Lakeland Horticultural Society ANNUAL REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS for the 16 months ended 31" December 2025 Registered Charity No. 259847
THE LAKELAND HORTICULTURAL SOCIErY Annual Report and Financial Statements for the 16 months ended 31st December 2025 CONTENTS Page Trustees, Annual Report= Officer5 and Trustees of the Society Report from the ChaInan of Trustees Financial Report Strurture, Governance and Management Activities Achievements and Perfonnance Independent Examinerfs Report 13 Statement of Financial Activities 14 Balance Sheet 15 Notes to the Financial Statements 16-21 Address: Holehird Garden5 Patterdale Road Windermere LA23 INP Registered Charity No. 259847
President Peter Hoggarth Vice-Pre5idents John Ashley Christopher Brickell CBE VMH Lord Cavendish of Furness DL John Davenport Lady Cressida Inglewood. Countess of Lonsdale John D Main NDH DHE FIHort Shelagh Newman MarBaretThomas Shelagh Todd Council of Trustees Offir$. Chairman= Alan Gerrard Victrchairman: vacant Garden Coordinator: vucant Hon Secretary: Sue Buckingham Hon Treasurer: Tony Willey Members: Pauline Aldous Charles Bulman Sarah Burgess Hayley Davidson Alan Dickinson Loma Hillmann Alison Sanford Stephen Sharp Registered Charity No. 259847
Report from the Chairman of Trustees- Alan Gerrard Walking into the walled garden mid-January and already signs of plant growth,. on the East bed (where I garden less frequently nowl) the reliable Narcissus 'Rijnveld's Early Sensation, has colour although not quite fully out and a few flowers have been spotted on our Daphne odora aureomarginata. It's been a waiting game with this Daphne. Already in the soil for 4 years there was great excitement when we spotted a few flowers hidden away last year. Let's hope this year will be the one when we finally get a show to talk about. Council meetings have been focussing on activities with less of a horticultural theme, and more on significant projects that will support our members and our visitors over a long time period. We are going through a period where there will be significant change. I wrote in my last update that Members and Council had agreed to submit our new Constitution to the Charity Commission. I'm pleased to let you know the Charity Commission confirmed the registration of the Lakeland Horticultural Society as a Charitable Incorporated Organisation on the 15th Dember 2025. The two LHS Charities will run in parallel until all the actions post registration are completed which include amongst others.. informing external parties of the change in our status., re-registering for Gift Aid,. updating our standing orders., and the transfer of assets to the CIO_ The final step will take place at the AGM on Saturday 11th April when we will complete all the activities for the last financial year of the original Charity and then close it down. We wll continue with our current Trustees in the new CIO until we hold the first AGM in April 2027, when we are required to start the three-year cycle of one third of Trustees resigning. IT has featured heavily in Council meetings too. An audit of programmes and equipment related to the use of IT has been completed and the recommendations from the audit are now being implemented. Priority has been given to resolving email issues. Council is aware that Members using Gmail have not bn getting emails from the LHS., it is now clear that this has been triggered by email providers using filters to prevent bulk emails (spam) arriving in their customers Inboxes. I hope in the near future (if not by the time you read this) we will have resolved this issue. Council acknowledges it is not acptable for Members to miss out on regular communication from the LHS. On a different note, and more directly related to the Journal, Council asked the Publications team to investigate publishing the Journal electronically. This is in response to rising printing and postal costs which are now a high proportion of the cost of services to Members. In January's Council meeting we were able to see and use the proposed solution. I was very pleased with the look and ease of use of the e-Journal', searching, scrolling and using the App was very easy. Trustees also commented on the clarity of the text and images. We would like to let Members see what it would look like and how easy it is to use over the next few months and get any feedback from them. We'll do that by providing a laptop in the social area during tealcoffee breaks whenever we can. I know some of you may still want to receive a paper copy and we'll do our best to continue that service as long as we can. We are still discussing how to archive and make the E-Journal available after publication. Regular visitors and users of the LHS social facilities will know that the existing building is showing its age. Built to replace a temporary structure in 1981, this building is well past its sell-buy date and probably past its use-by date! Much as we may love this building, we Registered Charity No. 259847
must recognise that it's draughty, under insulated and letting in water in places. It must come down and be replaced by a more modern structure capable of supporting solar panels and reducing the heating costs. It will be no simple matter to identify a solution that satisfies our needs and comes in within budget. The project team is busy looking at possible solutions, one of which was presented to Council in January. The team is now in the iterative phase of reducing costs to meet our budget. on we have an outline design that meets all our requirements, the project team will display drawings for Members to see. Should everything go to plan, the demolition and rebuild will take place over the winter months when visitor numbers and active gardening are at their lowest. There are proposals to provide aCsS to the labelling room and library during the build, and temporary social facilities will be made available for Members. This is no small undertaking for the Society and l ask that you remain patient when your nomial aCS to the garden and facilities are being impeded. The keen eyed amongst you will have seen a second visit to Holehird by the BBC last year. This time Roger Johnson from BBC North West Tonight visited the gardens under the theme of Autumn colour. The garden shots were largely done with a drone camera, and I was struck by the quality of the pictures from such a small piece of equipment, which was casually taken out of the camerawoman's pocket, unfolded and flown in secondsl Despite Ft being 'driech' weather the garden looked great. We were able to land all the key messages about the Society in the short time we had. We had expected to only be on air locally but few days later it was shown on national BBC breakfast and lunchtime shows. More very welcome exposure of our wonderful gardens. Finally, I want to acknowledge the death of our President Peter Hogarth last year. Many of you will know this already but I wanted to record this in my Annual Report in recognition of his contribution to the Society. Treasurer's Report- Tony Willey As other have mentioned, 2025 was a record year for visitor donations thanks to publicity and the fine spring weather. Unfortunately. this has not translated into a large surplus as inflation and the cost of maintaining our ageing infrastructure has resulted in a modest surplus of £29,000. Maintenance costs have doubled Sin 2020 despite much of the work being carried out by our volunteers. We are fortunate to have substantial cash reserves. These reserves have mostly come from generous legacies and donations by members and others, around £700,000 since the Millennium. The first stage of work on the main building cost £180,000, leaving £570,000 cash reserves at the year end and further substantial inroads will be made with the planned second phase. It is to be hoped that members will be equally generous in future. The possibility of grant funding for major projects will also be investigated. The increasing cost of producing our exlIent members, journal has been a concern for some time. The proportion of membership subscriptions available to help fund the gardens has halved since 2019, largely due to escalating postage costs. A single copy of the journal currently costs £6 to £8 to print, assemble and post depending on content. The introduction of a digital version as part of a general move to electronic communication is an obvious answer. Registered Charity No. 259847
The requested donation from visitors was increased from £5 to £6 in 2025 and will increase again to £7 in 2027. The insidious effect of inflation means that £7 next year will only have the same real value as £5 had when it was introduced in 2018. That £5 was a convenient figure when most donations were in cash and with hindsight we held onto it for too long. Almost 50 % of visrtor income is by contactless card these days and there is less need to aim for a round figure. Please note that due to the change in year end. the reported financial figures cover a period of 16 months. Structure, Governance and Management The Society is a registered charity governed by a constitution approved by the membership, and last modified by the AGM of Dernber 2021. Its objects are to promote and develop the science, practice and art of horticulture, with special referen to the conditions prevailing in the Lake District, and within that area to promote and facilitate cooperation between all horticultural organisations and to serve the interests of all horticulturalists. The management and administration of the Society is conducted by its Council, whose members are Trustees of the Charity. The Council comprises five Honorary OffirS of the Society, and up to twelve elected Members. The offirS consist of the Chairman, the Vice- Chairman, the Garden Coordinator, the Secretary and the Treasurer. The current members of the Council are set out on page 3. Day-to-day management is devolved to five sub-committees.. Garden, Estates, Education, Publications, and Public Relations. These are govemed by Standing Orders which are reviewed regularly, and were last approved in January 2024. OffirS are elected at each Annual General Meeting (AGM) having, with their consent, been nominated and seconded in writing by members of the Society. They hold Offi until the end of the next AGM. They may be nominated for re-election but may not serve for more than six consecutive years in any one offi. Elected Members having, with their consent, been nominated and seconded in writing by members, are elected at an AGM to seNe a three-year term. They may be nominated for re-election, but may not serve for more than consecutive terms. Members of Council do not receive any payment in connection with their position. The Society operates an informal system of Trustee induction, tailored to fit the experien of the trustee. All new trustees are given a copy of all the relevant Charity Commission documents, as well as the names and contact details of their fellow trustees. All the work of the Society is carried out by volunteers and is funded through members, subscriptions, legacies, donations, the sale of plants from the garden, and the sale of refreshments and publications wrrtten and designed by members. Financial Review On the basis of their review of future years. activities, and a detailed budget for the following year, Council are satisfied with the financial position at 31 August 2024. The policy on Registered Charity No. 259847
