The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2024.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The objectives of the charity are to support the activities of religious Jewish organisations both in the UK and abroad especially those that promote Orthodox Jewish religion, education, relief of poverty and other welfare activities.
The trustees have confirmed that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities and setting the grant making policy for the year.
Grants are made to charitable institutions and organisations which accord with the objects of the charity. The trustees consider all requests which they receive and make donations based on the level of funds available.
In making grants and donations, the Trustees use their personal knowledge of the institution, its representatives, operational efficiency and reputation. The Trustees monitor the application of the grants and donations by meeting with representatives of the institutions and obtain information as to the utilisation of funds.
During the year the charity has continued its philanthropic activities and has maintained its support of religious, educational and other charitable institutions in Great Britain.
During the year, the charity distributed grants of £790,320 (2023: NIL).
The financial results of the charity and its subsidiary undertakings for the year ended 31 January 2024 are fully reflected in the attached Financial Statements together with the Notes thereon.
Under the Memorandum and Articles of Association, the charity has the power to make any investment which the Trustees see fit.
The Trustees continue to assess the charity's investment portfolio and seek new investment opportunities to ensure that the charity's asset base is maintained and suitable surpluses are generated.
The Trustees are satisfied with the return on investments achieved during the year and are confident that the charity has adequate reserves to fulfil its charitable obligations.
The charity received £833,405 (2023: £697,899) in donations and investment income during the year, and £1,534,169 (2023: £450,324) was paid out by way of grants and support costs.
The financial position of the charity is satisfactory. The charity's statement of financial activities shows total funds of £4,831,216, of which £638,807 are free reserves.
The Trustees have made appropriate enquiries and have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the twelve months from the date that the accounts are signed. For this reason, they continue to adopt the going concern basis in preparing the financial statements. Further details regarding the adoption of the going concern basis can be found in the accounting policies.
It is the policy of the charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level which will not impinge on its ability to support Charitable Institutions.
The Charitable Company holds long term investments to allow it to generate sufficient income on an ongoing basis. The reserves are represented by unrestricted funds arising from past operating results. The Trustees are satisfied that the present balance of distributable reserves is sufficient to support anticipated expenditure and will be reviewed periodically by the trustees of the charity.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee incorporated on 18 February 2011 and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association adopted by special resolution on the 11 January 2023.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
The charity commission appointed joint interim managers, John Dickinson and Joseph Colley, of Carter Backer Winter LLP, on 7 April 2021 to help address concerns at the charity that were raised during a statutory inquiry.
The interim managers resigned during the year further to the charity commission satisfying themselves with the administration of the charity under the auspices of the new board of Trustees on the 31 October 2023.
The management of the charity is the responsibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Trust deed. The key management personnel are the trustees. The charity also receives support from third parties, none of whom have management duties.
Where needed, the board will seek to appoint new trustees. New trustees are selected based on the suitability of their skills, knowledge and experience to the operations of the charity. They are appointed in accordance with the articles and association. The charity has a welcome pack for the induction of new trustees, and further training is provided where appropriate.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Glazers be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of The Knightland Foundation for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these financial statements, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent; and
- prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of The Knightland Foundation (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 January 2024 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 require us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
We have been appointed as auditor under section 144 of the Charities Act 2011 and report in accordance with the Act and relevant regulations made or having effect thereunder.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:
1) Enquiries of management concerning the charity's policies and procedures relating to:
- identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance
- detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and
- the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations;
2) Discussions among the engagement team regarding how and when fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.
In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and the Charities Act 2011.
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the charity's ability to operate or avoid a material penalty.
As a result of performing the above, we did not identify any key audit matters related to the potential risk of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations.
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
- Reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance
with provisions of relevant laws and regulations described as having a direct effect on the financial
statements;
- Enquiring of management concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
- Performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of
material misstatement due to fraud;
- Reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance.
