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2022-03-31-accounts

The Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom Limited Group Annual Report and Financial Statements Year ended 31 March 2022

Charity Number 259358 (England and Wales) Company Number 00959115 (England and Wales)

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Contents Page
Report of the Trustees 1
Independent Auditor’s Report to the Members and Trustees 29
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 33
Consolidated Balance Sheet 35
Consolidated Cash Flow Statement 36
Notes to the Financial Statements 37

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

The Board of Trustees presents its annual report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity and its subsidiary for the year ended 31 March 2022. This is prepared to meet the requirements for a directors’ report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006 and Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing the accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Our charitable objects

  1. The advancement of education of the public in the subject of vegetarianism, in particular by:

  2. Promoting the vegetarian diet for the benefit of people, animals and the environment;

  3. Informing the wider community on all aspects of vegetarianism.

  4. The provision of exclusively charitable services to support and represent vegetarians.

Summary of 2021/22

The financial year 2021/22 proved to be a year of considerable change for the Society.

In August 2021, our CEO Lynne Elliot left the Society after eight successful years at the helm, and we were delighted to welcome Richard McIlwain into the role, after a thorough recruitment process. Richard was previously Deputy CEO at the national charity Keep Britain Tidy.

We have since kicked off an organisation wide review, supported by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, which has resulted in development of a new vision, mission and long-terms aims and draft proposals for a re-organisation of our staffing structure.

Work within 2022/23, will focus on the review of the staff structure, plus further reviews of our brand marketing, sales and internal processes to ensure we remain financially sustainable, with a higher public profile and more impactful campaigns and programmes as we move in the future.

For the first six months of the year Covid-19 control measures meant our Parkdale Head-office remained closed, with all staff continuing to work from home. Our cookery school also remained closed.

However, from September 2021, with a relaxation of control measures, we were able to welcome staff back to the office, albeit in a limited manner and subject to risk assessed controls. We were also to reopen our cookery school, with face-to-face course starting up in September, again subject to a range of

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covid-19 controls including social distancing, which limited the numbers of students that could attend individual classes.

At end of March 2022, operations had returned to normal, however, we have retained a hybrid working model and staff are able to work from home or from the office as their workload demands.

Strategy and Business plan

In November 2019 trustees agreed a new five year strategy to cover the period of 2020 to 2024 and in March 2020, a business plan to deliver the strategy. These documents set out our mission, what we wish to achieve in the next five years (our aims and objectives) and how we will be able to deliver this work.

Our vision

Our vision is a world where everyone is vegetarian.

Our mission

Our mission is to inspire, educate and enable people to be vegetarian.

Our values

Our values guide us in everything we do and they are:

The Society’s new Chief Executive, Richard McIlwain, was appointed on 31[st] August 2021.

In December 2021, work began on the development of a new vision, mission and Long Term Strategic Aims for the Society. The Centre for Charity Effectiveness was engaged to facilitate the process. Together staff and Trustees considered our core purpose, how we ensure we are fit for the challenges of the 21st century and our communities of interest and key beneficiaries.

Following workshops with staff and Trustees the following new vision, mission and long-term aims were proposed.

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The new vision, mission and aims have been developed recognise that vegetarian and vegan diets are kinder to animals, can help limit greenhouse gas emissions and global warming, and also support biodiversity. We want to support people in adopting vegetarian and vegan diets. Our long term aims recognise some of the critical themes that we will focus on in support of longer term, positive change. Alongside support for vegetarian and vegans, we will encourage more people to reduce and give up meat, while advocating for a transformation in our global food system to encourage greater uptake of plant-based and cellular based foods.

We will finalise and roll out the new vision, mission and long terms aims throughout 2022/23.

Further work will focus on the development of new organisation values, a re-organisation of the staff team to align with the new vision and mission, plus a review or ways of working and our brand to ensure we can improve our public profile.

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PUBLIC BENEFIT

The trustees have taken account of the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims, objectives and planning. We deliver public benefit in the work we do, for example:

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

In summary, last year we said our plans were:

Three veggie choices wherever
you go by 2025		 Not possible The ongoing lockdown and constraints on gatherings
have resulted in limited progress in this area through
2021/22
Food boxes for Food Banks
project		 Completed We have sent out 159,288 meals to food banks
across the UK getting healthy nutritious veggie food
to people who need it and helping our members
help others without compromising their veggie
principles

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Trademarks – expand the
number of products and clients
licensed to carry the trademarks		 Ongoing We now have 22,477 products and 628 companies
who are licensed to use the Vegetarian Society
Approved trademarks.
National Vegetarian Week 2021 Completed The pandemic had an impact on participation, but
we still had 1,560 members of the public signing up
and Chris Packham supported with a video for social
media
Membership and supporter
recruitment – lead generation
and giving more content to
people		 Ongoing We have continued to run membership and lead
generation campaigns, attracting 235 new members
in the year.
Fundraising initiatives and grants Ongoing We made an application to the Co-op carbon grant
fund but were unsuccessful in securing additional
funds for our food boxproject
Re-open Cookery School Completed The Cookery School successfully re-opened in
September 2021 with covid-19 control measures in
operation
E-Newsletters Ongoing We maintained two newsletters per week instead of
one – throughout 2021/22 to ensure that supporters
were kept informed during periods of lockdown
Pregnancy Guide, Baby and
Toddler resource and young
people guide		 Delayed Work on the Pregnancy Guide continued and a
decision on further work will be made in 2022/23.
Xmas Club Completed We ran a successful Xmas Recipe collection and
attracted 3,236 new e-news subscribers as a result
Environment – we plan to run a
campaign around the COP26
meetings in November, recruiting
more people to Eat to Beat
Climate Change		 Completed We developed a suite of low carbon recipes in
advance of COP26 and encouraged people to sign up
to receive them, this elicited 1,488 new e-news
subscribers.
Tools to go veggie – we plan to
add more recipes to our
collection and develop a new
section on our website dedicated
to cooking skills.		 Ongoing We were able to launch two recipe collections in the
year, Spring and Autumn, alongside the low carbon
and Xmas club recipes. We will take a decision on
how best to develop the cooking skills section of the
website in 2022/23

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Support to go veggie – we plan to Delayed With the new CEO starting in September 2021, this develop a new support activity was paused, pending a review of the strategy programme which focuses on and operational plans. behaviour change to support people going veggie for the first time.

We have five strategic aims in our Strategy for 2019 to 2024 and each aim has a set of objectives. We will not work towards all of the objectives every year and some will be achieved before others. At the same time, our strategy sets out six services that have been successful and that we intend to continue running throughout the five years of the strategy.

Services we are committed to running:

Services and projects we are committed to running:

1. Vegetarian Society Approved trademarks

The Vegetarian Society Approved vegetarian and vegan trademarks are a very important part of the impact we deliver. We check the ingredients and productions processes of the products that are licensed to carry our trademarks.

Any product displaying the Vegetarian Society Approved vegetarian trademark has met these criteria:

Any product displaying the Vegetarian Society Approved vegan trademark has met these criteria:

Members of the public can trust that products carrying our Vegetarian Society Approved trademarks are suitable for them to buy and eat and this makes their lives easier and their shopping quicker.

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2. Members and Regular Donation Scheme

Our members are at the heart of everything we do. Their financial support enables us to undertake work on their behalf but, equally importantly, they are a community which informs our understanding of what is important to vegetarians and vegans and where our impact needs to be.

Because this year has continued to be a difficult time for so many people, we focused on providing help and support for members about health, nutrition, cooking, managing on limited ingredients, and the COVID-19 vaccinations.

We ran a ‘Give a (Food) Box not Socks’ Christmas Appeal which reached its target of £10,000 because of generous donations from members and supporters.

3. National Vegetarian Week

Every May, National Vegetarian Week (NVW) raises awareness of vegetarian food. It has been running for over 25 years. In that time more and more businesses, restaurants, chefs and media outlets have taken part, and this has contributed to what is now a wide acceptance of vegetarian food as normal and mainstream. Taking part in a National Vegetarian Week pledge is what made Chris Packham go veggie, so we don’t always see the impact of the week quickly, but it certainly pays off.

This year we organised a 1-2-3 challenge asking people to sign-up, donate and then nominate a friend to also take the challenge. Cauldron Foods sponsored the week and there was plenty of coverage. National Vegetarian Week means that the general public become accustomed to vegetarian food and more open to trying it and eating it regularly.

