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2024-03-31-accounts

Butterfly Conservation

Annual Report and Financial Statements Accounts

31 March 2024

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

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

Reports

Reference and administrative information 1
Overview by Chair and Chief Executive Officer 3
Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) 4
Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 25
Financial Statements
Consolidated statement of financial activities 29
Balance Sheet 30
Consolidated statement of cash flows 31
Principal accounting policies 32
Notes to the financial statements 38

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 Dr Amir Khan Chris Packham CBE Professor Jeremy Thomas Alan Titchmarsh MBE Council Members (Directors and Martin Spray CBE (Chair) Trustees) Hugh Ellerton (Honorary Treasurer) Apithanny Bourne Catrin Evans Prof Laurence Harwood Dr Elaine King Simon Saville Chris Winnick Senior Leadership Team Julie Williams (Chief Executive and Company Secretary) Kim Archer (Deputy Director of Finance & Operations) Natalie Bridge (Interim Deputy Director of Fundraising & Communications) Dr Kate Dent (Director of Engagement & Volunteering) Dr Dan Hoare (Director of Conservation) Russel Hobson (Director of Evidence & Policy) Registered address Manor Yard East Lulworth Wareham Dorset BH20 5QP Company registration number 02206468 (England and Wales) Registered charity number 254937 (England and Wales) SC039268 (Scotland) Website butterfly-conservation.org Facebook Facebook.com/savebutterflies Instagram Instagram.com/savebutterflies X (formerly Twitter) @savebutterflies LinkedIn Linkedin.com/company/butterfly-conservation

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Reference and administrative information

TikTok @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 and Chief Executive Officer

Year to 31 March 2024

During 2023 we saw the hottest ever global temperatures July to September and the devastating effects of extreme weather patterns caused by climate change.

Meanwhile we are witnessing staggering biodiversity losses with species disappearing faster than ever in human history. In the UK we have experienced such significant biodiversity loss that we are now one of the most nature-depleted countries on Earth.

Climate change and habitat destruction are killing off animal and plant populations across the world. Report after report using biological data from millions of volunteers highlights that we are just not moving fast enough and that our politicians are not listening or acting. We can no longer wait for the Government to set the agenda; we need to change the conversation. Nature is in crisis.

At Butterfly Conservation we are already taking focussed action to ensure we play our part in protecting and restoring our butterflies and moths and encouraging more people to connect to nature.

“No one will protect what they don’t care about; and no one will care about what they haven’t experienced.”

- Butterfly Conservation President Sir David Attenborough

We are proud of the impact we are making. Butterflies and moths are extraordinary indicators of change. We are focusing on more butterflies and moths in recovery, more landscapes improving and more people taking action. We have the solutions and we are making a difference.

We now hold over 55 million moth and butterfly records gathered by tens of thousands of recorders. A huge, huge thank you to all the volunteers that tirelessly collect these records. This data enables us to carry out research. It is through the research we commission, lead and collaborate on that we find solutions to problems. How can we help a particular species to cope with climate change, what is the best way to manage land for butterflies and moths as well as trying to understand the impact of diffuse activity - like nitrogen deposition affecting the places butterflies and moths live.

We continue to work with the Wildlife & Countryside Link organisations across the UK, who provide a combined voice for all those who care about the natural world; lobbying hard to ensure environmental protections are not diminished. Our advocacy campaigns are not just distant conversations, they highlight how everyone can take part and show they care.

And we continue to work with others to develop Wild Spaces that help urban communities participate in helping butterflies and moths. If we want more people to care, we need to meet people where they live and work.

None of our work is possible without our committed volunteers and Branches, our hard working and passionate staff team, our funders, our partners and our loyal members. We thank you wholeheartedly for your tireless work to turn around the fate of our nation’s much-loved butterflies and moths.

We are feeling positive about the future, we hold a sense of hope. We are seeing more and more people become advocates for our planet. More people through our work are seeing the joy of the natural world and making the connection between modern life and nature. We are changing the conversation and inspiring others to care.

Martin Spray CBE Chair Julie Williams CEO

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

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 2024.

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 32 to 37 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.

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.

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

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

Recover butterflies and moths

We’ve invested in our species recovery work by increasing our staff team across the UK. This has increased our capacity to support land managers, partner organisations and volunteers to take action for species. We’ve also developed a Threatened Species Programme, looking at threats for each species and identifying actions to rebuild healthy populations. Our record shows that sustaining targeted action can help some of our most at-risk species bounce back.

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Kent’s Magnificent Moths

When our Kent’s Magnificent Moths project began, Bright Wave and Sussex Emerald moths were thought to breed only on limited coastal habitats within the UK. Following increased awareness of threatened moths in Kent, both species were unexpectedly discovered in a new inland landscape of native wildflower meadows, restored by local farmers with help from Natural England.

Fifteen years ago, these meadows were arable fields - this July, our volunteers recorded over 1,000 Bright Wave Moths in just one of them. As we continue to uncover the moths’ requirements here, perhaps enabled by our changing climate, this exciting discovery offers hope that landscape restoration can encourage rare species to thrive.

Heath Fritillary

Heath Fritillary had a remarkable year on Exmoor, with the total number of butterflies recorded more than double that of any year since 2004, 2018 excepted. Small groups and individuals were recorded far from their usual sites, with 'wanderers' recorded in marginal habitat between core sites.

Some breeding areas had counts four times the number seen in recent years, and the butterfly returned to several sites where it hadn't been seen for a decade. Its return to the western reaches of the GrabbistWootton Ridge, following extensive scrub management, is particularly encouraging.

Moth detective work

For some extremely rare species, restricted to just one or two UK sites, we started recovery programmes with urgent action to uncover their requirements and safeguard populations. In recent years, staff and volunteers in Scotland have seen success working on a handful of highly threatened micro-moths, potentially finding the eggs of Silver Shade and the caterpillars of Tiree Twist for the first time in the wild.

We’ve also re-found Black Sober at its sole Scottish site, first found and last recorded in 1984 and 1985, and established monitoring for Affric Twitcher. Each example provides us with a better understanding of their ecology to help deliver appropriate conservation action.

Cumbria’s Marsh Fritillaries

Following reintroduction in 2007, Cumbria’s Marsh Fritillaries are thriving. In 2023, new colonies were found in Swindale, Wet Sleddale and Matterdale. With breeding reported at 35 sites, plus other adult sightings still to be checked, the butterfly is obviously doing well! Caterpillars from the reintroduction, originating from the last surviving Cumbrian butterflies, crossed with Scottish specimens from Islay, are sometimes found on very small scabious plants, situated in flushes, in webs containing very few larvae. This is perhaps a trait inherited from Scotland that now allows it to occupy landscapes in a way its predecessors couldn’t.

Dark Bordered Beauty

Dark Bordered Beauty is a very rare and threatened moth that is only known from three small populations in Scotland and one in England. The moth is poor at dispersing, so natural colonisation of restored habitat short Aspen suckers, could take many years. Given this situation and knowing that the population at RSPB’s Insh Marshes reserve was doing extremely well, the UK Dark Bordered Beauty Steering Group embarked on an approved Assisted Translocation to establish the moth at two new sites in the Cairngorms.

