Charity No: SC051106
Portobello Town Hall
REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Period 1 August 2024 to 31 July 2025
Charity No: SC051106
## Index
|||Page|
|---|---|---|
|Reference and Administrative information||1|
|Trustees’ Annual Report||2|
|Independent Examiner’s Report||8|
|Statement of Financial Activities||9|
|Balance Sheet as at 31 July2024||10|
|Notes to the accounts||11|
||||
**A Quartet 1956**
Charity No: SC051106
## **REPORT AND FINANCIAL STATEMENTS: PERIOD 1 AUGUST 2024 TO 31 JULY 2025**
## **Reference and Administrative information**
|**Trustees**|Fiona Barr (until 30thMay 2025)|
|---|---|
||Jon Davey (until 10thOctober 2024)|
||Wendy Davies (Chair)|
||Beth Dunant|
||Sally Dyson|
||Damian Harney (Secretary)|
||Lawrence Marshall|
||Morag Phillips|
||Stewart Reid (Treasurer)|
||Bethan White|
|**Registered Address**|147-149 Portobello High Street|
||Edinburgh|
||EH15 1AF|
|**Charity Number**|SC051106|
|**Independent Examiner**|Johann Goree|
||OnPoint Accounting Group|
||Duddingston Yards|
||Duddingston Park South|
||Edinburgh|
||EH15 3NT|
|**Bank**|Triodos Bank UK Ltd|
||Deanery Road|
||Bristol|
||BS1 5AS|
1
Charity No: SC051106
## **Trustees’ Annual Report 2024/25**
The group formerly known as Portobello Central SCIO is now formally known as Portobello Town Hall.
Last year at our AGM we passed a resolution to change our name, back to the name that this building has been known as since it opened in 1914 - Portobello Town Hall. We dropped the “SCIO” from our name but it is still our organisational form. We are still a SCIO registered with OSCR (the Scottish Charity Regulator) but we don’t need to use it in our everyday communications.
OSCR approved the change along with 2 other constitutional changes which were also agreed at the last AGM. The changes related to the process of election/ re-election of trustees.
Our charitable aims, as set out in our constitution remain:
- the advancement of citizenship or community development
- the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science
- the provision of recreational facilities, or the organisation of recreational activities, with the object of improving the conditions of life for the persons for whom the facilities or activities are primarily intended.
In July 2025 we held a facilitated staff/ trustee strategy day to refresh our strategy.
**Tenementals**
2
Charity No: SC051106
## **Our Vision**
We will host an inspiring and inclusive programme that reflects both local and wider cultural and social interests, supports sustainability and contributes to the economic and social development of the area.
We will be Edinburgh’s seaside destination for live events and more — a core part of the local area where everyone feels welcome and where everyone wants to hold their events.
Strategic Priorities
- Venue: To make the building and the outside space accessible, fit for purpose, welcoming and safe.
- Finance: To generate income to ensure core and project-based costs are secured.
- Our offer: To provide a programme that appeals to a wide demographic, encourages participation, and builds a strong base of supporters, volunteers and members.
- People: To ensure that staff and trustees have the skills and knowledge needed to build and maintain thriving organisation and a safe and healthy workplace.
## **The Building**
Last year we reported that we had a received a grant of £90,000 from the Department of Levelling Up Community Ownership Fund to **refresh** the hall and make some renovations to the bathrooms and kitchen.
We also received a grant of £10,500 from the Architectural Heritage Fund to employ an architect and a quantity surveyor to guide us through the process of building warrants, permissions and tendering.
Some of that income was received and spent in the financial year covered by this report. After the final spend there was a remaining task of installing an accessible toilet in the men’s toilet area. In December 2024 we received a grant of £10,000 from the National Lottery’s Awards for All fund to complete the work. By the time of the AGM in November, it will be a work in progress to be completed by the end of November.
We continue to make small improvements to the building, keeping the “green” rooms fresh, getting locks for the balcony doors when the balcony is not in use, maximising the very little storage space we have by keeping it in good order etc.
The building needs more care than we can provide from income from hirers. We have big ticket issues such as a very old boiler and the need for more technical infrastructure particularly for the stage. They are competing with smaller ticket issues which could be seen as repairs and renewals such as sanding/ painting/ varnishing the floor of the main hall and the stage, buying backcloth curtains for the stage, external sockets for the food
3
Charity No: SC051106
trucks that come with festivals or big gigs or even weddings. We do what we can when money allows. We aim to do more fundraising in the coming year.
## **The Hires/Events**
Our priority has always been the inside space and as a result the outside space has not had the attention we would have liked. There have been various volunteer sessions to tidy up the space, but it needs more than just a little pruning or weeding. We have a number of ideas for raising funds for specific projects and hopefully 4$/7P the outside space will get to a the top of the list soon.
