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2025-03-31-accounts

Company number: 01157482 Charity number: 267116

PORCHLIGHT LIMITED

Report and financial statements For the year ended 31 March 2025

PORCHLIGHT LIMITED

Contents

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Reference and administrative information ...................................................................................... 1 Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report) ................................................................. 3 Independent auditor’s report ....................................................................................................... 27 Statement of financial activities (incorporating an income and expenditure account) ................... 32 Balance sheet ............................................................................................................................... 33 Statement of cash flows ................................................................................................................ 34 Notes to the financial statements ................................................................................................. 36

PORCHLIGHT LIMITED

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Company number 01157482 Country of incorporation United Kingdom Charity number 267116 Country of registration England & Wales

Registered office and operational address 15 New Town Street, Canterbury, Kent, CT1 1BX

Trustees

Trustees, who are also directors under company law, who served during the year and up to the date of this report were:

Patrick Fuller (Chair) Anne Chapman (Vice Chair) Anna Linstead (Treasurer) Appointed – 29 January 2025 Timothy Child Thomas Evans Stephanie Goad Dr Jenny Robson Dr Nicholas Ward Thomas Abbott Claire Ellis-Waghorn Danica McLean Adam Lott Resigned – 9 October 2025 Emily Vince Appointed – 19 March 2025 Bernadette Coady-Mayall Appointed – 21 July 2025 Hilary Edridge Resigned – 30 November 2024 David Leah Resigned – 26 March 2025 Neil Oldfield Resigned – 14 June 2024

Key management Patrick Fuller Chair of the Board of Trustees personnel Tom Neumark Chief Executive Officer and Secretary Catherine Keen Chief Finance and Operating Officer Sarah Dennis Director of Human Resources Julia Hargreaves Director of Services Adam Colthorpe Director of Development and Innovation / Income Generation and Communications Bankers Unity Trust Bank Four Brindley Place Birmingham B1 2JB

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PORCHLIGHT LIMITED

Reference and administrative information

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Solicitors Knights Professional Services Limited The Brampton Newcastle-under-Lyme Staffordshire ST5 0QW Auditor RSM UK Audit LLP Portland 25 High Street Crawley West Sussex RH10 1BG

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

The trustees present their report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Reference and administrative information on pages 1 and 2 forms part of this report. The financial statements comply with current statutory requirements, the memorandum and articles of association, the requirements of a directors’ report as required under company law, and the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities: SORP applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with FRS 102.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Introduction from the Chair

As Chair of Porchlight, I am proud to present this year’s trustee report, a year in which we celebrated Porchlight’s 50[th] anniversary, an impressive track record of sustained support and innovation.

In the past year, we were delighted to launch innovative new services, including personal budgets for people experiencing homelessness and partnering with JP Morgan’s Force for Good Project team to improve digital signposting for people who need information about local services. In total, we supported over 5,500 people across Kent, offering outreach, mental health support, housing, and services for children and young people. Our services are high quality, with 85% of people saying they would recommend them to others.

It was a year which reflected both the resilience and determination of our charity in the face of significant challenges which have tested our sector, our organisation, and the people we support— and it demonstrated the strength of our mission and the unwavering commitment of our staff, volunteers, and supporters.

Porchlight operates in a context of rising homelessness, increasing mental health needs, and tight public sector budgets. In March 2025, 194 people were seen sleeping rough across Kent and Medway—an 11% increase from the previous year. Thousands of households, including children, remain in temporary accommodation and Kent social care is seeing dramatic growth in demands relating to mental health. These figures are not just statistics; they represent lives in crisis and communities under strain.

In response to these pressures and following the withdrawal of funding by Kent County Council, we took the decision to invest a portion of our reserves to maintain our homelessness services in the short term. This was not a decision taken lightly. It reflects our values and our belief that no one should be left without support. This strategic use of reserves allowed us to continue delivering vital services, whilst redesigning our approach to support, and gave us time to develop an Organisational Stability Plan.

We know that the road ahead will not be easy. But we are confident in our direction. Our plan is already delivering results, and we are focused on building our resilience, and continuing to provide personcentred, effective support.

None of this would be possible without the extraordinary efforts of our staff, volunteers, and supporters. Your dedication, compassion, and belief in our mission have carried us through and positioned us for a brighter future. On behalf of the board of trustees, I offer my heartfelt thanks.

Together, we remain committed to our vision of a safe home, better life and fairer future for everyone.

Patrick Fuller Chair of the Board of Trustees Porchlight

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Objectives and activities

Purposes and aims

Porchlight’s objects as outlined in the memorandum and articles of association are:

Vision and mission

Porchlight’s vision is a safe home, better life and a fairer future for everyone. We were founded to help people facing the devastating effects of homelessness. Today, we also tackle the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality.

Our mission:

We’re here for people when it matters most.

We offer safety, stability and respect.

Public benefit

The trustees have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing Porchlight’s aims and objectives and in planning its future activities. In particular, trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to Porchlight’s set aims and objectives. The trustees are confident that Porchlight meets the Public Benefit requirements.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Strategic report

Porchlight prides itself on being there for people when they need us most. In the past year, we were delighted to launch innovative new services, including personal budgets for people experiencing homelessness and to partner with JP Morgan’s Force for Good Project team to improve digital signposting for people who need information about local services. We supported over 5,500 people across Kent, offering outreach, mental health support, housing, and services for children and young people. Our services are high quality, with 85% of people saying they would recommend them to others.

There are an increasing number of people experiencing homelessness. At the same time government funding for homelessness services is being reduced. Following cuts to our funding made by Kent County Council, trustees decided to invest a portion of our reserves into maintaining our homelessness services. This short-term measure enabled us to continue supporting people in the immediate who would otherwise have experienced hardship, including sleeping rough on the streets.

This gave us the opportunity to redesign our approach and deliver our organisational stability plan. The plan provides us with a long term sustainable financial future which ensures that we continue to be there for our beneficiaries.

A challenging operating environment

Porchlight is a major Kent mental health and homelessness charity with demand for our services on the increase:

Porchlight aims to be here for people when it matters most, by tackling the causes and consequences of poverty and inequality. But these are challenging times for charities like ours. Across the county, there is an increasing number of people who need our help. At a time when fewer people are donating to charities, local authority budgets are coming under significant pressure, and costs continue to increase.

For Porchlight, operating in Kent presents the following specific challenges:

More people are experiencing mental health problems

Kent is seeing increasing rates of serious mental illness and since 2012, the county’s suicides rates have increased above the England average.

The number or people sleeping rough is increasing

194 people were seen sleeping rough across Kent and Medway in March 2025, an 11% increase on the number seen in March 2024.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

A challenging operating environment (continued)

Existing services are stretched

A combination of high demand and tight budgets has led to many of the complementary services our clients rely on either closing or restricting what they offer by increasing eligibility criteria and imposing more rigorous assessment processing. This means that many people who are experiencing homelessness and poverty have found it harder or impossible to access specialist services.

