The trustees present their annual report and financial statements for the year ended 31 May 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 charity's 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).
To promote community participation in healthy recreation by providing facilities for playing rugby union football (and other sports) ('facilities' means land, buildings, equipment and organising sporting activities);
To provide and assist in providing facilities for sport, recreation or other leisure time occupation of such persons who have need for such facilities by reason of their youth, age, infirmity or disablement, poverty or social and economic circumstances or for the public at large in the interests of social welfare and with the object of improving their conditions of life; to advance the education of children and young people through such mean as the directors think fit in accordance with the law of charity.
The policies adopted in furtherance of these objects are to provide a safe and welcoming environment for all to enjoy playing and participating in sport (in particular rugby union football) and there has been no change in these during the year.
The trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.
Senior Rugby
The 2025/26 season brought a change of league as well as a change of coaching personnel, both of which impacted the results on the pitch to a greater or lesser extent. The decision to move to a different, more competitive league was admirable (in order to challenge the team against stronger opponents) but ultimately proved to be too much of a stretch – not least in terms of miles travelled (matches against Fleetwood and on the Isle of Mann had to be accommodated).
At the same time, the team had to adapt to the new style of coaching, something which they found difficult with it being so completely different to what they had been used to. The Club watches with interest to see what the new season will bring following a decision to move to a closer, Staffordshire-based league and with a further restructuring of the coaching set up.
Moving away from the senior Men’s rugby, the club is incredibly proud and excited to announce the relaunch of a Women’s section. In just twelve months they have formed a team, grown their numbers and reached a point where they can compete on the pitch against other clubs. Their enthusiasm for and enjoyment of the game is matched – if not exceeded – by their sense of camaraderie as a team. The club hopes to see them go from strength to strength, including joining a formal league by the 2027-28 season.
Mini and Junior Rugby
Elsewhere, the minis & juniors section continues to grow in numbers year on year, supported by a group of enthusiastic and committed volunteer coaches which is also expanding. Following the departure of Hayley Royall, the position of Chair of the M&J section has been taken on by James Mann. His energy and commitment has enabled him to pick up from where Hayley left and to drive further growth and improvements.
Since the COVID pandemic, the club has grown from 35 junior players to something close to 170 (with a target of 200 looking very attainable). Another target which is now very much in focus is for the Club to have uninterrupted age group rugby from Under 6s all the way to Senior Men’s rugby (currently U15s is the upper limit).
Clubhouse and Off field activities
Off the field, the Club has enjoyed a surge of growth and development. The third phase of the redevelopment programme has been completed, seeing a massive improvement in the Club’s toilet facilities (replacing the Victorian outdoor Men’s toilet as well as providing Ladies’ and accessible facilities on the ground floor).
The bar has continued to grow its income and profits, helped in part by the introduction of a Pub Quiz every Thursday night. This, along with regular appearances in the town’s Jazz and Blues and Unplugged music festivals is helping to consolidate the club house as a venue just like any other town pub.
The appointment of a Social Media Manager (and supporting committee) has allowed the Club to completely overhaul its media strategy to stunning effect, both in terms of the playing sections and the Club House; one TikTok video garnered over 300,000 views.
Focus for the 2026 – 2027 season
CRUFC’s strategic focus going into the new season will be:
Income growth across membership fees, sponsorship, bar takings, events etc.
Developing all playing sections, focussing on recruitment to existing sections as well as launching a separate Girls’ section (after U10s, female juniors are no longer allowed to play with male counterparts).
Membership growth: introducing Membership Cards with various benefits (e.g. discounted bar prices) to recoup the drop in social membership since ceasing to be a private members club
Club development: new phase to focus on outdoor area behind the club house (new flooring, access ramps and a permanent cover) and a refurbishment of the upper floor.
Continuing to promote CRUFC and its facilities within the town and surrounding area.
Improve governance and oversight in terms of processes, finance, roles and responsibilities and contingency planning.
The club continues to operate under difficult financial circumstances following on from the cost of living crisis and recovery from Covid-19. Maintaining and increasing membership numbers and reducing costs are a high priority. Costs of gas and electricity and other fixed costs are continuously under review. The financial results for the year are shown in the statement of financial activities. The club continues to benefit from charity status.
We have an extension to the previous donation to fund the employment of a full time Director of Mini and Junior Rugby (M&J). Based on current expectations, there is sufficient funding in place to finance the M&J Coach for 2 further seasons.
The M&J section continues to be an area of growth with membership targets set at 150.
During the year, the club has principally been funded by grants, donations, membership subscription, Gift Aid repayments, a small society lottery and rent and donations from the bar.
The bar is run by a separate company called ‘If you’re gonna be a bear be a Grizzly Ltd’.
This is wholly owned by CRUFC and pays rent as well as donating some its profits to the club. This is a significant income stream to the Club.
Investment
The club are currently working on Phase 3 of the refurbishment program. Phase 1 and 2 covered the clubhouse and shower block. Phase 3 covers the demolition and rebuilding of the gentleman’s toilet block, installation of accessible toilets and improvement of the outside area to the rear of the club.
It is expected that the club will need to use a sum from its reserves, estimated at 20% to cover the cost of Phase 3.
Restricted funds
M & J Special Interest
The club maintains restricted funds for the Mini and Junior Section in order to fund the costs associated with the full-time coach
Making club house safer project
A Rugby Football Foundation capital grant to make our clubhouse safer in 2018.