4. High Quality Content for website and social media channels and our members’ magazine

Once again, due to Covid-19, it has been important than ever to keep in touch with our members and supporters, so they feel part of our community. We know that many of our members and supporters have had a difficult time because of COVID-19. We wanted to help make sure they felt safe and they knew that they matter to us. We put more of our capacity into producing content and we maintained the doubling of e-newsletters we sent out.

We have published long read articles in the magazine on plant science & feeding the world, plant-based trends and the contribution of the EPIC-Oxford study to the study of vegetarian health.

Our new CEO has also written a number of blogs, in particular a series that ran across the COP26 event, focusing on the events each day and the need for parties to the conference to take more notice of our food system and how it can be reformed to reduce global carbon emissions.

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Once again, we ran a very successful Christmas Club, resulting in 3,236 new subscribers.

5. Vegetarian Society Cookery School

The Cookery School successfully re-opened in September 2021, with classes running on Friday evenings, Saturdays, and Sundays every week.

COVID19 did have an impact on our classes, with an average 10-15% drop out rate on classes every week, as students tested positive or displayed covid-19 symptoms. All bookings were transferred, or vouchers were offered to students for future courses.

Student feedback on our classes continues to be excellent. Most students rated their experience 4 or 5 (out of 5). Also, tutors were often referenced in the positive feedback, along with comments about the excellent food and welcoming environment.

The school was also pleased to deliver four community sessions. The groups included catering students attending Mid Cheshire College, local Guides, and North Cestrian School. The cookery school also delivered a bespoke training day for chefs from Hawsworth Steam Brewery to upskill their team and improve vegan offerings on their menu. Additionally, the school provided a paid for training day for catering lecturers at Gloucestershire College. This was originally booked for early 2020. The session focused on vegan protein sources and how to incorporate them into contemporary dishes. The lecturers wish to update the curriculum of catering courses taught at the college.

January also saw the relaunch of our Vegetarian Society Certificate in Vegetarian and Vegan Cookery (formerly Foundation Certificate).

6. Enquiry Service (including Dietitian Service)

Throughout this year, the enquiry service has helped 543 individuals who asked for help about issues.

Our free dietitian service has given advice and support to 51 people, enabling them to continue to eat a vegetarian diet while dealing with other health issues.

Our performance against our strategic aims and objectives:

Strategic Aim One: Lead the way and be the hub of the vegetarian world

Under the leadership of our new CEO, the Society developed a bolder approach to the media and accepted a number of interviews for print, radio and television on a range of topics related to vegetarian and vegan diets.

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In particular, we participated in filming for the BBC programme ‘Inside the Factory’ hosted by Greg Wallace and filmed scenes in Salford and at our headquarters in Altrincham, documenting the formation of the Society and its early Victorian pioneers, as part of a wider production documenting the production of Heck’s vegan sausage.

Our CEO spoke on a number of radio stations, including BBC Lancashire and Talk Radio on subjects ranging from what to eat as a new vegetarian, to providing comment on schools that had chosen to provide vegetarian lunch menus for pupils.

We also contributed to two Guardian articles, with journalists interviewing our CEO for each piece. One on how masculinity is still defined by meat and its consumption and how this prevailing view might be changed, and another critiquing MasterChef and its heavy meat focus, in which our CEO referred to it as a ‘dinosaur’ a comment which was picked up and amplified by many other news outlets.

Our CEO was also invited to contribute an article for the Institute of Accounting Technicians, annual think piece on taxation, alongside a range of MPs and business leaders. The article focused on how a carbon tax could support reduction in meat consumption and conversely support increased consumption of lower carbon and potentially healthier plant-based foods.

Our CEO was also active writing a number of blog posts on a diverse range of topics, which were published on our website and also communicated via our social channels, on a range of topics in particular a daily blog during COP26.

The Society was also delighted to be asked to present to the nutrition team at Meta, on the benefits of reducing meat consumption. The workshop was well received and there are plans for further joint working.

With the scaling back of covid-19 control measures, the trademark licensing team was again able to exhibit at consumer and trade fairs, including Just V and the Institute of Food and Drink expo at the London Excel, providing an opportunity to introduce a range of new stakeholders to the Society and the benefits of vegetarian and vegan food.

We increased our social media following throughout the year across a range of channels and in March 2022, reported:

Twitter followers No. followers 140,784
Instagram followers No. followers 37,253
Facebook followers No. followers 289,783
Website visitors Cumulative Unique visits 975,414

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Strategic Aim Two: Inspire people to eat vegetarian food and become vegetarian

National Vegetarian Week in 2021, was kindly sponsored by Cauldron, and focused again on encouraging people to try vegetarian and vegan food. The Veggie 123 challenge invited people across the UK to sign up on the website to go veggie for one week, nominate two people, and donate £3 to the Vegetarian Society.

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Many celebrities, including Chris Packham and the Hairy Bikers, shared videos to their own social media followers, providing a huge boost for the reach of the campaign

In total 1,560 people signed up to participate in National Vegetarian Week 2021 and the campaign had a collective celebrity supporter reach 889,000 Instagram followers, 14,080,200 Twitter followers

and 397,000 Facebook followers. If this is taken into the calculations, our potential combined media reach would be 43,156,138 .

In order to inspire new vegetarians and also existing vegetarians looking for new inspiration, we launched new recipe collections in both Spring and Autumn, while also developing low carbon recipes in support of COP26 and a set of themed recipes for Christmas 2021.

The school was also pleased to deliver four community sessions. The groups included catering students attending Mid Cheshire College, local Guides, and North Cestrian School.

Beyond National Vegetarian Week, we also continued to supply plant-based food boxes to people and communities most in need, using the network of food banks as a means of distribution. This is a powerful programme, providing people living in poverty, with great tasting, nutritious and easily prepared meals, and the means to continue preparing meals beyond the initial box with supermarket sourced, cheap ingredients.

The infographic below, summarises the effectiveness of the programme as of March 2022 and demonstrates how plant-based food can be both cost-effective and carbon-friendly.

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Thanks to the continuing support of Barclays Bank, via their £100,000 grant (from the Barclays’ 100x100 UK COVID-19 Community Relief Fund), we were able to continue supply food boxes throughout 2021/22 across the north-east, which had been previously identified as an area with pockets of extreme poverty.

We were also able to source donations from our members and supporters, which provided additional funding for the programme and allowed us to deliver food boxes beyond the north-east to other deprived areas across the country.

We are grateful to Barclays, our dedicated members and supporters, the Trussell Trust, plus a number of other independent food banks, housing associations, primary schools and local authorities, for their support in funding and distributing the boxes.

We were additionally grateful to Stroud District Council, who provided funds of £10,000 via their Holiday Activities and Food (HAF) programme. In total across Stroud, we were able to deliver 600 food boxes, representing 4,800 meals.

We received fantastic feedback from a range of stakeholders:

Food Banks

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temporary hours. To have a complete box to give out hopefully inspires those who are receiving them”. Hartlepool Food Bank

Food Box Recipients

Primary School recipients

Barnard Grove Primary School, Hartlepool

West View Primary, Hartlepool

“I just wanted to say that the veg boxes were a success! We have also had some lovely feedback on them, and parents enjoyed them despite initially being unsure as they could not see inside them.”

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The Oak Tree Academy, Stockton-on-Tees

“I just wanted to say thank you so much for the food boxes. Our families are very grateful, and the boxes are fab!”

Strategic Aim Three: Provide information and training to increase knowledge and skills

In advance of the international climate conference COP26, held in Glasgow in November 2021, we developed a curated set of low vegetarian carbon recipes, which members of the public could download and use at home, as an introduction to how switching from meat to more vegetarian and plant-based food could help reduce a person’s own carbon footprint. This encouraged almost 1,500 people to sign up and download the recipe packs.

Also, during COP26, our CEO wrote a daily blog re-capping each day’s discussion and in particular the lack of any substantial debate on the role of our current food system in creating around 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The blog was published on our website and pushed out on our social media channels, with email newsletters to our supporters.

Beyond COP26, our CEO also developed a regular blog, discussing topics such as animal sentience, Earth Day and Global Wellness Day, amongst other topics, which were published on our website and emailed to our supporters.

As referenced under Strategic Aim One, we continued to provide plant-based food boxes to a range of food banks across the country. Importantly, each food box in addition to containing ambient ingredients, also had complete instructions on how to prepare the meals, together with online video guides for recipients. As each of the ingredients are readily sourced cheaply from local supermarkets, we hope this encourages recipients of the food boxes to continue purchasing ingredients and cooking the meals, once the food box has been used.

