The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 30 June 2025.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the financial statements and comply with the trust'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)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The trust has been set up to raise funds for local causes and enhance the football facilities available for the local community.
The purpose of the charity are as follows;
Advance education;
Promote community participation in healthy recreation by providing or assisting in providing facilities for playing football and other sports ("facilities" means land, buildings, equipment and organising sporting activities);
Provide or assist in providing facilities for sport, recreation or other leisure time occupation of such persons who have need for such activities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving their conditions of life; and
Promote all purposes recognised as charitable under the laws of England and Wales from time to time in particular but without limitation through an association with football.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the trust should undertake.
The trustees acknowledge that the year under review has been a challenging one for the charity. A combination of staff changes and significant uncertainty surrounding the future of the football club to which the charity is affiliated created considerable instability during the period, and regrettably the charity was unable to sustain its charitable activities, which ceased during the year.
The disruption caused by these circumstances meant that the charity was not in a position to pursue its objectives or deliver programs to its beneficiaries to the standard the trustees would wish. Whilst this is disappointing, the trustees are satisfied that every effort was made to manage the charity's affairs responsibly in difficult circumstances.
Notwithstanding the difficulties experienced during the year, the trustees are pleased to report that positive steps have been taken since the year end to secure the charity's future. New trustees have been appointed with the energy and commitment necessary to restore the charity to full operation, and work is already underway to identify and apply for grant funding that will enable the charity to resume its charitable activities and work towards achieving its core objectives.
The trustees look forward to reporting on the progress of these efforts in due course and remain committed to delivering meaningful outcomes for the communities the charity exists to serve.
It is the policy of the trust that unrestricted funds which have not been designated for a specific use should be maintained at a level equivalent to between three and six month’s expenditure. 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 trust’s current activities while consideration is given to ways in which additional funds may be raised. This level of reserves has been maintained throughout the year.
The trust is a company limited by guarantee governed by its Memorandum and Articles of Association dated 4 June 2020.
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:
Subject to Article 24, any person who is willing to act as a Trustee, and who would not be disqualified from acting under the provisions of Article 26, may be appointed to be a Trustee by the Memeber (acting through an authorised representative) serving notice in writing on the Charity.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The company's current policy concerning the payment of trade creditors is to follow the CBI's Prompt Payers Code (copies are available from the CBI, Centre Point, 103 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1DU).
The company's current policy concerning the payment of trade creditors is to:
settle the terms of payment with suppliers when agreeing the terms of each transaction;
ensure that suppliers are made aware of the terms of payment by inclusion of the relevant terms in contracts; and
pay in accordance with the company's contractual and other legal obligations.
The board of Trustees must consist of at least three independent Trustees.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
In order to assist you to fulfil your duties under the Companies Act 2006, we have prepared for your approval the financial statements of Linnets In The Community for the year ended 30 June 2025, which comprise the statement of financial activities and the related notes 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 https://www.icaew.com/regulation.
This report is made to the charity's trustees, as a body, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter dated 23 March 2023. Our work has been undertaken solely to prepare for your approval the financial statements of Linnets In The Community 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. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than Linnets In The Community and the charity's trustees as a body, for our work or for this report.
It is your duty to ensure that Linnets In The Community 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 Linnets In The Community. You consider that Linnets In The Community 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 Linnets In The Community. 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.
The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.
Linnets In The Community is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 23 London Road, Downham Market, Norfolk, PE38 9BJ, England.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the trust'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 trust is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The trust 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 trust. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
At the time of approving the financial statements, the trustees have a reasonable expectation that the trust 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 trust 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.
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 trust 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 trust's balance sheet when the trust 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 trust’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 trust 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.
In the application of the trust’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 average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The trust operates a defined contribution pension scheme for all qualifying employees. The assets of the scheme are held separately from those of the trust 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 trust entered into the following transactions with related parties: