As Chairman, I am pleased to present Crawley Open House's Annual Report and Accounts for the year. This report reflects not only our financial performance but, more importantly, the impact that our staff, volunteers, supporters and partners continue to make in the lives of people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity across our community.
The past year has once again presented significant challenges. The continued cost of living, pressure on affordable housing, increasing demand for support services and wider economic uncertainty have all contributed to a growing need for the services we provide. Throughout this period, Crawley Open House has remained focused on delivering compassionate, high-quality support while ensuring the charity continues to operate with strong governance, sound financial management and a clear strategic direction.
I am proud of how the charity has responded to these challenges. Through the commitment of our staff, volunteers and trustees, together with the invaluable support of our local authority partners, funders, businesses and community organisations, we have continued to adapt our services to meet changing needs whilst maintaining the stability of the charity.
We have also continued to invest in the future of Crawley Open House, ensuring our services remain sustainable, responsive and centred around the people we support. Every decision made by the Board has been guided by our mission to provide safe accommodation, practical support and opportunities that help individuals rebuild their lives with dignity and independence.
Our thanks go to everyone who has supported Crawley Open House during the year. Whether through financial donations, fundraising, volunteering, corporate partnerships or simply championing our work within the community, your generosity makes a genuine difference. We remain continually inspired by the kindness and commitment shown by so many individuals and organisations across Sussex.
It would not be appropriate to reflect on this year without acknowledging the sad loss of our fellow Trustee, Richard Burrett, who passed away after almost 30 years of dedicated service to Crawley Open House. During this time, Richard made an outstanding contribution to the charity, giving generously of his time, experience and wisdom in support of our mission. Richard's commitment to improving the lives of people experiencing homelessness helped shape the organisation we are today, and his guidance, integrity and compassion earned the respect and gratitude of trustees, staff, volunteers and all who had the privilege of working alongside him.
On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I would like to express our sincere thanks for Richard's exceptional service and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and friends. His contribution to Crawley Open House will be remembered with gratitude for many years to come.
This Annual Report demonstrates how we have used the resources entrusted to us, the outcomes we have achieved and the governance arrangements that ensure the charity remains accountable and sustainable for the future. On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I thank everyone who has contributed to another year of dedicated service and support, and I look forward with confidence as we continue working together to tackle homelessness and transform lives.
James Abdool
The Trustees present their report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2026.
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the accounting policies set out in note 1 to the accounts and comply with the charity's memorandum and articles of association, the Companies Act 2006 and the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Accounting and Reporting by Charities", issued in March 2019.
Purposes and aims
The Trustees regularly review the charity's aims, objectives and activities to ensure they continue to meet the needs of the local community and remain aligned with our charitable purposes. This Annual Report outlines the progress made during the year, the outcomes achieved and the impact of our work for those experiencing homelessness, housing insecurity and wider social exclusion.
In planning and reviewing the charity's activities, the Trustees have had due regard to the Charity Commission's guidance on public benefit and are satisfied that Crawley Open House continues to deliver meaningful benefit to those it exists to support.
About Crawley Open House
Founded in 1982, Crawley Open House has been supporting vulnerable people across Crawley and the surrounding area for more than four decades. What began as a local community resource has evolved into one of Sussex's leading homelessness charities, providing accommodation, practical support and opportunities that help individuals rebuild their lives.
Since opening our first emergency winter shelter in 1990 and establishing our permanent hostel in 1994, the charity has continually adapted to meet changing patterns of need. While our services have developed over the years, our purpose has remained constant: to provide compassionate support to people experiencing homelessness and those facing the challenges of poverty, unemployment, loneliness, discrimination and social exclusion.
Today, Crawley Open House delivers a range of accommodation and support services designed to help people achieve greater stability, independence and wellbeing. We recognise that every person's circumstances are different, and our support is tailored accordingly. For some, this may mean safe accommodation and intensive support; for others, it may simply be a warm welcome, a listening ear or practical guidance at a time of crisis.
Everything we do is underpinned by the belief that everyone deserves dignity, respect and the opportunity to build a better future.
During the year the charity had net incoming resources of £237,866 (2025: £446,897). The net income partly reflects the good level of donations and grants we received as well as continuing difficulties we have had recruiting staff to fill vacancies although we have performed better in this area than in previous years and are now close to fully staffed.
