REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: SC376811 (Scotland)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 037003

Report of the Trustees and

Unaudited Financial Statements for the Year Ended 31 March 2025

for

Lochaber Hope

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

3

Independent Examiner's Report

4

Statement of Financial Activities

5

Balance Sheet

6

to

7

Notes to the Financial Statements

8

to

17

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 March 2025. 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 charity's objectives are to provide rehabilitation, skill development, motivation, self-esteem enhancement, and mental health support for individuals experiencing vulnerability or crisis and young people's mental health throughout Lochaber. These objectives have remained unchanged during the year.

Significant activities

The main activities undertaken in relation to our purposes are the provision of support to all members of the community to help them overcome the barriers they face to enjoy a good quality of life. This includes providing Counselling and Mentoring Activity and Peer Support Groups as well as assistance in finding employment, training or further education.

ACHIEVEMENTS AND PERFORMANCE

Charitable activities

The level of income from providing Employment support services in the year was £105,072 compared to £75,235 for the previous year. Though expectation was for there to be a reduction in this financial year this has proven to be more successful and has increased as a result.

Expectation for the forthcoming financial year is for this to potentially be at a significant lower level with a new contract being sought.

There was also an increase in monies coming in to support New Connections, our community hub, which is another reason for the increase in our closing unrestricted reserves.

The level of fundraising and donations in the year was £25,293 (2024: £38,958). The trustees wish to express their gratitude to all the volunteers, donors and supporters who provided financial support to Lochaber Hope during the year. As last year, much of the support received assisted in building the New Connections Community Hub project. This involved increasing the use of New Connections Community Hub, activities and groups being carried out there. The aim remains to encourage growth of New Connections Community Hub.

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

The financial performance of Lochaber Hope in the year to 31 March 2025 saw a surplus of £90,960 (2024 - £39,023).

2025 figures benefited from the receipt of a higher level of grant income than was received in the year to March 2024. Total grant income in 2025 was £239,862 (2024 £206,256).

The trustees have recently reviewed the running of the workshop as costs are higher than income by £9356, and have made the decision to temporarily close until a new structure can be introduced to make it run more effectively.

The level of Counselling Income for the year amounted to £64,996 (2024 £60,151), which is a slight increase on the prior year. This hasn't increased as expected due to more clients being subsidised via funding. While demand for counselling has increased, resources haven't increased in line with that demand. This continues to be a challenge.

This service had become a major part of the activities of Lochaber Hope and is expected to continue to expand as we now have the resources to advertise, and more schools will ask for support. The level of costs continues to increase as a result of providing this service.

Financial Position

The unrestricted reserves at the end of the financial year were £348,552, including fixed assets, an increase of £78,490 in the year. The total unrestricted reserves at the year end were equivalent to over 9 months total running costs. The reserves policy of Lochaber Hope is to maintain unrestricted reserves of at least 9 months running costs.

Restricted reserves are expected to continue to reduce in the short term as the funding that has not been expended so far is used up. Further funding applications will have to be submitted to provide additional funds to support the restricted activities.

Reserves policy

The charity has a policy of trying to hold reserves equal to nine months of operating expenditure.

Going concern

The level of unrestricted reserves is expected to remain above the minimum reserves policy limit. The trustees therefore do not have any uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.

There has been an increase in successful funding applications this year due to more being submitted. The trustees will continue to seek grant funding as projects are developing and more projects are starting.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is a company limited by guarantee and is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.

Recruitment and appointment of new trustees

The methods used to recruit and appoint a new chair and trustees are identified in the Memorandum and 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.

Organisational structure

The charity is governed by the Board of Trustees who delegate the day to day running of the facility to the employed manager, who reports directly to them.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

SC376811 (Scotland)

Registered Charity number

037003

Registered office

Dalnahaine

Belford Road

Fort William

PH33 6ES

Trustees

Ms B Grant

S Mactavish

O M C Stephen

Ms I Campbell

Ms A K Wright (resigned 21.1.25)

Ms R Fraser

G Fisher (appointed 13.5.25)

I Miller (appointed 13.5.25)

Company Secretary

Mrs A M Smith

Independent Examiner

Mackay & Co CA

120 George Street

Oban

Argyll

PA34 5NT

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 27 October 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

G Fisher - Trustee

Independent examiner's report to the trustees of Lochaber Hope ('the Company')

I report to the charity trustees on my examination of the accounts of the Company for the year ended 31 March 2025.

Responsibilities and basis of report

As the charity's trustees of the Company (and also its directors for the purposes of company law) you are responsible for the preparation of the accounts 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 your 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

Since your charity's gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a listed body. I can confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland, which is one of the listed bodies.

I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe:

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

2.	the accounts do not accord with those records; or

3.	the accounts 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 accounts 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.

David Ross

Mackay & Co CA

120 George Street

Oban

Argyll

PA34 5NT

Date: .............................................

31.3.25

31.3.24

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

3

20,097

5,196

25,293

38,958

Charitable activities

5

Training, counselling and support

279,589

143,740

423,329

356,790

Investment income

4

-

-

-

225

Other income

230

22,636

22,866

-

Total

299,916

171,572

471,488

395,973

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

Training, counselling and support

224,724

159,372

384,096

369,119

Net gains on investments

3,298

-

3,298

12,169

NET INCOME

78,490

12,200

90,690

39,023

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

270,062

107,887

377,949

338,926

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

348,552

120,087

468,639

377,949

31.3.25

31.3.24

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

fund

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Tangible assets

11

69,316

43,234

112,550

120,559

Investments

12

87,670

-

87,670

72,372

156,986

43,234

200,220

192,931

CURRENT ASSETS

Debtors

13

13,661

-

13,661

13,129

Cash at bank and in hand

187,596

76,853

264,449

199,483

201,257

76,853

278,110

212,612

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

14

(9,691

)

-

(9,691

)

(19,628

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

191,566

76,853

268,419

192,984

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

348,552

120,087

468,639

385,915

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one year

15

-

-

-

(7,966

)

NET ASSETS

348,552

120,087

468,639

377,949

FUNDS

17

Unrestricted funds

348,552

270,062

Restricted funds

120,087

107,887

TOTAL FUNDS

468,639

377,949

The charitable company is entitled to exemption from audit under Section 477 of the Companies Act 2006 for the year ended 31 March 2025.

The members have not required the company to obtain an audit of its financial statements for the year ended 31 March 2025 in accordance with Section 476 of the Companies Act 2006.

The trustees acknowledge their responsibilities for

(a)	ensuring that the charitable company keeps accounting records that comply with Sections 386 and 387 of the Companies Act 2006 and

(b)

preparing financial statements which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company as at the end of each financial year and of its surplus or deficit for each financial year in accordance with the requirements of Sections 394 and 395 and which otherwise comply with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 relating to financial statements, so far as applicable to the charitable company.

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

The financial statements were approved by the Board of Trustees and authorised for issue on 27 October 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

R Fraser - Trustee

1.	ACCOUNTING POLICIES

Basis of preparing the financial statements

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended) and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable to the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (as issued in October 2019 for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019). The charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

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

The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention, modified to include the investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.

Income

Income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.

Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the charity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.

Grants receivable are credited to the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) in the year which they are awarded, providing entitlement, certainty and measurement can be confirmed.

Counselling, Training and Earned Income is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable for goods and services provided in the normal course of business, net of discounts.

Fundraising income is measured at the fair value of the consideration received or receivable and represents amounts receivable from fundraising events and programmes.

Expenditure

Expenditure other than that which has been capitalised is included on an accruals basis and is recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation to pay the expenditure.

Expenditure on raising funds are expenditure for fundraising events.

Expenditure on charitable activities are expenditure relating to the delivery of counselling and training sessions and support costs for the charity generally.

Governance costs are deemed expenditure for statutory responsibilities and other consultancy feed.

All costs have been directly attributed to one of the functional categories of resources expenses in the SOFA.

Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.

Tangible fixed assets

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

Freehold property

-

at varying rates on cost

Computer equipment

-

33% on cost

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.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors 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.

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.

2.	CRITICAL ACCOUNTING JUDGEMENTS AND KEY SOURCES OF ESTIMATION UNCERTAINTY

In the application of the charity's accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of net assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.

The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.

3.	DONATIONS AND LEGACIES

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Donations

14,309

35,956

Fundraising

10,984

3,002

25,293

38,958

4.	INVESTMENT INCOME

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Income from listed investments

-

38

Deposit account interest

-

187

-

225

5.	INCOME FROM CHARITABLE ACTIVITIES

31.3.25

31.3.24

Activity

£

£

Counselling income

Training, counselling and support

64,996

60,151

Training income

Training, counselling and support

5,849

4,819

Earned income

Training, counselling and support

112,622

85,564

Grants

Training, counselling and support

239,862

206,256

423,329

356,790

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

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Robertson Trust

26,000

26,000

Foundation Scotland

22,848

-

HTSI

9,874

7,000

Corra Foundation

5,000

5,000

Highland Council

74,500

25,447

National Lottery Community Fund - New Connections

25,000

51,750

Inspiring Scotland

36,000

18,000

The National Lottery

40,640

-

Scottish Families

-

1,000

Energy Savings Trust

-

57,098

SSE Green Grant

-

14,961

239,862

206,256

6.	SUPPORT COSTS

Governance

Management

costs

Totals

£

£

£

Training, counselling and support

47,127

2,662

49,789

7.	NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

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

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Depreciation - owned assets

8,419

9,895

8.	TRUSTEES' REMUNERATION AND BENEFITS

There were no trustees' remuneration or other benefits for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

Trustees' expenses

There were no trustees' expenses paid for the year ended 31 March 2025 nor for the year ended 31 March 2024.

9.	STAFF COSTS

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Wages and salaries

257,618

196,105

Social security costs

-

11,066

Other pension costs

4,309

3,729

261,927

210,900

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

31.3.25

31.3.24

Operations and support

14

9

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

10.	COMPARATIVES FOR THE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

fund

funds

funds

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

16,771

22,187

38,958

Charitable activities

Training, counselling and support

167,224

189,566

356,790

Investment income

225

-

225

Total

184,220

211,753

395,973

EXPENDITURE ON

Charitable activities

Training, counselling and support

169,603

199,516

369,119

Net gains on investments

12,169

-

12,169

NET INCOME

26,786

12,237

39,023

Transfers between funds

331

(331

)

-

Net movement in funds

27,117

11,906

39,023

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

242,945

95,981

338,926

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

270,062

107,887

377,949

11.	TANGIBLE FIXED ASSETS

Fixtures

Freehold

Plant and

and

Computer

property

machinery

fittings

equipment

Totals

£

£

£

£

£

COST

At 1 April 2024

158,518

2,208

2,502

6,125

169,353

Additions

-

-

410

-

410

At 31 March 2025

158,518

2,208

2,912

6,125

169,763

DEPRECIATION

At 1 April 2024

40,775

1,456

922

5,641

48,794

Charge for year

6,320

751

864

484

8,419

At 31 March 2025

47,095

2,207

1,786

6,125

57,213

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2025

111,423

1

1,126

-

112,550

At 31 March 2024

117,743

752

1,580

484

120,559

12.	FIXED ASSET INVESTMENTS

Listed

investment

£

MARKET VALUE

At 1 April 2024

72,372

Additions

12,000

Revaluations

3,298

At 31 March 2025

87,670

NET BOOK VALUE

At 31 March 2025

87,670

At 31 March 2024

72,372

There were no investment assets outside the UK.

The listed investments have a historical cost value of £74,331 (2024 - £62,331)

13.	DEBTORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Trade debtors

10,391

9,636

Prepayments and accrued income

3,270

3,493

13,661

13,129

14.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE WITHIN ONE YEAR

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Bank loans and overdrafts (see note 16)

-

6,800

Trade creditors

-

1,891

Social security and other taxes

6,198

5,023

VAT

2,533

5,114

Accrued expenses

960

800

9,691

19,628

15.	CREDITORS: AMOUNTS FALLING DUE AFTER MORE THAN ONE YEAR

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Bank loans (see note 16)

-

7,966

16.

LOANS

An analysis of the maturity of loans is given below:

31.3.25

31.3.24

£

£

Amounts falling due within one year on demand:

Bank loans

-

6,800

Amounts falling due between two and five years:

Bank loans

-

7,966

17.	MOVEMENT IN FUNDS

Net

movement

At

At 1.4.24

in funds

31.3.25

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

270,062

78,490

348,552

Restricted funds

Capital

30,415

-

30,415

Workshop project

35,024

(9,357

)

25,667

New Connections

40,123

21,557

61,680

National Lottery Community Fund - New Connections

2,325

-

2,325

107,887

12,200

120,087

TOTAL FUNDS

377,949

90,690

468,639

Net movement in funds, included in the above are as follows:

Incoming

Resources

Gains and

Movement

resources

expended

losses

in funds

£

£

£

£

Unrestricted funds

General fund

299,916

(224,724

)

3,298

78,490

Restricted funds

Workshop project

35,609

(44,966

)

-

(9,357

)

New Connections

135,963

(114,406

)

-

21,557

171,572

(159,372

)

-

12,200

TOTAL FUNDS

471,488

(384,096

)

3,298

90,690