Reserves, the reason why they are held and their intended use, is set out in Note 10 to the Accounts. Activities Garden The Society manages the renowned garden at Holehird which is open to the public every day of the year. This is a 10-acre garden on a hillside site near Windermere, 600 feet above sea level. The garden regularly reiVeS up to 30,000 visitors each year, and although no formal charge is made for aCss, visitors are invited to make a donation. The gardens are developed and maintained to the highest standards, providing the public with practical examples of design, propagation, plant Maintenan and horticultural practice in relation to specific Lake District location and climatic condrtions. In various parts of the garden trees, shrubs, herbaceous perennials, bulbs and alpines are grown. The Society also acts as the International Registration Authorty for Astilbe on behalf of the International Society for Horticultural Scien, and hosts the National plant collections of Astilbe, Daboecia (heathers}, Hosta 'Mouse' Series, Meconopsis (the blue poppy), Polystichum (ferns) and TanatuM coccineum (painted daisies). Education Gardening courses and lectures are held throughout the year, given by members of the Society and outside experts. Our volunteers act as garden guides for the many tour groups that visit Holehird, and also give a considerable number of horticultural lectures to other groups. A well-stocked library and reading room. equipped with PCS and several microscopes, including a new high-powered model, is also available to all members, and a series of horticultural leaflets is available to the public on particular species that are grown in the garden, including the National Collections. We also have our own weather station which helps us understand the effect of varying climate on the performan of the plants in the garden. The weather records are available online to individuals and other organisations. Media The website, www.holehirdgardens.org.uk, shares the Society's knowledge and activities online, while "The Lakeland Gardenerf, the Joumal of the Lakeland Horticultural Society, serves the same purpose in print. The Society also publishes a regular Newsletterfor its members. The Society has a growing presen on social media. Access for all Within the inevitable constraints imposed by a fellside garden, the Society aims to ensure that anyone with an interest in horticulture and gardening can benefit from its work, whatever their means and limitations. Wardens are on dLrty daily from April to October in the Visitor Information area to welcome the public and answer questions regarding the gardens, either directly or by introducing visitors to other members of the Society. Registered Charity No. 259847
The Trustees confimi that they have complied w¢th the duty in s17 of the Charities Act 2011 to have regards to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit. Achievements and Performance Overall, it has been a successful year for the garden and the gardeners. The winter storms did not do as much damage as in the previous 2 years. However, a Pinus Am7andii had to be felled as it had been struck by the wind and left at an alarming angle. Two other trees had to be felled as they showed signs of disease (a Sycamore in the Coach car Park and an Ash tree in the Shetter belt) and one of the trunks of an ancient 1n-trUnked Japanese Umbrella Pine tree (Sciadopitys verticillata) also had to be felled, as it had died: the other half of the tree should survive for a several more years. Otherwise, Maintenan work on the trees in the gardens amounted to removing lower branches of several trees, to improve light to the beds below or to improve conditions for mowing the lawns. Spring arrived earlier than expected. The garden (and gardeners) enjoyed unusually warm and dry conditions for most of March and April. The display of spring flowering shrubs and bulbs was spectacular and greatly appreciated by our visitors- especially those that had seen Holehird gardens featured in the April edition of 'Gardeners World, on the BBC. The summer and autumn planting also lived up to expectations, providing colour and interest well into the later part of the year, both in the Walled Garden, the Lower Drive and the Fellside beds. The wide range of plants clearly demonstrating what can thrive in the Lake District conditions. In addition to the general Maintenan of the gardens, a couple of areas are being renovated. One of the beds on the upper fellside, which used to house a National Collection of Polysthicum, is being redesigned as a woodland area. The rose arbour on the lower terrace has been cleared and replanted with climbing roses, the Fuchsia bed has been