I am pleased to introduce this year’s annual report and accounts on behalf of the Board, and to reflect positively on another successful year for our wide range of Fife-based projects and initiatives.
As we look forward to our 30th Anniversary in 2027, it is heartening to be reflecting on the achievements of our charity over the last year – and the support of funders and partners who share our ambitions for the positive impact that Fife’s historic environment delivers. New colleagues on the Board and new team members have joined our existing trustees/directors and staff to grow our work across Fife.
As I write this one of our founder members Brian Wood is stepping down from the Board – Brian’s sharp legal mind, dedication and unfailing humour have been instrumental to our work since the beginning, and we are grateful to him for his outstanding contribution.
Looking forward to our anniversary year, we will celebrate all that we have achieved with partners and communities in Fife – and look forward to delivering exciting projects in Buckhaven, Dunfermline, St Monans and across the Kingdom.
To support us in this we are currently refreshing our Collaboration Agreement with Fife Council to sustain and develop this valuable partnership; improving our approach to setting out our case for support and telling the story of the people and places we work with across Fife; as well as developing our contribution to climate action through a better recognition of the work we do already and a new action plan to increase our positive impact.
I would like to place on record our sincere thanks to the whole staff team for their skill, expertise and hard work and supporting the Board so effectively. As always, we remain extremely grateful to all our funders for their advice, assistance and financial support – in particular we are indebted to Fife Council, Historic Environment Scotland, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Architectural Heritage Fund, Scottish Land Fund and Scottish Government.
I would also like to thank our external auditors, Thomson Cooper, for their work and advice on this annual report and accounts.
As we continue to deliver on our goal of an unrivalled track record and reputation for conservation and re-use of at risk historic buildings in Fife, we will be recruiting for new Board members with the skills and passion to contribute to our work and looking forward to welcoming new funders and partners alongside our existing supporters. I hope you read our report with interest and are inspired to support and contribute to our work.
The trustees (who are also directors of the charitable company for the purposes of company law) present their annual report for the year ended 31 March 2026.
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 Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), 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).
Our purposes as a charity and a company are to:
foster the conservation, adaptation and re-use of buildings in Fife that have historic interest, architectural merit or amenity value, for public benefit, including associated land, streetscapes and relevant historic environments.;
promote the public knowledge and enjoyment of places in Fife having historic interest, architectural merit or amenity value; and
advance education and skills, for public benefit, in the conservation, adaptation and re-use of buildings and associated environments.
We meet our charitable objectives by:
managing projects to conserve historic buildings at risk, ensuring that they have a renewed practical purpose, long term caring owners and a viable future
in our engagement and education programme, sharing and fostering best conservation practices and skills, as well as helping communities to appreciate their local heritage
caring for a small portfolio of historic properties, which we actively maintain as workspaces and holiday lets.
Achievements
This has been an exciting year for us – growing our team and increasing the number of communities we work with, thanks to the support of funders and partners. We have been delighted to welcome several new staff to the team during the year – Louise Ciaraldi as our new Administrator (a new post supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund), Katie Hearns and Lesley Clark as our job share Finance Officers, Mary Comer as Dunfermline Projects Officer (also funded by AHF) and Andrea Brislane as Projects Officer working across Fife (funded by Historic Environment Scotland).
Following the appointment of new trustees in 2025, as a Board we have refreshed our skills audit and established new working groups. Our work on a Scheme of Delegation has now been finalised, setting out clear guidelines to support decision making by trustees and staff. Crucially during the period we have carried out a full review of our Memorandum & Articles, with the support of our appointed charity solicitors Lindsays. New Articles have now been adopted by our membership – this ensures we have an up to date basis for our work, covering the breadth of activities we deliver with a range of beneficiaries across Fife, supported by modern working arrangements.
