2025-04-05-accounts - The Underwood Trust

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Registered charity number 266164

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Financial Statements for the year ended

5 April 2025

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Contents	Pages
Trustees’ annual report	2 – 8
Auditor’s report	9 - 12
Statement of financial activities	13 - 14
Balance sheet	15
Statement of cash flows	16
Notes to the financial statements	17 – 24

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Trustees’ annual report

The trustees have pleasure in presenting their report together with the financial statements for the year ended 5 April 2025.

Objectives and activities for the public benefit

The aims of the Trust are to fund a wide range of activities that will positively impact individuals and the environment. We award a number of grants per annum to organisations that both share these aspirations and have the ability to deliver on their programmes.

For disclosure purposes grants are categorised under the following headings.

Medicine and Health
Education and The Arts
Social Welfare
The Environment and Wildlife

The trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Trust’s aims and objectives, in planning future activities, and setting grant making policy.

Most of the grants are made to registered charities and so the trustees are confident they will further a charitable purpose to the public benefit. On the few occasions where grants are made to nonregistered charitable organisations the trustees consider carefully how the funds will be used and make those grants with conditions to ensure they are spent appropriately.

The trustees seek feedback on the actual use of the grants given on how the grant was spent and achievements made. This approach is considered sufficient for monitoring the quality of the grants made. In any grant making there is always a necessary degree of trust that the application is honest and that the recipient will use the funds wisely. A personal knowledge of the recipient of the larger grants is therefore a key part of the Trust’s approach to grant making.

The trustees have decided to give annual support to a number of charities and proactively seek out certain projects. This restricts the funds available for general applications and as such the Trust is closed to unsolicited applications.

Grant making policy and the application process

The Trust is granted wide powers to distribute funds for charitable purposes by the trust deed, having regard to any directions or wishes expressed by the founders in their lifetimes. The trustees have the power to make grants from the expendable endowment.

The application process is designed to be as easy as possible whilst still drawing out the key information needed for a decision, including ensuring there is a clear public benefit. The Trust has a website containing general information about the Trust, together with details of our grant eligibility guidelines and an application form. All applicants must complete this form in order for their request to be further considered.

The website address is: www.theunderwoodtrust.org.uk

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Trustees’ annual report (continued)

All applications are reviewed by the trust manager on the basis of the policy set by the trustees. Final payment decisions are taken by the trustees.

The Trust will generally not fund:

Individuals directly
Political activities
Commercial ventures or publications
The purchase of vehicles including minibuses
Overseas travel, holidays, and expeditions

Achievements and performance

Grant expenditure

Grant expenditure during the year was £747,500 and comprised a total of 27 grants or donations made to 25 beneficiaries. A list by recipient of the grant expenditure in the year is given in note 3. This compares with 28 grants or donations to 25 beneficiaries totalling £1,686,258 made during the year ended 5 April 2024.

The following summary gives a flavour of the types of projects funded in the year.

Medicine and Health

During the year a further £150,000 was made to the Bristol Speech Language Therapy Research Unit (BSLTRU) for the agreed ‘legacy project’ to reinforce BSLTRU as a leading speech and language therapy research unit both in the UK and globally.

Key achievements for the year 2024/2025:

A milestone was achieved with the 12,000th participant recruited to the Cleft Collective. The Cleft Collective is a clinical cohort study which means it recruits participants from hospitals and collects data on them over time. The data can then be used by researchers to address a wide range of questions which can lead to improvements in clinical care.
Data from the Cleft Collective has been used to identify new genes which are involved in cleft lip and palate. Children born with cleft palate are at high risk of lifelong speech disorder so identifying new genes means research can start as to how these genes might be activated and cause clefts.
A specialist speech clinic has been established. This clinic sees children who have persistent and complex speech disorder. Typically, the children will have had a lot of speech and language therapy already, but they have stopped making progress. Without clear speech, many children do worse at school and struggle with friendships. The clinic is using new technology including ultrasound scanning to identify new approaches to treating speech disorder in these children.
The team at BSLTRU have supported aspiring researchers in speech and language therapy. Over the past year, members of the team have supported four speech and language therapists to success in fellowship funding and are supporting another three who have interviews in the near future. A fellowship is the first step to becoming a researcher in speech and language therapy and helping to discover the best treatments for individuals who live with communication impairment.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Trustees’ annual report (continued)

During the year grants of £45,000 were made to STAMMA a charity whose mission is to stand up for and empower those who stammer and challenge discrimination. The first grant of £20,000 is the second year of support for the Outreach and Training programme which focuses on delivering training to employers across a range of sectors, by creating written guides and training videos, running tailored workshops, and delivering conferences across different industries. The second grant of £25,000 funded core costs at the charity.