- In addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal
entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are
indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are
unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members, and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
We note that our audit is not primarily designed to detect non-compliance with laws and regulations and the Trustees and other management are responsible for such internal control as the Trustees and other management of the Charity determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to errors or fraud, including compliance with laws and regulations. Additionally, owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Glazers is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Knightland Foundation is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Unit 1 Guard House, Grosvenor Way, London, E5 9XE, England.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 “The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland” (“FRS 102”) and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
Investment property, which is property held to earn rentals and/or for capital appreciation, is initially recognised at cost, which includes the purchase cost and any directly attributable expenditure. Subsequently it is measured at fair value at the reporting end date. The surplus or deficit on revaluation is recognised in profit or loss.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the charity. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.
Investments in subsidiaries are valued at cost less provision for impairment.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
Judgements made by the directors in the application of these accounting policies that have significant effect on the financial statements and estimates with a significant risk of material adjustment in the next year are as follows:
Property valuation
The valuation of the charity's investment property is inherently subjective, depending on many factors including the nature of the property, its location and expected future net rental values. Therefore the valuation is subject to a degree of uncertainty and is made on the basis of assumptions which may not prove to be accurate, particularly in periods of difficult market or economic conditions.
Trade and other debtors
Management uses available evidence of the credit status of the counterparty in making judgements concerning any need to impair the carrying value of any amounts due to the charitable company.
Donations in kind
Charitable Expenditure
Charitable Expenditure
Charitable Expenditure
Bad Debt
Bank Charges
Other Governance Costs
Governance costs includes payments to the auditors of £8,000 (2023- £22,000) for audit fees.
During the year the charity paid professional fees of £28,500 to a company where one of the trustees is the sole shareholder.
Other than the above mentioned transaction none of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
All investments shown above are held at valuation.
The above valuations are based on a valuation of the charity’s commercial property portfolio carried out on the 24 August 2022 by Lambert Smith Hampton Chartered Surveyors, who are not connected with the charity. The trustees are of the opinion that there has been no material change between the date of the valuation and the 31 January 2024.
The historical cost of the properties at 31 January 2024 is £7,275,766 (2023: £7,275,766)
Amounts due from related companies represents amounts of £496,208 (2023: £341,808) due from Bellview Management Ltd, £132,045 (2023: £132,045) due from Canvey Housing Ltd and £175,000 (2023: £384,051) from Rowe Lane Estates Ltd .
The loans are interest free (with the exception of £154,400 from Bellview Management Ltd which bears interest at 6% p.a.), the loans are all repayable on demand.
In the opinion of the Trustees the amounts are fully recoverable.
The long-term loans are secured by fixed charges over the company's investment properties.
The rates payable on the loans are fixed partly at 3.94% and partly at 3.1% until expiry in July 2025.
Post year end the trustees reviewed the charity’s property portfolio, to identify any properties that require urgent attention and to put the Charity on a proper footing. This included reviewing the charity’s historic investment in Rowe Lane Estates Ltd (company number 10010592) a company of which the charity had a 50% interest.
On the 23 February 2024 the trustees commissioned an independent valuation of the Property, which was undertaken by Eddisons.
At a board meeting held on 28 February 2024 the trustees concluded that it would be in the best interests of the Charity to exit this investment. The trustees decided that despite that this would create a loss to the Charity it was still the most prudent course of action in order to protect the assets of the Charity and enable it to concentrate on furthering its charitable purposes through its grant making programme.
The trustees informed the Charity Commission of the proposal and set out the background and reason for their decisions and the commission raised no objection to the sale.
Subsequently in May 2024 the company disposed of the shares in its subsidiary Rowe Lane Estates Ltd and assigned the loan of £384,051 to a third party for a value of £175,000.
Based on the above the charity has made a bad debt provision in its accounts of £209,051 in the current year.
The charity has also impaired its investment in its subsidiary Bellview Land Ltd based on the financial position of the company as at the 31 January 2024. The company was formally dissolved on the 25 June 2024.
Property management services for the value of £78,368 (2023 - £62,367) were provided by Bellview Management (UK) Limited, a company under the control of a former trustee of the charity. These services were provided for part of the year free of charge , and have been shown in the accounts as a donation-in-kind.
Other than the above and those disclosed in notes 9 & 14 there were no disclosable related party transactions during the year.
Details of the charity's subsidiaries at 31 January 2024 are as follows:
The investments in subsidiaries are all stated at cost.
Consolidated financial statements have not been prepared as the charity has taken advantage of the exemptions conferred by Section 398 Companies Act 2006.