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2024-03-31-accounts

The Sports Council Trust Company

Company number 2517615

Charity number 803779

[A subsidiary company of The English Sports Council]

Annual Report and Accounts 2023 - 2024

For the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

HC 408

The Sports Council Trust Company

Annual Report and Accounts 2023 - 2024

For the period 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024

Presented to Parliament pursuant to Article 6(2)(b) of the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000 (Audit of Nonprofit-making Companies) Order 2009

(SI 2009/476)

Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed on 17 December 2024

HC 408

© Sport England Copyright 2024

This publication is licensed under the terms of the Open Government Licence

v3.0 except where otherwise stated. To view this licence,

Where we have identified any third party copyright information you will need to obtain permission from the copyright holders concerned.

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ISBN 978-1-5286-5024-3

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Printed in the UK by HH Associates Ltd. on behalf of the Controller of His Majesty’s Stationery Office

The Sports Council Trust Company

Contents

The Sports Council Trust Company

TRUSTEES REPORT

The Trustees present their Annual Report on the affairs of The Sports Council Trust Company together with the accounts and auditor’s report for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Strategic Report

Structure, governance and management

Constitution of The Sports Council Trust Company

The Sports Council Trust Company (“the Charity”) is a company limited by guarantee (Company number 2517615) incorporated in England. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association and is a registered charity with the Charity Commission (Charity number 803779).

The sole member and parent body for the financial years presented in this report was The English Sports Council (ESC) operating as Sport England.

The operating and governance framework between ESC (the Parent) and the Charity (the Subsidiary), is outlined in the Parent/Subsidiary Memorandum, effective from 1 May 2012 and last updated in December 2012, between the two parties.

Organisational structure

The Charity is administered by a Board of Trustees that regularly meets to discuss the objectives and activities of the Charity. The directors of the Charity are its Trustees. During the financial year ending 31 March 2024 the Board met 4 times.

The Board is composed of a Chair and 9 Trustees as of 31 March 2024. You can find more details about each Trustee on page 15.

The Chair is responsible for the management of the Charity’s operations. To ensure we are best placed to meet our strategic goals, the Chair delegates authority for the dayto-day administration to officers of Sport England. This is done through Service Level and Agency Agreements (SLA) that include the provision of staff to manage the operational contracts of the National Sports Centres (NSCs). This means that the Charity has no employees.

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Objectives and Activities

The Charity was founded to preserve and safeguard the physical and mental health of communities across the UK. We do this by promoting physical recreation (including sports) and education, as well as providing facilities that are available to members of the public.

During 2023/24 the Charity focused on :

The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the Charity’s aims, objectives, and achievements, and in planning future activities.

Our strategy

We achieve our public benefit purpose through the management and operation of facilities that every member of the community can benefit from.

During the year, the Charity continued to own three NSCs:

We also own the Redgrave and Pinsent Rowing Lake (the Rowing Lake), which is currently leased to British Rowing.

These four facilities are uniquely placed to help us achieve our primary goal of helping members of the public play more sport and enjoy the many benefits of regular physical activity. By giving people access to high quality sports facilities, we are helping make communities happier, healthier and better connected. The NSCs also provide elite sports men and women world-class places to train for international sporting competitions, helping to further increase the sporting prestige of the UK around the world.

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We have four main strategic objectives:

We deliver against our four objectives through management contracts let in 2011, which run for a 15-year period. The Charity’s Board oversaw the tendering process and letting of the contracts while the Sport England Board gave approval for us to enter the contracts in 2011. Bisham and Lilleshall are operated on behalf of the SCTC by Serco Leisure. PYB is operated by Mountain Training Trust (MTT). The Redgrave and Pinsent Rowing Lake is leased to the Amateur Rowing Association for 25 years from its opening in April 2006.

The National Sport Centres

Our NSCs and Rowing Lake are unlike other facilities in the UK’s sporting landscape. They not only provide world class training facilities for the country’s Olympic and Paralympic athletes; they also provide the places and spaces for local communities to be active and participate in sport and physical activity.

As active environments, the NSCs are recognised nationally and increasingly internationally, as examples of best practice for integrating sport and physical activity with other services like health, education, and training. They are not just about providing a place to train, but a hub for community activity.

Our NSCs are an important part of Sport England’s reputation as a leader across the sport and leisure sector. Sport England’s role as the client of three sector leading facilities (on behalf of The Sports Council Trust Company) provides credibility within the market. This is particularly true in relation to Sport England’s strategic role working with Local Authorities, Trusts and Operators to drive continual improvement in local leisure provision.

This kind of collaboration is a crucial part of what makes the NSCs so special. They’re a leading example of partnership and cross sector/partner relationships working towards

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shared strategic objectives and local outcomes. Our partners consistently reference the strength of the partnership to help them achieve their own objectives – contributing to Sport England's wider role in supporting the sector and encouraging collaboration to maximise local community outcomes.

As part of the Elite Training Centre network, the NSCs are among the 18 Centres that host world class Olympic and Paralympic programmes. The partnership of National Governing Bodies, UK Sport institute (UKSI), UK Sport and Sport England works together to make the country’s elite training environments more effective, contributing to a more sustainable elite sport system.

The four NSCs that are owned by the Charity are:

Bisham Abbey

Based in Berkshire, Bisham is a compact site which accommodates a range of water sports, football, rugby, tennis, hockey and public community use.

It features a community fitness centre, studios and health suite, squash courts, indoor and outdoor tennis courts, two grass pitches, two artificial pitches and an elite strength and conditioning gym and Intensive Rehabilitation Unit operated by UKSI.

The site is supported by modern accommodation, catering facilities and a 12th century Abbey which forms the centrepiece of the site. It is home to England Hockey, UKSI, Living Tennis, FAB Academy, British Rowing, RFU talent development teams and is extensively used by the local community.

Lilleshall

In the heart of Shropshire, Lilleshall has a range of sports facilities spread throughout the substantial grounds. These include a dedicated indoor and outdoor archery range, gymnasium, nine grass pitches, two artificial grass pitches and a UKSI strength and conditioning area.

Supporting the sports facilities, Lilleshall has over 250 modern bedrooms and catering facilities for use by members of the public and athletes. A dedicated modern office building co-locates several NGB Head offices including British Gymnastics, UKSI and Archery GB. The centre is home to partners including GB Hockey, Home Office, the Royal British Legion, Crossbar Coaching and extensively used by the local community.

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Plas y Brenin

Located in Snowdonia, PYB is an iconic venue and provides a focal point for a yearround programme of mountain sports courses and outdoor activities. The centre’s facilities include two climbing wall areas, an abseil tower, canoe training pool and a low rope course. The centre is an important resource for the British Mountaineering Council, Paddle UK, GB Orienteering and British Cycling.

Redgrave and Pinsent Rowing Lake

Transferred to ownership of the Charity in 2006, the facility is a purpose built, internationally recognised 2,100m rowing lake set on the River Thames. The facilities include clubhouse, boat store, gymnasium, offices, catering and conferencing facilities.

British Rowing leases the Rowing Lake and boathouse from us and undertakes an extensive programme of rowing development and training. The facility continues to be the single most important factor underpinning the training and preparation of the GB Rowing Team for major international competition.