Three other grants totalling £75,000 were made. All of these were to charities where the Trust has given long term support.

Education and the Arts

A grant of £25,000 was made to Stage One which through their bursary scheme offers educational, financial, and mentoring development to new producers. This is the 18[th] consecutive year the Trust has supported the scheme.

A grant of £25,000 was made to Music for Youth who encourage and support young musicians in their artistic journey. They offer education and inspiration through a range of opportunities both within and beyond the formal music education sector: participation in professionally produced events on world class stages; mentoring by professional musicians; participation in workshops and masterclasses. This is the 24[th] consecutive year the Trust has supported the programme.

Four other grants were made totalling £87,500. All of these were to charities where the Trust has given long term support.

Social Welfare

During the year £50,000 of donations were made to the British Red Cross and comprised of two separate donations. A donation of £25,000 was made to the Middle East Crisis and a donation of £25,000 was made to the Myanmar Earthquake Appeal. This funding helped those most affected by these events by allowing staff and volunteers to provide vital medical services, psychosocial support, water, sanitation and hygiene, livelihood assistance, housing, and shelter.

A new grant of £25,000 was made to Empire Fighting Chance who are a charity that target the UK’s most vulnerable young people aged 18 to 25 from deprived neighbourhoods. They have created a unique approach that uses a powerful combination of non-contact boxing and intensive personal support to challenge and inspire young people to realise their individual potential.

A new grant of £25,000 was made to Missing People who are the only UK charity dedicated to reconnecting missing people and their loved ones. They offer support to people affected by a disappearance with services including family support, counselling, and specialist services for issues related to missing such as exploitation and County Lines.

A new grant of £20,000 was made to Mikeysline who are a grassroots mental health and crisis centre based in the Highlands of Scotland. The strategy is to work closely with communities, workplaces and schools to challenge the stigma around mental health and suicide through their ‘Bee the Change campaign’ with the aim of changing the dialogue around mental health and suicide, making it easier for people to reach out for support when they need to.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Trustees’ annual report (continued)

Nine other grants totalling £195,000 were made. All of these were to charities where the Trust has given long term support.

The Environment and Wildlife

A grant of £25,000 was made to Brooke who are an international charity that protects and improves the lives of working horses, donkeys and mules which give people in the developing world the opportunity to work their way out of poverty. The is the 13[th] consecutive year the Trust has supported the charity in various initiatives.

Financial review

The total incoming resources for the year were £1,396,274 (2024: £1,400,900) .

The largest source of income are the dividends received from Taylor Clark Limited of £734,199 (2024: £786,169). Followed by distributions of £640,185 (2024: £609,457) received from the Trust’s investment in twelve listed equity funds and finally interest on deposits earned £21,890 (2024: £5,274).

Investment gains in the year on the listed investments were £331,107 (2024: increased £871,863)

Investment strategy and risk

The investment objective is to provide a reasonable level of income together with capital growth, sufficiently protecting the funds against inflation, enabling the Trust to meet its short-term grant making commitments. This will be achieved by investing primarily in UK Equity funds. However, these funds may also invest in other asset classes and instruments.

Currently the portfolio comprises twelve equity funds. Eleven of these investments are managed by Rathbones Wealth & Investment and one by Troy Asset Management Ltd. Investment performance is regularly reviewed, and an active relationship maintained with the fund managers to mitigate investment risk.

There are many risks that may affect the long-term sustainability of the investments including inflation, interest rates, and political and economic uncertainty. The Trust deed grants the trustees wide powers of investment allowing assets to be invested in a variety of asset classes to alleviate against these risk factors. Asset classes could include cash, bonds, equities, hedge funds, structured products, private equity, commodities, and any other asset that is deemed suitable for the Trust.

The total return on the investments is £8,157,530 equivalent to a compound annual return of 4.0%, which exceeds the target return of 3.0%.

In addition, the Trust will continue to hold the Taylor Clark Ordinary ‘B’ shares gifted as part of Mr C Clark’s estate on 4 May 2021 as these provide a substantial and sustainable dividend income stream. Historically, The Underwood Trust was originally almost entirely endowed by gifts and bequests of Taylor Clark Limited shares. As an unquoted company, there is no open market for these shares.

Currently there is no specific social, environmental, or ethical investment policy regarding the investments.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Trustees’ annual report (continued)

Reserves policy

The investments of the Trust have been treated as an expendable endowment, as under the Trust deed the trustees have the power to distribute these funds. The resources expended in the year are less than incoming resources by £622,420 (2024: deficit £327,320) . The trustees have decided to transfer the balance on the unrestricted income fund to the expendable endowment.

The trustees consider the balance of funds should still be designated as an expendable endowment.

At the year-end these reserves were £35,373,656 (2023: £34,420,129) .

At the year-end £nil (2024: £Nil) of unrestricted funds were retained.

In the event of there being a surplus of unrestricted funds the trustees aim to have distributed all the available funds from the preceding year within six months of the year end and distribute a substantial amount of the current year’s income within the year.

Future plans

The trustees’ key objective is to make grants to support projects within the four priority areas, and to continue funding, where appropriate, many of the organisations where there are already established long term relationships.

Structure, governance, and management

The Underwood Trust is an unincorporated trust, founded under a Deed of Trust dated 1 July 1973, and had its registration with The Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 266164, accepted on 31 August 1973. The founders of the Trust were Robert Clark and Mary B L Clark.

The trust deed was amended using the statutory powers as set out in the Charities Act 2011 and accepted by The Charity Commission on 3 October 2024.

The power of appointing new or additional trustees was vested in the founders during their joint lives and in the survivor during their life. Thereafter, the statutory power of appointing new trustees applies. New trustees are found from the contacts and networks of existing trustees. When a new trustee joins the board, they are provided with a pack of information including a copy of the trust deed, the most recent accounts, minutes of recent trustees’ meetings, and are made aware of the information and support for trustees available on the Charity Commission website.

The trustees are highly experienced individuals and have a good understanding of what is involved in being a trustee of a charity. Where appropriate, the Trust supports the training of trustees including, for example, attendance at seminars organised by the Trust’s professional advisers and by the Association of Charitable Foundations and the Charity Finance Group.

The trustees are required to meet at least twice a year; at these meetings the trustees agree the broad strategy for the Trust, including consideration of grant making, investment, reserves, and risk management policies. The day-to-day administration is delegated to the trust manager who has regular contact with the trustees following her initial processing and appraisal of applications.

The names of the trustees at the date of this report and throughout the year are shown on page 7.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Trustees’ annual report (continued)

The trustees have considered the major risks faced by the Trust and have reviewed those risks and established systems and procedures to manage and mitigate them.

The day-to-day administration of the Trust is managed by the staff of Taylor Clark Limited, under an agreement with the Charity Commission. The fee charged for this is shown in note 5. The trustees consider this is the most cost-effective way of running the Trust, as to set up an independent office and staff would incur far higher costs.

All trustees give their time freely and no trustee remuneration was paid in the year. Details of trustee expenses and related party transactions are disclosed in note 5 and 10 respectively.

Reference and administrative information

Trustees Richard Bennison FCA - Chairman Briony Wilson Registered office Ground Floor 20 York Street London W1U 6PU Registered charity number 266164 Trust manager Michele Judge ACMA Bankers Virgin Money 154 – 158 Kensington High St, London W8 7RL Auditor David Owen & Co 17 The Market Place, Devizes, Wiltshire SN10 1HT Investment managers Troy Asset Management Ltd 33 Davies Street, London W1K 4BP Rathbones Wealth & Investment Management 30 Gresham Street, London EC2V 7QN

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Trustees’ annual report (continued)

Trustees’ responsibilities in relation to the financial statements

The trustees are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

The law applicable to charities in England and Wales requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable regulations). Under that law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources of the charity for that period.