After many years of planning, the first release began in June 2023 with 160 caterpillars reared at the Highland Wildlife Park moved to a new location. Adults were subsequently recorded, proving some of the larvae had successfully completed their life cycle at the site, whilst further adults were also released. This exciting step is just the latest stage of our long-term collaborative work to enhance the fortunes of one of our rarest moths.

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Connect people to nature

Wild spaces

2023 was an exciting year for our Wild Spaces programme. The launch of a dedicated website (wildspaces.co.uk) was a significant milestone, with over 2,600 Wild Spaces now registered. Some Wild Spaces were led by our Branches, such as the wildflower meadow established by our Yorkshire Branch in Roundhay Park, Leeds. Our members and volunteers created Wild Spaces in gardens, local churchyards, parks and allotments from Orkney to the Isle of Wight.

In Perth and Stirling, our Wild Spaces project, funded by National Lottery Heritage Fund, engaged 1,051 people in 31 community events (including training sessions, moth mornings, discovery days and at the Stirling Science Festival), using demonstration Wild Spaces to inspire people to create a space of their own.

More than 80 schools across the UK have registered a Wild Space, and we will continue to focus on supporting schools to create many more in 2024.

Whilst Wild Spaces is open to everyone, our flagship urban projects focus on reaching young people aged 16-34, people from diverse backgrounds, and people at risk of green space deprivation. Our work across London boroughs, for example, has already created more than 60 Wild Spaces, including many community spaces in deprived areas for local people to access and enjoy.

Youth engagement

Thanks to the National Lottery Innovation Fund, we were able to bring together a group of young people and listen to what they had to say about the barriers they experience in engaging with environmental volunteering, and the kinds of opportunities that would excite and motivate them.

We recruited a Youth Engagement Officer to take this work forward, with the priority of creating our first Youth Panel. The Youth Panel will develop and test exciting new opportunities for youth representation within Butterfly Conservation. In return, they will gain new skills, experience, and an insight into the workings of our organisation.

We also trialled our first ever Youth Ranger Scheme on our Magdalen Hill Down nature reserve near Winchester. For three days in the summer holidays, eleven young people aged 13-17 experienced tasks and challenges faced by our conservation staff as they manage reserves. Whether clearing Clematis or learning butterfly identification skills, the young rangers approached it all with great enthusiasm.

Supporting Science

As part of our role running the UK’s recording schemes, we need to keep pace with technology and support the people involved. To this end, we recently delivered the Supporting Science project, aided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport.

For recorders, we ran two successful online identification courses and worked with artist Elisabetta Calabritto to publish a beautiful visual guide to our online recording options. The courses were part of an experimental new training pathway designed with Field Studies Council (FSC). To help address the increasing workload of County Recorders, who do vital work verifying records, we ran a special edition of FSC’s Discovering iRecord course, and an iRecord verification course for newcomers. 20 graduates from the training pathway are now volunteering, supporting County Recorders as Verification Assistants.

To boost awareness and use of records, we also published two distribution datasets online. The 46 million records are now accessible via the NBN Atlas. They reflect the tremendous efforts of recorders and verifiers across the UK.

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Unite for wildlife

Saving species and supporting lasting changes at a landscape scale isn’t something Butterfly Conservation can do alone. We’ve made major progress in our collaborative work across the UK in the past year, starting new partnerships and developing others to make even more difference for butterflies, moths and people.

Species on the Edge

Species on the Edge is a partnership of seven species-focused conservation charities and NatureScot, dedicated to improving the fortunes of 37 priority species around Scotland’s coasts and islands.

Butterfly Conservation is leading efforts for species including New Forest Burnet, Transparent Burnet, Marsh Fritillary, Small Blue and Northern Brown Argus from the Inner Hebrides to the East coast. Our shared work includes supporting actions for a range of plants, birds, bumblebees and other species, as well as community engagement that helps local people enjoy, understand and protect the special nature where they live.

This year we have delivered habitat management work parties, coordinated volunteer surveys, hosted the national launch of the Species on the Edge project and held a series of creative events using art to explore what nature means to people.

Natur am Byth!

2023 saw the start of a major project in Wales, ‘Natur am Byth!’, which translates as Nature Forever! This species recovery collaboration brings together nine conservation organisations, Natural Resources Wales, and local partners, working on species at risk of extinction and of particular importance to Wales. It combines species recovery actions with an outreach programme celebrating Cynefin – the distinct natural heritage that underpins communities across Wales.

Much of our work here focuses on High Brown Fritillary in its last stronghold in Wales, the Alun Valley. As well as supporting volunteers in managing the bracken and scrub mosaics the butterfly depends upon, the project has allowed us to use no-fence collars to facilitate cattle grazing on these complex sites.

Beyond Wales, we’ve been able to bring together our conservation experts from across the High Brown Fritillary’s range in England to look at progress so far, share ideas on monitoring and habitat management, and ensure that what we learn here can benefit the butterfly at a UK level. We’ve also worked with Buglife and the Wildlife Trust of South & West Wales to improve habitat condition for the highly restricted Silky Wave moth on the Gower.

Both Species on the Edge and Natur am Byth! are supported by grants from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, as well as a host of other funders.

Working with landowners

Part of our work explores how existing funding mechanisms available to landowners can be geared towards species recovery. In England, our team work closely with Natural England staff to achieve suitable management for a range of butterflies and moths over large landscapes. In Kent, for example, our staff and volunteers support Natural England staff through advice and monitoring. This has shown how extensive restoration of arable farmland to species-rich grassland is delivering results for Duke of Burgundy and Black-veined Moth.

In the Cumbrian uplands, we help farmers and landowners access agri-environment schemes to fund habitat management for Duke of Burgundy, Marsh Fritillary, High Brown Fritillary, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillary, Chestnut-coloured Carpet and many more. Together we have developed a method of assessing sites, bringing landowners on board with the management work (including grazing and scrub control), monitoring results, and investigating the most effective management solutions.

These approaches offer the best hope that rare butterflies and moths can move around the landscape, adapt to changes in land-use and climate, and thrive into the future.

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Tackle threats to nature

Cool moths

Species adapted to cooler UK climates are at high risk of extinction due to climate change. They are already restricted to higher latitudes and elevations, reducing their ability to move and track climate change. Around a tenth of the macro-moth species in Britain are naturally restricted to areas and habitats with cooler climates, and of these cool-adapted moths with GB distribution trends, 84% declined between 1970 and 2016, with climate change considered a possible cause.

Research led by Butterfly Conservation, in collaboration with Northumbria University, used records from the National Moth Recording Scheme over a 40-year period to identify how cool-adapted moths have shifted their distributions over time, and whether these changes are linked to temperature and precipitation. The analyses showed that the distributions of cool-adapted moths had, on average, shifted to higher latitudes and in a north-westerly direction, mirroring changes in temperature and precipitation.

These moth species were more likely to have been lost from the warmest areas of Britain but, notably, where rainfall was also high, cool-adapted moths were more likely to have survived. This highlights the importance of considering water availability in the landscape as part of climate change adaptation for biodiversity.

Changes in management, such as reducing overgrazing, increasing tree cover, slowing rivers, and blocking drainage ditches on peatlands, could help retain water and benefit cool-adapted moths and other wildlife, as well as increasing carbon capture and reducing flooding.

As climate change worsens, more areas in Britain will become characterised by high temperatures making interventions to increase water availability even more important to safeguard such species from extinction. This research also highlights the value of volunteer moth recorders, who have collected data over the past 40 years enabling such vital research to be undertaken.

Reaching international collaborators

Butterfly Conservation’s 9th International Symposium, ‘Conserving Lepidoptera in a Changing World,’ was the biggest ever. It drew over 130 speakers and posters from 23 countries. The Symposium covered a wide range of topics, not just on the conservation of butterflies and moths, but also topics like public engagement, key drivers of declines, and using new technologies like remote moth traps and automatic photographic identification.

We followed this in July with a section of the 9th Biology of Butterflies Conference in Prague, Czech Republic. This focussed on butterfly monitoring, trends and indicators to support our work on developing a preliminary Global Butterfly Indicator describing the state of the world’s butterflies.

The aim is to gather global butterfly monitoring datasets and publish an index in the Living Planet Index and/or Living Planet Report. Researchers and conservationists across Europe, and in countries such as Australia, Japan, South Korea, St. Eustatius and Vietnam, have shared data. The project has highlighted a lack of existing data in some of the world’s most biodiverse areas. This work is being done in collaboration with the IUCN Butterfly & Moth Specialist Group, UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, de Vlinderstichting, the Zoological Society of London, and Butterfly Conservation Europe.

Through the EU-funded SPRING Project, Butterfly Conservation and our partners in Butterfly Conservation Europe have been able to support and expand butterfly monitoring across the continent. New schemes have emerged in Denmark, Lithuania, Latvia, Slovakia, Romania and Greece. The importance of this work has been recognised with the adoption of an EU grassland butterfly indicator to assess progress made in implementing the new Nature Restoration Law.

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Manage land sustainably

A new Mendip super reserve

Two of our reserves, Westbury Beacon and Stoke Camp, have been designated as part of a new ‘Super’ National Nature Reserve. This includes 29 sites encompassing over 1,400 hectares of land running across the south-facing mosaic of grassland and woodland habitats of the Mendip Hills.

Sustainable management of Westbury Beacon could only truly be achieved with the aid of conservation grazing. Attempts over many years to install an internal water supply had been unsuccessful. But in 2023, working with a neighbouring landowner, 250 metres of pipe was laid to finally connect the site to the main. At a total cost of more than £20,000, the work was funded by a Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) grant from the Mendip Hills AONB.

Enhancing the built environment

For butterflies and moths to thrive, we need to find ways to improve the built environment and land management. Testing practical solutions is at the heart of our work in this area. In 2023, we worked with National Highways to sow Kidney Vetch and Horseshoe Vetch seed - foodplants for the Small Blue and Chalkhill Blue - along a 500m section of the new A6 Houghton Regis bypass, which was left as bare chalk. This created a landscape scale connection between chalk pits in Bedfordshire with known colonies of these butterflies. Funding for the seed came from Highways Agency and the Bedfordshire branch of Butterfly Conservation.

In the east of England, the grassy banks of extensive drainage channels provide another opportunity for habitat enhancement. Four-spotted moth colonies were found along the south facing bank of the Maxey Cut, a flood relief channel near Peterborough. We are working with Langdyke Trust and the Environment Agency to manage the Cut by a combination of scraping bare patches and getting the timing of mowing right. The Maxey Cut is unusual habitat and there is potential for more colonies to be found along the numerous banks and ditches across fenland Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire.

Thriving species

Prees Heath Common, Shropshire

[Infographic to show increase in Silver-studded Blue from 341 adults (2009) to 2135 (2023)]

Prees Heath Common is the only known site in West Midlands to support a large, thriving Silver-studded Blue population. Management at Prees Heath includes heathland mowing/cutting to retain a diverse age structure, management of undesirable species, scrub/tree management and bell-heather seed collection. These seeds will be scattered in 2024 as part of heathland restoration works, funded through Butterfly Mosaics, part of Severn Trent Water’s Great Big Nature Boost. This follows the success of turf strip plots, created in 2019/20, where heathers successfully germinated.

As part of Butterfly Mosaics, we are also working with the Shropshire Wildlife Trust to ensure the Silverstudded Blue continues to grow at the neighbouring site, Prees Heath East, where small numbers of individuals have been recorded.

Grafton Wood, Worcestershire

[Infographic to show growth from 20 Wood White reintroduced in 2018, to 300 adults recorded in 2023]

In 2018, 20 Wood White adults were reintroduced to Grafton as part of a National Lottery Heritage Fund project. The success of the Wood White at Grafton Wood is the result of targeted conservation effort.

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Volunteer work parties are held weekly at Grafton Wood between end of August and early March. During 2023, almost 530 hours of volunteer time focused on ride management to benefit Wood White and other priority species. 163 volunteer hours were spent focusing on blackthorn management to benefit Brown Hairstreak, along with a joint Butterfly Conservation and Worcestershire Wildlife Trust work party.

Over the last couple of years, contractors have managed additional areas of woodland ride within Grafton, as well as clearing sections of blackthorn in the adjacent privately owned SSSI orchard. Following blackthorn management in February 2023, 203 Brown Hairstreak eggs were found later that year in the orchard – the highest count for 18 years. All contractor costs have been funded through our Severn Trent Butterfly Mosaics project.

Enablers: the platform of success

Inspiring communications

Big Butterfly Count 2023 saw a 46% increase in participation on the previous year, with an incredible 94,229 people spending 15-minutes in a sunny spot recording the number and type of butterflies and day-flying moths they saw. This important citizen science project has now been running for 13 years. More than quarter of a million people now follow Butterfly Conservation through social media. When we ask, many of our supporters tell us they would like to do more campaigning – they want to help us have a stronger voice for butterflies and moths.

In February 2024 we launched a campaign on the impacts of light pollution on moths. There was information on the science behind the impact of light pollution, examples of actions people have taken, and advice on how individuals could both assess their own impacts and work to minimise the damage.

Sustainable funding

We've continued to develop our individual giving programme with some notable successes. The Big Green Match Fund appeal in April was awarded £30,000 Champion Funding to support our Landscape Programme and raised a total of £63,185 plus Gift Aid - one of our biggest single appeal successes to date. We also launched a Butterfly Conservation Weekly Lottery. This raised £20,500 in 2023/24 and we believe it has great potential for future growth.

Lean and scalable organisation

This year saw the launch of our Wild Spaces and Volunteer digital platforms. We've done extensive work to define what and how we need our supporter platform to work, and to examine available options. We identified improvements we need to make around General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) compliance and have begun a review of the data we hold. We also undertook market research to inform the tender specification for a new Land Management Hub. This will be an online resource for land managers and advisors across the UK, giving easy access to our expert advice to help them improve their land for butterflies and moths. Time spent making the right decisions now will future proof the new systems and processes we introduce.

