The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 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, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" 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)".
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission regarding public benefit and in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
About Brighton Therapy Centre
Our Vision: Making quality psychological therapies accessible to all.
Our Public Benefit Statement (Charitable objects): To relieve mental and emotional suffering, and advance wellbeing for people living in England and Wales by the provision of quality, appropriate and effective psychological therapies, for the public benefit.
Our Mission: We are an independent charitable organisation with a mission to provide a wide choice of high-quality psychological therapies to all. Whilst we offer services to all, we are committed to meeting the needs of underrepresented or difficult to reach groups who find it harder to access therapeutic services. We are joined in our mission by people choosing to work or volunteer for BTC, and by our full-fee paying clients who, in using our services, are contributing financially to our charitable work.
Our Values: Integrity, inclusivity, compassion & excellence.
Aims:
To create centres of clinical excellence that are informed by our commitment to inclusivity, the advancement of best practice and expertise in areas of specialism, including trauma-informed approaches.
To help individuals in our communities improve their emotional well-being and quality of life by working with them to help them learn strategies to maintain their own mental wellness and to prevent relapse.
To improve access with our no-cost and low-cost programmes to ensure that people can receive appropriate, effective psychological therapies, regardless of their economic status.
To reach out to those who because of their religion, race, class, sexual orientation, gender identity, political or economic status, or for other reasons, may find it more difficult to access services.
To facilitate a practitioner learning community through the provision of clinical supervision, reflective practice and training opportunities.
To involve service users, staff and other stakeholders in the development and improvement of our services.
To grow and develop the BTC model to reach other communities in need.
What we do and what makes us special
Established in 2012, Brighton Therapy Centre (BTC) is a social enterprise that is both a registered charity and a limited company. In 2023 we opened a second therapy centre in Hastings, called Hastings Therapy Centre (HTC).
Our model is:
Independent
Inclusive
Sustainable
Community based
Clinically safe
Scalable
Ethically sound
Our independence allows us to assess clients on a case-by-case basis and make individual recommendations for therapy accordingly. We often find that the most marginalised and complex individuals require long-term specialist therapy with our more experienced practitioners, rather than the 4-12 sessions of CBT or counselling available through most other services.
To enable inclusivity we deliver our no-cost and low-cost therapy via a number of pathways:
Initial consultations: Clients on a low income are offered a £15 initial consultation. Refugees and others eligible for full funding are offered a free initial consultation.
Grant-funded bursaries and subsidies: Eligible clients are offered partially or fully funded therapy using funding secured from charitable trusts, statutory grants and BTC’s internal charitable fund.
Sliding scale of fees: All BTC practitioners commit to providing at least 25% of their time to working with clients at a reduced rate. Trainees on placement with BTC offer all of their time at a significantly reduced rate.
Our sustainable business model depends on 4 income streams:
Income from clinical services provided to individuals and organisations by our employed practitioner team.
Room rental income from our self-employed approved practitioner team.
Grant funding received from charitable trusts and statutory bodies.
Donations from the public.
Our social enterprise model works well in a town like Brighton with socioeconomic inequalities; here, a large number of people can and will pay a full fee for high quality therapy. Our standard therapy fees are similar to those of private therapists in the local area, and we reinvest any profit we make into providing no-cost and low-cost therapy to disadvantaged local people who cannot afford the standard fees. This enables our full-fee paying clients to support their community at the same time as looking after their own mental health.
The model is clinically safe, adhering to BACP and UKCP ethical frameworks. Practitioners receive high levels of supervision and are provided with ongoing CPD opportunities. The management team are supported by an external supervisor and clinical governance group. Information governance meets the highest standards following the development of a bespoke MS Dynamics clinical system.
Robust infrastructure and governance, combined with the commitment of our practitioner team, ensure that our practice is both scalable and ethically sound.
2024 in Review
In 2024, funding cuts across health and social care had a big impact on not-for-profit organisations with many closing, making redundancies and reducing services. Thanks to its sustainable business model and independence, BTC has not been negatively impacted by these cuts and continues to thrive in a difficult environment.
As we ended 2023 with a deficit due to planned expansion and investment in infrastructure, a priority focus area in 2024 was achieving financial stability. Not only did we make great strides forward in rebuilding our minimum reserve, we also delivered record amounts of low-cost and no-cost therapy, continued to make improvements to our services and further developed our long-term strategy.
| ACTION | OUTCOME |
SERVICES | Improve monitoring and evaluation of services |
|
Maintain provision of no-cost and low cost services
|
| |
Improve physical environment |
| |
IT Development
|
| |
PRACTITIONER COMMUNITY | Recruit new therapists |
|
Improve management of clinical risk
|
| |
Improve CPD opportunities for practitioners |
Menopause Working with suicide and risk Gender and sexuality
| |
Continue to explore ways to promote equality, diversity and inclusion |
|
| ACTION | OUTCOME |
BUSINESS DEVELOP-MENT | Achieve financial stability |
|
Develop fundraising strategy |
| |
Develop marketing strategy |
| |
Improve sustainability |
|
Charitable Works Summary
How much has BTC contributed to ongoing therapy in 2024?