In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:

select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
make judgments and accounting estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records which are sufficient to show and explain the charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 and the provisions of the trust deed. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Auditor

A resolution to re-appoint David Owen & Co as the Trust’s auditor will be proposed at the next trustees meeting.

Approved by the trustees and signed on their behalf

R Bennison Trustee

28 July 2025

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Independent auditor’s report to the trustees of The Underwood Trust

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Underwood Trust (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 5 April 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. 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:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charity’s affairs as of 5 April 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Charities Act 2011.

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 charity 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 charity’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.

Other information

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

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.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:

the information given in the Trustees’ Annual Report is inconsistent in any material respect with the financial statements; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities (on page 8), the trustees 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 charity’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 cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

We have been appointed as auditors under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.

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

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

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.

Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud

We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion. In identifying and addressing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, our procedures included the following:

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

We obtained an understanding of laws and regulations that affect the charity, focusing on those that had a direct effect on the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on its operations. Key laws and regulations that we identified included the Charities Act 2011 and applicable accounting standards.
We enquired of the trustees and reviewed trustee meeting minutes for evidence of noncompliance with relevant laws and regulations. We also reviewed controls the trustees have in place to ensure compliance.
We gained an understanding of the controls that the trustees have in place to prevent and detect fraud. We enquired of the trustees about any incidences of fraud that had taken place during the accounting period.
The risk of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations and fraud was discussed within the audit team and tests were planned and performed to address these risks. We identified the potential for fraud in the following area: misappropriation of cash and other assets.
We critically reviewed judgements and provisions included within the financial statements and examined the associated cut-off issues.
We reviewed financial statements disclosures and tested to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations discussed above.
We enquired of the trustees about actual and potential litigation and claims.
We obtained independent confirmations from your bank regarding balances at the year-end in addition to any outstanding charges.
We performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that might indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud.
In addressing the risk of fraud due to management override of internal controls we tested the appropriateness of journal entries and assessed whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates were indicative of a potential bias.

Due to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. For example, as with any audit, there remained a higher risk of non-detection of irregularities, as these may involve collusion, forgery, intentional omissions, misrepresentations, or the override of internal controls. We are not responsible for preventing fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations and cannot be expected to detect all fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

Other matter

Your attention is drawn to the fact that the charity has prepared financial statements in accordance with “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) in preference to the Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued on 1 April 2005 which is referred to in the extant regulations but has now been withdrawn.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

This has been done in order for the financial statements to provide a true and fair view in accordance with current Generally Accepted Accounting Practice.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charity’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 charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' 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 charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

David Owen & Co	17 The Market Place
Chartered Accountants	Devizes
Statutory Auditor	Wiltshire
	SN10 1HT

David Owen & Co is eligible to act as an auditor in terms of section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.

28 July 2025

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Statement of financial activities Including income and expenditure account For the year ending 5 April 2025

Notes Income Investment income 2 Total income Expenditure Raising funds: Investment management costs Charitable activities: Grant expenditure 3 Grant related support costs 5 Governance costs 5 Cost of grant making Total expenditure Net income / (expenditure) Transfer between funds 6 Net gains / (losses) on investments Unrealised 7 Realised 11 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	Unrestricted Income Fund £ Expendable Endowment Fund £ 2025 Total Funds £ 1,396,274 - 1,396,274 1,396,274 - 1,396,274 597 - 597 747,500 - 747,500 10,009 - 10,009 15,748 - 15,748 773,257 - 773,257 773,854 - 773,854 622,420 - 622,420 (622,420) 622,420 - - 622,420 622,420 - 331,107 331,107 - - - - 331,107 331,107 - 953,527 953,527 - 34,420,129 34,420,129 - 35,373,656 35,373,656	2024 Total Funds £ 1,400,900
		1,400,900
		603
		1,686,258 25,777 15,582
		1,727,617

		1,728,220
		(327,320) -
		(327,320) 871,863 122,202
		994,065
		666,745
		33,753,384
		34,420,129

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Statement of financial activities (continued) Including income and expenditure account For the year ending 5 April 2025

