REGISTERED COMPANY NUMBER: 06833205 (England and Wales)

REGISTERED CHARITY NUMBER: 1129629

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

FOR THE YEAR ENDED

31 MARCH 2025

FOR

HOPE RESCUE

Page

Report of the Trustees

1

to

12

Report of the Independent Auditors

13

to

15

Statement of Financial Activities

16

Balance Sheet

17

Cash Flow Statement

18

Notes to the Cash Flow Statement

19

Notes to the Financial Statements

20

to

32

As we celebrate our 20th anniversary, it has been another incredibly challenging 12 months, with continued demand for Hope Rescue services far exceeding the support we can provide together with rising costs for delivering those services.

Whilst we have seen our kennels at capacity and an overall reduction in adoption applications, the team have worked hard to continue to implement goals highlighted in the 2023-2026 strategic plan. A new three-year strategic partnership and funding from Battersea allowed Hope Rescue to invest in additional resources for the welfare team, and additional support from our rescue partners including Battersea, Blue Cross and Dogs Trust allowed us to continue to support vulnerable dogs despite the capacity issues faced.

Despite the increased pressures faced, our team continued to offer a high standard of service across all operations and maintained our RSPCA Gold PawPrints award for kennelling.

This was another busy year for our campaigning and advocacy work, the most significant achievement being the announcement of the ban on greyhound racing in February 2025. Hope Rescue is extremely proud of our advocacy work which we see as vital to highlight the increasing challenges faced by the animal welfare sector. Hope Rescue has continued to play a pivotal role in discussions with key stakeholders and continues to work in partnership with other organisations in our sector who share our values, which has enabled us to reach an audience beyond our gates. Hope Rescue continues to be viewed as an authority on dog welfare issues amongst media contacts, both in Wales and the rest of the UK. At Hope Rescue we continue to prioritise stray dogs, as well as working closely with Animal Licensing Wales and local authorities to close illegal and low welfare breeders.

In line with the 3-year strategic plan, this year saw some exciting new activities for Hope Rescue, as we launched our new Community Programme (Hope in the Community) and invested in retail development opening two new charity shops. Our supporters and funders have continued to provide incredible support at difficult times, and this has spurred us on to do even more. With our new strategic plan in place, we are in a good position to meet the future needs of vulnerable dogs and their owners in our local communities.

I would like to thank the staff, volunteers, and trustees who have worked so diligently over the last year, against the backdrop of challenges that stretched capacity, financial and emotional resources

Sarah Passmore, Chair

OBJECTIVES AND ACTIVITIES

Objectives and aims

The trustees confirm that they have had regard to the Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit when reviewing Hope Rescue’s aims and objectives and in planning future activities.

Hope Rescue exists to improve the welfare of dogs in need and to prevent unnecessary suffering. Our charitable purposes are delivered for the public benefit through the following activities:

-

Rescue and rehoming - We take in stray, abandoned, and surrendered dogs, providing veterinary care, rehabilitation, and finding them loving homes.

-

Community Support - We assist owners facing hardship by offering advice, emergency boarding, and practical help to keep pets and families together where possible.

-

Education and Advocacy - We promote responsible dog ownership and animal welfare through outreach, campaigns, and partnerships with local authorities and other charities.

These activities benefit the public by reducing the number of stray dogs, improving animal welfare standards, and supporting vulnerable individuals and families. The trustees regularly review the outcomes of these services to ensure they continue to provide measurable public benefit in line with our charitable objectives.

Our Vision

Our vision is a future where all dogs are treated with care, kindness, and respect.

Our Mission

We aim to provide a place of safety for vulnerable dogs, rehabilitating and rehoming them whilst working towards creating lasting change to improve the welfare of all dogs. We will collaborate with partner organisations to provide services to our local communities and support owners to help them keep their pets.

Our Core Values

Hope Rescue is committed to the following values:

Care

We aim to provide our dogs with the highest standards of care ensuring their emotional and physical wellbeing needs are met.

Fairness

We do not discriminate against the dogs we help based on their breed, age or medical condition. No adoptable dog is unnecessarily euthanised due to space or time constraints.

Compassion

We show compassion for both the dogs in our care and the people we deal with, whatever their circumstances for needing our services.

Advocacy

We are committed to creating lasting change for dogs in our care and for dogs we'll never meet.

Integrity

We strive to work in a way that is open, honest, transparent and is accountable to our stakeholders, respecting and valuing our staff, trustees, volunteers, partners and supporters.

KEY STRATEGIC THEMES

Providing high quality care for dogs in need of our help

Our overarching aim is to provide the highest standards of care for our dogs, ensuring their emotional and physical wellbeing needs are met to enable them to find loving homes.

Whilst it has been another incredibly challenging year as we continue to see demand for our services far exceed the support we can provide, we are proud to have hit a significant milestone: caring for over 1,000 dogs in a 12-month period, representing a 42% increase in intake from last year. While this sadly highlights the challenges our sector is facing, we were able to help more dogs thanks to a three-year strategic partnership and funding from Battersea. This support enabled us to invest in additional resources for our welfare team, with a focus on fostering, adoption, supervision, and training. As a result, we reduced the average length of stay for dogs in our care by 40 days, allowing us to support even more dogs overall.

We continued to prioritise stray dogs, holding the stray dog contracts for Rhondda Cynon Taff, Bridgend, and the western side of the Vale of Glamorgan. We also remain committed to taking every unclaimed stray dog from Merthyr, Torfaen, and Blaenau Gwent. This year, we extended our commitment to include all unclaimed stray dogs from Caerphilly - we now assist seven local authorities across South Wales taking in over a third of all the unclaimed stary dogs in Wales.

In addition to our stray dog work, we cared for 91 dogs seized from low-welfare or illegal breeders by Animal Licensing Wales and local authorities. We also supported 333 dogs surrendered by their owners. Alarmingly, we saw a sharp increase in the number of young dogs entering our care, with 121 puppies under 10 weeks old. These were mostly accidental litters whose owners were unable to care for or sell them, suggesting a decline in neutering and reduced demand for purchasing puppies.

Although adoption interest remains below pre-lockdown levels, we were delighted that investment in our adoption services enabled us to increase direct adoptions by 39%, with 423 dogs finding loving new homes.

We are grateful for the continued support of our incredible rescue partners, including Battersea, Blue Cross, and Dogs Trust, who transferred 360 dogs from our care. These partnerships ensure we have the capacity to help the most vulnerable dogs in our local community.

A key focus of the Battersea grant was to help us provide the highest possible welfare standards. A vital element of this was enhancing training and development for our staff and volunteers. Over the past 12 months, our Education and Training Manager delivered 56 bespoke staff training sessions and 33 one-to-one support sessions for foster carers and adopters. We also launched and completed the first cycle of our Animal Trainer Professional Development course, which received an excellent satisfaction score of 4.88/5. Formal assessments showed participants' average knowledge scores rose from 58% to 96%, while self-reported confidence levels increased from 2.8/5 to 4.6/5.

We were once again proud to be awarded the RSPCA Gold Pawprints Award for statutory kennelling of stray and seized dogs. We also continue to meet the minimum standard requirements as a member of the Association of Dogs and Cats Homes.

Admissions

1,038 dogs helped including:

-

517 strays admitted

-

333 dogs came in from owners

-

91 dogs and puppies seized from illegal and low welfare breeders by local authorities

-

63 puppies were born in our care

Departures

1,039 dogs left our care including*:

-

423 adopted

-

360 transferred to our rescue partners

-

148 dogs reunited with their owners

*Our euthanasia rate decreased from 13% to 9%. The most common reason for euthanasia was complex medical issues which were causing suffering to the dog. We continued to see a rise in the number of dogs coming into our care with advanced health conditions which had been left untreated and dogs needing end of life care. We maintain a non-selective intake policy for stray and seized dogs meaning we accept these dogs regardless of their age, breed and behaviour and medical needs. This means we care for a large number of dogs with complex medical and/or behaviour needs

Case Studies

Brooklyn And Her Pups

3-year old Brooklyn arrived in our care with her young puppies. All were suffering from mange with extensive hair loss and sore, itchy skin. Brooklyn and her pups were treated with oral medication and medicated baths. Although it took a number of weeks, their hair started to grow back and all were looking and feeling much better by the time they were adopted. As you can see from this updated photo from one of their adopters, they are now in great health and living happy lives.

Carrie

In late January we received a late-night call to say that a number of golden retrievers, labradors and cocker spaniel had been abandoned in a lane in Bridgend. Nothing could prepare us for the next few days. In total, 27 dogs were found across three local authorities in similar circumstances and arrived in our care. All the dogs were young and seemingly had little life experience being very nervous of people and not walking to walk on a lead. One of the young dogs Carrie was also found to be pregnant. Being a young dog in poor condition, Carrie struggled towards the end of her pregnancy and needed an emergency c section and extensive support from the team in the early days post whelp. Happily, her and her pups made a full recovery and all the dogs went on to find their forever homes.

Barney and Fred

French bulldogs Barney and Fred were found on Coity common in Bridgend in appalling condition. Fred, who appears to have been deliberately bred to be hairless, arrived with itchy and sore skin, and open wounds on his neck and back. He immediately started treatment, including medicated baths, and moved to one of our dedicated foster homes.

Fred will need lifelong medication for his skin and also needed BOAS surgery to improve his ability to breathe normally. He found a dedicated adopter who ensures he is kept comfortable and happy.

Sadly, Barney did not get the same happy ending as Fred. We were extremely concerned about Barney from the moment he came through our door. It was clear he had some severe issues with his conformation (shape and structure), loud crackly breathing, a red and inflamed nose rope, and was underweight and dehydrated. It quickly became obvious that he was unable to keep even a small amount of food and water down and was regularly regurgitating. He began a special diet, feeding regime, and medication but this sadly didn't make a difference.

Barney's BOAS was so severe that he could only eat when elevated and had to sleep with his head up to be able to breathe. Whilst extensive surgery would have been an option to try to improve this, Barney also had issues with his hips, spine, hind legs and elbows.

After discussions with our vet and Barney's foster home, it was agreed that there were no viable treatment options which would give Barney even a reasonable quality of life, and the difficult decision was made to put him to sleep on welfare grounds.

Sadly, Barney is not an isolated case as we continue to see dogs bred deliberately for extreme characteristics purely for profit, with rescues left to pick up the pieces and extensive suffering for the dogs involved.

Helping to Keep Pets and Their People Together

This year we launched Hope in the Community, a new programme of

1:1 Support for Dog Owners Who are Struggling

Community Education

community support and egagement funded by the National Lottery

Community Outreach Events

Support for Professionals

Comunity Fund. It was developed in response to the rising number of dog guardians in crisis across South Wales, who felt they were left with no option other than to surrender or abandon their dogs. With our capacity stretched to the limit, we needed other ways to support our communities earlier, before they hit crisis point, empowering guardians and their dogs to stay together where mutually beneficial.

Our first year of delivering Hope in the Community strongly demonstrated the need, demand, interest and impact of this kind of programme - especially for more disadvantaged people and pets in our communities. Delivering our work across Rhondda Cynon Taf, Bridgend, Merthyr Tydfil and the Vale of Glamorgan has kept us very busy. We've been privileged to meet, work with and learn from some truly inspirational people, partners and dogs throughout this time. Here is a snapshot of what we achieved in our first year.

46 events delivered

916 people reached

548 indiviuals directly engaged

Tailored support for 197 Dogs

56 referrals for 1:1 support

59 active partners

Community events

We have delivered events in a wide variety of settings, including food banks, village halls, community hubs, town centres, foodbanks and social enterprise settings. Partnership has been key to the success of these events, working with community-based groups from across the public and third sectors. Partners have included local authorities, social prescribers, mental health charities, parish/town councils, veterinary colleagues and housing associations. This has meant we have been able to support people who may otherwise not come into contact with ethical, free guidance and advice around their dog.

At outreach events, our Community Support Officer offers free, expert, accessible and non-judgemental advice to help dogs and owners stay together and promote responsible dog guardianship. We also provide essential equipment to owners who are struggling. In dog-friendly venues, we run Pet Check Clinics supported by a Mobivet veterinary nurse, where owners can access a free nose-to-tail health check alongside a behavioural consultation. Each owner who attends receives a health check booklet detailing the results of the consultation and an individualised action plan outlining what they need to do next. 97% of our clients felt more knowledgeable and confident in understanding and meeting their dogs need after participating in our community events.

Individual support

Another important aspect of our work has been 1:1 support for dog owners who are struggling. This year worked with 56 people and 77 dogs, supporting with a wide range of issues from basic welfare issues like teeth cleaning through to deep-seated fear and aggression. Our level of intervention is dependent on the complexity of the issue and the confidence of the client, but our focus is always on empowering owners to implement positive, realistic and sustainable changes that will not only improve their dog's welfare, but their own wellbeing as well. 97% of clients felt our support had helped improve their wellbeing and 91% of dogs supported showed an improvement in welfare based on end-of-case reviews.

Case study: Sue and Frodo*

Sue and her dog Frodo were referred to us by a community prescriber service who were supporting her mental wellbeing. Sue was struggling with her young dog, Frodo, who was reported as being 'destructive and out of control'. We met Sue and Frodo to better understand what was happening, and then over the next few months we worked together on a number of different things that felt most important to Sue.

We helped Sue redirect Frodo's natural desire to chew by offering him enrichment like long-lasting dog chews, toys and games - he particularly loved tug! Prior to our meeting he had been eating the furniture to meet this need. By introducing toys and games this quickly helped with destruction in the house, and his mouthing of his humans, which was a great first step to Sue rebuilding her relationship with him.

We supported Sue to develop new walking techniques, so that Frodo is now much happier on his lead and can be walked safely, rather than pulling and feeling overwhelmed by the outside world. We also helped Sue to introduce Frodo to toilet training, to help reduce accidents in the house.

At the end of our time together Sue and Frodo had rebuilt a wonderful, loving bond, and Sue's confidence had grown hugely. In one of our last chats, Sue said that she now felt 'good enough' for her dog - something which at the start she didn't think would be possible. Frodo definitely thinks that she is! (*Names have been changed)

Support for Professionals

We have worked with a range of community organisations, stakeholders and influencers to help them develop awareness, attitudes and ways of working that improve welfare and wellbeing for dogs and people. We have also broadened this area of work to include engaging with strategic decision-makers; to help amplify the voices, experiences and insights we gained through work on-the-ground into these strategic spaces.

We delivered 11 pieces of work aimed at supporting partners, directly engaging with 154 people. These included:

• Delivering an online One Welfare workshop online for multiagency partners, to help develop understanding of how animal welfare, human wellbeing and community prosperity are interconnected, as well as improving understanding of the five welfare needs and dog communication.

• Collaboration with the Purple Sunflower Project to co-design and deliver 3 workshops on Emotional Support Dog Awareness and Welfare for people experiencing issues with mental health in communities across RCT and Bridgend.

• Walk and Talk peer learning day with BAVO Navigators teams in Bridgend.

• One Health and Prevention presentation to Welsh Government Responsible Dog Ownership and Breeding Summit - and ongoing contribution to this workstream.

• Support for Rainbow Pooch Pride to provide educational materials for their website on a range of dog welfare and training issues, to help support LGBTQ+ people around dog ownership and their own wellbeing.

• Presentation and Q&A followed by 2 pop-up events in Bridgend and Porthcawl with the Safer Bridgend Partnership.

• Education and engagement stall at World Animal Day event for multiagency partners and strategic leaders, held in Cardiff Bay.

• Presentation and Q&A with Baobab Bach Pantry volunteers in Bridgend, and with the Food Prosperity Network and VAMT Children and Families Network in Merthyr Tydfil.

Using Our Voice to Create Lasting Change

We are committed to creating lasting change not only for those dogs lucky enough to come through our doors, but also for those dogs outside our doors in the wider community. Whilst we don't currently have a dedicated public affairs resource, we're proud of our advocacy and campaign work and continued to play a vital role as a strong national advocate for dog welfare, using our voice to influence policy, challenge poor practice, and raise public awareness of key animal welfare issues. Our advocacy and campaigning activity complemented our frontline rescue work, ensuring that the needs and welfare of dogs remained firmly on the public and political agenda.

As well as media engagement (see below) we also highlighted the root causes to decision-makers and stakeholders through:

• Visits from Senedd Members and MPs

• Membership of the Welsh Cross-Party Group for Animal Welfare

• Member of the Dog Control Coalition

• Member of the Cut The Chase Coaltion

• Regular meetings with Welsh Government as a member of the Management Committee for the Animal Welfare Network for Wales

• Attending drop-in sessions at both Westminster and the Senedd on key animal welfare topics

We were pleased to attend a pilot project at Battersea in February to trial a new Innate Health Assessment tool, a 10 point checklist developed by the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Animal Welfare (APGAW) to allow breeders, licensing officers and members of the public to visually check the innate health characteristics of any dog, with the aim of reducing the significant welfare issues from dogs being bred with exaggerated physical characteristics.

We continued to attend the Welsh Government multi-agency workshops and annual summit on Responsible Dog Breeding and Ownership in October, aimed at promoting responsible dog ownership and breeding practices in Wales through collaborative working, in addition to an RSPCA roundtable with Senedd Members in March.

Working with RSPCA and Naturewatch Foundation, we were pleased to once again organise the World Animal Day celebration event at the Pierhead building at Cardiff Bay sponsored by Luke Fletcher MS where we highlighted the progress made with animal welfare in Wales and the work still needed, in particular the need for improved breeding legislation, investment in enforcement resources, and addressing the capacity and resource issues stemming from the prolonged legislative process for the sign over of seized dogs.

The highlight of our campaign work - and an historic win for animal welfare - was the announcement in February by the Deputy First Minister that Wales would become the first U.K. nation to ban greyhound racing. We have been a leading force in the campaign and instrumental in bringing about the ban.

The historic decision will bring an end to the entirely preventable injuries and deaths of the dogs involved in greyhound racing in Wales. In 2018, we initiated the innovative Amazing Greys partnership project at Valley Greyhound Stadium which gathered evidence highlighting significant welfare issues with greyhound racing in Wales. In 2021 the track announced its intention to become a licensed Greyhound Board of Great Britain track greatly intensifying the volume of racing, and in September 2021 we launched our petition to the Senedd Petitions Committee to ban greyhound racing in Wales, with over 35,000 dog lovers signing the petition.

In September 2022, Blue Cross, Dogs Trust and RSPCA undertook internal policy reviews and also came out in support of a ban and joined forces with Hope Rescue and Greyhound Rescue Wales, to form the Cut The Chase Coalition to take forward the campaign with a strong and united voice.

Following the Petitions Committee report, with the majority of the Committee supporting a ban, strong cross-party support in subsequent debates and a public consultation, the Deputy First Minister announced in February that greyhound racing would be banned in Wales, fully protecting greyhounds from harm and the inherent risks of commercial racing. We look forward to working with Welsh Government to take the ban forward.

We hope to see other nations follow the lead of Wales in ending the industry, and as a member of the Unbound the Greyhound coalition, we continue to support calls for a ban on greyhound racing in Scotland and Mark Ruskell MSP's Proposed Prohibition of Greyhound Racing Scotland Bill.

Ensuring we can continue to help pets and people in the future

This year we have invested in our diverse and sustainable income generation streams, to ensure we will continue to be here for the pets and people who need our help in the future.

Fundraising

This year we continued to invest in our diverse range of income generation activities, to ensure we will continue to be here for the pets and people who need our help in the future. Our voluntary income from fundraising represents 56% of our overall income, and this year thanks to the generosity of our supporters we raised £1,079,336 (including grant income).

Fundraising in general across the sector continued to be a challenge as household finances are squeezed and grant funders overwhelmed with applications and changing their position on activities they are willing to support and favouring of projects over much-needed core funding.

In order to address these ever-growing challenges, we needed to adapt and pivot our activities with a strong focus on strategy and sustainability. During this financial year we recruited a Head of Income Generation and Marketing to align our income-based activities with our marketing objectives.

With the launch of our 20th Anniversary in year in January 2025 we wanted to make sure that we had an exciting events calendar prepared for the milestone year and kicked off in style hosting our second gala ball hosted by ITV presenter Ruth Dodsworth which raised an impressive £21k, this was an increase of £5k from the previous year thanks to support from our headline business sponsor Mobivet.

In the previous financial year, we invested in our offer to business partnerships, and we are extremely grateful to these partners for their financial support, volunteering, gifts-in kind and pro-bono activity. These partners include Redberth Gardens, Admiral Law, Evendale Services, Rookwool, Credit Safe UK, Merthyr Valley Homes, Mobivet, JNP Legal, KK Solutions, BNI Resilience and our dog food sponsor Burns Pet Nutrition.

We're also grateful to our grant funders who provided generous funding towards running costs such as our vet bills and also funded capital projects for the development and improvement of the Rescue Centre. Special thanks go to Pets Foundation for their support in developing our fundraising activities, Battersea as we head into our second year of strategic funding and to National Lottery and Moondance for their support towards our Hope in the Community project.

Further development work as we look forward includes:

• Building a team of community fundraising volunteers

• Investment in sustainable income including developing legacy, individual giving and lottery programmes

• Improving our database CRM system

Retail

Building on the success of our existing retail portfolio, we invested in further retail development to ensure we continue to develop diverse income sources, opening two new shops in Blackwood and Cowbridge. Our shops not only provide a steady income stream but also allow us to connect with our supporters face to face. We utilised the spaces to also deliver our community work, for example hosting some successful drop-in sessions on how to keep your dog calm during firework season.

With five shops now operating, our retail portfolio brought in a total income of £461,783. We are very grateful to both our wonderful charity shop volunteers, and also our volunteer Handmade by Hope team for providing a steady supply of beautifully handcrafted gifts that we sell in our charity shop, at the rescue centre, in our on-line auctions and at our fundraising events.

Whilst our current strategy sets out plans to add another three shops to our portfolio in each of the next two years, we have reviewed the strategy due to the affordability of the new shop set-up costs. We plan to open an additional shop next year, then will be focussing on maximising income in those six shops before expanding the portfolio further.

We also developed a new Ecommerce Plan to relaunch our Shopify shop and our Ebay store.

Service Delivery

As well as fulfilling a much-needed welfare service, we also derive an income from our stray dog contracts, the boarding of seized dogs for local authorities until they are signed over into our care and adoption fees. Our service delivery income rose significantly this year to £334,345. This was due to the increased demand from local authorities for kennelling seized dogs and the rise in the number of stray dogs.

Managing Our Assets Effectively

We continue to improve the facilities at the rescue centre, and thanks to funding from the National Lottery Community Fund work completed work on our new reception and refurbished training room. An underspend on the project has enabled us to refurbish the previous reception as additional office space and install solar panels and a battery as we look to develop more sustainable energy solutions for the site.

Using Digital Technology for Good

We had hoped to engage consultants this year to undertake a review of our digital infrastructure but were unable to progress this due to the cost. We did however make some progress, working with our I.T. provider to move the organisation over to Office 365. We also commissioned consultants to review our CRM system, ensuring the data was cleansed the data and improving the way we use it.

Achieving Good Practice in Governance

How we operate

Hope Rescue is a charitable company limited by guarantee and was incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 on 2nd March 2009. Charitable status was gained on 14th May 2009. Hope Rescue operates throughout the U.K. although the dogs it helps primarily originate from South Wales. The day-to-day running of the Charity is the responsibility of the staff team, supported by a network of volunteers and overseen by the Board of Trustees. The Trustees make all decisions on any major expenditure and set the strategic direction for the Charity.

Our current Board of Trustees comprises four Trustees with a range of specialist skills and experience. Hope Rescue Enterprises Ltd. was incorporated during 2017 to serve as a separate trading company to pass all surpluses and support the work of the charity Hope Rescue.

Strategic Plan 2023 to 2026: Building a future of Hope

The Organisational Review in 2022 included a deep delve in to our governance, structure and financial processes, broadly following the WCVA Governance Health Checklist with reference to the Charity Governance Code and Charity Commission guidance. The review highlighted areas for improvement and these recommendations fed into a new three-year Strategic Plan, of which we are now in the second year.

Our Operational Plan is developed for each year, setting out the activities we will undertake to achieve our strategic goals and objectives, together with success measures and outcomes. The plan is reviewed at Board quarterly to track progress.

Building a robust and resilient organisation

We continue to implement the recommendations from the Organisational Review in 2022 in order to develop an organisation that is agile, responsive and fit for the future, although progress has been significantly constrained due to lack of financial resources.

There were a number of internal changes to create a new Senior Leadership Team:

• Transformation Manager moved into the role of CEO

• Operations Manager moved into the role of Head of Operations

• Finance Manager moved into the role of Head of Finance and Support Services

We were fortunate to receive further funding from Battersea to recruit a new Volunteer Manager who started in March 2025, and from the National Lottery Community Fund for a Community Support Officer who started in May 2024. We also invested in marketing support with a new Digital Engagement Officer role.

We are extremely grateful to our fabulous volunteer team who provide support across all areas of the charity including fostering, fundraising, retail and at the rescue centre and we look forward to developing our volunteer programme next year with the new volunteering post in place.

Being known and recognised for what we do and our impact

Media

Media engagement remained a powerful tool in amplifying our message. We secured significant local, regional and national media coverage across print, broadcast and online platforms. This coverage highlighted:

• The increasing pressures on our services

• Real-life case studies from our rescue and rehabilitation work

• Expert commentary on current and emerging dog welfare issues

• Hope Rescue's role as a trusted authority in the sector

Our representatives participated in interviews, provided expert quotes, and contributed commentary that helped shape public understanding of complex animal welfare challenges. Media exposure not only raised awareness of our work but also reinforced our reputation as a credible, knowledgeable and compassionate voice for dogs.

In July 2024 we highlighted the increasing number of puppies coming to our care due to rising vet fees and a lack of subsidised neutering programmes, with a press release tilted The Puppy Boom Has Gone Bust receiving digital, radio and TV coverage.

The effect of the cost-of-living crisis and the impact on demand for our services was a recurring theme throughout the year, with BBC covering the issue in January 2025 and other outlets following up in February 2025 with articles about a puppy farm seizure, the dogs abandoned in the Bridgend lanes and an intake of 14 Chihuahuas. We were also grateful to the media for promoting our fostering campaign to recruit new foster carers in February 2025.

Along with our Cut The Chase collation colleagues, we received significant widespread national and local media coverage with regards to the announcement of the ban on greyhound racing in February 2025.

Digital communications

The recruitment of a new Digital Engagement Officer has enabled us to develop a more proactive and planned, rather than reactive approach to our digital communications.

We are grateful to be supported pro bono by a local company, Appear Online, who are now managing our Google ads grant and SEO. This has helped to considerably increase our digital visibility.

We have seen a significant increase in followers across all social media platforms:

• Facebook - 131,000 up from 114,000

• Instagram - 27,000 followers up from 22,000

• LinkedIn - 2,000 followers up from 1,200

• X - 25,700 followers up from 25,000

In terms of engagement, Facebook remains our most popular platform, with 41.9 million views, a reach of 4.4 million and 626,600 content interactions.

Building a Future of Hope: Looking forward

As we continue to celebrate our 20th anniversary and move into the final year of our Strategic Plan, we will focus on maintaining and adapting service delivery rather than growth due to the challenging financial landscape. Key workstreams for next year include:

• Continuing to improve our foster and adoption processes, including our post-adoption support

• Launching a new training platform for internal and external use

• Developing a new framework for the recruitment, onboarding and management of volunteers and launching a new volunteer management system

• Evaluating the Hope in the Community pilot project and developing a new strategy

• Opening a new charity shop in Talbot Green

• Securing funding for the feasibility study for a new on-site vet facility

• Establishing a new committee system for the Finance, Audit and Risk and People and Culture functions

FINANCIAL REVIEW

Financial position

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).

The trustees are pleased to present their annual directors' report together with the consolidated financial statements of the charity and its subsidiary for the year ending 31 March 2025 which are also prepared to meet the requirements for a directors' report and accounts for Companies Act purposes.

The financial statements comply with the Charities Act 2011, the Companies Act 2006, the Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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) (effective 1 January 2019).

Financial Report for the Year Ending 31st March 2025

The Trustees are pleased to present the financial report of the Charity for the year ended 31st March 2025.

The year was characterised by exceptionally high demand for our services alongside sustained cost pressures across the organisation and the wider animal welfare sector. Against this backdrop, the Charity reported a net deficit of £184,370 for the year (2024: Surplus of £77,094). This outcome reflects the challenging operating environment and the increased cost of delivering services at the scale and complexity required during the year.

Total income increased by 12% to £2,257,328 (2024: £2,014,370). This growth was supported by strong performance across fundraising and trading activities, alongside continued grant funding to support welfare delivery and capital projects. Fundraising income remained resilient despite wider economic pressures, with continued generosity from individual donors, corporate partners and grant funders. Retail and other trading income also grew significantly, reflecting the ongoing development of our shops, online channels and service delivery income.

Expenditure increased to £2,441,698 (2024: £1,937,276), reflecting the rising cost of delivering services in a challenging operating environment. Veterinary costs rose sharply as we supported increasing numbers of dogs with complex health and behavioural needs, including a higher proportion of seized dogs requiring prolonged care. Staff costs also increased during the year, reflecting the scale and complexity of operations and the need to maintain safe, effective service delivery across the organisation. In addition, the rise in National Insurance and National Living Wage rates had a significant impact on staffing expenditure.

Throughout the year, Trustees and the Senior Leadership Team closely monitored financial performance through regular reporting, forecasting and cashflow management. This included careful scrutiny of expenditure, prioritisation of essential spending, and ensuring that investment decisions were aligned with strategic objectives and long-term sustainability.

At the year end, total funds stood at £203,718 (2024: £388,088), comprising £131,034 of unrestricted funds and £72,684 of restricted funds. While reserves reduced during the year, the Trustees remain satisfied that the Charity continues to operate as a going concern, supported by ongoing income generation, active cost management and forward financial planning.

Looking ahead, the Trustees recognise that the financial environment remains challenging. The Charity's new Strategic Plan sets out a clear framework for strengthening financial resilience through diversified and sustainable income streams, improved operational efficiency and careful management of costs. Trustees remain committed to balancing financial prudence with the need to invest in services that deliver meaningful impact for dogs and their communities.

The Trustees would like to thank our staff, volunteers, supporters and funders for their continued commitment and generosity during a demanding year. Their support has enabled Hope Rescue to continue delivering high-quality services at a time when they are needed more than ever.

Risk Management

Hope Rescue is committed to ensuring effective financial management through a system of monitoring, checks and controls. This includes a managed approach to financial issues which may present a risk to the organisation.

The Board of trustees overseas, manages and mitigates risks that are strategically significant to the ongoing success of the Charity through effective governance and its Board meetings, including regular review of the Strategic Risk Register.

Reserves

Our year end fund balance of £203,718 represents the value of our assets were we to liquidate the charity. Of our total fund balance, £72,684 is currently restricted, meaning that there are conditions attached to the funding which only allow it to be spent in a certain way. This includes donations and grants made for specific, defined purposes and the balance of our Capital Grant Fund.

This leaves £131,034 in our general fund which we will hold as reserves and aim to build on over the course of the next financial year. One of the key objectives in our Strategic Plan is to develop a new Reserves Policy to ensure adequate levels of cash reserves, both operating and capital.

STRUCTURE, GOVERNANCE AND MANAGEMENT

Governing document

The charity is controlled by its governing document, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.

REFERENCE AND ADMINISTRATIVE DETAILS

Registered Company number

Hope Rescue - 06833205 (England and Wales)

Registered Charity number

1129629

Registered office

Hope Rescue Centre Cynllan Lodge

Llanharan

Pontyclun

CF72 9NH

Trustees

S Passmore - Chair

T J Candy

B Evans

(appointed 4th August 2024, resigned 10 July 2025)

C Heard

(appointed 14th August 2024)

C Barham-Peart

(resigned 19th May 2024)

J A Kent

(resigned 19th May 2024)

G Lloydwin - Vice-Chair

(resigned 19th May 2024)

R Minchinton

(appointed 14 November 2024, resigned 20 February 2025)

Secretary

T Candy

Auditors

Bevan Buckland LLP

Chartered Accountants and Statutory Auditors

Ground Floor Cardigan House

Castle Court

Swansea Enterprise Park

Swansea

SA7 9LA

Bankers

Lloyds TSB Bank PLC

25 Gresham Street

London

EC2V 7HNR

STATEMENT OF TRUSTEES' RESPONSIBILITIES

The trustees (who are also the directors of Hope Rescue for the purposes of company law) are responsible for preparing the Report of the Trustees and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice) including Financial Reporting Standard 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland".

Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements for each financial year. Under that law, the trustees have elected to prepare the financial statements in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice (United Kingdom Accounting Standards and applicable law).

Under company law the trustees must not approve the financial statements unless they are satisfied that they give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the charitable company and of the incoming resources and application of resources, including the income and expenditure, of the charitable company for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the trustees are required to

-	select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently;

-	observe the methods and principles in the Charities SORP;

-	make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent;

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

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

In so far as the trustees are aware:

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

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

AUDITORS

The auditors, Bevan Buckland LLP, will be proposed for re-appointment at the forthcoming Annual General Meeting.

Approved by order of the board of trustees on 23 December 2025 and signed on its behalf by:

Mrs S L Passmore - Trustee

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Hope Rescue (the 'charitable company') for the year ended 31 March 2025 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Cash Flow Statement and notes to the financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice), including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'.

In our opinion the financial statements:

-	give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 March 2025 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

-	have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 'The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland'; and

-	have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

Basis for opinion

We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditors' responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charitable company in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC's Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.

Conclusions relating to going concern

In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees’ use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate. Based on the audit evidence obtained, we have not identified any material uncertainties that may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from the date of approval of the financial statements.

In forming this conclusion, we evaluated the trustees’ assessment as set out in Note 1 of the accounts, including consideration of the improvement in the charity’s financial position since the year end. We performed audit procedures in accordance with ISA (UK) 570 (Going Concern), including testing the reasonableness of key assumptions and assessing available cash headroom under downside scenarios.

Our conclusions do not constitute a guarantee of the charity’s future viability. They reflect our evaluation performed up to the date of this auditor’s report and do not consider events or conditions that may arise after that date.

Other information

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

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

In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the audit or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact. We have nothing to report in this regard.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

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

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

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

Matters on which we are required to report by exception

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

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters where the Companies Act 2006 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 take advantage of the small companies exemption from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report or in preparing the Report of the Trustees.

Responsibilities of trustees

As explained more fully in the Statement of Trustees' Responsibilities, the trustees (who are also the directors of the charitable company for the purposes 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 charitable company's ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.

Our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements

Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue a Report of the Independent Auditors that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance, but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.

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

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.

We discussed our audit independence complying with the Revised Ethical Standard 2024 with the engagement team members whilst planning the audit and continually monitored our independence throughout the process.

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, our procedures included the following:

- enquiring of management, including obtaining and reviewing supporting documentation, concerning the charity's 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;

- the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations;

- discussing among the engagement team how and where fraud might occur in the Financial Statements and any potential indicators of fraud. As part of this discussion, we identified potential for fraud in management override of controls;

- obtaining an understanding of the legal and regulatory frameworks that the charity operates in, focusing on those laws and regulations that had a direct effect on the Financial Statements or that had a fundamental effect on the operations of the charity, The key laws and regulations we considered in this context included the UK Companies Act and relevant tax legislation.

Audit response to risks identified

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;

- enquiring of management 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 HMRC; and

- 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 www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our Report of the Independent Auditors.

Use of our report

This report is made solely to the charitable company's members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. 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.

Michael Jones (Senior Statutory Auditor)

for and on behalf of Bevan Buckland LLP

Chartered Accountants

And Statutory Auditors

Ground Floor Cardigan House

Castle Court

Swansea Enterprise Park

Swansea

SA7 9LA

23 December 2025

2025

2024

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

INCOME AND ENDOWMENTS FROM

Donations and legacies

2

905,529

-

905,529

846,460

Charitable activities

4

Provision for rescue centre

130,608

309,957

440,565

510,663

Other trading activities

3

911,234

-

911,234

654,247

Other income

-

-

-

3,000

Total

1,947,371

309,957

2,257,328

2,014,370

EXPENDITURE ON

Raising funds

5

239,879

-

239,879

181,114

Charitable activities

6

Provision for rescue centre

1,683,934

517,885

2,201,819

1,756,162

Total

1,923,813

517,885

2,441,698

1,937,276

NET INCOME/(EXPENDITURE)

23,558

(207,928

)

(184,370

)

77,094

RECONCILIATION OF FUNDS

Total funds brought forward

107,476

280,612

388,088

310,994

TOTAL FUNDS CARRIED FORWARD

131,034

72,684

203,718

388,088

2025

2024

Unrestricted

Restricted

Total

Total

funds

funds

funds

funds

Notes

£

£

£

£

FIXED ASSETS

Intangible assets

13

7,000

-

7,000

10,500

Tangible assets

14

646,393

63,684

710,077

700,983

653,393

63,684

717,077

711,483

CURRENT ASSETS

Stocks

16

17,314

-

17,314

9,397

Debtors

17

227,043

-

227,043

148,791

Cash at bank

128,782

9,000

137,782

319,466

373,139

9,000

382,139

477,654

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due within one year

18

(435,120

)

-

(435,120

)

(325,354

)

NET CURRENT ASSETS

(61,981

)

9,000

(52,981

)

152,300

TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES

591,412

72,684

664,096

863,783

CREDITORS

Amounts falling due after more than one year

19

(460,378

)

-

(460,378

)

(475,695

)

NET ASSETS

131,034

72,684

203,718

388,088

FUNDS

22

Unrestricted funds

131,034

107,476

Restricted funds

72,684

280,612

TOTAL FUNDS

203,718

388,088

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 23 December 2025 and were signed on its behalf by:

S L Passmore - Trustee

Cash flows from operating activities

Cash generated from operations

1

(35,723

)

336,474

Interest paid

(44,410

)

(51,982

)

Net cash (used in)/provided by operating activities

(80,133

)

284,492

Cash flows from investing activities

Purchase of tangible fixed assets

(86,429

)

(170,780

)

Net cash used in investing activities

(86,429

)

(170,780

)

Cash flows from financing activities

Loan repayments in year

(15,122

)

(7,510

)

Net cash used in financing activities

(15,122

)

(7,510

)

Change in cash and cash equivalents in the reporting period

(181,684

)

106,202

Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning of the reporting period

319,466

213,264

Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the reporting period

137,782

319,466

1.	RECONCILIATION OF NET (EXPENDITURE)/INCOME TO NET CASH FLOW FROM OPERATING ACTIVITIES

2025

2024

£

£

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

(184,370

)

77,094

Adjustments for:

Depreciation charges

80,835

99,023

Interest paid

44,410

51,982

Increase in stocks

(7,917

)

(9,397

)

Increase in debtors

(78,252

)

(61,159

)

Increase in creditors

109,571

178,931

Net cash (used in)/provided by operations

(35,723

)

336,474

2.	ANALYSIS OF CHANGES IN NET DEBT

At 1.4.24

Cash flow

At 31.3.25

£

£

£

Net cash

Cash at bank

319,466

(181,684

)

137,782

319,466

(181,684

)

137,782

Debt

Debts falling due within 1 year

(15,672

)

(195

)

(15,867

)

Debts falling due after 1 year

(475,695

)

15,317

(460,378

)

(491,367

)

15,122

(476,245

)

Total

(171,901

)

(166,562

)

(338,463

)