REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: SC191388 (Scotland)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: SC024134

Report of the Trustees and

Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 December 2024

for

HEBRIDEAN CELTIC FESTIVAL TRUST

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

5

Report of the Independent Auditors

6

to

9

Statement of Financial Activities

10

Balance Sheet

11

Cash Flow Statement

12

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

13

Notes to the Financial Statements

14

to

22

The trustees who are also directors of the charity for the purposes of the Companies Act 2006, present their report with the financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024. The trustees have adopted the provisions of 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).

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

The aim of the charity is to promote Celtic music in all its aspects and to increase awareness of and interest in Celtic music. Its objectives are:-

- to annually create and deliver a premier international music and arts festival;

- to promote the development of Celtic music in the Outer Hebrides and provide a platform for local and national Celtic musicians;

- to proactively encourage partnership with like-minded community organisations;

- to encourage friendships and reciprocal relations with similar organisations nationally and internationally;

- to encourage the education of traditional music in the islands;

- to enhance and promote the culture and image of the Outer Hebrides.

Significant activities

HebCelt 2024 saw the Trust deliver a hugely successful 27th Festival exceeding even records set by our 26th Anniversary Festival in 2023. A four day event of traditional and contemporary music from around the world. The festival is a multi-venue event with venues spread around the island. Our programme featured headline shows in the festival arena, a purpose built site holding up to 5500 people, a concert series (including the opening show) in An Lanntair, community concert in Breasclete Hall and a plethora of fringe activities both in the festival arena and in the town which complemented the main programme. Many of these fringe events were produced by organisations and community groups and many of these groups benefited through fundraising efforts.

Volunteers

At HebCelt 2024, we directly recruited and supported 177 volunteers. Additionally, various other groups, such as the Coastguards, Fire Service, Ambulance Service, and the Safe Space Team, were self-managed and seamlessly integrated into the festival team, indirectly contributing to the support of an additional 61 volunteers for HebCelt 2024. All in from August 23 to July 2024 this accounts for a total of 7347.75 volunteer hours.

In total, this amounted to 238 volunteers. Just like our audience members, many of our volunteers travel from various parts of the UK and even further to make the festival a reality. This year we had volunteers who travelled from Arkansas USA, New Orleans USA, and Frankfurt Germany.

We are deeply indebted to the volunteer team leaders who manage in some cases over 30 volunteers each and to the volunteers themselves. We could not run the festival without all their support.

STRATEGIC REPORT

Achievements and performance

Charitable activities

During the year the charity organised and staged the 27th annual Hebridean Celtic Festival, a sell out four-day event of international Celtic music, which was, once again, a great success. A total of nearly 18,000 attendances were recorded during the festival with the event attracting visitors from throughout the UK and Europe as well as from other countries such as US and Canada. The festival is now firmly established as a major international event on the Celtic music calendar and plays a vital role in attracting visitors to the islands and raising the area's cultural tourism profile. The success of the festival is due to the quality of the live music, the unique location, the loyalty of attendees and the support received from volunteers, sponsors, public funding agencies and the local community. It also contributes on average £4m annually to the local economy.

In 2024 the festival marked its 27th anniversary by hosting over 80 live performances alongside other arts events staged in the main arena in the grounds of Lews Castle, and at the An Lanntair arts centre and town hall in the town centre, as well as the concert in Breasclete Hall on opening night. Headline acts included internationally renowned artists such as James, Skipinnish,, Del Amitri alongside Trad favourites Elephant Sessions, Sharon Shannon, Kinnaris Quintet, Mec Lir, Gnoss, Valtos and The Deep Blue. The festival was once again able to showcase some of the best Celtic new music and local artists. This included Face the West, Scott C Park, The Willie Campbell Band, and Fèis Eilean an Fhraoich. The festival had a rich programme celebrating Traditional and Gaelic culture including at the local arts centre with different performances from Alasdair White, Dougie MacLean and also a performance from Na H-Òganaich.

2024 HebCelt saw continued Sponsorship for the Acoustic Stage. Working in Partnership with Isle of Harris Distillers (IoHD), the Acoustic Stage was rebranded in 2023 as the Isle of Harris Gin Cèilidh Tent, as well as the normal programming from HebCelt, the IoHD programmed several Ceilidhs and a number of slots with local up and coming musicians - which is a brilliant platform for them and a great way to further involve the local community.

We welcomed back our fringe programme which included Let's Circus who provide street performances, and performances on the green, Highland Dancers, Inter-Island Shinty, Pipe Band, Gaelic language workshops and taster sessions. There were opportunities for people to attend music workshops, BBC Radio nan Gàidheal broadcast a series of shows during the event featuring live music and interviews from festival artists and local craft traders sold their produce in our craft village on the festival green. This year we saw a further increase in the number of food stalls from local providers.

