservation and its wholly owned subsidiary company, Butterfly Conservation Trading Limited, made up at the balance sheet date. The results of the subsidiary undertaking are consolidated on a line-by-line basis. No separate statement of financial activities has been presented for the charity alone as permitted by Section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

Critical accounting estimates and areas of judgement

Preparation of the financial statements requires the members of Council and management to make significant judgements and estimates. The items in the financial statements where these judgements and estimates have been made include:

Butterfly Conservation 39

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2023

Assessment of going concern

Council members have assessed whether the use of the going concern assumption is appropriate in preparing these financial statements. Council members have made this assessment in respect to a period of at least one year from the date of approval of these financial statements.

The members of Council have considered the impact of the high levels of inflation currently being experienced in the UK and the war in Ukraine on the charity in their assessment of future income streams, expenditure levels, and the level of free reserves.

Following this review, the members of Council are of the opinion that the charity will have sufficient resources to meet its liabilities as they fall due. The most significant areas of judgement that affect items in the financial statements are detailed above. With regard to the next accounting period, the year ending 31 March 2023, the most significant areas that affect the carrying value of the assets held by the charity are the level of investment return and the performance of the investment markets (see the investment policy set out in the Report of the Council for more information).

Income

Income is recognised in the period in which the charity has entitlement to the income, the amount of income can be measured reliably, and it is probable that the income will be received. Income is deferred only when the charity must fulfil conditions before becoming entitled to it or where the donor or funder has specified that the income is to be expended in a future accounting period.

Income comprises: donations; legacies; income from fundraising events, royalties, and trading activities; investment income and interest receivable; and income from charitable activities including grants receivable, contracts for services, primary purpose trading and membership subscriptions.

Donations are recognised when the charity has confirmation of both the amount and settlement date. In the event of donations pledged but not received, the amount is accrued for where the receipt is considered probable. In the event that a donation is subject to conditions that require a level of performance before the charity is entitled to the funds, the income is deferred and not recognised until either those conditions are fully met, or the fulfilment of those conditions is wholly within the control of the charity, and it is probable that those conditions will be fulfilled in the reporting period.

Donated goods are recognised at fair value unless it is impractical to measure this reliably, in which case a derived value, being the cost of the item to the donor, is used. An equivalent amount is included as expenditure except where the donated good is a fixed asset, in which case the corresponding amount is included in the appropriate fixed asset category and depreciated over the useful economic life in accordance with the charity’s accounting policies. In accordance with the Charities SORP FRS 102, volunteer time is not recognised.

Butterfly Conservation 40

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2023

Income (continued)

Legacies are included in the statement of financial activities when the charity is entitled to the legacy, the executors have established that there are sufficient surplus assets in the estate to pay the legacy, and any conditions attached to the legacy are within the control of the charity.

Entitlement is taken as the earlier of the date on which either: the charity is aware that probate has been granted, the estate has been finalised and notification has been made by the executor to the charity that a distribution will be made, or when a distribution is received from the estate. Receipt of a legacy, in whole or in part, is only considered probable when the amount can be measured reliably, and the charity has been notified of the executor’s intention to make a distribution. Where legacies have been notified to the charity, or the charity is aware of the granting of probate, but the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash, or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of reasonable accuracy and the title of the asset having been transferred to the charity.

In April 2020 Council passed a resolution to transfer the balance held in the designated Legacy Fund to the general fund and additionally any income arising from new legacies received in the year to be allocated directly to the general fund. Previously, an amount equivalent to the unrestricted legacies credited to the statement of financial activities was transferred to the Legacy Fund, a designated fund.

Income from trading activities includes the income from corporate sponsorship and the sale of products of the charity’s trading subsidiary. Such income is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the company and the revenue can be reliably measured. It is measured as the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes.

Income from fundraising events and income from royalties is recognised when it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the charity and the revenue can be reliably measured. It is measured as the fair value of the consideration received or receivable. Dividends are recognised once the dividend has been declared and notification has been received of the dividend due. Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the charity; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the bank.

Grants from government and other agencies are included as income from charitable activities where these amount to a contract for services or where the money is given in response to a specific appeal or for a particular purpose. Grants from government and other agencies are included as donations where they are given with greater freedom of use, for example monies for core funding.

Butterfly Conservation 41

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2023

Income (continued)

Income from primary purpose trading is recognised to the extent that it is probable that the economic benefits will flow to the charity and the revenue can be reliably measured. It is measured as the fair value of the consideration received or receivable, excluding discounts, rebates, value added tax and other sales taxes.

Annual membership subscriptions are credited to the statement of financial activities on a receipts basis. This approach avoids any complexity that might be encountered if an accruals basis were applied and, in the opinion of the members of Council, results in a figure that is not materially different from that which would be achieved by using an accruals basis.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. All expenditure is stated inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Expenditure comprises direct costs and support costs. All expenses, including support costs, are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings.

The classification between activities is as follows:

Allocation of support and governance costs

Support costs represent indirect charitable expenditure. In order to carry out the primary purposes of the charity it is necessary to provide support in the form of a finance function, human resources function, property management and information technology support. Governance costs comprise the costs involving the public accountability of the charity (including audit costs) and costs in respect to its compliance with regulation and good practice.

Support staff costs are allocated to the above expenditure headings based on the time expended by the support staff in the relevant areas. Other support and governance costs are allocated to expenditure in the same ratio as the direct costs.

Butterfly Conservation 42

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2023

Intangible fixed assets

All assets costing more than £2,000 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised.

Amortisation is provided on cost at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life:

Assets under the course of construction, including software under development, are not amortised until they are available for use.

Tangible fixed assets

All assets costing more than £2,000 and with an expected useful life exceeding one year are capitalised.

Depreciation is provided on cost at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life:

No depreciation is provided on freehold land.

Investments

Listed investments are a form of basic 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 charity does not acquire put options, derivatives, or other complex financial instruments.

The Council of Butterfly Conservation voted in July 2020 to adopt a policy of Total Return in the management of this fund as permitted by the Act and a special Charity Commission scheme. Under this policy, investment managers are given the flexibility to achieve maximum returns on investments whether this is through generating interest and dividends or through capital growth. Charities operating a Total Return policy can apply some of the capital growth on investments for charitable purposes, thereby enabling the Trustees to balance the current and future needs of charitable beneficiaries.

Realised gains (or losses) on investment assets are calculated as the difference between disposal proceeds and their opening carrying value or their purchase value where the investment is acquired after the first day of the financial year. Unrealised gains and losses are calculated as the difference between the fair value at the year end and their carrying value at that date. Realised and unrealised investment gains (or losses) are combined in the statement of financial activities and are credited (or debited) in the year in which they arise.

Butterfly Conservation 43

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2023

Stocks

Stocks of books and stationery for resale are valued at the lower of cost and estimated net realisable value.

Debtors

Debtors are recognised at their settlement amount, less any provision for non-recoverability. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid.

They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash receipt where such discounting is material.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand represents such accounts and instruments that are available on demand or have a maturity of less than three months from the date of acquisition. Deposits for more than three months but less than one year have been disclosed as short-term deposits. Cash placed on deposit for more than one year is disclosed as a fixed asset investment.

Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised when there is an obligation at the balance sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are recognised at the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt. They have been discounted to the present value of the future cash payment where such discounting is material.

Fund structure

The endowment fund comprises monies that must be held as capital indefinitely.

Until 30 June 2020, the investment income therefrom (which was available for use for charity’s general purposes) was credited directly to unrestricted funds, whilst any gains (or losses) on the original capital was credited (or debited) to (or from) the endowment fund.

Following a resolution of the members of Council on 10 June 2020, with effect from 1 July 2020, the charity has implemented a total return approach in respect of its endowment funds. The initial value of the trust for investment and the initial value of the Unapplied Total Return were established on 31 March 2020. The initial amount of the trust for investment was determined at £3.09m by reference to the charity’s records: the Unapplied Total Return was calculated as the difference between that value and the portfolio value at 31 March 2020. All investment income, gains and losses are taken to the part of the fund representing the accumulated Unapplied Total Return in the first instance. The members of Council have agreed a policy to allocate 3.25% of the portfolio value, after investment management fees, from the Unapplied Total Return to the charity’s unrestricted funds each year, and this is shown as a transfer between funds on the statement of financial activities.