Supported by the Architectural Heritage Fund’s Heritage Development Trust programme, we expanded our team in Dunfermline to enable us to develop new projects in the city. It has been exciting to work with city parters to explore potential new uses for a range of buildings – including St Margaret’s House, Abbey Church Halls and a cottage in Monastery Street. Public consultation has helped us understand people’s aspirations for these buildings in the heart of the city’s heritage quarter – and we are testing and developing ideas that respond to the demand for more visitor accommodation, and to complement its high-profile neighbour Dunfermline Abbey.
We are delighted to have support from Historic Environment Scotland to develop a City Heritage programme in Dunfermline. Dunfermline will for the first time receive a share of £19.5 million for Scotland’s cities as part of a wider funding package for City Heritage trusts across Scotland. After Dunfermline became Scotland’s eighth modern city in 2022, it now qualifies for funding through the City Heritage Trust scheme, which aims to provide local trusts with funding to invest in projects or work aligned to their local historic environment. We will be working in partnership with Fife Council to establish Dunfermline City Heritage as a new champion for the city’s historic environment – with experience and expertise to place Dunfermline’s heritage at the heart of the city’s future plans. We will also be developing a baseline understanding of the condition and needs of Dunfermline’s historic fabric – and of the skills and engagement needed to conserve it. This is an important new initiative for the city and for us, we look forward to working with partners in Dunfermline over the next five years.
Historic Environment Scotland has also supported us with another round of funding to continue and expand our project development work across Fife, in particular supporting historic churches at risk. In December 2025, St Monans Auld Kirk Enterprise (SMAKE) reached two fantastic milestones: completion of the purchase process and the announcement of a successful bid for National Lottery Heritage Fund development phase funding. This will ensure they can continue to develop their plans for permanent heritage interpretation, community activities and engagement, and vital building upgrades to secure this beloved community asset in the long term. We will continue to support SMAKE in the development phase to complete the delivery grant application, continuing a productive partnership in place since the group's formation in 2023. The great progress to date has been made possible thanks to the Architectural Heritage Fund, Scottish Land Fund, Historic Environment Scotland, Fife Rural Development Fund, St Monans Common Good Fund, and many individual supporters.
Other highlights have included working alongside the Tayport Auld Kirk Trust and the Architectural Heritage Fund to develop pilot proposals for an architect-designed accommodation pod within a B-listed church building. We are looking for a solution that delivers new income to support the whole of the Kirk, whilst also being a fitting new addition to its interior. Here we are working alongside an established community-ownership trust to pool expertise and experience and find the right solution for this significant local landmark.
We were also pleased to be appointed – alongside Community Enterprise – by the Friends of Burntisland Parish Church, to help them consider future options for this nationally significant A-Listed historic building. Burntisland Old Parish Church is a unique and treasured building of international significance. It is one of the first post-Reformation churches in Scotland, built by the townspeople in 1592-96 – and the location of the General Assembly of 1601 that agreed to the development of what became the King James Bible.
Our longstanding placemaking work in communities across Fife continues to develop, working in partnership with Fife Council. We are coming to the end of the Inverkeithing Heritage Regeneration scheme – funded by Fife Council, National Lottery Heritage Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and others – a multi-year programme of varied projects to celebrate and enhance the Inverkeithing Conservation Area. With our partners we have undoubtedly faced challenges in completing some key projects here – but are able to draw on our excellent relationship with Fife Council, close liaison with members of the local community and our own commitment and experience – to keep moving forward. We expect to see the transformed A-Listed Inverkeithing Town House open to the public next year, with other projects in the town completed and an opportunity to share with people locally some of the highlights of what we have learned about this fascinating and important, but often overlooked, historic burgh.
Similarly overlooked has been the long and proud history of another part of Fife – the coastal settlement of Buckhaven. Buckhaven has a long history linked to fishing and coalmining and has experienced (and continues to experience) significant change and transformation. Much of the oldest built heritage (including the historic harbour and fishing village heritage) was demolished in the 20th century and replaced with new housing developments, however interesting built heritage still remains.