With the re-opening of our cookery school in September 2021, we were again able to welcome students into our kitchens at our Parkdale Head-office. Numbers per course were reduced compared to the period pre-covid, as control measures in particular social distancing were implemented.

In total between September 2021 and March 2022, we put on 88 courses and welcomed 605 students to the school, across a range of courses, including vegan street food, curry clubs, supper clubs and patisserie classes and longer foundation courses.

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Strategic Aim Four: Influence provision to increase quality and choice

We continued with work to deliver the UK Food Plan. There are five strands to this work:

The first part of this work has focused around improving the provision of vegetarian and vegan school meals. This aspect of the UK Food Plan was renamed ‘Plant the Future’ and we now have three terms of recipes for schools and school caterers. Plans for further role out will be developed for 2022/23.

We also continued to expand commercial use of our licensed vegetarian and vegan approved trademarks. Market conditions have been challenging with the pandemic and also greater controls on the import and export of ingredients for product manufacture. Increases to the overall cost of living may also start to affect consumer choice, when it comes to paying a premium for more sustainable products.

However, despite these issues, trademark sales did continue to perform well and grow, we added 92 new clients and currently have 22,477 products and 628 companies using the trademarks.

Strategic Aim Five: Organisational excellence and continuous improvement

We introduced a number of new systems to provide for greater efficiency of our internal processes.

We introduced Sage HR, to work alongside the Sage Pay platform. The HR system has allowed us to migrate away from spreadsheets for HR activity, including time recording, leave and performance management.

We introduced a digital phone system and headsets for staff, removing the need for separate desk phones and allowing landline and mobile calls to be made from laptops.

We have also migrated to Office 365, removing the need for a fixed Outlook server in our headquarters and allowing us to make use of Sharepoint for file sharing.

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We further introduced the iHasco online training system, which gives staff access to a range of digital courses, including Health & Safety, GDPR, cyber-crime and self-development. Staff will be asked to undertake training and continuous improvement via the iHasco system on a bi-monthly basis.

In 2022/23 we will consider migrating from the current version of our CRM, Raisers Edge 7, across to Raisers Edge NXT which is cloud based and more intuitive, providing greater efficiency in the management of our critical data.

We engaged the Centre for Charity Effectiveness, to assist the new CEO in the re-design of the organisation, initially facilitating the development of a new vision, mission and long term aims. In 2022/23 this support will expand to cover design of the staff structure and ways of working.

As noted above under strategic aim 5, our licensed trademark sales have continued to grow and our cookery school’s courses have also been selling well, although at reduced capacity for classroom sizes, due to covid-19 restrictions.

Our individual giving function was able to secure over £10,000 in donations, for our Christmas appeal ‘Gift a box, not socks’, which encouraged people to fund the provision of vegan food boxes, via food banks. We propose to deploy the donations in 2022/23 to support people and families in urgent need of support, while introducing them to vegan food as a cheap and healthy option for a family budget.

We are pleased to report that we recorded no time lost accidents throughout the year and our staff remained safe, while working for the Society.

Of course, we did have a number of staff contract covid-19, with varying sickness absence, in particular two staff members who struggled with long covid. We put in place working arrangements and adjustments to support these staff.

In terms of staff turnover, we recorded a turnover figure of 7%. Lynne Elliot, our long-standing CEO, left in August after a successful stint at the helm of the charity, and our new CEO, Richard McIlwain, formerly Deputy CEO of Keep Britain Tidy, took over. Our Data Officer, Alex Buckley, moved on to a new role and was replaced in September by Dilly Stephenson. We also hired a new Data Officer to help with management of data across the Society. Our finance officer, Vicky Birch, also took a decision to move on and we hired two part-time roles as a replacement with Dandy Clearkin and Kate Kenny joining us to support our Head of Finance. Laura Woodall, our Head of Administration, returned from maternity leave and replaced Zoe Irwin, who had been providing maternity cover.

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RESERVES

Reserves policy

The policy of the charity is that sufficient of the charity’s reserves shall be retained so that, in the event of a decision to close down the charity, funds are available to meet redundancy costs and to arrange an orderly run-down of services over a period of twelve months. As at 31 March 2022, the amount of reserves required to be held is estimated to be £530,000.

Funds at 31 March 2022

The charity's total funds as at 31 March 2022 were £2,370,910 and were made up as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Restricted funds 116,431
Property and equipment fund
867,567
BuIldings maintenance fund
100,000
Project fund 144,102
Reserves held in accordance with
reserves policy 530,000
Reserves available for projects
612,810
----- End of picture text -----

In accordance with Charity Commission guidance, some of the charity’s funds are defined as restricted or designated. Restricted funds are funds that have been received by a charity for a specific purpose, for example a donation received to be spent on a specific charitable purpose as defined by the donor. Designated funds are funds that have been earmarked for a particular project or use; in the case of the Vegetarian Society, designated funds consist of a property and equipment fund, a buildings maintenance fund and a project fund. Further information on the various funds held during the year is given in the notes to the accounts.

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After deducting restricted and designated funds, £1,142,810 of reserves remain; this is £612,810 in excess of the requirement of the reserves policy to hold £530,000 in reserves as at 31 March 2022. This amount, together with any additional income received that is over that included in the business plan, will be spent to further the charity’s objectives over a reasonable timescale, which will depend on the size and nature of the income source.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

The Statement of Financial Activities reported a deficit for the year of £117,367; this compares to a deficit of £86,009 in the previous year. After taking net investment gains of £18,658 into account, the charity is reporting a reduction in funds for the year of £98,709.

Income

----- Start of picture text -----
600,000
500,000
400,000
300,000
200,000
100,000 2021
0 2022
----- End of picture text -----

Income for the year ended 31 March 2022 amounted to £1,380,985 as compared to £1,312,767 in the previous year. Income has been boosted by legacy income of £405,798 (£78,485 higher than the previous year). The re-opening of the cookery school in September 2021 led to £72,000 of income being received, compared to £7,000 in the previous year. Income from grants was considerably down; COVID related grants available in the previous year enabled us to secure just under £110,000 to fund food boxes.

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Expenditure

Expenditure for the year was £1,498,352 as compared to £1,398,776 in the previous year; the main reasons for this increase are:

GOING CONCERN

Trustees satisfy their duty to manage and safeguard the charity’s assets by reviewing its financial position with reference to the business plan and finance reports, including monthly management accounts and quarterly exception reports. The business plan and associated budget set out how we will finance and deliver our strategy.

Trustees are given an update at every meeting that informs them of the charity’s current financial position and of its projected financial position in twelve months’ time. As at 31 March 2022, reserves amount to £1,142,810. Even based on the most pessimistic projections, this leaves sufficient reserves available to fund the charity’s activities for a period of at least twelve months after the approval of the financial statements, and therefore trustees are satisfied that the charity remains a going concern.

Over the past few years, the charity has been able to draw down on reserves as a result of some sizeable legacy bequests. As a result of this drawing down, a net reduction of funds of £2 million has occurred over the last seven years. Although we have a duty to spend our income on our activities, unless we receive further sizeable legacies (which is, at best uncertain), this position will not guarantee sustainability in the medium term. Therefore, since the year end, work on redesigning the organisational structure has commenced with a view to cutting expenditure, developing current income streams and adding capacity to explore new income streams.

INVESTMENT POLICY AND PERFORMANCE

The present investment objective is to achieve the best overall return given the timescale of planned activities, within an agreed level of risk. This reflects a willingness to take the level of risk required to satisfy the objectives attached to the invested capital. Therefore, an allocation towards equity markets is necessary. The associated risks of such a strategy have been considered by the trustees, who understand in order to achieve a return higher than what could be achieved by prioritising the preservation of the investment’s original value, short term fluctuations in value will be experienced.

The charity’s ethical stance primarily revolves around screening out investments whose operations are in direct conflict with the nature and objectives of the Vegetarian Society, such as the production and

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sale of meat. The charity also excludes investment where there is concern in respect of animal testing. The charity does not restrict its fund managers as regards any category of investment, but it expects and encourages the fund managers to invest only in companies that have appropriate governance and social responsibility policies.

The charity allows its fund managers to invest in collectives. They provide the portfolio exposure to overseas investments whilst providing diversification, access to specialist areas and better growth prospects. It is accepted that some of the holdings in collectives may contain investments that would not be selected when buying direct equities, though the trustees believe, on the basis of advice received from Investment Managers, that they would constitute an insignificant proportion of the overall portfolio.

