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2021-12-31-accounts

the friend of We5tonJirt AFboi.etu egistérédcharity2931 Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum Annual Report 2021

Contents

Trustees’ Report

Trustees’ Report 3
Welcome from the Chair 4
About the charity 6
Objectives and activities 8
Achievements and performance 10
Investments 22
Financial Review 23
Structure, Government and Management 26
Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities 28
Independent Auditors’ Report on the Financial Statements 29
Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities 36
Consolidated Balance Sheet 37
Charity Statement of Financial Position 38
Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows 39
Notes to the Financial Statements 40
Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity, its Trustees and Advisers 67

The Trustees present their Annual Report, together with the audited Financial Statements of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (the ‘Charity’ or ‘The Friends´) for the year 1 January 2021 to 31 December 2021. The Trustees confirm that the Annual Report and Financial Statements of the company comply with the current statutory requirements, the requirements of the company's governing document and the provisions of the Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2015) as amended by Update Bulletin 1 (effective 1 January 2015).

Since the Charity qualifies as small under section 383, the strategic report required of medium and large companies under The Companies Act 2006 (Strategic Report and Director's Report) Regulations 2013 is not required.

Trustees’ Report

Welcome from the Chair

2021 was another year of adapting to the challenges of the Covid pandemic, and we are proud of how the team and Board have continued to be flexible - by working from home, engaging remotely, and following procedures intended to keep everyone safe over these challenging times.

As many people have turned to Westonbirt Arboretum as a place to escape the daily pressures of life and wander amongst the trees, safely distanced from others, we have now reached more than 38,000 members: an all-time record in our history.

The continuation of pre-booking systems for all day visitors and members has created additional challenges to accessing the site, and we have been working behind the scenes with FE to address our concerns about this system, and how we can ensure these are not discriminatory or otherwise preventing access to this wonderful site. Recent progress has been made in moving away from the pre-booking system except in peak periods. We also had some challenging conversations with FE around their desire to introduce a national membership scheme that incorporated Westonbirt and may have directly impacted the interests of the site and the charity. After extensive consultation FE and The Friends are close to adopting a feasible alternative proposal suggested by The Friends. These issues have caused significant uncertainty for the The Friends team and we hope that going forward we can continue to build a collaborative and professional relationship with FE and focus on implementing our new vision whilst incorporating the Silk Wood purchase into the site.

Expenditure has been limited this year - held back primarily by the struggles facing the onsite FE team with limited staff capacity and resources mid-pandemic.

Despite these challenges, we are proud to have supported a range of developments and activities onsite, including:

We have also added considerably to our Arboretum Development Fund, which is in place and ready for when plans progress to implement the vision.

We have delivered a very small profit from the shop this year, reflecting the ongoing challenges with the pandemic lockdowns, and we suspect some impact from the requirement to pre-book visits.

In 2022, we are looking forward to seeing the development of the masterplan and proposed works in order to achieve the 10-Year Vision ‘To be a world leader in trees, inspiring people through conservation, education and participation.’ The charity is ready to support this work and hopes that further progress can be made this year.

Last year we said goodbye to Mike Coe our CEO for three years. Mike achieved so much for The Friends, strengthening the The Friends team, helping to develop the Westonbirt vision and introduced a new CRM system. We have welcomed back Felicia Willow as our interim CEO, who previously led the charity during the transition period before Mike’s appointment. During the year we also said farewell to Bev and Lorna and welcomed Tracey, Ellie, Rachel, Linda and Debbie to the team.

As always, I would like to finally thank our members and supporters for their ongoing support, particularly through these challenging times.

M A Mintram Chair

Trustees’ Report

About the Charity

The Arboretum at Westonbirt is the location of a historic, Victorian picturesque landscape and internationally important tree and shrub collection that is managed by Forestry England with the support of the Charity. The 15,000 labelled specimens come from Britain, China, North America, Japan, Chile and other temperate climates.

The Arboretum now covers 635 acres and consists of three main areas: the Old Arboretum is a carefully designed landscape dating from the 1850s offering beautiful vistas, stately avenues and trees from around the world; Silk Wood is an ancient, semi natural woodland which has exotic planting throughout its landscape; and the Downs is a Grade 1 registered landscape and hosts species rich grassland.

The Friends is a local charity, now with over 38,000 members and supporters established to further the public enjoyment and knowledge of the Arboretum and to secure its sustainable future.

The Charity is a company regulated under company law, and as a registered charity regulated under charity law. It is governed for public benefit by the Trustee Board according to the Charity’s Articles.

The strategic direction and development of the Charity is set by the Trustee Board, which met six times during the year. There is a Finance and Risk Panel, which provides additional financial control and a Joint Working Panel, which ensures collaborative working to support Forestry England on site.

The day-to-day operation of the Charity is delegated to the Chief Executive and staff team.

The Charity is committed to good governance and good practice in fundraising.

The Charity is committed to good practice in Fundraising, is a fully paid member of the Fundraising Regulator and seeks to follow the Fundraising Codes of Practice in all of its fundraising activities.

Trustees’ Report

Objectives and Activities

Objectives

The object of the charity is ‘To further public enjoyment and knowledge of this world renowned tree collection and to secure its sustainable future by engaging, informing and increasing its membership, and also by giving financial support and practical assistance to the management and development of Westonbirt Arboretum’.

In recent years, since the launch of the joint The Friends / FE 10-Year Vision in 2019, progress towards master planning has been slow, partly due to the Covid epidemic. This delay has impacted the Charity’s opportunity to fundraise additional income to support developments at Westonbirt Arboretum.

It is hoped that we can accelerate progress on finalising the masterplan in 2022 so that the charity can realise its potential in supporting the conservation, education and participation vision themes.

Strategies

In December 2019, a new vision for the Arboretum was launched entitled ‘Our Place in a Changing World’ and focusses on our response to the challenges faced by both trees and people over the next 10 years as both the climate and society changes. The vision is for the Arboretum to be a world leader in trees, inspiring people through conservation, education and participation.

2020 saw the organisation start to deliver the 3-year The Friends strategy, devised to move the Arboretum and the Charity forward under the following strategic aims:

i. Arboretum Development Masterplan - a significant development across the whole site extending beyond 2023, but needing firm plans with capacity building lead-time.

ii. Arboretum Development projects - delivering important projects already in progress.

iii. Supporter Journey - thoughtfully developing our engagement with current supporters and developing future relationships.

iv. Stakeholder Engagement - building our relationship with wider stakeholders and influencers.

v. Forestry England Development - deepening shared understanding of each other’s distinct but complementary roles.