Comparative year information Year ended 5 April 2024 Notes Income Investment income 2 Total income Expenditure Raising funds: Investment management costs Charitable activities: Grant expenditure 3 Grant related support costs 5 Governance costs 5 Cost of grant making Total expenditure Net income / (expenditure) Transfer between funds 6 Net gains / (losses) on investments Unrealised 7 Realised 11 Net movement in funds Reconciliation of funds Total funds brought forward Total funds carried forward	Unrestricted Income Fund £ Expendable Endowment Fund £ 2024 Total Funds £ 1,400,900 - 1,400,900
	1,400,900 - 1,400,900
	603 - 603
	1,686,258 - 1,686,258 25,777 - 25,777 15,582 - 15,582
	1,727,617 - 1,727,617

	1,728,220 - 1,728,220
	(327,320) - (327,320) 327,320 (327,320) -
	- (327,320) (327,320) - 871,863 871,863 - 122,202 122,202
	- 994,065 994,065
	- 666,745 666,745
	- 33,753,384 33,753,384
	- 34,420,129 34,420,129

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Balance sheet As of 5 April 2025

Notes Fixed assets Unlisted investments 7 Listed investments 7 Total fixed assets Current assets Debtors 8 Cash Total current assets Liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due within one year 9 Net current assets Total assets less current liabilities Creditors: amounts falling due after one year Net assets The funds of the charity Expendable endowment fund Unrestricted income fund Total charity funds	Unrestricted Income Fund £ Expendable Endowment Fund £ 2025 Total Funds £ - 16,316,655 16,316,655 - 18,012,657 18,012,657 - 34,329,312 34,329,312 1,451 - 1,451 5,704 1,044,344 1,050,048 7,155 1,044,344 1,051,499 (7,155) - (7,155) - 1,044,344 1,044,344 - 35,373,656 35,373,656 - - - - 35,373,656 35,373,656 - 35,373,656 35,373,656 - - - - 35,373,656 35,373,656	2024 Total Funds £ 16,316,655 17,681,218
		33,997,873
		322 1,178,953
		1,179,275 (757,019)
		422,256
		34,420,129 -
		34,420,129
		34,420,129 -
		34,420,129

The notes at pages 17 to 24 form part of these accounts. Approved by the trustees on 28 July 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

R Bennison Trustee

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Statement of cash flows As of 5 April 2025

Notes Cash flows from operating activities Net cash used in operating activities 11 Cash flows from investing activities Interest and dividends Proceeds from sale of investments Equalisation on investments Purchase of investments Net cash generated by investing activities Cash flows from financing activities Net cash provided by financing activities Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year Cash and cash equivalents brought forward Cash and cash equivalents carried forward	2025 Total Funds £ (1,524,847) 1,396,274 - (332) - 1,395,942 - - (128,905) 1,178,953 1,050,048	2024 Total Funds £
		(978,046)
		1,400,900 151,857 - (654)
		1,552,103
		-
		-
		574,057 604,896
		1,178,953

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 5 April 2025

1 Accounting policies

Charity information

The Underwood trust is an unincorporated trust, founded under a Deed of Trust dated 1 July 1973, and had its registration with The Charity Commission for England and Wales, number 266164, accepted on 31 August 1973.

The trust deed was amended using the statutory powers as set out in the Charities Act 2011 and accepted by The Charity Commission on 3 October 2024.

1.1 Basis of preparation and going concern

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, as modified by the revaluation of fixed asset investments, and in accordance with the Charities Act 2011 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)”.

The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations, but which has since been withdrawn.

The trust constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.

At the time of approving the accounts, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus, the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the accounts.

With respect to the next reporting period, the most significant areas of uncertainty that affect the carrying value of assets held by the Trust are the level of investment return and the performance of investment markets (see the investment strategy and risk section in the trustees’ annual report for more information).

1.2 Fund accounting

The Unrestricted Income Fund can be spent on any purpose within the Trust’s objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

The Expendable Endowment Fund is primarily for income generation but is expendable at the trustees’ discretion. During the year £Nil (2024: £327,320 ) was expended in making grants and or covering the deficit which had arisen on the unrestricted fund.

1.3 Income recognition

All income is recognised once the charity has entitlement to the income, it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably.