Many of our hires are now repeat business. We continue to have a strong relationship with Stage Door Entertainment, the Makers’ Markets, as well as the less frequent but regular and well attended boxing, wrestling, reggae/dub nights, Northern soul, Portobello Bookshop events, and much more.
New developments this year include Imaginate (Edinburgh’s International Children’s Festival) as well as our first year as a venue for Edinburgh Festival Fringe hosting the very successful Welcome to the Fringe, Palestine mini festival. This will enable us to offer more fringe events in 2026.
We also strive for continuous improvement in our offer and there have been some upgrades to sound and lighting.
Below is an infographic which shows the diversity of the events that we have hosted this year. There have been 341 unique bookings across the year. This count includes rehearsals for musicals and pantomimes as well as multiple shows of the same event. It also covers get ins and get outs for weddings, parties and other events.
4
Charity No: SC051106
Since out last AGM on 9[th] October 2024 we have had **341 bookings**
4 blood donation sessions 4 fundraising events 1 jobs fair 16 meetings 4 training sessions 18 music gigs 5 musicals 5 theatre shows 2 book events 6 ceilidhs w 3 circus shows o 8 comedy nights . 8 dance shows 7 festivals 1 phenomenal panto
9 markets
1 TV recording
6 boxing events
- 3 MMA bouts 5 wrestling nights
**----- Start of picture text -----**
6 weddings
1 engagement party
we have 4 permanent
11 parties members of staff
LA
oD sees
18
Spaces Booked
Spaces booked
110 All Venue 204
204 Back Room 1
Kitchen 6
6 1
Main Hall 110
All Venue Back Room 1 Kitchen Main Hall Upper Hall
Upper Hall 18
: ==
**----- End of picture text -----**
5
Charity No: SC051106
## **The Board of Trustees**
For most of the year we were 9 trustees and at the beginning of the year we trialled having bi-monthly governance meetings alternating with bi-monthly operations meetings. The bi-monthly governance meetings began to have very long agendas so this model was changed recently to bring governance meetings back to monthly.
## **The staff**
We came into this year with 4 members of staff providing between them, 60 hours of work a week covering venue management, admin and event stewarding.
We are still growing and understanding the needs of a venue hosting such a variety of events. Our staff team are focussed on venue management, generating hires, administration and event stewarding. Over the course of the past twelve months we have benefitted from the addition of a temporary assistant venue manager and now from the knowledge and experience of a Technical Manager again on a short term basis. The learning that we are gaining from these people is cementing the foundations of our work to create a sound but flexible knowledge base and operating model for the future.
In addition to staff focused purely on operating the building we were successful in securing a grant from the Scottish Building Society which was administered through Foundation Scotland. This funded a part time volunteer co-ordinator between September 2024 and April 2025.
We also successfully applied for a grant to fund a part time (7.5 hours a week) volunteer coordinator for 8 months between September 2024 and April 2025. The funding was from The Scottish Building Society administered through Foundation Scotland.
## **The members**
We have over 300 members and see many of you at various events across the year. We are grateful for your continued support. As we settle into the business of operating the venue we have reduced the frequency of the regular newsletter from monthly to quarterly. This means it's slightly longer read but always relevant.
## **Volunteers**
We have sets of tasks where we have identified that volunteers can help us; stewarding at events, gardening and DIY.
When the Volunteer Coordinator was in post, the volunteer activity was primarily concentrated around public performance events, particularly through Stage Door Entertainment’s musical theatre productions. These shows provided consistent, structured roles for volunteers such as stewarding, front-of-house support and audience assistance. Some hires specifically asked for volunteers. Others bring their own crew and some bring highly trained security staff.
6
Charity No: SC051106
It was more difficult to attract a consistent group of gardeners. Regular call outs for gardening volunteers always brought one or two new volunteers but developing a consistent group to call upon regularly was more difficult. The outside space might seem a dispiriting task as there so much to do. We are grateful to “Keep Porty Tidy” for coming to our rescue.
We do have a few very competent (and professional) D-I-Y Volunteers but our biggest success with D-I-Y was when 16 Senior Managers from the Scottish Building Society came for a day to paint the long corridors. It was team building (and some fun) for them, and it was a very good job done for us.
**----- Start of picture text -----**
.
**----- End of picture text -----**
**Preparing for debate night Scotland**
7
Charity No: SC051106
## **Receipts and Payments Independent Examiner’s Report to the trustees of Portobello Central SCIO**
I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the charity for the year ended 31 July 2025 which are set out on pages 9-15.
## **Respective responsibilities of trustees and examiner**
The charity’s trustees are responsible for the preparation of the accounts in accordance with the terms of the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended). The charity trustees consider that the audit requirement of Regulation 10(1) (d) of the Accounts Regulations does not apply. It is my responsibility to examine the accounts as required under section 44(1) (c) of the Act and to state whether particular matters have come to my attention.