The Festival drew audiences from both the islands and afar, with a wide range of ages and roughly half of the festival-goers coming from outside the Hebrides.

Young people

This year, we also worked with the Young Islanders Network by building and expanding on the experience of previous years and bringing something new to the Festival Fringe. As a way to keep the festival fun going outside the main event, participants young and old were invited to sign up to take part in a free colour dash from Porter's Lodge to the Bridge, past the Rugby pitches. There were 100 free spaces which were quickly snapped up! It was a great space for young islanders to learn new skills by taking the lead and to help with the successful running of the event on the day.

Content Creators

HebCelt continued their partnership with YIN and developed the role from last year where Sophie worked as a Content Creator for HebCelt. This year she returned taking on more of a leadership role, being the main contact for 2 young people within YIN. While her team was out in the festival grounds, Sophie worked closely backstage with the Innes and Campbell communications Team. She helped with getting photos of content that they specifically wanted, such as: Pirates and Mermaid themed outfits, festival hairstyles, and of the musicians performing. Meanwhile Maimie and Hope, over 3 days, engaged with festival goers and pulled together an ensemble of incredible selfies of them wearing HebCelt decorated sunglasses.

The duo were rewarded for their efforts by seeing the final product (which was pulled together by the amazing lead content creator Sophie) on HebCelt's Instagram page.

Environmental

The Festival has a strong reputation for ensuring the impact on the environment is minimised or mitigated as far as possible. The festival has banned the sale of single use plastic, opting instead to use compostable foodware and reusable beer cups; as well as a dedicated team of volunteers known as the Green Team who lead on ensuring all waste streams are as clean as possible on site. The Festival also aspires to ensure our energy sources are as clean as possible and this year again we worked with hydrogen generator providers to light some elements of the festival site as well as using solar and battery storage to power our operational and production offices.

Internal and external factors

The charity is partially dependent upon the continuing support of public funding agencies to assist in the ongoing delivery of the aims and objectives of the organisation.

Financial review

Principal funding sources

The charity is dependent on sponsorship, donations, grants and ticket sales to fund its operational costs. Full details of the charity's principal funding sources are included in notes 2 to 5 to the financial statements.

Investment policy and objectives

The charity's reserves are maintained in interest bearing bank accounts as the current level of reserves are required to meet the trust's short term operational requirements.

Reserves policy

The general fund represents the unrestricted funds from past operating results. It also represents the free reserves of the charity. The trustees consider that the level of free reserves at 31 December 2024 is sufficient to meet the charity's operational requirements given the ongoing financial assistance being received from public funding agencies and by way of sponsorship and donations. The charity aims to build reserves through planned operating surpluses.

During the year the charity's expenditure exceeded income resulting in net expenditure of £65,567 for the period (2023 - net expenditure of £1,756). Unrestricted reserves has as a result decreased to £70,625 (2023: £136,192).

Future plans

The Board of Trustees will build on the success of the 27th anniversary festival to deliver another world class festival in 2025. Following significant challenges in relation to staffing with the new Festival Director stepping down immediately after the 2023 Festival, the Board were very pleased with their restructuring and introduction of the Festival Operations Coordinator role, who was in place for the 2024 festival.This role is in addition to the Artist Programmer role. The two new roles will cover the needs of the festival recognising that the roles require quite different skill sets and knowledge. The Board also recognised the change of structure within the Board with a new Chair being appointed following the stepping down and resignation of Gayle Findlay. The new appointment of Iain MacPhail as Chair and Eilidh Laing as Vice Chair recognises the increased responsibility and workload now involved in the Festival as it continues to grow.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The trust is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 23 November 1998. The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed under its Articles of Association. In the event of the company being wound up members are required to contribute an amount not exceeding £1.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The directors of the company are also charity trustees for the purposes of charity law.

Under the terms of the Memorandum and Articles of Association the Directors are appointed by the Nominated Members. Each Nominated Member who is an individual is entitled to serve as a Director for as long as they remain a Nominated Member. Any Nominated Members who are a corporation, firm or unincorporated association are each entitled to appoint a Director to represent them on the board.

The Board of Directors may, by unanimous agreement, also appoint any person to act as a Director who they deem will be beneficial to the company.

Organisational structure

The board consists of voluntary directors who manage the affairs of the charity through regular board meetings. The charity has reviewed its internal operational structure to assist in the effective management of the organisation. The board members are heavily involved in the day to day operations of the charity. The charity employs a Festival Operations Co-ordinator and Artist Programmer who assist in the implementation of decisions from the board.

