The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 28 February 2025. The report relates to the charitable company alone, it is not part of a group.
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 charitable company's memorandum and articles of association, 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 charitable company's objects are to advance Christian faith in accordance with the Statement of Beliefs set out within the Articles of Association in such ways and in such parts of the United Kingdom or world as to fulfil other charitable purposes that are connected with the charitable work of the Church.
The policies adopted in furtherance of these objects are the provision of public worship services with Christian teaching and pastoral support for all ages, community based activities, cafe church activities, support to to those with life controlling issues, provision of transport, international support and other support work to those in need or suffering. There has been no change in these during the year.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charitable company should undertake, and are satisfied that those described below provide public benefit.
The charitable company is a company limited by guarantee incorporated in England & Wales on 24 February 2009. The charitable company is governed by its Memorandum & Articles of Association.
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 trustees are drawn from the Members of the charitable company.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the charitable company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up whilst still a member or within one year of ceasing to be so.
The trustees are responsible for the management and administration of the Church's property and funds in accordance with the Memorandum and the Articles of Association. Day to day management of activities is delegated to Richard Thomas who acts as chief executive. Remuneration is set by the Board of trustees having due regard to the activities undertaken and remuneration of similar posts in the church community.
Upon appointment appropriate training and guidance is given as to the role and responsibilities of a trustee within the organisation.
Meetings are required to be held at least three times a year at which the charitable and financial aspects of the organisation are considered and actions to be taken determined as necessary. This includes the setting of remuneration for those employed having due regard to legislative requirements and rates of remuneration paid by similar organisations.
Interests in transactions by virtue of related parties are declared at meetings and reported in the notes to the financial statements.
The activities of the Church are managed for the charity by the following staff:
Mr R Thomas – Full time church worker and Chief Executive
Mr J Harper – Full time church worker
Mr D Spiers – Part time Admin
Mrs J Harper – Part time building manager
Mr D Dowse – Part time caretaker/cleaner
Throughout the period we have provided public benefit through the following...
We have again maintained financial support for a training school for community leaders from Rwanda and Uganda.
We have helped facilitate cross cultural training.
We have once more engaged U.K. churches in the charitable link to Uganda resulting in further gifts from other charities towards medical aid.
We have travelled to Uganda to participate in a senior leadership conference helping to plan future development.
We have planned and run a conference for senior leaders of church groupings in East Africa, encouraging best practice in community leadership.
We have run monthly Zoom meetings for the encouragement of church leaders around the U.K.
We have continued to provide public worship services by means of 3 congregations meeting in The Granary, with Christian teaching and pastoral support.
All three congregations have grown numerically.
Our community groups have been revamped and relaunched, with 50% attendance rate.
We have again run Dines Green youth group in the community centre.
Support continues to those suffering from addictions of various kinds, mental health issues and homelessness.
We have continued with long term volunteer mentoring relationships within the Sunday evening congregation, particularly for those with life controlling issues.
We have continued our partnership with The Good Soil Trust in providing support for a number of long-term unemployed to attend work experience.
We have continued the review and develop of our health and safety policy.
We have continued to train new volunteers in food hygiene and have planned further first aid training.
We have reviewed our safeguarding and developed a wider team of trained people to be able to consult.
Our building is being used by many community groups and activities.
We have run termly children’s craft activity mornings for the community.
We have again partnered with the council in running the severe weather emergency night shelter for the homeless during the winter months, using our building.
Insurance has been reviewed and extended to cover both the increased value of the building and all activities in the building.
We ran a camp specifically for those from similar social action projects as ourselves, facing life-controlling difficulties, from around the U.K.
We have provided support, coaching and advice to other churches, particularly to their leadership teams, in the west Midlands, south Wales, Derbyshire, Manchester and Kent.
We have partnered with the following charitable groups to provide low cost event / training venues.
Emerging Futures - working with people affected by homelessness, drug and alcohol problems and physical and mental health needs.
Children's Society - providing specialist support that empowers young people to make positive changes and rediscover their hope.
CCP (SWEP) - Preventing the causes and reducing the effects of homelessness, family breakdown and exclusion since 1989.
Worcester Mela - using different cultures, colours and creativity to bring unity in the city.
Dancefest - creating opportunities for people in our community to take part in dance classes and, if they want to, perform.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Cranstoun, working with those 18+ struggling with alcohol or drug intake.
Maggs day centre.
CCP - dedicated to prev3nting the causes of homelessness.
Hereford and Worcester Recovery and Wellbeing College
Mela – a group working to unite the city through culture and creativity.
Worcester Community Gardens
Everybody Dance – a company aiming to bring together able bodied and disabled through dance.
Yellow Scarf – support groups to help overcome challenges of isolation and displacement.
Aspeera Suporting migrants with cultural issues.
Diabetes UK
The charitable company proposes to continue these activities in the coming year and develop them further.
We have again functioned well with effective financial controls achieving good results. Continued prudent budgeting has enabled us to achieve our charitable objectives and maintain reasonable free reserves as detailed below.
The net expenditure for the year is £9,343 (2024 - £20,573 income) of which a surplus of £35,498 (2024 -£21,411) is in connection with unrestricted activities and a deficit of £44,841 (2024 - £838) in relation to restricted activities. Total reserves at the reporting date are £1,468,415 (2024 - £1,477,758) of which £900,650 (2024 - £945,491) is restricted. Full details of the restricted funds can be found in the notes accompanying the financial statements. After extracting the endowed property and other fixed assets this leaves free reserves of £136,989
(2024 - £101,491) available for unrestricted activities.
It is the policy of the charitable company that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. The trustees considers that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the charitable company’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised.
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charitable company is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
This report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Hope Church Worcester 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).
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Hope Church Worcester (the charitable company) for the year ended 28 February 2025.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charitable company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charitable company’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
Since the charitable company’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of ICAEW, which is one of the listed bodies.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charitable company as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Investments
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Hope Church Worcester is a charitable company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is The Granary, St Martins Quarter, Worcester, WR1 2DA.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charitable company'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 charitable company is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charitable company has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements have departed from the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 only to the extent required to provide a true and fair view. This departure has involved following the Statement of Recommended Practice for charities applying FRS 102 rather than the version of the Statement of Recommended Practice which is referred to in the Regulations but which has since been withdrawn.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charitable company. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. 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 charitable company 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 or grantors 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.
Endowment funds represent the building gifted to the charity by the Baptist Unioin, the capital must be maintained by the charitable company.
Income is recognised when the charitable company is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charitable company 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.
No value is attributed to services provided by volunteers within these financial statements as such services cannot be "sold" and the use of fair value would overstate the value of donations to the charity.
Debtors represent amounts owed to the charity for gift aid or amounts paid in advance for services to be received, measured at the recoverable amount.
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.
Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be recovered.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its activities and services for its beneficiaries. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
Creditors represent the amount the charity anticipates it will pay to settle a debt or a provision for goods and services it has received not yet invoiced, measured at settlement amount.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charitable company reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Recoverable amount is the higher of fair value less costs to sell and value in use. In assessing value in use, the estimated future cash flows are discounted to their present value using a pre-tax discount rate that reflects current market assessments of the time value of money and the risks specific to the asset for which the estimates of future cash flows have not been adjusted.
If the recoverable amount of an asset is estimated to be less than its carrying amount, the carrying amount of the asset is reduced to its recoverable amount. An impairment loss is recognised immediately in income/(expenditure for the year, unless the relevant asset is carried at a revalued amount, in which case the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation decrease.
Recognised impairment losses are reversed if, and only if, the reasons for the impairment loss have ceased to apply. Where an impairment loss subsequently reverses, the carrying amount of the asset is increased to the revised estimate of its recoverable amount, but so that the increased carrying amount does not exceed the carrying amount that would have been determined had no impairment loss been recognised for the asset in prior years. A reversal of an impairment loss is recognised immediately, unless the relevant asset is carried in at a revalued amount, in which case the reversal of the impairment loss is treated as a revaluation increase.
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, and other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less.
The charitable company 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 charitable company's balance sheet when the charitable company 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 other receivables 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.
Basic financial liabilities, including other payables, 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 receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Accounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Amounts payable are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charitable company’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charitable company is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
In the application of the charitable company’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.
Room hire
Governance costs include payments to the independent examiners of £3,000 (2004 - £3,580) for accountancy fees.
Two of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received remuneration during the year, being remuneration for the performance of their pastoral and administrative duties within the church. The amounts paid including pension contributions for R Thomas and D Spiers were £61,761 (2024 - £61,761) and £19,752 (2024 - £19,172) respectively. They were also reimbursed travel expenses of £9,799 (2024 - £4,482), for R Thomas, and £172 (2024 - £350), for D Spiers.
One of the Trustees was repaid a further £2,000 of the interest free loan of £10,000 he had made towards the building work, leaving a balance due of £4,000 (2024 - £6,000).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Contributions totalling £14,284 (2024 - £14,268) were made to defined contribution pension schemes on behalf of the remunerated trustees.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Transfers were made between unrestricted funds and restricted funds as shown in the restricted fund note.
The long-term loans comprise a mortgage for the refurbishment of the property and a Bounce Back loan of £50,000 plus interest received through Coronovirus funding guaranteed by the Government.
The remaining term of the mortgage as at 28/02/2025 is 25 years 4 months and the interest rate is 8.85%.
The Bounce Back loan was for a period of 10 years from October 2020 and carries interest at 2.5% per annum.
The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charitable company in an independently administered fund.
Endowment funds represent assets which must be held permanently by the charitable company. Income arising on the endowment funds can be used in accordance with the objects of the charitable company and is included as unrestricted income. Any capital gains or losses arising on the assets form part of the fund.
During 2017 the Baptist Union acquired premises in Worcester to be converted into use as a Church by the Hope Church Community. These premises have been endowed to the charity for this purpose and a refurbishment project has commenced.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
Building Fund - donations given with the intent of servicing a loan.
Encounter Together (formerly Hope Project) - donations received to help people with life controlling issues.
Exporting Hope - donations given to Hope Church to be used as international donations.
In 2019, the Regional Fund and the Richard Travel Fund were combined with the Exporting Hope Fund.
The Dines Green fund is a fund used for running a congregation and serving the community of Dines Green.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
No guarantees have been given or received.
G Hazelton has an interest in the insurance provided for the charitable company. The insurance is provided through the insurance brokers Hazelton & Mountford where Mr Hazelton is the managing director. The insurance provided is at a competitive rate and was procured through another member of the company on an "at arms length" basis. The amount incurred was £6,703 (2024 - £4,671).