## **Basis of independent examiner’s statement**
My examination is carried out in accordance with Regulation 11 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations. An examination includes a review of the accounting records kept by the charity and a comparison of the accounts presented with those records. It also includes consideration of any unusual items or disclosures in the accounts and seeks explanations from the trustees concerning any such matters. The procedures undertaken do not provide all the evidence that would be required in an audit and, consequently, I do not express an audit opinion on the view given by the accounts.
## **Independent examiner’s statement**
In the course of my examination, no matter has come to my attention
1. which gives me reasonable cause to believe that in any material respect the requirements:
- to keep accounting records in accordance with section 44(1) (a) of the 2005 Act and Regulation 4 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations, and
- to prepare accounts which accord with the accounting records and comply with Regulation 9 of the 2006 Accounts Regulations
## have not been met, or
2. to which, in my opinion, attention should be drawn in order to enable a proper understanding of the accounts to be reached.
## John Goree, Onpoint Accounting
October 2025
8
Charity No: SC051106
## **Portobello Central SCIO**
## **Statement of Receipts and Payments period ended 31 July 2025**
|**Note**
**Receipts:**
Building hires
Donations
**6**
Grants
**7**
Fundraising
**8**
Loan received
Other incoming resources
**9**
**Total Receipts**
**Payments:**
Charitable activities
**10**
Governance Costs
**11**
**Total Payments**
**Surplus / (Deficit) for the year**
Transfer between funds
**Surplus / (Deficit) for the year**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
176,245
-
176,245
858
-
858
500
51,495
51,995
41
-
41
-
-
-
150
-
150
177,784
51,495
229.289
203,412
63,971
267,383
84
-
84
203,496
63,971
267,467
-25,702
-12,476
-38,178
-
-
-
-25,702
-12,476
-38,178|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
114,407
-
114,407
334
-
334
-
60,000
60,000
2,428
-200
2,228
20,000
-
20,000
280
-
280|
|---|---|---|
|||137,449
59,800
197,249|
|||153,373
45,500
198,873
99
-
99|
|||153,472
45,500
198,972|
|||-16,023
14,300
-1,723
-
-
-|
|||-16,023
14,300
-1,723|
9
Charity No: SC051106
## **Portobello Central SCIO**
## **Statement of Balances period ended 31 July 2025**
|Opening cash at bank and in hand
Surplus / (Deficit) for the year
**Closing cash at bank and in hand**
**Liabilities**
Loans outstanding
Pension contributions
PAYE
**Total Liabilities**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
36,309
14,500
50,809
-25,702
-12,476
-38,178
10,607
2,024
12,631
27,180
-
27,180
289
-
289
1,447
-
1,447
28.916
-
28,916|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
52,332
200
52,532
-16,023
14,300
1,723|
|---|---|---|
|||36,309
14,500
50,809|
|||30,000
-
30,000
140
-
140
416
-
416|
|||30,556
-
30,556|
During the year to 31 July 2024, Portobello Central SCIO obtained a loan of £20,000, repayable over 5 years on commercial terms from Social Investment Scotland. At the end of the current accounting period £17,180 of this loan was outstanding (2024: £20,000). Over the next 12 months, £3,504 of capital is repayable (2024: £3,090). During an earlier year the organisation obtained an interestfree loan of £10,000 from one of its members. No repayments are due within the next 12 months and there are no restrictions on how the loan may be utilised.
10
Charity No: SC051106
## **Portobello Central SCIO**
## **Notes to the accounts for the period ended 31 July 2025**
## **1 Basis of accounting**
These accounts have been prepared on the Receipts and Payments basis in accordance with the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) 2005 Act and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended).
## **2 Nature and purpose of funds**
Unrestricted funds are those that may be used at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of the objects of the charity. The trustees maintain a single unrestricted fund for the day-to-day running of the charity.
Restricted funds may only be used for specific purposes. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or grant-giver or when funds are raised for specific purposes. During the year the charity received £51,995 of grants of which £500 was unrestricted (2024: £60,000, nil unrestricted). All other income, including fundraising, was unrestricted.
## **3 Related party transactions**
No remuneration was paid to the trustees or any connected persons during the period covered by these accounts (2024: nil).
## **4 Reserves Policy**
During the course of the year, Portobello Central SCIO adopted a Reserves Policy as required by our regulator. This sets a level of reserves deemed sufficient to allow for either an orderly close down of the operation or to deal with an extended denial of access to the Town Hall. Specifically, it includes potential redundancy costs, the refund of outstanding customer deposits and other outstanding costs and commitments. It is not expected that a charity will be able to generate and retain sufficient reserves early in its life.
