The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 December 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 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)".
Our History
The Lighthouse Charity has been delivering charitable support to the construction community since 1956. It all began one evening when a group of gentlemen who had been attending a Ministry of Public Buildings and Works exhibition on Tyneside, found themselves on the seafront at Whitley Bay. Under the light of St Mary’s Lighthouse, they made a pledge to support those in the industry who were suffering financial hardship through illness, injury or bereavement. And so the Lighthouse Club (as it was then known) was formed.
The Lighthouse Club Benevolent Fund was established in 1962 as a registered charity to act as a conduit between the fundraising activities and the beneficiaries supported.
In October 2012, the Lighthouse Club and the Lighthouse Club Benevolent Fund merged into a new charity called the Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity.
On 31 October 2013 the charity merged the assets of the National Lighthouse Club and on 31 December 2013 the charity, with the permission of the Charity Commission, also merged the assets of the Lighthouse Club Benevolent Fund Charity (charity number 205670).
Our Mission
To ensure that our construction community can easily access the emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support they need and to develop healthy and sustainable futures for this generation and the next.
How we raise our funds
The charity has five primary income sources:
1. Events
We fundraise through the delivery of events, which are also used to recruit new members. These range from annual gala dinners, sporting events, and unique fundraising activities.
2. Membership Subscriptions
We enjoy the support of over 3,000 individual supporters who donate an annual subscription to the charity. Our supporters do not accrue any benefits, nor do they have any voting rights on the operation of the charity.
3. Corporate Engagement
The charity has a company supporter programme whereby companies commit an annual donation to provide annuity income for the charity. Companies are also encouraged to support the charity through their own fundraising activities.
4. Trusts, Foundations and Legacies
The charity benefits from a small number of third-party trusts, foundations and legacies.
5. Donated Goods and Services
The charity receives donations of goods and services from both corporate and individual supporters, and these are often used as auction items at our charitable events.
The charity is registered with the Fundraising Regulator and is committed to following the Code of Fundraising Practice and the Fundraising Promise.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Charitable Services
The charity provides 24/7 holistic support to the UK and Ireland construction community on all aspects of emotional, physical and financial wellbeing.
Support can be accessed through a free and confidential 24/7 helpline, live web chat service and text facility. Access to the charity’s Critical Incident Support team is also managed through the helpline.
These services are complemented by a free self-support app, along with a network of Lighthouse Beacons that provide a safe space for people to share concerns.
The charity’s Wellbeing Academy offers a variety of free soft skills and leadership training to suit varying learning styles and roles within the industry.
The charity’s caseworkers conduct a holistic review of the client’s circumstances and award grants based on needs and within delegated approval levels. If required, the client’s case will be referred to the Caseworker Manager for additional support and awards.
The trustees have delegated authority for:
The approval for all grants <£1,000 to the Caseworkers
The approval of all grants between £1,000 and £3,000 to the Caseworker Manager
The approval for all grants £3000 -£5,000 to the Director of Charitable Services
The approval of all projects and grants between £5,000 - £10,000 to the CEO
All individual grants over £10,000 require the approval of the Trustee Board
The Director of Charitable Services produces a monthly report for the Charitable Giving Committee.
2025 continued to present significant challenges for the construction industry, with ongoing labour shortages and increased costs of living and material costs. Through strategic partnerships, awareness of the charity's services continues to grow, enabling more individuals to access support when needed. The charity was able to respond to increased demand for its services.
24/7 Helpline - The cornerstone to the charity's reactive support services is the 24/7 helpline, which is resourced by in-house, highly trained frontline advisers, supported by specialist case workers. In 2025, the helpline supported 6,712 families. (An increase from 5,695 in 2024). Before releasing the charity’s funds, our caseworkers leverage support from other charities and ensure the client has accessed their statutory entitlements. The leveraged support for the year was £2,764,506 (2024: £2,227,130).
Education and training - The charity continues to expand its Wellbeing Academy, which offers free and easily accessible training that embraces every style of learning from self-paced, eLearning through to online tutor-led courses. It offers a variety of courses that support everyone in our industry, from soft skills training, Lighthouse Wellbeing Exclusives and MHFA-accredited qualifications. The training is designed to equip our construction workforce with the soft skills required to navigate today’s work and home challenges. In 2025, we delivered tutor-led training to 6,077 people and provided 1,693 e-Learning modules.
# MakeItVisible On Site - Our # MakeItVisible on-site initiative is reaching out to some of our industry’s most vulnerable workers. Our team share their own lived experiences, giving others the confidence to reach out for support without stigma. In 2025 we visited 677 sites (2024: 572) and engaged with 32,089 site workers (2024: 28,070).
Critical Incident Support – This service provides an immediate response and specialist support to sites or workplaces where a critical incident, such as an accident or suicide, has occurred. Last year, the team were called to 94 incidents (2024: 66 incidents), resulting in a cost of £195,306 (2024: £125,957).
The charity has delivered another strong financial performance in 2025, demonstrating its financial and operational robustness over a period of increased need for its services and in the face of further economic uncertainty for the sector.
Income
The charity experienced a year-on-year growth in revenue, we received £4,989,188, which is an 11% increase on 2024 (£4,498,967). This is the total of all our activities.
Donations and legacies received during the year were £4,222,359 (2024: £3,607,915). This represents an increase of 17% over 2025. The charity’s company supporter programme continues to provide a predictable and sustainable income. As of 31st December 2025, the programme delivered an annual income of £3,138,693 (compared to £2,760,872 in 2024). Our company supporters are managed by our regional Partnership Managers who ensure that each organisation is accessing all of the resources available to them and that the message of support extends beyond the boundaries of the workplace.
The charity is supported by 21 volunteer-led Regional Lighthouse Committees. These committees operate independently and are tied to the charity through an affiliate agreement. This agreement grants the committee the right to use the charity's name and logo and sets out an operating framework to protect both the charity and the committee. Each committee delivers fundraising and networking events throughout the year, and all profits are deposited with the charity.
As we increased focus on supporting our Regional Committees in the UK and Ireland, they have responded with a 35% (£204,364) increase in fundraising to £792,643.
The charity received legacy income of £50,071 (2024: £20,000).
Other trading income totalled £615,626 (2024: £796,661).
Expenditure
The total charity expenditure increased 25% to £5,740,202 (2024: £4,582,512). This was driven by the total expenditure on the delivery of charitable services, which by grew 33% to £4,419,380 (2024: £3,332,198).
There was significant growth in demand for our services, supporting 6,712 families in 2025 (2024: 5,695).
This has inevitably related in greater expenditure of grants to beneficiaries, meals delivered and the cost of counselling. It has also driven the need for increased front-line support and expansion of the caseworker team.
The charity continues on its mission to ensure that our construction community can easily access the emotional, physical and financial wellbeing support they need and to develop healthy and sustainable futures for this generation and the next.
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.
Rationale
A reserves policy is required to explain to existing and potential funders, donors, beneficiaries and other stakeholders why the charity is holding a particular amount of reserves. It will provide confidence to stakeholders that the charity’s finances are being properly managed and will also provide an indicator of future funding needs and its overall resilience.
It will negate the risk to a charity’s reputation from holding substantial unspent funds at the year-end without explanation. It will give funders, such as grant-makers, an understanding of why funding is needed to undertake a particular project or activity.
Risk
The charity’s reserves policy provides assurance that the finances of the charity are actively managed and its activities are sustainable.
Higher reserves than necessary may tie up money unnecessarily. Holding excessive reserves can unnecessarily limit the amount spent on charitable activities and the potential benefits the charity can provide.
Too low reserves increase the risk to the charity’s ability to carry on its activities in future in the event of financial difficulties, and increase the risks of unplanned and unmanaged closure and insolvency.
Responsibility
The Audit & Governance committee are responsible for the charity’s Reserves Policy. The Audit & Governance committee will review the policy at least annually as part of the charity’s planning processes. The amount held in reserves will be monitored during the course of the year as part of a charity’s budgetary processes.
Annual budget approvals by the Trustee Board should consider compliance with the charity’s Reserves Policy.
If reserves during the year are below target or exceed target, the trustees should consider whether this is due to a short-term situation or a longer-term issue. Action may be needed to replenish or spend reserves by:
Identifying when reserves are drawn on so that they understand the reasons and can consider the corrective action, if any, that needs to be taken
Identifying when reserve levels rise significantly above target so that they understand the reasons and can consider the corrective action, if any, that needs to be taken
Identifying where the reserves level is below target, consider whether this is due to short-term circumstance or longer-term reasons which might trigger a broader review of finances and reserves
Regard the ongoing review of the reserves target, the reserves level and the reserves policy as part of managing the charity
Ensuring that the reserves policy continues to be relevant as the charity develops or changes its strategy and activities
Reviewing the statement on reserves in the trustees’ annual report where there have been significant changes in the reserves policy or level of reserves held
Reporting
The Annual Report will consider the following when reviewing the charity’s reserves:
State the amount of total funds the charity holds at the end of the reporting period.
Compare the amount of reserves with the charity’s reserves policy and explain, where relevant, what steps are being taken to bring the amount of reserves held into line with the level of reserves identified by the trustees as appropriate given their plans for the future activities of the charity.
Policy
The charity will hold a minimum of 50% of the charity’s annual operating costs. The charity could significantly scale down operations within 3 months in the event of unforeseen financial difficulties; therefore, this policy will provide the charity with a minimum of 12 months’ funding on a reduced operating basis. The charity will hold a maximum of 100% of the charity’s annual operating costs.
At the year end, the charity held funds amounting to £2,173,723 (2024 £2,864,782), of which £1,613,294 (2024 £2,304,782) were unrestricted, £500,000 (2024 £500,000) were designated from the unrestricted fund and £60,429 (2024 £60,000) were restricted.
During the year, the trustees made no further investment with investment manager Brewin Dolphin. The total cash investment stands at £764,981. The overall investment valuation resulted in a 2025 gain of £59,955 (2024 £97,433).
During the year, the investment account with Insignis Asset Management comprising of interest bearing, multi-deposit accounts generated £72,279 of interest, received in the year. The total value of the investment account at the year-end was £1,581,436 (2024 £2,266,596) due to a withdrawal of £757,288 to cover the increase in charitable service demand.
The trustees examine and review quarterly the major strategic, business and operational risks which the charity faces and confirm that systems have been established so that the risks may be effectively monitored and their impact mitigated as far as possible. The principal risks identified by the trustees and the control procedures used to mitigate those risks are:
Risk | Response |
Insufficient reserves to meet the charity's needs | Ensure a broad range of funding sources resulting in no excessive dependency on a single donor or income stream.
|
Insufficient reserves to meet the charity's needs
| Ensure management information is timely and accurate. Also regularly review the forward commitments against the level of reserves.
|
Vulnerable person issues | Develop a policy and implement for volunteers with access to vulnerable people. Ensure contracted programme partners have up to date vulnerable person policies and processes.
|
Fraud / misappropriation causing loss of income, limits are reputation or relationship damage activities
| Ensure financial controls and authorisation limits are implemented. Track central and regional activities, income and use of the charity name. Investigate where any problems are identified.
|
The charity's vision remains resolute that “No construction worker or their family should be alone in a crisis”, and we are continuing with our A, B, C of charity priorities;
A – Awareness – Generate greater awareness of our wellbeing services within our construction community.
B – Building and Serving Communities - Engage, inform and develop the communities that support us, and understand and support the communities that rely on us.
C – Continuous Process Improvement - Focus on our people and processes to maximise efficiency, economy and effectiveness.
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, company number 0824418, incorporated on 8 October 2012. Registered Charity No. UK 1149488, Registered Charity No. ROI 20200334. The charity is governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association.
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:
New trustees are appointed by the board of trustees which seeks to ensure that there is a broad range of relevant skills and experience on its body.
Management
The charity employs a full time Chief Executive, who is supported by full time and part time staff. In addition, a number of external contractors are engaged to carry out certain operations of the charity.