SCTC current economic climate response

The NSCs have continued recovery from Covid-19. The recovery was impacted by the continued economic instability. Rising costs associated with energy, inflation and interest rates had a significant impact on the financial performance of all the NSCs during 2023/24. Sport England provided financial support to help the operators with business recovery, the current economic climate and business transformation activity. This was critical for the continued recovery of the NSCs and ensured all facilities and services at each centre to continue to remain fully operational for elite, community, and commercial activity.

This approach has helped protect the onsite sport partners and contributed to the recovery of participation and usage to pre-pandemic levels in 2023/24. Community, elite and commercial throughput targets were exceeded at Bisham and Lilleshall.

At PYB, demand remained constant throughout the year for governing body leadership, skills and training courses. Community courses and commercial bookings demonstrated growth against 2022/23.

Building on the lessons learnt during Covid-19, a pragmatic and collaborative approach was maintained by SCTC and Sport England as the most appropriate way to respond to the unprecedented impact placed upon the NSC contracts and the operators themselves. All parties approached discussions positively with a focus on

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understanding impact, mitigation measure and identifying how all parties could contribute to supporting the NSCs business recovery.

Our Performance

The performance of the NSCs is managed by Sport England through a Service Level and Agency Agreement (SLA) with The Sports Council Trust Company.

The requirements in the contracts set ambitious standards to meet the NSC strategic objectives. A balanced scorecard and set of Key Performance Indicator’s (KPIs) are used to continually measure performance.

The key performance measures we use range across three categories:

The operators of our NSCs are required to perform in the top quartile nationally on the National Benchmark Service and QUEST, Sport England’s recommended tools for continuous improvement in the leisure industry.

These measures are linked to the aims of the Charity and Sport England’s objectives of increasing participation nationally.

Overall contract performance standards have been successfully delivered in line with the increased operations of the NSCs. Under continued challenging circumstances due to the current economic climate Serco and MTT have met, and at times exceeded, their contractual performance standards with no deductions or performance failures during 2023/24. Both operators maintained excellent results in external quality assurance, customer and facility management audits assuring that the assets continued to be well managed and maintained.

What we have achieved

The proactive approach taken by SCTC, Sport England, Serco and MTT enabled a valuable contribution towards our objectives to be made. We remain focused on our duty to promote the success of SCTC and achieve its charitable purpose as described in the Objectives and Activities section on page 2.

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Examples of NSC contributing to uniting the movement

Bisham Living Tennis Academy, Serco and the local community members worked collaboratively to support 6 Ukrainian tennis talent pathway athletes to relocate to Bisham and train as part of the Living Tennis performance programme. Families have been supported by the local community and businesses for accommodation and financial support to enable the athletes to continue their sporting careers.

The Bisham-based over 60's ‘Primetimers’ has continued to thrive during 2023/24, with additional classes introduced to meet increasing demand. The programme aimed to engage and maintain physical and social activity in the older demographic, and these are now regularly attracting 20 people training 3 times per week.

Bisham FAB academy has seen an increase in attendance in their academy, community youth training sessions and all-girls sessions. The FAB academy was supported by SCTC during the pandemic, so it is encouraging to see their recovery and the impact their programme is having at Bisham.

Bisham has partnered with the RFU to host Under 16 to Under 21 men’s and women’s age group squads for development training camps and preparation for the respective 6 Nations competitions. The partnership expanded to also include the RFU Rugby Sevens World Class programme who are accessing facilities and UKSI services to support their Olympic preparations.

Bisham and Lilleshall have played an integral part of the National Governing Body (NGB) sports preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympics and Paralympics Games. We have not only assisted our resident onsite sports but also supported athletes from across other Olympic and Paralympic sports through sports medicine and rehabilitation support through UKSI and the Intensive Rehabilitation Unit.

Lilleshall hosted GB Hockey to deliver residential camps for National Age Groups and Elite Development Programmes. These programmes are critical to developing future athletes. The programme is focused on improving the number of athletes from currently under-represented groups to access the Hockey performance pathway.

Lilleshall partnered with Sport Parkinsons to provide a new programme of weekly sessions to support members of the local community living with Parkinsons. The programme commenced in November 2023.

PYB worked in partnership with the Mountain Adventure Fund to provide inner-city children with the opportunity to be inspired and motivated by the outdoors. The programme provided a significant change in landscape from urban environments

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giving children the opportunity to build safe and lifelong habits for participation in the outdoors. Volunteers were training at PYB during April-June to ensure that teachers and coaches returned to schools with skills to support continued participation. 20 Children attended summer camps before the programme expanded to 200 children in the Autumn.

Following the success of the #ShePaddle event in 2022/23 PYB expanded the programme in 2023/24 to #ShePaddles and #SheClimbs. The events led to the delivery of a series of specialised courses for women, increasing female participation in outdoor activities.

Unique Sporting Environment

Bisham and Lilleshall were formally accredited as Elite Training Centres by UK Sport following an external assessment through the UK Sport Excellence Framework. The accreditation recognised the world class facilities and services provided to the NGB Olympic and Paralympic programmes.

Capital and lifecycle investment programmes were delivered as planned during 2023/24 delivering c.£5m to maintain and enhance the infrastructure of the NSCs. Surveys were commissioned to identify any presence of reinforced autoclave aerated concrete (RACC) across the NSCs. There was no evidence or risk of RACC having been used within any of the NSC assets.

At Bisham we undertook extensive asset maintenance, refurbishment, and capital improvements focused on the listed building assets during 2023/24. Internal refurbishment and redecoration of the Abbey was completed to support the commercial activities including Weddings, conferencing and sports camp bookings at Bisham. A programme of fire door replacement for the listed heritage building was also completed.

At Lilleshall the new Archery Performance Centre was completed in November 2023 ready for Archery GB to commence their winter training programme in the leadup to Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games. The collaboration between Sport England, UK Sport, Serco, and Archery GB to deliver this facility will mean Archery GB will remain a long-term key partner at Lilleshall.

The multi-surface artificial turf pitch was replaced at Lilleshall after reaching the end of life. The new surface provides a high-quality surface for delivery of community football, hockey and multi-sport activities.

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A new artistic gymnastics floor was completed within the elite gymnastics’ hall. The flooring will support British Gymnastics in preparation for competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

At PYB we undertook asset maintenance, refurbishment, and capital improvements. A new pontoon was constructed on the lake to support greater access to the lake to meet the growing demand of water-based activities in wild swimming, stand up paddle board and canoeing.

Full internal and external redecoration, guttering and replacement fire escape stairs were completed as part of the planned maintenance programme.

A fire risk assessment and a fire building strategy were completed in 2023/24. A scheduled programme of works is planned for 2024/25 to enhance fire safety in line with the Fire strategy.

Coach Development, Research, Innovation and Inspiration

Our contribution to this strategic priority is largely delivered through PYB our National Centre for the outdoors. People being more active outdoors is one of the largest growth areas and our work supports the whole sector to promote, encourage, and develop increased participation in the outdoors.