High performing staff and volunteer team

Focus on Volunteers

Towards the end of 2023, we launched a new web portal just for volunteers - Assemble. The system helps us provide the best support possible for our volunteers and streamlines processes, meaning as much money as possible goes to conservation rather than administration. It also allows us to share

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

news and training resources directly with volunteers, and to organise events for those who so generously give their time to benefit butterflies, moths, and the environment.

The 2023 Volunteer Awards were revamped to better reflect our volunteer community both present and future. The Awards now have six categories celebrating everything from community engagement to those who have made a substantial impact on a species or landscape. The Marsh Charitable Trust have been extremely supportive of our review and have increased the prize money for winners. Very well done to all those who won or received a Highly Commended certificate this year!

Future priorities

2024 - 2025

Threatened Species Review

To inform our work over the second half of the decade, we will use the most up-to-date data to ensure our conservation work stays focussed on the species most in need and is targeted where it can make the greatest impact.

Landscape recovery

We will develop new landscape recovery collaborations in areas including Wales and Northern Ireland, to improve our UK coverage and tackle species declines more effectively.

Youth Panel

We will establish our first ever youth panel, and co-create the full remit with participants. Made up of ten 16-24 year olds, they will be supported and encouraged to not only contribute to the work of Butterfly Conservation, but also to lead it. They will ensure young people feel valued, inspired and included in our work to save butterflies and moths.

Wild Spaces

We plan to develop and launch new projects in Northern Ireland and Wales, and will continue to work with partners including City Councils, NGOs and community organisations to help spread the word and increase the impact of Wild Spaces.

Broadening our community

We will monitor changes in our diversity through our work, in particular our success in reaching three target audiences – young people (aged 16-34), people from a minority ethnic background, and people experiencing green space deprivation.

Digital Innovation

We will roll out a new customer management system, a Land Management Hub and a new finance system. These will enable staff, volunteers and partners to use all our data in the most efficient ways possible while ensuring it is secure and the systems we use are fit for purpose.

2025 – 2027

Launch our refreshed strategy

We will launch our refreshed strategy to ensure Butterfly Conservation remains relevant and engaging and continues to build on our ambitious vision over the next five years.

Beyond 2027

Advocacy campaigns

We will review our advocacy work, looking at the impact it makes and the subjects we cover, to ensure they meet our needs in the political arena and take account of what the latest science tells us.

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

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

plan was implemented at the start of the pandemic. This has continued to be updated and there has been a particular focus to ensure our IT disaster recovery planning is thoroughly up-to-date and fit for purpose.

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, indepth 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. We will continue to improve and refine risk management principles in all aspects of our work over the coming year.

Principal risks and uncertainties

Fundraising

Across the charity sector, there has been a reported ‘cost of giving’ crisis mirroring the cost-of-living crisis so many people are struggling with. The uncertainty in the fundraising environment is not just confined to pressure on individual budgets – the public sector is experiencing a severe squeeze on resources and environmental budgets are being reduced.

Staffing

Recruitment, particularly for corporate roles (i.e. non-conservation), is proving challenging. Competition is high across the employment market for roles like finance, and within the charity sector for roles like fundraising.

As an organisation, we have embraced remote working – partly to widen our employment pool. This, however, poses its own challenges. For example, it’s taking longer to onboard new staff, and there are time and budget implications in creating vital opportunities for staff to meet in person.

We also have key staff on short-term contracts that, ideally, we would like to be able to fund from General Funds.

IT security

Within the broad area of Information Systems, trustees are particularly concerned about Cyber Security (especially fraud) and Data Privacy. The implementation of new digital platforms requires us to review our compliance with GDPR. This will impact on our staff and volunteers as we will need to introduce new processes and provide the relevant training.

Trustee succession

With two trustees stepping down for personal reasons and another due to end their term in November, the Board is looking at succession planning. This includes looking at those skills not adequately represented on the Board, and co-opting new members in advance of elections.

Health and 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. We have clear procedures in place for reporting, recording

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Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

and acting upon any safeguarding allegations, concerns or queries. Our Safeguarding Policy is published on our website along with contact details for our three Designated Safeguarding Officers.

Equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI)

Butterfly Conservation has begun a significant journey of improvement around equality, diversity and inclusion, and has undertaken several activities to support our ambitions to become an inclusive organisation that reaches diverse audiences.

This year we have continued to support the Route Map towards greater ethnic diversity in the environment sector, collaborating with Wildlife and Countryside Link partners. We have also participated in the RACE report for the second year to demonstrate our commitment to sharing data, transparency, and improvement. Our internal communications promote national awareness days and we have provided learning sessions on Neurodiversity and Menopause. We make reasonable adjustments for both new and existing staff.

In the latter part of 2023, an outline EDI strategy and action plan was put to a full organisational consultation, inviting all staff to engage in improving our diversity and inclusion. Feedback is being incorporated and will lead to a published EDI strategy and action plan setting out our activity for the next three years.

Our staff survey results in January 2024 show that 91% of our people feel they are encouraged to consider how they can embed equality, diversity and inclusion in their day-to-day work (increased from 58% in January 2023). This indicates that our work on equality and inclusion is having a positive impact on staff.

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. This year we received help from partners at Fit for the Future (National Trust, Chatsworth Estate and Royal British Legion) and produced a tender for a Sustainability Audit and Action Plan. This is now awaiting relevant staff to action. Alongside this we are developing a Sustainability Strategy that will help embed sustainability in all our decision-making and provide a platform for reporting.

Financial review

Income increased by 5.9% to £6.62m (2023: £6.25m). Grant funding increased by 10.2% to £1.37m (2023: £1.24m). We are extremely grateful for a significant legacy. Income from donations and legacies increased by 3.8% to £3.00m (2023: £2.89m). Despite the challenging financial and political climate, we continued to have a good response to all our individual appeals and general donations (including Gift Aid). Membership subscription income reduced marginally to £1.24m (2023: £1.27m).

Expenditure increased by 22.8%, to £6.82m (2023: £5.56m). During the year we increased our average headcount by 15 - 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 £0.13m (2023: £0.39m) and the closing total net assets were £12.83m (2023: £12.70m).

The balance on our endowment fund increased by £0.32m to £5.61m (2023: £5.28m) due to gains on investments.

14

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

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 (available on our website).

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.

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 General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). 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 2023/24 and this were dealt with immediately.

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 2024 our Endowment Fund had a market value of £5.61m (2023: £5.28m). 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 2024). We identified

15

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

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 2024 Butterfly Conservation had total funds of £12.83m (2023: £12.69m), which is made up of:

General funds i.e. free financial reserves are held to ensure that Butterfly Conservation:

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 (2023: £3.5m). The members of Council are therefore satisfied with the year end reserves position. In 2024/25 we will continue to implement our Fundraising Strategy to maintain our conservation effort and financial reserves to the target level. However, ongoing uncertainties 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.

