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 Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102)" (effective 1 January 2019).
The objects of the Charity are to pay or apply the funds of the Charity to or towards or in furtherance or advancement or for the benefit of such one or more charities, charitable institutions or charitable purposes and if more than one in such shares and in such manner as the Board of Trustees may think fit.
The Trustees meet every 4-6 weeks to consider grant requests from shop and head office fundraisers and registered charities. Funds are directed towards a wide range of causes with the overriding requirement being that the causes supported operate and serve the community in which the shops and businesses of the Group operate.
Categories most commonly given grants are as follows:
Healthcare - Medical research/treatment, hospice services, support/treatment for the physically challenged and impaired and mental health;
Education - Research/support services for those with learning difficulties, specialist support in deprived areas, sports facilities for the physically challenged and impaired;
Community - Projects for the homeless and aged, social activity projects for those at risk, animal welfare, environmental projects.
The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Applications are received and logged which are considered individually and verified as appropriate for inclusion as a potential grant by Gary Riches. These are presented to the Trustees who then review each one at their 4-6 weekly meetings. Notification is made to the organisation or colleague requesting the grant within two weeks after the appropriate meeting. From time to time there are urgent requests with a time deadline, these are considered and dealt with via email communication on a unanimous vote of the Trustees.
During the year, the Charity awarded grants totalling £718,266 (2024: £762,222). Details of these are set out in note 4.
During the year ended 31st December 2025 the charity raised a total sum of £710,147, far more than the minimum target set at the beginning of the year of £66,600.
Feedback received from fundraisers and those in receipt of grants continues to be extremely positive with several very popular, targeted fundraising efforts. 2025 saw the charity support several National charities, including on-going commitments to Children with Cancer and Prostate Cancer UK. All fundraising campaigns were supported across the Retail Estate and Head Office.
The Board has approved a reserves policy. Its objective is to achieve a balance between the need to use funds raised to fulfil Ladbrokes Coral Trust's objectives and the need to retain sufficient funds to give sufficient financial flexibility to respond to short term grant requests and protect the long term future of the charity's operations.
It is intended that these cash reserves do not exceed £250,000 at any one time. Cash balances at the end of 2025 were £91,662 (2024: £93,121).
Ladbrokes Coral Trust is a company limited by guarantee incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 as a Private Limited Company. The Company number is 04924216. The Company is also a registered charity number 1101804.
On 31 May 2017 the Trust changed the registered name at Companies House from Ladbrokes in the Community Charitable Trust (LICCT) to Ladbrokes Charitable Trust (LCT).
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:
Under Article 13.5 of the Charity’s Articles, Ladbrokes Coral Trust may have up to a maximum of 15 trustees, of which 10 are nominated by Ladbrokes Coral Group Limited (formerly Ladbrokes plc) and a further 5 co-opted by the trustees.
On appointment as a trustee, that person will automatically become a member of the company.
Article 13.9 explains the circumstances in which a trustee will be removed from office.
Ladbrokes Coral Group Limited is ultimately owned by Entain plc and forms part of the Entain group.
The Board members are all unpaid volunteers with the day-to-day running of the charity in the year managed by Gary Riches, Karen Thraves is co-opted for reporting and reconciliations. There are no full-time members of staff of the Company.
The Trustees consider that Entain, and its subsidiary companies ("the Group") are related parties of the Charity, as the Trustees are directors or senior employees of the Group.
The Board have assessed the major risks to which the charity is exposed, in particular those related to the operations and finances of the charity and are satisfied the systems are in place to mitigate exposure to the major risks.
The Trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
We report to the Trustees on our examination of the financial statements of Ladbrokes Coral Trust (the charity) for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Having satisfied ourselves that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the 2006 Act and are eligible for independent examination, we report in respect of our examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011 (the 2011 Act). In carrying out our examination we have followed all the applicable Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the 2011 Act.
Since the charity’s gross income exceeded £250,000 your examiner must be a member of a body listed in section 145 of the 2011 Act. We confirm that we are qualified to undertake the examination because we are a member of the Institute of Chartered Accounts in England & Wales, which is one of the listed bodies.
We have completed our examination. We confirm that no matters have come to our attention in connection with the examination giving us cause to believe that in any material respect:
accounting records were not kept in respect of the charity 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).
We 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.
Ladbrokes Coral Trust is a private company limited by Share capital, incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is 7th Floor, One Stratford Place Westfield Stratford, Montfichet Road, London, E20 1EJ.
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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The charity 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 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.
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.
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.
Ladbrokes Coral Trust does not have Restricted or Designated funds. All funds are unrestricted.
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.
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.
Cost of generating funds are those incurred in organising fundraising events and in seeking voluntary contributions and do not include costs of disseminating information in support of the charity’s charitable activities.
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 Trustees who have served during the period are also employees of the Entain Group and spend an immaterial amount of their time on activities relating to the Trust. As such, none of their remuneration is considered to be for qualifying services to the Charity.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
There were no employees in the Charity during the year. Management services are provided to the Charity by a fellow group company. No charge has been provided for these services.
Charitable funds due from Ladbrokes Betting and Gaming Limited received on behalf of Ladbrokes Coral Trust: £13,069 (2024: £25,670 ).
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.
The day to day running of the charity is managed by a board of Trustees who are co-opted from Ladbrokes Coral Group for administrative and communication services. There are no full time members of staff of the company.