During 2023/24, PYB contributed towards talent development through delivering topend NGB qualifications, with the provision of places across hike, climb (Mountain Training), paddle (Paddle UK) and bike (British Cycling) schemes. The NGB and skills course programme ensures the next generation of outdoor instructors are well prepared to safely lead, manage, motivate, and inspire others in outdoor activities. Qualified instructors return to coach across a wide range of settings such as adventure businesses, outdoor and activity centres, schools and club volunteers.

PYB partnered with the National Trust to train 100 walk leaders from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds to qualify as lowland or hill walk leaders. The project plays an important role in broadening the diversity of leaders to support increasing the diversity of people accessing and benefitting from being active in the outdoors.

Lilleshall was chosen to host a Diploma in Sporting Excellence (DiSE). This programme was a partnership between GB Hockey and Loughborough College to provide education qualifications to athletes who are currently progressing through the hockey talent pathway.

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Plans for future periods

Our operating plan provides for:

Green Initiatives

We continued to put in place measures to increase the sustainability of the entirety of our operations this year.

The Government’s Get Active strategy sets out its ambitions to enable the nation to be more active. Sustainability is one of the strategy’s three core priorities recognising the importance of the sport and physical activity sector being more financially and environmentally sustainable. This reinforces the commitment made in Sport England’s Uniting the Movement strategy to ‘step up environmental sustainability’. As owners of the National Centres, SCTC have supported proposals with Sport England’s Environmental Policy and draft action plan. The action plan sets out how the NSCs can improve their environmental sustainability over the medium term. A more strategic approach to improving the environmental sustainability of the NSCs is welcomed and will form a key focus for SCTC in 2024/25.

At an operational level, the new Archery Centre was designed and delivered to be environmentally efficient, with south-facing solar panels on the roof along with

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additional battery storage to ensure the benefit is gained all year-round. Hot water will be generated via air source heat pumps which are located externally to avoid the building requiring any kind of gas supply. The heat pumps ensure that the building increases its energy efficiency and reduces its carbon footprint. A case study of the project has been produced to share with partners when considering similar facilities.

The programme to replace old inefficient lighting with LEDs continues across the sites with the Jubilee Hall completed at Lilleshall in 2023/24.

Electric vehicle charging points were increased at both Bisham and Lilleshall due to increased demand.

The Biomass heating system at Lilleshall continues to significantly reduce the site’s reliance upon oil (Fossil Fuel) as the main source of energy.

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Directors' Report

Financial review

Our operational activities, including grant making, are funded by property income and returns from the investment fund (see note 9). Asset investment activities are funded from gifts of assets from Sport England. Total income for the year was £5.9 million (2023: £2.9 million). These resources were invested into the NSCs for the Charity to achieve its objectives as set out on page 2.

Separate funds are maintained to identify and account for the principal funding sources of the Charity. The details of these funds are set out in notes 13 and 14. None of these funds are in deficit.

The financial statements have been restated to incorporate the impact of a material error in the calculation of the building valuations. During the year, the documentation relating to the floor areas of the National Sport Centre sites at Bisham and Lilleshall were reviewed and the Gross Internal Area of the buildings as applied for the valuations was corrected. When applied to previous years, this resulted in increased property valuations as at 31 March 2019, 31 March 2020, 31 March 2021, 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023. The restatement adjustment has increased the value of tangible fixed assets and gain on revaluation of fixed assets and associated depreciation, at each date (see note 25 for further details and the impact on the financial statements).

Net income for the year is £0.3 million (2023: Net expenditure of £1.8 million - restated). The large increase in income of £3.0 million from £2.9 million was mainly the gifting of assets in relation to the new Archery Facility at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre from ESC.

We generated a small operational deficit on our day-to-day activities in the year of £2,000 (2023: £3,000 surplus - restated) as shown in the table below, after awarding community grants (see note 4) of £10,000 (2023: £30,000).

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2024 2023
restated
£’000 £’000
Propertyincome 887 1,353
Investment income 32 27
Charitable activities (5,651) (4,700)
Add back:
-
Depreciation and amortisation		 3,803 3,384
-
Impairment charge/(reversal)		 843 (136)
-
Gifts in kind		 84 75
Operating (deficit)/surplus (2) 3

The value of our funds increased by £3.1 million from £123.6 million (restated) as set out in note 6. This is mainly due to increases in the value of Land & buildings carrying value of £2.7 million and Gifted Assets of £4.9 million, offset by depreciation and impairments of £4.6 million.

The financial position of the Charity is supported by ESC as per note 1.15.

We have management policies in place to cover grants, investments, and reserves as set out below.

Future developments

See Plans for future periods and Green Initiatives in the Strategic Report

Grants policy

We accept applications from not-for-profit organisations supporting the sporting activities of disadvantaged people including young people, people with disabilities, lower socio-economic groups and ethnic minority groups.

Awards are given to either encourage sports participation, subsidise the cost of taking part or provide facilities and equipment.

100% of the funding available was utilised through a partnership with Get Berkshire Active which focuses on working with early years and family support service providers to improve the pathway for physical development through school.

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Investment policy

Our investment policy relating to the portfolio of equity investments is to:

Our investment funds were invested in the Sarasin Endowments Fund managed by Sarasin & Partners from 2020/21. The investment manager maintains a balanced portfolio which achieves lower volatility than a pure equity investment and provides us with quarterly reports and updates on key issues, and ad-hoc reporting as and when required.

During 2020/21 the contract for the investment manager was re-procured and the reappointment of Sarasin & Partners was approved by the Trustees, commencing in May 2021 for a four-year period (including extension options). The trustees are currently considering the options for the extension of this contracts which is due to expire in 2025.

Reserves policy

Our financial position is supported by ESC.

We aim to maintain a level of unrestricted reserves equating to at least three months of expenditure. We consider that this level will provide sufficient funds to meet our operational expenditure and to provide a contingency against unforeseen expenditure. The investment fund is also available for liquidity purposes if required, although, these assets are not intended for sale.

Our reserves policy defines reserves as restricted or unrestricted.

Restricted reserves are those which cannot readily be realised and used for an alternative purpose other than that specified; principally these are in relation to fixed assets gifted from ESC or funded by ESC’s Lottery Fund. Restricted reserves at 31 March 2024 amounted to £124 million (2023: £121 million - restated).

Unrestricted reserves are where the use of these funds is not restricted and can be applied to the ongoing operational aspects of the organisation. Unrestricted reserves at 31 March 2024 amounted to £2.5 million (2023: £2.6 million - restated).

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Trustees of the Charity during the year were:

All appointments to the Charity for the position of Chair, Trustee and Company Secretary are made by ESC and are in accordance with:

Upon appointment, Trustees receive corporate governance, financial and legal information in relation to the Charity in the form of its Memorandum and Articles of Association and other governance and policy documents, the annual report, management accounts, Charity Commission guidance and the Seven Principles of Public Life.

A robust induction programme is in place which provides newly appointed Trustees with an overview of the governance and operations of the Charity and ESC.

The Company Secretary: Jitendra Patel (Richard Mabbitt resigned on 4 June 2024)

Registered Office: Sport Park, 3 Oakwood Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, LE13 3QF

Banker: Barclays Bank Plc, London Corporate Banking, 1 Churchill Place, London, E14 5HP Solicitor: Hewitsons, Kildare House, 3 Dorset Rise, London, EC4Y 8EN

Investment Manager: Sarasin & Partners LLP, 100 St. Paul's Churchyard, London EC4M 8BU

Auditor: The Comptroller and Auditor General, National Audit Office, 157 – 197 Buckingham Palace Road, Victoria, London SW1W 9SP

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Risk management

The ESC board work with the Trustees to identify the key risks facing the charity which are included in the ESC Group’s risk map and reviewed by its Audit, Risk and Governance committee.

Statement as to disclosure of information to auditors

The Trustees who were in office on the date of approval of these accounts have confirmed, as far as they are aware, that there is no relevant audit information of which the auditors are unaware. Each of the Trustees has confirmed that they have taken all the steps that they ought to have taken as Trustees to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that it has been communicated to the auditors.

The Trustees as Company Directors approve the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report included as part of the Trustees’ report on pages 1 to 16.

By Order of the Board

Geoff Wilson

Chair

12 December 2024

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Trustees' Responsibility Statement

The Trustees are responsible for preparing the Annual Report and Accounts in accordance with applicable law and regulations.

Company Law requires the Trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year. Under that law the Trustees have elected to prepare the accounts in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law).

The accounts are required by law to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company at the year end and of the results of the company for that year. In preparing those accounts, the Trustees are required to:

The Trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that are sufficient to show and explain the company’s transactions and disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the company and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are responsible for such internal control as they determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and have general responsibility for taking such steps as are reasonably open to them to safeguard the assets of the company and to prevent and detect fraud and other irregularities.

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The certificate and report of the Comptroller and Auditor General to the members of The Sports Council Trust Company (Company number 2517615) and to the Houses of Parliament

Opinion on financial statements

I have audited the financial statements of The Sports Council Trust Company for the year ended 31 March 2024 under the Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

The Financial Statements which comprise The Sports Council Trust Company’s

The financial reporting framework that has been applied in the preparation of the financial statements is applicable law and the United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In my opinion the financial statements:

Opinion on regularity

In my opinion, in all material respects, the income and expenditure recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

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Basis for opinions

I conducted my audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) (UK), applicable law and Practice Note 10 Audit of Financial Statements and Regularity of Public Sector Entities in the United Kingdom (2022) . My responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of my certificate.

Those standards require me and my staff to comply with the Financial Reporting Council’s Revised Ethical Standard 2019. I am independent of The Sports Council Trust Company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to my audit of the financial statements in the UK. My staff and I have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements.

I believe that the audit evidence I have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for my opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, I have concluded that The Sports Council Trust Company’s use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.

Based on the work I have performed, I have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on The Sports Council Trust 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.

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

Other Information

The other information comprises information included in the Trustees’ Annual Report and Trustees’ Responsibility Statement but does not include the financial statements and my auditor’s certificate and report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information.

My opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in my certificate, I do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

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My responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements, or my knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated.

If I identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, I am required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work I have performed, I conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, I am required to report that fact. I have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinion on other matters

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

Matters on which I report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of The Sports Council Trust Company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, I have not identified material misstatements in the Trustee’s Annual Report, including the Strategic Report and the Directors’ Report, and the Trustees’ Responsibility Statement.

I have nothing to report in respect of the following matters which I report to you if, in my opinion:

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Responsibilities of the Trustees for the financial statements

As explained more fully in the Trustees’ Responsibilities Statement, the Trustees are responsible for:

Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

My responsibility is to audit and report on the financial statements in accordance with the applicable law and Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000.

My 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 a certificate that includes my 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.

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Extent to which the audit was considered capable of detecting non-compliance with laws and regulations including fraud

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

Identifying and assessing potential risks related to non-compliance with laws and regulations, including fraud

In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of noncompliance with laws and regulations, including fraud, I:

As a result of these procedures, I considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within The Sports Council Trust Company for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: revenue recognition, posting of unusual journals, complex transactions and bias in management estimates. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), I am also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.

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The Sports Council Trust Company

I obtained an understanding of The Sports Council Trust Company’s framework of authority and other legal and regulatory frameworks in which The Sports Council Trust Company operates. I focused on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of The Sports Council Trust Company. The key laws and regulations I considered in this context included the Companies Act 2006, Government Resources and Accounts Act 2000, Charities Act 2011, Managing Public Money.

Audit response to identified risk

To respond to identified risks resulting from the above procedures:

I communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential risks of fraud to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or noncompliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.

A further description of my 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 my certificate.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

23

The Sports Council Trust Company

Other auditor’s responsibilities

I am required to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence to give reasonable assurance that the expenditure and income recorded in the financial statements have been applied to the purposes intended by Parliament and the financial transactions recorded in the financial statements conform to the authorities which govern them.

I communicate with those charged with governance regarding, among other matters, the planned scope and timing of the audit and significant audit findings, including any significant deficiencies in internal control I identify during my audit.

I have no observations to make on these financial statements .

Gareth Davies

16 December 2024

Comptroller and Auditor General (Statutory Auditor)

National Audit Office 157-197 Buckingham Palace Road Victoria London SW1W 9SP

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

24

The Sports Council Trust Company

Statement of Financial Activities for the year ended 31 March 2024 (including Income and Expenditure account)

2024 2024 2024 2023
restated
Restricted Unrestricted Total Total
Note £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Income from
Donations and legacies
2
4,927
84
5,011
1,534
Other trading activities
3
-
887
887
1,353
Investments
-
32
32
27
Total
4,927
1,003
5,930
2,914
Expenditure on
Charitable activities
4, 25
(4,528)
(1,123)
(5,651)
(4,700)
Total
(4,528)
(1,123)
(5,651)
(4,700)
Net gain/(losses) on investments
9
-
64
64
(52)
Net income/(expenditure)
399
(56)
343
(1,838)
Other recognised gains
Gains/(losses) on revaluation of
fixed assets
13, 14,
25
2,774
(28)
2,746
8,911
Net movement of funds
3,173
(84)
3,089
7,073
Reconciliation of funds
Total funds brought forward
25
120,960
2,621
123,581
116,508
Total funds carried forward
6
124,133
2,537
126,670
123,581

A restatement of the prior period has been performed as a new valuation for the estate was obtained for the property values as at 31 March 2023. Please refer to note 25.

The Statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure relate to continuing activities.

The notes on pages 29 to 46 form an integral part of these accounts

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

25

The Sports Council Trust Company

Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2024

Company number 2517615, Charity number 803779

Note 2024 2023
restated
£’000 £’000
Fixed assets
Intangible assets
7
46
92
Tangible assets
8, 25
125,353
122,280
Investments
9
878
814
Total fixed assets
126,277
123,186
Current assets
Debtors
10
360
948
Cash at bank
450
580
Total current assets
810
1,528
Liabilities
Creditors
11
(317)
(579)
Provisions
12
(100)
(554)
Total current liabilities
(417)
(1,133)
Net current assets
393
395
Net assets
126,670
123,581

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

26

The Sports Council Trust Company

Statement of Financial Position as at 31 March 2024 (continued)

Company number 2517615, Charity number 803779

The funds of the charity
Restricted capital funds 64,916 62,846
Restricted revaluation reserve 59,217 58,114
Total restricted funds 13, 25 124,133 120,960
Unrestricted income funds 1,672 1,694
Unrestricted revaluation reserve 865 927
Total unrestricted funds 14, 25 2,537 2,621
Total charity funds 15, 25 126,670 123,581

A restatement of the prior period has been performed as a new valuation for the estate was obtained for the property values as at 31 March 2023. Please refer to note 25.

The accounts are exempt from the requirements of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 under section 482 (non-profit-making companies subject to public sector audit) of that Act.

The accounts on pages 25 to 46 were approved by the Board of Trustees and were signed on its behalf by:

Geoff Wilson

Chair

12 December 2024

The notes on pages 29 to 46 form an integral part of these accounts

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

27

The Sports Council Trust Company

Statement of cash flows

Note 2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Cash flow from operating activities
Net cash (used in) operating activities
16
(162)
(24)
Net cash (used in) operating activities
(162)
(24)
Cash flow from investing activities
Income from investments
32
27
Net cash provided by investing activities
32
27
Change in cash balances in the year
(130)
3
Changes in cash balances during the year
Balance at 1 April
580
577
Change in cash balances in the reporting period
(130)
3
Balance at 31 March
450
580

The notes on pages 29 to 46 form an integral part of these accounts

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

28

The Sports Council Trust Company

Notes to the accounts

1 Accounting policies

1.1 Basis of accounting

The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice - Accounting and Reporting by Charities SORP (FRS 102) Second Edition issued October 2019 effective from January 2019, FRS 102, and the Companies Act 2006.

The accounts have been prepared on a going concern basis under the historical cost convention, modified by the revaluation of assets and liabilities to fair value.

The Sports Council Trust Company meets the definition of a public benefit entity under FRS 102.

The principal accounting policies adopted in the preparation of the accounts are set out below.

1.2 Income

Income from donations and legacies includes gifted assets, gifts in kind, and grants.

The value of gifts of assets is based on the amount expensed by the donor.

The value of gifts in kind is based on a reasonable estimate of the value of time spent on the administration service provided to the Charity by The English Sports Council (ESC).

Grants are recognised where there is entitlement, probability of receipt and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.

Other trading activities is made up of freehold and leasehold income which is recognised on a receivable basis.

Income from investments is recognised on a receipt basis due to the timing of statements from the investment fund. The accounting treatment adopted materially matches income accrued.

1.3 Charitable activities

Community grants awarded are recognised in the period in which the grant is approved and communicated to the award recipients.

All other charitable activity expenditure is recognised when a liability is incurred.

Governance costs include those costs incurred in the governance of the Charity and its assets and are primarily associated with constitutional and financial requirements.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

29

The Sports Council Trust Company

The provision of facilities costs is set out in note 4. Costs are allocated to activities directly or to location or usage.

Costs directly related to activities are general administration costs of the Charity. Location costs are costs incurred in connection with freehold and leasehold property occupied by ESC, Mountain Training Trust and British Rowing. Usage costs relate to depreciation, and impairments on tangible fixed assets. Support costs in relation to making community grant awards are not material.

1.4 Dividends

The Charity is prohibited by its Articles of Association from declaring a dividend.

1.5 Intangible fixed assets

Intangible fixed assets predominantly comprise software installed and utilised in our computer systems. Software is amortised on a straight-line basis over three years. The capitalisation threshold is £1,000 and assets purchased below the capitalisation threshold are expensed in year. Intangible assets are reviewed annually for impairment and are stated at amortised historic cost.

1.6 Tangible fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets are either gifted to the Charity by ESC (funded by GIA) or funded directly by the Lottery grant from ESC.

Land and buildings

Full valuations are carried out by external experts quinquennially for land, buildings and bund, supplemented by annual indexation.

The last full valuation of land and buildings was carried out as at 31 March 2024

Valuations are based on Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC) for specialist properties, and fair value for other properties.

The DRC basis generates an open market valuation of the land. The valuation of each building is derived through an estimate being made of the gross current replacement cost of the buildings and other site works, from which deductions are then made to allow for age, condition and obsolescence.

Any assets under construction are valued at the costs incurred to date.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

30

The Sports Council Trust Company

Artworks and antiques

Artworks and antiques are valued by external experts. Valuations are derived with reference to the retail market (at the valuation date) and the probable cost of replacing the items when compared with items in a similar condition. The last full valuation of artworks and antiques was carried out as at 31 March 2024 this is carried out every five years.

Equipment and leasehold improvements

Other property, plant and equipment have not been revalued as fair value is not considered to be materially different to depreciated historic cost.

The capitalisation threshold is £1,000 and assets purchased below the capitalisation threshold are usually expensed in year, except for grouped assets.

Grouped assets are assets, which individually, are less than £1,000 however together they form a single collective asset.

Depreciation

Depreciation is provided on all tangible fixed assets, except freehold land and artworks and antiques, at rates calculated to write off the cost or valuation, less estimated residual value evenly over its expected useful life as follows:

Buildings (as advised by external expert) Unexpired life, maximum of 60 years
Bund (as advised by external expert) 40 years as advised by external expert
Leasehold improvement Expected life of lease
Equipment 5 years

Impairment reviews are undertaken annually. No depreciation is charged in the year of acquisition or construction. A full year’s depreciation is charged in the year of disposal.

1.7 Investments

Subsequent to purchase, listed stocks and shares are measured at fair value through other comprehensive income based on reference to the market in which they exist and are not held for trading.

There are no investments other than those set out in note 9.

1.8 Debtors

Debtors are recognised at fair value, which represents the value of settlement.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

31

The Sports Council Trust Company

1.9 Creditors and provisions

These are recognised when there is a present obligation from a past event that will probably result in a transfer of funds to a third party which can be measured or reliably estimated.

1.10 Funds

Details of all restricted and unrestricted funds are provided in notes 12 and 13.

Restricted funds: These funds are earmarked by the donor for specific purposes.

Unrestricted funds: These funds comprise general funds that are expendable at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of the objects of the Charity and which have not been designated for other purposes.

1.11 Property operating leases

Payments made under operating leases (rental agreements) are recognised in the Statement of financial activities on a straight-line basis over the term of the lease. Lease incentives (e.g., rent-free periods) are recognised as an integral part of the total lease expense, over the term of the lease.

1.12 Dilapidations

Full provision for the probable cost of dilapidations at the date of the expected termination of the lease is made in the accounts in the year in which it is decided not to renew the lease.

1.13 Taxation

No taxation is chargeable on the Charity’s activities which are of a charitable nature, and thus outside the scope of corporation tax.

1.14 Use of estimates and judgement

The preparation of the financial statements requires management to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the application of the accounting policies and the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, income and expenditure. Actual results may differ from the estimates used.

Estimates and assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimates are revised and in any future periods affected.