Actual reserves are tested against the policy on an annual basis at the charity’s financial year end. As anticipated, the level of charitable funds held at 31 July 2025 fell short of the requirements of the Reserves Policy.
## **5 Restatement**
During the finalisation of the reporting process associated with the COF grant and to facilitate reporting, the portion of expenditure incurred during 2023/24 and allocated to the grant was revised. There were no changes to the total income and expenditure for that period. The restated and original figures are reported on pages14-15. All schedules on pages 9 -13 show the restated values in respect of the accounting period which ended on 31 July 2024
11
Charity No: SC051106
|**6 Donations**
Crowdfunder
Gift Aid received
Other donations
**Total Donations**
**7 Grants Received**
Architectural Heritage Fund
Community Ownership Fund
Foundation Scotland
National Lottery
**Total Grants**
**8 Fundraising**
Ceilidh 2023
Other
**Total Fundraising**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
-
-
-
-
858
-
858
-
-
6,615
-
30,000
500
4,880
-
10,000
500
51,495
-
-
41
-
41
-|**Total**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
-
-
858
858
6,615
30,000
5,380
10,000
51,995
-
41
41|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
-
-
-
-
334
-
334
-
-
-
-
60,000
-
-
-
-
-
60,000
2,428
-200
-
-
2,428
-200|**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
-
-
334|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||334|
|||||-
60,000
-
-|
|||||60,000|
|||||2,228
-|
|||||2,228|
12
Charity No: SC051106
|**9 Other incoming resources**
Interest Income
Other
**Total Other Incoming Resources**
**10 Cost of charitable activities**
Consultants
Employment Costs
Property Costs
Refurbishment
Loan repayment
Other costs
**Total Cost of Charitable Activities**
**11 Governance Costs**
Independent Examiner’s fee
Bank charges
Other
**Total Governance Costs**|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
150
-
-
-
150
-
993
6,615
55,756
8,500
57,406
805
52,930
47,476
5,345
-
30,982
575
203,412
63,971
-
-
96
-
-
-
96
-|**Total**
**Funds**
**2025**
**£**
150
-
150
7,608
64,256
58,211
100,406
5,345
31,557
267,383
-
96
-
96|**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
280
-
-
-
280
-
9,760
-
25,768
10,000
39,607
-
48,239
45,700
-
-
19,799
-
143,173
55,700
-
-
99
-
-
-
99
-|**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
280
-|
|---|---|---|---|---|
|||||280|
|||||9,760
35,768
39,607
93,939
-
19,799|
|||||198,873|
|||||-
99
-|
|||||99|
13
Charity No: SC051106
## **Portobello Central SCIO**
## **Statement of Receipts and Payments period ended 31 July 2024 - restated**
|**Receipts:**
Building hires
Donations
Grants
Fundraising
Loan received
Other incoming resources
**Total Receipts**
**Payments:**
Charitable activities
Governance Costs
**Total Payments**
**Surplus / (Deficit) for the year**
Transfer between funds
**Surplus / (Deficit) for the year**|RESTATED
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
114,407
-
114,407
334
-
334
-
60,000
60,000
2,428
-200
2,228
20,000
-
20,000
280
-
280
137,449
59,800
197,249
153,373
45,500
198,873
99
-
99
153,472
45,500
198,972
-16,023
14,300
-1,723
-
-16,023
14,300
-1,723|ORIGINAL
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
114,407
-
114,407
334
-
334
-
60,000
60,000
2,428
-200
2,228
20,000
-
20,000
280
-
280|
|---|---|---|
|||137,449
59,800
197,249|
|||143,173
55,700
198,873
99
-
99|
|||143,272
55,700
198,972|
|||-5,823
4,100
-1,723
-
-
-|
|||-5,823
4,100
-1,723|
14
Charity No: SC051106
## **Portobello Central SCIO**
## **Statement of Balances period ended 31 July 2024 - restated**
|Opening cash at bank and in hand
Surplus / (Deficit) for the year
**Closing cash at bank and in hand**
**Cost of charitable activities - restated**
Consultants
Employment
Property
Refurbishment
Loan Repayment
Other costs
**Total cost of Charitable Activities**|**RESTATED**
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
52,332
200
52,532
-16,023
14,300
-1,723
36,309
14,500
50,809
9,760
-
9,760
25,768
10,000
35,768
-
-
39,607
58,439
35,500
93,939
-
-
-
19,799
-
19,799
153,373
45,500
198,873|**ORIGINAL**
**Unrestricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Restricted**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
**Total**
**Funds**
**2024**
**£**
52,332
200
52,532
-5,823
4,100
-1,723|
|---|---|---|
|||46,509
4,300
50,809|
|||9,760
-
9,760
25,768
10,000
35,768
39,607
-
39,607
48,239
45,700
93,939
-
-
19,799
-
19,799|
|||143,173
55,700
198,873|
15