Induction and training of new trustees

The charity undertakes training for trustees to ensure awareness and understanding of:-

- the responsibilities of directors;

- the organisational structure of the charity;

- the financial position of the charity; and

- the future plans and objectives of the charity.

Wider network

The charity has established links with other organisations and agencies to foster the aims and objectives of the organisation.

Related parties

Full details of related party transactions are included in notes to the financial statements.

Risk management

The trustees have a duty to identify and review the risks to which the charity is exposed and to ensure appropriate controls are in place to provide reasonable assurance against fraud and error.

The trustees have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those relating to the operations and finances of the charity, and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate their exposure to these risks.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

SC191388 (Scotland)

Registered Charity number

SC024134

Registered office

2 Blackwater

Newmarket

Isle of Lewis

HS2 0EE

Trustees

J Morrison

K M Morrison

S Murray

K S Smith

D R Stewart (resigned 31.3.24)

G Findlay (resigned 3.9.24)

E C Laing

I D Macphail

M L Shields

Company Secretary

J Morrison

Senior Statutory Auditor

John E Moffat BA FCA

Auditors

Mann Judd Gordon Ltd

Chartered Accountants

& Statutory Auditors

26 Lewis Street

Stornoway

Isle of Lewis

HS1 2JF

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Hebridean Celtic Festival Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees 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 charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

-	select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-	observe the methods and principles in the Charity SORP;

-	make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

-	state whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements;

-	prepare the financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charitable company will continue in business.

The trustees are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

In so far as the trustees are aware:

-	there is no relevant audit information of which the charitable company's auditors are unaware; and

-	the trustees have taken all steps that they ought to have taken to make themselves aware of any relevant audit information and to establish that the auditors are aware of that information.

AUDITORS

The auditors, Mann Judd Gordon Ltd, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Report of the trustees, incorporating a strategic report, approved by order of the board of trustees, as the company directors, on 16 September 2025 and signed on the board's behalf by:

I D Macphail - Trustee

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Hebridean Celtic Festival Trust (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 December 2024 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).

In our opinion the financial statements:

-	give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 December 2024 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

-	have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice; and

-	have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and Regulation 8 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

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 Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company 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.

Conclusions relating to going concern

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 charitable company'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 trustees are responsible for the other information. The other information comprises the information included in the Annual Report, other than the financial statements and our Report of the Independent Auditors thereon.

Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, 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 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit:

-	the information given in the Report of the Trustees for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is consistent with the financial statements; and

-	the Report of the Trustees has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charitable company and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Report of the Trustees.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

-	adequate and proper accounting records have not been kept or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

-	the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

-	certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or

-	we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees 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 charitable company'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.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

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 a Report of the Independent Auditors 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.

The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud is detailed below:

Our approach was as follows:

We obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that are applicable to the entity and determined that the most significant are those relating to the sale of alcohol, those relating to music licencing, those that relate to employment matters and those relating directly the preparation of the financial statements, that is FRS102, Charities SORP and the Companies Act 2006.The charity is also subject to data protection laws (GDPR).

We assessed the risks of material misstatement in respect of fraud as follows:

As part of our audit team discussion, we identified if any particular area was more susceptible to misstatement. A list of the known related parties was compiled along with an expectation of transactions between them. We then made fraud enquires of those charged with governance and confirmed our related party list.

Based on the results of our risk assessment we designed our audit procedures to identify non-compliance with such laws and regulations identified above. We corroborated our enquiries of those charged with governance by a review of the board minutes to date, a review of the bank statements to date, a review of the service organisation's payroll files for the year and a review of legal fees charged in the year for any evidence of legal or regulatory issues. Our considerations at planning were corroborated and no further legal or regulatory issues were noted.

We considered the risk of fraud through management override and, in response, we incorporated testing of manual journal entries throughout the year into our audit approach . A review of the year of bank statements was undertaken, to identify any large or unusual transactions. No transactions outside the normal course of business were identified.

Given the size of the entity, segregation of duties is limited, so we designed our audit procedures to identify and to address any material misstatements arising from this. Appropriate approval controls were found to be in place.

The engagement partner's assessment of whether the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence and capabilities to identify or recognise non-compliance with laws and regulations concluded that the overall risk was of fraud and misstatement was low and the experience of the audit team assigned was sufficient and no specialists were required. An appropriate level of materiality has been calculated in consideration of the inherent difficulty in detecting irregularities along with the perceived level of risk.

There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above that result in an unavoidable risk that some material misstatements in the financial statements may not be detected, even though the audit is properly planned and performed in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK). The further removed non-compliance with laws and regulations is from the events and financial transactions in the financial statements, the less likely the auditor is to become aware of it or recognise non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment through forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation. The primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with both those charged with governance of the entity and management.

A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council's website at www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006, and to the charitable company's trustees, as a body, in accordance with Regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members and the trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' 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 charitable company and the charitable company's members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

John E Moffat BA FCA (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Mann Judd Gordon Ltd

Chartered Accountants

& Statutory Auditors

Eligible to act as an auditor in terms of Section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006

26 Lewis Street

Stornoway

Isle of Lewis

HS1 2JF

16 September 2025

31.12.24

31.12.23

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

fund

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

2

24,999

-

24,999

23,040

Charitable activities

5

Festival organisation and delivery

602,585

-

602,585

573,572

Other trading activities

3

183,101

-

183,101

195,747

Investment income

4

3,959

-

3,959

3,675

Other income

-

-

-

750

Total

814,644

-

814,644

796,784

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

6

108,642

-

108,642

122,069

Charitable activities

7

Festival organisation and delivery

771,569

-

771,569

676,471

Total

880,211

-

880,211

798,540

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

(65,567

)

-

(65,567

)

(1,756

)

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

136,192

-

136,192

137,948

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

70,625

-

70,625

136,192

31.12.24

31.12.23

Notes

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

14

31,603

35,600

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

15

1,297

492

Debtors

16

9,260

14,076

Cash at bank and in hand

151,020

221,513

161,577

236,081

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

17

(122,555

)

(135,489

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

39,022

100,592

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

70,625

136,192

NET ASSETS

70,625

136,192

FUNDS

19

Unrestricted funds

70,625

136,192

TOTAL FUNDS

70,625

136,192

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 16 September 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

E C Laing - Trustee

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

(61,737

)

(30,273

)

Finance costs paid

(10,384

)

(9,943

)

Net cash used in operating activities

(72,121

)

(40,216

)

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

(2,331

)

(28,862

)

Sale of tangible fixed assets

-

1,667

Interest received

3,959

3,675

Net cash provided by/(used in) investing activities

1,628

(23,520

)

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period

(70,493

)

(63,736

)

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period

221,513

285,249

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period

151,020

221,513

1.	RECONCILIATION OF NET EXPENDITURE TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Net expenditure for the reporting period (as per the Statement of Financial Activities)

(65,567

)

(1,756

)

Adjustments for:

Depreciation charges

6,329

6,469

Profit on disposal of fixed assets

-

(750

)

Interest received

(3,959

)

(3,675

)

Finance costs

10,384

9,943

Increase in stocks

(805

)

(85

)

Decrease in debtors

4,815

16,151

Decrease in creditors

(12,934

)

(56,570

)

Net cash used in operations

(61,737

)

(30,273

)

2.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET FUNDS

At 1.1.24

Cash flow

At 31.12.24

£

£

£

Net cash

Cash at bank and in hand

221,513

(70,493

)

151,020

221,513

(70,493

)

151,020

Total

221,513

(70,493

)

151,020

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements of the charitable company, which is a public benefit entity under FRS 102, have been prepared in accordance with the Charities SORP (FRS 102) '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)', Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland' and the Companies Act 2006. The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling which is the functional currency of the charity and amounts are rounded to the nearest £.

Going concern

The charity is a going concern and there are no material uncertainties casting significant doubt over its ability to continue as a going concern.

Critical accounting judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

Fixed asset net book value and depreciation charges are the areas of the accounts which are affected by significant judgements and estimates. The trustees exercise judgement in determining both the useful economic life and the likely residual value of the charity's assets. This judgement affects the rates of and charge for depreciation in the accounts for the year. It also therefore affects the net book value of the assets in the balance sheet.

Income

All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the income, there is sufficient certainty of receipt and so it is probable that the income will be received, and the amount of income receivable can be measured reliably. Income received in advance is deferred until the criteria for income recognition are met.

Grants generated to support the objects of the charity and without further specified purpose are taken to the Statement of Financial Activities in that period. Grants received which are related to capital expenditure or are for a specified purpose are transferred to Restricted Funds and are utilised to fund the future depreciation of the related capital expenditure or fund the costs relating to the specified purpose.

Expenditure

Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, 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 accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be fully recovered, and is reported as part of the expenditure to which it relates.

Raising funds

Costs of generating funds comprise the costs associated with attracting voluntary income and the costs of fundraising activities.

Charitable activities

Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred by the charity in the delivery of its objects and activities. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them. The allocation of direct and support costs are analysed in the notes to the financial statements.

