Pendon Museum Trust Limited Charity Accounts

COMPANY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 00682542

CHARITY REGISTRATION NUMBER: 313614

PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

Company Limited by Guarantee

UNAUDITED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

31 December 2024

PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

	Page

Trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report)	1

Independent examiner's report to the trustees	9

Statement of financial activities (including income and expenditure account)	10

Statement of financial position	11

Notes to the financial statements	12

PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

TRUSTEES' ANNUAL REPORT (INCORPORATING THE DIRECTORS' REPORT)

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

The trustees, who are also the directors for the purposes of company law, present their report and the unaudited financial statements of the charity for the year ended 31 December 2024 .

Chair's report

Dear Members, Friends and supporters,

We have had a very busy and successful year as is set out in these accounts, much has happened and much is planned but I am firmly of the view that we are making progress on some of the projects that have been discussed for many years now.

I thank all those who have contributed to the mission of the museum, particularly Mick Moignard who stepped down as a trustee during the year. Id also like to take a moment to remember those past members and friends who have contributed so much in the past but sadly are no longer with us.

As I look forward it is vital for the future of the Museum that we develop the presentation of the Museum and make it relevant to today's visitors. When the museum was founded, nostalgia for the 1920s and 1930s was a sufficient motivation for visiting. Today however, that period is no longer within living memory but is history, indeed to most of our younger visitors it may seem to be ancient history, which needs far more explanation than in the past. So let's look forward to 2025 and further development of the Museum.

Malcolm Smith

Chairman

Objectives and activities

OBJECTIVES OF PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

The principal activity is the construction and operation of an exhibition of landscape, model buildings and railways at Long Wittenham, Abingdon, Oxfordshire, together with supporting interpretative material and exhibits.

In 2024, the Museum continued to develop its major exhibits while maintaining existing displays. The Museum operated on weekends, bank holidays, school holidays, and select Thursdays, alongside special showings for pre-booked groups.

Visitor numbers increased to 7,692 (2023: 7,586), reflecting successful outreach and marketing efforts.

The continuing support of our Friends, good cost control and legacies received during the year have combined to ensure that the Trust remains financially secure.

PUBLIC BENEFIT

The activities of the Museum provide public benefit and can be divided into three main areas:

- Maintenance of archive records of landscape, buildings and railways, primarily from the Vale of White Horse area.

- Development of the Museum's major exhibits and displays which are of general interest and educational value to families and special interest groups. Increasing access to the exhibits and archives online.

- Provide facilities to volunteers and the public for training and to develop modelling and operational skills to maintain and improve the exhibits.

The museum is open to the public on typically 120 days per year plus additional openings for booked groups.

The Trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission's guide on public benefit and are satisfied that the activities of the Museum are of public benefit. The extensive involvement of volunteers and flexible visitor arrangements ensure that the facilities of the Museum are widely available to the public. Steps continue to be taken to further enhance the availability of archive material for Friends of the Museum and members of the public through the development of an online archive.

The Museum was awarded Arts Council Accredited Museum Status in 2018 (Accreditation No.963), following the presentation of an extensive application portfolio and assessment visit. This status is testament to our public benefit.

VOLUNTEERS

Our volunteers are an essential resource for the charity. The Trustees are grateful for the unstinting efforts of the volunteers who are involved in the activities. Volunteers remain central to Pendon's operations. In 2024, 69 active volunteers contributed over 2,600 hours to public openings, with additional unquantified hours dedicated to maintenance, modelling, administration, and outreach. It is estimated that typically over 10,000 volunteer hours are provided during a year. If this is conservatively valued at £10 an hour the volunteer effort amounts to over £100,000 or, if valued at the recommended value for volunteer time of £13.70, it's £137,000.

Much of the Volunteer communication has also been put on line to help the dissemination of information in a more equitable and effective manner. Printed material is sent to volunteers not able to receive communications electronically, to ensure that no-one is disenfranchised.

Limited numbers of volunteers, both for Front of House and Backroom activities continues to be a challenge. Our volunteers are essential to Pendon's future.

Strategic report

The following sections for achievements and performance and financial review form the strategic report of the charity.

