The Trustees who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of the Companies Act have pleasure in submitting their report and the financial statements of the charitable company for the year ended 31 January 2026.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in Note 1 to the accounts and comply with the Charity’s governing document, 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)” (as amended for accounting periods commencing from 1 January 2019).
Reference and administrative details
Safe Haven London is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 11 January 2005, governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association and with the Company number 5328976. It is a charity registered with the Charities Commission on 29 July 2005, with the Charity number 1110645. The Charity’s registered address is:
Thorncroft Manor
Thorncroft Drive
Leatherhead
Surrey
KT22 8JB
The Trustees, who are also the directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year were:
E J Chesterman
J Kerr
M C Patton
S J Woodland
Safe Haven London was formed for the purpose of providing housing to local government bodies for people requiring assistance to find accommodation.
In 2005 the charitable company entered into agreements with the London Borough of Ealing to acquire properties suitable for their social housing requirements.
In 2016 the charitable company entered into agreements to start to realise its intention to move the purchased stock from temporary to permanent social housing. Additional funds raised by the Charity were used to refurbish the stock of properties to Decent Homes Standard and extend its leasehold interests in these properties to secure their availability for the Charity’s objectives for the long term. The Charity subsequently completed the disposal of the portfolio of acquired properties.
The Charity is reinvesting its funds in a broad range of assets in order to expand its operations and redeploy resources to provide relief to a greater number of homeless people. Returns from investments support social housing projects and a grant programme in partnership with charitable organisations. Such activities are focused on supporting those activities that increase the supply of new homes for the homeless and provide remediation for those facing homelessness.
In early last year, the Charity completed as planned the purchase of its first property in further support of working with key partner, Centrepoint. The property is anticipated to provide ‘stepping stone’ accommodation for those otherwise unable to access such accommodation and deliver significant public benefit and social value to society as a whole, including avoided costs, and increased economic output and well-being.
In illustration of delivering on its charitable purpose. during the year, grants totalling £141,000 (2025: £180,448) were made to a number of charitable organisations (see Notes to Financial the Statements). These grants supported front-line organisations in their provision of resources, people, facilities, services, equipment and support to the homeless.
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the Charity should undertake.
The charitable company currently has a net surplus of funds of £240,737 (2025: £2,355,598). The net assets of the charity totalled £30,325,716 (2025: £30,084,979).
It is the policy of the Charity that unrestricted liquid funds (£1,436,571, (2025: £768,286)) which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to at least six to twelve month’s expenditure (£1,028,851, (2025: £1,111,976)). The Trustees consider that reserves at this level will ensure that, in the event of a significant drop in funding, they will be able to continue the Charity’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. The Charity invests in a range of assets and investments in order to maintain this level of reserves throughout the year.
The main risks faced by the Charity are financial in nature. Such risks include property market and investment-related risks. In management of such financial risks, the Charity maintains internal financial control overseen by the Board and managed via outsourced systems and arrangements that are subject to regular review.
The Charity will continue to invest its funds in furtherance of the objects in its Constitution. To this end, the Charity is working with housing partners such as Centrepoint to support homeless housing projects. To this end, a property purchased in Hackney is subject to development for charitable use. Further investments in property assets are under consideration and grants planned. These plans are focused on emergency and coping measures and prevention and cure initiatives to alleviate housing poverty and, in particular, homelessness.
The Charity is governed by a Board of Trustees. The Trustees meet on a quarterly basis and throughout the year on matters of import. Decisions are proposed, approved and ratified at Board meetings, evidenced in supporting documentation and may include delegation of authority to a company officer. To this end, the Charity avails of corporate secretarial services. Such services manage disclosure of director’s interests (if any) and via related party submissions.
A Trustees’ appointment may cease automatically upon the happening of certain events as set out in the Articles. The trustees are entitled to appoint and remove further trustees by unanimous resolution. Every trustee must sign a declaration of willingness to act as a trustee of the charitable company before he or she is eligible to vote at any meeting of the Trustees. Trustees are not obliged to retire by rotation. None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the charitable company.
E J Chesterman and J Kerr are property consultants. M C Patton has a track record of experience in commercial enterprises and S J Woodland has a track record of experience in public benefit entities. The Trustees therefore have the appropriate skills and knowledge required for the role as a trustee.
There is no formal policy in place, but the Trustees intend that any future appointments be persons of suitable experience. Any such inductee will follow a process of introduction to the charitable endeavour, its objects, strategy, structure, systems, working methods, partnerships, processes and procedures. Serving Trustees are provided with periodic development sessions centred on the performance and evolution of the Charity and its activities.
The members of the charitable company guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The structure of the Charity, its Charity and Company numbers, its principal advisors and the names of its trustees are set out in the Legal, Reference and Administrative sections of this Annual Report and Financial Statements. Details of the staff employed in furtherance of the objects of the Charity are provided in the Notes to the Financial Statements.
Neither the Charity, or its trustees, act as custodians of funds on behalf of others.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Gravita Audit II 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 Safe Haven London 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 Safe Haven London (the ‘Charity’) for the year ended 31 January 2026 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, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:
the information given in the Trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and
the directors' report included within the Trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.
In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the Charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the Trustees' report.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or
certain disclosures of trustees' remuneration specified by law are not made; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or
the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the Trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations. The laws and regulations applicable to the company were identified through discussions with directors and other management, and from our commercial knowledge and experience of Safe Haven London. Of these laws and regulations, we focused on those that we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Charities Act, Companies Act 2006, Coronavirus Act 2020, data protection, anti-bribery, employment and environmental legislation. The extent of compliance with these laws and regulations identified above was assessed through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence. The identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.
We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:
making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud;
considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations; and
understanding the design of the company’s remuneration policies.