extended, and work has been started on renovating the area around the Cascade. Other achievements including planting 3 new trees to repla ones lost over the last couple of years: a young Japanese Umbrella Pine tr& has been planted on the fellside, a Magnolia 'Wada's Memory, has been planted in the Magnolia bed, and a Comus altemifolia 'Argentea' AGM has been planted in the Walled Garden. All of the work in the gardens is carried out by our teams of volunteers. We were very pleased to welcome 25 new gardeners this year, a great addition to the gardens but more would still be welcome. We are very lucky to have such a large group of willing volunteers, their efforts are greatly appreciated both by the Society and our visitors. Maintaining and restoring the garden's old buildings and infrastructure remains challenging for the Estates Team, especially due to a shortage of new and young volunteers. The current team members are getting older and increasingly unable to perfomi the physical tasks we ask them to do. The works to enlarge and upgrade the visitors. toilets and to add an internal members, disabled toilet were completed and opened to the public in March. Despite the many problems of renovating a Victorian building the scheme was complete on time and within our budget. ConptUal designs associated with the renovation of the members, area are currently being evaluated. Registered Charity No. 259847
Over the winter, in addition to the annual collection of leaves and the clearing of drains, the estates volunteers undertook several projects. Work to improve and restore the paths and walls in the Hydrangea beds was completed by the end of March. The Surfa to the woodland walkway path has been restored with hardwood chips and new timber edgings to retain this material. The fencing around the Astilbe propagation area at the farm has been replaced. New aluminium benches have been erected to replace the rotten timber trestles. The retaining wall that supports the fuchsia bed in the small car park was in a poor state. Our volunteers have completely rebuilt this wall, and a new coping was added using imported stone. Our volunteers continue to restore the Tufa House. wtth new roof frames being installed and 3D-printed components replacing the stuck ventilation mechanism. However, work has paused due to a roof panel collapse in the Fuchsia House and the discovery of further structural issues, prompting closure for safety. Replament wooden window frames and CUNed toughened glass to match the existing panes have been produced and delivered to Holehird. Specialist contractors have patched the surfacing to the lower drive, and the upper drive has been resurfaced. Electricians have upgraded the lighting and electrical sockets in the Tool Shed. As would be expected with a fellside garden in the Lake District, flooding is a headache for the estates team. Substantial flows of water come off the farmer's field just inside the main electric gates. Over the winter this had flooded both our drive and the Patterdale Road. We have installed a temporary solution that appears to be providing some flood relief. A new drainage system has been built to collect the storm water that flowed over the magnolia bed. The path that runs from the Viewing Platform to the mansion is now frequently flooding. We have undertaken a survey of the drainage in the area and have found that the Victorian cast-iron drainage has collapsed. We have asked the Holehird Trust to resolve this problem. Following a major breakdown of the irrigation system, the fault was found to be a broken timer clock and a burnt-out pump. Both components have been replaced. To guard against future failures a spare pump has been purchased and the heavily corroded air receiver (which regulates the water pressure in the pipes) has been replaced. In what has been a dry and warm summer the system has subsequently performed well. I'm consistently impressed by the skills and accomplishments of our small, dedicated estates team, much of their work going unnoticed by visitors and fellow volunteers. The Education team has been busy working on a wide range of projects since our last AGM. Holehird's social media presence continues to grow across all plafforms and raises the profile of Holehird Gardens across the worldl Our visitors love sharing their photos and collaborating with us on posts. We view social media as an exciting new way of keeping members and followers engaged and connected to the gardens in the most up to date way. We post educational content several times a week which is well reived. Registered Charity No. 259847
The library continues to be highly regarded due to its huge range of topics linked to horticulture and usage has continued to increase. A range of plants have been propagated and provided for the Garden Trails. It's been a popular period for garden trails Sin our feature on Gardeners World and Local News. We are hoping to use the winter as an opportunty to update and modernise some of the trails as well as introducing new ones. Our extemal information boards continue to give visitors infomiation about our soil and weather as well as our National Collections and Plant of the Month, though some updating is now necessary. The audio-visual team have been trialling recording our lectures where the speaker has given permission. These are posted to the members, area On checked for quality. Courses at Holehird on Designing with Plants and Pruning have been provided by Shelagh Todd and Louise Stoddart and continuing plans to work with them are in place. In house courses have included using electric strimmers, seed cleaning and quarterly floral demonstrations. LHS members willing to share their expertise are much appreciated. There have been several public lectures Back in October 2024 the Head Gardener from the NT Acorn Bank talked about the garden. Then TJ Maher. a plantsman from county Wicklow, Ireland, gave a very popular talk on his garden. In January and February 2025 we had Pat Murphy. who gave a talk on Galanthus, then Liz Mooney from RHS Wisley. World Health garden, who talked about edible plants. March saw Andrew Ward from Norwell Nurseries lecture on planting in sand. This winter we took the decision to move our lectures from the Marchesi back to Holehird. Kevin Hughes from Cally gardens in Dumfries started the lecture season to a full house. Diane Clement from the Alpine Garden Society and Jack Ogg from York Gate Gardens have both shared their knowledge and enthusiasm. Our mini lectures through the summer start wff(h a garden update and have been followed by talks on Holehird's history amongst other topics. Our tour of Scottish gardens was well attended by members but unfortunately our planned tour of Dutch gardens proved to be not as popular. The Holehird Gardens website shows the wide range of work done by members of the Education Committee at Holehird and beyond. It has been a busy year for Public Relations Committee. The combined effect of national publicity in the fonn of an item on BBC Gardeners World. an article in the RHS magazine and coverage on BBC North West, led to a 20. increase in visitor numbers to a total of -20,000 recorded visitors. Of these, 970 were recorded as RHS members. There were also 45 Group visits that covered some 866 visitors. Reception opening from April to the end of October was covered with the exptIOn of 70 half-day sessions. This was a considerable achievement for a team of about 60 volunteers, many of whom undertook multiple sessions. As well as welcoming visitors and seeking and Registered Charity No. 259847 io
dealing with donations, they served some 3300 hot drinks and dealt wtth plant and publication sales. There was no doubt that the pressure was intense in the earlier part of the year. I would like should record my thanks on behalf of the Society to our retiring Retsption Team leaders who coordinated Reption activity, to the drinks machine organiser who kept the machines stocked, to our Group Viswt Coordinator who completed her first year as and to out Publicity Officer managed our public relations. The Committee has also been l¢)oking fotward and planning for life after the retirement of our current Reception Coordinators. Unfortunately, no-one has volunteered to succeed them and work-rounds are being investigated. We are also aware that a number of our Reception volunteers are also retiring at the end of the season and thank them for their service. However, this will further limit our ability to cover opening hours. New volunteers for this pleasurable duty will be very welcome. Bearing in mind that Reception is not staffed at all the hours that people visit the garden, we have investigated outside contactless payment methods for donations and have made recommendations to Council that are now being taken fotward by a technically competent group. The year has been busy for the membership team as well. LHS faced a problem wtth the withdrawal of Direct Debtt facilities by Barclays and have had to migrate to a new provider, Gocardless. This was far from straightforward, and we thank John Davenport and lan Jones for their efforts. We have also moved membership records to the Beacon management system. It has required intensive work but. in the longer run, will provide benefits for the administration of membership matters. We are grateful for the help of Peter Halfpenny and Heather Stevenson in getting us up and running. The membership year for LHS has also changed and will run on a calendar year, going fomard. At the end of December, membership numbers were broadly comparable to previous years with 1386 members. However, there is some uncertainty about whether a number will fail to renew because of the disruption to some direct debit payments so that number could fall. Finally, I would like to thank the Catering team. They keep members and gardeners supplied with coffee and also provide for a number of internal events. Membership numbers are broadly steady at 1359 at the beginning of September 2024, compared with 1376 at the beginning of September 2023. 88 new members were recruited although we sadly lost a number of long standing older members. A New Members Afternoon was held in April 2024. The membership team are standing by to work through the possible change to the membership year following the AGM sin the last AGM. there have been two Joumals, Springlsummer 2025 and Autumnwinter 2025, encompassing a wide range of subjects of interest to members. By the time you read this, the Spring/Summer 2026 issue will be available. This is the first issue to be prepared in time for the rescheduled April AGM. It looks different in that it has no advertisements. This is because we are without an Advertising Secretary. We do hope to reintroduce a selected number of adverts in future editions as they do make a financial Registered Charity No. 259847 li