For investments with fund managers, the aim is to provide income to meet the immediate needs of the charity and growth of capital and income to mitigate the effects of inflation in the long term; this aim equates to a moderate investment risk. Currently, performance is compared to a composite benchmark that is made up as follows:

Asset class (with current
allocation)		 Performance compared against:
Cash(2.5%) Bank of England Base Rate
UK Gilts(2.5%) ICE BofA UK Gilts All Stocks TR*
Global Sovereign Bonds (3.0%) ICE BofA Global Government TR*
Global Index Linked Bonds(2.5%) ICE BofA Global Inflation Linked Government GBP hedged TR*
UK Corporate Bonds(3.0%) ICE BofA SterlingCorporate & Collateralized GBP hedged TR*
Global Corporate Bonds(6.0%) ICE BofA Global Corporate GBP hedged TR*
UK Equities(24.0%) FTSE All Share TR*
Overseas Equities(44.5%) FTSE All World ex UK TR*
Absolute Return(6.0%) HFRX Absolute Return GBP hedged TR*
Global Property (3.0%) MorningStar Global REITS TR*
Gold(3.0%) Gold LBMA GBP

*TR – Total Return is the return an investor receives when income is reinvested

Not unsurprisingly, markets have experienced a great deal of underperformance and uncertainty. The two main reasons are COVID and the Omicron variant, and the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Both events have had huge effects on the levels of inflation we are experiencing. Omicron has continued to disrupt supply chains and cause havoc in the costs of moving goods around the world. This has led us to pay more for the goods we buy. Secondly, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has had a dramatic effect on the price of energy and will continue to impact food prices. Central Banks have responded to rising inflation by raising interest rates.

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

In terms of performance, energy has been the standout winner; because the Vegetarian Society choose not to invest directly in fossil fuels, the underperformance of the portfolio has been more marked than that of the benchmark. Trustees feel that accepting this short term underperformance has been a responsible and appropriate course of action.

The charity’s shorter-term funds are directly invested into deposit accounts in a way that strikes a balance between maximising the return and having funds available to fund expenditure when needed. An average amount of £321,979 was invested in fixed term and notice accounts in the year, yielding 0.80% in interest, which compares to a yield of 1.25% for the 12 months to 31 March 2021.

FUNDRAISING

The Vegetarian Society receives most of its voluntary income through gifts in wills, regular donations and single donations. Additionally, we support people raising money for our work through crowdfunding campaigns, fundraising appeals and seeking sponsorship for their own challenge events and activities. Several companies also make a donation to our work when a customer signs up to their services through a prescribed link (affinity partnerships).

All of the charity’s fundraising activities are undertaken by our paid staff, who receive regular training and support in gaining professional qualifications with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. We do not have any relationships with external professional fundraisers. We are registered voluntarily with the Fundraising Regulator and adhere to their Code of Fundraising Practice. We had no instances of noncompliance during the year and have received no direct complaints this year in respect of our fundraising activities.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The trustees are responsible for ensuring that the charity has a risk management process through which risks arising from existing operations and strategic developments are identified, evaluated and, where possible, action is taken. The trustees delegate the day-to-day management of risk to the Chief Executive.

The Senior Management Team review the risk register as part of their monthly meetings, identifying new risks, reassessing likelihood and impact, and considering progress against mitigating actions on the register. The outcome of these reviews is reported to trustees at each Council meeting, with a matrix of risks currently being managed and any updates to the key strategic risks.

The risk register identifies control procedures, monitoring processes and actions designed to minimise or manage any potential impact on the charity should any risks materialise

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

CHARITY GOVERNANCE CODE

The charity has adopted the Charity Governance Code, and has applied all recommended standards to its work. An action plan has been drawn up to track progress against the code, and an annual review of this action plan is included in the trustees’ work programme.

In order to address board effectiveness, a new survey was developed and completed by trustees that covered many aspects of how the board work together; the results of that survey were discussed at the November Council meeting. One outcome that came out of this review was a full review of Council’s work and meeting schedule. A similar survey on board effectiveness and subsequent discussion are included on the trustees’ recurring work programme.

The following actions are in place at 31 March 2022 and trustees intend to address them during the coming year:

PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

With the appointment of a new CEO, we now have bold plans for the future. These are underpinned by our new vision, mission and long term aims. In 2022/23 we will develop a new three-year strategy focused on delivering against our long term aims, which in turn will support the production of annual business plans to guide our work.

The Society is aiming to develop and grow its revenue streams, its profile and its impact across the coming three years. This means being focused on income generation, cost control, having a greater media presence and focusing our work on areas that deliver the greatest tangible outcomes and impact.

We want to be a force for good and recognised widely in the UK and internationally for the quality and impact of our work.

A re-design of the organisation is currently underway, with some stages already complete, in line with the following timetable:

Element Date
New vision,mission aims May2022
Organisational restructuring July2022
Review of HQand cookeryschool location Sep2022
Review of internalprocess and systems Sep2022
Development of three-year strategicplan Nov 2022
Review of brand and digital assets Dec 2022
Delivery of newannualbusiness cycle Mar 2023

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

We want to harness the growing levels of interest in vegetarianism and veganism. However, with around 90% of the UK population still eating meat, we critically want to be the organisation of choice for people considering reducing their meat consumption, as a first step. This will probably require a change in brand, look and feel to encourage meat-eaters to see the Society as a natural home for their interests.

Throughout 2022/23, we will seek to increase our income and reduce our expenditure, as the first step in a three-year strategy to achieve a break-even year-end position. We still retain substantial reserves, however, current levels of spend will not continue beyond this year – 2021/22.

We will focus our fund-raising efforts at growing existing areas of income namely:

In addition, we will seek to develop new source of income, as opportunities arise.

THANK YOU

The Vegetarian Society is a charity which relies on supporters, volunteers, members, corporate partners, fundraisers and cookery school students in order to inspire the vegetarian community and reach out to the increasing number of people interested in vegetarian food. The trustees would like to thank everyone who has donated their time, energy and funds, for making the work this year possible. We wouldn’t be here without you.

Fellowship

Trustees consider on an annual basis whether or not to elect to the status of Fellow, a person whom they consider has rendered distinguished service to the vegetarian movement.

No nominations for fellowship were proposed in the year ended 31 March 2022.

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Legacies

We are very grateful to everyone who has left the Vegetarian Society a gift in their will or who is planning to do so. We really value this method of supporting the future of vegetarianism, and it ensures your legacy of compassion lives on. This year we have recognised legacy income in the accounts from the following supporters:

e following supporters:
£
The estate of Tessa Nelson-Humphries 214,706
The estate of James Barnes 110,000
The estate of Peter Whittle 21,750
The estate of Stella Elliot 10,000
The estate of Gillian Newcombe 10,000
The estate of Janet Shorts 9,320
The estate of Audrey Reat 8,000
The estate of Lesley MacDonald 5,000
The estate of Eileen White 4,000
The estate of John Sykes 3,207
The estate of Cynthia Richardson 2,000
The Philadelphia Bible Christian Church 1,803
The estate of Alan Maxwell 1,000

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

The Vegetarian Society is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 29 July 1969 and registered as a charity on 9 September 1969. The charity is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association adopted on 29 July 1969 and last amended on 13 June 2015.

Directors and trustees

The directors of the charitable company are its trustees for the purpose of charity law. The trustees serving throughout the year and since the year end were as follows:

Dale Hoyland (Chair of Council) David Bennett Clare Crowther Michelle Hallmark Michael Harriott Andrew Johnson (Treasurer) Debbie Jones Conn O’Neill (Deputy Chair) Anne Plaskett Sophie Randles-Dunkley

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

The directors of the company are the company members and are therefore, the only people entitled to vote at General Meetings. The liability of the company members is limited to £10, being the amount that each company member undertakes to contribute to the assets of the charity in the event of the charity winding up.

None of the charity’s trustees receive remuneration or benefit from their work with the charity.

Recruitment and appointment of trustees

The charity is governed by a board of up to 12 trustees. Trustees are responsible for directing the affairs of the charity, ensuring that it is solvent, well-run, and delivering the charitable outcomes for the benefit of the public for which it has been set up.

Further to an annual review of skills gaps and trustee places available, trustees will decide if they need to actively recruit board members. A recruitment process is in place with an application form and interview process. The recruitment process is designed to attract a diverse range of candidates that are reflective of the membership of the organisation and the wider vegetarian community, with the skills and experience the charity needs.

