2020-12-31-accounts - The Royal Philatelic Society, London

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Patron Her Majesty The Queen

The Royal Philatelic Society London Registered Charity No. 286840

Patron: HER MAJESTY THE QUEEN

Report and Statement of Accounts for the Year to 31 December 2020

Registered Office 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW

The Royal Philatelic Society London (A Company Limited by Guarantee - Company Number 92352 and Registered Charity No. 286840)

Notice of Annual General Meeting

Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of the Society will be held at the Society’s premises, 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW, on Thursday 29 July 2021 at 4.30pm for the transaction of the following business.

Apologies for Absence.
The Honorary Secretary will present a report.
The Honorary Treasurer’s report.
The Report of the Auditor on the Accounts of the Society.
To receive, and if thought fit, to adopt the accounts of the Society for the Year to 31 December 2020.
Reports from the Committees will be presented.
Elections:

i. President: Peter Cockburn.

Proposed by Richard Stock, seconded by Mike J Y Roberts.

Vice-President: Simon Richards.

Proposed by Peter Cockburn, seconded by Richard Stock.

ii. To elect the following Officers:

Hon. Secretary: Jon Aitchison. Proposed by Richard Stock, seconded by Simon Richards.

Hon. Treasurer: Alan Druce.

Proposed by Simon Richards, seconded by Peter Cockburn.

iii. The under-mentioned Officers, being eligible, have offered themselves for re-election and

there being no additional nominations will under Article 40 be deemed to be re-elected:

Vice President: Mike J Y Roberts.

iv. The Following Nominations for Council have been received.

Mark Bailey . Proposed by Gerald Marriner, seconded by Nicholas Stuart. Richard Berry. Proposed by David Beech, seconded by Robin Davis. Steven Harrison . Proposed by Malcolm Hughes, seconded by John Walker. Christopher Hitchen . Proposed by Birthe King, seconded by Lillian Swift. Chris King . Proposed by Simon Richards, seconded by Frank Walton. Victoria Lajer. Proposed by Peter Cockburn, seconded by Michael J Y Roberts. J ohn Stimpson . Proposed by Peter Cockburn, seconded by Paul Wreglesworth. Kim Stuckey . Proposed by Mike J Y Roberts, seconded by Chris King. Frank Walton . Proposed by Mike J Y Roberts, seconded by Kim Stuckey. Jack Zhang . Proposed by Peter Cockburn, seconded by Jon Aitchison.

There being no other nominations, under article 40 the above mentioned are deemed to be elected.

To appoint an Auditor in accordance with the Companies Act 2006.
Any other business of which notice has been given.

15 Abchurch Lane Jon Aitchison London EC4N 7BW Honorary Secretary April 2021

Notes:

Reports by the Chairmen of committees will be available on the Society website from 6 July 2021 and will be published in the September edition of The London Philatelist .
After the Annual General meeting, time will be available for a Question and Answer session.

Message from the President

Every company, organisation and charity around the world must be saying, “what a year!!” In my 2020 message I remarked, “it is an understatement to say that my first year as President has been varied and challenging.” What an understatement! Our expectations that ‘normality’ would return by late summer were quickly dashed by the introduction of tiered restrictions in different regions of the UK followed by a second lockdown.

Despite the pandemic we have succeeded in numerous significant areas. The move to 15 Abchurch Lane is now complete and full details including the financial outcome are set out on pages 183/4 of the April 2021 LP. Council is extremely grateful to Chris King and everyone else involved in this lengthy and challenging project which included extensive modifications to the premises to suit the present and future needs of the Society. It is a superb achievement.

The success of TOMORROW’S ROYAL is outstanding with many very generous donations made by Fellows, members, charitable trusts and organisations. Again, more detailed information is in the April 2021 LP report (pages 184/5) and I express the sincere appreciation of Council to everyone who contributed to this excellent achievement.

The revised committee structure approved by Council in 2019 has proved successful enabling four main committees, business, collections, governance and secretariat to be responsible for the day-to-day operation of Society activities and reporting to Council in accordance with the Articles. Greater coordination has resulted in all areas and new projects are being undertaken in the library, collections, museum and archives. Office systems are being reviewed and a marketing strategy is to be considered.

In 2020, virtual presentations replaced physical meetings. They have proved very successful, important and popular, attracting an average attendance of 136 per meeting. A major advantage is that they enable members worldwide to participate and they will feature in the 2021-22 programme. ZOOM facilities have also been used for business meetings.

We also participated in Virtual Stampex in Autumn 2020. Presentations and other events were well attended and I thank our volunteers for ensuring its success.

We all know that the pandemic has caused frequent changes to the programme of meetings and I much regret that it was not possible to offer a new date to every member whose original date was cancelled. I am very grateful to Peter Cockburn and Mike Roberts, both of whom have kindly agreed to include those members in their programmes. Thank you to everyone for your forbearance and understanding.

Sesquicentennial activities were curtailed and my postponed President’s Dinner cancelled although we negotiated the transfer of bookings that members wished to retain for my successor’s dinner to be held during London 2022.

President’s Newsletters have proved to be invaluable, rapidly providing members with updates and changes as they occur. Hopefully, our plans to re-open 15 Abchurch Lane to all members on 24 June and continue until the AGM with meetings on the new dates notified will remain unchanged.

The conclusion of my presidency approaches and I take this opportunity to express my grateful thanks to everyone who contributed to our successes. To members of Council, committees, volunteers and members of staff my sincere appreciation for your dedicated support and willingness to undertake so many unexpected tasks in challenging circumstances.

With my best wishes

Richard Stock FRPSL President

Report of Council for 2020 Council presents its report and the audited financial statements for the year ended 31 December 2020.

2020 Highlights

In 2019 the Society celebrated its sesquicentenary, a momentous year in the Society’s history. The most significant highlight was the opening of our new premises by our Patron, Her Majesty The Queen, on 26 November. The new premises are without question the finest home for any philatelic organisation in the world. Yet within four months of that memorable day we were forced to close the premises to members, staff and the public, in response to the global pandemic.

It has been a quite extraordinary year with limited periods of some activity followed by further periods of exclusion and, at the time of writing, there is still much uncertainty as to when things may get back to something approaching normality. Council are most grateful to staff for the adaptability they have shown; their willingness to work from home when able to do so, to come in to Abchurch Lane to work when permissible and to accept the ‘Furlough’ scheme when neither were possible. All members owe a particular debt of gratitude to David Taylor who has come in every day, including weekends, to carry out a programme of checks to ensure that nothing is amiss in the new building.

Council’s aim has been to maintain as much of a service to members as government regulations have permitted us. Publication and despatch of books has been maintained throughout the year, though largely serviced from Abchurch Lane as our regular printers had their own pandemic issues to confront. This has proved popular with members and the level of book sales has been a record one.

The Philatelic programme has been significantly disrupted as the pandemic regulations have not permitted significant gatherings since March 2020. Virtual meetings held on ‘Zoom’ have been held instead and attracted a similar size audience, though with a different composition. This has been a difficult time for all as the twice monthly meeting on Thursdays are the philatelic and social focus for many of our members. Speakers spend a significant amount of time and some expense in preparation for their displays and Council hope to be able to accommodate almost all of the speakers on re-arranged dates later in 2021, assuming we are permitted to do so.