Butterfly Conservation 44

Principal accounting policies 31 March 2023

Fund structure (continued)

The restricted funds are monies raised for, and their use restricted to, a specific purpose, or donations subject to donor-imposed conditions. Transfers between restricted funds and the tangible fixed assets fund are explained below. Transfers between restricted and other unrestricted funds are explained in Note 20 to the financial statements.

The non-charitable trading funds comprise the profits retained in the trading subsidiary, Butterfly Conservation Trading Limited.

The tangible and intangible fixed assets fund represents the net book value of those tangible and intangible fixed assets that are not part of the endowment or restricted funds of the charity. Each year one tenth of the cost of all land purchased from restricted funds will be transferred to the tangible fixed assets fund unless there is a specific deed/covenant in place to de-restrict the asset. The charity has adopted a formal policy of assessing all assets donated, other than cash, and valuing for account purposes only those with material value to the charitable work of the organisation.

The designated funds are monies set aside out of the general fund and designated for specific purposes by Council. The policies for transfers to and from designated funds are explained above under “income and transfers to/from designated funds” or in Note 22 to the financial statements. The general fund comprises those monies that may be used towards meeting the charitable objectives of the charity and may be applied at the discretion of Council.

Contributory third party (CTP) and landfill community funds

Funds collected as third-party contributions towards projects, which are funded by Landfill Community Funds, are not regarded as income but are shown as a liability on the balance sheet. They will be transferred in due course to the Landfill Operators to release further funds under the Landfill Community Funds scheme.

Leased assets

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged to the statement of financial activities in equal annual amounts over the lease term.

Pension costs

Contributions by the charity in respect of employees’ personal pension plans and defined contribution schemes are charged to the statement of financial activities in the year in which the expenditure is incurred.

Butterfly Conservation 45

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

1 Income from donations and legacies

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000
65
—
65
Restricted
funds
£’000
54
—
54		 Endowment
funds
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000
Donations
Legacies		 1,524
1,299		 —
—		 1,589
1,299
2,823 — 2,888
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
Donations
Legacies		 524
667		 —
—		 578
667
1,191 — 1,245

2 Income from other trading activities

Income from other trading activities
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000
Sale of goods/services – non-charitable material
Royalties and sponsorship – non primary purpose
Fundraising		 13
12
6		 —
—
—		 —
—
—		 13
12
6
31 — — 31
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
Sale of goods/services – non-charitable material
Royalties and sponsorship – non primary purpose
Fundraising		 20
11
16		 —
—
—		 —
—
—		 20
11
16
47 — — 47

3 Income from investments and interest receivable

Group
UK common investment funds and unit trusts
Bank interest		 Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000


Endowment
funds
£’000

177

1

178
2023
Total
£’000
—
39		 —
11		 177
51
39 11 228

Butterfly Conservation 46

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

3 Income from investments and interest receivable (continued)

Income from investments and interest receivable(c ontinued)
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000
2022
Total
£’000
UK common investment funds and unit trusts
Bank interest		 —
10		 —
2		 225
—		 225
12
10 2 225 237

4 Income from charitable activities: conservation activities – grants receivable

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000		 Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
2022
Total
£’000
Defence Infrastructure
Organisation
Esme Mitchell Trust
International Union for
Conservation of Nature
Kusumu Trust
Mendip Hills Area of Natural
Beauty
Ministry of Defence
National Lottery Heritage Fund
National Trust
Natural England
Natural Resources for Wales
NatureScot
Northern Ireland Environment
Agency
Rural Payments Agency
Scottish Borders Council
Severn Trent Water Limited
South of Scotland Enterprise
Stirling Council
The Dulverton Trust
The Highland Council
The Hiscox Foundation
The Royal Society for the
Protection of Birds
The Swire Charitable Trust
UK Centre for Ecology &
Hydrology
Grant received < £5,000		 —
—
(30)
—
20
(8)
—
—
326
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
35
—
—
—
25
—
21		 —
6
—
—
—
1
483
—
3
55
74
43
10
—
103
20
5
—
21
37
(31)
—
—
20		 —
6
(30)
—
20
(7)
483
329
55
74
43
10
—
103
20
5
35
21
37
(31)
25
—
41		 8
—

30
—
—

—
—
6
181
—
1
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—
—

—
—
4
11
1

—

—

9

—

—

423

—

118

9

61

30

24

8

97

—

—

—

6

—

54

—

1

15
9

—

30

9

—

—

423

6

299

9

62

30

24

8

97

—

—

—

6

—

54

—

5

26
389 850 1,239 241
856
1,097

Butterfly Conservation 47

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

5 Expenditure on raising funds

Expenditure on raising funds
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Fundraising costs
Trading costs
Investment management charges
Other support costs (note 8)		 198
60
10
—
8		 —
—
—
—
—		 —
—
—
13
—		 198
60
10
13
8
276 — 13 289
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000
2022
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Fundraising costs
Trading costs
Investment management charges
Other support costs (note 8)		 143
49
8
—
7		 —
4
—
—
—		 —
—
—
13
—		 143
53
8
13
7
207 4 13 224

6 Expenditure on charitable activities: conservation

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Marketing and publicity
Management conservation
Information and education
Legal and professional
Other support costs (note 8)		 2,485
86
446
52
3
441		 521
7
393
2
—
388		 —
—
—
—
—
—		 3,006
93
839
54
3
829
3,513 1,311 — 4,824
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000
2022
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Marketing and publicity
Management conservation
Information and education
Legal and professional
Other support costs (note 8)		 1,881
82
284
42
3
243		 471
4
292
6
—
342		 —
—
—
—
—
—		 2,352
86
576
48
3
585
2,535 1,115 — 3,650

Butterfly Conservation 48

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

7 Expenditure on charitable activities: membership services

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000
—
—
—
—
—
—		 2023
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Membership recruitment
Newsletter production and distribution
Membership servicing
Other support costs (note 8)		 194
1
181
55
13		 —
—
—
—
—		 194
1
181
55
13
444 — 444
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000


Endowment
funds
£’000

—

—

—

—

—

—
2022
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Membership recruitment
Newsletter production and distribution
Membership servicing
Other support costs (note 8)		 172
4
177
26
13		 —
—
—
—
—		 172
4
177
26
13
392 — 392

8 Support costs

Support costs
Staff
costs
£’000
1,337
—
—
1,337
198
1,030
109
1,337		 Other
support
costs
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000
Staff costs
Governance costs (note 9)
Other
Attributed to:
Expenditure on raising funds (note 5)
Expenditure on charitable activities
. Conservation (note 6)
. Membership services (note 7)		 —
113
737		 1,337
113
737
850 2,187
8
829
13		 206
1,859
122
850 2,187

Butterfly Conservation 49

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

8 Support costs (continued)

Support costs(continued)
Staff
costs
£’000		 Other
support
costs
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
Staff costs
Governance costs (note 9)
Other
Attributed to:
Expenditure on raising funds (note 5)
Expenditure on charitable activities
. Conservation (note 6)
. Membership services (note 7)		 1,022
—
—		 —
96
509		 1,022
96
509
1,022 605 1,627
143
795
84		 7
585
13		 150
1,380
97
1,022 605 1,627

Support staff costs are allocated to expenditure based on the time expended by support staff in the relevant areas of charitable activities.

Other support costs are allocated to expenditure on the same ratio as the direct costs associated with the relevant areas of charitable activity.

9 Governance costs

overnance costs
2023 2022
Total Total
£’000 £’000
Information and education 45 28
Legal and professional 48 110
Other governance expenses 20 4
113 142

10 Net income (expenditure)

This is stated after charging:

Net income (expenditure)
This is stated after charging:
Group 2023
Total
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
Staff costs (note 11)
Auditor’s remuneration
. Statutory audit services
.. Tax compliance
.. HR consultancy
Depreciation and amortisation
Operatinglease rentals		 3,398
20
2
30
30
93		 2,667
14
7
20
31
93

Butterfly Conservation 50

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

11 Employees, staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel

Staff costs during the period are as follows:

Group 2023
Total
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Other pension costs
Agency staff costs
Total staff costs
Staff costs by function (after the allocation of those deemed support
costs) were as follows:
Raising funds
Conservation
Membership services		 2,842
289
222		 2,235
196
180
3,353
45		 2,611
56
3,398 2,667
198
3,006
194		 143
2,352
172
3,398 2,667

A total of £22,100 was paid in redundancy payments (2022: £Nil) and this amount is included within wages and salaries above.