Grant - making policies

The Trustees confirm that they have complied with their duty to have due regard to the guidance on public benefit published by the Charity Commission in exercising their powers and duties. The beneficiaries of the Charity’s activities are conservation, education and participation activities at Westonbirt the National Arboretum and these are achieved principally by the award and monitoring of grants and payments made to support and develop the Arboretum.

In addition to maintaining, developing and documenting the Arboretum and its tree collection as a world class resource for science and learning, the grants and payments provided by the Charity enable Forestry England to provide onsite educational activities to young people each year and reach out to encourage a broader audience to learn from, participate in and enjoy the Arboretum’s trees and heritage supporting access for all. Inclusive multi-sensory participation activities also aim to engage and inspire those groups who need it most to find a connection with the trees at Westonbirt.

Trustees’ Report

Achievement and Performance

During the year, the Charity’s main activities fell into the following areas:

  1. Arboretum Access Rights Payment (AARP)

  2. Development and growth of the membership scheme

  3. Fundraising

  4. Grant Awards

  5. Development of Charity Governance

Arboretum Access Rights Payment (AARP)

The AARP payment is the payment the charity makes to FE, the current managers of the site, to secure access for the Charity’s members. This money is then incorporated into the site’s income and goes towards FE’s operational management of the site. This includes:

Development and growth of the membership scheme

2021 has been a year of significant growth and development at the charity, and the Supporter Engagement & Servicing Team has achieved a huge amount under challenging circumstances.

The 2021 goals were to:

We undertook a piece of research on market segmentation, aimed at understanding the motivations of our visitors and members, and identifying their interest in supporting the site further. We identified our five key customer types (Dogs in the Lead, Kids Playtime, Active Outdoor Families, Nature Lovers, Culture Tourists) and analysed them to help understand their motivations in visiting Westonbirt, and their potential for further giving. We developed targeted creative responses to customer types, including leaflets for Kids Playtime and Nature Lovers. We also identified barriers to visiting, key demographic targets to raise awareness, and opportunities for encouraging a wider range of people - including those from lower socio-economic groups for whom price is a barrier - to visit.

As a result of the team’s work, the following goals were achieved in 2021:

The overall AARP in 2021 was £637,252 (£764,702 including VAT).

Fundraising

The 2021 goal was to secure £24k donations + Gift Aid.

The pandemic and the slow progress on master planning onsite has meant that the charity’s ability to fundraise has been limited in 2021, so a lower than usual target was set. However, we took a number of steps to put ourselves in a stronger position going forward. This includes undertaking a major review and restructure process, which highlighted key areas for improvement in the coming years. It led to the development of a new Individual Giving staff position, which was recruited to in November 2021 and will focus on developing a range of strategies for engaging and stewarding low, mid and high-level donors.

In terms of further giving, we achieved 58 Support-A-Squares, 17 Leaves of Life and 9 Bench Adoptions. Overall, we exceeded our target by achieving a total gross income of £34,372, including Gift Aid.

Our shop leadership changed in July 2021 when we said goodbye to Alistair Williams who has been our Retail Manager since we began operating the shop in 2020. We would like to extend our thanks to Alistair for all his work in setting up the shop and for trading over what was an exceptionally difficult and unpredictable period. We then welcomed Tracey Burgoyne as our new Retail Manager in July 2021. Tracey has focussed on bringing in more artisan makers and suppliers, and increasing the amount of Westonbirt-produced and Westonbirt-specific merchandise. The shop now stocks Westonbirt items including postcards, fridge magnets, pencils, pens and prints. These products are made by Europe-based manufacturers and mostly use recycled materials.

Overall, our buying strategy is to buy local British where possible, which are ethically created using sustainable practices. The items focus on British woodlands and wildlife.

The total profit for the shop for 2021 before rental payments to Forestry England was £52.5k. The rental charge for 2021 was £48k, bring the shop’s profits to £4.5k.

Great Oak Hall

The 2021 goal was to secure at least £13k for Great Oak Hall hire.

During the year, due to the impact on The Friends’ limited staff resources, the Great Oak Hall management was outsourced to Fosters, who run the onsite restaurant and café.

Overall, we had a total gross income of more than £15k for Great Oak Hall hire and commission on sales.

Shop

The 2021 goal was to achieve a profit of £33.9k. The shop’s actual performance was a profit of £4.5k. This was largely due to the enforced closure of the shop from January to mid-April 2021 due to the Government’s COVID-19 restrictions and also reduced visitor numbers across the crucial autumn trading period. The outlook for 2022 is very positive with strong sales recorded within the first quarter and with compulsory prebooking ending in May 2022 we anticipate increased footfall and sales over the latter part of the year.

Grant Awards

Mobility scooters (£6,200)

The charity is keen to ensure that the site is accessible to everyone. A fleet of 10 mobility scooters is available for arboretum users to hire free of charge, but many of them were reaching 10+ years old and were becoming increasingly unreliable. Maintenance costs were becoming untenable.

A five-year replacement cycle has therefore been implemented, with two new scooters brought in annually. The Friends has therefore supported the replacement of the first two scooters, which will replace the two most problematic scooters in 2022. FE has secured a quote with site-specific modifications provided free of charge.

I wanted to say a huge thank you for a brilliant day today at the arboretum! I have torn ligaments in my foot and haven’t been able to go very far at all for two months, so it was so great to have a mobility scooter and spend a few hours in nature today. It made my month!!

A member of The Friends

Propagation Unit for Climate Control (£14,313)

Community Shelter (£47,498)

The Propagation Unit (or nurseries) at Westonbirt has existed in some form or other since Sir Robert Holford set up the arboretum in the 19th century to the present day.

Their original purpose was to support a private collection of trees from around the temperate world, growing and displaying only a few. Today, as a Grade I Listed Landscape, the site has a responsibility to safeguard the collection for future generations, as well as growing and planting trees that meet Westonbirt’s strict accession policy criteria.

The Community Shelter is an exciting programme that is being built in partnership with the community groups who will be using it. It is a timber round house that is being built from timber from the arboretum, on the site of previous community facilities in Silk Wood.

We continued to support the costs of engaging community groups in the design and build of the new shelter. The Community Shelter, which was due for completion in 2021 but has now been pushed in 2022 due to pandemic-related delays.

The existing system was 40 years old, and the vents are longer automated, and the thermal shade screens (which are essential for providing maximum light levels) also need to be automated.

Having a fully automated computer system would prevent potential breakage, the need to travel to site out of hours, and it can be programmed to maximise light levels and environmental conditions all of which is better for young propagules.

The Friends is therefore supporting the modernisation of two existing glasshouses to install a new climate control system to automate many important functions including the vents, thermal shade screens, heated benches, mist system and fans.

The Community Shelter, once complete will host a bespoke programme of events and activities throughout the year to give disadvantaged and excluded individuals the opportunity to participate in coppicing, green woodworking, bush crafts, arts and crafts and learning to use the cob oven.