Estimates are made in relation to tangible fixed assets held by the National Sports Centres including the valuation and revaluation, dilapidation, impairment and

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

32

The Sports Council Trust Company

depreciation of Land and Buildings, the valuation of artwork and antiques and the value of gifts in kind.

1.15 Going concern

The financial position of the Charity is supported by ESC. The ESC is the major provider of funds through the gifting of assets and provision of deficit funding for the NSCs’ operations. The Charity does not usually commit to any capital expenditure that requires funding from its own resources. After making enquiries of the management of ESC, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for at least the next 12 months from the date of approval of the financial statements.

Accordingly, the Charity continues to adopt the going concern basis in preparing these accounts.

1.16 Value Added Tax

The Charity is in a group VAT registration scheme with ESC and is jointly and severally liable for all group VAT liabilities. No VAT is charged on transactions between fellow members of the VAT group. Any irrecoverable VAT incurred by the Charity is met on its behalf by ESC.

2 Donations and legacies

2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023
£’000 £’000
Restricted Unrestricted Total Restricted Unrestricted Total
Gifts of fixed assets
4,927
-
4,927
1,459
-
1,459
Gifts in kind
administration service
-
84
84
-
75
75
Total
4,927
84
5,011
1,459
75
1,534

Gifts of fixed assets and gifts in kind administration service are from ESC.

3 Other trading activities

2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Property income
887
1,353

The income above is from property occupied by ESC, Mountain Training Trust, and British Rowing. It includes rent, rates, service charges and other property costs such as repairs, maintenance, and legal costs.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

33

The Sports Council Trust Company

4 Charitable activities

2024 2024 2024 2023 2023 2023
Restated Restated Restated
Restricted Unrestricted Total Restricted Unrestricted Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Community grants
awarded
Get Berkshire Active
-
10
10
-
39
39
More Leisure Community
Trust
-
-
-
-
(9)
(9)
Total community grants
-
10
10
-
30
30
Governance costs
(note 5)
Board expenses
-
3
3
-
2
2
Audit fees
-
40
40
-
22
22
Total governance costs
-
43
43
-
24
24
Provision of facilities1
Costs directly related to
activities
ESC administration
charge
-
28
28
-
29
29
Gift in kind
administration charge
-
84
84
-
75
75
Sub-total
-
112
112
-
104
104
Location costs
Property costs
-
819
819
-
1,287
1,287
Legal and professional
-
21
21
-
7
7
Sub-total
-
840
840
-
1,294
1,294
Usage
Depreciation
3,745
58
3,803
3,330
54
3,384
Impairment
charge/(reversal)
783
60
843
(136)
-
(136)
Sub-total
4,528
118
4,646
3,194
54
3,248
Total provision of
facilities
4,528
1,070
5,598
3,194
1,452
4,646
Total charitable
activities
4,528
1,123
5,651
3,194
1,506
4,700

1 Provision of facilities costs are allocated as set out in the accounting policies note 1.3.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

34

The Sports Council Trust Company

4 Charitable activities (continued)

The valuation of buildings has been restated in the prior year which has also changed the depreciation and impairment reversal (see note 25).

All income and expenditure relating to the National Sports Centres management contract are accounted for by the ESC including any performance-based bonus. The ESC funds the operational deficit of the National Sports Centres which was £5 million in 2024 (2023: £6 million).

5 Governance and staff costs

The Charity employed no staff in 2023 and 2024.

ESC provides a financial and administration service to the Charity, under the terms of a service level agreement, for which a charge is made (note 2).

6 Trustees (2023: 5) were paid travel during the year of £2,000 (2023: £2,000)

The Trustees did not receive fees or allowances for the year (2023: Nil) either directly from the Charity or the parent body ESC.

The audit fees for the year were £40,000 (2023: £22,000). There were no fees for non-audit work in 2023 and 2024.

6 Reconciliation of the movement in funds

2024 2023
restated
£’000 £’000
Net assets at 1 April
123,581
116,508
Capital investment
Gifted assets (ESC)
4,927
1,459
Other movements
Net revaluation of fixed assets
1,903
9,047
Depreciation
(3,803)
(3,384)
Operational (deficit)/surplus
(2)
3
Increase/(decrease) in value of investments
64
(52)
Net assets at 31 March
126,670
123,581

The valuation of buildings has been restated in the prior year which has also changed the depreciation charge (see note 25).

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

35

The Sports Council Trust Company

7 Intangible fixed assets

Software Total
£’000 £’000
Cost/valuation
At 1 April 2023
139
139
Additions
-
-
At 31 March 2024
139
139
Amortisation
At 1 April 2023
(47)
(47)
Charge for the year
(46)
(46)
At 31 March 2024
(93)
(93)
Net book value
At 31 March 2023
92
92
At 31 March 2024
46
46

Assets are valued in accordance with the accounting policy note 1.5.

8 Tangible fixed assets

Land Buildings
and
bund		 Assets under
construction		 Leasehold
improvements		 Equipment Artworks
and
antiques		 Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Cost/valuation
At 1 April 2023
(restated)
20,212
135,105
238
194
2,365
827
158,941
Gifted assets
-
4,442
12
-
473
-
4,927
Revaluation
(736)
3,482
-
-
-
-
2,746
Reclassifications
-
(61)
(238)
-
299
-
-
At 31 March 2024
19,476
142,968
12
194
3,137
827
166,614
Depreciation
At 1 April 2023
(restated)
12
(34,309)
-
(149)
(2,253)
38
(36,661)
Charge for year
-
(3,689)
-
(15)
(53)
-
(3,757)
Impairment
-
(841)
-
-
-
(2)
(843)
At 31 March 2024
12
(38,839)
-
(164)
(2,306)
36
(41,261)
Net book value
At 31 March 2023
(restated)
20,224
100,796
238
45
112
865
122,280
At 31 March 2024
19,488
104,129
12
30
831
863
125,353

The valuation of buildings and associated depreciation and impairment have been restated in the prior year (see note 25).

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

36

The Sports Council Trust Company

8 Tangible fixed assets (continued)

The net book value of revalued assets under historic cost is as follows: Land £3,649k (2023: £3,649k); Buildings and bund £61,417k (2023: £59,198k)

Assets are valued in accordance with the accounting policy note 1.6.

The last full valuation of land, buildings and bund was carried out as at 31 March 2024 by Gerald Eve LLP, a regulated firm of Chartered Surveyors which provides expert advice in asset valuations and surveying. The valuation was prepared in accordance with the requirements of the RICS Valuation Global Standard 2022 and the UK national standards and guidance set out in national supplement (November 2018 edition), and Financial Reporting Standard (FRS) 102.

The valuation of the non-specialised properties was undertaken on a Fair Value basis, on the assumption of continuation of the existing use. Specialised properties were valued by reference to Depreciated Replacement Cost (DRC). The replacement build cost rates used in DRC valuations are based on knowledge of the current costs of constructing general and specialised sport facility accommodation as well as information from Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) and other published cost data. Existing buildings are valued as they stand using Gross Internal Floor areas (GIAs) by reference to the cost of providing either modern equivalent assets capable of delivering the required service provision or for the listed structures as historically important assets.