Working over the last couple of years with Fife Council, partner organisations in Buckhaven and with experienced advisers we have helped to shape proposals for the Buckhaven Heritage scheme. This multi-year programme will, we hope, provide opportunities for local people to celebrate and better understand their heritage, to develop the skills needed to look after it and to develop their own potential, and offer support to landmark historic buildings in the local area. The decisions on the delivery grant applications will be made in the summer of 2026.
We have continued to manage the historic properties in our care and to provide opportunities for people to experience and enjoy these historic buildings in Fife – either as tenants or our guests. Our three historic holiday lets - Kinghorn Town Hall, Cupar Burgh Chambers and John McDouall Stuart View in Dysart continue to attract visitors to Fife from across the UK and internationally. Guests value the opportunity to enjoy staying in a unique historic holiday apartment and this is reflected in their reviews, e.g.: Thank you so much for providing such an amazing place to stay. Not only was the building exactly what we were hoping for, but the locals and the food were all amazing. We thoroughly enjoyed our time in Kinghorn. To care for our properties we have refreshed the architect-led quinquennial condition surveys for each building and are exploring new approaches to managing the ongoing repairs and maintenance needed.
Future Plans
We have a busy and exciting year ahead of us, continuing to deliver key projects noted above including the development of Dunfermline City Heritage, supporting St Monans Auld Kirk Enterprise with their delivery grant application and responding to the outcome of major funding applications with Fife Council for Buckhaven. We will also continue to develop our project pipeline to bring forward new project opportunities.
We will also continue to deliver on key initiatives in our strategy, e.g.:
refreshing our long term Collaboration Agreement with Fife Council
improving our ability to demonstrate the value of all the work we do and the positive impact on our beneficiaries
finalising and agreeing our net zero action plan
improving our approach to managing repairs and maintenance, to ensure our historic properties are well maintained and able to be enjoyed by all
investigating the potential to broaden sources of financial support for the Trust's work both for specific historic building projects and for public engagement with heritage and educational/skills activity
an ongoing programme of policy review on a planned basis
achieving cyber security accreditation
We will be looking forward also to our 30th Anniversary year in 2027 – an important opportunity to celebrate everything we have achieved and to plan new projects that will deliver for people and places across Fife.
Revenue Account Performance
The Revenue Account for the Trust is reported in the Statement of Financial Activities (SOFA) on pages 14 and 15 of these accounts. The SOFA shows a surplus of £15,138 against an approved deficit budget for the year of £53,571. This was mainly a result of lower than expected staff costs driven by the timing of the recruitment of new posts being later than originally anticipated. Our holiday let properties also contributed a greater surplus than was prudently budgeted, mainly driven by lower expenditure requirements than anticipated.
Fixed Assets
Accounting rules require assets be valued on a regular basis and when material circumstances may impact on the value of assets. The Trust commissioned D M Hall to carry out a valuation on its buildings in March 2022. The results of that valuation process are reflected in these accounts.
A more detailed explanation of the results follows:
The Trust’s properties were revalued as of 31st March 2022 by D M Hall Chartered Surveyors. This resulted in an overall increase in the value of the Trust’s Assets of £185,500 compared to the 2014 valuation. A separate valuation was brought into the accounts for the Office/Archive to show the distinction in use and value from the Holiday Let Apartment.
Cash and bank balances at year end were £507,746 (2024-25: £527,981) including £402,389 (2024-25: £375,000) that has been invested temporarily to generate interest income. These invested funds have earned bank interest in 2025-26 of £10,741 (2024-25: £13,543). Money owed to the Trust on 31 March 2026 was £106,070 (2024-25 £80,448) the majority of which was received by May 2026.
Money owed by the Trust at the balance sheet date was £60,078 (2024-25: £71,510) which, in the main, were year-end running costs and quarterly VAT.
Net assets stood at £939,738 (2024-25: £924,600) represented by unrestricted funds of £789,754 (2024-25: £775,827) including the gain on the revaluation of assets of £185,500 details of which are shown above and restricted funds of £149,984 (2024-25: £148,773).