‘The Covid-19 pandemic has highlighted how important it is to connect with nature, now perhaps more than ever. For the community groups we work with this was not always easy before the pandemic, so the lockdown hit them harder than most.’

Graham Anstey, Community Shelter Development Officer, Forestry England

Quarantine House (£21,552)

Student Arboretum role (£20,673)

Little remains of Britain’s woodland. What we have left is precious, unique and has little resistance against the threat of pests and diseases. The acquisition and accessioning of new plants into the living collection at Westonbirt is the lifeblood of this botanical garden, and importantly will ensure that future generations are able to enjoy the arboretum.

The majority of new accessions arrive as seed, often collected in the wild by foreign seed collecting expeditions, or through sharing and exchanging surplus plants and seeds with partner organisations.

All incoming plant and organic material presents a potential biosecurity risk to the living collection. In order to protect the site, the charity has supported the installation of a Quarantine House to better protect Westonbirt.

A Quarantine House will mean that all new plants and seeds, and associated organic matter, can be separated from both the other plants in the Propagation Unit and those within the living collection. Importantly, this specialist and purpose-built facility will allow us to constantly monitor and regularly inspect all new accessions. By checking the health and condition of these new seeds and plants, we can also apply the correct biological controls if and when required.

Since 2020, the charity has been sponsoring a student arborist role, who works with the dedicated Tree Team to manage both the specimen trees and shrubs within the living collection, and the historic grounds of the Arboretum. This three-year project comes to an end in 2022.

Support for Global Conservation Consortium (GCC) Manager in 2022

In 2021, The Friends committed to support 50% of the costs of the GCC Manager’s role in 2022. This role will lead on the joint project Integrated conservation of threatened Acer Species of Sichuan Province, China. Many of the species and botanical specimens within our own living collection at Westonbirt originate from China, and the Sichuan province in particular. We have been unable to collaborate and work with Chinese counterparts for many, many years, and we are extremely keen to forge new relations. Conversation of threatened species in the wild should of course be an essential part of our wider international role, as well as ex-situ conservation through botanical survey and wild seed collecting expeditions.

Volunteers

Most volunteers at Westonbirt are managed by Forestry England, but nonetheless support the charity to promote membership and to support day visitors and members with their enquiries. The Friends works closely with Forestry England to keep volunteers updated and ensure they have the information they need to support The Friends’ work, particularly in those heavily public facing roles such as the Welcome Building volunteers, Shuttle Drivers and Guided walks.

Forestry England manages around 280 volunteers in more than 20 roles when at full strength. Volunteering was significantly affected by Covid in 2020, and it was challenging to restart this in 2021 with changing scenarios and Covid safety protocols. Volunteers embraced new technologies as we amended the way we worked to keep everyone safe.

By Autumn 2021 all volunteer roles had restarted (with the exception of outside talks and one or two administrative positions) after extensive re-training and reengagement programmes.

From June 2021, volunteers were back offering public guided walks, helping at the welcome building, helping to tidy up the arboretum, assisting with labelling, supporting community groups and visits, supporting learning through school visits and family events, continuing with scientific recordings of flora, fauna and seasonal changes, supporting propagation and tree team, assisting visitors accessing Westonbirt with the shuttle, supporting the return of special events and contributing to marketing through photography. This support has continued to recommence and increase throughout the latter part of 2021 and in to 2022 through the reengagement of existing volunteers, the normalisation of volunteer programmes and roles and the recruitment of new volunteers and the development of new volunteer opportunities.

The Friends is grateful for everything volunteers do, and for the exceptional management and training provided to volunteers by the onsite FE team.

‘Our volunteers are the lifeblood of Westonbirt activities, there is so much we simply couldn’t achieve without them! It’s been tough without them and we missed them terribly through the height of the pandemic but from June (2021) we were able to start welcoming back more of our volunteer...it’s been a long haul, but I think we made it. Thank you to all the Westonbirt teams and especially our volunteers for their support and patience´

Claire Bradley. Volunteer Coordinator, Forestry England

Chalara Ash Dieback

In February, more than 3,000 chalara infected trees were removed from Silk Wood during Phase One of managing the dieback. This was effectively a clear fell of 6.7ha of heavily infected woodlands. A successful operation was carried out with great care and skill by a specialist contractor; ground damage was left to a minimum and the intricate network of grass paths were preserved. Timber produced from the removals was sold and the money raised went some way to offset the financial cost of the project so far.

Planning is now underway for how to best manage the restock of the woodland, and we are in discussions with FE about their ideas to adopt a community-led regeneration approach for this challenge. This must combine regeneration alongside enrichment planting to help speed up the natural process of replacing the woodland canopy and ensure a diverse species composition. We also hope to bring in a range of different community groups to get involved with the replanting, and look forward to working the details of the community programme in partnership with FE.

Trustees’ Report

Investments

Investment Policy

The Charity’s Investment Policy is reviewed from time to time and amended when necessary. The current Investment Policy is conservative, limiting investments to deposits with high quality counterparties and investments in CCLA’s money market fund. The charity reviewed its investment policy during 2021 with a view to potentially diversifying our investments during 2022 by working with an investment management company to ensure that the charity is making the best use of its resources and achieving returns to invest in its charitable purpose. The investment policy is to focus on high quality investments and funds with strong ESG (Environment, Social and Governmental) credentials that align with our charitable purpose.

Trustees’ Report

Financial Review

Going Concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the Accounting Policies.

In response to COVID-19 the trustees actively considered the impact of the pandemic on the charity. The closure of the arboretum from March to June 2020 had an impact on membership income as members could not access the arboretum and some chose to cancel or not to renew their memberships. However, this position recovered during the latter part of 2020 as people re-joined once the arboretum re-opened. During the 2021 lockdown, the Arboretum was allowed to stay open, enabling local members access. The membership income in the first quarter of 2021 was robust and was in line with the Charity’s financial plan for 2021. The final membership income for 2021 was higher than the original financial plan for the year. Though the rate of growth in membership slowed later in 2021, it has increased again in early 2022. As the prebooking system for visiting the Arboretum is relaxed from May 2022, the charity is anticipating further growth, with an ambition to achieve 40,000 members by the end of the year.

The shop, the running of which we took over from the end of February 2020, was subject to periods of closure and restrictions throughout 2020 and 2021. This clearly had an impact on the profitability of the business. However, even under these challenging conditions the shop still achieved a profit of £4.5k during 2021. Trading across the first quarter of 2022 has been encouraging and in line with the financial plan.