Achievements and performance

REVIEW OF DEVELOPMENTS, ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

2024 was a particularly important year for the museum as it celebrated its 70th anniversary. The Trust held an exhibition on the Great Western Railway's influence on the development of transport which included special running weekends on the theme of GWR Then and Now. These demonstrated the evolution of rail traffic from the 1930s up to the modern day. We also held a small photography exhibition from our extensive archive highlighting some of the changes in the buildings that have been modelled at the museum over the past 100 years.

In 2024 volunteers contributed over 10000 hours, this is equivalent to over £137500 in volunteer time. In recognition of all that the volunteers have achieved to make Pendon Museum what it is today, the Trust ran a coach tour around the Vale of White Horse for the volunteers including a complimentary pub lunch. Whilst they have contributed so much, we recognise that volunteering is changing with increasing demands on people's time, we are continuously trying to recruit new volunteers; to achieve this we produced a new volunteer leaflet, ran a volunteer recruitment event, and started advertising for specific volunteer roles.

Considerable progress on the Vale scene was made in 2024. The canal was completed, and work commenced on another section in the Vale scene. The Station Master's house with garden has been installed into the scene and further work has been done to complete the landscape around the Brickworks. In the meantime, Edmonds and Blissett's Cottages, the Manor house and the Church are still in progress, and two buildings of the Knighton Farm complex are close to completion. Modellers are also continuing to enhance the scene; lights have been installed in the signal box, several new coaches are in progress, including Private Owner Wagons and 5 Iron Mink vans and several locomotives have been restored with new chassis.

Volunteers are in the process of creating a series of Down the Lane videos. The first film is on display forming part of the interpretation of Vale. The Trust are noticing that the film is enhancing people's visit. People are spending more time looking at the scene in much more detail, thus deepening their appreciation of what they are looking at.

The footbridge in Dartmoor has been restored, and several other improvements have been made including improving the fencing and adding additional enamel signs in the railway station area. The Dartmoor team have made the railway adjacent to the turntable operational. Whilst not functional during a normal open day, we shared footage on different social media platforms, resulting in a significant increase in interactions thereby raising the profile of the museum with people who may not have heard of it.

The trust has designated funds from its unrestricted reserves (£750k) towards the future development of the museum. There are two projects that this will contribute towards, the vale encapsulation project and the building renovation project.

The Trust are working with architects, West Waddy Archadia on the vale encapsulation project which will replace the surrounding infrastructure around the main feature of the Museum, the Vale scene. This is necessary because it is both showing signs of wear and tear which in itself could damage the Vale Scene, and secondly it is not effective at climatically controlling the environment, allowing light damage, dust and humidity to affect the scene. The architects are working with specialist contractors to ensure that we do everything we can to protect the model both during the works and after the completion of the project, the aim of which is to replace the stretched ceiling, the lighting, the environmental controls and the casing around the model. This will not only protect the model for future generations but will also provide us with an opportunity to update the interpretation, making it relevant and engaging to a wider audience whilst improving access and reducing our environmental impact.

The second aspect of the designated funds will be to upgrade the building and exhibition spaces. The Trustees have started to take important steps to improve the visitor experience but recognise that we are the beginning of this process. A vision for the future of the Museum is in progress including exciting opportunities to improve the visitor experience, contextualise the displays to make them engaging for a wider audience and create additional display space that will enable us to further develop the themes rural life, living and working in the countryside, railways and the use of miniatures to portray these themes.

In recognition that we need to bring our audience with us and respond to their expectations, we are in the process of planning an Audience Research project to ensure that decisions we make are based on evidence to ensure the future sustainability of the museum. We recognise that to achieve some of our longer-term goals, we will need to reconfigure some of the spaces. We successfully applied for Building Regulations to refurbish the Annex so that it becomes a useable space for museum.

As a volunteer run organisation, we are limited to number of hours the museum is able to open but we recognise that we need to improve accessibility. In our effort to engage a wider audience, the Trust participated in the Heritage Open Days, this proved to be extremely successful. We also extended our outreach programme beyond the model railway community; we attended Miniatura, the Dolls House exhibition and the Woodcote Steam Rally Fair. We will be continuing to extend this to other exhibitions in 2025.

The appointment of a freelance marketing officer continues to make a significant difference. During 2024, we doubled the number of posts on Facebook, the primary social media platform. The behind-the-scenes views are proving to be extremely popular, with one post having 5.4K interactions. We were awarded the Travellers Choice award on Trip Adviser with the consistent good reviews on behalf of the visitors; and whether through editorial or paid advertising, we appeared 37 times in 23 different publications. In order to get a better understanding of where to best invest resources in marketing, analysis on paid adverts was undertaken to determine the comparative level of engagement in different publications. This will inform the marketing strategy in 2025.