Funding is tighter than it ever has been

Charities working in social care are finding it harder to raise funds and cover expenses. The increase in employer National Insurance contributions put additional pressure on budgets at a time when statutory commissioners are offering no increases and only providing short-term contracts. Fewer people are donating to charities. Many traditional supporters of charities continue to rebuild their funds post Covid and are restricting the grants they make available.

In the face of these challenges, we have sought to maintain vital services over the short term, even if they were unfunded, to put our sustainability plan in place and to ensure people receive much needed support.

As part of our plan we are taking decisive steps to future-proof our services, ensuring we can continue to support people for years to come. We will not jeopardise our ability to continue to provide support to those who need it most.

Having made these difficult decisions and with our plan in place, we are confident that we have the strong financial foundations needed to grow and deliver quality services reflecting the increasingly challenging external funding environment.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Continuing to provide quality services

Our strategic objectives are:

To achieve our objectives, we provide a range of services, including community-based mental health support, homelessness outreach support for people sleeping rough, supported housing and support for children and young people.

Achievements in 2024-25

We enhanced our service delivery models:

We supported thousands of people across Kent:

We supported 5,562 people who were experiencing either homelessness or mental health problems.

Service Number ofpeople supported
Mental health services 3,772
Outreach 440
Supported housing 313
Children andyoung people 636

The backgrounds and characteristics of the people we supported are broadly representative of the population within Kent who can benefit from the support that we offer.

Gender Female 51%
Male 45%
Declined to say 4%
Age Under 18 14%
18-25 15%
26-35 20%
36-45 18%
46-55 16%
56-65 13%
66+ 4%
Disabled 75%

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Achievements in 2024-25 (continued)

Our services are high quality and the people who use them rate them highly

Most people who use our services would recommend them to friends or family, if they also needed support. The majority told us they were involved as much as they wanted to be and trusted their support worker all of the time.

% who would recommend the service to a friend or family member who
needs support		 85%
% who were involved as much as theywanted to be in their support? 77%
% who have confidence and trust in their support worker? 82%

These scores are reflected in our own internal audits, which consistently find that our support is of high quality.

Our accommodation is safe and well run

All of our housing assets met core regulatory requirements and safety standards. All complaints were resolved within 14 days.

We have work to do to increase the performance of our responsive and emergency repairs, but this year, like many in the housing sector, we have faced challenges with recruitment as well as contractor availability. We have put a new asset management plan in place to address emergency repairs performance and are currently reviewing our approach to housing leadership which will improve performance going forward.

Target Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
% target for responsive repairs
within 28 days per quarter		 100% 74% 85% 86% 84%
% target for emergency repairs
within 24 hours per quarter		 100% 63% 79% 76% 64%

At some points during 2024/25, voids in our supported accommodation underperformed against our internal targets. This happened because we were negotiating the ongoing model for these units. Once these negotiations were complete, we were able to move people into our homes, and void rates started to improve - dropping to 10% in Q4 24/25.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Achievements in 2024-25 (continued)

Our services support people to improve their situation

In addition to helping people find accommodation, we help them improve their life in all areas.

To measure the extent that people have improved their situation, we use the DIALOG scale, a tool which is widely used across the NHS and beyond. People score their satisfaction with eight life domains and three support aspects on a 7-point scale. The scale has been shown to have good psychometric properties. Using this tool, we found that:

Finding innovative ways to support people

In 2024-25, we introduced additional services aimed at improving the life chances of our clients:

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Achievements in 2024-25 (continued)

Finding innovative ways to support people (continued)

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Future plans

We have four organisation-wide priorities aimed at ensuring Porchlight delivers its vision whilst mitigating risk:

Priorities for our services

Continuing to deliver excellent services remains our priority. While some of our services may evolve, we will use our valuable resources to help people we work with to achieve their goals - when and where this is needed most. We will:

Priorities for our people

Our workforce is pivotal to the support we provide and the experiences of our clients. Our staff have continued to provide excellent services whilst experiencing change in recent years. We have learnt from this and will continue to engage our staff and volunteers in the delivery of our sustainability plan. To continue ensuring our workforce excels in providing high-quality services we will:

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Future plans (continued)

Our financial strategy

For the past two years we have strategically used Porchlight’s reserves to continue to deliver support while we transitioned our homelessness services. This was a temporary measure, and our focus now is on building Porchlight’s financial resilience to rebuild our financial foundation. We will:

Increase our income by:

Control our costs by:

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Financial review

The results for the year are set out in the Statement of Financial Activities. The assets and liabilities of the charity at 31 March 2025 are shown in the Balance Sheet. The financial statements should be read in conjunction with their related notes.

Income

Total income fell from £12.602 million in 2023-24 to £10.409 million in 2024-25 – a fall of 17%. Whilst income from donation and legacies increased by £0.348 million, the main change was the fall in income from charitable activities from £10.746 million to £8.242 million.

Grant income fell by £3.099 million across both homelessness and mental health services following the decommissioning of services, although the reduction in mental health services was offset by the newly awarded Mental Health Together contract currently valued annually at £0.862 million, generating £0.268 million in 2024-25.

The reduction in grant income was offset in part by inflationary increases in rents and service charges receivable from property (£0.632 million). In 2024-25, supported by an independent consultancy, we reviewed our approach to rent and service charge setting, linked to Enhanced Housing Benefit regulations which aims to maximise property income. In 2025-26, we forecast that this will increase rent and service charge income by approximately 40%.

Expenditure

Although our income fell 17% in 2024-25, our expenditure fell by 9.6% from £13.071 million to £11.813 million. This reflects our decision to utilise Porchlight’s reserves to temporarily support service delivery after the withdrawal of funding by commissioners.

Porchlight’s biggest area of expenditure is staff costs. These increased over the year by 2.7% to £6.642 million from £6.465 million. 2024-25 expenditure included £0.724 million of designated reserves, £0.650 million of which was to support ongoing delivery of homelessness services while we transitioned to new service models, involving restructuring both direct service and overhead staff teams. This process was substantially completed in 2025-26 and the designated funds utilised in full.

The biggest fall in expenditure was in payments to our delivery network partners (sub-contractors). These fell from £3.210 million in 2023-24 to £1.423 million in 2024-25 reflecting the decommissioning of contracts in previous years.

In the accounts to 31 March 2025, we have set aside £120k for dilapidation costs associated with the closure of our Head Office in Watling Street in September 2025.

