The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 April 2025.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note to the financial statements and comply with the Charity's [governing document], the Companies Act 2006 and “Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2016).

The objects of the charity are for the public benefit and are all designed to support the relief of individuals in need. In particular the provision of shelter, food, clothing, advice and one to one mentoring and support. Most of these activities are undertaken through our Day Centre (the Hub), at 43, Melton Street, Leicester.

The Trustees give due regard to guidance contained in the Charity Commission’s general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity’s aims and objectives, exercising relevant powers and duties and in planning its future objectives.

In particular, the trustees consider how planned activities will contribute to the aims and objectives that have been set. We have developed formal governance and operational policies and procedures. These cover many areas including capability, code of conduct, data protection, donation acceptance and refusal, safeguarding, whistle blowing, dignity at work, comments and complaints and health and safety at work. The board periodically reviews how it applies the Charity Governance Code for small charities to inform improvements in its governance. This report sets out how we deliver our public benefit in practice.

Staff

Again, we had to increase our staff team to cope with the significantly increased volume of people being helped through our Day Centre. Craig started with us in May as a Support Worker, generally being active on the floor of the Day Centre and he has made a good impact in keeping things calm, often showing his skills at deescalating situations. Leah also joined us in May and in August, once funding was secured, became our Lived Experience Worker.

Emma returned to work in October, following maternity leave, with Evie, who had been the maternity cover, leaving. Ella, one of our Case Workers, left for maternity leave in June, resigning her position in March to remain a full-time mum. Georgie joined us in August as Ella’s replacement. Gemma, our Partnership Development Coordinator (PDC), left for maternity leave in August, with Kate joining us as maternity cover.

The PDC role was originally established on a 2-year trial period in 2023 & following an extensive evaluation, the decision was taken just before the end of the financial year, to discontinue the role. Prior to this role Gemma had been the Hub Coordinator, with that role being amalgamated into other roles following the creation of the PDC role.

With the extra work we have taken on with the ‘supported accommodation,’ David (CEO) and Keith’s roles were realigned to the changing business needs. David will take lead for the properties until the lease signing and Keith, who has now become the Operations Manager, will overview the running of the properties, ensuring we are meeting all the criteria of ‘Supported Housing.’ To assist with this, the Hub Coordinator role has been re-established, undertaking tasks previously allocated to David and Keith. Kate will start off this new role until Gemma’s return from maternity leave in September.

In May 2024, we changed the direction of the Lighthouse Project, with David overviewing the project and Jo joining us as our second Mentor Coordinator, allowing us to help more people. The three-year project is due to finish in December 2025 unless additional funding can be found.

Our Saturday staffing line-up has also seen some changes, Craig, Leah, Jo and Georgie all work alternate Saturdays as part of their contract; Dean, one of our valued volunteers is now employed on a Saturday contract & Dan who did some temporary work for us prior to the new roles being established in May, usually works a couple of Saturdays a month.

Again, we would like to express our thanks to our staff for their wonderful work in supporting our guests (service users). We also continue to be indebted to some wonderful volunteers, meaning, in the time of increased demand and increased costs, we are able us to provide a great service at a fraction of the ‘real’ cost.

As of 30th April 2025, we employed five full-time staff members and nine part-time staff members.

The Hub continues to open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9.30am – 2.30pm and Saturday, 9am – 1pm. We receive no local authority or government funding for our Hub opening during the week, but Saturday is funded by the Rough Sleeping Drug and Alcohol Treatment Grant which is administered by the Office for Health Improvement and Disparities, through Public Health. The Leicester City of Sanctuary continue to rent the premises on a Wednesday, and we have two Christian churches renting the building on a Sunday.

The Hub remains the focal point of all activity at the centre, where guests can get breakfast, lunch, a hot shower, a change of clothes, subject to availability. We have found this year; demand far outstrips any supplies we are able to obtain. Our hub also gives our guests an opportunity to wash their clothes. Food is really the key to break down barriers so our staff and volunteers can build a trusting relationship, enabling us to work alongside our guests, to try & support them to address their specific issues.

During the last year we continued to face record demands for our services – with 20,005 people accessing our Hub, up from 14,381 in the previous year. We are still proud to say we have never had to close our doors or restrict the number of people who could access our service.

Despite recording a deficit budget and expecting a high budget deficit for the new financial year, the Board of Trustees have taken the decision, in view of the demand for our services to continue running on the existing staff numbers for the next 12 months.

During the year we ran a trial of ‘not charging’ for lunch for those we are actively working with, but found this difficult to administer and we were seeing the numbers creeping up around the lunch period, so we have had to revert back to charging £1. This is amazing value for the quality of food we serve, thanks to Jen, our wonderful Chef and her great team of volunteers. We continue to give out free tickets for those not receiving benefits for whatever reason, meaning most days we give out more tickets than we actually charge for.