These activities resulted in a small increase in visitor numbers over 2023. However, looking at the distribution of visitor numbers over the year, visitor numbers in most months were at the same level or higher, in March, June and September the visitor numbers were 50% - 60% higher however visitor numbers over Easter and the Summer holidays were lower, suggesting that people may have started travelling abroad post-pandemic.

We ran nine junior modelling days during the school holidays; these continue to be extremely popular resulting in nearly 900 visitors. We ran two preschool sessions and developed two new family trails to encourage dialogue between family members. We also re-started the adult modelling courses with the Scenic Modelling Course, this proved to be extremely successful with places filling extremely quickly and a long waiting list for future courses.

We are continuing to build links with the local community. The pop-up café has grown considerably in 2024 making the museum a community hub, we also provide a venue for the local branch of the Scalefour Society to meet. Other smaller projects that have contributed to improvements to the museum are the installation of a new fence at the Tithe Cottage and the Trust have streamlined some of the IT systems to make them more efficient and cost effective.

The support of the Friends continues to be essential for the museum. The Trust are in the process of evaluating how to improve our offer to the Friends. Pendon Museum has a fantastic library, but access has always proved to be an issue. The Trust have rationalised the collection and made the catalogue accessible online through Tiny Cat. This has been rolled out to volunteers on a trial basis, and we will extend it to the Friends in 2025.

Financial review

The value of all funds as at 31 December 2024 was £945,644 (2023 - £878,873) which is comprised unrestricted funds of £945,538 (2023 - £878,767) and restricted funds of £106 (2023 - £106).

Within the unrestricted funds are designated funds amounting to £811,692 (2023 - £62,570) in respect of a building, fixtures and equipment fund amounting to £61,692 (2023 - £62,570) and a development fund of £750,000 (2023 - £nil), which is made up of a transfer from general reserves.

PRINCIPAL FUNDING SOURCES

The total surplus for the year was £66,771 (2023 - £5,010) comprising museum admission income, subscriptions, donations, investment income and donation from the subsidiary. In addition to this regular income there were legacies totalling £77,674 (2023 - £2,580). All surpluses are re-invested into the Charity to further the objectives. The Trustees review current and future funding needs on a regular basis.

RESERVES POLICY

The Trustees have reviewed the reserves of the charity. This review encompassed the nature of the income and expenditure streams, the need to match variable income with fixed commitments and the nature of the reserves. The review concluded that to allow the charity to be managed efficiently and to provide a buffer for uninterrupted services, a general reserve of £150,000 (about one year's operating costs) should be maintained for the unrestricted funds ("the free reserves") not committed or invested in tangible fixed assets. Our reserves meet this requirement at the present time.

The Trustees have reviewed this policy in light of their plans and expectations for the future. Given the commitments and income streams on which the charity depends, they have confirmed it is prudent to maintain the current policy.

RESULTS

The results for the year and the charity's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements.

The funds of the Trust are held in bank accounts and no financial investments are made. In order to maximise bank interest a proportion of the funds are held in saving accounts with the balance needed for day to day operation being held in bank current accounts. The Trustees have taken the decision to consolidate their cash on deposit with NatWest Group PLC to maximise the interest returns.

RISK MANAGEMENT

The Trustees have carried out a detailed review of the charity's activities and have produced a comprehensive Forward Plan setting out the major opportunities available to the charity and the risks to which it is exposed. The Trustees monitor progress against the strategic objectives set out in the plan annually. The Risk Management for the Trust has been updated. The Trustees have implemented a risk management strategy which comprises:

- An annual review of the risks which the charity may face;

- The establishment of systems and procedures to mitigate those risks identified in the plan;

- The implementation of procedures designed to minimise any potential impact on the charity should any of those risks materialise.

A number of decisions previously taken by Trustees, having due regard to advice briefings from the Charity Commission, have been maintained. These include increasing the operating cash reserve, placing reserves with a range of banks, and imposing strict controls on expenditure across all activities.

As in previous years a schedule of potential projects has been identified, with those most likely to proceed being ones to ensure compliance with legislation, having direct relevance to the work of the Museum, the control of running costs, or a positive impact on visitors' appreciation of Pendon.

