The Trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 September 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 entity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)".
The charity's exclusive charitable object is to provide counselling and support services to people with emotional and psychological difficulties from a wide variety of causes by the provision of a centre of excellence.
The trustees confirm that they have referred to the guidance contained in the Charity Commission's general guidance on public benefit when reviewing the charity's aims and objectives and in planning future activities.
The charity carries out these objects by:
Counselling individuals which is not confined by time or cost as the charity believes it is essential to continue therapy for as long as it is required. Many people are unable to afford private counselling and the charity enables those without such means to benefit from the expertise available at the centre for as long as required.
Much work has been done on the value to society of early intervention for those with emotional and psychological problems and the charity's aim is to achieve this by way of attracting grants and donations in order to finance counselling. With these funds significant benefit can be achieved for those who would otherwise be unable to participate in therapy, resulting in potentially adverse consequences for themselves and society in general.
The income of the company must be applied only towards the promotion of its objects as set out in its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the entity should undertake.
Trustees and Members are unpaid volunteers.
In considering the outlook for 2026 we are encouraged by the success we are having in raising more grants and the efforts made by many supporters, both within the charity and outside, in their fundraising efforts. We are also addressing counselling capacity and attendance performance by our clients in an effort to increase the number of counselling sessions we can achieve in the coming year. This higher capacity and the continuing cost of the transition programme will of course need to be met by higher income but we have made an encouraging start to 2026.
Income rose by 23% to £151,127 in the year to September 2025 thanks to the budgeted increase in funding from the National Lottery ( rising £2,600 to £48,100) and a better outcome in winning other restricted grants (up from £11,210 to £30,266). This reflected the greater efforts that were made in the year to win grants, as did the improvement in fundraising income, which increased from £2,366 to £7,387.
Costs were 6% higher at £149,691. This increase was a direct result of the need to transition the office systems from paper based to digital systems and was ameliorated to some extent by the reduced costs deriving from a 15% reduction in the number of counselling sessions undertaken during the year.
Our total reserve position remained steady at £67,808 at the end of the year compared with £66,372 last year, of which 41% were restricted funds, leaving £39,508 as free reserves. These unrestricted reserves are broadly in line with our policy to maintain sufficient free reserves to cover approximately six months of fixed costs.
Principal funding sources
The Charity is principally funded by grants from various bodies detailed in the accounts, room hire revenue, donations from our clients, other supporting individuals and organisations and fundraising activities.
The trustees continue to apply for more funds from grant making bodies and pursue referring agencies for financial support to establish means by which funding can follow a client to the Kernos Centre.
The centre retains a reserve of 6 months fixed costs in free reserves. This provides for financial reserves to be set aside to ensure that the centre can continue to operate and meet the needs of clients in the event of unexpected contingencies including a cessation or interruption of part of its funding.
The company was incorporated on 10 September 2002. The charity is controlled by its governing documents, a deed of trust, and constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee and has no share capital as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
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 Board has the power to appoint additional trustees as it considers fit to do so.
The company has four registered members who have each undertaken to contribute an amount not exceeding ten pounds to the assets of the company in the event of the Company being wound up. The statutory records state the obligation as one pound per member. The Charity is organised so that the trustees have regular general meetings comprising of elected and nominated members to discuss progress, activities, fundraising and administration. All directors of the company are also trustees of the charity, and there are no other trustees.
The report has been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies entitled to the small companies exemption.
The trustees' annual report was approved on ............................ and signed on behalf of the board of trustees by:
I report to the Trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Kernos Centre (the entity) for the year ended 30 September 2025.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the entity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the entity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
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 entity as required by section 386 of the Companies Act 2006.
the financial statements do not accord with those records; or
the financial statements do not comply with the accounting requirements of section 396 of the Companies Act 2006 other than any requirement that the financial statements give a true and fair view, which is not a matter considered as part of an independent examination; or
the financial statements have not been prepared in accordance with the methods and principles of the Statement of Recommended Practice for accounting and reporting by charities applicable to charities preparing their financial statements in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102).
I have no concerns and have come across no other matters in connection with the examination to which attention should be drawn in this report in order to enable a proper understanding of the financial statements to be reached.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Kernos Centre is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 22 Friars Street, Sudbury, Suffolk, CO10 2AA.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the entity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" and the Charities SORP "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)". The entity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The entity 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 entity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
There are no material uncertainties about the charity's ability to continue.
Unrestricted funds are available for use at the discretion of the Trustees in furtherance of their charitable objectives.
Designated funds comprise funds which have been set aside at the discretion of the Trustees for specific purposes. The purposes and uses of the designated funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the entity has been notified of the donation, unless performance conditions require deferral of the amount. Income tax recoverable in relation to donations received under Gift Aid or deeds of covenant is recognised at the time of the donation.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to transfer economic benefit to a third party, it is probable that a transfer of economic benefits will be required in settlement, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Expenditure is classified by activity. The costs of each activity are made up of the total of direct costs and shared costs, including support costs involved in undertaking each activity. Direct costs attributable to a single activity are allocated directly to that activity. Shared costs which contribute to more than one activity and support costs which are not attributable to a single activity are apportioned between those activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources. Central staff costs are allocated on the basis of time spent, and depreciation charges are allocated on the portion of the asset’s use.
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:
At each reporting end date, the entity 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).
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
Limited by guarantee
The charity is a company incorporated in England and Wales and is limited by guarantee. In the event that the charity is wound up the liability of each member is limited to £1.
Sale of services as part of direct charitable activities
Counsellor's fees
Supervision costs
Rent
Rates and water
Insurance
Telephone
General administrative expenses
Postage, stationery and printing
Advertising and website
Accountancy fees
Travel / administration costs amounting to nil (2024 - £nil) were reimbursed to no (2024 - no) member/s of the management committee. Of this amount nil (2024 - £nil) was donated back to the centre as donations.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity uses outsourced counsellors and volunteers along with the Trustees giving their time free of charge.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The restricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants held on trust subject to specific conditions by donors as to how they may be used.
The unrestricted funds of the charity comprise the unexpended balances of donations and grants which are not subject to specific conditions by donors and grantors as to how they may be used. These include designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
At the reporting end date the entity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2024 - none).