16

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
How we raised our funds
Total Income £6.62m
(2022/23 £6.25m)
Donations and legacies £3.00m
Conservation Activities - Grants £1.37m
Membership Subscriptions £1.24m
Contracts and Royalties £0.46m
Investments £0.31m
Primary purpose trading £0.13m
Other Trading Activities £0.11m
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
How we spent our funds
Total Expenditure £6.82m
(2022/23 £5.56m)
Conservation £5.89m
Membership Services £0.54m
Raising Funds £0.39m
----- End of picture text -----

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. Constant regard is paid to refreshing the experience mix of members 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 2024 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 until November 2023) Retired in November 2023
Martin Spray (Chair Elect until November 2023,
Chair from November 2023)
Ilija Vukomanovic – Vice Chair until November
2023)		 Resigned in November 2023
Hugh Ellerton – Honorary Treasurer Re-elected in November 2023

17

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Glenn Allison Re-elected in November 2023
Resigned in January 2024
Apithanny Bourne
Catrin Evans Elected in November 2023
Prof Laurence Harwood
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.

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 selfdevelopment, 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 was 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 Chair’s retirement in November 2023. In November 2023, following nine months as Chair Elect, Martin Spray became Chair, taking over from Karen Goldie-Morrison.

The AGM was held online in November 2023. Eligible members were able to vote on the Resolutions and Trustee Elections by proxy in advance of the AGM, and 163 people were recorded as present on the day. Next year, as in 2022, the AGM will be held both in person and online.

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.

18

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

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.

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 meets at least four times a year. During 2023/24 Council met five times – two of these meetings were held online, and three were held in person. 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

19

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

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-to-day management of Butterfly Conservation, acting under authority delegated to her by Council. During the year, we employed on average 106 members of staff (91 in 2022/23) who are grouped into six main work areas:

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 our work. We are indebted to everyone who contributes to making our Branch network so strong and successful.

Pay and remuneration policy

We are 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. We continue to be an accredited Living Wage employer and in 2023/24 have reviewed and enhanced our staff benefits package to include occupational maternity and paternity pay, a paid volunteering day, death in service benefit, career break policy, and changes to our flexible working policy in line with new employment law. We are in the process of undertaking a full pay and grading review for implementation in 2024/5.

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. This includes valuesbased 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.

The results of the gender pay gap calculations for 2023/24 show that the full time equivalent mean weekly earnings for men is 3% more than women. This demonstrates an improvement since 2022/23 when the mean weekly earnings for men was 9% more than women. The 2023/24 full-time equivalent median weekly earnings for men are 9% more than women (compared to 14% in 2021/22). The differential arises as currently 68% of our workforce are women, but more men hold senior positions within the organisation (60% of men fall within the top two pay quartiles).

20

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

----- Start of picture text -----
Average gender pay gap %
25
20
15
10
5
0
2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 2021-22 2022-23 2023-24
Mean Median
----- End of picture text -----

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 2024, the donation amounted to £21,365 (2023: £49,187).

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 2023/24, 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

Arnside & Silverdale National Landscape Cairngorms National Park Authority Carmarthenshire County Council

21

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Ceredigion County Council Cotswolds National Landscape Exmoor National Park Authority H D H Wills 1965 Charitable Trust Hampshire County Council National Heritage Lottery Fund National Trust Natural England Natural Resources Wales NatureScot Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council North York Moors National Park Authority Northern Ireland Environment Agency Pembrokeshire County Council Rural Payments Agency Severn Trent South Downs National Park Authority The Amber River Foundation The Botanist Foundation The Britford Bridge Trust The Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust The Highland Council The Hiscox Foundation The John Swire 1989 Charitable Trust The Lawson Trust

Charitable trusts and foundations

D G Albright Charitable Trust DFN Charitable Foundation D'Oyly Carte Charitable Trust Goldman Sachs Annual Giving Fund Henocq Law Trust Kathleen Beryl Sleigh Charitable Trust Kilpatrick Fraser Charitable Trust Lady Eda Jardine Charitable Trust Marsh Charitable Trust The Chalk Cliff Trust The David Family Foundation The J & J R Wilson Trust The Leslie Mary Carter Charitable Trust The Orr Mackintosh Foundation The Valerie Ayton Charitable Trust

Corporate partners and supporters

FatFace Gilbert-Ash Limited Habitat Aid Henocq Law Trust South Downs Natural Park The Craignish Trust

Corporate members

The Botanist Foundation Highland Titles Nature Reserve CJ Wildlife Limited Northumbrian Water Landscaping Solutions Limited The Bathurst Estate

22

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

Nurture Landscapes Group Propology Boutique Properties Mariposa Nature Tours Stowe Family Law LLP Integrated Utility Services Gaia's Garden Chiswick Park Castelli Milano 1938 Limited Hallgarten Wines Limited Valley Provincial (Chalcraft Nurseries)

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:

Eileen Marjorie Allen Nigel Bachman Cordelia Banner Barry Stuart Barnacal John Bates Margaret Joyce Bristow Richard Colin Scott Burgess Edmund Burke Lady Lucy Bertha Chandler Ronald Colenso William John Farley-Hills Margaret Caroline Field Michael James Yates Foley Norah Margaret Harper Derek Michael Stanford Head Jessie Hill Sonia Hinton William Arthur Howard Dennis William Hudson Michael Bernard Jones Brian Lawrence Jacqueline Makinson Roger John Martin John Mclennan Jane Wyatt Paul Gillian Peachey Dr Malcolm Pines Kathleen Potterton Susan Roberts Terence John Robertson Marian Rushton Sylvia Ryman Edna Veronica Salmon Clem Shaw Roger Smith Trevor Standing William Stevens Phillip William Strachan Margaret Taylor John Lawrence Vetterlein George Weir Michael Richard White Nicholas James Williams

23

Report of the Council (including Strategic Report) Year to 31 March 2024

If you would like to find out more about leaving a gift in your will, please email Alison Adams at aadams@butterfly-conservation.org.

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL APPROVED FOR ON AND BEHALF OF COUNCIL

Martin Spray, Chair Julie Williams, Secretary

Approved by Council on: 17[th] July 2024

24

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2024

Independent auditor’s report to the members 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 2024, which comprise the consolidated statement of financial activities, the group comparative statement of financial activities, the group and charitable parent company balance sheets, the consolidated 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:

Other information

The members of Council (who are the trustees of the charitable parent company for the purposes of charity law and the directors of the charitable parent company for the purposes of company law) 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.

25

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2024

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:

Responsibilities of Council

As explained more fully in the Responsibilities of Council statement included within the Report of the Council, the members of Council (who are also the directors of the charitable parent company for the purposes of company law and trustees of the charitable parent company for the purposes of charity 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.

26

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2024

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:

we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management, inspecting legal correspondence, and reviewing Member of Council meeting minutes.

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

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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

27

Independent auditor’s report on the financial statements 31 March 2024

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 noncompliance. 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.

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

Date: 26 July 2024

28

Consolidated statement of financial activities Year to 31 March 2024

Notes
Unrestricted
funds
£’000		 Restricted
funds
£’000		 Endowment
funds
£’000




—
—
183


—
—
—
—
183




11


—

—
11




172
338
510


(186)
324




5,283
5,607		 2024
Total
funds
£’000		 2023
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
5,18
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
18,19
Net movement in funds



Reconciliation


Total funds brought forward at 1
April 2023


Total funds carried forward at
31 March 2024




2,948

105

109



101

437

135

1,242



50
—
15


1,264
26
1
—

2,998
105
307

1,365
463
136
1,242


2,888

31
228


1,239

499

95

1,268

5,077		 1,356 6,616
6,248




380



4,521

540


—


1,372


391

5,893
540


289


4,824

444

5,441		 1,372 6,824
5,557





(364)

—



(16)
—

(208)
338


691

(302)

(364)



486		 (16)


(300)		 130

—
389


—

122





6,695		 (316)




718		 130


12,696
389



12,307

6,817		 402 12,826
12,696

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 £183,000 (2023: £225,000) and endowed expenditure of £11,000 (2023: £13,000).

29

Balance Sheet Year to 31 March 2024



Notes

Fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets
13

Tangible fixed assets
14

. Freehold land

. Other tangible fixed assets

Investments
15



Current assets

Stocks

Debtors
16

Cash

. Short term deposits and
interest bearing accounts


. Money market 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
 Group

2024
£’000

2023
£’000





20

40





1,343

1,343

8

10

5,607

5,283

6,978

6,676





8

6

2,408

1,363





1,189

2,914

1,797

248

969

2,125

6,371

6,656





(523)

(636)





5,848

6,020





12,826

12,696













5,607

5,283





402

718





4,371

3,983

20

20

1,371

1,393

1,055

1,299

12,826

12,696
 Charity Charity
2024
£’000



20



1,343

8

5,607

6,978



8

2,408



1,189

1,797

969

6,371



(523)



5,848



12,826







5,607



402



4,371

20

1,371

1,055

12,826
 2024
£’000



20


1,343

8

5,607

6,978



8

2,455


1,189

1,797

903

6,352



(524)


5,828


12,806







5,607


402


4,371

—

1,371

1,055

12,806
 2023
£’000

40

1,343
10
5,283
6,676

6
1,389

2,914
248
2,083
6,640

(640)
6,000

12,676



5,283

718

3,983
—
1,393
1,299
12,676

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

Martin Spray Chair

Date: 17[th] July 2024

30

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows Year to 31 March 2024


2024
2023
Note £’000 £’000


Cash flows from operating activities






Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities
 A
(1,652)
957
Cash flows from investing activities


Investment income and interest received
293
228
Proceeds from the disposal of investments 15 —
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
10
—
Net cash provided by investing activities
318
228
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year
(1,334)
1,185
Change in cash equivalents at 1 April 2023
 B
5,290
4,105
Change in cash equivalents at 31 March 2024
 B
3,956
5,290
Notes to the statement of cash flows for the year to 31 March 2024
A Reconciliation of net expenditure to net flows from operating activities

2024
2023
£’000 £’000
Net income (as per the statement of financial activities)
130
389
Adjusted for:


Depreciation and amortisation charge
32
31
Losses/(gains) on investments
(338)
302
Investment income and interest receivable
(308)
(228)
(Increase) decrease in stocks
(2)
1
(Increase) decrease in debtors
(1,045)
117
(Decrease) increase in creditors
(121)
345
Net cash (used in) provided by operating activities
(1,652)
957
A Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
2024
 2023
£’000 £’000

Current accounts


969
2,125
Money market accounts 1,797
 248
Short term deposits and interest bearing accounts 1,189
 2,914
Cash held by investment managers 1
 3
Total cash and cash equivalents 3,956
 5,290

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.

31

Principal accounting policies Year to 31 March 2024

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 2024 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:

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 cost of giving being experienced in the UK 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

32

Principal accounting policies Year to 31 March 2024

ending 31 March 2024, 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.

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.

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

33

Principal accounting policies Year to 31 March 2024

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.

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.

34

Principal accounting policies Year to 31 March 2024

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.

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

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.

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.

35

Principal accounting policies Year to 31 March 2024

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.

Funds accounting

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.

Fund structure

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.

36

Principal accounting policies Year to 31 March 2024

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.

37

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

1. Income from donations and legacies

1. Income from donations and legacies
Group Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000		 2024
Total
£’000
Donations
Legacies		 684
50
2,264
—		 734
2,264
2,948
50		 2,998
Group Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000
Donations
Legacies		 1,524
65
1,299
—		 1,589
1,299
2,823
65		 2,888

2. Income from other trading activities

2. Income from other trading activities
Group Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
2024
Total
£’000
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Sales of goods/services - non-charitable material
Royalties and sponsorship – non-primary purpose
Fundraising		 29
29
13
13
21
21
12
12
55
55
6
6
105
105
31
31

3. Income from investments and interest receivable

Group Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
2024
Total
£’000
UK pooled investment funds and unit trusts
Bank interest		 14
—
182
196
95
15
1
111
109
15
183
307
Group Unrestricted
Funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
UK pooled investment funds and unit trusts
Bank interest		 —
—
177
177
39
11
1
51
39
11
178
228

38

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

4. Income from charitable activities: conservation activities – grants receivable

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
2024
Total
£’000
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Natural Lottery Heritage Fund
Natural England
Natural Resources for Wales
Naturescot
Northern Ireland Environment
Agency
Severn Trent Water Limited
The Dulverton Trust
The Hiscox Foundation
The Swire Charitable Trust
Grants received < £25,000		 —
349
349
—
483
483
—
501
501
326
3
329
5
45
50
—
55
55
—
166
166
—
74
74
—
54
54
—
43
43
—
35
35
—
103
103
—
—
—
35
—
35
—
34
34
—
37
37
25
—
25
25
—
25
71
80
151
3
52
55
101
1,264
1,365
389
850
1,239

5. Expenditure on raising funds

5. Expenditure on raising funds
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
2024
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Fundraising costs
Trading costs
Investment management charges
Other support costs (note 8)		 265
—
265
81
—
81
24
—
24
—
11
11
10
—
10
380
11
391
Group Unrestricted
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
—
198
60
—
60
10
—
10
—
13
13
8
—
8
276
13
289

39

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

6. Expenditure on charitable activities: conservation

6. Expenditure on charitable activities: conservation
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000		 2024
Total
£’000
Staff costs (including support) (note 11)
Marketing and publicity
Management conservation
Information and education
Legal and professional
Other support costs (note 8)		 2,923
521
109
3
618
394
264
34
2
—
605
420		 3,444
112
1,012
298
2
1,025
4,521
1,372		 5,893
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
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
521
86
7
446
393
52
2
3
—
441
388		 3,006
93
839
54
3
829
3,513
1,311		 4,824