The organisational stability plan will continue on a smaller scale into 2025-26 as we continue to ensure that all our contracts are individually sustainable and that our overheads are appropriate for the underlying contractual activity.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Annual surplus

Historically, Porchlight has delivered annual surpluses in the region of 4 – 6% of income. However, as a result of our investment in maintaining services, there has been two consecutive years of deficits.:

Year Net
unrestricted
income /
(expenditure)		 Net restricted
income /
(expenditure)
Total
Net income /
(expenditure) as a
% of total income
2020-21 £514k £69k £583k 4.6%
2021-22 £625k £235k £860k 6.4%
2022-23 £796k (£146k) £650k 4.7%
2023-24 (£492k) (£53k) (£545k) (4.3%)
2024-25 (£1,504k) £100k (1,404k) (13.5%)

The 2024-25 deficit of £1,404k is in line with expectations when Trustees agreed the use of reserves to continue to support services. As the underlying use of reserves to support services has now come to an end, the work of our organisational stability plan in 2024-25 was focussed on restructuring our cost base to ensure the viability of individual contracts and of the organisation. We are now striking a sustainable balance between maximising our impact and ensuring our long-term survival.

Trustees have set a target of returning surpluses to pre 2023-24 surplus levels and have approved a budget for 2025-26 which is forecast to deliver a surplus for the organisation and commence the process of rebuilding reserves.

Balance sheet

Despite the reduction in reserves, the balance sheet remains positive with net assets of £2.599 million, down from £4.004 million last year. Fixed assets of £2.080 million include unencumbered freehold assets of £1.590 million and £490k of investment properties which arose from the generous donation of two properties by Dr Pat Chipping. All freehold assets are available for disposal or as security to raise finance should the need arise.

Net current assets are £647k. Cash balances remained positive, at £646k which was down from £1.623 million last year. To support working capital during the year, we negotiated a loan from Big Issue Invest for £200,000 repayable over 3 years. This loan may be repaid early at no penalty.

Rebuilding liquid reserves remains a key focus for the organisation. Cash flow is closely monitored and is reviewed by trustees quarterly. We have established good relations with commissioning partners and local housing benefit teams to minimise delays in income collection and sustain cash flow. This is reflected in the reduction of debtors from £1.954 million at 31 March 2024 to £1.172 million at 31 March 2025.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Pensions

All staff are entitled to join Porchlight’s defined contribution scheme operated by AEGON. New employees are automatically enrolled on joining. Porchlight will match any employee contributions up to 7%, subject to maintaining minimum contribution levels under pensions’ legislation. Employees are entitled to opt out but less than 5% of staff have done so.

Investment policy

During the year, Porchlight disposed of its investment property realising £305k against a carrying value of £325k which supported liquidity in the year. Trustees have also agreed to the further disposal of a leasehold property, which has been transferred to property for sale and for which a sale has been completed in August 2025 at close to net book value.

As noted above, 2 properties were donated to the charity in 2024-25 with an estimated value of £490,000 which are currently being rented pending future potential disposal.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Principal risks and uncertainties

The board of trustees is responsible for ensuring that Porchlight has systems of internal control that are appropriate to the external environment in which we operate. These enable us to manage (rather than eliminate) risks and provide a reasonable, but not necessarily absolute, degree of assurance.

Porchlight’s operating model has relied on income generated from contracts awarded by commissioning partners. These are awarded for a fixed number of years and are subject to retendering at various intervals. Therefore, they cannot be guaranteed in the longer-term.

Historically, rents and service charge income has also been linked to commissioned contracts, however during 2024-25, we undertook a review of charges to make our accommodation services more financially viable if grants from commissioners reduce further or come to an end.

The commissioning environment can provide opportunities for Porchlight. Contracts currently provided by others may also put out of tender, giving us the potential to increase our contract base. NHS plans to increase service delivery within the voluntary sector also offers opportunities.

Fundraising activities bring added value initiatives which directly support our clients and provide core unrestricted income.

Approach to risk management

Porchlight operates both a bottom-up and top-down approach to risk management. Operational services develop their own risk management plans which inform our strategic risk register. The strategic risk register defines risks that have the potential to seriously affect Porchlight’s ability to continue operating as an independent organisation. Risks can be added or deleted depending on changes to the environmental assessment.

For 2024-25 the top risks were identified as:

Trustees receive detailed updates on these areas at each of their board meetings. These include a review of internal / external challenges, relevant KPIs and any independent third-party information. This ensures the board is sighted on major risk areas likely to affect Porchlight.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Controls

The board of trustees have put appropriate procedures and controls in place to adequately mitigate against the various risks Porchlight faces. These include:

The Board delegates authority to Porchlight’s sub committees to monitor the review and outcome of the application of controls. This is done by regular reporting and deeper analysis of issues of concern.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Reserves policy and going concern

Porchlight’s reserves policy is designed to reflect the underlying risk facing us: it ensures we have an appropriate level of reserves to safeguard our operations and can continue providing services to our beneficiaries.

We hold restricted funds to meet commissioner and donor requirements around unspent income.

Restricted reserves include amounts associated with fixed asset investments reflecting where property may be charged to external agencies. At 31 March 2025, restricted reserves had increased to £734,430 from £634,510 due to unspent grants and restricted donations received close to the year end. Included in these is £162,285 relating to fixed assets.

In 2024-25 we fully utilised £723,509 of designated reserves that has been carried forward to support contracts for women’s services and Housing First as well as continuing to fund posts within our Kent Homelessness Connect service. There are no designated reserves to be carried forward into 202526.

Free Reserves

Trustees annually consider the minimum level of free reserves– excluding restricted and designated reserves – required to support our operations with the aim of providing a buffer against unforeseen events. A key measure of that assessment is the predictability of our income stream.

Given that rents and service charges and contract values are effectively fixed at the start of the year, the main element of uncertainty around income is fundraising. Despite the challenging external fundraising environment, Porchlight has continued to attract donations from a wide range of supporters. Investing time in donor engagement has proved to be successful in ensuring a consistently high level of donations.

In terms of expenditure, a significant element of work took place in 2024-25 to ensure that expenditure is commensurate with income. This will prevent any further draw on reserves.

Trustees have targeted free reserves at three months’ worth of operating costs. At 31 March 2025 this would be £2.6 million. Currently, our unrestricted reserves total £1.865 million: non-liquid fixed assets currently comprise £1.918 million, leaving a free cash reserve deficit of £53k.

To manage the risk around this level of free reserves and whilst we seek to rebuild our reserves, trustees have set an interim target of cash balances to meet one month’s worth of operating expenditure. This means cash balances should not fall below approximately £880k. At 31 March 2025, cash balances were £646k but have since risen beyond the target following receipt of outstanding grants.

Liquidity support in 2024-25 was provided by the sale of property and the loan from Big Issue Invest. Trustees do have the option to agree to dispose of other properties or raise further finance should the need arise, although current forecasts are that neither of these will be necessary.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Forecast and budgets / going concern

Having considered future projections, Trustees have agreed that it is appropriate to prepare the accounts on the going concern basis of accounting for the twelve months following the date of the signing of the accounts.

As a short-term measure, we drew heavily on our reserves, over the past two years, as we transitioned away from the supported housing model funded by Kent County Council towards a model funded through more localised support contracts and supplemented by Enhanced Housing Management.

The budget for 2025-26 predicts that we will return to surplus following revisions to our rent and service charge setting policy, restructuring of support contracts and a detailed review of central costs. As a result, we expect overall reserves to increase as we rebuild our financial capacity. Our performance to date in 2025-26 suggests that we are on target to deliver that surplus.