BTC makes a significant contribution to the no-cost and low-cost services it provides through covering the cost of all associated overheads, including the governance, management, administration, infrastructure and premises that are necessary to provide these services. The employed clinical team also provide a large number of low-cost and no-cost sessions directly.
In addition, the charity maintains a small fund to provide continuity funding for clients who have received external grant funding but would benefit from additional sessions to complete their treatment. In the future, we hope to increase the size of this fund, enabling us to make more no-cost and low-cost services available without dependence on external grant funding.
Total contribution from BTC funds: | Total contribution from external grant funds: |
£2,114 (£1,880 in 2023) | £50,962 (£51,775 in 2023) |
Total contribution to ongoing therapy in 2024: £53,076 (£53,655 in 2023)
Successful grant funding applications 2024:
National Lottery Community Fund - £19,200 (Brighton & Hastings)
Focus Foundation - £13,170 (Brighton)
Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust - £5,000 (Brighton & Hastings)
Mrs. A Lacey Tate Trust - £500 (Brighton & Hastings)
Sussex Community Foundation - £10,000 (Hastings)
Heads on Hastings Refugee Pilot - £5,750 (Hastings)
East Sussex Police Fund (Western Balkans Programme) - £4,912 (Brighton)
Ukrainian Refugee Programme Partnership - £6,900 (Brighton)
Public Donations - £148.44 (Unrestricted)
Total grant funding in 2024: £65,580.44 (£27,465 in 2023)
Client Feedback
BTC has an established process for engaging client and practitioner views on its services and care, with comprehensive surveys being undertaken each year. In addition, we are continually soliciting feedback from clients through our end of therapy questionnaires which they are asked to complete when they finish therapy. The results of both processes are given below, along with client case studies. Highlights from the 2024 survey are as follows:
This year 37 end of year client surveys were completed out of 689 sent (5.37% response rate).
48 end of therapy questionnaires were completed out of 247 sent (19.43%)
We received an overall 4.6/5-star rating, 0.1 higher than 4.5 in 2023.
People chose to come to BTC/HTC for several reasons, but these were largely because BTC/HTC came up when they searched online or they received word-of-mouth recommendations. Many cited that they couldn’t afford private therapy and/or suitable NHS services weren’t available. Equally, they were attracted by the charitable ethos and the short waiting time compared to other services.
Everyone who communicated directly with the office team felt they dealt with their issues sensitively and appropriately.
Of respondents to whom the question applied:
94% experienced an improvement in confidence or wellbeing
94% experienced a reduction in anxiety or depression
88% experienced a reduction in suicidal thoughts
83% experienced a reduction in urges to physically self-harm
72% experienced an improvement in their physical health
86% felt more able to return to or remain at work
89% felt less isolated
73% felt that using our services reduced their need for other mental health services e.g. counselling or medication through their GP
Comments included:
“My ongoing therapy through BTC has literally been a lifesaver for me. The continuity, consistency and quality of the service and the subsequent trust developed through this therapeutic relationship has and continues to be life changing for me. I am incredibly grateful to have access to the BTC.”
“BTC has enabled me to finally feel comfortable with myself and those around me. I have made choices that have positively affected my life and continue to do so thanks to my weekly sessions. It has been life changing.”
“If the funding was not given and help subsidise people like me on a very low income. Then I'm not sure where I would be as it is very difficult to find therapy that is affordable. I value my time with my counsellor, she is a great help to me and is allowing me to understand me and the trauma and things we discuss, to make me feel whole again.”
“I had a very positive experience of using HTC. My therapist skilfully worked with me to tune in and listen to my needs. Over time, I was able to expand into my life; enjoying it more and feeling more content. Therapy gave me the courage to seek out forms of creative self-expression and the result has been truly life-changing. I would recommend HTC to anyone feeling stuck, lost, low or generally in need of support. It's an excellent service.”
BTC operates in an uncertain environment and must therefore retain funds to ensure its ongoing and future activities are reasonably protected from unexpected variances in income and expenditure. The Trustees review the level of reserves annually. It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted funds that have not been designated for a specific purpose should be maintained at a level equivalent to 3 months’ operational expenditure. The charity aims to maintain minimum reserves of £58,000. Total unrestricted funds at the balance sheet date were £60,944 of which £19,288 were tied up in fixed assets, giving the charity free reserves of £41,656. The trustees regularly review the level of reserves and the charity is on track to meet the target reserves in Q3 2025.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and a registered charity. It is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 30 November 2011 as amended on 23 March 2023, 23 October 2023 and 25 June 2024.
