## **The Furniture Lodge** 

## **Report of the Trustees for the year ended 31/10/24** 

A SCIO Registered Charity Number SC045138 

Principal Office - 12 Cowie Lane, Stonehaven, AB39 2PF 

Trustees – 

, 

Trustees resigned during the year – 

(resigned July 2024) 

The charity is governed by a constitution. 

New trustees can self nominate or be proposed by existing trustees for consideration by the board. 

Independent Examiner – 

The organisation’s purposes are: 

1. The advancement of environmental protection by establishing a community social enterprise which will raise awareness of and provide local solutions to waste reduction, recycling and re-use issues.  This enterprise will seek to reduce the amount of reusable items currently being sent to landfill while promoting an awareness of waste reduction, recycling and re-use issues. It also aims to educate the public as to the benefits of donating or buying reusable items which would otherwise end up in landfill 

2. The relief of those in need by providing work and training opportunities for disadvantaged members of the local community, alongside paid employment, volunteering and retraining opportunities. 

Revenue of £23,207 was generated in the twelve months to October 2024 compared to £17,822 reported in the previous year.  This has allowed us to clear our start up interest free loan balance of £6,000 within our agreed repayment period. Essential repairs to our building significantly increased while van repairs are well down on the previous year.  On the safety side we replaced all our fire extinguishers and signage following a Fire Risk Assessment along with the updated fluorescent signage. Volunteers and Trustees attended a training session on how to operate the extinguishers and where and when to use them safely. 

Landfill saving is one of our prime objectives.  It is over 15% higher at 8.77 tonnes, using the Circular Communities Scotland Average Weight Schedules, compared to the figure of 7.57 tonnes of the previous year. 



It is difficult to determine if our increased revenue is due to increased footfall or improved quality of stock.  Certainly our Facebook presence helps with getting known both locally and further afield.  We have over a thousand Facebook members. After a recent video of what we have in store, some 16,000 people viewed it within a few hours, thanks to being linked to Stonehaven Chat which has over 30,000 members. 

Having cleared our loan balance we can catch up on some building maintenance and tackle the significant external decoration of the entire building, especially upstairs which has been neglected for many years.  At this time the upper front windows and panels have been painted as well as the whole beach facing elevation on two floors. 

Long term one of our original aims was to take ownership of our premises under the Community Asset Transfer scheme, through which our initial lease was issued.  We have discovered that the scheme has been reconfigured and will need to investigate if this aim is still viable now and in the future.  Only with ownership could we be able to attract the capital grants for improvements that the building needs, like easier access for our customers. 

Overall assessment of activity this year is that we have improved, learning as we go. From start up in May 2022 to October 2024 we can see we are continuing to grow as we become better known, as evidenced by returning customers. 




**The Furniture Lodge (SC045138)** 

## **Income and Expenditure for the Years Ended 31/10/24 and 31/10/23** 

|Balance b/f<br>**Income**<br>Sales<br>Delivery<br>Donation<br>**Expenditure**<br>bOnline - Phone<br>Ansvar<br>Van Road Tax<br>Van Insurance - DD<br>Loan Repaid<br>Van Fuel<br>British Gas (Electric)<br>Aberdeenshire - Annual Rent<br>Wave (Water)<br>Aberdeenshire - Fire Insur<br>Building Repairs<br>Van Repairs/MOT<br>Stock Repair Materials<br>Office<br>Equipment (Fire)<br>Balance c/f|**2024**<br>**2023**<br>£4,076.37<br>£2,434.25<br>£22,058.66<br>£17,079.16<br>£1,125.00<br>£685.00<br>£23.69<br>£57.77<br>£23,207.35<br>£17,821.93<br>£537.06<br>£481.26<br>£324.99<br>£316.53<br>£342.58<br>£317.59<br>£980.95<br>£1,076.65<br>£6,000.00<br>£8,500.00<br>£530.10<br>£480.06<br>£1,516.37<br>£1,190.34<br>£100.00<br>£868.20<br>£864.34<br>£665.34<br>£348.55<br>£944.50<br>£133.93<br>£481.38<br>£2,163.64<br>£13.71<br>£5.99<br>£79.95<br>£101.33<br>£1,036.28<br>£99.60<br>£14,321.41<br>£16,179.81<br>£12,962.31<br>£4,076.37|
|---|---|




Chair The Furniture Lodge 25/07/2025 



APPENDIX 3
OSCR
Independent examlnerfs report on the accounts
Reg18t0r￿ chartty SC
numhr •
On tho aCCo￿ts of tho ,
¢harfty for the p•rfod .
04&138
p￿1¢Xl end date
Respethe The charty$ truslees are re5tKiwt4e for the Fxeparalion olthè attcounts in accordan(
rowsibllftles of tems of Ihe Charities and Trustee Investrnerrt (Scouandl 2005 P£t and the
trust•os and eXarnI￿r
Ch8rit*s Acwnts {ScY)tland) Reg￿allonS 2Crf)6 las amended). The ¢haiity trustee5
¢onsithr that the a￿JIt requirement cl Regulaion 10{1) (d) of the Accujnts Regulations
(kn8s not apFly. ft 15 my re5pon8iblity to examin6 the acccwn18 a6 reqLir&l ￿d￿r secti¢
44(1) (c) crf lh8 8rKI to state whethw porth>Jlar m*l8r8 have come to my attention.
Basls of Inde￿ndont My 8xamin#Son Is corrknd OLrt In aceordance *ith Ra￿{¥t11)n 11 of the 2Q)6 ActountÈ
examlnofs Statsm￿t Reoulaticng. An examI￿liOn indithles a revl8w of lh8 acc￿jnti￿g records kapt bythe
tharity and a o)rnp￿n tsf the acrAwnts presen￿1 th t￿e rec*rd8. 11 aLso Indud&s
<Y)n$Kknli(n of any unwal items ￿ disck)skThs In tho accounts arKI seeks
eWarotion8 from tre trusiees (onceming any wch matters. Th& proc•Jur68 und8rtAk8n
not provide all the evidence that be requirod in an audit and. consequendy, I do
r*)t @xprw￿ an audit opInK￿ giv￿ by Ihe actLNJnts.
kndepond•nt wmln•V$ In the Ixjurse d my eXamr￿ll)n. no matter has come to my attentIC￿ Eotherth8n that
l. Wh￿ gv86 mo rogsonth b) beleNw that in any rnatsrfd rospart the
rwutemonts:
to keep acc(xxty In *lth 5ocifvJn 44(11 (al of lh8 2005 Actand
R•9uLqtion 4 of the 2￿ Accounts RwJulatlDn$, an(J
to P￿Pare accounts Which acp>Jrd wlth ts aG(ountln9 rec￿ts and
Regu**n 9 of the 20(￿ Accounts RwJul8tlon
h#va rd m¢(
2. to wb.ich. in rny opinion. 3ffenUop shoLJld bÈ drawn In ord8r to aiablè a propar
ers
andin
the accounts I
Slgned:
R•lovonl wof•$$lon•l
quallfie*l¢yn($) or body
(11 any):
Addrns•:

APPENDIX 3
Disclosure section
Only IxXnp￿ts rfthe examlner rwds to hvJNw*t material probl8m8.
Glvo her• brlgf d8lalls pf
any ttoms that th•
In•r wi•h•8 to
d1￿10