The board of trustees

The board of trustees (also known as Council) is legally responsible for directing the affairs of the charity. One third of trustees retire by rotation at each annual general meeting (in addition to trustees who have been appointed between AGMs). Seven Council meetings were held during the year in which trustees reviewed and directed the charity’s strategy, budget and performance. Trustees did not operate any committees during the financial year because all strategic matters were dealt with directly by Council. Trustee indemnity insurance is in place to cover trustees against personal liability if legal claims are made against them, either by the charity or by a third party. Trustees are entitled to be insured against claims that may arise from their legitimate actions as trustees as long as they have acted honestly and reasonably.

Trustee induction and training

New trustees are given an induction to ensure that they are fully briefed on the charity’s strategy and business plan, the Articles of Association, Charity Commission guidance on trustee responsibilities, code of conduct, policy manual and the role of Council. Governance skills are kept up to date by the use of professional subscriptions and training courses.

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Senior management team

The trustees delegate the day-to-day running of the charity to the Chief Executive Officer and Senior Management Team. The Senior Management Team in post during the year were:

Lynne Elliot Chief Executive Officer (to 2 September 2021) Richard McIlwain Chief Executive Officer (from 31 August 2021) Lance Bell Head of Campaigns and Engagement Vanessa Brown Head of Business and Catering Services Antony Byatt Head of Finance Fay Counts Head of Fundraising and Membership Jen Elford Head of Research and Information Sam Platt Head of Cookery School John Soonaye Head of Communications

No employee received employee benefits of £60,000 or more in 2021/22. One employee received employee benefits (excluding employer pension costs) between £60,000 and £70,000 in 2020/21.

The pay of senior management is reviewed annually in accordance with the charity’s pay and reward policy. This policy means that an incremental pay increase is awarded to all staff (except those already at the top of their scale) as long as they have achieved the objectives that were set at the start of the year.

Pay scales for all staff are set by trustees. Local government pay scales, which are extensively used in the voluntary sector, were used as a starting point at 31 March 2021, with trustees agreeing an annual cost of living increase to be applied to them on an annual basis.

Related parties

No trustee or other person related to the charity had a personal interest in any contract or transaction entered into during the year.

The charity has one subsidiary, VSUK Trading Limited, which is currently being retained as a dormant company in order to accommodate any material non-primary purpose activities that may arise in the future.

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Charity Registration Number

259358 (England & Wales)

Company Registration Number

00959115 (England & Wales)

Registered Office

Parkdale Dunham Road Altrincham WA14 4QG

Charity’s Bankers

The Co-operative Bank PLC 1 Balloon Street Manchester M60 4EP

Charity’s Auditors

Charity’s Investment Advisors

Slade & Cooper Beehive Mill Jersey Street Ancoats Manchester M4 6JG Brewin Dolphin 1 The Avenue Spinningfields Square Manchester M3 3AP

The charity does not retain a single firm of solicitors, but contracts a firm with the relevant experience and expertise as and when circumstances require it.

27

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

REPORT OF THE TRUSTEES

YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

STATEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE TRUSTEES

The trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the trustees’ annual report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable group and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable group for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable group and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Insofar as the trustees are aware:

This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime of the Companies Act 2006.

This report was approved by the Board of Trustees on 13 July 2022 and signed on its behalf by:

Dale Hoyland, Chair Parkdale, Dunham Road, Altrincham, WA14 4QG

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED (CONTINUED)

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of the Vegetarian Society of the United Kingdom Limited (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries for the year ended 31 March 2022, which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (including the income and expenditure account), the Balance Sheets of the group and the parent charitable company, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes. 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 and charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the group’s or parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.

Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED (CONTINUED)

Other information

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

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether there is a material misstatement in the financial statements or a material misstatement of the other information. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matter 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 our knowledge and understanding of the group and parent charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors’ report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Act 2011 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

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THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED (CONTINUED)

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement set out on page 28, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees 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 trustees are responsible for assessing the group’s and parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the group or parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The specific procedures for this engagement and the extent to which these are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

• auditing the risk of management override of controls, including through testing journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness, and evaluating the business rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of business.

Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to a material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with a law or regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.

31

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

INDEPENDENT AUDITOR’S REPORT TO THE MEMBERS AND TRUSTEES OF THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED (CONTINUED)

A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/Our-Work/Audit/Audit-and-assurance/Standards-and-guidance/Standards-andguidance-for-auditors/Auditors-responsibilities-for-audit/Description-of-auditors-responsibilities-foraudit.aspx. 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 charitable company’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members and its trustees 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.

Christy Yun Hing Lau FCCA DChA CTA Senior Statutory Auditor

for and on behalf of Slade & Cooper Limited Statutory Auditors Beehive Mill Jersey Street Manchester M4 6JG

Date: 15[th] December 2022

Slade & Cooper Limited is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

32

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES AND INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Notes
INCOME:
Donations and legacies
3
Charitable activities
4
Other trading activities
5
Investments
6
Other
7
Total income
EXPENDITURE:
Raising funds
8
Charitable activities
9
Total expenditure
Net income before gains /
(losses) on investments
Net gains / (losses) on
investments
Net income / (expenditure) and
net movement in funds for the
year
Transfers
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds at 1 April 2021
Total funds at 31 March 2022		 Unrestricted
Funds
£
682,448
83,121
536,267
13,516
7,013
1,322,365
163,405
1,200,268
1,363,673
(41,308)
18,658
(22,650)
(1,293)
(23,943)
2,278,422
2,254,479		 Restricted
Funds
£
31,620
27,000
-
-
-
58,620
-
134,679
134,679
(76,059)
-
(76,059)
1,293
(74,766)
191,197
116,431		 Total
2022
£
714,068
110,121
536,267
13,516
7,013
1,380,985
163,405
1,334,947
1,498,352
(117,367)
18,658
(98,709)
-
(98,709)
2,469,619
2,370,910		 Total
2021
£
629,781
130,091
527,715
17,710
7,470
1,312,767
150,007
1,248,769
1,398,776
(86,009)
199,248
113,239
-
113,239
2,356,380
2,469,619

33

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES AND INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

NOTE OF HISTORICAL COST SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) – CURRENT YEAR
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
2022
£
£
£
Net income / (expenditure) and net
movement in funds for the year
(23,943)
(74,766)
(98,709)
Realisation of investment revaluation
gains / (losses) of previous years
26,428
-
26,428
Historical cost surplus / (deficit)
for the year
24,485
(74,766)
(72,281)
NOTE OF HISTORICAL COST SURPLUS / (DEFICIT) – PREVIOUS YEAR
Unrestricted
Restricted
Total
Funds
Funds
2021
£
£
£
Net income / (expenditure) and net
movement in funds for the year
85,589
27,650
113,239
Realisation of investment revaluation
(losses) / gains of previous years
(1,047)
-
(1,047)
Historical cost surplus / (deficit)
for the year
84,542
27,650
112,192		 Total
2021
£
113,239
(1,047)
112,192
Total
2020
£
(587,210)
22,787
(564,423)

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derives from continuing activities.

34

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEET AS AT 31 MARCH 2022

Notes
FIXED ASSETS
Intangible assets
16
Tangible assets
17
Investments
18
CURRENT ASSETS
Stock
20
Debtors
21
Investments
22
Cash at bank and in hand
LIABILITIES:
Creditors: amounts falling
due in less than one year
23
Net current assets
Total assets less current
liabilities
FUNDS:
Restricted funds
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS:
Designated funds
General fund
Total charity funds
25		 Group
2022
2021
£
£
-
-
867,567
909,870
890,052
889,385
1,757,619
1,799,255
5,986
10,123
342,647
313,284
310,291
394,400
385,119
357,867
1,044,043
1,075,674
(430,752)
(405,310)
613,291
670,364
2,370,910
2,469,619
116,431
191,197
1,111,669
1,475,231
1,142,810
803,191
2,370,910
2,469,619		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
-
-
867,569
909,870
890,052
889,387
1,757,621
1,799,257
5,986
10,123
342,647
313,284
310,291
394,400
385,119
357,867
1,044,043
1,075,674
(431,790)
(406,348)
612,253
669,326
2,369,874
2,468,583
116,431
191,197
1,111,669
1,475,231
1,141,774
802,155
2,369,874
2,468,583		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
-
-
867,569
909,870
890,052
889,387
1,757,621
1,799,257
5,986
10,123
342,647
313,284
310,291
394,400
385,119
357,867
1,044,043
1,075,674
(431,790)
(406,348)
612,253
669,326
2,369,874
2,468,583
116,431
191,197
1,111,669
1,475,231
1,141,774
802,155
2,369,874
2,468,583
1,799,257
10,123
313,284
394,400
357,867
1,075,674
(406,348)
669,326
2,468,583
191,197
1,475,231
802,155
2,468,583

These accounts are prepared in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies and constitute the annual accounts required by the Companies Act 2006 and are for circulation to members of the company.