Land, buildings, and bund comprise freehold properties. All assets are owned, no assets are supported by either finance leases or PFI contracts.

There is a collection of artworks, furniture and fittings at Bisham Abbey that date from the 16th century. The historical significance of these assets classifies the collection as Artworks and antiques. The collection was last valued as at 31 March 2024 by Sotheby’s.

9 Investments

2024 2023
Listed stocks and securities £’000 £’000
Market value at 1 April
814
865
Adjustment of value as at 1 April
-
1
Revaluation of investment
64
(52)
Market value at 31 March
878
814

Investments as at 31 March 2024 represents holdings in the Sarasin Endowments Fund. The holding is classified as ‘not held for trading.’

The historical cost of the asset at 31 March 2024 was £0.7 million (2023: £0.7 million).

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

37

The Sports Council Trust Company

10 Debtors

2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Amounts falling due within one year
Trade debtors
36
9
Accrued income
255
385
Total
291
394
Amounts falling due after more than one year
English Sports Council
69
554
Total
69
554
Total
360
948

11 Creditors

2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Amounts falling due within one year
Trade creditors
5
15
English Sports Council
-
112
Accruals
312
452
Total
317
579

12 Provisions

Total
£’000
Balance at 1 April 2023
554
Provision release
(454)
Balance at 31 March 2024
100
Amounts falling due within one year
Total
100

The provision is dilapidations for Bloomsbury Street. The lease expired in November 2022 with no option to extend. Provisions were made following a series of assessments since the lease expiry totalling £554k. Following negotiations between the landlord and DCMS, a settlement is expected within the following year and we have reduced the value of our provision down to £100k based on advice from DCMS and their knowledge of the final settlement.

All the above costs will be funded by ESC and thus accrued income has been recognised in these accounts (note 10).

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

38

The Sports Council Trust Company

13 Restricted funds

Revaluation reserve
(land and buildings)		 ESC GIA
funded
assets		 ESC Lottery
funded assets		 Capital Other Total
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at
1 April 2022
(restated)
50,624
38,016
24,281
94
884
113,899
Gifted assets
-
1,459
-
-
-
1,459
Revaluation
8,796
-
-
-
-
8,796
Impairment
reversal
-
128
2
-
6
136
Depreciation
-
(2,343)
(969)
(3)
(15)
(3,330)
Amortisation of
reserve
(1,306)
943
360
1
2
-
Balance at
31 March 2023
58,114
38,203
23,674
92
877
120,960
Gifted assets
-
4,927
-
-
-
4,927
Revaluation
2,774
-
-
-
-
2,774
Impairment
-
(794)
-
-
11
(783)
Depreciation
-
(2,641)
(1,084)
(3)
(17)
(3,745)
Amortisation of
reserve
(1,671)
1,191
475
1
4
-
Balance at
31 March 2024
59,217
40,886
23,065
90
875
124,133

The valuation of buildings and associated depreciation and impairment have been restated in the prior year which has impacted movements in restricted reserves and its total (see note 25).

ESC receives funding from two sources, Exchequer Grant-in-Aid (GIA) and the National Lottery Distribution Fund. These two sources of funding are required to be accounted for separately.

ESC GIA Funded assets

This fund supports the initial acquisition and subsequent funding of tangible fixed asset additions at the National Sports Centres and is funded by ESC’s Exchequer Grant-in-Aid.

ESC Lottery funded assets

This fund also supports the initial acquisition and subsequent funding of tangible fixed asset additions at the National Sports Centres and was funded by ESC's National Lottery Distribution Fund.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

39

The Sports Council Trust Company

13 Restricted funds (continued)

Capital

This fund supports improvements to facilities at the National Sports Centres and was donated by the Lawn Tennis Association.

Other

All income and expenditure relating to the National Sports Centres management contract are accounted for by the ESC including any performance-based bonus. The ESC funds the operational deficit of the National Sports Centres which was £5 million in 2024 (2023: £6 million).

This fund is made up of facilities at Lilleshall funded by The Royal British Legion (TRBL) which are used for TRBL beneficiaries and Ministry of Defence personnel (£0.6 million) as well as the proceeds from the sale of Ashlands House, Crewkerne (£0.3 million) held as investments (note 9 and 14).

14 Unrestricted funds

Revaluation reserve
(land and buildings)		 Other Total
£’000 £’000 £’000
Balance at 1 April 2022 (restated)
842
1,767
2,609
Amortisation of reserve
(30)
30
-
Revaluation
115
-
115
Depreciation
-
(54)
(54)
Operational surplus
-
3
3
Revaluation of investments
-
(52)
(52)
Balance at 31 March 2023
927
1,694
2,621
Amortisation of reserve
(34)
34
-
Revaluation
(28)
-
(28)
Depreciation
-
(58)
(58)
Profit/(loss) on revaluation
-
(59)
(59)
Operational deficit
-
(3)
(3)
Revaluation of investments
-
64
64
Total
865
1,672
2,537

The valuation of buildings and associated depreciation and impairment have been restated in the prior year which has impacted movements in unrestricted reserves and its total (see note 25).

Other

This fund is made up of movements in investment revaluations (note 9), depreciation on unrestricted assets and accumulated annual surpluses.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

40

The Sports Council Trust Company

15 Reconciliation of net assets between funds

Intangible
fixed assets		 Tangible
fixed assets		 Investments Other
assets		 Total
2024		 Total
2023
restated
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Restricted funds
Revaluation reserve
-
59,217
-
-
59,217
58,114
ESC funded assets
-
40,886
-
-
40,886
38,203
ESC lottery fund
-
23,065
-
-
23,065
23,674
Capital
-
90
-
-
90
92
Other
-
875
-
-
875
877
Total
-
124,133
-
-
124,133
120,960
Unrestricted funds
Revaluation reserve
-
864
-
-
864
927
Other
46
356
878
393
1,673
1,694
Total
46
1,220
878
393
2,537
2,621
Total funds
46
125,353
878
393
126,670
123,581

The valuation of buildings and associated depreciation and impairment have been restated in the prior year which has impacted movements in restricted and unrestricted reserves and their totals (see note 25).

16 Net cash flow from operating activities

2024 2023
restated
£’000 £’000
Net expenditure
343
(1,838)
Gifted assets
(4,927)
(1,459)
Impairment charge/(reversal)
843
(136)
Net (gains)/losses on investments
(64)
52
Investment income
(32)
(27)
Depreciation
3,803
3,384
Decrease/(increase) in debtors
588
110
(Decrease)/increase in creditors
(262)
(110)
(Decrease) in provisions
(454)
-
Total
(162)
(24)

The valuation of buildings has been restated in the prior year which has impacted depreciation and impairment reversal.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

41

The Sports Council Trust Company

17 Commitments under operating leases

2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Not later than one year
57
57
Later than one year and not later than five years
228
228
Later than five years
81
138
Total
366
423

All the Charity’s commitments under leases to pay rentals are shown above. These leases relate to offices occupied by ESC and all costs are recharged to ESC. Future commitments are expected to be met through their occupation of the properties.

