for the Period Ended 30 November 2023
Directors report | |
Profit and loss | |
Balance sheet | |
Additional notes | |
Balance sheet notes | |
Community Interest Report |
Directors' report period ended
The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company for the period ended 30 November 2023
Directors
The directors shown below have held office during the whole of the period from
25 November 2022
to
30 November 2023
The above report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions in part 15 of the Companies Act 2006
This report was approved by the board of directors on
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
for the Period Ended
2023 | ||
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£ |
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Turnover: |
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Cost of sales: |
(
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Gross profit(or loss): |
( |
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Administrative expenses: |
(
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Other operating income: |
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Operating profit(or loss): |
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Profit(or loss) before tax: |
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Profit(or loss) for the financial year: |
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As at
Notes | 2023 | ||
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£ |
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Current assets | |||
Cash at bank and in hand: |
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Total current assets: |
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Creditors: amounts falling due within one year: | 3 |
(
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Net current assets (liabilities): |
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Total assets less current liabilities: |
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Total net assets (liabilities): |
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Members' funds | |||
Profit and loss account: |
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Total members' funds: |
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The notes form part of these financial statements
This report was approved by the board of directors on
and signed on behalf of the board by:
Name:
Status: Director
The notes form part of these financial statements
for the Period Ended 30 November 2023
Basis of measurement and preparation
Turnover policy
for the Period Ended 30 November 2023
2023 | ||
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Average number of employees during the period |
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for the Period Ended 30 November 2023
2023 | ||
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£ | ||
Other creditors |
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Total |
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The Norwich Seeker aims to find a new model for independent, in-depth local journalism, delivering compelling newsletters to thousands of readers every week. In our short life, through our journalism, we are proud to have made an impact. For example, we’ve helped to save the walk-in NHS centre on Rouen Road, Norwich, with a Seeker-led campaign supported by more than 8,000 people. We’ve published an investigation into how the dental crisis is impacting Norwich, revealed delays in the city’s bid to create a zero emissions zone and shone a light on how Anglian Water was discharging untreated sewage into the region’s waterways, in breach of permits. We’ve also written about the people and places that characterise our communities, most recently about a Ukrainian family making a new life in Norfolk. We’ve grown our subscriber base to over 1,300 in just six months with minimal marketing investment. The feedback we get is positive, insightful and shows that we have a really engaged and supportive audience. We consistently get a high open-rate to our emails and have experienced surges in sign-ups when stories get picked up and shared by our readers. In addition, our readers often approach us with ideas for articles and content that they’d love to see us cover. Our newsletter open rate remains at over 60% compared to a market average of around 20%. Journalistically our highlight in the first half of the project was an investigation into sudden deaths at Norfolk Constabulary which caught the attention and praise of the chief constable. We’ve also sensitively covered the topic of asylum seekers being housed in hostels, drug deaths and SEND provision. In the second half of this project, we focused on publishing more articles from young, unpublished writers, including journalist students at the University of East Anglia. Their stories included a feature on sewage being pumped into our seas, a look at volunteers helping those who get into trouble on a night out and a news story about the revamp of a local theatre. Another aim of our commissioning has been to commission people who know their subject inside out but are not journalists. This was done through people telling their lived experiences of a subject rather than commissioning a professional journalist to tell it for them. Examples of this include this article from a local restaurateur on the challenges of running a food business, and this article from a local councillor on who she is trying to make her Victorian terrace energy efficient
Our survey in September 2023 showed that our biggest demographic lives in NR2 which is the wealthiest area of the city. However, 28% of The Seeker’s audience live outside of Norwich but in the wider travel to work area (Greater Norwich). This would suggest a growth opportunity beyond the limited city centre population. Demographically, the audience is evenly split by 35 to 55 and then 55 to 75. Our earlier market research showed readers also enjoyed the variety of our Wednesday coverage which has covered stories the established local media are missing and then follow up on. Our Wednesday coverage offers a weekly roundup of shorter news stories, while our Saturday focus remains one longer read which is commissioned by the editor to different freelance writers each week. Please see some of the comments here. In addition, we engaged with our audience through targeted social media channels. Subscribers were built up organically through the twice weekly emails from around 500 at the project start to more than 1300 by its end. We received a boost in subscriber numbers in November when The Seeker was recommended on a Reddit channel about Norwich. Linkedin was used as the primary social media source and traction channel. This was because the user profile of engaged community-minded professionals from the Greater Norwich area and their interests closely aligns with the target audience. Referrals through Linkedin were initially strong but then slowed though the channel is still a large source of engagement. Our biggest sources of sign-ups, in order, were direct i.e. through our website), Google, the newsletter itself (i.e. people forwarding it on for people to sign up), LinkedIn, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter). All growth was organic – typically around 30 sign ups each week on average.
No remuneration was received
No transfer of assets other than for full consideration
This report was approved by the board of directors on
18 November 2024
And signed on behalf of the board by:
Name: Gregory Stephen Smith
Status: Director