Dividends from investments are recognised at their record date.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 5 April 2025

Legacy gifts are recognised on a case-by-case basis following the granting of probate when the administrator/executor for the estate has communicated in writing the amount for distribution after taking into consideration of any liabilities and settlement date and, if there are any conditions attached to the legacy, these are either within the control of the charity or have been met. In the event that the gift is in the form of an asset other than cash, or a financial asset traded on a recognised stock exchange, recognition is subject to the value of the gift being reliably measurable with a degree of sufficient accuracy and the title to the asset having been transferred to the charity.

1.4 Expenditure recognition

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis inclusive of any VAT which cannot be recovered. All expenses including support costs and governance costs are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings.

Support costs are allocated to the activities either by direct attribution or an estimate of relative time involved. The majority of costs support the grant making activity and are so allocated.

Governance costs comprise all costs involved in the public accountability of the charity and its compliance with regulation and good practice. These costs include costs relating to statutory audit, and legal fees together with an allocation of support costs.

The allocation of governance and support costs is analysed in note 5.

Grants payable are payments made to third parties in the furtherance of the charitable objectives of the Trust. In the case of an unconditional grant offer this is accrued once the recipient has been notified of the grant award. The notification gives the recipient a reasonable expectation that they will receive the one-year or multi-year grant. Grant awards that are subject to the recipient fulfilling performance conditions are only accrued when the recipient has been notified of the grant and any remaining unfulfilled condition attaching to that grant is outside of the control of the Trust.

The costs of raising funds consist of investment management fees.

1.5 Fixed asset investments

Quoted investments are initially measured at their transaction value and subsequently measured at their fair value as at the balance sheet date using the closing quoted market price. All gains and losses, both realised and unrealised, are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities as they arise.

Unlisted investments are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. The investments are assessed for impairment at each reporting date and any impairment losses or reversals of impairment losses are recognised immediately in net income/expenditure) for the year.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 5 April 2025

1.6 Debtors and creditors

Short term debtors are measured at transaction price, less any impairment. Short term creditors are measured at the transaction price, net of transaction costs. Subsequent to initial recognition they are measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method, less any impairment losses in the case of trade debtors. If the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, for example if payment is deferred beyond normal business terms, then it is measured at the present value of future payments discounted at a market rate of interest for a similar debt instrument.

1.7 Contingent liabilities

A contingent liability is identified and disclosed for those grants resulting from:

a possible obligation which will only be confirmed by the occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the trustees’ control; or
a present obligation following a grant offer where settlement is either not considered probable; or
the amount has not been communicated in the grant offer and that amount cannot be estimated reliably

1.8 Taxation

The Trust is a registered charity and accordingly is exempt from taxation on its income and gains where they are applied for charitable purposes.

1.9 Accounting estimates and judgements

In the application of the Trust’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

Key sources of estimation uncertainty

The estimates and assumptions which have a significant risk of causing a material adjustment to the carrying amount of assets are as follows:

Impairment of unlisted investments

The trustees’ estimate of impairment is based upon updated share valuation calculations, using reports provided by Taylor Clark Limited, and the trustees’ own judgement.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 5 April 2025

2 Incoming resources Investment income Unlisted investments (UK) Listed investments Other interest 3 Grant expenditure Grants payable brought forward Grants paid during the year Grants payable carried forward Grant expenditure during the year Medicine and Health Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Unit STAMMA (The British Stammering Association) Animal Free Research UK Living Paintings Julia's House Education and The Arts National Opera Studio Stage One Farms for City Children Music for Youth Separate Doors Pimlico Opera	2025 £ 734,199 640,185 21,890 1,396,274 2025 £ (750,000) 1,497,500 - 747,500 150,000 45,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 270,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 22,500 15,000 137,500		2024 £ 786,169 609,457 5,274
			1,400,900
			2024 £ - 936,258 750,000
			1,686,258

			221,258
			115,000

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 5 April 2025

3 Grant expenditure(continued) Social Welfare The British Red Cross Hartcliffe City Farm James' Place Charity Community First NSPCC Windmill Hill City Farm Ebony Society Without Abuse (Swindon Women's Aid) Empire Fighting Chance Missing People Mikeysline Separated Child Foundation St Martin in the Fields The Environment and Wildlife The Brooke Total grants expenditure	2025 £ 50,000 30,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 25,000 20,000 10,000 5,000 315,000 25,000 25,000 747,500	2024 £
		275,000
		1,075,000
		1,686,258

4 Grant commitments

In addition to the grant expenditure noted above, the trustees at the last year end had authorised certain grants which were subject to them being satisfied that the recipient had fulfilled certain conditions. The total amount authorised but not accrued as expenditure at 5 April 2025 was £1,050,000 (2024: £1,200,000).

