We have so much to celebrate, and I am immensely proud of Culture Warrington. As the leading cultural organisation in Warrington, we continue to demonstrate consistency of an enriched, diversity of programmes and
outreach for our communities.
Our Leadership Team, with strategic direction from Trustees continued to develop and support the arts in Warrington through an increasingly diverse and inclusive programme.
A significant highlight was the relaunch of Warrington Arts Festival. Thanks to substantial funding from Arts Council England (ACE) alongside financial support from Warrington Borough Council and Warrington BID, we delivered an accessible, wide-ranging and high caliber summer event, which was the culmination of ongoing work in the community.
We lead an ambitious programme created with, by and for the people of Warrington, which resulted in fantastic feedback from our primary funder. ACE told us that ‘the quality of the commissions and programming were very high with a non-typical audience of ACE funded events with families who may have found it difficult to attend paying events’ shining a spotlight on our ability and experience in bringing communities together.
Within our core offer, the successful appointment to the new role of Museum Development Manager will help drive a new vision and our strategic priorities for Warrington Museum and Art Gallery (WMAG).
With increased focus on sustainability, we’ve adopted a policy and action plan with many of our team qualified in ‘Carbon Literacy’ and our inspiring Sky Garden project has been recognised with a number of national awards.
149,630 participants took part in our expansive events programme across our venues and through our education, outreach and engagement initiatives.
Looking ahead, the Towns Deal funded modernisation of our Pyramid Arts Centre is currently underway and we look forward to welcoming visitors back next year.
On a personal note, I recently took the difficult decision to retire as Chair after leading Culture Warrington since its inception in 2012. Fresh leadership in a new era for the charity feels right, and our new Chair Claire Lloyd Fitzgerald is an exciting prospect.
The possibilities for Culture Warrington are wide-open, with a hardworking, talented and collaborative team and the support of a skilled and knowledgeable Board delivering for the people of Warrington.
I would like to thank our Board for its strategic leadership and our creative, imaginative Leadership Team; they are the foundations on which we flourish and continue to develop our arts and heritage. Their professional passion and thoughtful ideas continue to develop our inclusive, ambitious programmes.
To colleagues, volunteers, Warrington Borough Council, partners, funders and all our supporters across the years, my thanks, it has been a pleasure working with you.
M Banner
The trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2025.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts 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).
Public benefit
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Objectives and activities
The objectives of the charity, as set out in the Articles of Association are:
To advance education of and promote the arts, culture, heritage and science, in particular through providing and maintaining a museum, art gallery and concert hall;
To promote community participation in healthy recreation in particular by the provision of facilities for the playing of amateur sport;
The provision of or assistance in the provision of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation in the interest of social welfare such facilities being provided to the public at large save that special facilities may be provided to persons who by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disability, poverty or social or economic circumstances may have need of special facilities and services.
Culture Warrington was formed in May 2012 as the lead organisation to deliver Arts, Heritage and Events in Warrington, and encompasses three venues, Pyramid, Parr Hall and Warrington Museum & Art Gallery. As well as operating these venues Culture Warrington programmes a wide range of events and festivals.
Culture Warrington operates the Museum, Pyramid and Parr Hall on 25 year leases from Warrington Borough Council at a peppercorn rent as part of the management agreement to deliver services. It is impractical to assign a separate rental value to the buildings.
HIGHLIGHTS
Warrington Music Festival
Working collaboratively with partners, we delivered Warrington Music Festival, a free event showcasing the talents of some of the best grassroots and emerging music artists from the region. The aspirational project saw many young people go on a journey from showcasing their material at Pyramid’s Basement Bar to being centre stage performing to hundreds of people in the town centre on a large capacity professional platform.
In addition, attendees had the opportunity to gain insight into potential career paths in the music industry via ‘Stage Craft’, free educational workshops made possible thanks to a partnership with Priestley College.
Parr Hall Programmed Events
Our iconic listed concert hall continued to host a diverse range of performers and household names. We even had a Hollywood star grace our stage when Russell Crowe and his ‘Indoor House Party’ toured – the Parr Hall gig was one of a very limited number of UK shows.
Our distinctive programme across the year covered comedy, dance, talks, family shows and music with something for everyone. Highlights included fast rising Earlestown rockers The K’s, top comedians like Rhod Gilbert, Jimmy Carr, Al Murray and Katherine Ryan, music stars such as Peter Hook and Scouting for Girls, journalist and explorer Simon Reeve and BBC broadcasting legends, duo Mark and Lard, who were back together again professionally for the first time in two decades.
There was also a lot of excitement when we exclusively hosted two intimate album launch shows for the high-profile band The Courteeners in advance of their sell-out arena tour.
As ever, our annual Panto was well attended by family audiences. Cinderella was one of our most successful seasons, which capitalised on TV star Anne Hegerty’s inclusion in the cast.
Beyond touring shows, Parr Hall is at the heart of community hires and our wider programming such as Warrington Arts Festival, which has become more significant during Pyramid’s temporary closure.
Warrington Museum & Art Gallery (WMAG)
In addition to housing our galleries and collection of some 200,000 artefacts from across the world, we use the venue as a unique performance space to facilitate cross-team projects such as Warrington Pride, Lunar New Year and an Early Years Takeover as part of Warrington Arts Festival, with an underused space revamped as a permanent dedicated zone for young children and their families.
Our range of free school holiday and weekend craft activities remain ever popular with families.
Education
Developing our formal education offer to schools, we created Early Years / KS1 visits to the Museum with partners including a subsidised musical or artistic element which has been well received.
We created a new funded scheme of work based on a local historical figure which has been made available for schools to download for free, and we continued our CPD (continuing professional development) programme for teachers in association with Heritage England.
Sustainability / Green Agenda
Along with our sustainability agenda and volunteer programme, our nationally recognised and award-winning rooftop green space, Sky Garden, provides an alternative and inspiring venue for a range of educational, mental health and community engagement programmes and outdoor arts.
As an invited member of Warrington Climate Emergency Commission, we developed a strand of work on green youth engagement, and we are regularly approached by the sector to share our expertise and best practice.
Exhibitions
Highlights included ‘World Building’ celebrating the work of local creative Curtis Jobling, best known as the designer of Bob the Builder and creator of Raa Raa the Noisy Lion.
Steve Goldman’s The Worst Record Covers in the World was well received and featured more than 600 unintentionally hilarious record covers in a celebration of creative risk.
The success of the show prompted a tweet from visitor, BBC 6 Music’s Mark Radcliffe, which went viral. Subsequently, we were pleased to welcome first-time visitors to our galleries because of this.
Roots and Reflections: A Journey Through Black British History celebrated Black British history and culture through the creativity of 600 primary schoolchildren across nine schools. The young artists worked with artist Tina Ramos Ekongo in a project funded by Arts Council England.
Other exhibitions featured local artists and pieces from our collection which tied into national events such as the D-Day anniversary and Warrington Pride.
Collections, Heritage and Archives
Alongside our Search Room service and collections ‘Object Enquiry’ drop in’s, we continued our successful outreach and engagement programme through a series of events, talks and workshops. Our expertise continues to be recognised and valued as we host research projects and provide curatorial advice to local organisations.
Alongside the team, we’re grateful to our dedicated volunteers who contributed their time in supporting the Archives offer.
We were delighted to be supported by Arts Council England through its ‘Unlocking Collections’ campaign this year. We received £16,795 which helped us launch ‘A Cabinet of (Whose?) Curiosities’ project which seeks to collaborate with the community to address colonial structures associated with Warrington Museum’s past and collections. It has seen us work with youth groups and members from our Sikh, Hong Kong, Chinese and African communities, including sessions with non-English speakers.
Place Partnership Fund (PPF) Team and Warrington Arts Festival
Our first year of the two-year Arts Council England-funded PPF project of work has enabled us to engage and collaborate with a wide range of partners and groups including children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), Youth Justice system, the LGBTQIA+ community and global majorities incorporating input into our annual Warrington Arts Festival and beyond, creating a legacy and feeding into the relaunch of Pyramid.
The project has three main streams: Communities, Children and Young People and Artist Development.
We created 12 Young Producer volunteer roles to help programme and deliver the festival. The scheme was so successful that they have been retained alongside a new cohort for year two. One of their huge successes was ‘Squiggle’, collaborating with established Warrington artist and fashion designer Tony Green to deliver a large community canvas in the local shopping centre which attracted 1,400 attendees across a weekend within the festival programme.
We launched ‘HeARTful Minds’ a funded programme of artist delivered sessions across 14 schools with more than 560 participations by children identified at risk with mental health. 92% of the children taking part stated that their confidence had improved by taking part in the programme.
As part of Warrington Arts Festival (WAF), we held our largest Open Exhibition hosted at WMAG, which attracted almost 900 entries, of which 96 artworks by 70 artists were selected.
We launched an Artist Development programme too, with free monthly opportunities for artists to learn, meet and platform work. It has also provided ongoing project development and fundraising support for Culture Warrington’s Associate Artists.
The festival itself is the culmination of engagement throughout the year, and we worked to actively remove barriers that might stop people coming to events such as cost, accessibility and location.
More than 12,500 people attended live events throughout the week, plus more who experienced the artworks and exhibitions and 70 local artists took part in a paid capacity.
The festival culminated with our biggest piece so far, a free large-scale aerial performance. The production also saw us commission a local artist who worked with care leavers to create a poem which provided an impactful backing track to the event about Warrington’s sense of identity.
Staff
Number of staff employed by Culture Warrington – 57 employees (at end March 2025)
Number of volunteer hours supported by Culture Warrington – 1,900
* Figure excluding commissions
In the year ended 31 March 2025 Culture Warrington recorded a surplus of £492,005 (2024: surplus of £519,374) prior to actuarial gains from the pension scheme, from incoming resources of £4,451,234 (2024: £3,650,142).
After taking into account the actuarial gains there was an overall increase in funds from £1,888,380 to £2,544,385 as at 31 March 2025.
The cash position remains at a healthy level with cash levels being at £3,230,715 as at 31 March 2025 (2024: £2,913,208).
The charity has recorded a surplus in 2024/25 but this surplus includes £56,359 accounted for as a restricted fund from Place Partnership Funding received from Arts Council England; this surplus will reverse over the next financial year as this funding is spent on delivery. Alongside this £283,683 was received from Shared Prosperity fund to purchase equipment. This surplus will decrease over the coming years due to the deprecation of the assets.
The charity continues to maintain strong reserves and cash.
Reserves policy
The purpose of the reserves policy for Culture Warrington is to ensure the stability of the ongoing operations of the charity.
The charity’s unrestricted reserves are intended to provide an internal source of funds for situations such as a sudden increase in costs, significant unbudgeted costs, or unanticipated loss in income or funding. The unrestricted reserves may also be used for investment in infrastructure. The unrestricted reserves are not intended to replace a permanent loss of funds but may be used to implement actions to deal with the impact of such a loss.
The target minimum unrestricted reserve (excluding reserves relating to the pension scheme) is equal to three month’s average operating costs – currently this would equate to £850,000 – and the trustees will seek to maintain reserves at this level. The Trustees will balance the growth in unrestricted reserves to the target level with investment into projects which extend the reach of the cultural offer in Warrington by splitting any annual surpluses equally between these two objectives.
Structure, governance and management
Culture Warrington is a charitable company with Articles of Association and governed by a Board of Trustees. Culture Warrington is constituted as a limited company by guarantee without share capital.
The trustees are directly elected by the Trust. Culture Warrington agreed with Warrington Borough Council that the Council is entitled to nominate two observers.
The Board of Trustees has met formally five times during the year.
From 1 March 2024, the management support services contract provided by LiveWire (Warrington) CIC ceased and Culture Warrington became a standalone organisation with a new Senior Management Team comprising an Executive Director and Cultural Director who attend all Board meetings.
Each new trustee attends an induction day held by the Senior Management Team. Trustees are presented with a pack of information about Culture Warrington and their roles and responsibilities as a trustee; additional training is provided if required.
During the year the Trust continued to largely suspend the operation of subcommittees of the Board, with all business being carried out by the Board, although the Finance Audit and Risk Subcommittee met once during the year for a detailed review of the strategic risks affecting the charity.
Going concern
The charity has been able to deliver a full programme of events enabling it to continue to build its reserves. Grants received from Arts Council England into restricted funds will be spent in future periods and so these reserves will reduce over that time. However, an increase in the Management Fee from Warrington Borough Council for 2024/25 has been obtained to support core delivery. Alongside this, energy prices have decreased bringing them back to a more sustainable level.
The Directors have considered the effect on the financial position of the charity and in view of the current financial position, and the financial support available, the Directors consider it appropriate to prepare accounts on a going concern basis.
Trustees
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year 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 £1 in the event of a winding up.
As part of the arrangements with Warrington Borough Council, the Council nominated two observers that attend Board meetings. The Council observers during the year were Councillor Claire Lloyd-Fitzgerald and Councillor Russ Bowden.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Culture Warrington for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the accounts in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company Law requires the trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charity and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that year.
In preparing these accounts, the trustees are required to:
- select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;
- observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;
- make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the accounts; and
- prepare the accounts on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to presume that the charity will continue in operation.
The trustees are responsible for keeping adequate accounting records that disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charity and enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Mitchell Charlesworth (Audit) Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at the Annual General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Culture Warrington (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and the notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We identify and assess the risks of material misstatement of the financial statements, whether due to fraud or error, and then design and perform audit procedures responsive to those risks, including obtaining audit evidence that is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Identifying and assessing potential risks related to irregularities
In identifying and assessing risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we considered the following:
the nature of the industry and sector, control environment and business performance;
the charity's own assessment of the risks that irregularities may occur either as a result of fraud or error;
the results of our enquiries of management and members of the Board of Trustees of their own identification and assessment of the risks of irregularities;
any matters we identified having obtained and reviewed the charity’s documentation of their policies and procedures relating to:
identifying, evaluating and complying with laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud; and
the internal controls established to mitigate risks of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
the matters discussed among the audit engagement team regarding how and where fraud might occur in the financial statements and any potential indicators of fraud.
As a result of these procedures, we considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas:
(i) The presentation of the charity's Statement of Financial Activities, (ii) the charity's accounting policy for revenue recognition (iii) the overstatement of salary and other costs (iv) the assumptions used in the calculation of the valuation of the surplus or deficit on the defined benefit pension scheme and the movements for the year. In common with all audits under ISAs (UK), we are also required to perform specific procedures to respond to the risk of management override.
We also obtained an understanding of the legal and regulatory framework that the charity operates in, focusing on provisions of those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and the Statement of Recommended Practice - 'Accounting and Reporting by Charities' issued by the joint SORP making body .
In addition, we considered provisions of other laws and regulations that do not have a direct effect on the financial statements but compliance with which may be fundamental to the charity’s ability to operate or to avoid a material penalty. These included Data Protection Regulations.
As a result of performing the above, we identified the presentation of the charity's Statement of Financial Activities, revenue recognition and overstatement of wages and other costs as the key audit matters related to the potential risk of fraud. The key audit matters section of our report explains the matters in more detail and also describes the specific procedures we performed in response to those key audit matters.
In addition to the above, our procedures to respond to risks identified included the following:
reviewing the financial statement disclosures and testing to supporting documentation to assess compliance with relevant laws and regulations described above as having a direct effect on the financial statements;
enquiring of management and members of the Board of Trustees concerning actual and potential litigation and claims;
performing analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships that may indicate risks of material misstatement due to fraud;
reading minutes of meetings of those charged with governance and reviewing correspondence with relevant authorities where matters identified were significant;
in addressing the risk of fraud through management override of controls, testing the appropriateness of journal entries and other adjustments; assessing whether the judgements made in making accounting estimates are indicative of a potential bias; and evaluating the business rationale of any significant transactions that are unusual or outside the normal course of business.
We also communicated relevant identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks to all engagement team members and remained alert to any indications of fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations throughout the audit.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: http://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Culture Warrington is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Pyramid Arts Centre, Palmyra Square South, Warrington, Cheshire, WA1 1BL.
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” (“FRS 102”) 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)" (effective 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. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
In view of the current financial position, the funding support available, and the continued support of our commissioners, Warrington Borough Council, the trustees consider it appropriate to prepare accounts on a going concern basis.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
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.
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.
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably. Expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been included in support costs and allocated to activates on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
The gain or loss arising on the disposal of an asset is determined as the difference between the sale proceeds and the carrying value of the asset, and is recognised in the statement of financial activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Stocks are stated at the lower of cost and net realisable value, after making due allowance for obsolete and slow moving items.
Net realisable value is the estimated selling price less all estimated costs of completion and costs to be incurred in marketing, selling and distribution.
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.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
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.
Financial assets, other than those held at fair value through income and expenditure, are assessed for indicators of impairment at each reporting date. Financial assets are impaired where there is objective evidence that, as a result of one or more events that occurred after the initial recognition of the financial asset, the estimated future cash flows have been affected.
If an asset is impaired, the impairment loss is the difference between the carrying amount and the present value of the estimated cash flows discounted at the asset’s original effective interest rate. The impairment loss is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
If there is a decrease in the impairment loss arising from an event occurring after the impairment was recognised, the impairment is reversed. The reversal is such that the current carrying amount does not exceed what the carrying amount would have been, had the impairment not previously been recognised. The impairment reversal is recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the charity transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
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.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
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.
The present value of the Local Government Pension Scheme defined benefit liability depends on a number of factors that are determined on an actuarial basis using a variety of assumptions. The assumptions used in determining the net cost or income for pensions include the discount rate. Any changes in these assumptions, which are disclosed in note 15, will impact the carrying amount of the pension liability. Furthermore a roll forward approach which projects results from the latest full actuarial valuation performed at 31 March 2022 has been used by the actuary in valuing the pensions liability at 31 March 2025. Any differences between the figures derived from the roll forward approach and a full actuarial valuation would impact on the carrying amount of the pension liability.
FRS 102 section 28.22 allows an entity to recognise a surplus within the Local Government Pension Scheme "only to the extent it is able to recover the surplus either through reduced contributions in the future or through refunds from the plan". The actuarial report as at 31 March 2025 indicates a defined benefit asset position, which has been capped at nil value. This is on the basis that it is uncertain that a surplus following any triennial review would result in reduced contributions for the employer, and is unlikely to result in a repayment.
Cultural events
Museum
Venue and Events Management
Cultural events
Museum
Venue and Events Management
Premises expenditure
Artists and event fees
Spectrix charges
Telephone and computer
Printing and stationery
Advertising
Sundries
Purchases and stocks
Legal costs
Motor, travel and entertainment
Equipment hire
EPOS charges
Cultural events
Museum
Venue and Events Management
Cultural events
Museum
Venue and Events Management
Time spent
Advertising and literature
Charitable activity levels
Professional fees
Operational staff costs
Telephone and computer
Device numbers
Other central support costs
Operational staff costs
Irrecoverable VAT
Charitable activity levels
Net interest cost on defined benefit pension scheme
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The members of the senior management team are employed by Livewire (Warrington) CIC.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The charity's employees belong to the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS), which is managed by Cheshire Pension Fund. This is a multi-employer defined-benefit scheme.
The LGPS is a funded defined-benefit scheme, with the assets held in separate trustee-administered funds.
The principal actuarial assumptions are as follows;
The assumed life expectations on retirement at age 65 are:
The amounts included in the balance sheet arising from the charity's obligations in respect of defined benefit plans are as follows:
The defined benefit obligations arise from plans which are wholly or partly funded.
The actual return on plan assets was £141,000 (2024 - £374,000).
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.
Numismatic - £1,500 was received from the Northwest Museum Development Fund to improve care of and accessibility to our Numismatic collection.
Sustainable Improvement Fund - The Sustainable Improvement Fund was applied for and granted in 2022 by Museum Development North. The programme strand applied under was ‘Environmental Sustainability’. The money received was spent designing and building the first phase of the Sky Garden space on top of Golden Square shopping centre. This included design drawings, delivery of soil, gravel, sleepers and plants, and construction of the bedding spaces and seating area by Groundwork Warrington. The Sky Garden is a rooftop community garden space we use to increase biodiversity in the town centre, we also use it as a learning space for schools and a community space for events and a volunteer garden team. The remainder of the funding was used to trial and deliver some school workshops based around plants and habitats and staff time managing the project delivery.
This initial fund paved the way for further funding to expand the space and deliver a fuller community events programme over the summer months.
Geoblitz - This grant via Leeds Museums is to develop and/or promote engagement with the Geology collection at Warrington Museum & Art Gallery.
Ready to Borrow - This grant from ACE is to enable Culture Warrington to buy equipment that provides a suitable and stable environment so that we are able to borrow paintings from National Museums.
Contemporary Arts - This is funding from ACE and Warrington Borough Council to fund the Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival.
Weston Loan Programme - This grant is to cover costs relating to borrowing three paintings from National Museums Liverpool, including conservation work, transport, School of Art activity programme of artist workshops and seminars, exhibition guides, additional Front of House staff. This programme ran from May to December 2018.
Colonel Edelsten Bequest- This grant from the Colonel Edelsten Bequest is to fund an upgrade of equipment to improve the experience for users of Culture Warrington.
Meeting Point - This funding from Arts and Heritage is to enable Culture Warrington to work with and commission a local artist to produce a piece of contemporary art, and to explore showing contemporary art within a heritage context. The commissioned piece formed part of the Warrington Contemporary Arts Festival for 2019.
Peter Rogerson Bequest - This is legacy funding from the estate of local history librarian, Peter Rogerson, to be invested in developing the Charity’s Archive Service.
Local Growth Fund - This funding is provided by the Cheshire and Warrington Local Enterprise Partnership to make the existing Warrington Museum & Library building and the network of community-based libraries into hubs for the delivery of digital programmes and workshops for coding clubs, schools, local businesses and digital creatives in the community.
Grass Roots Music - This funding is provided by Arts Council England to support rehearsal and recording studios, promoters, festivals, and venues for live and electronic music performance such as grassroots music venues and club sector organisations to apply for support for projects.
Place Partnership Fund - This funding is provided by Arts Council England to support for specific types of projects that aim to make a step change in the cultural and creative opportunity in places through the Place Partnership Strand within Project Grants. These will be projects that seek to transform an aspect of cultural or creative provision in line with Let’s Create and the strategic cultural development aspirations of the place the activity benefits.
Pyramid Remastered Towns Deal – Revenue funding from the Town Deal award of £5m towards the redevelopment of Pyramid which is specifically set aside to contribute towards the decant and return to Pyramid which includes removal costs, storage costs, temporary venue costs, setting up of safety and security systems, etc. This could also include marketing and communication materials, consultation fees, etc. to help communicate that the building is ready for re-opening to the public.
Pyramid SPF Fund - awarded from Warrington Borough Council's 2025/26 UKSPF programme which should enable the design and build of steel rig infrastructure which will then be installed in the Exhibition Hall at Pyramid. Also included is the associated substructure works to support the rig which are basically concrete pillars below floor level.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
The car park fund represents contributions to car parking by staff which the trustees have agreed to set aside to cover any future repair costs.
Unrestricted
Restricted
Unrestricted
Restricted
During the current and prior year Culture Warrington utilised the key management personnel and resources of Livewire (Warrington) CIC a company registered in England and Wales, company number 07972958. A recharge is incurred from Livewire (Warrington) CIC for the use of these resources.
The charity had no material debt during the year.