The charity’s reserves policy takes account of its expanding operations, the way they are funded and the forward-looking risks to that funding. The reserves policy is to hold unrestricted reserves of between three and six months’ projected core expenditure.
As at 31st March 2026, unrestricted funds were £823,028 (2025: £760,747) and projected core expenditure for the financial year 2026-27 is £1,846,400. Reserves are therefore within the Trustees’ target range. The Trustees consider this to be an appropriate level of reserves given the financial pressures everywhere in the UK economy, which are likely to impact both the charity’s income and expenses.
It is the policy of the charity to hold designated funds to a level representing the value of the occupied property and the charity’s essential equipment. During the year ended 31 March 2026, the charity purchased an additional move-on house. At the year end, the amount held in the designated fund for the purchase of additional move-on properties was reviewed and increased to reflect the charity’s plans to purchase further properties in the coming years.
During the year, Crawley Open House continued to provide essential accommodation, support and opportunities for people experiencing homelessness and social exclusion across Crawley and the surrounding area. Despite increasing demand and continued financial pressures affecting both our clients and the wider voluntary sector, we maintained high-quality services, achieved excellent occupancy across our accommodation, expanded educational opportunities and continued to help individuals move towards stable, independent living.
Riverside House
Beyond providing accommodation, our dedicated support team works alongside each resident to address the issues that have contributed to homelessness. This includes housing advice, resettlement planning, mental health and substance misuse support, access to healthcare, counselling and practical wellbeing services.
Key measures:
• 24-bed hostel
• 99.24% occupancy
• 106 people accommodated
• 73 successfully resettled
• 68.9% moved into permanent accommodation
These outcomes demonstrate the effectiveness of our person-centred approach and the commitment of our staff in helping individuals rebuild stable and independent lives.
Resource Centre
The Resource Centre continues to transform the way we deliver day services, with real benefits that include, but are not limited to:
• skills development
• employment support
• health interventions
• partner agencies working together
• earlier intervention
Our registration as a City & Guilds Approved Centre continues to generate positive outcomes and it is a huge benefit that homeless people can now leave with recognised qualifications.
The Resource Centre now hosts a range of specialist staff and partner organisations providing housing advice, substance misuse services, healthcare, wellbeing support, employment advice and benefits assistance, enabling clients to access multiple services in one trusted location.
With the generous support of our founder and long-term partners, we continued delivering afternoon classes including Barista Training, Music Workshop and English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), while grants from the Clothworkers’ Foundation enabled us to purchase laptops to support our service users’ employment and housing applications, facilitation of virtual appointments, family connections and wellbeing. The Foundation also supported purchase of our new sexual health vending machine, the first of its kind in homelessness services, providing visitors with STI tests and instant HIV testing swabs with fast track treatment where needed.
We also delivered a range of projects, including sexual health education and testing funded by West Sussex County Council, the Homeless to Homemade Cookbook supported by Atkins Réalis, and contributed to PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis; a HIV prevention medicine) research project on behalf of the Elton John Aids Foundation. We are incredibly grateful to all our funders for their continued support.
Move-On
Move-On accommodation is a vital bridge between supported housing and fully independent living, and in most instances follows a journey through out managed services.
Hostel – Riverside is home to 24 residents, supported by a team 24/7, and are typically in need of round the clock support due to complex needs.
Laing Rooms - eight individual bedrooms with shared living spaces. These rooms serve as a platform for individuals to continue building on the progress they have achieved during their stay at our hostel. By offering the necessary support to promote independent living, we empower our Laing residents with increased freedom and privileges. This approach has been successful for those individuals who are the right fit for this program, and our team has developed the expertise to integrate these clients within our residential team and cater to their specific needs.
Move-On Houses - Within our six Move-On houses, during the year we provided twenty-eight affordable rooms at an affordable rent to individuals who are seeking to transition into long-term, secure, and independent living and employment opportunities. Our focus on Move-On accommodation and equipping individuals with the skills necessary to prevent a return to homelessness is fundamental to our mission. We now offer more move-on beds than hostel beds, which stands as a remarkable achievement and underscores our dedication to providing both short-term and long-term solutions for individuals in need.