contribution to the Society. It is the Society's intention to offer an electronic version of the Journal to those who request it. In order to see what that might be like, we asked our printers to prepare an electronic version of the Autumn 2025. The link can be supplied on request. Full roll-out of the eJoumal will not happen immediately as there are numerous issues to be resolved before it can happen. Two issues of the Newsletter were produced during the year. Following the changes to the membership year and the date of the Annual General Meeting, there is no longer any need for a third mailing in the summer. The new membership card has been well received and will be produced annually. Work is ongoing to produce a new guide to the garden. It has been decided due to reduction in sales to not continue with producing postcards. New greetings cards are under review. The Trustees, Annual report was adopted by Council at its meeting on 31st March 2026 and signed on its behalf by Alan Gerrard - Chairman Tony Willey - Treasurer i[_o¢- Registered Charity No. 259847 12
Independent Examiner's Report to the Trustees of the Lakeland Horticultural Society I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charty for the year ended 31 December 2025 which are set out on pages 14 to 21. Responsibilities and basis of report As the charity's trustees you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011 ('the Act.). I report in respect of my examination of the charity's accounts carried out under section 145 of the Act and in carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Act. Independent examinerfs statement I have completed my examination. I confimi that no material matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect". accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 130 of the Act: or the accounts do not comply with these records., or the accounts do not comply with the applicable requirements conceming the form and content of accounts set out in the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 other than any requirement that the accounts give a 'true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination. I hav exa und no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the ation to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper tanding of the accounts to be reached. D S J Sissons Chartered Accountant Waters and Atkinson The Old Court House Clark Street Morecambe LA4 SHR Date . Registered Charity No. 259847 13
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTivmES 2025 2024 Incoming resources Voluntary Income Other Chartsble Inco 167.736 123,296 19,861 27.868 Investment Income Totsl income resources 33,423 229.027 30.291 173,448 Resources expended Garden & Estate maintenance Other charitable expenditure Administration costs 120.159 15,858 33,345 27,995 2,491 199,848 95,310 9907 27,397 13,460 3171 149.245 Depreciation Governance cost5 Total resources expended Not resources expended 29,179 24.203 Accumulaled funds bm 838.393 814.190 ACCUMULATED FUNDS CIF 867.572 838,393 There are no other gains & losses other than those disck)sed above. All transactions are derived from continuing activities. Registered Charity No. 259847 14
BALANCE sHE- As at 31st December 2025 - Flgures in £s December 2025 August 2024 FIXED ASSETS Tangible assets 295.271 145.111 CURRENT ASSETS Stocks Debtors & accrued interest Cash at bank 774 10.5 569.570 580.850 1,961 20.633 681,809 704,403 CREDITORS amounts falling due within one year -8.549 -11.121 NET CURRENT ASSETS NET ASSETS 572,301 867,572 693,282 838,393 CAPITAL FUNDS Restricted funds Unre5tricled funds TOTAL ACCUMULATED FUNDS 4,000 863.572 4,000 834,393 867,572 838,393 BALANCE SHEET As at 31 December 2025 These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK {FRS 1021 and the Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities (Charities SORP IFRS 10211. They were approved by Council on 31 St March 2026 and are signed on their behalf by 11 Ldooj. Alan Gerrard- Chairman Tony Willey-Treas The Notes on pages 17to 21 form part of these financial statements. Registered Charity No. 259847 15
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS Accounting Policies Basis of preparation The financial statements of the Charity are prepared under the historical cost convention with the exception of investments, which are included at market value. They have been prepared in accordance with the Charities Act 2011, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK (FRS 102), and the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities (Charities SORP {FRS 102)). The Charity is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, its presentation currency is Slerling (rounded lo the nearest £1). The Trustees believe the Society is a going-concem, and have prepared the financial statements on that basis. Incoming resources Incoming resources represent tolal income receivable during ihe year, and comprise membership subsGriptions, donations, legacies. income from educational activities, investment income and sundry other income. Resources expended All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. Charitable expenditure represents the cost of maintaining the estate and garden, scientific, education and edttorial activities. Support services represent membership