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 are:
To provide or assist in the provision in the interests of social welfare of facilities for recreation or other leisure time occupation of inhabitants of Formby and Liverpool and the surrounding area who have need of such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances, with the object of improving the conditions of life for such persons.
Such other charitable purposes as the trustees shall think fit.
Formby Pool and the charity's partnership with Formby Pool Trust and Sefton Borough Council continue to operate successfully.
Sefton M.B.C. has been granted a 40 year lease of the pool and leisure centre by the charity commencing 29 January 2007. Responsibility for the running of the building has been delegated by Sefton M.B.C to Formby Pool Trust, which is a registered charity, by an underlease for a period of 10 years. An annual contribution to Formby Pool Trust towards running costs and periodic refurbishments will be provided by Sefton M.B.C.
The Statement of Financial Activities on page 5 of the accounts shows the charity's income of £5,000 (2024: £5,663).
Expenditure totalled £212,063 (2024: £211,485), of which £209,128 related to depreciation of the building and the pool extension (2024: £209,128) leaving a deficit of £207,063 for the year (2024: deficit of £205,822).
At 5 April 2025 £7,145,004 is held in unrestricted funds.
The balance sheet on page 6 analyses the accumulated reserves of £7,145,004 into assets and liabilities. The tangible fixed assets of £7,032,909 are represented by freehold land and the build costs of the leisure centre plus the extension of the leisure centre, net of depreciation.
The trustees are aware that the charity had substantial unrestricted reserves at the year end, however, £7,032,909 of these reserves were in the form of land and the leisure centre building, which are being used by the local community. This leaves £112,095 free spendable reserves. Most of this portion of the reserves will be expended in future years until the building and its fixtures and fittings have been fully depreciated.
Plans for the future
The Trust will continue to lease out Formby Pool and park to Sefton MBC and Formby Pool Trust for the use of the community and to play its part in the Pool Partnership under the terms of the Operating Agreement.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee and its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 1 February 2001 form its constitution. It became a registered charity on 6 July 2001. The company is registered in England & Wales No: 04152111. The charity is registered with the Charity Commissioners No: 1087396.
The trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:
Trustees are eligible for appointment after their nomination has been approved in writing by the Chairman, P A Moores. The trustees may, at any time, co-opt any person duly qualified to be appointed as a trustee to fill a vacancy in their number or as an additional trustee. However, a co-opted trustee holds office only until the next Annual General Meeting.
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.
Major decisions are made by the managing trustee P A Moores (in consultation with the other trustees where necessary).
The charity is related to The Freshfield Foundation through P A Moores and P C Kurthausen being trustees of both registered charities. In addition, Formby Land Trust can appoint one of the trustees of the registered charity Formby Pool Trust, which makes the two charities related parties. S Crean is currently a trustee of the Formby Pool Trust.
Small company provision
This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of The Formby Land Trust for the purpose of company law, are responsible for preparing the Trustees' Report and the financial statements in accordance with applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
Company law requires the trustees to prepare financial statements 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 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;
- state whether applicable UK Accounting Standards have been followed, subject to any material departures disclosed and explained in the financial statements; and
- prepare the financial statements 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 financial statements 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 order to assist you to fulfil your duties under the Companies Act 2006, we have prepared for your approval the financial statements of The Formby Land Trust for the year ended 5 April 2025, set out on pages 5 to 14 from the charity’s accounting records and from information and explanations you have given us.
As a practising member firm of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales, we are subject to its ethical and other professional requirements which are detailed at http://www.icaew.com/en/members/regulations-standards-and-guidance/
This report is made to the charity's trustees, as a body, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter. Our work has been undertaken solely to prepare for your approval the accounts of The Formby Land Trust and state those matters that we have agreed to state to the charity's trustees, as a body, in this report in accordance with ICAEW Technical Release 07/16 AAF as detailed at icaew.com. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than The Formby Land Trust and the charity's trustees as a body, for our work or for this report.
It is your duty to ensure that The Formby Land Trust has kept adequate accounting records and to prepare statutory financial statements that give a true and fair view of the assets, liabilities, financial position and deficit of The Formby Land Trust. You consider that The Formby Land Trust is exempt from the statutory audit requirement for the year, and is not required to obtain an independent examiner's report.
We have not been instructed to carry out an audit or a review of the financial statements of The Formby Land Trust. For this reason, we have not verified the accuracy or completeness of the accounting records or information and explanations you have given to us and we do not, therefore, express any opinion on the statutory financial statements.
Investments
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.
The movement in funds detailed above complies with the requirements for a statement of changes in equity under FRS102.
All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The Formby Land Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Suites C,D,E, & F, 14th Floor The Plaza, 100 Old Hall Street, Liverpool, L3 9QJ.
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 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 accounts have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The Charity has taken advantage of the provisions in the SORP for Charities applying FRS 102 Update Bulletin 1 not to prepare a Statement of Cash Flows.
At the time of approving the accounts 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 accounts.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Donations, legacies and other forms of voluntary income are recognised as incoming resources at the point when it is virtually certain that the charity will receive the income and the amount can be measured with sufficient reliability.
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.
Costs are recognised when there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to the expenditure. They are shown net of recoverable VAT.
Wherever possible, costs are allocated according to the functions they serve, which are:
Charitable activities
Governance
If it is not possible to make an allocation the costs are apportioned by the trustees on a fair and reasonable basis.
Other expenditure pertain to costs incurred in rectifying defects of the Formby Leisure Centre and are distinct from its charitable activities.
Governance costs pertain to the general running of the charity as distinct from its charitable activities. These normally include audit and accountancy fees, Companies House filing fees and the cost of legal advice to the trustees on any constitutional matters. When applicable governance costs also includes any gains or losses on the disposal of fixed assets in the year.
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation and provisions for impairment.
The trustees decided that when the leisure centre building first opened to the public in January 2007 its carrying value should be written down to the original budgeted cost of the project and that this amount be amortised over the expected useful economic life of the building.
Any costs incurred in excess of those budgeted were treated as an impairment loss and these have been written off as an expense in the Statement of Financial Activities. This accounting treatment reflects the cost of remedial work that had to be undertaken by the successor building contractors, which could not be recovered from the original contractor due to it becoming insolvent.
Following the completion of the leisure centre the trustees have agreed to depreciate the fixed assets at the following rates:
Assets in the course of construction will not be depreciated until the extension is complete.
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 net income/(expenditure) for the year.
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.
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 charity benefits from various exemptions from taxation afforded by tax legislation and is not liable to corporation tax on qualifying income or gains falling within those exemptions. Recovery is made of tax deducted from income and from receipts under Gift Aid.
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. There are no critical accounting estimates or judgments made in preparing these financial statements.
Investments
Charges and commission
Support and governance costs are recharged to 'Formby swimming pool and leisure centre' activity.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or reimbursement for expenses during the year. (2024: £nil).
The charity has granted a lease of the land forming the site of the leisure centre to Sefton M.B.C., which in turn, has granted an underlease to Formby Pool Trust who became responsible for the day-to-day running of the centre on its opening in January 2007.
The Formby Land Trust is incorporated under the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee. The liability of the members is limited to £1.
There have been no related party transactions in the year ended 5 April 2025. In the previous year, P A Moores, a Trustee of the charity paid expenditure of £90 on behalf of the charity, this was treated as a donation in these accounts.
The trustees are also the key management of the trust.