The restriction of access also meant that the Library and Collections were not as available to researchers as we would like. To at least partially redress this a priority has been to maintain an e-mail and telephone enquiry service throughout, although some enquiries could only be dealt with once we were able to have collections staff working in the building. There was a considerable amount of accession work required in the year, which was also interrupted by the pandemic, in particular the integration of the National Philatelic Society and other Libraries. The sale of duplicate materials from these accessions has enabled work to be done on arrears of binding, again something that would have made more progress but for the pandemic.

Other activities that have been possible in the building in the year have been the holding of auctions by Spink, including non-philatelic ones, and even though many were on-line and agent only, the auction market was buoyant and seem to have been a success. We hope that this will continue and become event days in our new building. The Society was able to hold a delayed AGM in September and enough members were able to attend to deal with the business on the day. The difficulties the pandemic imposed on such a day has led to Council considering whether our articles are in need of modernisation to cope with such eventualities.

The other event we managed to hold successfully was an auction to raise funds for Tomorrow’s Royal. Held in early October, via ‘Zoom’ and with a small room audience, the event raised over £20,000. The Society received a number of very generous donations during the year, including one from the surplus arising from the wonderful 150th anniversary exhibition held in Stockholm in May 2019. Council are very grateful for all these most generous donations which have enabled us to finance the remaining building works at Abchurch Lane. Then in September we received the wonderful news that the Spear Trust has decided to make a capital contribution to equal the remaining gap to reach Tomorrow’s Royal £2.5m fund raising target. This magnificent donation has enabled us

to pay down the capital outstanding on the loan from Unity Trust ahead of schedule and the balance at year end is down to half the facility granted. There remains the other half, of course, but this very positive step gives Council considerable confidence that the whole amount can be repaid substantially ahead of schedule. The continuing generosity of many to ensure that we continue to provide the philatelic world with the leading repository of philatelic knowledge is most gratefully acknowledged.

The work of Tomorrow’s Royal fundraising committee, ably led by Peter Cockburn FRPSL, continues as we aspire to not just raise sufficient money to repay our bank loan but also to rebuild our endowment. An endowment will enable us to keep membership subscriptions at an affordable level enabling the Society to attract as broad a range of philatelists as possible.

Our staff have remained almost constant throughout the year. In February we welcomed Alistair Hopson to the Collections team whereupon the pandemic hit and Alistair spent much of the year on furlough; Hannah Marsh returned from maternity leave as her temporary replacement, Daniella Lawrence left for her own impending maternity.

Volunteers are the lifeblood of the Society and their dedication and conscientious work, often behind the scenes, is to be applauded by members on the Society’s behalf. Some new volunteers have been recruited during the year to assist the seasoned veterans without whose efforts the Society couldn’t function either in the UK or worldwide. Council offers them our sincere gratitude.

The membership of the Society declined slightly during the year and is now 2,394, a net decrease of 36, 109 new members plus 1 who rejoined. 43 were lapsed for non-payment or lack of contact. Sadly there were 31 deaths, some related to the pandemic and 72 resignations.

Constitution and Governance

The Royal Philatelic Society London was founded in 1869 and is a registered charitable company limited by guarantee formed otherwise than for profit and is exempt from the requirements to use the word “Limited”. The liability of members is limited to 50p each.

Members of Council are deemed to be directors under the Companies Act 2006 and trustees for the purpose of charity law. The President is elected for a two-year term, and all other trustees are elected annually at the AGM. Council also has the power to co-opt ex-officio members and when doing so has regard to any specialist skills needed.

Decisions are taken by committees within the levels of authority delegated to them by Council. All other decisions are submitted to Council for consideration and approval. A Governance Committee, established in September 2019, has specific oversight of all governance issues and ensures that the Society is compliant in all required areas. It reports to Council on a regular basis.

New Members of Council are encouraged to familiarise themselves with the charity and the context within which it operates by a package of information including The Memorandum and Articles of Association which sets out the constitutional framework, and the latest published accounts which provide the operational framework and financial position. Council believes the accounts comply with the current statutory requirements in the UK and with the requirements of the Society’s Memorandum and Articles of Association.

A full list of those trustees who served during the year may be found on page 13.

Charitable Purpose and Public Benefit

The charitable purpose of the Society is the advancement of the arts, culture and heritage, and education in relation to these purposes. The Society has a broad and active membership that supports its aims and activities.

This purpose is achieved by promoting the study of philately of all periods, places and kinds, and furthering public knowledge and appreciation of it. The Society assists as far as possible with the preservation of philatelic works, collections and associated records.

The Society undertakes a wide range of activities, all of which contribute to its charitable purpose. During 2020, notable achievements for the public benefit are described below along with illustrations of the benefits they have brought to the public as well as to the membership.

The move to new premises has provided the Society not only with additional space for its growing collections but also significantly improved its accessibility to all. Abchurch Lane has direct step free access from the street and lifts to all publicly open levels of the building. This will be further enhanced when a new step free access to Bank underground station opens.

Council report on four key area on how the Society meets its purposes – Collections, Public Displays and Events, Supporting Philatelic Research, Enhancing Membership.

Collections

The Royal Philatelic Society London has three main collections:

1. The Spear Museum of Philatelic History (including the archive collection)

The Museum of Philatelic History (the Museum) is an Arts Council England (ACE) Accredited museum of artefacts of international importance. The ACE definition of a museum is that “Museums enable people to explore collections for inspiration, learning and enjoyment. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make accessible artefacts and specimens, which they hold in trust for society”. The Museum actively collects along the following themes: The RPSL and its members; Philatelic Exhibitions; Philatelic Collecting; Philatelic and Security Printing; Philatelic Studies; Philatelic Trade; Philatelic Organisations and Postal Services. The Society’s archives are held as part of the museum collection.

The Museum is open to the public, free of charge, normally by prior arrangement. Inspiration, learning and enjoyment is achieved through a programme of exciting displays, outreach, research, loans and web-based interactions.

2. The John Sacher Library

The John Sacher Library is one of the most significant philatelic libraries in the world. It contains over 21,670 books and pamphlets and over 3,700 journal titles. The Library receives donations of the latest issues of about 270 current periodicals. It also has an extensive collection of exhibition material, stamp catalogues and 29,261 auction catalogues. Much of this material is held only at the Society. The depth and breadth of the library collections are such that they possess significant historic value to society in general. The Library is free to access and open to the public for research and study purposes, with some items in the open access book collection available for loan by members of the Society.

3. Philatelic Collections

The Philatelic Collections are of national importance and include major collections of historical and research value, including forgeries. The Collections are enhanced by purchase, legacies and donations. They may be consulted by the public, free of charge, by prior arrangement. The Philatelic Collections form the basis of displays at the Society and beyond. They also constitute the primary research material used by the Expert Committee during their work. The significant reference collections maintained by the Society greatly assist the wider philatelic community needs both for research and to be able to detect forgeries. The Museum and Library share facilities and resources including staff, work space and storage. The Philatelic Collections currently operate independently with a separate store and curatorial volunteers. Our professional staff all answer research enquires (both general and subject-specialist) and queries on other matters such as conservation.