The figures reported above are supplemented by the notes to the accounts on pages 18 to 29.
Statement on Risk Management
FHBT continues to operate in a complex environment, developing projects that often have inherent risk, but with appropriate professional safeguards. The complexity of the risk environment in which we are working grows greater each year, and as a Board we have always taken risk management seriously. The Board reviews the FHBT risk register regularly at its meetings, particularly in relation to reported risks on current FHBT work – reviewing and agreeing planned mitigation.
Trust’s Policy on Reserves
The Trust is aware of the need to continually assess the potential financial risks to the ongoing activities of the Trust and to have in place sound risk management arrangements including ensuring that these risks are removed or mitigated against.
Designated Fund - Renewal and Repair Fund
The Board decided that a proportion of unrestricted reserves should be set aside and designated for use in funding major repairs to its properties. As the age of the properties increases then so too does the potential for major fabric repairs and for renewal of heating systems etc. The Trust currently has £16,693 set aside and designated for the funding of significant repairs costing in excess of £1,000. This sum is reviewed at the end of each financial year.
General Unrestricted Reserves
The Trust is committed to building up and maintaining unrestricted reserves sufficient to meet the Trust’s cash flow requirements, ongoing running costs and liabilities in any financial year as well as meeting any potential unforeseen or emergency expenditures.
We also require sufficient reserves to develop future projects, and to invest in the delivery of FHBT’s strategy. This will sometimes require upfront investment, to develop initiatives or enterprises that will deliver our charitable purposes and generate revenue income in the future.
The most significant financial risk to the Trust would be the loss of its funding streams particularly the Partnership Funding from Fife Council and Management Fees from projects. The Trust also operates in an extremely challenging external funding environment, with competition for grant funding intense. Recent experience during pandemic lockdowns demonstrated the risk of sudden loss of trading income – i.e. from FHBT’s holiday apartments.
In a worst case scenario where the Trust potentially has to be wound up either because of funding being withdrawn or where the running costs of the Trust exceed the funding available on an ongoing basis then a structured and organised exit strategy would have to be agreed with Fife Council and other partners having regard to the projects in progress and the timescales for completion of these. If such an event were to transpire the Trust would require potentially to meet redundancy costs and all other outstanding liabilities at that time. The winding up process could take some time therefore the Board have agreed to maintain reserves equivalent to at least three months running costs as a minimum for this purpose.
The Trust is incorporated under the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee (SC173262) and the date of incorporation was 6th March 1997. The company is governed by its Articles of Association. The company is a recognised Scottish Charity under number SC026043.
The company is run by a Board of Trustees who meet on a regular basis to conduct the affairs of the company, within the terms of the company's Articles of Association. Trustees are recruited by open advertisement and appointed by the Board. Fife Council also has the right to appoint up to two individuals as Trustees. The full time manager, Lorraine Bell, is responsible for the day to day operations of the company; and gives new Trustees a detailed briefing on the work of the Trust.
Jim Birrell is Chairman of the Board of Trustees. Ros Taylor is the Vice Chair. Jonathan Bryant is the Company Secretary and Colin Fowler the Treasurer. These office bearers of the Trust also form a sub-committee of the Board, the Executive Committee.
General Meetings of the Trustees are held four times a year, or as required for specific purposes. Executive Committee meetings are generally held 5 times a year, or as required for specific purposes. The Manager and a small staff team undertook the day to day administration and management of Trust business, with all strategic decisions on matters of expenditure, policy and funding applications being made by the Trustees.