The number of employees whose emoluments exceeded £60,000 (including employer pension contributions) was:

2023
Number		 2023
Number
£70,001 - £80,000
£80,001 - £90,000		 —
1		 1
—

Pension contributions of £6,400 (2022: £5,818) were paid into personal pension schemes in respect of these individuals during the year.

The average number of employees, analysed by function after allocating support costs, was as follows:

Group 2023
Total
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
Raising funds
Conservation
Membership services		 6
81
4		 5
69
3
91 77

The key management personnel of the charity comprises the members of Council and the Senior Leadership Team. The total remuneration (including taxable benefits and employer’s pension contributions) of the key management personnel for the year was £391,659 (2022: £297,189).

Butterfly Conservation 51

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

12 Taxation

Butterfly Conservation is a registered charity and, therefore, is not liable to income tax or corporation tax on income derived from its charitable activities, as it falls within various exemptions available to registered charities.

13 Intangible fixed assets

ntangible fixed assets
Groupand charity Software
£’000		 Total
£’000
Cost
At 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023
Amortisation
At 1 April 2022
Charge for year
At 31 March 2023
Net book values
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2022		 100 100
40
20		 40
20
60 60
40 40
60 60

Butterfly Conservation 52

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

14 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets
Groupand charity Freehold
land
£’000		 Office
equipment,
plant and
machinery
£’000		 Total
£’000
Cost
At 1 April 2022 and 31 March 2023
Depreciation
At 1 April 2022
Charge for year
At 31 March 2023
Net book values
At 31 March 2023
At 31 March 2022		 1,343 57 1,400
—
—		 36
11		 36
11
— 47 47
1,343 10 1,353
1,343 21 1,364

Freehold land comprises a number of nature reserves managed by the charity. The disposal of a number of these reserves is subject to restrictive covenants.

A legal charge dates 30 May 2006 in favour of one of the charity’s funders exists in relation to the freehold property known as Pres Heath Common.

15 Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments
Group Charity
2023
£’000		 2022
£’000		 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Listed investments (note a)
Investment in subsidiary company (note b)		 5,283
—		 5,585
—		 5,283
—		 5,585
—
5,283 5,585 5,283 5,585
Listed investments and cash held for re-investment
Groupand charity
Listed investments
Market value at 1 April
Additions at cost
Disposal proceeds
Realised (losses) gains
Disposals at opening market value
Net unrealised gains/(losses)
Market value at 31 March
Cash held by investment managers for re-investment
Cost of listed investments at 31 March		 2023
Total
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
5,582
—		 5,227
306
—
—		 (237)
(1)
— (238)
(302) 287
5,280
3		 5,582
3
5,283 5,585
5,342 5,342

a) Listed investments and cash held for re-investment

Butterfly Conservation 53

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

15 Fixed asset investments (continued)

a) Listed investments and cash held for re-investment (continued)

Listed investments held at 31 March 2023 wholly comprised holdings in common investments funds. Individual holdings of listed fixed asset investments which, at the 31 March 2023, represented a material proportion off the total value of the fixed asset investment portfolio were as follows:

Market
value
£’000		 Proportion
%
Cazenove Charity Responsible Multi Asset Fund Accumulation units
Cazenove CharityResponsible Multi Asset Fund Distribution units		 1,071
4,209		 20.3
79.7

b) Investment in subsidiary company

The charity holds 100% share of the issued share capital of Butterfly Conservation Trading Limited. This holding was acquired on incorporation of the company on 23 February 2010.

The following is a summary of the financial statements of Butterfly Conservation Trading Limited for the year ended 31 March 2023, which have been included in the consolidated financial statements.

inancial statements.
2023
Total
£’000		 2022
Total
£’000
Turnover
Cost of salaries
Gross profit
Operating costs
Net profit for the year before Gift Aid and taxation
Donation under a Gift Aid compliant Deed of Covenant
Taxation
Profit for the financial period
Retained earnings at 31 March 2022
Retained earnings at 31 March 2023		 71
(5)		 75
(9)
66
(16)		 66
(17)
50
(50)
—		 49
(49)
—
—
20		 —
20
20 20

At 31 March 2023 the company had total called up share capital and retained earnings of £20,001 (2022: £20,001).