The Society is a member of the following organisations and actively engages and collaborates with them to promote philately, research, culture and learning to the local community and beyond:

Association of Independent Museums
Central London Historic Collections Group
City of London Culture Network
Historic Libraries’ Forum
Independent Libraries Association
London Learned and Professional Societies Librarians’ Group

The John Sacher Library has received significant donations from the National Philatelic Society, Die Philatelistische Bibliothek, Munich (by exchange), the Belgian Study Circle, the Postal Stationery Society, the Malaya Study Group and the Spellman Museum of Stamps and Postal History Library of Massachusetts, USA. We are grateful for the confidence placed in the Society by these organisations, and our new location, shelving and storage has made access easier, which we expect to increase the number of donations in the future.

The Spear Museum of Philatelic History has, in addition to other material, received boxes of auction catalogues, certificates, and medals from the Falklands Islands Philatelic Study Group. We began digitisation of the Postal History Society’s journal in February. This has been delayed by COVID 19 but will continue as soon as we are able to.

Further Perkins Bacon material has been digitised including the engraving and correspondence books.

Collections care work continues including digitising of oversized photographs and framing of surrogates for display.

We continue to develop and improve our online catalogue and web pages so that material can be searched for and accessed online both by members and the public.

The Society cooperates with other philatelic libraries in making their library catalogues available through the Global Philatelic Library, again at no charge to the user. The Global Philatelic Library was an RPSL initiative: This means that anyone in the world may examine what we, and our partner organisations, have in our collections. Over one million searchable entries are now available from 26 libraries.

In November 2020 we participated in History Day 2020 organised by The Institute of Historical Research, one of nine institutes that comprise the University of London’s School of Advanced Study.

More use has been made of different online formats to increase accessibility to resources. e.g. presentations on ‘RPSL Medals and Centenary of the Crawford Medal’, J.A. Tilleard and the Speranza diary, which includes an account of the first meeting of the Society on 10 April 1869.

Public Displays and Events

4. Holds frequent and regular meetings and open days at which papers and displays are given to illustrate and extend research; these are open to members of the public, at no charge

As a Learned Society, the RPSL organises events at its premises and other host institutions around the UK and abroad. These include displays of philatelic collections, talks, seminars and workshops; all of these are freely open for the public to attend. The Society also provides Open Days and Tours, where the content is specifically geared to the non-Specialist and advertised to the general public. The Museum offers guided tours, and this is advertised on the website – these are open to all.

Collections Tours: Before lockdown, two successful tours were arranged for students from the University of the Third Age. Discover London had a series of tours booked during the summer, but these have been postponed due to the pandemic. When permitted we will extend and develop our programme of tours.

The planned I nternational Philatelic Libraries’ Symposium which was scheduled for May 2020 is now due to take place in February 2022 and has been widened to include philatelic museums and archives.

History and Heritage Activities: During the year, speakers were invited to present a Summer Series of Webinars. These were free, open to the public.

International : Ari Muhonen FRPSL presented a case study of the role of a library in a major philatelic research project in Finland, while Bruno Crevato-Selvaggi FRPSL explained the work of The Istituto di Studi Storici Postali “Aldo Cecchi”. Mike Roberts FRPSL and Kim Stuckey FRPSL presented a research case study based on the archives in the Falkland Islands.

Promoting high standards in philatelic research. Professor Charles Oppenheim FRPSL spoke on Copyright and Philately and Frank Walton explained the challenges and opportunities in writing for the London Philatelist-

Educational: Victoria Stevens spoke on Conserving the RPSL’s collection of Perkins Bacon Delivery Books, which had been made possible by funding from National Manuscripts Conservation Trust, and The Pilgrim Trust, and which attracted an audience interested in paper and book conservation.

The Society took part in Virtual Stampex from 1-3 October. In addition to presenting itself and its activities, there were talks on postal material from The English Civil Wars 1642 to 1649 presented by Malcolm Ray-Smith FRPSL, and The Expert Committee at the Royal Philatelic Society London by Chris Harman RDP Hon. FRPSL. The following recent publications were presented: The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union: The Postal Card (Worldwide) 1869-1974, By James Peter Gough RDP FRPSL; A Jubilee Reminiscence, by John Davies FRPSL, and Ceylon: The Pence issues by Kurt Kimmel RDP FRPSL & Patrick Pearson VRD RDP Hon FRPSL.

Social Media: In order to further the Society’s desire to widen its audiences to include those who physically cannot get to the premises, ten recordings were streamed on YouTube in 2020 so that they could be watched live or at a later date. There were over 1,385 views of this material, considerably supplementing the number of actual attendees.

Whilst it was not possible to welcome other organisations to Abchurch Lane for much of 2020, the Society hires out its rooms, at very reasonable rates, to smaller philatelic societies and nonphilatelic organisations to hold meetings and organise philatelic displays. These typically occur in the evenings and on weekends, where the building is opened up especially for them. This is a major benefit to these external groups who would otherwise struggle to find premises at similar rates in London, especially somewhere that has the equipment and premises to display philatelic collections securely and with the suitable environmental conditions. Furthermore, it gives the Society a chance to engage these visitors with its collections through the displays.

Philatelic Collections

New Acquisitions: Various individual items, mainly forgeries have been received.

Conservation Programme : Damian Devoy FRPSL continued to work on the project to sort and conserve the UPU material until March. The possibility of working from home was discussed, but not initiated because London was moved into Tier 4.

Scanning: Ivan Metchev FRPSL continued to make good progress until March. Unfortunately it has not been possible to restart.

Forgery Collection: No significant work carried out this year. A Draft Strategy document has been prepared which needs further discussion before committing resources. Peter Lister FRPSL has aggregated material by country without further rearrangement. A scanned record has been made. Inventory of Collections: The lists were updated until March and the inventory listing now also indicates the location within the vault of individual collections. All significant collections have been scanned.

UPU Collection: The unmounted material has now been sorted alphabetically. The next process, which has already started, is for it to be sorted into countries and then into chronological sequence issue by issue.

Displays: It was agreed to display a major part of the Gray Collection of Netherlands at Hertogpost 2020, the Netherlands National Exhibition. The event has been postponed until 2021.

Research Visits & Requests: Requests were received to view the Gray Collection and the Fletcher Forgery Collection.

Other Activities: Insurance of material at exhibitions. This Policy held with H.W. Wood Ltd. has been temporarily lapsed. No Philatelic Committee meeting was held because of the pandemic.

Disposals: Minor items of surplus philatelic material have been disposed of by public auction (Grosvenor) to avoid bringing unwanted material to Abchurch Lane.

5. Arranges and supports national and international displays and exhibitions of philatelic material open to the public in the United Kingdom and abroad

It is recognised that many people cannot get to London for our events. For this reason, the RPSL also arranges regional meetings for Members and Guests. The Society also supports, through the voluntary work of its Members, national and international displays and exhibitions, which are open to the public.

RPSL support for national and international events in the UK and abroad was severely disrupted in 2020. Almost all international events were cancelled or postponed, including the London 2020 International now postponed to 2022. Nor was a physical Stampex possible in 2020, but the Society made a significant contribution to the organisation of the virtual replacement which, as with the physical counterparts, was free and open to all to visit, receiving thousands of visitors. Likewise, our support of and participation in FIP and FEPA events adds legitimacy to our aspiration to remain the premier philatelic society.