costs, and costs relating to the general running of the Society. Governance costs include those incurred in meeting constrtutional and stabjiory requirements, and the preparation of the financial statements. iv) Tangible fixed assets and depCiatIon Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost. Depreciation is calculated to wnte off that cost over the expected useful life of each asset, as follows- Leasehold land and building costs prior to 31st May 2020, the expiry date of the previous lease, have been fully depreciated. Additions Sin that date are depreciated on a straight line basis to 31st March 2046, the expiry date ofthe current lease. Fixtures and fittings are written down to a nominal value in the year of acquisilion-, Glasshouses are depreciated on a linear basis over ten years- and Machinery.. vehicles and equipmenl are depreciated on a linear basis over five years. Stock Stock is valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value. It relates to books and publications held for sale to members and visitors. It does not include plants or any work in progress. vi) Creditors Short-tem creditors are valued at their transaction price. vii) Taxation The Society is exempt from corporation tax. viiil Resep4es The policy on Accumulaled Funds held as Reserves is set OLrt in Note 10 to the Financial Statements. Re8lStered Charity No. 259847 16
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (conL) Restricted and Unrestricted Funds The Society has entered into an agreement wlth the Holehird Trust for the upkeep of those parts of the gafdens outside its lease. This income of £42,775 can only be spent on these activities. The Mary Miles endowment of £4,000 can be spent only in extremis. This is disclosed separately on the Balance Sheet as Restricted Funds. There are no restrictions on any other income. Voluntary income 2025 2024 Restricted donation (the Holehird Trust- Note 21 other donations 42775 32,664 98567 59,269 Mernbership subscriptions Gift aid reclaimed 22434 22,627 3960 8,736 167736 123,296 Other charitable income Plant sales 19744 14,338 Vending machine sales 6710 4,002 Less.. Cost of vending machine supplies -2492 11,5151 23962 2,487 Sales of stabonery. guides and 1661 1,576 Advertising sales in Society Joumal Income from educational courses 2025 950 220 510 27868 19,861 Investment income Interest on bank deposits 33423 30,291 Registered Charity No. 259847 17
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (conL} Garden and Estate maintenance 2025 2024 Garden maintenance 19099 26,790 Plants purchased 10654 8,599 Estate maintenance 90406 59,921 120159 95,310 Other charitable expenditure Costs of publishing Joumal and Newsletters 9349 5,858 Cost of guides and b(x)ks 1187 1,476 Courses, bursaries and lectures 5322 2,573 15858 9,907 Admlnistration costs Membership administration 14033 9,017 Insurance 8120 7,468 Publicity and Open Day 745 407 Website and IT costs 1324 1,839 Other 9123 8,666 33345 27,397 Govemance costs Independent Examination costs AGM costs 1836 2,000 655 1,171 2491 3,171 Registered Charity No. 259847 18
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS IconL) 10. Accumulated Funds In accordance with guidance issued by the Charities Commission, the Tnjslees have considered whether it is appropriate for the Society to retain funds for future chatrtable activities. Plans are in development for significant capital expenditure (see note 14). This will result in a substanb'al reductson in cash reserves. A fvrther review will take place when these capital projects are complete. 11. Tangible fixed assets Leasehold Fixtures & Machinery, Glasshouse Total Land & Fittings Vehicles & Buildings Equipment Cost Al 31 August 2024 508834 20,539 112514 175,557 817444 Additions 160819 17336 178155 At 31 December 2025 669653 20,539 129850 175,557 995599 Depreciation At 31 August 2024 377952 20.539 98285 175,557 672333 Charge for the year 18(0 9935 27995 At 31 December 2025 396012 20,539 108220 175.557 700328 Nel Book Value At 31 December 2025 273641 21630 295271 Al 31 August 2024 130882 14229 145111 Registered Charity No. 259847 19
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS {conL) 12. Cash at bank The Trustees, investment policy is, as far as possible. to maximise the retum on the Society's investments. Within thi5. the Govemment guarantee of £120,000 acts as a ceiling for funds invested in any one financial institution. This policy, and the actual investments with each inslilub.on is reviewed every tsvelve months. Cash at bank includes deposits with Building Societies regulated under the Prudential Regulation Authority (part of the Bank of England) and the Financial Conduct Authority. Deposits have been plad with a maturity of beeen six months and hvo years. 13. Creditors and Receipts in Advance 2025 2024 Examiner's Fee 2000 2,000 Trade creditors 4109 9,121 Subscription received in advance 2440 8549 11,121 All amounts are payable within one year. Registered Charity No. 259847 20
NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (cont 14. Commitments 2025 2024 Building improvements 190.569 190,569 15. Trustee Remuneration No remuneration was paid to Trustees (2023_' nil) and there were no expenses incurred in their roles as trustee$12023.' nil) 16. Related Party Transactions There were no transactions with related parties {2023.' none) Registered Charity No. 259847 21