Patron
The Right Honourable Gordon Brown
Company registered number
SC173262
Charity registered number
SC026043
Registered office
Kinghorn Town Hall
St. Leonard’s Place
Kinghorn
Fife
KY3 9TL
Company secretary
Jonathan Bryant
Auditors
Thomson Cooper
3 Castle Court
Carnegie Campus
Dunfermline
Fife
KY11 8PB
The trustees, who are also the directors of Fife Historic Buildings Trust 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 trust 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 trust 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 trust and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the trust and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that Thomson Cooper be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Fife Historic Buildings Trust (the ‘trust’) for the year ended 31 March 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 trust 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 trust’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 (Scotland) Regulations 2006 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
proper 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 trust 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 trust’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.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
We considered the opportunities and incentives that may exist within the organisation for fraud and identified the greatest potential for fraud in the following areas: existence and timing of recognition of income, posting of unusual journals along with complex transactions and non-compliance with laws and regulations. We discussed these risks with management, designed audit procedures to test the timing and existence of revenue, tested a sample of journals to confirm they were appropriate and inspected minutes from meetings held by management and trustees for any reference to breaches of laws and regulations. In addition, we reviewed areas of judgement for indicators of management bias to address these risks.
We identified areas of laws and regulations that could reasonably be expected to have a material effect on the financial statements from our sector experience through discussion with the officers and other management (as required by the auditing standards).
We reviewed the laws and regulations in areas that directly affect the financial statements including applicable charity and company law and considered the extent of compliance with those laws and regulations as part of our procedures on the related financial statement items.
With the exception of any known or possible non-compliance with relevant and significant laws and regulations, and as required by the auditing standards, our work in respect of these was limited to enquiry of the officers and management of the charity.
We communicated identified laws and regulations and potential fraud risks throughout our team and remained alert to any indications of non-compliance or fraud throughout the audit. However the primary responsibility for the prevention and detection of fraud rests with the trustees.
Owing to the inherent limitations of an audit, there is an unavoidable risk that we may not have detected some material misstatements in the financial statements, even though we have properly planned and performed our audit in accordance with auditing standards. We are not responsible for preventing non-compliance and cannot be expected to detect non-compliance with all laws and regulations.
These inherent limitations are particularly significant in the case of misstatement resulting from fraud as this may involve sophisticated schemes designed to avoid detection, including deliberate failure to record transactions, collusion or the provision of intentional misrepresentations.
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 and to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with Section 44(1) (c) of the Charities and Trustees Investment (Scotland) Act and regulation 10 of the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006. 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.
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 the Companies Act 2006
Fife Historic Buildings Trust is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in Scotland. The registered office is Kinghorn Town Hall, St Leonard's Place, Kinghorn, KY3 9TL.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the trust's governing document, the Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005, the Charities Accounts (Scotland) Regulations 2006 (as amended), 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 trust is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
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 charity constitutes a public benefit entity as defined by FRS 102.
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 a period not less than 12 months. Thus the trustees continue to adopt the going concern basis of accounting in preparing the financial statements.
Unrestricted income funds comprise those funds which the Trustees are free to use for any purpose in the furtherance of the charity objectives. Unrestricted funds include designated funds where the Trustees, at their discretion, have created a fund for a specific purpose.
Restricted funds are funds which are to be used in accordance with specific restrictions imposed by the donor.
Items of income are recognised and included in the accounts when all of the following criteria are met:
The charity has entitlement to the funds;
Any performance conditions attached to the item(s) of income have been met or are fully within the control of the charity;
There is sufficient certainty that receipt of the income is considered probable; and
The amount can be measured reliably.
Income tax recoverable in relation to investment income is recognised at the time the investment income is receivable.
Uncommitted reserves are temporarily invested either in fixed interest term deposits or in on call deposits. This generates additional interest for the charity. These investments are reflected in the Cash at bank and in hand line in the Balance Sheet.
Expenditure is recognised once there is a legal or constructive obligation to make a payment to a third party, it is probable that settlement will be required, and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.
Governance and support costs are those incurred in connection with administration of the charity and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements and include the audit fees and costs linked to the strategic management of the charity.
Charitable expenditure comprises those costs incurred in the delivery of the charity’s activities and services. It includes both costs that can be allocated directly to such activities and those costs of an indirect nature necessary to support them.
All costs are allocated between the expenditure categories of the Statement of Financial Activities on a basis designed to reflect the use of resource. Costs relating to a particular activity are allocated directly, others are apportioned on an appropriate basis.
Tangible fixed assets are stated at cost less depreciation. The costs of minor additions under £1,000 are not capitalised.
Depreciation is calculated so as to write off the cost of an asset, less its estimated residual value, over the useful economic life of that asset as follows:
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.
Investment properties are measured at fair value at each reporting date with changes in fair value recognised in net gains/(losses) on investments in the Statement of Financial Activities.
At each reporting end date, the trust 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 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 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.
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.
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.
Total
Management fees and costs recovered
Grants from other sources
Grants - Fife Council
Accountancy fees
The average monthly number of employees during the year was 8 (2025: 7)
The FHBT Manager (who is on secondment from Fife Council) salary is also included within wages and salaries above.
The Key Management Personnel are considered to be the trustees and no remuneration was provided to them during the year.
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The charity's properties were revalued on a fair value basis by Michael Court MRCIS, Registered Valuer with D M Hall Chartered Surveyors in the accounts for the year ended 31 March 2022. The Board are of the view that no material changes to the value of the charity's properties has occurred during the period from March 2022 and due to the very long useful life of the Freehold Property no depreciation provision has been made on these assets.
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 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.
All restricted funds are principally funded by grants receivable, and comprise the following:
Dysart THI
Contribution from Fife Council in connection with previous Dysart Townscape Heritage Initiative - for use on historic environment regeneration initiative costs in Dysart, by joint agreement between FC/FHBT
Leven Silverburn Park
Contribution from Fife Council for use on projects at Silverburn Park and Flax Mill
Inverkeithing
Contribution from Fife Council in connection with Inverkeithing - for use on historic environment regeneration costs in Inverkeithing, by joint agreement between FC/FHBT. Funds added in 2024-25 for use on energy efficiency improvements
FC/FHBT Partnership Fund
Joint FC/FHBT fund for partnership projects - including feasibility/development work - by joint agreement between FC/FHBT
Fife Buildings Health Check
Contribution from Historic Environment Scotland to explore feasibility of buildings health check scheme and of city heritage scheme in Dunfermline
Donibristle Chapel
Grant from Fife Council to support planned Fife Council repairs to Donibristle Chapel, or other FC/FHBT partnership projects by agreement
Edinburgh Airport Grant
Grant from Edinburgh Airport Fund for event equipment and marketing
AHF Heritage Development Trust Grant
Grant from the Architectural Heritage Fund for capacity building to support Heritage Development Trusts
Dunfermline City Heritage
Contributions towards a new City Heritage scheme for Dunfermline
HES Project Officer Grant
Grant from HES to support project work on historic buildings across Fife
AHF Tayport Auld Kirk Project Development Grant
Grant from AHF to explore the development of an accommodation pod at Tayport Auld Kirk
AHF St Margaret's House Project Viability Grant
Grant from AHF to undertake an options appraisal on St Margaret's House, Dunfermline
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the trust's activities.
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
Incoming resources
Resources expended
Transfers
Designated funds which have been set aside out of unrestricted funds by the trustees for specific purposes.
Gains and losses
Gains and losses
The company is in receipt of grant funding from public bodies. Some grants have contractual terms and conditions and in the event of the company failing to comply with all of the terms and conditions then all or some of the grants may be repayable.
The company was not under the control of any one individual throughout the current and previous year.
The Trustees received no remuneration or expenses in the year ended 31 March 2026 (2025: £Nil).
Two Trustees have been reimbursed for expenses totalling £248. This was made up of £212 of travel expenses and £36 for printing and postage. (2025: £Nil).
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2025 - none).
Every member of the company undertakes to contribute a maximum of £1 to the assets of the company should it be wound up while they are a member or within one year of them ceasing to be a member.
The Memorandum of Association does not permit the payment of dividends or the distribution of the surpluses to members.