Supporting Philatelic Research and Dissemination

6. Publishes research in its journal The London Philatelist

The RPSL publishes its own journal , The London Philatelist (LP) , which is available for the public to subscribe to. This is the preeminent philatelic journal in the world, covering all matters on the subject of philately. Without the RPSL’s involvement, much of the content would not be published for the public to read. An archival edition is available in digital format and is updated annually and made available to the public to purchase.

The LP continued to be the journal of choice for philatelic research in 2020, providing readers access to world-class research presented in an academic, yet accessible, format. The Journal is published ten times a year with occasional supplements.

7. Publishes books and pamphlets on philatelic subjects

The Society publishes a number of books every year on a variety of topics and for a wide readership. These are available to the public to purchase and make significant contribution to the field of philately. In modern times, the cost of publishing is beyond most individuals and small organisations. The RPSL’s publishing programme offers a means of disseminating information and knowledge via expertly written literature.

2020 was a successful year for publications as major new works were published and proved popular with people, possibly reflecting more time at home for members. Council were pleased to be able to maintain book sales and despatch throughout the year.

Over the course of 2020, the Society published five major new print publications.

These were: Ceylon: The Pence Issues , by Kurt Kimmel RDP FRPSL and Patrick Pearson VRD RDP Hon,FRPSL; The Postal History of the Universal Postal Union , by James Peter Gough RDP FRPSL; A Jubilee Reminiscence , by John Davies FRPSL; International Postal Reforms , by James GrimwoodTaylor RDP FRPSL; Pan American Airways Wartime Transatlantic Air Mail. Censorship and the LATI Substitute by John Wilson and Frank Walton RDP FRPSL.

8. Supports philatelic research by making grants through The Julian Chapman Scholarship and The Philatelic Fund

The Society funds research into Commonwealth philately through The Julian Chapman Scholarship. The Philatelic Fund makes grants for exhibitions, lectures and seminars. The funds are available for anyone to apply for.

A significant advance in philately has been the creation of The Philatelic Fund, which will: promote or assist in the promotion of local, regional and international philatelic exhibitions; organise or assist in the organisation of lectures and seminars; provide or assist in the provision of financial assistance to individuals for the purpose of enabling them to participate at seminars or events of a similar nature; and awards prizes or scholarships. Applications to the Fund are open to the public (organisations and individuals) and provides an important source of funding benefiting the collation and dissemination of research and help to individual researchers.

9. Offers opinions as to their authenticity or otherwise on philatelic items that have been submitted to the Society by collectors, dealers and members of the public

An expertisation service is offered through the Society’s wholly owned subsidiary, RPSL Ltd and its Expert Committee. The service is chargeable and is offered to the public.

In 2020 the work of the Expert Committee was severely disrupted by the pandemic as members were not permitted to come in to Abchurch Lane. Nonetheless there were 1465 submissions of philatelic material for expert opinions. The pandemic effects will continue through to 2021 and restoration of the service is a priority for Council. The service is only possible due to members of the Society offering their knowledge and help with expertisation, as well as the Committee having access to the philatelic collections owned and maintained by the RPSL, which are used for reference. The Expert Committee plan to resume taking part in the Heritage and Silver Sunday Open Days showing visitors round the Expert’s Room and their unrivalled photographic reference collection, once it is safe to do so.

Enhancing Membership

10. Attracting, retaining and enthusing the Society’s supporters

The Society’s active membership is spread across the globe and is one of its greatest assets. Each Fellow or member helps to strengthen the Society’s standing and influence, The Fellow’s and members contribute not only financially, through subscriptions and donations in supporting the Society’s charitable work but also through volunteering their time and expertise to help the Society.

The Society has 2382 members in 83 countries, in 46 of which a local representative has been appointed. Representatives are also appointed in the regions of the United Kingdom. Representatives organise meetings on a regular basis and these are attended by at least one member of Council. These meetings enhance philately across the globe and help disseminate knowledge and expertise widely. In 2020 we should have been reporting on the decennial international show which was due to be held in London in May. The global pandemic has put this back to February 2022 when we hope to welcome as many of our members as possible. The pandemic also led to the cancellation of almost all regional meetings in 2020 and, at the time of this report, it is still uncertain when these will be permitted to resume.

Communication with members has inevitably focused on electronic means. Over 95% now subscribe to the twice monthly President’s newsletter and up to 150 members have enjoyed the Zoom meetings . A positive aspect of this is that members based from any where in the world gain access to meetings and typically around 20 countries will be represented. The Society intends to continue with the a programme of Zoom meetings even when the pandemic subsides, to complement the traditional programme. The support and understanding of members during the pandemic has been much appreciated by Council. The Society took a significant role in the first virtual Stampex which took place in September 2020 and will continue to do so, as these events may become a permanent part of philatelic life.

Financial Review

The pandemic notwithstanding, the biggest financial challenge of the year has been funding the completion of the building project at 15 Abchurch Lane, a further £400,000 of capital expenditure was incurred in the year and our borrowings under our ten-year loan facility of £1.5m from Unity Trust Bank, peaked at £1.3m. Since then, through the generosity of members and the magnificent donation from the Spear Trust, been able to reduce borrowings under that facility to £753,000. Further progress in repaying this debt is expected in 2021. Interest free loans from the philatelic world increased to £150,000 during the year and this debt will also need to be repaid in the coming years.

Our income has remained above £1m for the three consecutive years, thanks to the generosity of many through their donations to the building project. Underlying activity saw modest increases in revenue from subscriptions, advertising and trading; where publications enjoyed a record year. The subscription income has benefited from the release of a tenth of the revenue received from the sale of Life Memberships. Subscription rates were not increased in 2020 due to the pandemic and there was a small decline in the absolute number of members.

Expenditure on charitable activities from the general fund declined by 15% from 2019 as there were neither removal costs nor the costs of running two buildings for a period. The decline in cash expenditure was actually greater at 29% once the increased amortisation charges are adjusted for. IT related costs and insurance costs both declined sharply once we were in our new location. The additional costs of staff were offset by the grants under the governments furlough scheme and the pandemic disruption means we have not had sufficient time in the new building to know if we have the staffing levels correct. Nor did we incur the level of fees relating to the bank finance that we did in 2019, though the bank loan interest charges were almost three times the charge for 2019 as we drew done on more of the facility for longer; these should decline next year as repayments take effect, assuming, of course, that interest rates do not increase.

The Philatelic Fund’s investment portfolio was significantly affected by the pandemic and, though capital values recovered significantly towards the end to the year, the dividend income fell by 38% and is unlikely to recover for some time. The Fund’s financial commitment to the National Stamp Exhibitions is fixed until 2022; thereafter it should be possible to reduce these costs, particularly if virtual shows continue, enabling broader support to philatelic activity throughout the UK.

Statement of Disclosure of Information to Auditors

The Members of Council who held office at the date of approval of this Annual Report as set out above each confirm that:

so far as they are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Society’s auditors are unaware, and
they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Directors in order to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the Society’s auditors are aware of that information.

Related Parties

The Society has a subsidiary company, 100% owned, RPSL Limited, details of which are given in Note 21 to the accounts. The company provides philatelic expertising services.

Fixed Assets

The major asset of the Society is its freehold building at 15 Abchurch Lane. The cost of the building and the significant programme of improvements is carried at cost less amortisation to residual value. A nominal value of £1 is applied to the Library, Museum and Collections. Many of these have been acquired by way of gift or as a result of specific donations. In all cases the accounting policy consistently adopted by the Council has been to treat any expenditure on these tangible assets as expenditure in the year concerned and there is no intention to change that policy. All these assets are held to provide the appropriate source material for research by members and others. Consequently, there has been no revaluation of these Fixed Assets during 2020.

Reserves

It is necessary to maintain sufficient reserves to fulfil the charitable objectives to the public and to conserve, maintain and update the Society’s assets. (See also Note 1(c)).

Investment Policy

All investments are held in accordance with the Trustees’ powers of investment as specified in the Memorandum of Association. The performance of investments is monitored by the Management Committee, which takes professional advice and approves sales and purchases of investments, to ensure the minimum risk of long term fluctuation and that there are sufficient liquid reserves to fulfil its objectives.

Risk Review

Council has a continuous process of risk assessment and systems are updated as necessary to mitigate identified risks. Internal risks are minimised by the implementation of procedures for authorisation of all transactions and projects and to ensure consistent quality of delivery for all operational aspects of the Society and these procedures are periodically reviewed to ensure that they still meet its needs.

Responsibilities of the Council

Company law requires Council to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of the affairs of the Society as at the balance sheet date and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including income and expenditure, for the financial year. In preparing those financial statements, Council should follow best practice and:

Select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
Observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
Make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
State whether applicable UK accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;
Prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that the society will continue on that basis.

Council is responsible for maintaining proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Society and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. Council is also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the Society and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Auditors

Begbies Chartered Accountants were re-appointed as the Society’s auditors during the year and have expressed their willingness to continue in that capacity.

This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities and in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small entities.

By Order of Council Jon Aitchison FRPSL Honorary Secretary 1 April 2021

Officers for the Year 2020-2021

Richard Stock President

Peter Cockburn Vice President Council member since 2013 Retired Botanist and Company Director

Mike JY Roberts Vice President Council member since 2016 Retired Chartered Surveyor Past President, Society of Postal Historians

Council member since 2014 Retired Magistrates’ Legal Adviser & Courts Administrator Past President, Postal History Society Past President, Society of Postal Historians

Jon Aitchison Honorary Secretary Council member since 2013 Company Director (Property) Director of Stamp World Exhibitions Keeper of the Roll of Distinguished Philatelists

Simon Richards Honorary Treasurer Council member since 2018 Vice-President National Philatelic Society, Stuart Rossiter trustee, Director of Stamp World Exhibitions

Council for the Year 2020-2021

David Alford Council member since 2009 Mark Bailey Council member since 2015 Richard Berry Council member since 2018 John Davies Council member since 2016 Steven Harrison Council member since 2019 Christopher Hitchen Council member since 2015 Colin Hoffman Council member since 2010 Christopher King Council member since 2009 Patrick Maselis Council member since 2011 Immediate Past-President Kim Stuckey Council member since 2019 Frank Walton Council member since 2001 Jack Huadong Zhang Council member since 2020

Ex-officio members of Council:

The Keeper of The Royal Philatelic Collection E ditor of The London Philatelist

Anthony Bard Prakob Chirakiti RDP Cheryl Ganz RDP Klaus Weis In attendance: Alan Druce Michael Elliot

Hon. Asst Treasurer Internal Audit

Independent Auditors Report to the Members of The Royal Philatelic Society London for the Year Ended 31 December 2020

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of The Royal Philatelic Society London for the year ended 31 December 2020 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of Cash Flows and 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 charitable company’s affairs as at 31 December 2020 and of its net movement in funds, including the income and expenditure, for the year then ended;
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice;
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for the 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.

Conclusion 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 regard to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.

Other information

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

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether 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:

the information given in the trustees’ report, which includes the directors’ report prepared for the purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the accounts are prepared is consistent with the accounts; and
the directors’ report included within the trustees’ report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

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 report of the trustees (which incorporates the directors’ report)

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

adequate and proper accounting records have not been kept;
the accounts are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees’ remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the accounts in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies’ exemptions in preparing the trustees’ report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the trustees’ responsibilities statement, 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.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibility, 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 dependent upon the effectiveness of management controls and the nature, timing and extent of the audit procedures carried out, which included:

Enquiries of those charged with governance to identify any instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations.
Reviewing minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
Auditing the risk of management override of controls and evaluating the rationale of significant transactions outside the normal course of activities.
Reviewing disclosures in the financial statements and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

Assessing the impact of Covid-19 working procedures.

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

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. 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’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Christopher Pexton FCA Senior Statutory Auditor for and on behalf of:

Begbies Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors Date: 31 March 2021

9 Bonhill Street London EC2A 4DJ

The Royal Philatelic Society London Statement of Financial Activities for the Year Ended 31 December 2020 (Including an Income and Expenditure Account)

Unrestricted General Funds £ 324,043 1,247,916 203,459 803 10,769	Unrestricted Designated Funds £ - 4,706 52,941 - -	Restricted Funds £ - 4,716 - 40,490 -	Total Funds 2020 £ 324,043 1,257,338 256,400 41,293 10,769	Total Funds 2019 £ 288,774 495,897 235,767 69,657 -
1,786,990	57,647	45,206	1,889,843	1,090,095
145,597 670,394	- 3,700	- 83,337	145,597 757,431	127,417 880,391
815,991	3,700	83,337	903,028	1,007,808
970,999 (8,897)	53,947 -	(38,131) (100,675)	986,815 (109,572)	82,287 257,715
962,102 50,000	53,947 (50,000)	(138,806) -	877,243 -	340,002 -
1,012,102 12,517,284	3,947 76,525	(138,806) 2,432,770	877,243 15,026,579	340,002 14,686,577
£13,529,386	£80,472	£2,293,964	£15,903,822	£15,026,579

The Royal Philatelic Society London Balance Sheet as at 31 December 2020

2020 £ £ 14,401,376 1,468,008 15,869,384 127,057 1,683,114 1,810,171 (373,891) 1,436,280 (1,401,842) £15,903,822 13,529,386 80,472 13,609,858 2,293,964 £15,903,822	2020 £ £ 14,401,376 1,468,008 15,869,384 127,057 1,683,114 1,810,171 (373,891) 1,436,280 (1,401,842) £15,903,822 13,529,386 80,472 13,609,858 2,293,964 £15,903,822	2019 £ £ 14,126,691 1,586,187 15,712,878 192,189 1,199,548 1,391,737 (376,318) 1,015,419 (1,701,718) £15,026,579 12,517,284 76,525 12,593,809 2,432,770 £15,026,579	2019 £ £ 14,126,691 1,586,187 15,712,878 192,189 1,199,548 1,391,737 (376,318) 1,015,419 (1,701,718) £15,026,579 12,517,284 76,525 12,593,809 2,432,770 £15,026,579
	15,869,384 1,436,280 (1,401,842)		15,712,878 1,015,419 (1,701,718)
1,810,171 (373,891)		1,391,737 (376,318)

	£15,903,822		£15,026,579
	13,529,386 80,472		12,517,284 76,525
	13,609,858 2,293,964		12,593,809 2,432,770
	£15,903,822		£15,026,579

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the special provisions of Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

The accounts were approved by the Council on 22 March 2021 and signed on its behalf by:

Richard Stock President Simon Richards Honorary Treasurer Jon Aitchison Honorary Secretary

Company Number 92352

The Royal Philatelic Society London Cash Flow Statement For The Year Ended 31 December 2020

Unrestricted Funds £ 1,245,682	Restricted Funds £ (65,171)	Total Funds 2020 £ 1,180,511	Total Funds 2019 £ 620,619
803 (299,667) (447,178) - -	40,490 - - 194,259 (185,652)	41,293 (299,667) (447,178) 194,259 (185,652)	69,257 1,223,254 (3,316,046) 166,045 (170,749)
(746,042)	49,097	(696,945)	(2,028,239)
- 499,640 531,873	- (16,074) 667,675	- 483,566 1,199,548	- (1,407,620) 2,607,168
1,031,513	651,601	1,683,114	1,199,548

The Royal Philatelic Society London Notes to the Accounts as at 31 December 2020

Accounting Policies

1) a) Accounting Convention

The Financial Statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention as modified to include investments at valuation. The Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with the second edition of the Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice issued in October 2019, the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102), the Charities Act 2011 and the Companies Act 2006.