Approved by the trustees on 13 July 2022 and signed on their behalf by:

Andrew Johnson, Treasurer

The notes on pages 37 to 55 form part of the financial statements.

35

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

CONSOLIDATED CASH FLOW STATEMENT FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Notes
Cash provided by / (used in) operating activities
(a)
Cash flows from investing activities
Investment income
Purchase of tangible fixed assets
Purchase of investments
Proceeds from sale of investments
Cash provided by investing activities
Increase / (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year
NOTES TO THE CASH FLOW STATEMENT
(a) Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net
cash outflow from operating activities
Net movement in funds
Depreciation charge
(Gains) / losses on investments
Investment income
(Increase) / decrease in stock
(Increase) / decrease in debtors
Increase / (decrease) in creditors
(b) Analysis of cash and cash equivalents at the
end of the year
Included in cash at bank and in hand		 2022
£
(76,726)
13,516
(11,638)
(489,132)
591,232
103,978
27,252
357,867
385,119
2022
£
(98,709)
53,941
(18,658)
(13,516)
4,137
(29,363)
25,442
(76,726)
2022
£
385,119		 2021
£
(157,572)
17,710
(3,190)
(207,886)
277,556
84,190
(73,382)
431,249
357,867
2021
£
113,239
57,786
(199,248)
(17,710)
5,199
(129,780)
12,942
(157,572)
2021
£
357,867

36

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

1. ACCOUNTING POLICIES

The principal accounting policies adopted, judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty in the preparation of the financial statements are as follows:

a) Basis of preparation of group financial statements

The Vegetarian Society is a public benefit entity. 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 UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) issued on 16 July 2014 (as updated through Update Bulletin 1 published on 2 February 2016 and Update Bulletin 2 published on 5 October 2018), the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Companies Act 2006 and UK Generally Accepted Accounting Practice. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy note.

b) Preparation of the accounts on a going concern basis

The trustees consider that no material uncertainties exist about the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern.

c) Group financial statements

The financial statements consolidate the results of the charity and its wholly owned subsidiary, VSUK Trading Limited, on a line-by-line basis. A separate Statement of Financial Activities and Income and Expenditure Account for the charity has not been presented because advantage has been taken of the exemption afforded by section 408 of the Companies Act 2006.

d) Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the charity.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds which have been earmarked for specific purposes as decided by the trustees; details of these funds are given in note 25.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors.

37

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

e) Incoming resources

Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the items of income have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income:

Income from grants, whether ‘capital’ grants or ‘revenue’ grants, is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably and is not deferred.

For legacies, 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(s) to the Trust 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, and the criteria for income recognition have not been met, then the legacy is treated as a contingent asset and disclosed if material.

Incoming resources are stated net of VAT.

f) Donated services and facilities

Donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised as income when the charity has control over the item, any conditions associated with the donated item have been met, the receipt of economic benefit from the use by the charity of the item is probable and that economic benefit can be measured reliably. In accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102), general volunteer time is not recognised; more information about their contribution is given in the Trustees’ annual report.

On receipt, donated professional services and donated facilities are recognised on the basis of the value of the gift to the charity which is the amount the charity would have been willing to pay to obtain services or facilities of equivalent economic benefit on the open market; a corresponding amount is then recognised in expenditure in the period of receipt.

38

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

g) Resources expended

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified under the following activity headings:

Irrecoverable VAT is charged as a cost against the activity for which the expenditure was incurred.

h) Grant making activities

Grant making activities are payments made by the charity to institutions to enable them to further the purposes of the charity on its behalf. Such expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably, and includes associated support costs.

i) Allocation of support costs

Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include staff costs (e.g. salaries, training and recruitment), premises costs (e.g. maintenance, rates, insurance and utilities), administrative costs (e.g. printing, postage and telephone), IT costs and depreciation. These costs have been allocated between cost of raising funds and expenditure on charitable activities on the basis of head count.

j) Operating leases

Rentals payable under operating leases are charged on a straight line basis over the term of the lease.

k) Taxation

The charity is exempt from UK Corporation Tax. However its subsidiary is not similarly exempt.

l) Intangible fixed assets

Intangible assets are included at cost and capitalised where the individual amount is over £250. Depreciation is calculated to write off the cost less estimated residual value of intangible fixed assets over their estimated useful life on the following basis:

Trademarks – 15% straight line

39

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

m) Depreciation and tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are included at cost or valuation and capitalised where the individual amount is more than £250.

Website costs are capitalised to the extent that they relate to income-generating activities.

Depreciation is calculated to write off the cost or revalued amount less any estimated residual value of fixed assets over their estimated useful life on the following basis:

Computer equipment – 33% straight line Fixtures, fittings and equipment – 15% straight line Buildings – 2% straight line

n) Fixed asset investments

Investments (other than cash investments) are stated in the balance sheet at market value. Profits / losses on investments which have been realised on disposal, together with interest and dividends are reflected in the surplus / deficit for the year on the income & expenditure account. Unrealised profits / losses are retained in the investment revaluation reserve on the balance sheet until such time as they are realised.

Cash investments that are due to mature in over one year from the balance sheet date are also shown under investments.

o) Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value.

p) Debtors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.

q) Current asset investments

Current asset investments include cash and other investments that are due to mature in less than one year or in more than three months from the balance sheet date.

r) Cash at bank and in hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and other investments that are due to mature in three months or less from the balance sheet date.

s) Creditors and provisions

Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

40

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

t) Pensions

The charity contributes to a group pension scheme on behalf of its employees. The pension charge represents the contributions payable by the charity in the year.

u) Financial instruments

The charity only has financial assets and liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value.

2. LEGAL STATUS OF THE CHARITY

The charity is a company limited by guarantee registered in England and Wales, and has no share capital. In the event of the charity being wound up, the liability in respect of the guarantee is limited to £10 per member of the charity. The registered address is disclosed on page 27.

3. INCOME FROM DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

Gifts and
donations
Membership
income
Legacies		 Unrestricted
Restricted
2022
Unrestricted
Restricted
2021
£
£
£
£
£
£
83,216
31,620
114,836
59,871
40,126
99,997
193,434
-
193,434
202,471
-
202,471
405,798
-
405,798
327,313
-
327,313
682,448
31,620
714,068
589,655
40,126
629,781

4. INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted
Restricted
2022
Unrestricted
Restricted
£
£
£
£
£
Cookery school
72,074
-
72,074
7,008
-
Grants
-
27,000
27,000
-
109,994
Advertising
income
4,047
-
4,047
4,589
-
Education and
campaigning
7,000
-
7,000
8,500
-
83,121
27,000
110,121
20,097
109,994
5. INCOME FROM OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
2022
£
Approved trademark sales
535,031
Merchandise income
1,236
536,267		 Unrestricted
Restricted
2022
Unrestricted
Restricted
£
£
£
£
£
Cookery school
72,074
-
72,074
7,008
-
Grants
-
27,000
27,000
-
109,994
Advertising
income
4,047
-
4,047
4,589
-
Education and
campaigning
7,000
-
7,000
8,500
-
83,121
27,000
110,121
20,097
109,994
5. INCOME FROM OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES
2022
£
Approved trademark sales
535,031
Merchandise income
1,236
536,267		 2021
£
7,008
109,994
4,589
8,500
130,091
2022
£
535,031
1,236
536,267		 2021
£
525,500
2,215
527,715

41

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

6. INVESTMENT INCOME
Bank and building society interest
Dividends received
7. OTHER INCOME
Affinity products commission
8. EXPENDITURE ON RAISING FUNDS
Fundraising costs
Staff costs
Direct fundraising costs
Support costs
Merchandise
Cost of merchandise sold
Investment management costs
Fees for portfolio management
Total		 2022
£
2,611
10,905

13,516
2022
£
7,013
7,013
2022
£
72,011
27,147
51,805
150,963
3,227
9,215
163,405		 2021
£
5,138
12,572
17,710
2021
£
7,470
7,470
2021
£
61,015
29,280
49,747
140,042
2,751
7,214
150,007