Our Live Well Kent and Medway Contract (annual value: £3.4 million) has now been extended up until March 2028. Taking that into account, our predictions for 2026-27 suggest that we will deliver additional surpluses which will add to our reserves.

To test this assumption, trustees also considered a no growth budget which assumes:

Without taking corrective action, the deficit for 2026-27 would be £651k reducing reserves to £2.491 million. Net current assets would be positive at £0.735k and cash balances would also remain positive. However, Porchlight has demonstrated a track record of reducing costs to match income and we would be confident of taking early corrective measures to prevent reserves from reducing and managing cash to maintain liquidity. In extreme circumstances property disposal or raising finance against our property could be considered.

Environmental Impact

We continue to identify opportunities to improve our operational processes to contribute to environmental sustainability. These include:

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Fundraising

This year marked Porchlights 50th birthday, but we couldn't celebrate not while the average age of death for people living on the streets is 45 for men and just 43 for women. We delivered an extensive range of events to mark the occasion and to draw attention to the ongoing homelessness crisis. A special thanks goes to Barretts of Canterbury, Fitzgerald Jewellers, Leverets – Barristers & Solicitors, Savills and Thanet Earth, who generously supported Porchlight in this landmark year as 50th anniversary sponsors.

To mark this organisational milestone. we created a roaming art instillation, visiting towns and cities across Kent to highlight the issues surrounding homelessness, raising vital awareness and funds to support our work. We also launched the Big Sleepout, an event for World Homeless Day, asking community groups and individuals to raise vital fund for homeless and vulnerable people in Kent.

Our annual Christmas appeal raised over £183,005.

We would especially like to thank the following trusts who supported us over the year:

The Redbreast Trust

Laing Family Trusts

Frank Brake Charitable Trust

Colyer Fergusson Charitable Trust

Lawson Trust

Edward Vinson

Doogood Foundation

Sobell Foundation

Hollick Family Foundation

Some numbers:

The staff, clients and volunteers are so grateful to the support of our donors who have committed to helping others in their county with funds raised by schools, community groups, businesses, trusts and foundations and individuals.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Fundraising Practices

Donors to Porchlight can be confident that we comply with the regulatory standards for fundraising

All fundraising staff are members of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. We have safeguards in place to protect our supporters and the reputation of our charity. We ensure that all third parties have safeguarding measures in place too and we expect everyone to comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice. We take any concerns about our fundraising activities very seriously.

Our complaints policy is featured on our website and clearly explains how people can make a complaint. Our gift acceptance policy references from whom we will accept gifts and how we protect vulnerable people. We are signed up to the Fundraising Preference Service to allow people to opt out of receiving fundraising communications from us but did not have to action any request.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Structure, governance and management

Structure

Porchlight Limited (“Porchlight”) is a registered charity and is incorporated as a company limited by guarantee governed by its memorandum and articles of association.

Every member of the company undertakes to contribute to its assets in the event of winding up such amount, as may be required, not exceeding one pound.

All trustees give their time voluntarily and receive no benefits from the charity. Any expenses reclaimed from the charity are set out in note 8 to the accounts.

Governance

The trustees constitute the directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006 and trustees for the purposes of the Charities Act 2011. They provide leadership, direction and control in pursuit of the Charity’s charitable objectives. Trustees serve for a term of three years with a possible appointment for a second term of another three years.

Trustees are recruited based on the range of skills and experience needed to govern Porchlight. This includes strategic and operational experience as well as a range of business and commercial experience, including financial and HR knowledge.

Patrick Fuller is chair of the board of trustees, having served in that role since November 2024 after joining the Board in 2020. Patrick is a digital communications consultant and has worked in specialist media for the last 25 years, having started his career as a journalist in Kent.

During the year, Anna Linstead and Emily Vince were appointed to the board. Anna is an accountant and corporate tax specialist in the private sector, bringing additional financial experience to the board. Anna has agreed to act as Porchlight’s treasurer. Emily has acted as a chief adviser on strategy, communications, corporate affairs, reputation, marketing, fundraising and transformation. She has led major structural and cultural change in some of the UK’s most complex institutions.

Bernadette Coady-Mayall was appointed on 21 July 2025. Bernadette is a VCSE Systems & Governance Leader working closely with NHS Trusts, schools, and Non Profits. She is, amongst other things, the Lead Governor, Chair of Committees at East Kent Hospitals University NHS Foundation Trust and Steering group member of the Kent & Medway VCSE Steering Group.

Hilary Edridge (who chaired Porchlight until November 2024), David Leah, Neil OIdfield and Adam Lott stood down from the board during the year. We are very grateful to them for their support and service during their tenure with Porchlight.

Trustee Induction / Training / Involvement

Trustees receive a Trustee handbook which contains information about Porchlight, its structure and operations, the Board and sub-committee structures, Trustee duties and responsibilities and key policies. Trustees are encouraged to participate in visits to Porchlight projects to provide first hand exposure to the services delivered and the operating environment.

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Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Governance (Continued)

Trustee Induction / Training / Involvement

Trustees receive a trustee handbook which contains information about Porchlight, its structure and operations, the board and subcommittee structures, trustee duties and responsibilities and key policies. Trustees are encouraged to participate in visits to Porchlight projects to gain first hand exposure of our services and the operating environment.

Training provided to the board is aligned to identified needs. All Trustees undertake safeguarding training and the board has appointed Dr Jenny Robson who has a long career history as a practitioner, leader and academic in children and family services and currently works at the University of East London. Trustees also attend annual away days to consider the operating environment and plan strategic direction.

The full board of Trustees meet five times a year to discuss strategy, to formulate policy and to oversee operational matters. They are supported by four standing committees who review specific areas in detail and report back to the full board:

Porchlight’s Trustees have agreed to work towards full compliance with the Charity Governance Code and to review Porchlight’s practices against the seven key areas which make up the code.

Management

Day-to-day management of the organisation is delegated to the chief executive and other members of the leadership team. The chief executive is not a member of the company and has no legal status as a director although he acts as executive within the authority delegated by the Trustees.

The chief executive, who also acts as secretary, and other members of the leadership team attend trustee board meetings, subcommittee meetings and trustee away days, presenting reports and analyses for discussion and to support decision making.

Pay Policy for Senior Staff

The pay of all staff – including the leadership team - is reviewed by the Remuneration Committee annually to ensure remuneration is competitive and affordable.

24

Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Statement of responsibilities of the trustees

The trustees (who are also directors of Porchlight for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report (incorporating the strategic report and directors’ report) and the financial statements in accordance with 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).

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 company and of the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. 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.

In so far as the Trustees are aware:

The Trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Members of the charity guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charity in the event of winding up. The total number of such guarantees at 31 March 2025 was 13 (2024: 14). The Trustees are members of the charity, but this entitles them only to voting rights. The trustees have no beneficial interest in the charity.

25

Porchlight Limited

Trustees’ annual report (including the strategic report)

For the year ended 31 March 2025

Auditor

RSM UK Audit LLP was re-appointed as the charitable company's auditor during the year and has expressed its willingness to continue in that capacity.

The Trustees’ annual report, which includes the strategic report, has been approved by the Trustees on 15 October 2025 and signed on their behalf by

Patrick Fuller Chair – board of trustees

26

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Independent Auditor’s Report to the members of Porchlight

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Porchlight (the ‘charitable company’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities (including the Summary Income and Expenditure Account), the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 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 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 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.

27

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Other information

The other information comprises the information included in the Trustees’ Report other than the financial statements and our auditor’s report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Trustees’ Report. 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.

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 course of 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 this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.

We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors’ Report, or the Strategic Report included within the Trustees’ Report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

28

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees’ responsibilities set out on page 25, 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 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 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.

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

Irregularities are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit.

In relation to fraud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatement due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit.

However, it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entity's operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud.

29

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the audit engagement team:

As a result of these procedures we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are FRS 102, Charities SORP (FRS 102), Companies Act 2006, The Charities (Protection and Social Investment) Act 2016, Charities Act 2011 and the charitable company’s governing document. We performed audit procedures to detect noncompliances which may have a material impact on the financial statements which included reviewing the financial statements including the Trustees’ Report and remaining alert to new or unusual transactions which may not be in accordance with the governing documents.

The most significant laws and regulations that have an indirect impact on the financial statements are those in relation to health and safety, tenancy laws and safeguarding. We performed audit procedures to inquire of management whether the charitable company is in compliance with these law and regulations.

The audit engagement team identified the risk of management override of controls and existence, cut-off and completeness of revenue as the areas where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud. Audit procedures performed included but were not limited to testing manual journal entries and other adjustments, evaluating the business rationale in relation to significant, unusual transactions and transactions entered into outside the normal course of business, testing the occurrence of a sample of revenue transactions and reviewing a sample of revenue transactions either side of the year end to ensure that revenue had been recognised in the appropriate accounting period.

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.

30

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

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. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Zoe Longstaff-Tyrrell (Senior Statutory Auditor) For and on behalf of RSM UK AUDIT LLP, Statutory Auditor Chartered Accountants Portland 25 High Street Crawley West Sussex RH10 1BG Date 28/10/25

31

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Statement of Financial Activities (including Income and Expenditure Account) for the year ended 31 March 2025

Note
Income
Donations and legacies
2
Charitable activities
3
Trading income
Investment income
4
Total Income
Expenditure
Raising Funds
6
Charitable activities
7
Interest payable
5
Total Expenditure
Net (loss) on investments
Net movement in funds
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought
forward
Total Funds carried
forward		 Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
Total Funds
2025
2025
2025
£
£
£
1,718,523
427,383
2,145,906
6,083,729
2,158,558
8,242,287
-
-
-
20,334
-
20,334
7,822,586
2,585,941
10,408,527
486,175
40,822
526,997
8,840,179
2,445,199
11,285,378
668
-
668
9,327,022
2,486,021 11,813,043
-
-
-
(1,504,436)
99,920
(1,404,516)
3,369,129
634,510
4,003,639
1,864,693
734,430
2,599,123		 Total Funds
2024
£
1,797,740
10,746,389
16,795
40,956
12,601,880
485,293
12,586,317
-
13,071,610
(75,000)
(544,730)
4,548,369
4,003.639

The notes on pages 36 to 52 form part of these financial statements.

32

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Balance Sheet as at 31 March 2025

Note
Fixed Assets
Tangible assets
10
Investment property
11
Current Assets
Property held for sale
12
Debtors
13
Cash at bank and in hand
Liabilities
Creditors: amounts due in less than one year
13
Net current assets
Creditors: amounts falling due in more than one
year
15
Total net assets
The funds of the charity
Restricted income funds
17
Unrestricted funds
17
Total charity funds		 2025
£
1,590,365
490,000
2,080,365
105,726
1,171,155
646,418
1,923,299
(1,276,764)
646,535
(127,777)
2,599,123
734,430
1,864,693
2,599,123		 2024
£
1,793,366
-
1,793,366
325,000
1,953,726
1,622,696
3,901,422
(1,691,149)
2,210,273
-
4,003,639
634,510
3,369,129
4,003,639

Company number:01157482

The financial statements on pages 32 to 52 were approved and authorised for issue by the board of trustees on 15 October 2025 and signed on their behalf by:

Patrick Fuller (Chair)

Anna Linstead (Treasurer)

33

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 March 2025

Note
Cash (used) by operating activities
A
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest paid
Income from investments
Income from property disposal
Proceeds from the sale of fixed assets
Purchase of fixed assets
Cash (used) by investing activities
Cash flows from financing activities
Loans received
Repayments of borrowing
Net cash provided by financing activities
Changes in cash and cash equivalents in the year
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the
year
C
Total cash and cash equivalents at the end of the
year
B
Note A – Reconciliation of net income to net cash
flow from operating activities
Net expenditure for the year as per the statement
of financial activities
Adjustments for:
Non cash legacy property received
Depreciation charges
Interest paid
Loss / (gain) on investments
Income from investments
Loss / (profit) on sale of fixed assets
Decrease in debtors
(Decrease) / increase in creditors
Net cash (used) by operating activities		 Total Funds
2025
£
(1,443,977)
(668)
20,334
305,379
-
(51,790)
273,255
200,000
(5,556)
194,444
(976,278)
1,622,696
646,418
(1,404,516)
(490,000)
148,611
668
19,621
(20,334)
454
782,571
(481,052)
(1,443,977)		 Total Funds
2024
£
(133,733)
-
40,956
-
20,600
(563,765)
(502,209)
-
-
-
(635,942)
2,258,638
1,622,696
(544,730)
-
155,475
-
75,000
(40,956)
(8,059)
126,327
103,210
(133,733)

34

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Statement of Cash Flows for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

Note B:
Analysis of cash and cash equivalents
Cash in Hand
Note C:
Analysis of changes in net debt
Cash at bank
Short term loans
Long term loans
Cash and cash equivalents		 2025
2024
£
£
646,418
1,622,696
At 1 April
2024
Cashflow
Non cash
changes
At 31
March
2025
£
£
£
£
1,622,696
(976,278)
-
646,418
-
-
(66,667)
(66,667)
-
(194,444)
66,667
(127,777)
1,622,696
(1,170,722)
-
451,974

35

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025

  1. Accounting Policies

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

1.1 Basis of Preparation

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the historical cost convention, modified to include investment properties at fair value, and in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities (SORP 2015) applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019) and the Companies Act 2006.

Porchlight meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The trustees are of the view that having secure long term contracts i.e. the KCC Live Well Kent contract, combined with the property rental portfolio, constitutes the charity as a going concern for at least the 12 months following the approval of the accounts, and confirm there are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.

Income is recognised when the charity has legal entitlement to the funds, any performance conditions attached to the items are met, it is probable that the income will be received and it can be measured reliably.

Donations are included as income when the cash becomes receivable. For legacies, entitlement is taken when there has been grant of probate, the executors have established that there are sufficient net assets in the estate to pay the legacy and any conditions attached to the legacy have been met.

Income from government and other 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 reliably measured.

Where grants are received in advance, amounts are deferred at the year end as necessary.

Other trading activities relate to income in exchange for goods or services sold, at equal value. Income is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the funds and they can be reliably measured, normally upon receipt.

Income from interest on deposits is recognised when its receipt is probable and the amount can be measured reliably; this is normally upon notification or payment by the bank. Donated Goods and Services are included as income where it would otherwise have been purchased. Amounts are included when received, at the value of the cost of purchasing the goods or service outright on the open market.

36

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

1.4 Expenditure and irrecoverable VAT

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been included under expense categories that aggregate all costs for allocation to activities.

Expenditure on raising funds comprise the costs associated with attracting income from donations and legacies, together with investment costs.

Expenditure on charitable activities includes all costs incurred by a charity in undertaking activities that further its charitable aims for the benefit of its beneficiaries, including those support costs and costs relating to the governance of the charity apportioned to charitable activities.

Support costs include central functions such as governance, finance, administration, human resources etc and have been allocated to activities on the basis of the direct expenditure of the activities.

Irrecoverable VAT is charged against the category of resources expended for which it was incurred.

1.5 Termination Benefits

Termination benefits are payable when employment is terminated before the normal retirement date, or whenever an employee accepts voluntary redundancy in exchange for these benefits. The charity recognises termination benefits when it is demonstrably committed to either (i) terminating the employment of current employees according to a detailed formal plan without possibility of withdrawal or (ii) providing termination benefits as a result of an offer made to encourage voluntary redundancy.

1.6 Pensions

The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme. The expenses and any liability are allocated to the activity within the staff costs for that activity, similarly allocated to restricted or unrestricted based on the relevant staff costs for that fund.

1.7 Tangible Fixed Assets

Individual fixed assets costing £10,000 or more are capitalised at cost.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

Freehold property - 2% on cost of the building Leasehold property - over the life of the lease Fixtures & fittings and equipment- 25%

A full year of depreciation is charged in the year of acquisition, and none in the year of disposal.

37

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

1.10 Accrued Holiday Pay

Provision is made at the balance sheet date for holidays accrued but not taken, at the salary of the relevant employee at that date. The expected cost of compensated short-term absence (i.e holidays) is charged to the SOFA on an accruals basis .

1.11 Fund Accounting

Rentals applicable to operating leases where substantially all of the benefits and risks of ownership remain with the lessor are charged to the SOFA as incurred.

1.13 Financial Instruments

The Charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102, in full, to all of its financial instruments.

Financial assets and financial liabilities are recognised when the Company becomes a party to the contractual provisions of the instrument, and are offset only when the Company currently has a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and intends either to settle on a net basis, or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously. Financial Assets - Grants receivable and other debtors (including accrued income) which are receivable within one year and which do not constitute a financing transaction are initially measured at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost, being the transaction price less any amounts settled and any impairment losses.

Financial Liabilities - Other creditors (including accruals) payable within one year that do not constitute a financing transaction are initially measured at the transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost, being transaction price less any amounts settled.

38

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

In the application of the charity’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.

Valuation of investment property

The carrying value of the investment property is stated at fair value. The charity considers external valuation sources for determining the fair value as detailed in note 11 to these financial statements, however, the valuation of the charity's investment property is inherently subjective, as it is made on the basis of valuation assumptions which may in future not prove to be accurate.

39

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

2.
Donations and Legacies
Gifts and donations
Legacies
General grants
Donated property
Donated goods and services
Total		 Unrestricted
Funds
2025
£
1,043,312
149,389
17,963
490,000
17,859
1,718,523		 Restricted
Funds
2025
£
165,453
-
261,930
-
-
427,383		 Total
Funds
2025
£
1,208,765
149,389
279,893
490,000
17,859
2,145,906
Prior year Unrestricted
Funds		 Restricted
Funds
Total
Funds
2024 2024
2024
£ £
£
Gifts and donations 1,059,382 365,320
1,424,702
Legacies 106,198 107,478
213,676
General grants 500 97,300
97,800
Donated goods and services 61,562 -
61,562
Total 1,227,642 570,098
1,797,740

Donated goods and services in the current year include raffles prizes, venue hire and catering, client welfare, IT costs and Housing Management.

40

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

3.
Charitable Activities
Homelessness services
Rent / accommodation charges
Kent County Council
Local authority grants
NHS grants
Mental health services
Kent County Council
Local authority grants
NHS grants
Communities
European Social Fund (ESF) income
Big Lottery Fund
Other grants receivable
Total		 Unrestricted
Funds
2025
£
2,335,515
-
121,850
1,680
2,459,045
3,414,504
-
244,354
3,658,858
(34,174)
-
-
(34,174)
6,083,729		 Restricted
Funds
2025
£
-
7,172
1,220,375
-
1,227,547
7,945
119,253
684,245
811,443
-
42,580
76,988
119,568
2,158,558		 Total
Funds
2025
£
2,335,515
7,172
1,342,225
1,680
3,686,592
3,422,449
119,253
928,599
4,470,301
(34,174)
42,580
76,988
85,394
8,242,287

41

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

3. Charitable Activities
Prior year Unrestricted
Funds		 Restricted
Funds		 Total
Funds
2024 2024 2024
Homelessness services £ £ £
Rent / accommodation charges 1,703,744 - 1,703,744
Kent County Council 1,386,585 - 1,386,585
Local Authority grants 150,000 1,451,215 1,601,215
Student Placement fees 3,920 - 3,920
NHS grants - 39,448 39,448
Other grants receivable 38 135,105 135,143
3,244,287 1,625,768 4,870,055
Mental health services
Kent County Council 4,119,010 85,436 4,204,446
NHS Grants 559,118 890,429 1,449,547
Other grants receivable - 23,079 23,079
4,678,128 998,944 5,677,072
Communities
European Social Fund income 12,280 59,056 71,336
Big Lottery Fund - 127,741 127,741
Sundry income 185 - 185
12,465 186,797 199,262
Total 7,934,880 2,811,509 10,746,389

ESF income due has been written back in the current year as irrecoverable.

Government grants are received for the provision of support within accommodation, floating support and outreach services, adolescent support services and mental health and wellbeing services.

Government grants received during the year totalled £5,847,849 (2024: £8,682,241). There were no unfulfilled conditions attached to government grants recognised in the year (2024: None).

42

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

4.
Investment Income
Rental income from investment properties
Bank interest
Total
5.
Interest payable and financing costs
Interest payable on loans
6.
Raising Funds
Unrestricted
Funds
Restricted
Funds
2025
2025
£
£
Expenditure on raising
donations and legacies
486,175
40,822		 Unrestricted
Funds
2025
£
5,813
14,521
20,334
Unrestricted
Funds
2025
£
668
Total Funds
2025
£
526,997		 Unrestricted
Funds
2024
£
12,100
28,856
40,956
Unrestricted
Funds
2024
£
-
Total Funds
2024
£
485,293

43

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

7.
Charitable Activities
Activities undertaken directly
Staff costs
Premises costs
Delivery network fees
Office costs
Tenant welfare fund
Sundry expenses
Support costs
Governance
Management and
administration
Finance
Human resources
Communications
TOTAL		 Homelessness
Services
Mental
Health
Services
Communities
Total
2025
£
£
£
£
2,335,932
2,724,421
23,229
5,083,582
1,725,443
230,189
1,233
1,956,865
-
1,422,778
-
1,422,778
157,612
87,220
611
245,443
61,598
55,953
-
117,551
2,184
1,525
2
3,711
4,282,769
4,522,086
25,075
8,829,930
43,425
46,073
260
89,758
388,416
412,099
2,329
802,844
239,568
274,993
1,554
516,115
189,940
201,522
1,139
392,601
316,468
335,765
1,897
654,130
1,177,817
1,270,452
7,179
2,455,448
5,460,586
5,792,538
32,254
11,285,378

All support costs are apportioned on the basis of unrestricted direct expenditure

Expenditure on charitable activities was £11,285,378 (2024: £12,586,317) of which £8,840,179 (2024: £9,558,299) was unrestricted and £2,445,199 (2024: £3,028,018) was restricted.

Within governance costs is Directors and Officers Insurance of £11,221 (2024: £10,696).

44

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

7.
Charitable Activities		 Homelessness
Services
Mental
Health
Services
Communities
Total
2024
Prior year £
£
£
£
Activities undertaken directly
Staff costs 2,339,362
2,207,914
351,298
4,898,574
Premises costs 1,684,742
154,384
34,157
1,873,283
Delivery network fees 516,988
2,692,927
-
3,209,915
Office costs 127,601
71,315
8,225
207,141
Tenant welfare fund 105,890
36,226
10,377
152,493
Sundry expenses 2,321
1,112
891
4,324
4,776,904
5,163,877
404,948
10,345,730
Support costs
Governance 56,395
60,966
4,781
122,142
Management and
administration		 227,890
233,321
16,245
487,456
Finance 277,538
272,208
18,953
568,699
Human resources 161,587
158,483
11,035
331,105
Communications 356,835
349,981
24,369
731,185
1,090,245
1,074,959
75,383
2,240,587
TOTAL 5,867,149
6,238,836
480,331
12,586,317

45

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

8.
Analysis of staff costs
Salaries and wages
Social security costs
Pension costs
Total		 2025
£
5,822,391
541,177
278,762
6,642,330		 2024
£
5,676,197
516,995
271,710
6,464,902

Included in pension costs above is an amount of £64,715 (2024: £48,507) relating to restricted expenditure.

Pension contributions of £41,161 (2024: £41,294) were payable at the year end.

Redundancy payments totalling £41,048 (2024: £116,328) were made in the year. There was £20,347 outstanding at the year-end (2024: nil).

The number of employees whose emoluments fell within the following bands were:

£60,001 - £70,000
£70,001 - £80,000
£90,001 - £100,000
£200,001 - £220,000		 2025
2024
No.
No.
1
-
1
1
1
-
-
1

The trustees did not receive any remuneration or benefits in kind in either year. £47 (2024: £984) was re-imbursed for travel expenses to one trustee (2024: one).

The key management personnel of the charity comprise the trustees and the leadership team. The total amount of the employee benefits of the key management personnel was £281,872 (2024: £644,160). During the year, no new staff loans were paid to key management personnel (2024: one loan totalling £1,000). No amounts were outstanding at the year-end.

The average number of employees during the year was as follows;

Homelessness services
Mental health services
Communities
Management and administration
Total		 2025
2024
No.
No.
75
79
77
68
6
12
42
40
200
199

46

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

9.
Net Expenditure for the year is after charging:
2025
£
Operating leases
307,073
Depreciation
154,491
(Loss) / profit on disposal of fixed assets
(454)
(Loss) on disposal of investment property
(19,621)
Auditor’s remuneration for statutory audit
54,000
10.
Tangible Fixed Assets
Freehold
property
Leasehold
Property
Fixtures,
Fittings and
Equipment
£
£
£
Cost
At 1 April 2024
1,174,330
610,999
949,691
Additions
-
-
51,790
Disposals
-
(150,259)
(1,283)
Transfer to property for sale
(Note 11)
-
(115,230)
-
At 31 March 2025
1,174,330
345,510
1,000,198
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024
51,301
215,514
674,839
Charge for the year
14,092
2,978
131,541
Disposals
-
(150,259)
(829)
Transfer to property for sale
(Note 11)
-
(9,504)
-
At 31 March 2025
65,393
58,729
805,551
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2025
1,108,937
286,781
194,647
At 31 March 2024
1,123,029
395,485
274,852		 9.
Net Expenditure for the year is after charging:
2025
£
Operating leases
307,073
Depreciation
154,491
(Loss) / profit on disposal of fixed assets
(454)
(Loss) on disposal of investment property
(19,621)
Auditor’s remuneration for statutory audit
54,000
10.
Tangible Fixed Assets
Freehold
property
Leasehold
Property
Fixtures,
Fittings and
Equipment
£
£
£
Cost
At 1 April 2024
1,174,330
610,999
949,691
Additions
-
-
51,790
Disposals
-
(150,259)
(1,283)
Transfer to property for sale
(Note 11)
-
(115,230)
-
At 31 March 2025
1,174,330
345,510
1,000,198
Depreciation
At 1 April 2024
51,301
215,514
674,839
Charge for the year
14,092
2,978
131,541
Disposals
-
(150,259)
(829)
Transfer to property for sale
(Note 11)
-
(9,504)
-
At 31 March 2025
65,393
58,729
805,551
Net Book Value
At 31 March 2025
1,108,937
286,781
194,647
At 31 March 2024
1,123,029
395,485
274,852		 2024
£
221,479
155,476
8,059
-
27,500
Total
£
2,735,020
51,790
(151,542)
(115,230)
1,174,330
345,510
1,000,198		 2,520,038
51,301
215,514
674,839
14,092
2,978
131,541
-
(150,259)
(829)
-
(9,504)
-
941,654
148,611
(151,088)
(9,504)
65,393
58,729
805,551		 929,673
1,108,937
286,781
194,647
1,590,365
1,123,029
395,485
274,852		 1,793,366

Included in freehold property above is land at a value of £469,732 (2024: £469,732) which is not depreciated.

47

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

11. Investment property
Fair Value:
At 1 April 2024
Additions in year from donations (note 2)
At 31 March 2025		 2025
£
-
490,000
490,000		 2024
£
-
-
-

The fair value of the two properties at 31 March 2025 was provided by the donor in support of the land registry transactions and has been tested using on-line valuation comparisons with similar properties in the same locations recently sold.

12. Property held for sale
Fair Value:
At 1 April 2024
Transfer from investment property
Transfer from fixed assets
Disposed of in the year
At 31 March 2025		 2025
£
325,000
-
105,726
(325,000)
105,726		 2024
£
-
325,000
-
-
325,000

During the year the sale of the property in Deal was completed. Trustees also decided to sell a leasehold property in Maidstone the sale of which was completed in August 2025. A transfer has been made between fixed assets and current assets at the net book value of the property.

13. Debtors
Other debtors
Grants receivable
Prepayments and accrued income
Total		 2025
£
365,347
462,422
343,386
1,171,155		 2024
£
306,597
1,151,163
495,966
1,953,726

48

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

14. Creditors – amounts falling due within one year
Bank loans and overdrafts (see note 15)
Trade creditors
Other creditors
Other taxes and social security
Accruals and deferred income
Total		 2025
£
66,667
327,932
423,983
110,218
347,964
1,276,764		 2024
£
-
770,588
25,662
121,084
773,815
1,691,149

Within other creditors is £26,554 (2024; £nil) held on behalf of Greater Change, a charity providing grant support to individuals in need. During the year, Porchlight received grants of £137,683 of which £111,128 was paid out to clients.

The balance at the end of the year is held pending payment of further grants or is refundable to Greater Change if no further grants are paid.

Deferred income
Brought forward
New amounts deferred
Released to SOFA
Total		 2025
£
565,756
1,416,069
(1,782,251)
199,574		 2024
£
581,711
896,697
(912,652)
565,756
15. Creditors – amounts falling due in more than one year
Bank loans and overdrafts
Maturity of Debt
In one year or less
In more than one year but not more than two years
In more than two years but not more than five years		 2025
£
127,777
66,667
66,667
61,110
194,444		 2024
£
-
-
-
-
-
-

During the year Porchlight received a loan of £200,000 from the Big Issue Invest to support working capital. The loan is repayable in fixed instalments over 36 months at a fixed interest rate of £7.5%. The final instalment will be due in February 2028. The loan is secured against the property at 46 Hereson Road, Ramsgate.

16. Financial instruments
Financial assets measured at fair value		 2025
2024
£
£
595,726
325,000

49

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

17. Analysis of charity funds
Restricted funds
New Town Street Building
Fund
Homelessness services
Mental health services
Communities
Restricted fundraising
Total restricted funds		 Balance at
1 Apr 24
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Balance at
31 Mar 25
£
£
£
£
£
163,966
-
(1,681)
-
162,285
365,375
1,460,301
(1,398,775)
-
426,901
105,169
1,045,532
(1,014,324)
-
136,377
-
38,571
(29,704)
-
8,867
-
41,537
(41,537)
-
-
634,510
2,585,941
(2,486,021)
-
734,430
Balance at
1 Apr 23
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Balance at
31 Mar 24
Restricted funds £
£
£
£
£
New Town Street Building
Fund		 165,648
(1,682)
-
163,966
Homelessness services 18,925
2,149,731
(1,803,281)
-
365,375
Mental health services 102,782
1,035,913
(1,033,526)
-
105,169
Communities -
195,964
(195,964)
-
-
Investment property 400,000
-
(75,000)
(325,000)
-
Total restricted funds 687,355
3,381,608
(3,109,453)
(325,000)
634,510

The New Town Street Building Fund was created by donations and grants received in 1996/97 to build the property on land provided by Kent County Council on a 125-year lease. This fund is being written off over the life of the lease.

The remaining restricted funds relate to restricted grants and donations for mental health services, outreach services, activities net of corresponding expenditure.

For details of the investment property fund transfer in the prior year see note 12.

50

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

17. Analysis of charity funds
(continued)
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund
Designated funds
Total unrestricted funds		 Balance at
1 Apr 24
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Balance at
31 Mar 25
£
£
£
£
£
2,645,620
7,822,586
(9,327,022)
723,509
1,864,693
723,509
-
-
(723,509)
-
3,369,129
7,822,586
(9,327,022)
-
1,864,693
Balance at
1 Apr 23
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Balance at
31 Mar 24
£
£
£
£
£
Unrestricted funds
General unrestricted fund 3,506,590
9,220,273
(9,756,243)
(325,000)
2,645,620
Designated funds 354,423
-
(280,914)
650,000
723,509
Total unrestricted funds 3,861,013
9,220,273
(10,037,157)
325,000
3,369,129

Designated funds brought forward related to monies set aside for Housing First and Women’s Needs services, as well as £650,000 for Homelessness services as per the explanation on page 14. During the year these funds were fully utilised in line with the designation in the delivery of contract services.

Summary of funds
Restricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Total funds		 Balance at
1 Apr 24
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Balance at
31 Mar 25
£
£
£
£
£
634,510
2,585,941
(2,486,021)
-
734,430
3,369,129
7,822,586
(9,327,022)
-
1,864,693
4,003,639
10,408,527
(11,813,043)
-
2,599,123
Prior year Balance at
1 Apr 23
Income
Expenditure
Transfers
Balance at
31 Mar 24
£
£
£
£
£
Summary of funds
Restricted funds 687,356
3,381,607
(3,109,453)
(325,000)
634,510
Unrestricted funds 3,861,013
9,220,273
(10,037,157)
325,000
3,369,129
Total funds 4,548,369
12,601,880
(13,146,610)
-
4,003,639

51

Porchlight Limited

Annual Report and Accounts: 31 March 2025

Notes to the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025 (continued)

18.
19.		 Analysis of net assets between funds
Fixed assets
Net current assets
Current liabilities falling due in more than
one year
Total		 Unrestricted
Funds
2025
£
1,918,080
74,390
(127,777)
1,864,693		 Restricted
Funds
2025
£
162,285
572,145
-
734,430		 Total
Funds
2025
£
2,080,365
646,535
(127,777)
2,599,123
Prior year Unrestricted
Funds		 Restricted
Funds		 Total
Funds
2024 2024 2024
£ £ £
Fixed assets 1,629,399 163,967 1,793,366
Net current assets 1,739,730 470,543 2,210,273
Total 3,369,129 634,510 4,003,639
Operating leases
Due within one year
Between one and five years
After five years
Total		 2025
£
314,574
464,662
-
779,236
2024
£
156,936
361,937
132,000
650,873

20. Taxation

Porchlight is a registered charity and, as such, its income and gains fall within Sections 471 to 489 of the Corporation Tax Act 2010 or section 256 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 and are exempt from corporation tax to the extent that they are applied to its charitable activities.

21. Related party transactions

Aggregate donations of £1,612 (2024: £1,775) were received from trustees during the year.

22. Post Balance Sheet Event

In August 2025 the sale of Rupert Allan House in Maidstone was completed as referred to in Note 12.

52