7. Expenditure on charitable activities: membership services

Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
2024
Total
£’000
Unrestricted
funds
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Staff costs
Membership recruitment
Newsletter production and distribution
Membership servicing
Other support costs (note 8)		 247
247
194
194
7
7
1
1
207
207
181
181
65
65
55
55
14
14
13
13
540
540
444
444

40

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

8. Support costs

8. Support costs
Staff
costs £’000
Other
Support
Costs
£’000		 2024
Total
£’000
Staff costs
Governance costs (note 9)
Other		 1,571
—
—
127
—
920		 1,571
127
920
1,571
1,047		 2,618
Attributed to:
Expenditure on raising funds (note 5)
Expenditure on charitable activities
•
Conservation (note 6)
•
Membership services (note 7)		 265
10
1,188
1,025
118
14		 275
2,213
132
1,571
1,049		 2,620
Staff
costs £’000
Other
Support
Costs
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000
Staff costs
Governance costs (note 9)
Other		 1,337
—
—
113
—
737		 1,337
113
737
1,337
850		 2,187
Attributed to:
Expenditure on raising funds (note 5)
Expenditure on charitable activities
•
Conservation (note 6)
•
Membership services (note 7)		 198
8
1,030
829
109
13		 206
1,859
122
1,337
850		 2,187

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

Our 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

9. Governance costs
2024
Total
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Information and education
Legal and professional fees
Other governance expenses		 36
45
76
48
15
20
127
113

41

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

10. Net income (expenditure)

This is stated after charging:

This is stated after charging:
2024 2023
Total Total
Group £’000 £’000
Staff costs (note 11) 3,955 3,398
Auditor’s remuneration
. Statutory audit services 20 20
.. Tax compliance 3 2
.. HR consultancy 57 30
Depreciation and amortisation 30 30
Operating lease rentals 66 93

11. Employees, staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel

Staff costs during the period are as follows:

Group 2024
Total
£’000
2023
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		 3,374
2,842
306
289
271
222
3,951
3,353
5
45
3,956
3,398
265
198
3,444
3.006
247
194
3,956
3,398

A total of £nil was paid in redundancy payments (2023: £22,100) and this amount is included within wages and salaries above.

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

was:
2024 2023
**Number ** _Number _
£80,001 - £90,000 1 1

Pension contributions of £6,720 (2023: £6,400) were paid into personal pension schemes in respect of these individuals during the year.

42

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

11. Employees, staff costs and remuneration of key management personnel (continued)

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

Group 2024
Total
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Raising funds
Conservation
Membership services		 12
6
87
81
7
4
106
91

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 £443,471 (2023: £391,659).

No Council member received any remuneration in respect of his or her services as members of Council during the year (2022: £nil). However:

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

Group and charity
Cost
At 1 April 2023 and 31 March 2024
Amortisation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for year
At 31 March 2024
Net book values
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023		 Software
£’000
100
60
20
80
20
40		 Total
£’000
100
60
20
80
20
40

43

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

14. Tangible fixed assets

14. Tangible fixed assets
Group and charity Freehold
land
£’000
1,343
—
1,343
—
—
—
1,343
1,343		 Office
equipment
, plant and
machinery
£’000
57
10
67
47
12
59
8
10		 Total
£’000
Cost
At 1 April 2023
Additions
At 31 March 2024
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
Charge for year
At 31 March 2024
Net book values
At 31 March 2024
At 31 March 2023		 1,400
10
1,410
47
12
59
1,351
1,353

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 Prees Heath Common.

44

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

15. Fixed asset investments

15. Fixed asset investments
Group
Charity
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
Pooled investments (note a)
Investment in subsidiary company (note b)		 5,610
5,283
5,610
5,283
—
—
—
—
5,610
5,283
5,610
5,283

a) Pooled investments and cash held for re-investment

a) Pooled investments and cash held for re-investment
Group and charity 2024
Total
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Market value at 1 April 2023
Disposals
Net gains/(losses)
Market value at 31 March 2024
Cash held by investment managers for re-investment
Costs of listed investments at 31 March		 5,283
5,582
(15)
—
338
(302)
5,606
5,280
1
3
5,607
5,283
5,342
5,342

Investments held at 31 March 2024 wholly comprised holdings in pooled investments funds as follows:

Group and charity Market
value
£’000
Proportion
%
Cazenove Charity Responsible Multi Asset Fund Accumulation units
Cazenove Charity Responsible Multi Asset Fund Distribution units		 1,167
21
4,440
79
5,607
100

45

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

b) Investment in subsidiary company

The charity holds 100% share of the issued share capital of Butterfly Conservation Trading Limited (£1). 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 2024, which have been included in the consolidated financial statements.

2024
Total
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
Turnover
Cost of sales
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 2023
Retained earnings at 31 March 2024		 44
71
(5)
(5)
39
66
(18)
(16)
21
50
(21)
(50)
—
—
—
—
20
20
20
20

16. Debtors

Group
Charity		 Group
Charity
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000		 2023
£’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		 585
284
585
76
114
75
1,648
778
1,648
50
10
52
—
—
46
35
74
35
14
103
14		 284
111
778
11
76
74
55
2,408
1,363
2,455		 1,389

46

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

17. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

Group
Charity
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
Social Security and other taxes
Expense creditors
Accruals and deferred income		 82
150
82
150
229
264
233
270
212
222
209
220
523
636
524
640

Movements on deferred income during the year was as follows:

Group
Charity
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
Opening deferred income balance
Cash received in the year
Amounts released to income
Closing deferring income balance		 92
17
92
17
5
92
5
92
(92)
(17)
(92)
(17)
5
92
5
92

18. Endowment funds

18. Endowment funds
2024
Total
£’000
2023
Total
£’000
At 1 April 2023
Less: value of endowment at 30 June 2020
Opening value of unapplied total return at 1 July 2021
Add: investment income
Add: investment return: realised and unrealised gains (losses)
Less: investment management costs
Total return before transfer to income
Less: total return applied
Unapplied total return at 31 March 2024
Add: value of endowment at 30 June 2020
Permanent endowment including unapplied total return as at 31 March 2024		 5,283
5,585
(3,086)
(3,086)
2,197
2,499
183
178
338
(302)
(11)
(13)
2,707
2,362
(186)
(165)
2,521
2,197
3,086
3,086
5,607
5,283

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.