42

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

9. EXPENDITURE ON CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES
Approved trademark sales
Staff costs
Marketing
IT costs
Legal and professional
Subscriptions
Support costs
Cookery school
Staff costs
Direct course costs
Delivery of charitable courses
Marketing
Repairs and consumables
IT costs
Depreciation
Finance charges
Sundry expenses
Support costs
Education and campaigning
Staff costs
Direct campaign and engagement costs
PR costs
Depreciation
IT costs
Support costs
Membership services
Staff costs
Content and magazine costs
Direct membership costs
Finance charges
Support costs		 2022
£
115,709
16,887
6,512
3,533
339
78,743
221,723
57,227
22,865
2,400
32,830
7,101
3,612
3,125
1,461
771
30,253
161,645
279,219
122,631
11,377
28,868
21,517
167,229
630,841
76,100
44,217
1,243
404
62,166
184,130		 2021
£
115,190
199
6,468
4,112
605
75,615
202,189
56,715
7,301
18
30,319
1,532
2,656
3,274
250
531
33,231
135,827
278,494
127,624
6,912
28,868
9,201
154,213
605,312
81,642
35,213
4,875
856
59,696
182,282

43

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Expert information and support
Staff costs
Direct research costs
Support costs
Total
Restricted expenditure
Unrestricted expenditure
10. ANALYSIS OF SUPPORT COSTS
Staff costs
Premises expenses
Management and finance
Equipment and IT
Postage, telephone and stationery
Depreciation
Governance costs
Allocated as follows:
Fundraising costs
Membership services
Approved trademark sales
Cookery School
Education and campaigning
Expert information and support
Total
11. ANALYSIS OF GOVERNANCE COSTS
Staff costs relating to governance
Trustee costs
Audit fees
Legal and consultancy fees
Total		 72,506
22,659
41,443
136,608
1,334,947
2022
£
134,679
1,200,268
1,334,947
2022
£
223,811
52,296
52,686
47,669
11,325
21,947
21,905
431,639
51,805
62,166
78,743
30,253
167,229
41,443
431,639
2022
£
15,038
3,241
3,626
-
21,905		 69,835
13,526
39,798
123,159
1,248,769
2021
£
122,470
1,126,299
1,248,769
2021
£
236,091
40,981
36,898
43,573
10,361
25,643
18,753
412,300
49,747
59,696
75,615
33,231
154,213
39,798
412,300
2021
£
15,014
113
3,626
-
18,753

44

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

12. NET INCOMING / (EXPENDITURE) FOR THE YEAR

This is stated after charging:
Depreciation of tangible assets
Amortisation of intangible assets
Loss on disposal of fixed assets
Payments under operating leases – fixtures, fittings and equipment
Auditors' remuneration		 2022
£
53,941
-
-
2,449
3,600		 2021
£
57,786
-
-
2,449
3,600

13. ANALYSIS OF STAFF COSTS, TRUSTEE REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES, AND THE COST OF KEY MANAGEMENT PERSONNEL

Wages and salaries
Social security costs
Employer’s contribution to a defined contribution pension scheme
Allocated as follows:
Expenditure on raising funds:

Fundraising
Membership
Expenditure on charitable activities:
Approved trademark sales
Cookery School
Education and campaigning
Expert information and support
Support and governance costs:
Support
Governance		 2022
£
799,396
72,057
40,168

911,621
2022
£
72,011
76,100

115,709
57,227
279,219
72,506
223,811
15,038
911,621		 2021
£
800,943
72,228
40,825
913,996
2021
£
61,015
81,642
115,190
56,715
278,494
69,835
236,091
15,014
913,996

No employee received employee benefits (excluding pension contributions) exceeding £60,000 in the current year One employee received employee benefits (excluding pension contributions) between £60,000 and £70,000 in the previous year; employer pension contributions of £3,123 were made into a defined contribution scheme in respect of that employee.

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and the Senior Management Team, whose names are listed in the Trustees’ Report. The total amount of remuneration paid to the Senior Management Team for the year (including employer’s national insurance and pension costs) was £388,734 (2021 - £375,613).

45

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

14. STAFF NUMBERS

The average number of employees, analysed by function, was:

The average number of employees, analysed by function, was:

Fundraising
Membership services
Education and campaigning
Expert information and support
Approved trademark sales
Cookery School
Management, finance and administration		 2022
Number
2
3
8
2
4
1
7

27		 2021
Number
2
3
8
2
4
2
7
28

15. TRUSTEES’ REMUNERATION AND EXPENSES

2022 2021 2022 2021
Number Number £ £
claiming claiming
Travel and subsistence 7 0 2,132 0

None of the members of the Board of Trustees received any remuneration during this year or last year.

16. INTANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS – GROUP AND COMPANY

Trademarks
£
Cost
At 1 April 2021 27,508
Additions
-
At 31 March 2022
27,508
Amortisation
At 1 April 2021
27,508
Charge for the year
-
At 31 March 2022
27,508
Net book value
At 31 March 2022 -
At 31 March 2021 -

46

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

17. TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS – GROUP AND COMPANY

Cost or valuation
At 1 April 2021
Additions
Disposals
Revaluation
At 31 March 2022
Depreciation
At 1 April 2021
Charge for the year
Disposals
Revaluation
At 31 March 2022
Net book value
At 31 March 2022
At 31 March 2021		 Freehold
property
£
1,000,000
-
-
-
1,000,000
149,333
16,000
-
-
165,333
834,667
850,667		 Fixtures,
Fittings &
equipment
£
155,876
2,379
-
-
158,255
129,816
7,199
-
-
137,015
21,240
26,060		 Computer
equipment
£
134,111
9,259
-
-
143,370
100,968
30,742
-
-
131,710
11,660
33,143		 Total
£
1,289,987
11,638
-
-
1,301,625
380,117
53,941
-
-
434,058
867,567
909,870

Included in the value of £834,667 above for freehold property are gross depreciable buildings at a value of £634,667.

All the assets are used by the charity.

18. INVESTMENTS – FIXED ASSETS
Cost or valuation
Market value at 1 April 2021
Additions
Transfer from current asset investments
Transfer to current asset investments
Disposals
Net investment gains / (losses)
Market value at 31 March 2022
Historical cost at 31 March 2022		 Group
2022
2021
£
£
889,385
708,464
387,046
75,879
-
-
-
-
(405,037)
(94,206)
18,658
199,248
890,052
889,385
767,196
714,199		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
889,387
708,466
387,046
75,879
-
-
-
-
(405,037)
(94,206)
18,658
199,248
890,054
889,387
767,198
714,201		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
889,387
708,466
387,046
75,879
-
-
-
-
(405,037)
(94,206)
18,658
199,248
890,054
889,387
767,198
714,201
889,387
714,201

47

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Investments at market value are represented by:

UK fixed interest bonds and deposits
UK equities
Overseas fixed interest bonds and deposits
Overseas equities
Global collective investments
UK property investment trusts
Commodities
Other investments
Investment in trading subsidiary		 Group
2022
2021
£
£
55,914
107,564
213,425
278,996
67,552
-
396,406
360,399
121,106
124,666
21,114
17,760
9,168
-
5,367
-
-
-
890,052
889,385		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
55,914
107,564
213,425
278,996
67,552
-
396,406
360,399
121,106
124,666
21,114
17,760
9,168
-
5,367
-
2
2
890,052
889,387		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
55,914
107,564
213,425
278,996
67,552
-
396,406
360,399
121,106
124,666
21,114
17,760
9,168
-
5,367
-
2
2
890,052
889,387
889,387

19. RESULTS FROM SUBSIDIARY’S TRADING ACTIVITIES

The charity has one wholly owned trading subsidiary VSUK (Trading) Limited, whose details at 31 March 2022 are as follows:

Name Country of Class of shares held Percentage held by the
incorporation company
VSUK Trading Limited England Ordinary 100

Until 1 April 2012, the activity of VSUK Trading Limited was the promotion of the Vegetarian Society’s “Approved” trademark. These activities were transferred to the Vegetarian Society with effect from 1 April 2012, with VSUK Trading Limited being retained as a dormant subsidiary.

The Group Balance Sheet excludes £2 in relation to shares held in the subsidiary, VSUK Trading Limited.