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:
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £10 in the event of a winding up. The trustees have been recruited by a selection process whereby an individual has expressed an interest in supporting the organisation, and also possesses knowledge and skills pertinent to the good management of the organisation. Appointments are made as follows:
Application is considered by the Management and Trustees as to suitability.
Applicant is interviewed by the Chair of the Trustees and the Management.
If successful, the candidate is appointed, pending any necessary background checks, references and a final agreement from the board of trustees.
The trustees have extensive experience in the following areas: mental health law, children and family mental health, adult mental health, psychotherapy, business management, charity law and procedures and human resources.
The trustees meet quarterly to oversee the running of BTC. The Chair meets with the CEO monthly. The Financial Governance Group is a subgroup of the Board which meets with the CEO every 6 months and reports into the Board. The Clinical Governance Group is a subgroup of the Board which meets with the Clinical Manager and CEO every 1-2 months and reports into the Board.
Staff
CEO - Kerry Evans
Clinical Director - Michael O’Rourke
Operating Officer - Ryan Pratt
Administrators - Sophie Chapman, Kathy Hines-Watkins
Trauma Lead - Maureen McCamley
Details of procurement, recruitment and appointment of BTC Staff:
Upon deciding to recruit for a position within the employed team at BTC, a detailed job specification and person specification are created which highlight the need within the team and the desirable qualities of an applicant which centre around BTC’s core values.
After posting these details with a fair timescale, applicants are assessed by the CEO and a decision is made as to who BTC would like to interview. Interview questions are constructed which will help ascertain the applicant’s experience, skills, suitability for the role, and values to help BTC make its decision. The successful applicant is then expected to undergo a DBS check prior to onboarding within their team.
In the event that no suitable candidates are found, BTC will review the need for the position and if necessary, will restart the recruitment process.
Self-Employed Approved Practitioners
Details of procurement, recruitment and appointment of BTC approved self-employed practitioners:
Membership is open to mental health practitioners who have an interest in assisting BTC to achieve its aims and are willing to adhere to the rules of BTC.
Brighton Therapy Centre has a fourfold practitioner membership scheme:
Trainees who are on a supervised placement with BTC.
Graduates who have completed training and are building up their practice hours.
Associates who have UKCP registration or BACP accreditation and a Masters level further training in a relevant field.
Senior Associates who have more than 8 years of post-qualification experience, PG Cert in clinical supervision or equivalent, training experience and / or experience of consultancy.
Appointments are made as follows:
Applications are invited via advert on the BTC website or personnel recruitment services.
Applicants are asked to submit a CV and covering letter explaining why they wish to join BTC.
When a vacancy arises, the submitted CVs are short-listed and candidates are invited for an interview with BTC management.
Successful candidates are appointed to one of the above schemes, pending satisfactory references and the provision of original copies of their professional liability insurance and professional registration.
All practitioners attend regular meetings in order to contribute to the day-to-day management of the Charity.
Clients: Clients are invited to contribute to service development via feedback questionnaires.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Brighton Therapy Centre Limited 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;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; 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.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Brighton Therapy Centre Limited (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity 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 charity’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 charity’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 the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants, 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 charity 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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Brighton Therapy Centre Limited is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 23a New Road, Brighton, BN1 1UG.
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" 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)". The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a statement of cash flows.
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. 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 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.
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.
Income from grants is recognised when the charity has entitlement to the income, any performance conditions attached to the grants have been met, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
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.
Tangible fixed assets costing £300 or more 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 charity 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).
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.
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 charity 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 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.
Other charitable expenditure includes staff training and supervision of £8,308 (2023: 10,674).
Included above are fees paid to the examiner for Independent Examination of £2,500 + VAT (2023: £2,718).
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Holiday is accrued in line with the calendar year and employees cannot carry holiday forward. As such, no holiday pay provision is required.
The remuneration of key management personnel totalled £78,306 (2023: £47,467).
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
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.
Purposes of restricted funds
External General (Brighton) - For the provision of general funded therapy to clients in Brighton
External Refugees (Brighton) - For the provision of funded therapy to refugees in Brighton
External General (Hastings) - For the provision of general funded therapy to clients in Hastings
External Refugees (Hastings) - For the provision of funded therapy to refugees in Hastings
Hastings Set-Up (Hastings) - For the set-up costs associated with the opening of Hastings Therapy Centre (Furniture, building work etc).
Ukrainian Refugee Project - For the provision of funded therapy to refugees displaced from Ukraine
Ernest Kleinwort Outreach and Monitoring - funding for salaries for outreach work
National Lottery Fund - to be used for general therapy funding
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.
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
During the year lease payments of £40,517 (2023: £35,783) were recognised as an expense.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).