The rental income for the year amounted to £0.9 million (2023: £0.8 million) all of which was receivable from ESC. Note 8 sets out in the Leasehold Improvement column the capital value held in relation to the properties leased to ESC.

18 Capital commitments and contingent assets/liabilities

2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Capital commitments – contracted but not provided for
56
3,362
Total
56
3,362

The 2023/24 commitments represent a construction contract to deliver a new Archery Facility at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre, this amounted to £3,362k, that completed in the current year.

There are no contingent liabilities or contingent assets for the current year (2023: Nil).

19 Parent body rights over assets

Grants made by ESC to the Charity since June 1990 were made on the basis that any tangible fixed assets acquired by such grants should be available for clawback (return of sale proceeds to the Exchequer and Lottery) in the event of disposal or change of use. On 5 October 1994, the Charity Commission granted an Order under the Charities Act 1993 by which the Charity must repay to ESC the whole proceeds of sales of fixed assets, or such part as represents public funds, sold on or after 1 April 1989, which were originally purchased in whole or in part with funds provided by the Exchequer.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

42

The Sports Council Trust Company

20 Derivatives and other financial instruments

The Charity relies mainly on grant, donation, and property funding to finance its operations. Other than cash resources and items such as debtors and creditors that arise from its operations, it holds no other financial instruments other than the investments referred to in note 9, nor enters into derivative transactions.

The return from investments is not material and therefore the Charity is not exposed to significant market risk. The Board regularly undertakes reviews to mitigate the risks of performance of this instrument.

The Charity performs all transactions in Sterling and therefore has no currency exchange risk. The Charity does not enter into any forward foreign currency contracts or similar financial instruments. The Charity does not borrow money and therefore has no exposure to interest rate risk or liquidity risk in this regard. Cash balances are held in commercial bank accounts and attract market rates of interest. The Charity does not enter into any interest rate swaps or similar financial instruments.

21 Related party transactions

The Charity has a close working relationship with its parent body ESC. ESC is the Charity's main provider of funds enabling the Charity to carry out its charitable objectives. It also provides a financial and administrative service to the Charity through a gift in kind (note 2) and an annual charge of £28,000 (2023: £29,000).

ESC gifts fixed asset additions to the National Sports Centres the details of which are set in note 2. In 2024 this amounted to £4.9 million (2023: £1.5 million).

Included within note 3 in other trading activities are recharges to ESC for property costs, repairs and legal and professional costs in respect of properties occupied by ESC. The amounts included in note 3 are set out below plus the amounts outstanding at the end of the financial year for these recharges.

2024 2023
£’000 £’000
Income
831
1,315
Amount owing from English Sports Council
(69)
(442)

Trustees are selected from a variety of backgrounds and experience. Where conflicts of interest occur, these are declared at each meeting and a Trustee will excuse themselves from any decisions related to the item in question. If the Chair has a conflict another Trustee will chair the meeting when the item is discussed. There were no related party transactions where a Trustee declared a current or past interest relating to the Charity’s activities.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

43

The Sports Council Trust Company

22 Security

ESC was granted a mortgage debenture on 21 December 2006 incorporating a charge over all the Lottery grant funded assets provided for The Rowing Lake. This mortgage debenture was novated to The Sports Council Trust Company on 29 March 2012.

23 Ultimate parent body

The charity’s parent body is ESC known as Sport England and is the Government agency that works to make sure everyone can experience the benefits of sport and physical activity. The results of The Charity are consolidated in the accounts of ESC. The accounts of ESC Group are available from its registered office at Sport Park, 3 Oakwood Drive, Loughborough, Leicestershire, England, LE13 3QF.

24 Post balance sheet events

Richard Mabbitt resigned as Company Secretary on 7 June 2024 and was replaced by Jitendra Patel on 7 June 2024.

Other than this, there have been no other post balance sheet events and the annual report and accounts were authorised for issue on the date of certification by the Comptroller and Auditor General.

25 Prior year adjustments

The financial statements have been restated to incorporate the impact of a material error in the calculation of the building valuations.

During the year, the documentation relating to the floor areas of the National Sport Centre sites at Bisham and Lilleshall were reviewed and the Gross Internal Area of the buildings as applied for the valuations was corrected. When applied to previous years, this resulted in increased property valuations as at 31 March 2019, 31 March 2020, 31 March 2021, 31 March 2022 and 31 March 2023. The restatement adjustment has increased the value of tangible fixed assets and gain on revaluation of fixed assets and associated depreciation and impairment, at each date.

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

44

The Sports Council Trust Company

25 Prior year adjustments (continued)

The effects of restating the prior year fixed asset valuations are shown below:

2023 2023 2023 2023 2023 2023
Restated Previously
stated		 Restated Previously
stated
Restricted Restricted Adjustment Unrestricted Unrestricted Adjustment
£’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000 £’000
Statement of Financial
Activities
Expenditure on charitable
activities
(3,194)
(3,105)
(89)
(1,506)
(1,505)
(1)
Gains/(losses) on revaluation
of fixed assets
8,796
8,552
244
115
114
1
Net movement in funds
7,061
6,906
155
12
12
-
Total funds brought forward
113,899
111,119
2,780
2,609
2,594
15
Total funds carried forward
120,960
118,025
2,935
2,621
2,606
15
Note 4
Charitable activities
Depreciation
3,330
3,228
102
54
54
-
Impairment (reversal)
(136)
(123)
(13)
-
(1)
1
Total charitable activities
3,194
3,105
89
1,506
1,505
1
Note 13
Restricted funds
Balance at 31 March 2022
113,899
111,119
2,780
Revaluation
8,796
8,552
244
Impairment reversal
136
123
13
Depreciation
(3,330)
(3,228)
(102)
Balance at 31 March 2023
120,960
118,025
2,935
Note 14
Unrestricted funds
Balance at 31 March 2022
2,609
2,594
15
Revaluation
115
114
1
Depreciation
(54)
(54)
-
Impairment reversal
-
1
(1)
Balance at 31 March 2023
2,621
2,606
15

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

45

The Sports Council Trust Company

25 Prior year adjustments (continued)

The effects of restating the prior year fixed asset valuations are shown below:

2023 2023 2023
Restated
Previously stated
Adjustment
£’000
£’000
£’000
Statement of Financial Position
Tangible fixed assets		 122,280
119,330
2,950
Total fixed assets 123,186
120,236
2,950
Net assets 123,581
120,631
2,950
Restricted capital funds
Restricted revaluation reserve		 62,846
62,899
(53)
58,114
55,126
2,988
Total restricted funds 120,960
118,025
2,935
Unrestricted income funds
Unrestricted revaluation reserve		 1,694
1,689
5
927
917
10
Total unrestricted funds 2,621
2,606
15
Total charity funds 123,581
120,631
2,950
Note 8
Tangible fixed assets		 Buildings and bund
Restated
£’000		 Previously stated
£’000		 Adjustment
£’000
Cost/valuation at 31 March 2023 135,106
131,866
3,240
Depreciation at 31 March 2023 (34,309)
(34,019)
(290)
Net book value
At 31 March 2023 100,797
97,847
2,950

Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024

46

E03151639 978-1- 5286- 5024-3