The Chief Executive prepares a detailed business plan and an annual financial budget which are reviewed by the trustees. The performance of the charity is measured by the trustees against both the business plan and the annual budget on a quarterly basis.
Board and Committees
The board of trustees meets at least four times each year. The charity seeks to involve as many trustees as possible in different aspects of its operations, for example sitting on internal committees, helping organise events, liaising with Regional Lighthouse Clubs, attending Regional Lighthouse Club committee meetings and functions, and assisting with our charitable projects.
In order to promote good governance and best practice, the board of trustees has three committees:
The Audit and Governance Committee:
Is made up of a trusted chairperson 2 other trustees, Its responsibility is to ensure that all matters of good governance and best practice are effective throughout the entire organisation of the charity. Its responsibility is also to consider reports from the auditor and advise the board of trustees on financial control and effectiveness.
This committee also reviews the remuneration of the Chief Executive and other key staff members on an annual basis.
Nominations Committee:
Has a trustee chairperson and co-opts other Lighthouse Club supporters to join as and when specialist knowledge is required. Its responsibility is to continually review the members of the board, identify skill gaps within our governance structure and nominate potential candidates to the board as new trustees.
The trustees are provided with detail of their responsibilities as charity trustees upon their appointment. This includes a copy of the Charity Commission's "Essential Trustee" booklet.
Trustees are encouraged to attend training events to brief them on their legal and other obligations under charity and company law, whilst assisting them in their role as a board member.
The Charitable Giving Committee:
I comprised of a trusted chairperson who is trustee and has another trustee and the Director of charitable services. Its responsibility to ensure that all support services are provided in a fair and consistent way and that any new service are brought for consideration. Any large grants are also considered by this board.
Regional Lighthouse Clubs
The charity is supported by 21 Regional Lighthouse Clubs run by their own volunteer Committees. These Regional Lighthouse Clubs operate independently and are tied to the charity through an affiliate agreement. The charity is very much indebted to the Regional Lighthouse Clubs. These Clubs are staffed entirely by volunteers (more than 150 in all), who are drawn from their membership and include a chairperson, a secretary, a treasurer and a welfare officer. The constitution of each Club can be different but is broadly based on a central model and they are tied to the charity via an affiliate agreement. This agreement grants the Club the right to use the charity's name and logo and sets out an operating framework to protect both the charity and the Club.
The Regional Lighthouse Clubs operate throughout almost the entirety of the British Isles. The Clubs deliver fundraising and networking events throughout the year and pass over the surplus takings by way of a donation to the charity.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Sedulo Audit Limited be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
The trustees, who are also the directors of Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity 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.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 December 2025 which comprise the statement of financial activities, the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows and notes to the financial statements, including significant accounting policies. The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United Kingdom Accounting Standards, including Financial Reporting Standard 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Practice).
In our opinion, the financial statements:
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with International Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of trustees' responsibilities, the trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We obtained an understanding of legal and regulatory frameworks within which the charitable company operates, focusing on those laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amount and disclosures in the financial statements. The laws and regulations we considered in this context were the Companies Act (2006), the Charities Act (2011) together with the Charities SORP (FRS 102). The risks were discussed with the audit team and we remained alert to any indications of non-compliance throughout the audit. These included the following:
We discussed with trustees, directors and management the policies and procedures in place to ensure compliance with laws and regulations and otherwise prevent, deter and detect fraud.
Reviewing Board minutes, reviewing any correspondence with the Charity Commission, agreeing the financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation, enquiries of management and officers of the charity and a review of the risk management processes and procedures in place.
Management override: To address the risk of management override of controls, we carried out testing of journal entries and other adjustments for appropriateness. We reviewed systems and procedures to identify potential areas of management override risk.
We also assessed management bias in relation to the accounting policies adopted and in determining significant accounting estimates, including treatment of donations and the valuation of investments.