The charity is clearly in a strong financial position with healthy reserves. The cash balance as at 31st December 2021 was £1.9m (an increase from £1.6m in 2020) and we consider that the charity holds sufficient funds to mitigate against the risks of any loss of income. The Trustees are reviewing the financial forecasts for 2022 on a regular basis and performance in the first quarter of 2022 is in line with the financial plan. Therefore, although the effects of COVID-19 and the increases in cost of living for our supporters may have some impact on the income received by the charity, we are in a financially resilient position to manage these risks.

Reserves Policy

The charity’s reserves policy is that free reserves held by the charity should be a minimum of three months running costs, including salary costs. Free reserves are funds that are not otherwise restricted or designated and which are not invested in tangible fixed assets.

For 2020 the free reserves required for the group were calculated as £325k. For 2021 this has been increased to £365k. These figures cover three months of salary costs for all staff, estimated redundancy costs and other payments (such as leases and rental payments) which the charity would be obliged to pay. The increase is largely to cover the increased costs of the Arboretum Access Rights Payments and inflationary cost increases.

The free reserves recorded in these statutory accounts is £365k, in line with the Charity’s Reserves Policy.

Risk Management

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the Charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the Charity and are satisfied that systems and procedures are in place to mitigate our exposure to the major risks. The management of risk is an integral part of the Board’s decision-making processes. The Charity’s Scheme of Delegation, which is reviewed annually by the Board, sets out the delegated authority to the Finance & Risk Panel with individual risks identified and reviewed quarterly.

Trustees’ Report

Structure, Governance and Management

Constitution

Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum is registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee.

Methods and Appointment of Trustees

The management of the Charity is the responsibility of the trustees, who are elected and co-opted under the company’s Articles of Association.

Organisational Structure and Decision-Making Policies

The Trustees are responsible for the Charity and its decision-making. The trustees particularly focus on developing and agreeing the organisation’s strategy, holding the Management Team to account for its implementation and for significant areas of the Charity’s grant making. The trustees delegate operational decision-making to the Chief Executive. Trustees review each year a scheme of delegation, which ensures that both trustees and management understand their responsibilities. Financial decisions are reviewed by the Finance and Risk panel quarterly.

Policies Adopted for the Induction and Training of Trustees

All trustees are made aware of their obligations and the charitable company’s Articles of Association and are provided with regular updates on its financial performance and status. Trustees are encouraged to avail themselves of Charity Commission guidance, including “The Essential Trustee” and other trustee training material is made available. Trustees also have access to the Board Chair and the Charity’s administrative staff. The Board aims to use a skills matrix to identify gaps in its group competencies so that selection, induction and training of trustees is targeted as effectively as possible. There is also a Trustee policy that guides all trustee processes and activities.

Diversity, Equality and Inclusion

One of the key components of the 10-Year Vision is to increase our focus on the diversity and inclusivity of the Arboretum. The Friends and our Forestry England partners have a commitment to make Westonbirt more inclusive for both staff and the members and visitors that come to the Arboretum. Though racial minority inclusion needs improvement, in terms of gender equality The Friends fares much better with 60% of the Senior Leadership Team (100% from 29th November) and 38% of the Trustee Board female. A working group of staff has been established to develop a set of strategic goals to support Inclusion, Access & Diversity within the Arboretum.

Pay Policy for Key Management Personnel

The Trustees consider all staff renumeration in the same way on an annual basis. The Charity’s pay policy allows for an annual cost of living increase and performance bench marked against the voluntary sector.

Disclosure of Information to Auditors

Each of the persons who are Trustees at the time when this Trustee’ Report is approved has confirmed that:

M A Mintram Chair

Statement of Trustees’ Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also the directors of the Charity for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees’ Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

Company law requires the Trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under company law, the Trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Group and the Charity and of their incoming resources and application of resources, including their income and expenditure, for that period. In preparing these financial statements, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the Group and the Charity’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Group and the Charity 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 Group and the Charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Approved by order of the members of the board of Trustees and signed on its behalf by:

M A Mintram Chair

Independent Auditors’ Report to the Members

of Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum (the ‘parent charitable company’) and its subsidiaries (the ‘group’) for the year ended 31 December 2021 which comprise the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities, the Consolidated Balance Sheet, the Charity Balance Sheet, the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows and the related notes, 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:

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 Auditors’ responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the Group in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the United Kingdom, including the Financial Reporting Council’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions Relating to Going Concern

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

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

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

Other Information

The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report other than the financial statements and our Auditors’ Report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the Annual Report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, 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.

Opinion 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 our 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 Trustees’ Report.

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

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 Group’s and the parent charitable company’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the Group or the parent charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Auditor’s Responsibilities for the Audit of the Financial Statements

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

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

As a result of these procedures, we have considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the areas of high risk to be in relation to revenue recognition. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK) we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.

We have also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the Company operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures within the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act, Financial Reporting Standard 102 and UK tax legislation. In addition, we considered provision of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with may be fundamental for the Company’s ability to operate or avoid a material penalty. These included health and safety regulations; employment legislation; and data protection laws.

Our audit procedures performed to respond to the risks identified included, but were not limited to:

Reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess the recognition of revenue

We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

Our audit procedures were designed to respond to risks of material misstatement in the financial statements, recognising that the risk of not detecting a material misstatement due to fraud is higher than the risk of not detecting one resulting from an error, as fraud may involve deliberate concealment by, for example, forgery, misrepresentations or through collusion. There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures performed and the further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, the less likely we would become aware of it.

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 Auditors’ Report.

Use of our Report

This report is made solely to the charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, and to the charitable company’s trustees, as a body, Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an Auditors’ Report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and its members, as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

David Butler FCA DChA (Senior Statutory Auditor) for and on behalf of

Bishop Fleming LLP, Chartered Accountants, Statutory Auditors 10 Temple Back, Bristol, BS1 6FL

Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities

Incorporating Income and Expenditure Account

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total funds Total funds
funds funds
2021 2021 2021 2020
Note £ £ £ £
Income from:
Donations and legacies 2 45,621 5,700 51,321 72,480
Charitable activities 3 1,376,737 - 1,376,737 1,260,539
Other trading activities 4 355,295 - 355,295 245,803
Investments 5 357 - 357 2,744
Other income 6 88,967 - 88,967 54,963
Total income 1,866,977 5,700 1,872,677 1,636,529
Expenditure on:
Raising funds 7 414,859 - 414,859 312,527
Charitable activities 8 1,258,667 48,461 1,307,128 1,028,180
Total expenditure 1,673,526 48,461 1,721,987 1,340,707
Net movement in 193,451 (42,761) 150,690 295,822
funds
Reconciliation of funds:
Total funds brought 1,116,562 54,546 1,171,108 875,286
forward
Net movement in 193,451 (42,761) 150,690 295,822
funds
Total funds carried 1,310,013 11,785 1,321,798 1,171,108
forward
----- End of picture text -----