Independent accommodation – this is our ultimate aim for our residents with the right support in the community, but timing is key to when we help seek such accommodation.
The continued success of our accommodation pathway demonstrates that homelessness is not simply about providing a bed for the night. By combining safe accommodation with practical support, education, health services and opportunities for independence, Crawley Open House continues to help people rebuild their confidence, regain stability and move towards a more positive future.
Outreach Team
Our Outreach Team actively go out into the community to find, identify and support those who are sleeping rough. This is a crucial part of our work and we are delighted to secure renewed funding from Crawley Borough Council to continue this valuable work to the most vulnerable in our community.
Resettlement Outreach
This team works with people who are in accommodation but who are at risk of losing their housing for whatever reason. Clients might have a short-term crisis, or a longer-term issue, and need help with issues such as food poverty, financial insecurity, antisocial behavior and a lack of independent living skills. Many of these situations would deteriorate quickly and end in homelessness without support to keep things on track. This team have a proven track record of early interventions that have prevented someone vulnerable from becoming homeless in the first place and, as is commonly said, prevention is undoubtedly better than cure.
Fundraising Overview
The continued generosity of our supporters has enabled Crawley Open House to maintain and develop vital services for people experiencing homelessness and social exclusion throughout the year. In what remains a challenging economic environment, we are delighted to report another successful year of fundraising, achieving our income targets through the generosity of individuals, businesses, charitable trusts, statutory partners and the wider community.
We are incredibly grateful to the many people and organisations who have chosen to support Crawley Open House. Whether through financial donations, fundraising events, volunteering, gifts in kind or professional expertise, every contribution helps us provide practical support, safe accommodation and opportunities for people to rebuild their lives. We never take this support for granted and remain humbled by the commitment shown by our community.
Major Gifts
During 2025/26, we were grateful to receive core funding from:
- West Sussex County Council
- Crawley Borough Council
- The National Lottery Community Fund
- St Christopher's Trust
- Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust
- Wates Foundation
- Starry Plough Trust
- Albert Van Den Bergh Charitable Trust
- CPF Trust
and many other generous grant-making organisations. We would also like to make a special mention of the Three Oaks Trust, our longest-standing trust funder, whose continued support over many years has played an important part in the charity's development.
This core funding enables us to maintain our accommodation, employ specialist staff and provide the stable foundations upon which our services are built. It also gives us the flexibility to secure additional project funding that enhances and expands the support we are able to offer our clients. During the year, for example, regular visits from the excellent Dentaid mobile dental unit were made possible through the generous support of the Aisbitt Foundation, PVL Ltd and a private donor. We were also pleased to receive funding from the Government's Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office to support two Chagossian Support Workers, together with continued funding from West Sussex County Council for the sexual health services delivered through our Resource Centre.
We have continued to strengthen our relationships with local businesses and are proud to be active charity members of the Gatwick Diamond Business network. Corporate partnerships remain an increasingly important part of our fundraising strategy, providing not only financial support but also volunteering, professional expertise, donations of goods and invaluable advocacy for our work. We are extremely grateful to our many business partners, including Virgin Atlantic, MCA, stevensdrake solicitors, EVM, PVL, TotalEnergies, Hayes Hygiene, Rentokil, Thales, London Gatwick Airport, Croudace Homes, Mitie, Gatwick Construction and Nestlé, whose generosity continues to make a meaningful difference to the lives of those we support. This year we were introduced to a new local funder East Head Impact who generously provided a grant so that we could purchase the food that didn't get donated during the winter of 2025/26.
One of the greatest strengths of our fundraising programme continues to be our 1 in 1000 Scheme. More than 350 individuals and organisations now support Crawley Open House through regular monthly donations. This dependable income provides an invaluable foundation for budgeting and long-term planning, enabling us to deliver our services with confidence whilst continuing to invest in the future of the charity. As with many charities, some supporters have understandably had to review their giving because of personal financial pressures, while many new donors have joined the scheme during the year. We remain sincerely grateful to every supporter, past and present, whose regular generosity provides such an important and reliable source of income for Crawley Open House.
Events
Community fundraising continues to be one of the most inspiring aspects of our work, with some highlights including:
Manor Royal BID treasure hunt,
Neil Henderson and Ewen Bonnyman running the Brighton and Barns Green half marathons
The Ifield Community College football marathon
Open garden in Shipley organised by the Roggendorff Family
Southern Sheeting Ltd sleepout
(Another) Jeep Tattoo raffle
Collective Movement dance event at the Hawth
The wonderful Crawley SantaBus arranged by MetroBus
‘Music For Crawley Open House’ event organised by Helen Hardwick
(Another) Welsh Mountain challenge by Andy Moore
Hartfield Fete stall run by young Phoebe. We held several of our own fundraising events, including the sold out 8th annual footgolf tournament, carol singing at Three Bridges Station and our popular Big General Knowledge Quiz at St Wilfrid’s School.
Fundraising continues to require innovation, adaptability and strong relationships. While economic uncertainty has presented challenges for both charities and donors alike, we have continued to strengthen and diversify our income through charitable trusts, corporate partnerships, community fundraising, regular giving and individual donations.
Our fundraising approach is built on long-term relationships rather than one-off transactions. We believe that by demonstrating the impact of our work, communicating openly and thanking our supporters well, we build lasting partnerships that benefit both the charity and the community we serve.
We continue to invest in our communications, using Facebook, X, LinkedIn and Instagram to share the stories of those we support, celebrate the generosity of our donors and volunteers, and raise awareness of homelessness across our community.
Looking ahead, we remain committed to growing a resilient and sustainable fundraising programme that will enable Crawley Open House to continue providing life-changing support for many years to come. While we never underestimate the challenges of the fundraising environment, we are encouraged by the loyalty of our existing supporters and the many new individuals, businesses and organisations choosing to join us in our mission.
Summary
The need for Crawley Open House's services has never been greater. Throughout the year we have continued to see high demand for accommodation, support and advice, reflecting the ongoing challenges of rising housing costs, limited availability of affordable accommodation and increasing pressures on many individuals and families across our community.
Against this backdrop, the continued generosity of our supporters has been both humbling and inspiring. We are deeply grateful to every individual, business, trust, foundation and community organisation that has chosen to support Crawley Open House. Their confidence in our work enables us to provide life-changing services to those who need them most, and we never take that support for granted.
Fundraising remains a challenging environment, and we continue to strengthen and diversify our income through charitable trusts, corporate partnerships, community fundraising, individual giving and digital engagement. Alongside this, we continue to invest in our communications and technology to raise awareness of homelessness, share the impact of our work and build lasting relationships with new and existing supporters.
We are fortunate to enjoy strong partnerships across Crawley and the wider Sussex community, and we remain committed to working collaboratively with local authorities, businesses, healthcare providers, voluntary organisations and our many volunteers to deliver the best possible outcomes for those we support.
Demand for homelessness services continues to exceed the availability of suitable accommodation, with the shortage of affordable housing remaining one of the greatest challenges facing our clients. The Board therefore remains committed to expanding the charity's move-on accommodation wherever opportunities arise, recognising that providing safe, affordable housing is fundamental to helping people achieve long-term independence.
We will continue to develop the services delivered through our Resource Centre, expanding opportunities for education, training, employability, health and wellbeing support while strengthening partnerships with organisations that can provide specialist advice and intervention.
Alongside service development, the Trustees will continue to focus on maintaining the charity's financial resilience, investing in our people and facilities, strengthening governance and ensuring that Crawley Open House remains well placed to meet the growing needs of our community for many years to come.
The charity is a company limited by guarantee, does not have share capital and was incorporated on 21 April 1995. The Trustees / Directors are appointed at the annual general meeting or during the year at Trustees' meetings.
Trustees exercise oversight of all the charity’s activities principally through the bi-monthly Trustees’ meeting. This meeting comprises all the trustees and is attended by senior management. Its responsibilities include setting the charity’s strategy and objectives, monitoring progress and the appointment of senior management.
The Trustees’ meeting is supported by four subcommittees (Finance, Development and Fundraising, Personnel and Policies, Risk and Governance) covering all key aspects of the Trustees’ responsibilities. Each subcommittee comprises a subset of the trustees with relevant members of the management team in attendance. It reports back to the following Trustees’ meeting.
The charity maintains a register of the principal risks to which it is exposed, together with the actions to mitigate those risks. Each subcommittee is responsible for the identification and analysis of the risks falling within its terms of reference. The Trustees’ meeting has responsibility for oversight of all risks, together with any risk not within the scope of a subcommittee.
Crawley Open House has charitable status and its charity registration number is 1048919.
The Trustees, who are also directors for the purpose of company law, and who served during the year are:
This report has been prepared in accordance with the Statement of Recommended Practice, "Accounting and reporting by Charities", issued in March 2005 and in accordance with the special provisions of part 15 of the Companies Act relating to small entities.
Each of the Trustees has confirmed that there is no information of which they are aware which is relevant to the audit, but of which the auditor is unaware. They have further confirmed that they have taken appropriate steps to identify such relevant information and to establish that the auditors are aware of such information.
The Trustees report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
Company law requires the Trustees to prepare accounts for each financial year which give a true and fair view of the charitable company's state of affairs at the end of the year and of its income and expenditure for that period.
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; 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 proper accounting records which disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the charitable company and to enable them to ensure that the accounts comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charitable company and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Crawley Open House (the ‘charity’) 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 charity in accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the financial statements in the UK, including the FRC’s Ethical Standard, and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
In auditing the financial statements, we have concluded that the Trustees' use of the going concern basis of accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the Trustees with respect to going concern are described in the relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report other than the financial statements and our auditor's report thereon. The Trustees are responsible for the other information contained within the annual report. Our opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon. Our responsibility is to read the other information and, in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial statements or our knowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears to be materially misstated. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required to determine whether this gives rise to a material misstatement in the financial statements themselves. If, based on the work we have performed, we conclude that there is a material misstatement of this other information, we are required to report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:
the information given in the financial statements is inconsistent in any material respect with the Trustees' report; or
sufficient accounting records have not been kept; or
the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records; or
we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit.
As explained more fully in the statement of Trustees' responsibilities, the Trustees, who are also the directors of the charity for the purpose of company law, are responsible for the preparation of the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such internal control as the Trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error. In preparing the financial statements, the Trustees are responsible for assessing the charity’s ability to continue as a going concern, disclosing, as applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going concern basis of accounting unless the Trustees either intend to liquidate the charitable company or to cease operations, or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes our opinion. Reasonable assurance is a high level of assurance but is not a guarantee that an audit conducted in accordance with ISAs (UK) will always detect a material misstatement when it exists. Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material if, individually or in the aggregate, they could reasonably be expected to influence the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of these financial statements.
The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. The objectives of our audit are to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding compliance with laws and regulations that have a direct effect on the determination of material amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, to perform audit procedures to help identify instances of non-compliance with other laws and regulations that may have a material effect on the financial statements, and to respond appropriately to identified or suspected non-compliance with laws and regulations identified during the audit.
In relation to fraud, the objectives of our audit are to identify and assess the risk of material misstatement of the financial statements due to fraud, to obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence regarding the assessed risks of material misstatements due to fraud through designing and implementing appropriate responses and to respond appropriately to fraud or suspected fraud identified during the audit.
However it is the primary responsibility of management, with the oversight of those charged with governance, to ensure that the entity’s operations are conducted in accordance with the provisions of laws and regulations and for the prevention and detection of fraud.
In identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud, the audit engagement team made enquiries of management, and those charged with governance, regarding the procedures relating to identifying, evaluating and complying with;
laws and regulations and whether they were aware of any instances of non-compliance;
detecting and responding to the risks of fraud and whether they have knowledge of any actual, suspected or alleged fraud;
the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud or non-compliance with laws and regulations;
As a result of these procedures we consider the most significant laws and regulations that have a direct impact on the financial statements are FRS 102, General Data Protection Regulations, Companies Act, Charities Act 2011, Charities Statement of Recommended Practice, employment law and regulations and Registered Social Landlord Laws and Regulations. We performed audit procedures to detect non-compliance, which may have a material impact on the financial statements. These included reviewing financial statement disclosures and evaluating advice received from external advisors. There were no significant laws and regulations we deemed as having an indirect impact on the financial statements.
The audit engagement team identified the risk of management override of controls and revenue recognition as the areas where the financial statements were most susceptible to material misstatement due to fraud. Audit procedures performed in regards to management override included but were not limited to testing manual journal entries and other adjustments and evaluating the rationale in relation to any significant, unusual transactions and transactions entered into outside of the normal course of business.
Revenue recognition was also identified as a significant risk which could lead to a material mis-statement due to fraud or error. Audit procedures in relation to revenue recognition included but were not limited to a proof in total test on grant income and substantive testing for rental income.
Estimated residual life of building - we reviewed the building for signs of impairment and recent valuation information to confirm the land and buildings were included within the accounts accurately.
The identification and disclosure for related party transactions was also deemed a significant risk. The audit engagement team reviewed the current systems and controls in place for identifying any related parties then looked to ensure all transactions of this nature had been appropriately disclosed in the accounts.
A further description of our responsibilities is available on the Financial Reporting Council’s website at: https://www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities. This description forms part of our auditor's report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the charity's Trustees, as a body, in accordance with Chapter 3 of Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and to the charity’s trustees, as a body, in accordance with part 4 of the Charities (Accounts and Reports) Regulations 2008. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charity's Trustees those matters we are required to state to them in an auditors' 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.
Crawley Open House is a charitable company, registered in England and Wales. The registered office is Ground Floor, 1-7 Station Road, Crawley, West Sussex, RH10 1HT
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Memorandum and Articles of Association, 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 charity is a Public Benefit Entity as defined by FRS 102.
The financial statements are prepared in sterling, which is the functional currency of the charity. Monetary amounts in these financial statements are rounded to the nearest £.
The financial statements have been prepared under the historical cost convention. The principal accounting policies adopted are set out below.
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 can be used in accordance with the charitable objectives at the discretion of the Trustees.
Designated funds are unrestricted funds earmarked by the Trustees for particular purposes.
Restricted funds can only be used for particular restricted purposes within the objects of the charity. Restrictions arise when specified by the donor or when funds are raised for particular restricted purposes.
Further explanation of the nature and purpose of each fund is included in the notes of the financial statements.
All income is recognised in the Statement of Financial Activities once the charity has entitlement to the funds, it is probable that the income will be received and the amount can be measured reliably.
Donations and similar incoming resources are included in the year in which they are receivable which is when the charity becomes entitled to the resource.
Grants are included in the accounting period to which they relate.
Activities in furtherance of charitable objects includes rental income and is included in the year in which it is receivable which is when the charity becomes entitled to the resource.
Investment income is recognised in the period in which the income relates.
Other incoming resources includes kitchen receipts, placement fees and refunds of overcharged expenses all of which are included in the accounts when the charity becomes entitled to the resources.
Liabilities are recognised as expenditure as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charity to that expenditure, 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 accounted for on an accruals basis and has been classified under headings that aggregate all cost related to the category. Where costs cannot be directly attributed to particular headings they have been allocated to activities on a basis consistent with the use of resources.
Grants offered subject to conditions which have not been met at the year end date are noted as a commitment but not accrued as expenditure.
Support costs are those functions that assist the work of the charity but do not directly undertake charitable activities. Support costs include back office costs, finance, personnel, payroll and governance costs which support the charitable company's activities. These costs have been allocated between the different charitable activities. The bases on which support costs have been allocated are set out in note 9.
Depreciation is provided at the following annual rates in order to write off each asset over its estimated useful life.
Freehold Land is not depreciated.
It has been decided by the Trustees that only items of a value of £1,000 and over will be capitalised as anything smaller is not deemed material.
Cash at bank and in hand includes cash and liquid investments with maturity terms up to 12 months from the opening of the deposit or similar account.
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 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.
The Charity is exempt from corporation tax on its charitable activities
The costs of short-term employee benefits are recognised as a liability and an expense.
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.
The charity operates a defined contributions pension scheme. Contributions are charged in the accounts as they become payable in accordance with the rules of the scheme.
Donated goods
There are considerable gifts of food given to the charity which have been estimated at £56,500 (2025: £44,000) for the year.
The Charity received approximately £41,500 of volunteer assistance this year (2025: £59,500).
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.
Income is recognised when the charity is entitled to the income and this will be based on the work being completed and there is no requirement to repay the grant.
Donated items such as food are recognised in income and expenditure based on their fair value.
Time given freely to the charity by volunteers is recognised in income and expenditure based on an estimated average hourly rate and total number of hours given by volunteers.
Grants
Included within the donations and gifts above are the following non cash donations:
Donated food £56,500 (2025: £44,000)
Volunteer time £41,500 (2025: £59,500)
During the year none of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or received any reimbursement of expenses relating to their duties as Trustees and directors.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:36
The average number of employees during the year, calculated on a full-time equivalent (FTE) basis, was 28 (2025: 26), comprising 27 permanent staff and 1 sessional staff member.
The Chief Executive is eligible for membership of the Charity’s workplace pension scheme for all employees, to which the employer contributes 3% of earnings between the upper and lower earnings limits. There are no enhanced or special terms for the Chief Executive. The pension contributions of the chief executive amounted to £1,321 in the year.
The remuneration of key management personnel was as follows:
The charity is exempt from tax on income and gains falling within section 505 of the Taxes Act 1988 or section 252 of the Taxation of Chargeable Gains Act 1992 to the extent that these are applied to its charitable objects.
The Charity received a loan from The Big Issue in May 2021 for £135,000 with a fixed interest rate of 4.11% which is to be repaid over 10 years. This loan was fully repaid in the year.
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 Starter property packs fund is to provide household items to clients moving into a new home.
The Crawley Foodbank fund is towards the provision of a permanent foodbank for Crawley.
The Welfare fund is to provide in-kind support to clients in acute need.
The WSCC TAP and Lived Experience fund is to provide outreach support to clients.
The Support for Move-on premises is a contribution towards the costs of specific move-on houses.
The CBC day services grant is to support the operation of the Resource Centre.
Residential Services staff grants are to support the provision of resettlement outreach workers for the move-on accommodation.
The Day services staff grants are towards the costs of staff in the Resource Centre and outreach workers.
The National Lottery Community Fund grant is to support the Resource Centre development and operations.
The Resource Centre operation, development and activities fund is to support the ongoing costs of the Resource Centre and the provision of workshops, classes and activities.
Hostel refurbishment- Showers fund paid for the hostel’s w/c and showers refurbishment.
Hostel refurbishment – Solar Panels grant paid for the solar panels purchase and installation.
Provision of dental services fund is to provide dental services and emergency dental clinics for Crawley Open House’s clients.
Ernest Kleinwort Charitable Trust donation restricted towards Crawley Open House's staff development.
These are unrestricted funds which are material to the charity's activities.
The Land and Building fund represents the value of the land and buildings occupied by the charity.
The vehicle fund is for the replacement of motor vehicles.
The Move-on property purchase fund is to enable the charity to purchase further properties for use as move-on houses.
The Equipment fund represents the value of the essential equipment used by the charity.
The Major renewals projects fund is for major maintenance work on its property assets.
Fire Safety Improvement Fund has been set up for work related to fire safety at the Hostel.
The unrestricted funds of the charity, excluding designated funds, are as follows:
At the reporting end date the charity had outstanding commitments for future minimum lease payments under non-cancellable operating leases, which fall due as follows:
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2025 - none).
In February 2022 Crawley Open House became registered under the Homes and Regeneration Act as a provider of Registered Social Housing. The accounts have been tailored to introduce the necessary elements of the housing SORP.
At the year end the number of units under management was 35 (2025:36), of which 23 (2025:18) are in properties owned by the charity and 12 (2025: 18) are in properties leased by the charity. A 6 -unit leased property was returned to the landlord on 31 March 2026, while a 5-unit owned property was added to the portfolio in January 2026. There were no void losses in the year.
The rent receivable from the Move-on social housing, excluding service charges of £99,096 (2025: £58,973), was £246,030 (2025: £251,256). Government grant recognised as income in the year were £134,558 (2025: £139,631). Social housing activity expenditure was £433,363 (2025: £367,162).
The amount of renumeration payable to the auditors in the period of account was £2,036 (2025: £2,039), which has been allocated on the basis of employee headcount; none of this renumeration was in relation to other services.
The excess of income over expenditure was £44,285 (2025: excess of income over expenditure £82,698). This will be added to the designated fund for major repairs and to the Charity’s reserves.