Work continues to ensure that the Museum acts in a safe environment, with regular Health and Safety reviews. Volunteers carry out a safety briefing prior to each opening to the public. Provision has been made to ensure continued safe operation.

The Trustees are aware of their responsibilities to ensure compliance with all statutory legislation.

Structure, governance and management

ORGANISATION

The Charity is administered by the Trustees, supported by a management team appointed by Trustees.

The Charity has a wholly owned trading subsidiary, Pendon Museum Sales Limited, carrying out non-charitable trading activities for the charity. Full details are set out in note 20. The Directors of the subsidiary company in 2024 were M P Moignard and P N Wood to 16 September 2024. The directors were then changed to P J L Owen and Dr A S A Saunders at this date. For the financial year ended 31 December 2024 the company was due to make a donation of £12,995 (2023 - £8,232) transferring all its profits to to the charity.

LEGAL STATUS

The organisation is a charitable company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 3 February 1961 and registered as a charity.

The company was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company as defined by the Companies Act 2006 and is governed under its Articles of Association which were last amended on 3 November 2012.

The Trustees are aware of their responsibility to ensure compliance with the legislation governing charitable companies.

Bank National Westminster Bank Plc

11 Market Place, Abingdon-on-Thames, OX14 3HH

Accountants Vineyard Accountants Limited

5 The Chambers, Vineyard, Abingdon-on-Thames, OX14 3PX

APPLICATIONS AND NOMINATIONS FOR TRUSTEES

Any member of Pendon Museum Trust Ltd may stand for election at an Annual General Meeting to become a Trustee. Trustees are elected typically for a term of three years. The minimum number of Trustees is three. The Trustees may co-opt any member of the Trust to fill a casual vacancy. Any Trustee so appointed shall remain in office until the next Annual General Meeting and shall then be eligible for re-election.

All Trustees must be at least 18 years old and capable of managing their own affairs.

An induction procedure has been established by way of providing a governance document, including appropriate Charity Commission booklets, which is issued to all Trustees on appointment. Training is given as required.

MEMBERS

Members of the charitable company guarantee to contribute an amount not exceeding £1 to the assets of the charitable company in the event of winding up.

Trustees' Responsibilities

The Trustees (who are also directors of Pendon Museum Trust for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Trustees Annual Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Accounting Standards).

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 income and expenditure for that period. 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 judgments 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

- 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 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. The Trustees 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.

The trustees are responsible for the maintenance and integrity of the corporate and financial information included on the charitable company's website. Legislation in the United Kingdom governing the preparation and dissemination of financial statements may differ from legislation in other jurisdictions.

Plans for future periods

Following extensive consultation with a range of stakeholders, the Museum Development Group updated to the Five Year Action Plan for the Museum. This has been refreshed and is being implemented as discussed in the Chairman's Report.

Reference and administrative details

Registered charity name	Pendon Museum Trust Limited

Charity registration number	313614

Company registration number	00682542

Principal office and registered	Pendon Museum Trust Limited
office	Long Wittenham
	Abingdon on Thames
	OX14 4QD
	UK

The trustees

	M P Moignard	(Resigned 16 September 2024)
	P J Wiltshire
	O Green
	M J Smith
	Dr A S A Saunders
	S D Johnson
	P Owen
	D I Thomas	(Appointed 4 March 2025)

The Trustees who served during the year and up to the date of this report are named above. They are Directors for the purpose of company law and Trustees for the purpose of charity law.

Trustee movements after the year end but before the accounts were approved:-

- D I Thomas (appointed 4 March 2025)

OFFICERS

All Trustees are officers of the charity. Those elected to specific roles by Trustees during the period were as follows:

Chair: M J Smith

Secretary: Dr A S A Saunders (appointed July 2023)

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENTS

The positions of President and Vice President are considered by Trustees and the Members to be honorary. Those appointed do not undertake any role in the management of the Trust in that capacity, and therefore are not Trustees by virtue of that position. At the moment, there are no holders of these posts.

Company secretary	Dr A S A Saunders

Independent examiner	Helen Gee FCCA

	5 The Chambers
	Vineyard
	Abingdon-on-Thames

The trustees' annual report (incorporating the directors' report) and the strategic report were approved on 10 June 2025 and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:

Dr A S A Saunders

Charity Secretary

PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

INDEPENDENT EXAMINER'S REPORT TO THE TRUSTEES OF PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Pendon Museum Trust Limited ('the charity') for the year ended 31 December 2024.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the trustees of the company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 ('the 2006 Act’).