Butterfly Conservation 54

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

16 Debtors

Debtors
Group Charity
2023
£’000		 2022
£’000		 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Grants and other funding receivable
Prepayments and other accrued income
Legacies receivable
VAT recoverable
Amounts due from Butterfly Conservation
Trading Limited
Gift Aid recoverable
Sundry debtors		 284
114
778
10
—
74
103		 446
51
826
9
—
140
8		 284
111
778
11
76
74
55		 442
51
826
10
65
140
8
1,363 1,480 1,389 1,542

17 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Group Group Charity Charity
2023
£’000		 2022
£’000		 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Social security and other taxes
Expense creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 150
264
222		 58
28
205		 150
270
220		 58
28
204
636 291 640 290

Movements on deferred income during the year was as follows:

Group Group Charity Charity
2023
£’000		 2022
£’000		 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Opening deferred income balance
Cash received in the year
Amounts released to income
Closingdeferred income balance		 17
92
(17)		 —
17
—		 18
92
(18)		 1
17
—
92 17 92 18

18 Endowment funds

2023 2022
Total Total
£’000 £’000
At April 2022 5,585 5,299
Less value of endowment at 30 June 2020 (3,086) (3,086)
Opening value of unapplied total return at 1 July 2021 2,499 2,213
Add: investment return: income 178 225
Add: investment return: realised and unrealised (losses) gains (302) 287
Less: investment management costs (13) (13)
Total return before transfer to income 2,362 2,712
Less: total return applied (165) (213)
Unapplied total return as at 31 March 2023 2,197 2,499
Add: value of endowment at 31 June 2020 3,086 3,086
Permanent endowment including unapplied total return as at 31 March
2023 5,283 5,585

Butterfly Conservation 55

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

18 Endowment funds (continued)

The Council of Butterfly Conservation voted in July 2020 to adopt a policy of Total Return in the management of this fund as permitted by the Act and a special Charity Commission scheme. Under this policy, investment managers are given the flexibility to achieve maximum returns on investments whether this is through generating interest and dividends or through capital growth. Charities operating a Total Return policy are able to apply some of the capital growth on investments for charitable purposes, thereby enabling the Trustees to balance the current and future needs of charitable beneficiaries.

19 Restricted funds

The income funds of the charity include restricted funds comprising the following to be applied for specific purposes:

Groupand charity At 1 April
2022
£’000		 Income
£’000		 Expenditure
£’000		 Fund
transfers
£’000		 At 31
March
2023
£’000
Brilliant Butterfly Banks
Butterfly Mosaics
Cornwall – Atlas Project
Development Scotland
Environparks Marsh Fritillary Mitigation
Innovation Fund
Kent’s Magnificent Moths
North Atlantic Coast
Perth & Stirling Wild Spaces
Prees Heath Fund
Reserve Acquisition & Management
Fund
Restricted Legacies
Ryton Wood Meadow Project –
Warwickshire
Scottish Borderlands
Species on the Map
Supporting Science
Wild Spaces
Head Office Restricted Funds where
closing balance <£5,000
Branch Restricted Funds where closing
balance <£5,000		 14
53
2
19
129
—
53
8
—
285
62
197
13
18
—
38
—
280
8		 —
104
3
118
2
12
64
—
46
4
—
3
8
27
47
49
37
445
3		 (7)
(64)
1
(179)
(15)
(5)
(96)
—
(20)
(11)
—
(11)
(6)
(16)
(27)
(78)
(7)
(769)
(1)		 —
—
2
76
—
—
—
—
(246)
(10)
—
—
—
—
—
—
61
(5)		 7
93
8
34
116
7
21
8
26
32
52
189
15
29
20
9
30
17
5
1,179 972 (1,311) (122) 718

Butterfly Conservation 56

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

19 Restricted funds (continued)

Restricted funds(continued)
Group and charity At 1 April
2021
£’000		 Income
£’000		 Expenditure
£’000		 Fund
transfers
£’000		 At 31
March
2022
£’000
Back from the Brink Project
Big City Butterflies
Brilliant Butterfly Banks
Building Sites for Butterflies
Conservation Officer Wales
Development Scotland
Environparks Marsh Fritillary Mitigation
Kent’s Magnificent Moths
Morecambe Bay Lime
North Atlantic Coast
Regional Development Officer Northern
Ireland
Prees Heath Fund
Regional Development Officer North
England
Regional Development Officer Greater
London
Reserve Acquisition and Management
Fund
Restricted Legacies
Cornwall Atlas Project
Ryton Wood Meadow Project –
Warwickshire
Malvern Hill Lost Fritillary – West
Midlands
Scottish Borderlands
Wyre Forest
Rockingham Forest
Supporting Science
Head Office Restricted Funds where
closing balance <£5,000
Branch Restricted Funds where closing
balance <£5,000		 42
33
21
84
27
11
179
78
110
8
6
281
25
20
62
198
9
14
6
—
—
—
—
15
2		 118
87
—
1
36
112
—
59
15
—
85
14
30
38
5
1
11
—
20
18
97
124
59
54
—		 (153)
(101)
(8)
(39)
(74)
(179)
(51)
(85)
(97)
—
(56)
(10)
(22)
(30)
—
(3)
(19)
(5)
(8)
—
(43)
(51)
(21)
(63)
(1)		 (5)
4
—
—
11
69
—
—
5
—
—
—
—
—
(5)
—
—
—
(4)
—
—
7
—
2
(1)		 2
23
13
46
-
13
128
52
33
8
35
285
33
28
62
196
1
9
14
18
54
80
38
8
—
1,231 984 (1,119) 83 1,179

The specific purposes for which the significant fund balances (>£5,000) are to be applied are as follows:

Brilliant Butterfly Banks

A public engagement and chalk grassland creation/restoration project in South West London with Wildlife Trust and Natural History Museum.

Butterfly Mosaics

To enhance a series of sites and improve their connectivity across East and West Midlands to benefit threatened butterfly species and priority moths.

Cornwall Atlas

Publication of the Cornwall Atlas

Butterfly Conservation 57

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

19 Restricted funds (continued)

Development Scotland

To deliver conservation and engagement in Scotland.

Enviroparks Marsh Fritillary mitigation

To restore and maintain marshy grassland for the Marsh Fritillary Butterfly in Wales.

Innovation Fund

This project focusses on boosting young people's representation in Butterfly Conservation's volunteer workforce.

Kent’s Magnificent Moths

This vital project will help save some of the UK’s most threatened moths by involving local people in targeted conservation action in six areas of East Kent, helping people discover, enjoy and protect the unique natural heritage around them.

North Atlantic Coast

Habitat restoration to facilitate the re-introduction of the Large Blue to Devon and Cornwall coastal areas.

Perth & Stirling Wild Spaces

To inspire people in a urban setting to develop wild spaces across Perth and Stirling for the benefit of butterflies and moths.

Prees Heath Fund

The safeguarding of the Silver-studded Blue butterflies at Prees Heath. The transfer from restricted funds to unrestricted funds represents the cessation of the original 15 year charge which was applied by Grantscape on the original transfer of the reserve to Butterfly Conservation.

Reserve Acquisition and Management Fund

To purchase and manage nature reserves.

Restricted Legacies Fund

Legacies reserved for a specific purpose.

Ryton Wood Meadow Project - Warwickshire

Habitat restoration and maintenance at Ryton Wood Meadow

Butterfly Conservation 58

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

Scottish Borderlands

A partnership with Scottish Borders Council to examine how species recovery programmes for threatened species can contribute to a natural capital approach to land management and inform the development of new agri-environment schemes in Scotland. It is a focused landscape project with a development stage (concluding spring 2022) and a potential delivery phase running over several years.

Species on the Map

To measure the impact of conservation action on priority butterfly and moth species and their habitats in key landscapes across Northern Ireland.

Supporting Science

To improve data flow and increase participation in recording schemes.

Wild Spaces

To develop a portal with information and tools for public use to enable effective delivery of Wild Space projects.

Head Office Restricted Funds <£5,000

All Head Office Restricted Funds with a balance less than £5,000

Branch Restricted Funds <£5,000.

All Branch Restricted Funds with a balance less than £5,000.

Other than with respect to the Prees Heath Fund transfer as explained above, other transfers between restricted and unrestricted arise for various reasons. The most common reasons are:

Butterfly Conservation 59

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

21 Designated funds

The income funds of the charity include the following designated funds that have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by Council for specific purposes:

Groupand charity At 1 April
2022
£’000
New
designations
£’000
Utilised
£'000

At 31
March
2023
£’000
Branch fund
Heather Corrie Lepidoptera Research
Fund
Diarsia Fund		 318
—
—
64

1,000

30
(94)

(16)

(3)
288

984
27
318
1,094
(113)		 1,299
Group and charity At 1 April
2021
£’000
New
designations
£’000
Utilised /
released
£'000
At 31 March
2022
£’000
Branch fund
Legacy fund		 210
65
134

—
(26)

(65)
318
—
275
134
(91)		 318

22 Analysis of net assets between funds

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£'000
2023
Total
£’000
Fund balances at 31 March 2023 are
represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Net current assets		 40
1,332
—
5,323
—

21

—

697
—

—

5,283

—
40

1,353

5,283

6,020
6,695
718
5,283
12,696

Butterfly Conservation 60

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

22 Analysis of net assets between funds (continued)

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£'000
2022
Total
£’000
Fund balances at 31 March 2022 are
represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Net current assets		 60
1,088
—
4,395
—

276

—

903
—

—

5,585

_— _
60

1,364

5,585

5,298
5,543
1,179
5,585
12,307
Charity Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£'000
2023
Total
£’000
Fund balances at 31 March 2023 are
represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Net current assets		 40
1,332
—
5,303
—

21

—

697
—

—

5,283

—
40

1,353

5,283

6,000
6,675
718
5,283
12,676
Charity Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£'000
2022
Total
£’000
Fund balances at 31 March 2022 are
represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investments
Net current assets		 60
1,088
—
4,375
—

276

—

903
—

—

5,585

_— _
60

1,364

5,585

5,278
5,523
1,179
5,585
12,287
Groupand charity Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£'000
2023
Total
£’000
Reconciliation of movements in
unrealised gains on investments
Unreleased gain at 1 April 2022
Less: in respect of disposals in the year
Less: net unrealised losses in period
Unrealisedgains at 31 March 2023		 —
—
—
—

—

—
240

—

(302)
240

—
(302)
—
—
(62)		 (62)

Butterfly Conservation 61

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

22 Analysis of net assets between funds (continued)

Group and charity Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£'000
2022
Total
£’000
Reconciliation of movements in unrealised
gains (losses) on investments
Unrealised gain at 1 April 2021
Less: in respect of disposals in the year
Less: net unrealised losses in period
Unrealised losses at 31 March 2022		 —
—
_— _
—

—

_— _
(18)

(29)

287
(18)

(29)

287
_— _
_— _
240
240

23 Leasing commitments

At 31 March 2023 the group and charity had total future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases as follows:

Land and buildings Other Other
2023
£’000		 2022
£’000		 2023
£’000		 2022
£’000
Within one year
Within two to five years
After five years		 62
110
13		 60
155
16		 27
42
—		 28
10
—
185 231 69 38

24 Related party transactions

During the year ended 31 March 2023, the charity received subscriptions from Council members and the Senior Leadership Team totalling £537 (2022: £542).

During the year ended 31 March 2023, the charity received unrestricted donations from Council members and the Senior Leadership Team totalling £2,750 (2022: £8,625) including gift in kind £nil (2022: £nil) and restricted donations totalling £1,100 (2022: £nil).

Beyond these, there were no other related party transactions during the financial year which require disclosure (2022: none).

25 Members’ liability

The charity is constituted as a company limited by guarantee. In the event of the charity being wound up, members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Butterfly Conservation 62

Notes to the Financial Statements Year to 31 March 2023

Get involved with Butterfly Conservation

Sign up to our monthly email newsletter, All Aflutter, for the latest butterfly and moth news, wildlife gardening tips, and special offers: butterfly-conservation.org/enews.

Subscribe to our biannual email newsletter, Science News, to explore the wide range of science we are involved in and how we apply this to our conservation projects: butterflyconservation.org/sciencenews.

We can save butterflies and moths by working together to create a better environment for people and nature. Here are just some of the ways you can help:

Visit butterfly-conservation.org/help for more information or call: 01929 400209.

Butterfly Conservation 63