To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:
performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;
tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;
assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates set out in note 2 were indicative of potential bias; and
investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.
In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:
agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;
reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance;
enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation and claims; and
reviewing correspondence with HMRC and the company’s legal advisors.
There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any. Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.
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 charitable company’s members, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company’s members those matters we are required to state to them in an 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 charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
The statement of financial activities also complies with the requirements for an income and expenditure account under Companies Act 2006.
Safe Haven London is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Thorncroft Manor, Leatherhead, Surrey, KT22 8JB.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with 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 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, modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties. 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 unless the funds have been designated for other purposes.
The charity does not operate any restricted or endowment funds.
Income is recognised when the Charity is legally entitled to it after any performance conditions have been met, the amounts can be measured reliably, and it is probable that income will be received.
Turnover relates to the rental of properties and interest income from investments. Income is recorded net of discounts, VAT and other sales related taxes.
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.
Resources expended are recognised when they fall due, unless the benefit derived from incurring an expense spans more than one year; in which case such costs are apportioned over the period to which they relate.
Costs of activities in furtherance of the charity's objectives include all costs associated with the management and financing of the properties. Expenditure includes any VAT that cannot be recovered.
The charity has multiple charitable activities and costs are allocated across multiple cost categories.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured under the cost or the revaluation model, 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:
Freehold land is not depreciated.
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.
The Charity's policy is to maintain leasehold properties to a 'decent homes' standard. The trustees have decided not to depreciate these assets in view of the fact that the assets concerned are to be included in the accounts at market value.
Investment property, which is property held to earn rentals and/or for capital appreciation, is initially recognised at cost, which includes the purchase cost and any directly attributable expenditure. Subsequently it is measured at fair value at the reporting end date. The surplus or deficit on revaluation is recognised in profit or loss.
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.
Financial assets are derecognised only when the contractual rights to the cash flows from the asset expire or are settled, or when the Charity transfers the financial asset and substantially all the risks and rewards of ownership to another entity, or if some significant risks and rewards of ownership are retained but control of the asset has transferred to another party that is able to sell the asset in its entirety to an unrelated third party.
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 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.
Loan facility fees
Costs incurred in arranging new loan facilities are treated as transactions costs and are netted off against the loan when accounting for it under the amortised costs basis.
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.
Investment properties are measured at fair value with any movement in valuation at the year-end being taken to the profit or loss. The directors are responsible for determining the fair value of the company's investment properties and have exercised judgement in estimating these values. The valuation has been determined by reference to available market evidence, including recent transaction prices for comparable properties in similar locations, together with consideration of prevailing market conditions and property rental yields. Changes in these assumptions could have a material effect on the carrying value of investment properties.
Repairs and Maintenance
Interest Payable and Similar Charges
Rent
Telephone and Fax
Printing Postage and Stationary
Sundry Expenses
Travel and Subsistance
Ground Rent
Service Charges
During the year ended 31 January 2026, the company has made payments relating to grants amounting to £141,000. These grants were provided to selected organisations to support people requiring assistance to find accommodation.
None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the Charity during the year. Expenses for trustees totalled £46 during the year.
The average monthly number employees during the year was:
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The company is a registered charity and is, therefore, exempt from taxation. This includes gains arising on the revaluation or disposal of land, buildings and investment property, to the extent that these are used in furtherance of the charity’s objectives.
Accordingly, no current or deferred tax has been recognised. The trustees have considered whether any activities or assets fall outside the scope of the charity tax exemption and have concluded that no material tax exposure arises.
At 31 January 2026, had the revalued assets been carried at historic cost less accumulated depreciation and accumulated impairment losses, their carrying amount would have been approximately £15,524 (2025 - £20,658).
The revaluation reserve represents the following movements:
Balance as 1 February 2025 £298,351
Disposals -
Balance at 31 January 2026 £298,351
The three leasehold properties, held for rental purposes, are recorded in the financial statements at their fair value as of 31 January 2026.
The trustees have assessed the fair value of the properties by reference to the purchase prices paid in January 2024 and May 2024, together with consideration of market evidence available at the reporting date. This assessment included a review of local property market activity, comparable property transactions, prevailing rental yields and wider market trends affecting investment property values. Based on this review, the trustees consider that there has been no material change in value since acquisition and therefore that the original purchase prices remain an appropriate estimate of fair value at 31 January 2026.
The properties are categorised as Level 2 in the fair value hierarchy as the valuation is based principally on observable market data, including market yields and comparable property transactions, rather than quoted prices in an active market.
Included within investments is a securities backed lending amount of £7,124,555, which is secured by a charge against all monies held by Safe Haven London with Barclays Bank PLC at the year end totaling £14,929,700.
The charity's investment portfolio comprises listed securities managed by Barclays Private Bank. Investments are measured at fair value based on quoted market prices at the reporting date. The underlying investments are held in a pooled nominee account through Zeban Nominees Ltd, a Barclays group company, with custody services provided by Citibank Global Custody. The charity retains beneficial ownership of the investments.
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 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.
During the year the Charity entered into the following expense transactions with related parties:
Entities in which the Trustees have an interest include:
1. Chesterman Consultants Ltd - a company controlled by E Chesterman. This company was paid consultancy fees of £38,000 (2025: £30,000), underwriting fees of £0 (2025: £57,640) and property management fees of £34,000 (2025: £28,500) by the Charity in the current year, totaling £72,000 (2025: £116,140 for consultancy). The balance owed to the company at the year end was £33,000 (2025: £28,800).
2. The Regeneration Consultancy Ltd - a company controlled by James Kerr. The company was paid consultancy fees of £24,000 (2025: £24,000).
Included within Investments is a securities backed lending amount of £7,124,555 (2025: £6,888,045)