Consolidated Balance Sheet

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
Note £ £
Intangible assets 11 13,701 7,813
Fixed assets Tangible assets 12 45,950 67,502
59,651 75,315
Stocks 14 51,603 29,988
Debtors 15 99,144 71,359
Current assets
Cash at bank and in 1,899,662 1,639,208
hand
2,050,409 1,740,555
Creditors: amounts 16 (778,911) (635,411)
falling due within one
year
Net current assets 1,271,498 1,105,144
Total assets less 1,331,149 1,180,459
current liabilities
Creditors: amounts 17 (9,351) (9,351)
failing due after more
than one year
Total net assets 1,321,798 1,171,108
Restricted funds 18 11,785 54,546
Charity funds Unrestricted funds 18 1,310,013 1,116,562
Total funds 1,321,798 1,171,108
----- End of picture text -----

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of financial statements.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to entities subject to the small companies regime. The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

M A Mintram

Charity Statement of Financial Position

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
Note £ £
Intangible assets 11 7,801 -
Fixed assets Tangible assets 12 42,253 66,377
Investments 13 1,000 1,000
51,054 67,377
Debtors 15 161,792 129,352
Cash at bank and in 1,861,585 1,587,801
Current assets
hand
2,023,377 1,717,153
Creditors: amounts 16 (743,282) (600,197)
falling due within one
year
Net current assets 1,280,095 1,116,956
Total assets less current 1,331,149 1,184,333
liabilities
Creditors: amounts 17 (9,351) (9,351)
falling due after more
than one year
Total net assets 1,321,798 1,174,982
Restricted funds 18 54,546 54,546
Charity funds Unrestricted funds 18 1,267,252 1,120,436
Total funds 1,321,798 1,174,982
----- End of picture text -----

The Trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and preparation of financial statements.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to entities subject to the small companies regime.

The financial statements were approved and authorised for issue by the Trustees and signed on their behalf by:

M A Mintram

Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows

----- Start of picture text -----
2021 2020
£ £
Cash flows from operating activities
Net cash generated from operating activities 269,383 313,927
Cash flows from investing activities
Interest received 357 2,744
-
Loss on disposal of fixed assets 12,572
-
Purchase of intangible assets (9,042)
Purchase of fixed assets (12,893) (22,260)
Net cash used in investing activities (9,006) (19,516)
Change in cash and cash equivalents in the year 260,377 294,411
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the year 1,639,208 1,344,797
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 1,899,585 1,639,208
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements

1. Accounting Policies

Basis of Preparation of Financial Statements

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

Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102. Assets and liabilities are initially recognised at historical cost or transaction value unless otherwise stated in the relevant accounting policy.

The Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) and Consolidated Balance Sheet consolidate the financial statements of the Group and its subsidiary undertaking. The results of the subsidiary are consolidated on a line by line basis.

The Group has taken advantage of the exemption allowed under section 408 of the Companies Act 2006 and has not presented its own Statement of Financial Activities in these financial statements.

Going Concern

After making appropriate enquiries, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future.

The charity is in a strong financial position with healthy reserves. The cash balance as at 31st December 2021 was £1.9m and we consider that the charity holds sufficient funds to mitigate against the risks of any loss of income. The Trustees are reviewing the financial forecasts for 2022 on a regular basis and performance in the first quarter of 2022 is in line with the financial plan. Therefore, although the effects of COVID-19 will clearly have some impact on the income received by the charity, we are in a financially resilient position to manage these risks. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements.

Income

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

The recognition of income from legacies is dependent on establishing entitlement, the probability of receipt and the ability to estimate with sufficient accuracy the amount receivable. Evidence of entitlement to a legacy exists when the Charity has sufficient evidence that a gift has been left to them (through knowledge of the existence of a valid will and the death of the benefactor) and the executor is satisfied that the property in question will not be required to satisfy claims in the estate. Receipt of a legacy must be recognised when it is probable that it will be received and the fair value of the amount receivable, which will generally be the expected cash amount to be distributed to the Charity, can be reliably measured.

Income tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable.

Other income is recognised in the period in which it is receivable and to the extent the goods have been provided or on completion of the service.

Expenditure

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Expenditure on raising funds includes all expenditure incurred by the Group to raise funds for its charitable purposes and includes costs of all fundraising activities events and non-charitable trading.

Expenditure on charitable activities is incurred on directly undertaking the activities which further the Group’s objectives, as well as any associated support costs.

All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.

Interest Receivable

Interest on funds held on deposit is included when receivable and the amount can be measured reliably by the Group; this is normally upon notification of the interest paid or payable by the institution with whom the funds are deposited.

Intangible Assets and Amortisation

Intangible assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, intangible assets are measured at cost less any accumulated amortisation and any accumulated impairment losses.

Intangible assets are amortised over the expected useful economic life of the asset. If a reliable estimate of the useful economic life cannot be determined, the life shall not exceed five years.

Amortisation is provided on the following bases:

Computer software - 20 % Straight line Goodwill - 20 % Straight line

Tangible Fixed Assets and Depreciation

Tangible fixed assets are initially recognised at cost. After recognition, under the cost model, tangible fixed assets are measured at cost less accumulated depreciation and any accumulated impairment losses. All costs incurred to bring a tangible fixed asset into its intended working condition should be included in the measurement of cost.

Depreciation is charged so as to allocate the cost of tangible fixed assets less their residual value over their estimated useful lives, using the straight-line method.

Depreciation is provided on the following bases:

Leasehold improvements - 5% straight line Fixtures and fittings - 20% straight line IT assets - 10% and 33% straight line

Investments

Fixed asset investments are a form of financial instrument and are initially recognised at their transaction cost and subsequently measured at fair value at the Balance Sheet date, unless the value cannot be measured reliably in which case it is measured at cost less impairment. Investment gains and losses, whether realised or unrealised, are combined and presented as ‘Gains/(Losses) on investments’ in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities.

Investments in subsidiaries are valued at cost less provision for impairment.

Stocks

Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value, being the estimated selling price less costs to complete and sell. Cost is based on the cost of purchase on a first in, first out basis.

Debtors

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

Cash at Bank and In Hand

Cash at bank and in hand includes cash, cash held in deposit accounts and also any short-term, highly liquid investments with a short maturity of three months or less from the date of acquisition or opening of the deposit or similar account are also included within this balance.

Liabilities and Provisions

Liabilities are recognised when there is an obligation at the Balance Sheet date as a result of a past event, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefit will be required in settlement, and the amount of the settlement can be estimated reliably.

Liabilities are recognised at the amount that the Charity anticipates it will pay to settle the debt or the amount it has received as advanced payments for the goods or services it must provide.