Governance costs

Governance costs include those costs associated with meeting the constitutional and statutory requirements of the charity and include audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.

Allocation and apportionment of costs

All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the Statement of Financial Activities on a basis designed to reflect the use of the resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly, others are apportioned on an appropriate basis e.g. estimated usage.

Tangible fixed assets

Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.

Plant and machinery

-

20% depreciation on cost and 10% depreciation on cost

Computer equipment

-

25% depreciation on cost and 20% depreciation on cost

Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less accumulated depreciation. The costs of minor additions or those costing below £100 are not capitalised.

Assets not measured at fair value are reviewed for any indication that the asset may be impaired at each balance sheet date. If such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated and compared to the carrying amount. Where the carrying amount exceeds its recoverable amount, an impairment loss is recognised in profit or loss unless the asset is carried at a revalued amount where the impairment loss is a revaluation decrease.

Stocks

Stocks are valued at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.

Taxation

The charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the trustees.

Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular purposes.

Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.

Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes to the financial statements.

Pension costs and other post-retirement benefits

The charitable company operates a defined contribution pension scheme. Contributions payable to the charitable company's pension scheme are charged to the Statement of Financial Activities in the period to which they relate.

Debtors and creditors

Trade and other debtors are recognised at the settlement amount due after any trade discount offered. Prepayments are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due. Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting from a past event that will probably result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to settle the obligation can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.

2.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Sponsorship and donations

24,999

23,040

3.	OTHER TRADING ACTIVITIES

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Merchandising

41,354

43,738

Catering income

141,747

152,009

183,101

195,747

4.	INVESTMENT INCOME

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Deposit account interest

3,959

3,675

All investment income arises from assets held within the UK.

5.	INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

31.12.24

31.12.23

Activity

£

£

Ticket sales

Festival organisation and delivery

465,365

433,922

Brochure sales

Festival organisation and delivery

19,950

19,116

Grants

Festival organisation and delivery

105,982

106,463

Other festival income

Festival organisation and delivery

5,790

10,433

Employment Allowance

Festival organisation and delivery

5,498

3,638

602,585

573,572

Grants received, included in the above, are as follows:

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

13,893

18,703

Creative Scotland

70,000

70,000

Event Scotland

15,089

14,760

National Lottery - Awards for All

-

3,000

The Stornoway Trust

7,000

-

105,982

106,463

6.	RAISING FUNDS

Other trading activities

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Purchases

108,642

122,069

7.	CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES COSTS

Direct

Support

Costs (see

costs (see

note 8)

note 9)

Totals

£

£

£

Festival organisation and delivery

732,020

39,549

771,569

8.	DIRECT COSTS OF CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Staff costs

48,406

36,872

Marketing and advertising

31,406

34,901

Musicians fees, travel etc

231,289

177,815

Environmental Project

-

4,500

Location costs

392,100

345,878

Events and projects costs

15,424

14,828

Legal and professional fees

5,166

4,563

Donations

1,900

2,645

Depreciation

6,329

6,469

732,020

628,471

9.	SUPPORT COSTS

Governance

Management

Finance

costs

Totals

£

£

£

£

Festival organisation and delivery

25,165

10,384

4,000

39,549

Support costs, included in the above, are as follows:

31.12.24

31.12.23

Festival

organisation

and

Total

delivery

activities

£

£

Trustees' remuneration etc

10,418

9,938

Office expenses

14,747

24,119

Finance costs

10,384

9,943

Auditors' remuneration

4,000

4,000

39,549

48,000

10.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

Net income/(expenditure) is stated after charging/(crediting):

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Auditors' remuneration

4,000

4,000

Depreciation - owned assets

6,328

6,469

Surplus on disposal of fixed assets

-

(750

)

11.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

During the year 5 trustees received remuneration totalling £34,842 (2023: £16,938 for 3 trustees) for providing services to the charity outwith their duties as trustees.

Trustees' expenses

During the year, the charity paid trustees travel and subsistence expenses totalling £2,214 to 3 trustees (2023 - £2,341).

12.	STAFF COSTS

Salary costs

31.12.24

31.12.23

£

£

Salary costs for the year

82,593

73,696

Employer's national insurance contributions

5,841

4,510

88,434

78,206

Pension costs

1,473

979

The average monthly number of employees during the year was as follows:

31.12.24

31.12.23

Festival Organisation and Delivery

8

7

No employees received emoluments in excess of £60,000.

13.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

fund

fund

funds

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

23,040

-

23,040

Charitable activities

Festival organisation and delivery

573,572

-

573,572

Other trading activities

195,747

-

195,747

Investment income

3,675

-

3,675

Other income

750

-

750

Total

796,784

-

796,784