Because of the inherent limitations of an audit, there is a risk that we will not detect all irregularities, including those leading to material misstatement in the financial statements or non-compliance with regulation. This risk increases the more that compliance with law and regulation is removed from the events and transactions reflected in the financial statements, as we will be less likely to become aware of instances of non-compliance. The risk is also greater regarding irregularities occurring due to fraud rather than error, as fraud involves intentional concealment, forgery, collusion, omission or misrepresentation.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity’s trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor’s 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 charity and the charity’s trustees as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
Sedulo Audit Limited is eligible for appointment as auditor of the charity by virtue of its eligibility for appointment as auditor of a company under section 1212 of the Companies Act 2006.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Lighthouse Construction Industry Charity is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Suffolk Enterprise Centre, Felaw Street, Ipswich, IP2 8SJ.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006, FRS 102 "The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland" 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 is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
The regional Lighthouse Clubs are all independent unincorporated associations and as such their income, expenditure and balance sheets are not included in these financial statements.
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 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 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.
Donations in kind are included in income when the benefit to the charity is reasonably quantifiable and measurable. Donated goods are not recognised if not practical to do so at the point of the gift. Donated goods and services where practical are valued by the trustees at the amount the charity would have paid for the goods and services on the open market.
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.
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.
Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.
In the application of the charity’s accounting policies, the trustees are required to make judgements, estimates and assumptions about the carrying amount of assets and liabilities that are not readily apparent from other sources. The estimates and associated assumptions are based on historical experience and other factors that are considered to be relevant. Actual results may differ from these estimates.
The estimates and underlying assumptions are reviewed on an ongoing basis. Revisions to accounting estimates are recognised in the period in which the estimate is revised where the revision affects only that period, or in the period of the revision and future periods where the revision affects both current and future periods.
The trustees do not consider there to be any key sources of estimation uncertainty that have a significant impact on the amounts recognised in the financial statements.
None of the trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the current or previous year.
None of the trustees received expenses during the current or previous years.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
Redundancy and termination payments totalling £14,318 were made in the reporting period.
The remuneration of key management personnel are considered to be the Trustees (who are not remunerated) and the CEO, Head of Finance, Director of Charitable Services, Director of Partnerships, Head of Training and Tours, and Head of Marketing.
During 2024, the key management personnel group comprised of three roles. In 2025, the structure was expanded to include six senior management positions, reflecting the charity’s continued organisational growth and the need for enhanced leadership capacity across operational, financial, and strategic functions.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
Deferred income is included in the financial statements as follows:
The income deferred during the year of £320,955 is in relation to annual supporters income received in advance of the programme start date.
The charity operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the charity in an independently administered fund.
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.
During 2024 and 2025, in collaboration with CABWI Awarding Body, Lighthouse delivered a pilot project in prisons to provide mental health and wellbeing training to prisons leavers to enable them to be able to gain a CSCS qualification to support access into sustainable employment in the construction industry on their release from prison. In the current year, £21,304 of funds have been transferred from restricted to unrestricted, to reflect the costs borne for this project by unrestricted funds in the prior year.
CABWI Awarding Body funded Mental Health First Aid training courses during 2025.
In the prior year, restricted donations of £60,000 were received from a number of companies, with the intention to on-grant these funds for specific restricted purposes. These funds continue to be held at 31 December 2025, as it has not yet been possible to pay out these grants yet for operational reasons, and at year end it is still expected that these grants will be disbursed in line with the restriction.
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 charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
During the year, the charity recharged expenses totalling £45,668 relating to payroll and other office costs. The balance due to the charity at 31 December 2025 in respect of these transactions was £nil.
In the prior year, the charity made loans totalling £30,000 to Lighthouse Golf Club CIC and recharged expenses totalling
£53,265 relating to payroll and other office costs. William Hill served as a director of Lighthouse Golf Club CIC during the prior year and was employed by the charity as CEO until 31 March 2024.
The charity has a wholly owned trading subsidiary, Lighthouse Construction Industry Trading Limited. The subsidiary is a company limited by guarantee of which the charity is the ultimate controlling party. The charity company secretary has been appointed as director of the subsidiary (Naomi Denning).
The trading subsidiary was incorporated on 22 December 2025 and did not undertake any trading activity in the year ended 31 December 2025. Consequently, consolidated accounts have not been prepared for the year.