The commitment of £1,500,000 over 5 years was communicated to Bristol Speech and Language Therapy Trust during the year to 5 April 2022 and commenced in October 2022.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements For the year ended 5 April 2025

5 Allocation of support and governance costs

Basis of apportion- ment Management fee Work done Subscriptions Actual Auditors’ remuneration Actual Professional fees Actual Web site costs Actual Sundries Actual Total	Grant 2025 making Governance Total £ £ £ 9,000 3,000 12,000 294 98 392 - 7,000 7,000 - 5,400 5,400 645 215 860 70 35 105 10,009 15,748 25,757	2024 Total £ 32,400 1,119 6,960 828 52
		41,359

6 Transfers

A transfer of £622,420 (2024: £327,320 was made from the expendable endowment to the unrestricted income fund to cover the deficit on the unrestricted funds) was made from the unrestricted income fund to the endowment fund.

7 Fixed asset investments

Fixed asset investments
Cost or valuation at 6 April 2024 Equalisation Unrealised investment gains / (losses) At 5 April 2025	Listed investments Unlisted investments Total £ £ £ 17,681,218 16,316,655 33,997,873 332 - 332 331,107 - 331,107
	18,012,657 16,316,655 34,329,312

Net cash used from investments in the year was £Nil (2024: £151,203 released from investments).

Unrealised investment gains / (losses) represent the difference between the fair value of the investments at the beginning and end of the year adjusting for investment transactions during the year.

The unlisted investment is the holding of 2,545,500 Taylor Clark Limited B ordinary 10p shares (2024: 2,545,500 B ordinary 10p shares), this investment is measured at cost and is assessed for impairment annually.

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 5 April 2025

8 Debtors Prepayments Accrued interest 9 Creditors:amounts falling due within one year Accruals Greenpeace (Protect the oceans 30x30 campaign)	2025 £ 163 1,288 1,451 2025 £ 7,155 - 7,155	2024 £ 322 -
		322
		2024 £ 7,019 750,000 757,019

10 Related party transactions

At 5 April 2025 the charity owned 2,545,500 (2024: 2,545,500) ordinary B shares of 10p each representing 40.8% (2024: 40.8%) of the B shares in issue and 36.5% (2024: 36.5%) of the total shares in issue of Taylor Clark Limited. During the year, the Trust received dividends of £734,199 (2024: £786,169) from Taylor Clark Limited.

Taylor Clark Limited has supplied office accommodation and staff for the administration of the Trust. For these services, management fees of £12,000 (2024: £32,400) , inclusive of VAT have been paid by the Trust. There was no outstanding balance due to Taylor Clark Limited at the year-end (2024: £nil). The table below shows staff costs included within the Taylor Clark management fee of £12,000.

Staff costs Wages and salaries Social security costs Employers’ contributions to defined contribution pension scheme Other employee benefits	2025 Total £ 6,800 938 1,870 134 9,742	2024 Total £ 14,200 1,960 3,768 266
		20,331

THE UNDERWOOD TRUST

Notes to the financial statements

For the year ended 5 April 2025

10 Related party transactions (continued)

Briony Wilson is a shareholder in Taylor Clark Limited.

Richard Bennison and Briony Wilson are directors of Taylor Clark Limited.

No trustee received any remuneration during the year (2024: £nil). No trustee received any reimbursement of expenses.

11 Reconciliation of net movement in funds to net cash flow from operating activities

Net movement in funds Deduct interest income Deduct dividends and interest from investments Deduct (gains) / add back losses on unrealised investments (Gains) / losses realised on sale of investments Decrease / (increase) in debtors Increase / (decrease) in creditors Net cash used in operating activities	2025 £ 953,527 (21,890) (1,374,384) (331,107) - (1,129) (749,864) (1,524,847)	2024 £ 666,745 (5,274) (1,395,626) (871,863) (122,202) (307) 750,481
		(978,046)