Our Case Workers continue to provide support for our guests in many different ways, with housing, of course a key one. In the last year we helped 67 people into temporary or permanent accommodation - while it is a slight reduction on the previous year is still an amazing achievement given the increasingly gloomy financial outlook in Leicester. Like most major cities we have a major housing crisis and getting single people, the category of most of our guests, into local authority housing is very difficult, with a long waiting list. Despite the government saying the Local Housing Allowance was increased to cover the 30th percentile of local market rents for the first time since 2020, according to Crisis’ analysis of Zoopla data, in Leicester just 2% of 1 -3 bed properties are affordable to renters needing housing benefit and just 2.7% of homes across Great Britain are affordable.

We spent a considerable amount of time working with an ethical investment company, who buy houses for charities to house the homeless and despite identifying a number of properties which fit within their tight framework, these were all, either, declined by the company to go to offer for various reasons, or the company chose to bid significantly below the asking price and the offer was either declined or someone bid a higher amount. Due to the increased demand we were seeing for ‘supported accommodation,’ working with a local landlord, we took on our first property in March, taking 4 rough sleepers off the street. We expect to take on at least 2 further properties during this financial year.

As well as the local authority, we also continue to work with housing associations, other supported accommodation providers and private landlords. Despite the lack of local authority provision, we still try to make sure all our guests are, where applicable, on the housing register and we added an additional 42 last year.

Another important role for our Case Workers is ensuring all our guests have the correct benefits to which they are entitled, and we supported 49 to get an increase in their benefits. For many this has been a massive step forward. We continue to have a close working relationship with the Department of Work and Pensions, with one of their team working from our centre on a weekly basis; an invaluable resource to have.

Many of our guests do have ‘smart’ phones (though not always the credit to use them) and we also provide access to computers, but they would still be classed as ‘digitally excluded,’ as dealing with statutory bodies, either by telephone or on-line, particularly when they are left on hold for a long period, is something they find challenging, often due to mental health issues. Our Case Workers have supported 208 individuals with calls to other organisations and assisted 148 guests with completing official paperwork, also referring 189 guests to other agencies, who are better able to support a particular need. Our Case Workers also provide other types of financial help to our guests, including budgetary support (37 times), arranging payment plans when they are in arrears with their rent or utilities (16 times) and support in opening a bank account (19 times).

Getting our guests registered with a doctor continues to be another key support role we offer and have helped 44 register; then encouraging them to get assistance with their various medical issues - actively supporting 58 people to engage with the appropriate medical service. We continue to host the Homeless Mental Health Team twice a week and Turning Point, who provide drug and alcohol support, twice a week, referring 18 people to engage in recovery services. With those guests that are further on in their journeys, we can also support them back into work, including help with CV writing, or registering for a college course.

Ian, our Senior Case Worker, spends his time working with some of the most entrenched rough sleepers in the city, under the ‘Rough Sleeping Initiative,’ through a contract from the local authority. This contract started in July 2021 & has now been extended until Mar 2026. We continue to witness some great successes through this initiative and wait to see what the changes the new government will put in place.

Our team also support our guests in a number of other ways, including referrals to food banks (183 times), registering on college courses, helping them to reconnect with friends and family, or provide a warm, safe, non-judgemental environment and a chance to use a computer or we can, simply provide a listening ear.

A homeless or vulnerably housed person is 3 times as likely to suffer from mental health issues when compared to someone in stable housing. To support with this and to run alongside our charity’s mental health strategy, we hold a number of ‘recreational arts as art therapy’ groups, funded in the main by the National Lottery Awards For All programme. We continue with a Monday Art Group; Tuesday and Friday, we run 2 thriving music groups, out of which our ‘band’ plays at festivals and open-mic nights and goes from strength to strength. Our board games, word searches and colouring remain ever popular.

Our Mental Health Advocate role, a crucial role, funded by Stoneygate Trust, provides a specialised team member to effectively connect with our guests regarding their mental health concerns. This staff member facilitates referrals and directs individuals to relevant services and organisations for additional support.

Thanks to support from the Albert Gubay Trust, we were able to start our Lived Experience role in August and Leah is actively working with our guests to break down barriers, support them and also encourage them to get involved with the decision-making process within the charity.

While we changed the direction of the Lighthouse Project, this continues to be run by 2 full-time Mentor Co-ordinators with the CEO overviewing the project. The project is funded through the Church Urban Fund, with us hitting all the key measures set. Funding for the project finishes in December 2025, with the Church Urban Fund starting to wind the project down. We are actively seeking replacement funding for the project to enable it to continue.

We are now able to provide quarterly emergency dental treatment, as Glenfield Dental Practice have joined Doncaster Road Dental Practice and the Willowbrook Dental practice in supporting this important initiative – many thanks to all 3 dental practices. We are also able to provide regular optical support through First Vision Eyecare, funded through the NHS.

We are grateful and reliant on our various partners, who continue to support us in our much-needed work, including Heidelberg Materials UK, who provided us with a donation of 200 sleeping bags, underwear, waterproof bags and jogging bottoms at a cost of £11,000. They also regularly provide staff to volunteer at our Day Centre and again had a great turnout of staff taking part in our Big Sleep, raising £7,000 to help us in the day-to-day running of the Day Centre.

Howes Percival Solicitors kept us as their Charity of the Year for 2025 to add to the funds they raised in 2024. They had a good turnout for our Big Sleep in March and have other events planned including their famous quiz night. Shoe Zone have also continued their support, both monetary and in terms of socks and footwear and Union FS continued their support with their annual food drive, raising cash and plenty of food for our day-to-day operations. We also benefited from the proceeds of local comedian, Kevin Hudson’s show at the Comedy Festival & Kevin also joined us in the Big Sleep, raising over £1000 in the process.

The Big Sleep was a wonderful success with the most participants we have ever had, the most companies we have ever had taking part, and we raised in excess of £27,000, again our best ever. A big thanks to Heidelberg, Dupli, Howes Percival and Shoe Zone for their sponsorship of the event.

Our long-term financial strategy remains to diversify our income, reducing our dependency on grants and our move in March to managing properties as ‘supported accommodation’ is the next step with this as we look to grow our earned income.

We have continued with our Local Authority contract, (extended to 31/3/26), where Ian works with some of the most entrenched rough sleepers in the city and with Public Health, (again extended to 31/3/26), which pays for the Saturday opening. Our partnership agreement with the Church Urban Fund, for our Mentoring Project has also continued, but the funding for this runs out in December 2025 and will not be renewed.

Like most charities, we have found it even tougher this year in raising funds and saw our grant income fall by £47,000 compared to the previous year netting us £152,516, this included the second-year payments from both Lloyds Bank Foundation, £25,000 and Tudor Trust £29,563.

Our general Fundraising, excluding the contribution received through our on-line giving, reduced by £1,100 to £25,876, though our on-line giving increased by £9,000 to £39,387, part of which will be down to fundraising events including the Big Sleep.

Our overall income decreased by £38,588 to £428,616, with decreases being seen across many of our lines, probably more a reflection on the incredible performance in the previous financial year rather than any particular issues this time around. We remain grateful for everyone who supported us, as without their assistance we could not have offered the level of service we did in helping some of the most vulnerable people in society.

Our expenditure increased by £75,000 to £458,485, with £67,000 of that relating to an expected increase in salary costs, due to the additional staff employed to meet our increased demand and to meet our obligations under various contracts and grants, some of the income relating to these salaries were received in the previous financial year.

Review Of Current Financial Year

The financial statements show a deficit of £34,229 on activities for the year, down from the predicted deficit of £67,957, which are split between Restricted and Unrestricted Funds. This is shown in our Statement of Financial Activities on page 8.

The charity has total reserves of £364,790 to be taken from accounts as shown on the Balance Sheet on page 9. Despite the deficit for the year, our reserves still show a healthy position.

It remains an ambition of the Trustees to purchase our own premises, though it has been agreed that some of the designated building fund can be used as a deposit on a house, which will be used to supplement our ‘supported housing’ offer. This may not happen during the current financial year as we look to build experience in this field through our existing leasehold properties.

We are again budgeting for a large deficit of £84,950, mainly because of £76,463 of salary payments we are due to pay in this financial year, relate to projects for which we have received funding in previous financial years.

We have continued our long-running discussions with a local organisation with a view to taking some space in their building on a long-term lease and have again set aside in this year’s budget £20,000 for architect fees which will be needed to move the proposition forward to the next stage.

The Year in Summary

                Year to 30/4/25        Year to 30/4/24

Total Income            £428,616             £466,936

Total Expenditure            £462,845             £383,381

Operating Surplus / (deficit)        (£34,229)     £83,555

Hub Services Accessed        20,005         14,381

Helped into Accommodation        67         73

Registered With Medical Services     44         100

Improved Financial Situation        49         73

Reviewing our financial and non-financial performance for the year, we can, yet again, be proud of the wonderful efforts put in by our dedicated team of staff and volunteers. This is all noted against the background that our charity operates to support the homeless and vulnerably housed and it is not fit and proper in the 21st century, that first of all, we even need to exist, without addressing the massive increase in numbers we are supporting.

Designated Funds

The board retains its ambition to secure the long-term future of the charity by purchasing its own building. The lease on the present building runs out in February 2026 and a new lease has been agreed for a further 9 years, subject to break clauses every 3 years. Having moved on from our discussions with Green Pastures and stepped out into the world of ‘supported housing,’ through relationships with local landlords, the board has also agreed to look at purchasing our first house, using some of the Building Fund as a deposit, once the CEO feels in a position to do so.

In view of the deficit shown for this financial year and the predicted deficit for the next financial year, it has been agreed to leave the balance in the building fund at £200,000.

Reserves Policy

The Bridge Homelessness to Hope adopts a risk-based approach to its reserves and the policy is based on a forward assessment of income and expenditure and the wider economic environment in which we operate. We consider how much of our income is secured and the extent to which our costs are fixed or variable. We receive a mix of funding, some of which is for specific purposes and as such is designated as restricted funds and are not available for expenditure on other purposes. The remaining funds are unrestricted and can be used across all our activities.

We reserves are the unspent, unrestricted funds of the charity, referred to as general funds in the financial statement. As the charity owns no fixed assets, all these reserves are held in cash.

The purpose of the reserves is:

• to invest in expanding and enhancing our services to members in line with growing demand

• to fund working capital and time lags in the receipt of promised funds

• to manage economic or regulatory changes which may have unforeseen financial consequences

• to help manage through a possible downturn in income

It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six-months' expenditure. The Trustees considers that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the Charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.

As of 30th April 2025, the actual level of reserves was £364,790 and is within that target. We have agreed a deficit budget for 2025 -26, which is a conscious decision as the main part of the deficit is for salaries relating to funding received in previous financial years. We will of course work to reduce that deficit, and are confident, while acknowledging this coming year will, once again be a challenging one, we have financial stability to continue our much needed and ever-growing work in the community.

Investment Policy

While most of the Charity's funds are to be spent in the short term, we will look to see if we can place some of the designated building fund into a medium / longer-term investment, to try and maximise the return.

Risk Assessment

The Trustees has assessed the major risks to which the Charity is exposed and are satisfied that systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.

The Bridge Homelessness to Hope charity is a company limited by guarantee, incorporate on 21st April 2009 and registered as a charity on 30 September 2009. The company was established under a memorandum of association which established the objects and powers of the charitable company and is governed by its articles of association. It is registered with the Charity Commission. The charity trustees are also directors of the charitable company and are referred to as trustees throughout this report. Trustees contribute operational time and expertise to the staff team, as well as holding their governance roles. They may also be trustees of other charities. In selecting trustees, the board pays due regard to the skills, experience and diversity of the board, the need for capacity to develop the charity, the need for continuity, and the charity’s constituency. We aim to follow best practice in terms of an inclusive recruitment process.

There were 2 additions to the board of trustees during the financial year 2024-25, with both Natasha Douglas and Ofure Obomighie appointed on 11th September 2024.

The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:

None of the Trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the Trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £10 in the event of a winding up.

The Trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.

I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of The Bridge Homelessness To Hope (the Charity) for the year ended 30 April 2025.

As the Trustees of the Charity (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.

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

Since the Charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000, the independent examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. I confirm that I am qualified to undertake the examination because I am a member of ICAEW, which is one of the listed bodies.

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

accounting records were not kept in respect of the Charity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.

the financial statements do not accord with those records; or

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

the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).

I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.false

The company is entitled to the exemption from the audit requirement contained in section 477 of the Companies Act 2006, for the year ended 30 April 2025.

The directors acknowledge their responsibilities for complying with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006 with respect to accounting records and the preparation of financial statements.

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.

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

The Bridge Homelessness To Hope is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 43 Melton Street, Leicester, LE1 3NB.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the Charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)". The Charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.

The Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a statement of cash flows.

The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the Charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £1.

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

At the time of approving the financial statements, the Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the Charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the Trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.

Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.

Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.

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

Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.

Expenditure is recognised on an accruals basis as a liability is incurred. Expenditure includes VAT which cannot be recovered.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.

Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:

The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.

Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.

Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.

Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.

Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.

Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.

Financial liabilities are derecognised when the Charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.

The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.

Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the Charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.

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

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

Raising funds

No Trustees were re-imbursed expenses during the year (2024 - £Nil)

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

The trustees take an active role in the charity and are considered to be key management personnel. They are unpaid volunteers and no amounts were paid to these key management.

The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 or the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.

The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.

Movements in designated funds were as follows.

These are unrestricted funds which are material to the Charity's activities.

There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).