20. STOCKS
Goods for resale		 Group
2022
2021
£
£
5,986
10,123		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
5,986
10,123

48

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

21. DEBTORS
Group
2022
2021
£
£
Amounts falling due within one year:-
Trade debtors
103,201
99,625
Prepayments
55,409
55,281
Accrued income
183,792
157,863
Other debtors
245
515
342,647
313,284
22. INVESTMENTS – CURRENT ASSETS
Group
2022
2021
£
£
Cost at 1 April 2021
394,400
445,743
Additions
102,086
132,007
Transfer from fixed asset investments
-
-
Transfer to fixed asset investments
-
-
Transfer to cash at bank and in hand
-
-
Disposals
(186,195)
(183,350)
Cost at 31 March 2022
310,291
394,400
Investments at market value are represented by:
Group
2022
2021
£
£
Bank deposits
310,291
394,400
23. CREDITORS
Group
2022
2021
£
£
Trade creditors
18,435
17,286
Social security and other taxes
39,304
32,787
Accruals
54,581
48,583
Deferred income
313,176
300,900
Other creditors
5,256
5,754
Amounts owed to group
undertakings
-
-
430,752
405,310		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
103,201
99,625
55,409
55,281
183,792
157,863
245
515
342,647
313,284
Charity
2022
2021
£
£
394,400
445,743
102,086
132,007
-
-
-
-
-
-
(186,195)
(183,350)
310,291
394,400
Charity
2022
2021
£
£
310,291
394,400
Charity
2022
2021
£
£
18,435
17,286
39,304
32,787
54,581
48,583
313,176
300,900
5,256
5,754
1,038
1,038
430,752
406,348		 Charity
2022
2021
£
£
103,201
99,625
55,409
55,281
183,792
157,863
245
515
342,647
313,284
Charity
2022
2021
£
£
394,400
445,743
102,086
132,007
-
-
-
-
-
-
(186,195)
(183,350)
310,291
394,400
Charity
2022
2021
£
£
310,291
394,400
Charity
2022
2021
£
£
18,435
17,286
39,304
32,787
54,581
48,583
313,176
300,900
5,256
5,754
1,038
1,038
430,752
406,348
406,348

49

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

24. DEFERRED INCOME
Balance at 1 April 2021
Amount released to incoming
resources
Amount deferred in the year
Balance at 31 March 2022
Deferred income comprises:		 Group
£
300,900
(300,900)
313,176
313,176		 Charity
£
300,900
(300,900)
313,176
313,176

50

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

25a. RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN ACCUMULATED FUNDS – CURRENT YEAR

Restricted funds
Supporting veganism (a)
Sahara project (b)
Young carers’ project (c)
Food box appeal (d)
Cookery school restart
grant (e)
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS:
Designated funds
Property and equipment
fund
Buildings maintenance fund
Projects fund
General fund
Total funds		 At 1 April
2021
£
107,612
724
802
82,059
-
191,197
909,870
100,000
465,361
1,475,231
803,191
2,278,422
2,469,619		 Incoming
resources
(incl
gains)
£
-
-
-
40,620
18,000
58,620
-
-
-
-
1,341,023

1,341,023

1,399,643
 Outgoing
resources
(incl
losses)
£
(16,508)
-
-
(100,171)
(18,000)
(134,679)
-
-
(251,298)
(251,298)
(1,112,375)
(1,363,673)
(1,498,352)		 Transfers
£
1,293
-
-
-
-
1,293
(42,303)
-
(69,961)
(112,264)
110,971
(1,293)
-		 At 31
March
2022
£
92,397
724
802
22,508
-
116,431
867,567
100,000
144,102
1,111,669
1,142,810
2,254,479
2,370,910

51

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

25b. RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN ACCUMULATED FUNDS – PREVIOUS YEAR

Restricted funds
Supporting veganism (a)
Sahara project (b)
Young carers’ project (c)
Food box appeal (d)
UNRESTRICTED FUNDS:
Designated funds
Property and equipment
fund
Buildings maintenance fund
Projects fund
Operational management
fund
General fund
Total funds		 At 1 April
2020
£
134,160
724
802
26,052
161,738
964,466
172,502
555,472
-
1,692,440
502,202
2,194,642
2,356,380		 Incoming
resources
(incl
gains)
£
-
-
-
150,120
150,120
-
-
-
1,162,647
1,162,647
202,570
1,365,217

1,515,337		 Outgoing
resources
(incl
losses)
£
(28,357)
-
-
(94,113)
(122,470)
-
(8,273)
(249,081)
(1,011,738)
(1,269,092)
(10,536)
(1,279,628)
(1,402,098)		 Transfers
£
1,809
-
-
-
1,809
(54,596)
(64,229)
158,970
(150,909)
(110,764)
108,955
(1,809)
-		 At 31
March
2021
£
107,612
724
802
82,059
191,197
909,870
100,000
465,361
-
1,475,231
803,191
2,278,422
2,469,619

52

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

Restricted funds

(a) The charity was bequeathed a legacy in 2013 with a value of £397,064. In accordance with a request in the will, this will be used to support veganism. £16,508 of this fund has been spent in 2021/22, made up of:

£318,113 of this fund was spent in previous years; this brings the total amount of expenditure from the fund to date to £334,621.

(b) A crowdfunding campaign took place in December 2019 to raise funds for Sahara Women's Aid project, which helps women who are living with, or fleeing domestic abuse. Funds raised will fund two cookery courses, the first of which was held in February 2020. A second course was held shortly after the year end, in May 2022.

(c) A crowdfunding campaign took place in January 2020 to raise funds for a vegetarian cookery class for young carers. Sufficient funds have been raised to hold one such class, which was held shortly after the year end, in April 2022.

(d) As part of the reprioritising of our work in light of the COVID-19 situation, we started an appeal to raise funds to enable us to get vegetarian food boxes into food banks. During the year ended 31 March 2022, grant funding of £9,000 was received from Stroud District Council, and donations from the public of £31,620 were also received. Fundraising and delivery work on this project continues in the 2022/23 financial year.

(e) A grant of £18,000 was received to assist with the reopening of the cookery school further to its enforced closure due to COVID.

(f) Interest is being accrued on these funds at a rate equivalent to the average rate received on fixed term deposits during the year, which was 1.25% for the year ended 31 March 2022.

Designated funds

The property and equipment fund is a designated reserve representing the amount of the charity’s funds that are locked up in freehold land and buildings and other fixed assets which are needed for operational purposes.

Buildings maintenance fund: an estimate of £100,000 is set aside to provide for major unexpected and uninsured property maintenance.

Project fund: funds have been designated to ensure that key pieces of work can be delivered over the next few years. Details of this work are included under “Achievements and Performance” and “Plans for the Future”.

Operational management fund: in the previous year, the charity planned for its ongoing work to be financed by ongoing income. Ongoing income and expenditure is shown separately in this fund, with the resulting deficit for the year being funded by a transfer from reserves at the end of the year.

53

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

General fund

As at 31 March 2022, the balance of reserves in the general fund amounts to £1,142,810, of which £530,000 is required to be retained to satisfy the requirements of the charity’s reserves policy.

Included in the general fund is an investment revaluation reserve of £122,856 which represents the amount by which the market value of investments held at the year exceeds their cost. At 31 March 2021, the market value of investments was £175,186 higher than their original cost.

26a. ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS – CURRENT YEAR

Fixed assets
Cash at bank and in hand
Other net current assets		 General
Fund
£
1,142,810
-
-
1,142,810		 Designated
Funds
£
614,809
268,688
228,172
1,111,669		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
116,431
-
116,431		 Total
£
1,757,619
385,119
228,172
2,370,910

26b. ANALYSIS OF GROUP NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS – PREVIOUS YEAR

Fixed assets
Cash at bank and in hand
Other net current assets		 General
Fund
£
803,191
-
-
803,191		 Designated
Funds
£
996,064
166,670
312,497
1,475,231		 Restricted
Funds
£
-
191,197
-
191,197		 Total
£
1,799,255
357,867
312,497
2,469,619

27. OTHER FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS

At 31 March 2022, the total of future minimum lease payments under non-
cancellable operating leases was as follows:
Fixtures, fittings and equipment
Within 1 year
Within 2 to 5 years
More than 5 years		 2022
2021
£
£
2,448
2,449
2,943
5,391
-
-

54

THE VEGETARIAN SOCIETY OF THE UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED

NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 MARCH 2022

28. CONTINGENT ASSETS

The Vegetarian Society is entitled to receive an income distribution from the estate of John Sykes until 2063, at which point the capital value of the estate will be distributed. Based on current values, the Vegetarian Society’s entitlement to a capital distribution will be approximately £260,000. This income has not been recognised in the financial statements; because the capital payment occurs so far in the future, it is not considered possible to value the income that will be received with any degree of certainty.

The Vegetarian Society has been bequeathed a 20% share in the estate of Janet Shorts, which has an estimated value of £50,000; although this will not be received until a life interest has expired. Because the timing and amount of the legacy are uncertain, this is not currently included in the accounts.

55