The club runs a small society lottery called the 200 club. This provides funds for club improvement and are not used for the day to day costs of running the club. Some of these funds will be used for the Phase 3 refurbishment program.
The reserves policy of the charity is to maintain unrestricted free funds of the charity, at a sufficient level which enables the charity to be able to operate. The Charity's funds are currently kept on deposit to be readily available at short notice.
The reserve funds are held in the United Trust Bank with a balance of £95,300
The charity is controlled by its Articles of Association along with its club rules, it constitutes a limited company, limited by guarantee, as defined by the Companies Act 2006.
The formal governing document is the Articles of Association adopted on 16 May 2016.
The charity was registered with the Charity Commission on 3 March 2014.
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:
Trustees are nominated by existing members using the forms available on the club website and are elected in the AGM. Vacant positions are advertised on the website, via social media and by word of mouth.
In accordance with the Articles of Association of Congleton RUFC all members of
Congleton CRUFC are Voting members. Members have one vote each. Any Voting Member may nominate
another member to be a Trustee. In accordance with Clause 20 of the Articles of Association, retiring
Trustees are eligible for re-election as Trustees.
None of the trustees has any beneficial interest in the company. All of the trustees are members of the company and guarantee to contribute £1 in the event of a winding up.
The trustees' report was approved by the Board of Trustees.
I report to the trustees on my examination of the financial statements of Congleton Rugby Union Football Club Ltd (the charity) for the year ended 31 May 2026.
Having satisfied myself that the financial statements of the charity are not required to be audited under Part 16 of the Companies Act 2006 and are eligible for independent examination, I report in respect of my examination of the charity’s financial statements carried out under section 145 of the Charities Act 2011. In carrying out my examination I have followed the Directions given by the Charity Commission under section 145(5)(b) of the Charities Act 2011.
I have completed my examination. I confirm that no matters have come to my attention in connection with the examination giving me 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).
I 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.
Congleton Rugby Union Football Club Ltd is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Bank House, Market Square, Congleton, Cheshire, CW12 1ET, United Kingdom.
The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's Articles of Association, 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, [modified to include the revaluation of freehold properties and to include investment properties and certain financial instruments at fair value]. 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.
Restricted funds are subject to specific conditions by donors or grantors as to how they may be used. The purposes and uses of the restricted funds are set out in the notes to the financial statements.
Cash donations are recognised on receipt. Other donations are recognised once the 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.
Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses.
Depreciation is recognised so as to write off the cost or valuation of assets less their residual values over their useful lives on the following bases:
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.
Fixed asset investments are initially measured at transaction price excluding transaction costs, and are subsequently measured at fair value at each reporting date. Changes in fair value are recognised in net income/(expenditure) for the year. Transaction costs are expensed as incurred.
A subsidiary is an entity controlled by the charity. Control is the power to govern the financial and operating policies of the entity so as to obtain benefits from its activities.
At each reporting end date, the charity reviews the carrying amounts of its tangible assets to determine whether there is any indication that those assets have suffered an impairment loss. If any such indication exists, the recoverable amount of the asset is estimated in order to determine the extent of the impairment loss (if any).
Cash and cash equivalents include cash in hand, deposits held at call with banks, other short-term liquid investments with original maturities of three months or less, and bank overdrafts. Bank overdrafts are shown within borrowings in current liabilities.
The charity has elected to apply the provisions of Section 11 ‘Basic Financial Instruments’ and Section 12 ‘Other Financial Instruments Issues’ of FRS 102 to all of its financial instruments.
Financial instruments are recognised in the charity's balance sheet when the charity becomes party to the contractual provisions of the instrument.
Financial assets and liabilities are offset, with the net amounts presented in the financial statements, when there is a legally enforceable right to set off the recognised amounts and there is an intention to settle on a net basis or to realise the asset and settle the liability simultaneously.
Basic financial assets, which include debtors and cash and bank balances, are initially measured at transaction price including transaction costs and are subsequently carried at amortised cost using the effective interest method unless the arrangement constitutes a financing transaction, where the transaction is measured at the present value of the future receipts discounted at a market rate of interest. Financial assets classified as receivable within one year are not amortised.
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 cost of any unused holiday entitlement is recognised in the period in which the employee’s services are received.
Termination benefits are recognised immediately as an expense when the charity is demonstrably committed to terminate the employment of an employee or to provide termination benefits.
Payments to defined contribution retirement benefit schemes are charged as an expense as they fall due.
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.
The average monthly number of employees during the year was:
The charity is exempt from taxation on its activities because all its income is applied for charitable purposes.
The carrying value of land included in land and buildings comprises:
The property owned in Park Street Congleton shown under Freehold Land and Buildings were revalued on 22 April 2014 at £150,000 by independent chartered surveyors Timothy A Brown Congleton.
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 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.
These are restricted funds which are material to the charity's activities.
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.
There were no disclosable related party transactions during the year (2025 - none).
These financial statements are separate charity financial statements for If You're Gonna Be A Bear Be A Grizzly Ltd.
Details of the charity's subsidiaries at 31 May 2026 are as follows:
The charity's wholly owned subsidiary If You're Gonna Be A Bear Be A Grizzly Limited was formed in 2021 to operate the bar in Park Street Congleton. If You're Gonna Be A Bear Be A Grizzly Limited has a licence from the charity to operate these facilities and pays all of its profits to the charity by gift aid. The charity owns the entire share capital of 100 Ordinary £1 shares A Summary of the trading results are shown below: