The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the Charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The objects of the company (SGHB) are set out in the Articles of Association and are principally to benefit the residents of Bewdley and the surrounding area by providing facilities for recreational, cultural, and other leisure time occupation, to advance education and lifelong learning and to promote good health and healthy living as well as other charitable purposes agreed by the Board.
This year saw continued growth in the use of the café, despite the bridge closures and cinema audiences are starting to come back. The provision of regular live music events remained affected by the availability of touring artists, but the small team responsible for organising bookings remains committed to bringing good quality live music to the town on a regular basis. Other uses of the rooms include hire by local businesses who provide a range of activities such as education, exercise, dance, singing and slimming.
The Hall has continued to encourage community activity by keeping hire rates competitive and regularly reviews rates of similar venues to ensure commercial competitiveness.
Several community groups regularly use the Hall such as Bewdley W.I, Bewdley Civic Society, Bewdley Town Council, Bewdley Festival, Bewdley Tennis Club and Bewdley Floral Art to name a few.
The Trustees confirm that they have referred to the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
New Trustees
The Board decided to recruit additional Trustees to further enhance its skills set and the appointment process is currently in progress.
The Café
The Café continues to attract visitors from the surrounding areas and remains the hub of the community for many local people. The Board is considering several options to refurbish and refresh the Café to ensure it remains an attractive and vibrant meeting place in the town. The Board wishes to acknowledge the continued dedication and commitment of the volunteers who work in the Café, without them, the Café would not be able to operate.
Events at the Hall
The Board continues to promote the hosting of several events throughout the year all of which have been very successful in raising the profile of the Hall and providing education and entertainment for the community.
Improved governance structure
The Board continues to review and improve policies and procedures to ensure they remain fit for purpose and provide robust governance. Individual trustees and working groups have delegated responsibility to research and report back to the Board on specific areas and projects, enabling the Board to make full and appropriate use of the varied skills set of the Trustees.
New chairs for events in the main Hall
The Board secured a grant from the National Lottery and was able to purchase new event chairs.
New lease of life for the old chairs from the main Hall
The Board and Hall Manager were keen to ensure that the chairs were donated to help others and worked closely with C&M Removals who transports unwanted items to Africa to help organisations in need. The Chairs were taken away to a depot in Kidderminster awaiting containerised transportation to Africa.
Work to improve ground floor toilets, including poor access to the disabled toilet
The Board has agreed phased plans to improve all of the toilets on the ground floor, including making changes to the disabled toilet which will result in extensively improved facilities. Window replacement started in July with the main remodelling in the Autumn, timed to take place after the festival events.
Lack of a catering kitchen for use in conjunction with the Main Hall
The Board will continue to periodically review the feasibility, desirability and cost of a catering kitchen.
During the financial year July 2024 to June 2025 the charity received income of £181,463 (2023-24: £180,200). Costs (including depreciation) of £180,527 (2023-24: £208,029) were incurred during the period. Included in these costs are amounts for refurbishment and maintenance of assets of St George's Hall totalling £9,543 (2023-24: £15,957).
All regular outgoings have been met. The Hall continues to be properly and regularly maintained. Reserves of £50,000 to cover any major repairs and longer-term replacements and renewals of equipment remain set aside.
It is the policy of the charity to hold reserves of £50,000 to cover six months of trading activity (£25,000), major items of maintenance (£10,000), and the costs of dissolution should the charity cease (£15,000). These funds have been set aside and transferred to a designated fund by the trustees.
People and Training
The Hall employs four part time staff: a manager, an administrator, a Saturday café supervisor, and a caretaker. Training needs for all four are kept under review.The Hall also benefits hugely from over 60 volunteers who support the café, cinema, music and other activities. All new volunteers receive comprehensive induction training and ongoing training.
Music in the Hall
Work is underway to investigate what funding may be available to support the return of this popular event.
Links with other local community focused organisations
The Board recognises the benefits of a collaborative approach with other local, likeminded community organisations and will be reaching out to reinvigorate such links. This initiative has the potential to maximise the use of limited resources and improve and extend the facilities available for local people.
Extending Café opening hours and increasing the Volunteer Base
In response to community feedback the Board would like to extend the Café opening hours, however this is not feasible unless we can increase the number of volunteers. The Board will be investigating how to attract volunteers from all sectors of the community and would encourage anyone who wants to be involved to get in touch with the Hall Manager.
Reducing our Carbon Footprint
The Trustees have obtained match funding to change all light fittings within the building to LED. This will cut energy usage and save cost. Work is scheduled to be carried out in the Autumn in time for the Bewdley Festival events to be held.
Improving Security
With staff and volunteer safety in mind the Trustees have had CCTV installed to monitor all entrances and exits to the building.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and was incorporated in England and Wales on 8 July 2010.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year and up to the date of signature of the financial statements were:
The trustees are appointed in accordance with the company’s Articles of Association. Succession planning is in place. Any vacancies for trustees are advertised locally and recruitment and selection are undertaken in accordance with the policies in place.
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.
The trustees manage the business of the company, and the day to day business of the company is managed by the Company Secretary, Jane Barnett.
The report has been prepared having taken advantage of the small companies exemption in the Companies Act 2006.
The Trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of St George's Hall Bewdley (the charity) for the year ended 30 June 2025.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out my examination I have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity as required by section 386 of the 2006 Act; or
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the 2006 Act other than any requirement that the accounts give a true and fair view which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
Charitable activities - income
Charitable activities - expenditure
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
St George's Hall Bewdley is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is St. Georges Hall, Load Street, Bewdley, Worcestershire, DY12 2EQ, United Kingdom.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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 charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for charities not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the charity has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors 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.
Grant income is recognised when the charity is legally entitled to it, after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be reliably measured, and it is probable that income will be received.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
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.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the charity. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its 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).
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.
Basic financial liabilities, including creditors and bank loans are initially recognised at transaction price unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the debt instrument is measured at the present value of the future payments discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial liabilities classified as payable within one year are not amortised.
Debt instruments are subsequently carried at amortised cost, using the effective interest rate method.
Trade creditors are obligations to pay for goods or services that have been acquired in the ordinary course of operations from suppliers. Amounts payable are classified as current liabilities if payment is due within one year or less. If not, they are presented as non-current liabilities. Trade creditors are recognised initially at transaction price and subsequently measured at amortised cost using the effective interest method.
Financial liabilities are derecognised when the charity’s contractual obligations expire or are discharged or cancelled.
The cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Debtors and creditors receivable /payable within one year
Debtors and creditors with no stated interest rate and receivable or payable within one year are recorded at transaction price. Any losses arising from impairment are recognised in expenditure.
Grants received
Charitable activities - income
Total
Total
Hall rental
Bar
Cinema
Events
Lettings
Bewdley bridge
Charitable activities - expenditure
Unrestricted funds
Unrestricted funds
Bar
Cinema
Events
Bewdley bridge
Unrestricted funds
Insurance
Telephone and Internet
Light, heat and power
Repairs and maintenance
Licences and subscriptions
Cleaning
Rent and rates
General expenses
Staff training
Accountancy
Bank charges
Governance costs includes payments to the independent examiner of £1,300 (2024: £1,200) for independent examination fees, and £1,100 (2024: £800) for preparation of the financial statements.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was (excluding trustees):
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
The carrying value of land included in land and buildings comprises:
Land and buildings were revalued in Bewdley Christian Community Hall (charity number: 252679) before merging with SGH Venue Management (charity number: 1149422) to create St Geogre's Hall Bewdley in 2023.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
Deferred income relates to Hall bookings for the following accounting year.
There was a donation in the prior year of £10,000 from Helen Mackaness Trust towards the cost of improving the disabled toilet facilities.
There was a grant in the year of £15,702 from Awards for All towards the cost of acquiring more chairs.
There was a donation from the Turner Trust £3,000 towards a new cinema projector. There has also been a further £1,000 donation from Bewdley Festival Ltd, £500 from the Bewdley Civic Centre towards the costs of a new projector.
There was also a donation of £575 in total from Skills Boost which was to go towards a training course. £325 of this donation was expensed in March 2025 for Food Hygiene training,
There has also been a donation of £450 from Transition Bewdley.
The above donations have been disclosed as restricted donations in the financial statements.
Both the chairs and projector were purchased during the year, and there are no restrictions on the use of the assets.
The trustee's have created a designated fund for the purpose of covering any potential repairs. This amounts to £50,000 which has been placed in a separate bank account. This money will be used to cover any unexpected or major repairs/expenses.
There were no disclosable related party transactions, other than transactions with the charity's subsidiary company, during the year (2024 - none).
Details of the charity subsidiaries at 30 June 2025 are as follows:
Financial statements are available for this company for the period ended 30 June 2025.
The charity received charitable donations of £64,500 (2024: £59,500) from this company during the year, and a balance of £619 was owed to (2024: £1,284 due from) the company at the year end.