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the amounts required to settle the obligation. Where the effect of the time value of money is material, the provision is based on the present value of those amounts, discounted at the pre-tax discount rate that reflects the risks specific to the liability. The unwinding of the discount is recognised in the Consolidated Statement of Financial Activities as a finance cost.

Financial Instruments

The Group only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic financial instruments. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised at transaction value and subsequently measured at their settlement value with the exception of bank loans which are subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Pensions

The Group operates a defined contribution pension scheme and the pension charge represents the amounts payable by the Group to the fund in respect of the year.

Fund Accounting

General funds are unrestricted funds which are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the general objectives of the Group and which have not been designated for other purposes.

Designated funds comprise unrestricted funds that have been set aside by the Trustees for particular purposes. The aim and use of each designated fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by donors or which have been raised by the Group for particular purposes. The costs of raising and administering such funds are charged against the specific fund. The aim and use of each restricted fund is set out in the notes to the financial statements.

Investment income, gains and losses are allocated to the appropriate fund.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

2. Income from Donations and Legacies

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted Restricted Total Total
funds funds funds funds
2021 2021 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Donations 45,621 5,700 51,321 66,364
- - -
Legacies 6,116
Total 2021 45,621 5,700 51,321 72,480
Total 2020 58,539 13,941 72,480
----- End of picture text -----

3. Income from Charitable Activities

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted funds Total funds Total funds
2021 2021 2020
£ £ £
Grants - - 1,000
Membership subscriptions 1,376,737 1,376,737 1,259,539
Total 2021 1,376,737 1,376,737 1,260,539
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

4. Income from other Trading Activities

Income from Fundraising Events

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted funds Total funds Total funds
2021 2021 2020
£ £ £
Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum 339,975 339,975 239,705
Enterprises
Letting fees and commission relating 15,320 15,320 6,098
to the Great Oak Hall
Total 355,295 355,295 245,803
----- End of picture text -----

6. Other Incoming Resources

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted funds Total funds Total funds
2021 2021 2020
£ £ £
Government Grants 17,900 17,900 27,000
Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme grant 20,452 20,452 27,963
income
-
Recharges from Forestry England 50,615 50,615
Total 88,967 88,967 54,963
----- End of picture text -----

7. Expenditure on Raising Funds

5. Investment Income

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted funds Total funds Total funds
2021 2021 2020
£ £ £
Investment income 357 357 2,744
----- End of picture text -----

Fundraising Trading Expenses

----- Start of picture text -----
Unrestricted funds Total funds Total funds
2021 2021 2020
£ £ £
Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum 253,228 253,228 186,570
Enterprises Limited
Purchases for events 5,492 5,492 460
The Great Oak Hall expenses 748 748 180
Donated facilities - The Great Oak Hall 5,625 5,625 5,625
Fundraising and Trading staff costs 132,248 132,248 107,601
Fundraising trading expenses - NI 7,814 7,814 4,510
Fundraising trading expenses - pension 9,704 9,704 7,581
costs
Total 414,859 414,859 312,527
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

8. Analysis of Expenditure by Activities

Activities
undertaken
directly
Support
costs
Total funds
Total funds
2021
2021
2021
2020
£
£
£
£
Charitable Activities 825,789
481,339
1,307,128
1,028,180
Total 2020 581,850
446,330
1,028,180

Analysis of Direct Costs

----- Start of picture text -----
Activities Total funds Total funds
undertaken
directly
2021 2021 2020
£ £ £
Arboretum access rights 637,252 637,252 481,863
Grant Expenditure 89,563 89,563 15,583
Membership Activities 37,371 37,371 29,695
Westonbirt magazine costs 55,978 55,978 49,084
Donated facilities - The Great Oak Hall 5,625 5,625 5,625
Total 825,789 825,789 581,850
----- End of picture text -----

Analysis of Support Costs

----- Start of picture text -----
Supporting Total funds Total funds
activities
2021 2021 2020
£ £ £
Staff costs 324,408 324,408 295,080
Depreciation 22,497 22,497 27,403
Other staff expenditure 2,186 2,186 1,015
Staff recruitment and development 7,315 7,315 10,314
Governance 12,844 12,844 18,179
Telephone 1,242 1,242 557
Rates 979 979 1,321
Utilities 2,854 2,854 2,374
Insurance 8,082 8,082 8,269
Printing, post and stationary 523 523 1,267
General maintenance 2,734 2,734 2,978
Information technology 55,103 55,103 62,362
Marketing - - 302
Miscellaneous expenses 17,876 17,876 6,960
Bank charges 158 158 87
Accounting services 2,668 2,668 7,862
Sundry Expenditure 299 299 -
-
Redundancy costs 7,000 7,000
-
Loss on disposal of software 12,571 12,571
Total 481,339 481,339 446,330
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

9. Staff Costs

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Company Company
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Wages and salaries 403,066 360,023 315,638 280,967
Social security costs 29,408 20,265 25,556 16,914
Contribution to defined 41,700 34,484 36,453 30,422
contribution pension
schemes
Total 474,174 414,772 377,647 328,303
----- End of picture text -----

Staffing costs comprises of £324,408 (2020: £295,080) within support costs and £149,767 (2020: £119,692) within fundraising trading expenses.

The average number of persons employed by the Charity during the year was as follows:

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Company Company
2021 2020 2021 2020
No. No. No. No.
23 20 11 11
----- End of picture text -----

No employee received remuneration amounting to more than £60,000 in either year.

The key management personnel of the Charity comprise the Trustees (who do not receive remuneration for their role as a Trustee) and the Chief Executive Officer. The total amount of employee benefits (including Employer pension contributions) received by key management personnel for their services to the Charity was £64,121 (2020: £52,464).

10. Trustees’ Remuneration and Expenses

During the year, no Trustees received any remuneration or other benefits (2020 - £NIL).

During the year ended 31 December 2021, no Trustee expenses have been incurred (2020 - £NIL).

11. Intangible Assets

Group

----- Start of picture text -----
Computer Goodwill Total
software
£ £ £
Cost
-
At 01 January 2021 9,567 9,567
Additions 9,042 - 9,042
At 31 December 2021 9,042 9,567 18,609
Amortisation
-
At 01 January 2021 1,754 1,754
Charge for the year 1,241 1,913 3,154
At 31 December 2021 1,241 3,667 4,908
Net book value
At 31 December 2021 7,801 5,900 13,701
At 31 December 2020 - 7,813 7,813
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

12. Tangible Fixed Assets

Group

----- Start of picture text -----
Leasehold Fixtures and IT assets Total
improvements fittings
£ £ £ £
Cost or valuation
At 01 January 2021 33,518 50,156 148,327 232,001
Additions - 3,190 9,703 12,893
- -
Disposals (43,105) (43,105)
At 31 December 2021 33,518 53,346 114,925 201,789
Depreciation
At 01 January 2021 19,879 49,224 95,396 164,499
Charge for the year 1,676 604 19,593 21,873
On revalued assets - - (30,533) (30,533)
At 31 December 2021 21,555 49,828 84,456 155,839
Net book value
At 31 December 2021 11,963 3,518 30,469 45,950
At 31 December 2020 13,639 932 52,931 67,502
----- End of picture text -----

12. Tangible Fixed Assets (Continued)

Company

----- Start of picture text -----
Leasehold Fixtures and Computer Total
improvements fittings equipment
£ £ £ £
Cost or valuation
At 01 January 2021 33,518 30,280 146,887 210,685
Additions - - 9,703 9,703
- -
Disposals (43,105) (43,105)
At 31 December 2021 33,518 30,280 113,485 177,283
Depreciation
At 01 January 2021 19,879 29,473 94,956 144,308
Charge for the year 1,676 466 19,113 21,255
On revalued assets - - (30,533) (30,533)
At 31 December 2021 21,555 29,939 83,536 135,030
Net book value
At 31 December 2021 11,963 341 29,949 42,253
At 31 December 2020 13,639 807 51,931 66,377
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

13. Fixed Asset Investments

13. Fixed Asset Investments (Continued)

Principal Subsidiaries

The following was a subsidiary undertaking of the Charity:

Investments in subsidiary companies

----- Start of picture text -----
||| |---|---| |£| |Charity| |Cost or valuation| |Additions|1,000| |At 31 December 2021|1,000| |Net book value| |At 31 December 2021|1,000|

----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Name Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum
Enterprises Limited
Company number 12410907
Registered office or principal The Great Oak Hall, Westonbirt, The National Arboretum,
place of business Tetbury, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom, GL8 8QS
Principal activity Other retail sale of new goods in specialised stores
Class of shares Ordinary
Holding 100%
Included in consolidation Yes
----- End of picture text -----

The financial results of the subsidiary for the year were:

----- Start of picture text -----
Name Income Expenditure Profit/(Loss) Net assets
for the year
£ £ £ £
Friends of Westonbirt 372,732 (368,227) 4,505 1,000
Arboretum Enterprises
Limited
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

16. Creditors: Amounts falling due within one year

14. Stocks

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group
2021 2020
£ £
Finished goods and goods for resale 51,603 29,988
----- End of picture text -----

15. Debtors

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Company Company
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Due after more than one
year
- - -
Amounts owed by group 56,798
undertakings
Total - - 56,798 -
Due within one year
Trade debtors 1,039 2,120 1,039 2,120
- -
Amounts owed by group 8,360 58,512
undertakings
Prepayments and accrued 98,105 69,239 95,595 68,720
income
Total 99,144 71,359 161,792 129,352
----- End of picture text -----

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Company Company
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Trade creditors 28,032 17,076 13,684 11,443
Other taxation and social 48,556 38,003 38,308 31,969
security
Accruals and deferred 702,323 580,332 691,290 556,785
income
Total 778,911 635,411 743,282 600,197
Group Group Company Company
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Deferred income at 01 539,874 476,702 539,874 476,702
January
Resources deferred during 642,901 539,874 642,901 539,874
the year
Amounts released from (539,874) (476,702) (539,874) (476,702)
previous periods
Total 642,901 539,874 642,901 539,874
----- End of picture text -----

The deferred income balance of £642,901 relates to membership subscriptions which were purchased during 2021 but for which the membership period ends in the following financial year.

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

17. Creditors: Amounts falling due after more than one year

----- Start of picture text -----
Group Group Company Company
2021 2020 2021 2020
£ £ £ £
Deferred income 9,351 9,351 9,351 9,351
----- End of picture text -----

18. Statement of Funds

Current Year

----- Start of picture text -----
Balance Income Expenditure Transfers Balance
at 01 in/out at 31
January December
2021 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
- -
Arboretum Development 615,638 210,166 825,804
Fund
- - -
Quarantine House 28,428 28,428
- - -
Coppice Shelter 37,312 37,312
- -
Community Shelter 62,685 (20,589) 42,096
Student Arborist Fund - - (20,670) 20,670 -
- - -
Westonbirt Signage Project 3,398 3,398
- - -
Westonbirt Car Park Project 47,975 47,975
-
795,436 (41,259) 230,836 985,013
General funds
General funds 325,000 1,494,245 (1,264,040) (230,205) 325,000
Friends of Westonbirt (3,874) 372,732 (368,227) (631) -
Arboretum enterprises
321,126 1,866,977 (1,632,267) (230,836) 325,000
Total unrestricted funds 1,116,562 1,866,977 (1,673,526) - 1,310,013
Restricted funds
- - -
Community Shelter 26,909 (26,909)
-
Quarantine House 26,529 5,700 (21,552) 10,677
- - -
Coppice Shelter 1,108 1,108
-
54,546 5,700 (48,461) 11,785
Total of funds 1,171,108 1,872,677 (1,721,987) - 1,321,798
----- End of picture text -----

Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

18. Statement of Funds (Continued)

----- Start of picture text -----
Balance Income Expenditure Transfers Balance
Prior Year at 01 in/out at 31
January December
2021 2021
£ £ £ £ £
Unrestricted funds
Designated funds
- -
Arboretum Development Fund 472,351 143,287 615,638
- - -
Quarantine House 28,428 28,428
The Wood Centre - - 439 (439) -
-
Community Shelter 58,845 16,000 (12,160) 62,685
- -
Disability Transport 3,740 (3,680) (60)
Student Arborist Fund 1,695 - (16,103) 14,408 -
-
Coppice Shelter 9,476 5,000 22,836 37,312
- - -
Westonbirt Car Park Project 47,975 47,975
Westonbirt Signage Project - 830 1,233 1,335 3,398
546,107 16,830 (13,111) 245,610 795,436
General funds
General funds 285,000 1,320,090 (1,034,480) (245,610) 325,000
Friends of Westonbirt - 285,668 (289,542) - (3,874)
Arboretum enterprises
285,000 1,605,758 (1,324,022) (245,610) 321,126
Total unrestricted funds 831,107 1,622,588 (1,337,133) - 1,116,562
Restricted funds
-
Community Shelter 16,662 12,241 (1,994) 26,909
- -
Coppice Shelter 2,688 (1,580) 1,108
- -
Quarantine House 24,829 1,700 26,529
44,179 13,941 (1,994) (1,580) 54,546
Total of funds 875,286 1,636,529 (1,339,127) (1,580) 1,171,108
----- End of picture text -----

18. Statement of Funds (Continued)

Unrestricted Funds

Unrestricted funds are available to be spent for any of the purposes of the Charity and includes designated funds where the Trustees have set aside money for a specific purpose.

Purpose of Designated and Restricted Funds

Designated fund

The Arboretum Development Fund – this fund seeks to raise funds for operational and revenue needs to promote the sustainability and development of the arboretum.

Quarantine House - the purpose of this fund is to support the fundraising for a new Quarantine House onsite to support our conservation objectives. This large structure which will significantly boost the biosecurity at the Arboretum as it will be a specialist, purpose-built facility, allowing the Tree Team to constantly monitor and regularly inspect all new plants and seeds.

Coppice Shelter – the purpose of this fund is to provide a shelter for the Arboretum Coppicers and to provide them with the facilities required to carry out their day-today activities and enable them to store their equipment safely. The shelter will help to sustain an ancient tradition and ensure that Silk Wood can be sustainably managed. Community Shelter – the purpose of this fund is to support the work of Forestry England to develop a Community Shelter to be used exclusively for community activities.

Student Arborists Fund – the purpose of this fund is to support the salary for one student arborist. The fund provides a year’s salaried placement for students who are either part way through or nearing the end of their degrees in Countryside Management, Arboriculture, Horticulture, Forestry or a related subject which is beneficial in providing first class training for the UK’s future arborists.

Westonbirt Signage Project - the purpose of this project is to improve the signage within the Arboretum to enhance the visitor experience. As an example, signage for running routes across the arboretum were installed during 2020. The Signage Project was largely completed in 2020 with the final retention expenditure due in early 2022.

Westonbirt Car Park Project – the purpose of this project is to improve the Car Parking facilities at the Arboretum with a view to including charging points for Electric Vehicles in support of our commitment to the environment and sustainability. Construction work on this project is anticipated in summer 2022.

Restricted Funds

Community Shelter – the purpose of this fund is as per the Designated Fund description above. This fund just pertains to the element of the fund that is funded through restricted sources.

Coppice Shelter – the purpose of this fund is as per the Designated Fund description above. This fund just pertains to the element of the fund that is funded through restricted sources.

Quarantine House – the purpose of this fund is to support the fundraising for a new Quarantine House onsite to support our conservation objectives. This large structure which will significantly boost the biosecurity at the Arboretum as it will be a specialist, purpose-built facility, allowing the Tree Team to constantly monitor and regularly inspect all new plants and seeds.

19. Analysis of Net Assets between Funds

Current Year

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Unrestricted Restricted Total funds
funds funds
2021 2021 2021
£ £ £
-
Tangible fixed assets 45,950 45,950
-
Intangible fixed assets 13,701 13,701
Current assets 2,038,624 11,785 2,050,409
-
Creditors due within one year (778,911) (778,911)
-
Creditors due in more than one year (9,351) (9,351)
Total 1,310,013 11,785 1,321,798
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19. Analysis of Net Assets between Funds (Continued)

Prior Year

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Unrestricted Restricted Total funds
funds funds
2020 2020 2020
£ £ £
-
Tangible fixed assets 67,502 67,502
-
Intangible fixed assets 7,813 7,813
Current assets 1,686,009 54,546 1,740,555
-
Creditors due within one year (635,411) (635,411)
-
Creditors due in more than one year (9,351) (9,351)
Total 1,116,562 54,546 1,171,108
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Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

21. Analysis of Cash and Cash Equivalents

20. Reconciliation of Net Movement in Funds to Net Cash Flow

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Group Group
2021 2020
£ £
Net income for the year 150,690 295,822
(as per Statement of Financial Activities)
Adjustments for:
Depreciation charges 21,860 47,594
Amortisation charges 3,154 1,754
Interest received (357) (2,744)
Increase in stocks (21,615) (29,988)
Decrease/(increase) in debtors (27,910) 12,982
Increase in creditors 143,548 8,383
Net cash provided by operating activities 118,680 37,981
Cash flows from investing activities
Purchase of tangible fixed assets (12,893) (19,876)
-
Purchase of intangible assets (9,042)
-
Loss on disposal 12,572
Interest received 357 -
Net cash provided by investing activities (9,006) (19,876)
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Group Group
2021 2020
£ £
Cash in hand 903,630 643,583
Notice deposits (less than 3 months) 995,955 995,625
Total cash and cash equivalents 1,899,585 1,639,208
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22. Analysis of Changes in Net Funds

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At 01 At 31
Cash flows
January December
2021 2021
£ £ £
Cash at bank and in hand 1,639,208 260,454 1,899,662
1,639,208 260,454 1,899,662
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Notes to the Financial Statements (Continued)

23. Related Party Transactions

The group has a close relationship with Forestry England.

The Arboretum is managed by Forestry England. Membership of the Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum follows payment of a prescribed fee. Members are entitled to visit the Arboretum during the opening hours without having to pay an entrance fee to Forestry England. Friends of Westonbirt Arboretum purchase access rights for its members from Forestry England. The cost for the current year was £637,252 (2020: £481,863).

The charity operates from the Great Oak Hall at Westonbirt Arboretum which is leased from Forestry England at a peppercorn rent. The purpose of the Great Oak Hall is to provide administrative offices for the Charity and a hall for the use of the Charity, Forestry England and for commercial lettings. The value of these donated facilities has been quantified at the value of £11,250 (2020: £11,250) and recognised in the financial statements.

The charity has taken advantage of the exemption available in FRS 102 whereby it has not disclosed transactions or balances with the wholly owned subsidiary of the group.

24. Controlling Party

The company is limited by guarantee and therefore there are no individual controlling parties. The company is controlled by the Trustees and its Members.

Reference and Administrative Details of the Charity,

its Trustees and Advisers

Trustees

E Bottril L Grant M Green M Mintram, Chair

V E Morriss (appointed 6 May 2021, resigned 25 February 2022) J Parker M Smith R Walker

Registered Office

Company registered number

04965522

The Great Oak Hall Westonbirt, The National Arboretum, Tetbury, Gloucestershire, GL8 8QS

Charity registered number

293190

Chief Executive Officer

Independent Auditors

M Coe (resigned 3 December 2021) F Willow (appointed 29 November 2021)

Bishop Fleming LLP Chartered Accountants Statutory Auditors 10 Temple Back, Bristol, BS1 6FL

Bankers

CAF Bank Ltd

CCLA Investment Management Ltd 80 Cheapside London EC2V 6DZ

Lloyds Bank PLC 14 Castle Street, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, GL7 1QJ

25 Kings Hill Avenue, West Malling, Kent, ME19 4JQ

the friend of We5tonk)irt Arboretum Registered Charity 293190 fowa.org.uk