Under the Companies Act 2006 the Society can claim exemption from consolidating the subsidiary’s accounts with the accounts of the Society as a “small group”; under the Charities Act 2011 the subsdiary is not considered material to the group’s results. Thus no consolidated accounts have been prepared, the income received from the subsidiary under Gift Aid is shown separately and information regarding the net assets, profit and turnover of the subsidiary is contained in Note 21 to the accounts.

The Trustees consider that there are no material uncertainties about the Society’s ability to continue as a going concern.

b) Funds and Reserves

The net assets of the Society are split into three groups; restricted, unrestricted and designated. The restricted funds relate to those assets which are held by the Society following the receipt of a donation for a specific purpose. The balance of these funds represent assets and unspent monies donated for specific purposes yet to be completed. Unrestricted and designated funds can be spent as the Society wishes but Council can set aside some assets by setting up designated funds Using the above definitions, the Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Philatelic Fund and the Theodor Kerzner Fund are considered to be restricted and the Library Fund and Philatelic Collections Fund to be designated, and all other activities are unrestricted. A summary of the transactions in these funds is given in Notes 16 and 17 to the accounts.

c) Reserves Policy

The Society has an established Reserves Policy whereby the unrestricted funds not committed or invested should be at least six months of continuing expendable resources.

Should the reserves fall below this level the Society’s Management Committee will meet to discuss the immediate short-term risks and if necessary propose the liquidation of some or all of its investments after taking due account of the projected return.

d) Valuation and Depreciation of Tangible Fixed Assets

i) Tangible fixed assets are recorded at cost. Depreciation is charged on all tangible fixed assets, excluding land, from the date they were bought in to use; at a rate calculated so as to amortise the cost of an asset over its estimated useful life - 50 years in the case of the building and between 5 and 20 years for other tangible fixed assets.
ii) The tangible fixed assets of the company includes the library and the museum and collections which have been acquired or donated for the purpose of and are fully utilised in carrying out the charitable objects of the Society. These assets are shown in the balance sheet at a nominal value.

iii) Listed investments are shown at mid-market value at the balance sheet date.

iv) No value is attributed to stock of books and medals which are written off on purchase.

e) Leased Assets

Rental payment on operating leases where substantially all the ownership benefits and risks remain with the lessor are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities as incurred.

f) Tax Recoverable

Tax recoverable from receipts under the Gift Aid Scheme is recorded as income to the extent that such amounts have been claimed from HM Revenue and Customs.

g) Income

Incoming resources are recognised when receivable. Income from life memberships is recognised equally over ten years.

Income from government and other grants, whether of a capital or revenue nature, is recognised when receivable and any performance conditions attached to the grant have been met.

h) Expenditure

Resources expended are recognised in the period in which they are incurred and include attributable VAT which cannot be recovered.

i) Allocation of Costs

Costs are allocated to the general fund unless specific to other funds.

j) Foreign Currencies

Assets and liabilities in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rates of exchange ruling at the balance sheet date. Transactions in foreign currencies are translated into sterling at the rate of exchange ruling at the date of the transaction. Exchange differences are taken into account in arriving at the net movement in funds for the year.

2) Donations and Legacies Government Furlough Scheme Grants Other Grants and Gifs Tomorrow’s Royal Sustaining Membership Donations * Gif Aid Legacies	2020 £ 18,085 16,547 1,166,400 18,354 33,236 4,716	2019 £ - 16,823 394,465 26,245 58,364 -
	1,257,338	495,897

Members are encouraged to make additional voluntary payments in addition to the regular subscription to assist with the costs of running the Society.

3) Trading Activities General Fund President’s Dinner Other events Room Hire Deposit Box Rentals Sales of Publications (Note 5a) Advertising Revenue_The_ London Philatelist(Note 5b) Sales of_The_ London Philatelist(Note 5b) Sale of Merchandise Designated Fund Sale of Surplus Books	2020 £ - - 25,109 4,260 79,160 91,995 621 2,314	2019 £ 18,460 6,838 28,552 3,068 71,218 87,575 557 4,853
	203,459 52,941	221,121 14,646
	256,400	235,767

4) Investment Income


Investment Income Dividends Bank Deposit Interest	2020 Unrestricted and Designated Funds Restricted Funds £ £ - 40,490 803 - 803 40,490		2019 Unrestricted and Designated Funds Restricted Funds £ £ - 66,102 3,555 - 3,555 66,102
	803	40,490	3,555	66,102

5) Publications

a) Books and Reference Material

One of the Society’s main objects is the publication of books on stamps, postal history and related social historical subjects for sale to members and to the general public, which are prepared to a very high standard. The aim is to show a small profit or at least cover the costs within two or three years of publication.

Sales Total Publication Costs Surplus on Publications b) *Te London Philatelist* Sales Advertising Less: Expenditure Staff Costs *Surplus onThe London Philatelist***	2020 £ 79,160 (56,416)	2019 £ 71,218 (25,399)
	22,744	45,819
	2020 £ 621 91,995	2019 £ 557 87,575
	92,616 (82,186) (5,000)	88,132 (81,021) (5,196)
	5,430	1,915

Unrestricted £ - - 811 6,184 56,416 82,186 -	Designated £ - - - - - - -	Restricted £ - - - 5.451 - - 8,382	2020 Total £ - - 811 11,635 56,416 82,186 8,382
145,597	-	13,833	159,430
25,009 96,430 - 66,170	3,700 - - -	- - 7,000 -	28,709 96,430 7,000 66,170
187,609	3,700	7,000	198,309
127 47,011 27,245 25,868 25,063 1,591	- - - - - -	48,162 - - - - -	48,289 47,011 27,245 25,868 25,063 1,591
126,905 66,170 10,553 9,352 1,520 159,046 43,511 - 17,591 1,081 - 11,000 36,056	- - - - - - - - - - - - -	48,162 - - - - 13,450 - - - 892 - - -	175,067 66,170 10,553 9,352 1,520 172,496 43,511 - 17,591 1,973 - 11,000 36,056
482,785	-	62,504	545,289
670,394	3,700	69,504	743,598
815,991	3,700	83,337	903,028

7) Staff Costs

No remuneration is paid to the members of the Council. An analysis of paid employees is set out below. All other operations are performed voluntarily by members of the Society.

All other operations are performed voluntarily by members of the Society.
a) Te charge comprises: Wages and Salaries (including Temporary Staff) Social Security Costs Pension Costs	2020 £ 217,467 14,652 8,286 240,405	2019 £ 188,511 14,852 6,401
		209,764

The average number of staff employed was 8 (2019: 7), comprising 5 full time and 3 part time employees with an equivalent full time total of 7 persons (2019: 6).

No employees’ emoluments exceeded £60,000 in the year.

b) Paid Employees: Library, Museum and Collections Servicing Enquiries from the Public and Members Management and Administration Events and Room Hire The London Philatelist	2020 £ 96,430 66,170 66,170 6,635 5,000 240,405	2019 £ 90,622 54,202 54,202 5,542 5,196
		209,764

8) Fixed Assets

Museum & Collections £ 42,435 - -	Furniture & Equipment £ 629,482 42,581 -	Freehold Property £ 13,592,738 404,597 -	Total £ 14,264,655 447,178 -
42,435	672,063	13,997,335	14,711,833
42,434 - -	34,553 43,492 -	60,975 129,003 -	137,962 172,495 -
42,434	78,045	189,978	310,457
1	594,018	13,807,357	14,401,376
1	594,929	13,531,762	14,126,692

A nominal amount of £1 each is placed on the Society’s collections and also the library and museum, all of which consist of many items donated and bequeathed to the Society over its lifetime and form historic and reference material for the Society, its members and others. The market value of these assets is substantial. The trustees do not believe it is practicable to quantify the value.

9) Capital Commitments

In January 2019 the Society contracted to alter and refurbish its new premises; at the date of this report the final cost a retention and certain minor costs remain to be determined. Council are advised that further costs to conclude the project are likely to be in the region of £60,000 over and above that reported in these financial statements.

10)	Net Income for the year	Net Income for the year	2020	2019
	This is stated after charging		£	£
	Operating Lease Rentals		27,252	26,528
	Audit Fees		11,000	9,000

11)	Investments
	a)	Listed Investments	2020	2019
			£	£
		Market Value at 1 January 2020	1,522,987	1,268,412
		Additions	185,652	170,749
		Disposals	(194,259)	(166,045)
		Realised Gains	726	34,264
		Revaluation	(101,401)	215,607
		Market Value at 31 December 2020	1,413,705	1,522,987

Investments are held for the benefit of the Philatelic Fund to produce a balance of growth and income.

Investments at Market Value comprised: UK Listed fixed interest securities UK Listed equity shares UK Listed investment trusts and unit trusts Overseas listed investments and unit trusts Private equity funds Historical Cost b) Investment in Subsidiary at Valuation RPSL Limited (See Note 21) Total Investments 12) Debtors Trade Debtors Amount Due from Subsidiary Company Prepayments Other Debtors	2020 £ 93,772 1,054,026 153,404 58,062 54,441	2019 £ 109,705 1,172,793 130,721 109,768 - 1,522,987 1,417,151
	1,413,705
	1,471,593
	2020 £ 54,503	2019 £ 63,200 1,586,187
	1,468,008
	2020 £ 20,642 16,887 35,445 54,083	2019 £ 23,921 - 27,354 140,914 192,189
	127,057

13) Cash at Bank and In Hand Bank Accounts and Cash Held on Behalf of the Theodor Kerzner Fund Held on Behalf of the Philatelic Fund Held on Behalf of the Julian Chapman Memorial Fund Held on Behalf of the Society 14) Creditors: Amounts Falling Due Within One Year Trade Creditors Bank loan Subscriptions Received in Advance Other Amounts Received in Advance Global Philatelic Library Amount Due To Subsidiary Company Taxes and Social Security Accruals 15) Creditors: Amounts Falling Due After One Year Bank loan (see note 23) Loans from Philatelic Societies Life membership and other deferred income Rental income in advance Due within two to five years Due after five years 16(a) Unrestricted and Designated Funds - current year General Fund £ Income from:- Membership Subscriptions 324,043 Grants, Donations and Legacies 81,516 Tomorrow’s Royal Appeal 1,166,400 Trading Activities 203,459 Investments 803 Gift Aid from Subsidiary Company 10,769 Total 1,786,990 Expenditure on:- Raising Funds 145,597 Charitable Expenditure 670,394	2020 £ 29,494 284,468 337,639 1,031,513 1,683,114 2020 £ 21,817 14,209 171,454 73,185 7,768 - 7,094 78,364 373,891 2020 £ 738,968 150,000 335,074 177,800 1,401,842 597,335 804,507 1,401,842 Designated Funds	2020 £ 29,494 284,468 337,639 1,031,513	2020 £ 29,494 284,468 337,639 1,031,513	2019 £ 31,778 298,258 337,639 531,873 1,199,548 2019 £ 39,082 - 167,105 82,717 7,768 26,869 6,302 46,475 376,318 2019 £ 1,153,254 70,000 294,464 184,000 1,701,718 671,272 1,030,446 1,701,718
		1,683,114
		2020 £ 21,817 14,209 171,454 73,185 7,768 - 7,094 78,364
		373,891
		2020 £ 738,968 150,000 335,074 177,800
		1,401,842
		597,335 804,507
		1,401,842
				Total £ 324,043 86,222 1,166,400 256,400 803 - 1,833,868 145,597 674,094
	Library £ - 811 - 52,941 - -		Philatelic Collections £ - 3,895 - - - -
1,786,990	53,752		3,895
145,597 670,394	- 3,700		- -

General Fund £	Designated Funds	Designated Funds	Total £ 819,691 1,014,177 (8,897) - 1,005,280 12,593,809 13,599,089
	Library £	Philatelic Collections £
815,991	3,700	-
970,999 (8,897) 50,000	50,052 - (96,583)	3,895 - 46,583
1,012,102 12,517,284	(46,531) 46,531	50,478 29,994
13,529,386	-	80,472
General Fund £ 288,774 87,967 394,465 221,121 3,555 -			Total £ 288,774 101,432 394,465 235,767 3,555 - 1,023,993 118,403 777,764 896,167 127,826 7,844 962,564 1,098,234 11,495,575
	Library £ - 10,332 - 14,646 - -	Philatelic Collections £ - 3,133 - - - -
995,882 118,403 765,988	24,978 - 10,790	3,133 - 986
884,391	10,790	986
111,491 7,844 962,564	14,188 - -	2,147 - -
1,081,899 11,435,385	14,188 32,343	2,147 27,847

- previous year Total Funds carried forward	General Fund £ 12,517,284	Designated Funds	Designated Funds	Total £ 12,593,809
		Library £ 46,531	Philatelic Collections £ 29,994

17(a) Restricted Funds

Philatelic Fund £ - 40,490	Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship Fund £ - -	Total £ 4,716 40,490
40,490	-	45,206
31,562 16,600 - 13,450 5,451 8,382 892	- - - - - - -	31,562 16,600 7,000 13,450 5,451 8,382 892
76,337	-	83,337
(35,847) (100,675) -	- - -	(38,131) (100,675) -
(136,522) 2,063,353	- 337,639	(138,806) 2,432,770
1,926,831	337,639	2,293,964

The restricted funds are held for the purposes of:

a) The Philatelic Fund.

To promote the study, research and dissemination of knowledge of philately, for example to:

i) Promote or assist in the promotion of local regional and international philatelic exhibitions.
ii) Organise or assist in the organisation of lectures and seminars.
iii) Provide or assist in the provision of financial assistance to individuals for the purpose of enabling them to participate at seminars or events of a similar nature.
iv) Award prizes or scholarships.

b) The Library Building Fund

To promote the study, research and dissemination of knowledge of philately through the extension of its library.

c) The Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship Fund

To promote philatelic research by making grants through the fund.

d) The Theodor Kerzner Fund

To support the publishing of books of philatelic research or history.

17(b) Restricted Funds

Philatelic Fund £ - 66,102	Library Building Fund £ - -	Julian Chapman Memorial Scholarship Fund £ - -	Theodor Kerzner Fund £ - -	Total £ - 66,102
66,102	-	-	-	66,102
28,803 15,000 31,180 1,790 13,450 4,197 9,014 193 2,014	- - - - - - - - -	- - - - - - - - -	- - 6,000 - - - - - -	28,803 15,000 37,180 1,790 13,450 4,197 9,014 193 2,014
105,641	-	-	6,000	111,641
(39,539) 249,871 -	- - (962,564)	- - -	(6,000) - -	(45,539) 249,871 (962,564)
210,332 1,853,021	(962,564) 962,564	- 337,639	(6,000) 37,778	(758,232) 3,191,002
2,063,353	-	337,639	31,778	2,432,770

18) Analysis of Net Assets Between Funds

Analysis of Net Assets Between Funds
Current Year Tangible Fixed Assets Investments Net Current Assets Creditors due in more than 1 year Total Previous Year Tangible Fixed Assets Investments Net Current Assets Creditors due in more than I year Total	Unrestricted General Funds £ 14,172,716 54,303 704,209 (1,401,842)	Unrestricted Designated Funds £ - - 80,472 -	Restricted Funds £ 228,660 1,413,705 651,599 -	Total £ 14,401,376 1,468,008 1,436,280 (1,401,842)
	13,529,386	80,472	2,293,964	15,903,822
	13,884,583 63,200 271,219 (1,701,718)	- - 76,525 -	242,108 1,522,987 667,675 -	14,126,691 1,586,187 1,015,419 (1,701,718)
	12,517,284	76,525	2,432,770	15,026,579

19) Minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases fall due as follows:

within two to five years	Land & Buildings 2020 £ 2019 £ 71,400 95,880	Office Equipment 2020 £ 2019 £ 294 -

20) Related Party Transactions

The members of Council are all members of the Society, and as such pay subscriptions and other donations etc. to the Society. They receive no remuneration. Travel, subsistence and library costs incurred amounting to £3,442 (2019: £8,538) were reimbursed to 7 (2019: 6) members of council.

The Society paid £Nil (2019: £1,150) to Mr Alford, the owner of Alford Printing Services, in respect of printed materials.

The Society paid £Nil (2019: £27,180) to Stamp World Exhibitions, a company in which Mr Aitchison, Mr Richards and Mr Walton are directors.

21) Subsidiary Company - RPSL Limited

RPSL Limited is a company incorporated in England and Wales with an issued share capital of 50,000 Ordinary Shares of £1, all of which are owned by the Society, Its registered office is 15 Abchurch Lane, London EC4N 7BW. There were no transactions between the Society and its subsidiary in 2020, apart from the operation of a current account. A Gift Aid payment of £10,769 relating to 2019 was made. A summarised balance sheet and profit and loss account of the subsidiary appears below:

2020 £ £ Tangible Fixed Assets - Current Assets 75,905 Current Liabilities (4,715) Intercompany balance (16,887) 54,303 Deferred Tax - Net Assets 54,303 2020 £ Called Up Share Capital 50,000 Profit and Loss Account 4,303 Capital and Reserves at 31 December 2020 54,303 2020 £ £ Turnover 54,976 Cost of Sales (8,827) Gross Profit 46,149 Administrative Expenses - Salaries 46,352 Other 3,704 (50,056) (3,907) Government Furlough Scheme Grant 5,759 Interest Received 20 1,872 Donation under Gift Aid (10,769) Profit/(loss) on Ordinary Activities Before Taxation (8,897) Taxation - Profit/(loss) for the Year (8,897)	2020 £ £ Tangible Fixed Assets - Current Assets 75,905 Current Liabilities (4,715) Intercompany balance (16,887) 54,303 Deferred Tax - Net Assets 54,303 2020 £ Called Up Share Capital 50,000 Profit and Loss Account 4,303 Capital and Reserves at 31 December 2020 54,303 2020 £ £ Turnover 54,976 Cost of Sales (8,827) Gross Profit 46,149 Administrative Expenses - Salaries 46,352 Other 3,704 (50,056) (3,907) Government Furlough Scheme Grant 5,759 Interest Received 20 1,872 Donation under Gift Aid (10,769) Profit/(loss) on Ordinary Activities Before Taxation (8,897) Taxation - Profit/(loss) for the Year (8,897)	2020 £ £ Tangible Fixed Assets - Current Assets 75,905 Current Liabilities (4,715) Intercompany balance (16,887) 54,303 Deferred Tax - Net Assets 54,303 2020 £ Called Up Share Capital 50,000 Profit and Loss Account 4,303 Capital and Reserves at 31 December 2020 54,303 2020 £ £ Turnover 54,976 Cost of Sales (8,827) Gross Profit 46,149 Administrative Expenses - Salaries 46,352 Other 3,704 (50,056) (3,907) Government Furlough Scheme Grant 5,759 Interest Received 20 1,872 Donation under Gift Aid (10,769) Profit/(loss) on Ordinary Activities Before Taxation (8,897) Taxation - Profit/(loss) for the Year (8,897)	2019 £ £ - 41,600 (5,269) 26,869 63,200 - 63,200 2019 £ 50,000 13,200 63,200 2019 £ £ 66,396 (9,545) 56,851 45,866 3,184 (49,050) 7,801 - 43 7,844 - 7,844 - 7,844
		46,149 (50,056)

		(3,907) 5,759 20
		1,872 (10,769)
		(8,897) -
		(8,897)

22) Reconciliation of Net Income/(Expenditure) to Net Cash Flow from Operating Activities

Net Income/(Expenditure) for the reporting period (as per the statement of financial activities) Adjustments for: Depreciation Dividends and Interest Decrease/(Increase) in Debtors (Decrease)/Increase in Creditors Net Cash provided by/(used in) Operating Activities	Unrestricted and Designated Funds £ 1,024,946 159,046 (803) 65,132 (2,639)	Restricted Funds £ (38,131) 13,450 (40,490) - -	Total Funds 2020 £ 986,815 172,496 (41,293) 65,132 (2,639)	Total Funds 2019 £ 82,287 82,077 (69,257) (53,867) 579,379 620,619
	1,245,682	(65,171)	1,180,511

23) Bank Loan

The bank loan is secured on the freehold property at 15 Abchurch Lane and is repayable by quarterly instalments commencing 1 April 2021 calculated on a repayment profile over 222 months with the balance due to be repaid on 1 July 2029. The Society may prepay some or all of the principal on giving seven days notice. The loan bears interest at 2.8% above the bank’s base rate.

A further capital repayment of £250,000 has been made since year end.

24) Taxation

As a registered charity the society is exempt from corporation tax since all income and gains are applied for charitable purposes.

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