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 trust's Memorandum 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 Trust was set up as the Welsh Georgian Trust in 2011 to preserve for the benefit of the people of Wales and the Welsh Marches and of the Nation, the historical, architectural and constructional heritage that may exist in and around Wales and the Welsh Marches in Georgian and Pre-Georgian buildings (including any structure or erection, and any part of a building as so defined) of particular beauty or historical, architectural or constructional interest.
On 12th March 2020 the name was changed to Plas Gunter Mansion Trust cyf to reflect the focus on the Plas Gunter Mansion project.
Plas Gunter Mansion
Dating largely from the 17th Century, Plas Gunter Mansion (37-39a Cross Street, Abergavenny) played a pivotal role in the history of Catholicism in Wales and is closely associated with Saints David Lewis and Philip Evans. It has long been recognised as being one of the most important historic buildings in Abergavenny but had fallen into a perilous state.
The Trust bought the building in 2017 for £150,000 with a mixture of grant and crowd funding. After several years of fundraising and business planning, the National Lottery Heritage Fund awarded the Trust a grant of up to £222,340 in December 2023 to develop plans for the renovation and reuse of the building. The development period lasted throughout 2024 and culminated in June 2025 with the submission to the National Lottery Heritage Fund of a funding application to deliver the plans.
During the development period, the Trust appointed a team of consultants including architects and design team, activity and interpretation planners, business planners, fundraising advisors and evaluation monitor. Design plans were drawn up for four commercial units, interpretation/exhibition spaces and two lettable offices. A proposed small extension at the rear of the building will house a staircase, platform lift, plant room and amenity spaces. A range of activities to appeal to different audiences was designed and the business plan was thoroughly tested against comparable organisations. Match funding is being sought.
The Trust will hear the outcome of their funding application to the National Lottery Heritage Fund in October 2025 and if successful expects preliminary work to start from February 2026 with extensive building works from September 2026 for around 12 months.
The Trust is also in the process of purchasing land at the rear of the building which would originally have been its garden.
Currently, income is provided by the letting of three retail units on the ground floor: 37, 38, and 39 Cross Street. Units 37 and 38 are successfully let to Moorings and Moor, trading as Dynamite Branding, and unit 39 is let to Amatsu Massage. Both tenants’ leases are due to end in January 2026. Unit 39a is not let and is occupied by the Friends of Plas Gunter Mansion. The upper floors of the building are vacant due to the fragile nature of the historic building fabric.
When the Trust took ownership of the building in 2017, a separately constituted group under the name Friends of Plas Gunter Mansion was set up to develop widespread support for the project, conduct historical research, help with fundraising and raise the project’s profile. After the Trust changed its name to Plas Gunter Mansion Trust, members of the group were recruited as members of the Trust while the Friends continued as an unincorporated voluntary group because of its ability to access funds not available to the Trust.
More information on the project can be found at www.plasguntermansion.org.uk
Plas Kynaston
In December 2021 the management company for Plas Kynaston, Plas Kynaston Management Company Limited, was transferred to the leaseholders. The freehold of the building is still owned by the Trust together with an outstanding loan to Wrexham County Borough Council of £20,000. This is being repaid at a rate of £900 per annum until 2026, when the expiry of a grant covenant (from the Cefn Mawr Townscape Heritage Fund grant) will allow the sale of the freehold interest to provide funds for repayment.
The results for the year are as shown on the Statement of Financial Activities on page 6.
Reserves Policy
It is the policy of the trust that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six months 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 trust’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. It is anticipated that it may take a number of years to build reserves to the desired level.
Risk Management
The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the trust is exposed, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
Constitution
The company is registered as a charitable company limited by guarantee and was set up by a Memorandum of Association on 9 July 2011, and is a registered charity.
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 management of the company is the resposibility of the Trustees who are elected and co-opted under the terms of the Articles of Association.
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.
The affairs of the Trust are managed by the Trustees who make strategic and operational decisions at their meetings, which are held several times a year.
Trustees are appointed by invitation and are recruited for their skills and experience in a specific area depending on where there are skill gaps at the time.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Plas Gunter Mansion Trust CYF 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 trust 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 trust 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 trust 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 trust 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 Plas Gunter Mansion Trust CYF (the trust) for the year ended 31 December 2024.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the trust 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 trust’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.
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 trust 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.
Plas Gunter Mansion Trust CYF is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 39A Cross Street, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire, NP7 5ER.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the trust's Memorandum 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 trust is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The trust has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the trust. 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 trust 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.
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 attribute 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 allocated on the portion of the asset's use.
Support costs are those costs incurred directly in support of expenditure on the objects of the company and include project management carried out at headquarters. Governance costs are those incurred in connection with the administration of the company and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements.
Charitable activities and governance costs are costs incurred on the company's educational operations, including support costs and costs relating to the governance of the company apportioned to charitabloe activities.
All expenditure is inclusive of irrecoverable VAT.
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 trust 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, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The trust 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 trust's balance sheet when the trust becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are measured at transaction price including transaction costs. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and loans are recognised at transaction price.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations
Grants
One of the trustees received £13,901 for providing project coordination work to the trust during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Included in borrowings is an amount of £15,500 (2023: £17,300) which is secured by way of a legal charge over part of the freehold property known as Plas Kynaston Hall, Cefn Mawr in favour of Wrexham County Borough Council.
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.
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.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2023 - none).