47

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

19. Restricted funds

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

Group and charity At 1 April
2023
£’000
Income
£’000
Expenditure
£’000
Funds
Transfers
£’000		 At 31
March
2024
£’000
Butterfly Mosiacs
Environparks Marsh Fritillary Mitigation
Leeds Wild Spaces
Reserve Acquisition & Management Fund
Restricted Legacies
Head Office Restricted balances where closing balance
<£25,000
Branch Restricted Funds where closing balance <£25k		 93
38
(61)
—
116
3
(11)
—
—
34
—
—
52
46
(20)
(10)
189
4
—
(150)
240
1,228
(1,275)
(138)
28
3
(5)
(2)		 70
108
34
68
43
55
24
718
1,356
(1,372)
(300)		 402
Group and charity At 1 April
2022
£’000
Income
£’000
Expenditure
£’000
Funds
Transfers
£’000		 At 31
March
2023
£’000
Butterfly Mosiacs
Development Scotland
Environparks Marsh Fritillary Mitigation
Perth & Stirling Wild Spaces
Prees Heath Fund
Reserve Acquisition & Management Fund
Restricted Legacies
Scottish Borderlands
Wild Spaces
Head Office Restricted balances where closing balance
<£25,000
Branch Restricted Funds where closing balance <£25k		 53
104
(64)
—
19
118
(179)
76
129
2
(15)
—
—
46
(20)
—
285
4
(11)
(246)
62
—
—
(10)
197
3
(11)
—
18
27
(16)
—
—
37
(7)
—
408
628
(987)
63
8
3
(1)
(5)		 93
34
116
26
32
52
189
29
30
112
5
1,179
972
(1,311)
(122)		 718

The specific purposes for which the significant fund balances (>£25,000) are to be applied are as follows:

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.

Environparks Marsh Fritillary mitigation

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

Leeds Wildspaces

To inspire people in an urban setting to develop wild spaces across Leeds for the benefit of butterflies and moths.

48

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

Reserve Acquisition and Management Fund

To purchase and manage nature reserves.

Restricted Legacies Fund

Legacies reserved for a specific purpose.

Head Office Restricted Funds <£25,000

All Head Office Restricted Funds with a balance less than £25,000

Branch Restricted Funds <£25,000.

All Branch Restricted Funds with a balance less than £25,000.

Transfers between restricted and unrestricted arise for various reasons. The most common reasons are:

20. Tangible and intangible fixed assets (including freehold and nature reserves) fund

This fund represents the net book value of those tangible and intangible fixed assets (including freehold nature reserves) forming part of the unrestricted funds. The fund exists in order to emphasise that such assets are essential in enabling the charity to fulfil its charitable objectives. The value of such assets, therefore, should not be regarded as expendable in order to meet the day to day liabilities of the charity. The fund balance changes each period by an amount equal to the movement in the net book value of the relevant tangible fixed assets.

49

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

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:

Group and charity At 1 April
2023
£’000
New
Designations
£’000
Utilised
£’000		 At 31
March
2024
£’000
Branch fund
Heather Corrie Lepidoptera Research
Diarsia fund		 288
57
(124)
984
—
(176)
27
—
(1)		 221
808
26
1,299
57
(301)		 1,055
_Group and charity _ At 1 April
2022
£’000
New
Designations
£’000
Utilised
£’000		 At 31
March
2023
£’000
Branch fund
Heather Corrie Lepidoptera Research
Diarsia fund		 318
64
(94)
—
1,000
(16)
—
30
(3)		 288
984
27
318
1,094
(113)		 1,299

Branch Fund

The Branch Fund comprises monies that Council has committed for work undertaken by the charity’s Branches.

Heather Corrie Lepidoptera Fund

To support research that will help the needs of butterflies and moths and make an impact of their conservation.

Diarsia Fund

The Diarsia Fund supports young Lepidoptera scientists at the start of their careers.

50

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

22. Analysis of net assets between funds

22. Analysis of net assets between funds
Group Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000		 2024
Total
£’000
Funds balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investment
Net current asset		 20
—
—
1,334
17
—
—
—
5,607
5,463
385
—		 20
1,351
5,607
5,848
6,817
402
5,607		 12,826
_Group _ Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000
Funds balances at 31 March 2023 are represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investment
Net current asset		 40
—
—
1,332
21
—
—
—
5,283
5,323
697
—		 40
1,353
5,283
6.020
6,695
718
—		 12,696
Charity Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000		 2024
Total
£’000
Funds balances at 31 March 2024 are represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investment
Net current asset		 20
—
—
1,334
17
—
—
—
5,607
5,443
385
—		 20
1,351
5,607
5,828
6,797
402
5,607		 12,806
Charity Unrestricted
funds
£’000
Restricted
funds
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000		 2023
Total
£’000
Funds balances at 31 March 2023 are represented by:
Intangible assets
Tangible fixed assets
Fixed asset investment
Net current asset		 40
—
—
1,332
21
—
—
—
5,283
5,303
697
—		 40
1,353
5,283
6,000
6,675
718
5,283		 12,676
Group and Charity
Reconciliation of movements in unrealised gains (losses) on
investments
Unrealised gain at 1 April 2023
Less: net unrealised gains/losses in period and gains released
on disposal
Unrealised gains at 31 March 2024		 Endowment
funds
£’000
2024
Total
£’000
Endowment
funds
£’000
(62)
(62)
240
326
326
(302)
264
264
(62)		 2023
Total
£’000
240
(302)
(62)

51

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

23. Leasing commitments

At 31 March 2024 the group and charity had total future minimum lease payments under noncancellable operating leases as follows:

Land and buildings
Other
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
2024
£’000
2023
£’000
Within one year
Within two to five years
After five years		 62
62
50
27
54
110
15
42
12
13
—
—
128
185
65
69

24. Related party transactions

During the year ended 31 March 2024, the charity received subscriptions from Council members and the Senior Leadership Team totalling £380 (2023: £537).

During the year ended 31 March 2024, the charity received unrestricted donations from Council members and the Senior Leadership Team totalling £788 (2022: £2,750) including gift in kind £nil (2023: £nil) and restricted donations totalling £nil (2023: £1,100).

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.

52

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

26. Comparative consolidated statement of financial activities: Year to 31 March 2023

Notes



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 2022


Total funds carried forward at
31 March 2023

 Unrestricted
funds
£’000


2,823
31
39

389
459
89
1,268
5,098


276

3,513
444
4,233


865
—
865

287
1,152


5,543
6,695		 Restricted
funds
£’000


65
—
11

850
40
6
—
972


—

1,311
—
1,311


(339)
—
(339)

(122)
(461)


1,179
718		 Endowment
funds
£’000


—
—
178

—
—
—
—
178


13

—
—
13


165
(302)
(137)

(165)
(302)


5,585
5,283		 2023
Total
funds
£’000


2,888
31
228
1,239
499
95
1,268
6,248


289
4,824
444
5,557


691
(302)
389

—
389
12,307
12,696

53

Notes to the financial statements Year to 31 March 2024

Get involved

There are lots of ways you can get involved to help save butterflies, moths and the environment.

Donate

Support our conservation work to secure the future for butterflies and moths. Every penny counts.

Join

Become a member and join our community of people passionate about protecting butterflies and moths.

Remember butterflies in your will

Help us make sure future generations can experience the joy of seeing butterflies and moths in the wild.

Make space for nature

Create and register a Wild Space to help transform the UK into a haven for these beautiful creatures.

Volunteer

Give the gift of your time. We need volunteers of all ages and abilities.

Monitor

Help us track the health of butterfly and moth populations, so we can target our effort where it’s needed most.

Fundraise

Run a marathon, bake a cake or open your garden to visitors.

Follow us

We’re on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and X as @savebutterflies.

Find out more

For more information, visit butterfly-conservation.org.

54