Having satisfied myself that the accounts of the company are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s accounts as carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (‘the 2011 Act’). In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act. Independent examiner's statement

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:

1. accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or

2. the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

3. the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a ‘true and fair' view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or

4. 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 accounts 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 accounts to be reached.

Helen Gee FCCA Independent Examiner

5 The Chambers Vineyard Abingdon-on-Thames

11 July 2025

PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

(INCLUDING INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT)

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

	2024			2023
	Unrestricted funds	Restricted funds	Total funds	Total funds
Note	£	£	£	£

Income and endowments

Donations and legacies	5	141,870	–	141,870	72,856
Other trading activities	6	45,202	–	45,202	41,766
Investment income	7	22,517	–	22,517	16,031
Other income	8	13,395	–	13,395	12,607
		---------	----	---------	---------
Total income		222,984	–	222,984	143,260
		---------	----	---------	---------

Expenditure

Expenditure on raising funds:

	Costs of raising donations and legacies		9	6,150	–	6,150	4,709
	Costs of other trading activities		10	1,996	–	1,996	1,058
Expenditure on charitable activities		11,12		148,067	–	148,067	132,483
				---------	----	---------	---------
Total expenditure				156,213	–	156,213	138,250
				---------	----	---------	---------

	---------	----	---------	---------
Net income and net movement in funds	66,771	–	66,771	5,010
	---------	----	---------	---------

Reconciliation of funds

Total funds brought forward	878,767	106	878,873	873,863
	---------	----	---------	---------
Total funds carried forward	945,538	106	945,644	878,873
	---------	----	---------	---------

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL POSITION

31 December 2024

	2024	2023
Note	£	£

Fixed assets

Tangible fixed assets	17	61,692	62,570
Investments	19	100	100
		--------	--------
		61,792	62,670

Current assets

Debtors	20	17,669	13,873
Cash at bank and in hand		878,283	806,270
		---------	---------
		895,952	820,143

Creditors: amounts falling due within one year	21	12,100	3,940
		---------	---------
Net current assets		883,852	816,203
		---------	---------
Total assets less current liabilities		945,644	878,873
		---------	---------
Net assets		945,644	878,873
		---------	---------

Funds of the charity

Restricted funds		106	106
Unrestricted funds		945,538	878,767
		---------	---------
Total charity funds	22	945,644	878,873
		---------	---------

For the year ending 31 December 2024 the charity was entitled to exemption from audit under section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 relating to small companies.

Directors' responsibilities:

- The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year in question in accordance with section 476 ;

- The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Act with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements .

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies' regime.

These financial statements were approved by the board of trustees and authorised for issue on 10 June 2025 , and are signed on behalf of the board by:

M J Smith	P Owen
Trustee	Trustee

PENDON MUSEUM TRUST LIMITED

COMPANY LIMITED BY GUARANTEE

NOTES TO THE FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2024

1. General information

The charity is a public benefit entity and a private company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales and a registered charity in England and Wales. The address of the registered office is Pendon Museum Trust Limited, Long Wittenham, Abingdon on Thames, OX14 4QD, UK.

2. Statement of compliance

These financial statements have been prepared in compliance with FRS 102, 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and the Republic of Ireland', the 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) (Charities SORP (FRS 102)) and the Companies Act 2006.

3. Accounting policies

Basis of preparation

The financial statements have been prepared on the historical cost basis, as modified by the revaluation of certain financial assets and liabilities and investment properties measured at fair value through income or expenditure.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the entity.

Going concern

There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue. The reserves of the charity meet the requirement that has been set-out by the Trustees in their report.

Disclosure exemptions

The charity satisfies the criteria of being a qualifying entity as defined in FRS 102. As such, advantage has been taken of the following disclosure exemptions available under paragraph 1.12 of FRS 102: (a) No cash flow statement has been presented for the company. (b) Disclosures in respect of financial instruments have not been presented.

Consolidation

The charity has taken advantage of the option not to prepare consolidated financial statements contained in Section 398 of the Companies Act 2006 on the basis that the entity and its subsidiary undertakings comprise a small group.

Judgements and key sources of estimation uncertainty

The preparation of the financial statements requires trustees to make judgements, estimates and assumptions that affect the amounts reported. These estimates and judgements are continually reviewed and are based on experience and other factors, including expectations of future events that are believed to be reasonable under the circumstances. Accounting estimates and assumptions are made concerning the future and, by their nature, will rarely equal the related actual outcome.

Taxation policy

Pendon Museum Trust Limited is a registered charity and accordingly is exempt for taxation on its income and gains where they are to be applied for charitable purposes.

Fund accounting

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees to further any of the charity's purposes. Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the trustees for particular future project or commitment. Restricted funds are subjected to restrictions on their expenditure declared by the donor or through the terms of an appeal, and fall into one of two sub-classes: restricted income funds or endowment funds.

Volunteers

The value of the services provided by volunteers is not incorporated into these financial statements. Further details of their contribution is provided in note 16 to these financial statements and in the Trustees' Report.

Incoming resources

All incoming resources are included in the statement of financial activities when entitlement has passed to the charity, it is probable that the economic benefits associated with the transaction will flow to the charity and the amount can be reliably measured. The following specific policies are applied to particular categories of income: - income from donations, the Friend of Pendon scheme and grants are recognised when there is evidence of entitlement, receipt is probable and its amount can be measured reliably. - income from Gift Aid is recognised in the appropriate accounting period. - legacy income is recognised when receipt is probable and entitlement is established. - income from museum admissions, event and lectures are recognised in the appropriate accounting period.

Resources expended

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes any VAT which cannot be recovered, and is classified under headings of the statement of financial activities to which it relates.

All costs are allocated to expenditure categories reflecting the use of the resource. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs are apportioned between the activities they contribute to on a reasonable, justifiable and consistent basis.

Tangible assets

Tangible assets are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently stated at cost less any accumulated depreciation and impairment losses.

Depreciation

Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost or valuation of an asset, less its residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:

Freehold building	-	2% straight line
Equipment	-	20% straight line
Permanent Exhibits	-	`Fully depreciated`

Investments

Unlisted equity investments are initially recorded at cost, and subsequently measured at fair value. If fair value cannot be reliably measured, assets are measured at cost less impairment.

Listed investments are measured at fair value with changes in fair value being recognised in income or expenditure.

Investments in associates

Investments in associates accounted for in accordance with the cost model are recorded at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. Investments in associates accounted for in accordance with the fair value model are initially recorded at the transaction price. At each reporting date, the investments are measured at fair value, with changes in fair value taken through income or expenditure. Where it is impracticable to measure fair value reliably without undue cost or effort, the cost model will be adopted. Dividends and other distributions received from the investment are recognised as income without regard to whether the distributions are from accumulated profits of the associate arising before or after the date of acquisition.

Investments in joint ventures

Investments in jointly controlled entities accounted for in accordance with the cost model are recorded at cost less any accumulated impairment losses. Investments in jointly controlled entities accounted for in accordance with the fair value model are initially recorded at the transaction price. At each reporting date, the investments are measured at fair value, with changes in fair value taken through income or expenditure. Where it is impracticable to measure fair value reliably without undue cost or effort, the cost model will be adopted. Dividends and other distributions received from the investment are recognised as income without regard to whether the distributions are from accumulated profits of the joint venture arising before or after the date of acquisition.

Impairment of fixed assets

A review for indicators of impairment is carried out at each reporting date, with the recoverable amount being estimated where such indicators exist. Where the carrying value exceeds the recoverable amount, the asset is impaired accordingly. Prior impairments are also reviewed for possible reversal at each reporting date. For the purposes of impairment testing, when it is not possible to estimate the recoverable amount of an individual asset, an estimate is made of the recoverable amount of the cash-generating unit to which the asset belongs.

Debtors

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.

Investments

This relates to 100% of the share capital at cost in the subsidiary company.

Cash at bank and in hand

Cash deposits are stated at their original cost.

Creditors and provisions

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.

4. Limited by guarantee

The company is registered in England and Wales and is limited by guarantee. The liabilities of the members is limited to £1 per member.

5. Donations and legacies

Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2024	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
£	£	£	£

Donations

Donations	7,791	7,791	11,347	11,347
Friends of Pendon subscriptions	40,236	40,236	41,711	41,711
Gift Aid claimed on donations and subscriptions	16,169	16,169	17,218	17,218

Legacies

Legacies	77,674	77,674	2,580	2,580
	---------	---------	--------	--------
	141,870	141,870	72,856	72,856
	---------	---------	--------	--------

6. Other trading activities

	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2024	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
	£	£	£	£
Museum admission income	44,309	44,309	41,766	41,766
Workshops, lectures and other events	893	893	–	–
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	45,202	45,202	41,766	41,766
	--------	--------	--------	--------

7. Investment income

	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2024	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
	£	£	£	£
Bank interest receivable	22,517	22,517	16,031	16,031
	--------	--------	--------	--------

8. Other income

	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2024	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
	£	£	£	£
Donation of profits from trading company	12,995	12,995	8,232	8,232
Other income	400	400	1,935	1,935
Local authority grant income	–	–	2,440	2,440
	--------	--------	--------	--------
	13,395	13,395	12,607	12,607
	--------	--------	--------	--------

9. Costs of raising donations and legacies

	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2024	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
	£	£	£	£
Friends of Pendon administration	6,150	6,150	4,709	4,709
	-------	-------	-------	-------

10. Costs of other trading activities

	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2024	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
	£	£	£	£
Costs of other trading actitivies - Staging events	1,996	1,996	1,058	1,058
	-------	-------	-------	-------

11. Expenditure on charitable activities by fund type

	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2024	Unrestricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
	£	£	£	£
Museum expenses	146,196	146,196	130,943	130,943
Support costs	1,871	1,871	1,540	1,540
	---------	---------	---------	---------
	148,067	148,067	132,483	132,483
	---------	---------	---------	---------

12. Expenditure on charitable activities by activity type

	Activities undertaken directly	Support costs	Total funds 2024	Total fund 2023
	£	£	£	£
Museum expenses	146,196	–	146,196	130,943
Governance costs	–	1,871	1,871	1,540
	---------	-------	---------	---------
	146,196	1,871	148,067	132,483
	---------	-------	---------	---------

13. Net income

Net income is stated after charging/(crediting):

	2024	2023
	£	£
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets	3,842	3,694
	-------	-------

14. Independent examination fees

	2024	2023
	£	£

Fees payable to the independent examiner for:

Independent examination of the financial statements	1,440	1,200
Other financial services	224	209
	-------	-------
	1,664	1,409
	-------	-------

Other financial services relate to providing payroll services.

15. Staff costs

The total staff costs and employee benefits for the reporting period are analysed as follows:

	2024	2023
	£	£
Wages and salaries	44,876	41,415
Employer contributions to pension plans	929	846
	--------	--------
	45,805	42,261
	--------	--------

The average head count of employees during the year was 2 (2023: 2 ). The average number of full-time equivalent employees during the year is analysed as follows:

	2024	2023
	No.	No.
Number of museum staff	2	2
	----	----

No employee received employee benefits of more than £60,000 during the year (2023: Nil).

16. Trustee remuneration and expenses

No remuneration or other benefits from employment with the charity or a related entity were received by any of the Trustees in this and the previous financial year.

17. Tangible fixed assets

	Freehold building	Equipment	Permanent Exhibits	Total
	£	£	£	£
Cost
At 1 January 2024	162,460	58,703	3,000	224,163
Additions	–	2,964	–	2,964
	---------	--------	-------	---------
At 31 December 2024	162,460	61,667	3,000	227,127
	---------	--------	-------	---------
Depreciation
At 1 January 2024	99,903	58,690	3,000	161,593
Charge for the year	3,249	593	–	3,842
	---------	--------	-------	---------
At 31 December 2024	103,152	59,283	3,000	165,435
	---------	--------	-------	---------
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024	59,308	2,384	–	61,692
	---------	--------	-------	---------
At 31 December 2023	62,557	13	–	62,570
	---------	--------	-------	---------

The freehold building is subject to a charge in favour of National Westminster Bank plc.

18. Heritage assets

Many of the Museum's displays and models have been created by volunteers. These models and displays are unique, representing thousands of hours of volunteer time over many decades. The Trustees do not consider that an accurate value can be attached to them and the costs are not capitalised.

19. Investments

	Other investments
	£
Cost or valuation
At 1 January 2024	100
Additions	–
	----
At 31 December 2024	100
	----
Impairment
At 1 January 2024 and 31 December 2024	–
	----
Carrying amount
At 31 December 2024	100
	----
At 31 December 2023	100
	----

All investments shown above are held at valuation.

Pendon Museum Trust Ltd owns 100% of the 100 Ordinary £1 Shares of Pendon Museum Sales Ltd (company number 01251264), which amounts to £100 (2023 - £100).

Pendon Museum Sales Ltd is the trading company for the charity and operates the shop at the museum. Total takings received by Pendon Museum Sales Ltd for the year was £24,872 (2023 - £21,508), and total expenses were £11,877 (2023 - £13,276). The profits each year are donated to Pendon Museum Trust Ltd therefore the financial statements of Pendon Museum Sales Ltd show no profit each year. The value of the donation to Pendon Museum Trust Ltd for the year was £12,995 (2023 - £8,232), as set out in note.8 and note 20.

Pendon Museum Sales Ltd has historic profit reserves brought forward of £3,788 (2023 - £3,788) therefore the capital and reserves of the subsidiary at 31 December 2024 were £3,888 (2023 - £3,888).

20. Debtors

	2024	2023
	£	£
Prepayments and accrued income	3,931	5,196
Other debtors	13,738	8,677
	--------	--------
	17,669	13,873
	--------	--------

Other debtors relates to the donation from Pendon Museum Sales ltd for £12,995 (2023 - £8,232) and gift aid recoverable £743 (2023 - £445).

21. Creditors: amounts falling due within one year

	2024	2023
	£	£
Trade creditors	299	298
Amounts owed to group undertakings	7,086	2,177
Accruals and deferred income	4,606	1,356
Social security and other taxes	109	109
	--------	-------
	12,100	3,940
	--------	-------

22. Analysis of charitable funds

Unrestricted funds

	At 1 January 2024	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	At 31 December 2024
	£	£	£	£	£
General funds	816,197	222,984	(152,371)	(752,964)	133,846
Buildings, fixtures and equipment	62,570	–	(3,842)	2,964	61,692
Development Fund	–	–	–	750,000	750,000
	---------	---------	---------	---------	---------
	878,767	222,984	(156,213)	–	945,538
	---------	---------	---------	---------	---------

	At 1 January 2023	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	At 31 December 2023
	£	£	£	£	£
General funds	807,493	143,260	(134,556)	–	816,197
Buildings, fixtures and equipment	66,264	–	(3,694)	–	62,570
Development Fund	–	–	–	–	–
	---------	---------	---------	----	---------
	873,757	143,260	(138,250)	–	878,767
	---------	---------	---------	----	---------

The general funds are unrestricted and can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the Trustees. There is no stipulation on how these funds are spent.

The designated funds are as follows:-

Buildings, fixtures and equipment fund - This relates to the book value of tangible fixed assets in the financial statements is reflected in the figures above. The expenditure represents the annual depreciation charge in the accounts. Transfers relate to newly acquired assets, where appropriate.

Development fund - The board approved a variation of funds to separately account for the future development of the charity as a designated fund from within unrestricted funds. A transfer of £750,000 was allocated to this fund. The amount left within unrestricted is sufficient to cover the annual running costs of the Charity for the period of 6 months to one year.

Restricted funds

	At 1 January 2024	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	At 31 December 2024
	£	£	£	£	£
QR Codes	106	–	–	–	106
	----	----	----	----	----

	At 1 January 2023	Income	Expenditure	Transfers	At 31 December 2023
	£	£	£	£	£
QR Codes	106	–	–	–	106
	----	----	----	----	----

The Restricted Funds relate to specific projects that are undertaken.

The Restricted Funds in this and the prior year relate to Grants received in 2021 towards QR Codes. In both this and the prior year, there was no further income or expenses incurred.

23. Analysis of net assets between funds

	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total Funds 2024
	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	61,692	–	61,692
Investments	100	–	100
Current assets	883,746	106	883,852
	---------	----	---------
Net assets	945,538	106	945,644
	---------	----	---------

	Unrestricted Funds	Restricted Funds	Total Funds 2023
	£	£	£
Tangible fixed assets	62,570	–	62,570
Investments	100	–	100
Current assets	816,097	106	816,203
	---------	----	---------
Net assets	878,767	106	878,873
	---------	----	---------

24. Prior year adjustments

The investment in Pendon Museum Sales Ltd has been reclassified as a long term asset from previously being disclosed as a current asset.

25. Related parties

In the this and the prior year there were no transactions with Related Parties that require further disclosure. The investment in the subsidiary company is disclosed in note 20.