ROTUNDA_LTD. - Accounts

The Trustees present their report and financial statements for the year ended 31 August 2022.

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 governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)".

The main objective of the Charity is to advance education by the development of useful knowledge and skills benefitting adults and young people, especially those who have suffered or are suffering disadvantage and exclusion.

The organisation achieves this through a number of specific operational areas which are detailed below.

The Trustees have paid due regard to guidance issued by the Charity Commission in deciding what activities the charity should undertake.

Yet another challenging but rewarding year. This year has certainly been eventful, with the ongoing issues of the pandemic and aftermath of this, the turbulent political arena nationally, 3 Prime Ministers in one year, without a general election! The passing of Queen Elizabeth II, our longest serving monarch and the introduction of the new King, Charles III alongside the changes to the monarchy this brings. More locally the difficulties and challenges our city has faced has increased as a result of the latter. Yet despite all of this, it’s been an incredible year for Rotunda and we are proud of our achievements and delighted to report our successes, as well as share some of the difficulties we have faced along the way.

The Trustees would like to formally acknowledge our staff and volunteers for their continued commitment, hard work and loyalty, as well as for their resilience, drive and passion to deliver a truly exceptional service to all of our learners and our community who choose to continue to put their trust in Rotunda to gain qualifications for a better future or in accessing our enabling services to help them achieve a better lifestyle/standard of living.

We would also like to thank our stakeholders and partners for the assistance they gave us during this time and in particular those organisations that have financially supported our work: Steve Morgan Foundation, Liverpool City Council (LCC), Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCR), Good Things Foundation, Jo Malone London, Merseyside Play Action Council, Liverpool Voluntary and Community Services (LCVS), Locality, Department for Work and Pensions, The Women’s Org, Reaching Communities, VOLA, WEA, Key Fund and Power to Change.

A special thank you also to those organisations that have freely given time, knowledge and help towards achieving our aims: Halsall Lloyd Architects, Keir Construction, Civils, Cube7interiors, MJS Joinery, Sigma web design and Liverpool City Rotary who supported the continued professional development (CPD) of our staff team and volunteers as a result of their unconditional contributions, specialist support and guidance.

Rotunda’s business development plans, aims and objectives were triumphantly realised this year with a diverse portfolio of contracted and commission based work delivering education, training and employment skills across the Liverpool City Region. Although we were unsuccessful in gaining our PRIME contract for education with LCR, such is our reputation that we have successfully gained several sub contracts which enable us to continue delivering our educational offer to our community at the highest standard. We have invested in a new Management Information System, to help us better collate our outcomes and ensure that the information required by our commissioners is readily available and easily accessible. Our Nursery provision and pre-school offer has been extended to a 52 week offer, allowing us to offer our community high quality early year’s education, supporting working parents in the community. In order to achieve this we had some major staff changes in the summer and have virtually a new staff team in our Nursery. In times when it’s difficult to recruit specialist Nursery practitioners it’s a statement to Rotunda’s good name that we recruited successfully to all available posts and were able to open our doors on 1st September welcoming back children and parents without delay and new children and parents who were delighted with our new offer. The team have settled well and alongside the development of relationships with LCC professionals in early year’s education we will go from strength to strength. We have a lot to celebrate and a lot to be thankful for given the adversity and challenges we have all faced and as always Rotunda’s resilience is stronger in times of austerity than at any other time in her history.

Building renovation

What can we say, the challenges to the building have been on going! However, as we draw to a close on the renovation of our grade II listed building, we are so proud that the external façade is authentic, thanks to the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Skills Investment Fund and Reaching Communities who agreed to fund the renovation of the ‘envelope’ of the building with the aim of making it ‘safe’, ‘warm’ and ‘dry’, giving us a new roof, new windows, steps and railing, all bringing our much loved building back it its former glory. The works commenced in January 2021 and we are looking for a completion date in March 2023. In May 2021, our challenges commenced when the top floor of our buildings were destroyed by water damage and ceilings collapsed, this continued down the building. The work on the top floor of the building commenced in September 2022 and is looking fabulous once again and the New Year should see our staff team back in situ in 109 Great Mersey Street.

Education: Adult

Rotunda’s education team continue to deliver high quality education to those people in our community who haven’t had the most positive educational experiences in main stream schools and colleges. We have 504 qualifications this year with 87% pass rate for our students. Our success is attributed to the two internal verifiers and five fully qualified teachers on permanent contracts, all of whom are incredibly talented in co-designing qualifications with learners and employers to meet local need.

Our partnership with Tradewinds and the development of Level 2 Supporting Teaching and Learning, and together with Safeguarding and our functional skills qualifications demonstrate our ability to meet the needs of our learners and those of the employers in the region. Rotunda’s education team continue to help shape a bespoke curriculum that meets the needs of ALL learners where no-one is left behind.

Education: Youth

Equally our work with young people under contract with Greenbank College and the New futures programme saw 76 young people not in education, employment or training (NEET) achieving some fantastic outcomes including confidence, self-esteem, aspiration and progression into further education, training and employment opportunities.

Digital Inclusion work

We recognised that digital exclusion has been a barrier for many people in our community and those wanting to access increased responsibility in the workplace and increase salary prospects, never more so than in the current situation and cost of living crisis. We have worked with our partners VOLA and LCR to create educational programmes which build on digital skills from the most basic to intermediary levels, providing digital devices and SIM cards so that people could access our courses, creating networks with other learners on the programme and means to communicate with their families, thus reducing isolation and improving their mental health. Many of those we engaged with accessed our over 45’s Include IT Mersey programme. We have worked with 121 people on the delivery of the Include IT Mersey programme, of which 70 were men and 51 women. Of the 121 learners, 21 have progressed onto further education and training and 13 into employment.

Early Years at Rotunda

The Rotunda Nursery has gone from strength to strength this year, providing childcare and preschool education for 35 children. Our Nursery stayed open for the whole year in line with Government guidelines, although Covid was still an issue and we did see many of our children and staff team affected by the condition. We are excited for the year ahead and the ability to support our pre-school children and to support more children and families across North Liverpool, with a 52 week nursery provision.

The challenges our local families face and in particular women in our community, are becoming more intense and amplified as a result of the Cost of Living Crisis. Women are more likely to work in the service sector, on low incomes and often on casual or zero hour contracts with little or no job security, thus the rise in energy and food costs has been difficult for them to manage and I’m sure will continue to be so in the coming months. Rotunda will continue to support our families in any way we can.

Enabling Services

Our DWP Women’s Hub has supported 108 women to gain skills, confidence and a social network helping them to achieve incredible outcomes including, university places, job outcomes for 22 ladies and a further 18 gaining voluntary work and 38 moving into further education and training, with a more positive future to look forward to.

Homework Hub and Grub – supported by The Steve Morgan Foundation has been a fabulous new development within our community offer for young people, where we provide food, support with homework and more importantly the development of tools and skills that will help with their mental well-being and resilience! Two teachers lead on this initiative and have utilised this space to build in practical training sessions for our Level 2 Teaching Assistant course.

Welfare Hub – sadly our Debt Advice and Guidance has been scaled back due to lack of funding and contracts being pulled back into the public sector. However, we are still offering advice to our learners and immediate local community on issues such as housing, debt, and accessing benefits for those people who have never been in receipt of them in the past. We are providing this service with RAISE as our partners and holding weekly surgeries at Rotunda.

Counselling: We continue to provide our counselling service, via telephone and we are slowly returning to face to face counselling, it’s great to see people accessing the building once again and utilising this beautiful space. Due to the demand for this service, we have had to restrict the offer to those people in our immediate community and our learners to ensure the waiting list doesn’t get too onerous. There has also been a marked increase of 37% in counselling requests from women in difficult situations, these are from women not previously known in the system for domestic violence, due to the social restrictions originally placed on them and the ongoing impact of job losses, reduced income and social restrictions and possibly due to the running of the DWP Women’s Hub onsite, where we are more accessible!

Grants: Our target for new grant income for 2022/2023 is £150,000 to meet our target and achieve sustainability of our enabling service.

Community Engagement from September 2021 – August 2022: we received £22,000 from MPAC and HAF ensuring that the children in our local community had activities and access to food during the school holidays. We provided a total of 2,520 hot meals and 4,800 snacks and sandwiches for home. In addition, we were able to distribute 150 hampers and craft packs to families during the school holidays, to help alleviate the additional cost of feeding children during school holidays.

Last Christmas we received 600 gifts and toys for children and young people aged 0 – 16 years old, from Cash for Kids and distributed these during Christmas week alongside 200 selection boxes, so that every child and young person involved with Rotunda had at least one present and a selection box on Christmas morning.

Food Provision: We continue to provide food support from our ‘Right Fed Shed’ thanks to the generosity of Aldi Salop Street. There has been a sharp increase in requests for help with food and although we can help fill the immediate gap, we then refer to foodbanks. Sadly foodbanks are becoming the ‘norm’ in our community for many residents and the only thing that is keeping food in the cupboards to feed their children.

Jo Malone London have continued to sponsor our well-being garden, it’s been lovely to see the garden being used by so many people again and looking so wonderful, it is also producing lovely fruit and vegetables for the home cooked food in the Café. The introduction of Forest School using the Community Garden has been welcomed by our families and each holiday sees a minimum of 40 children accessing the sessions. With thanks to Greene King and The Freshfield pub in Formby, we have new benches in the garden for people to sit and enjoy a cup of coffee in peace and quiet listening to the birds and watching our naughty squirrel Barney and his family getting up to mischief!

Rotunda have always reacted and supported the needs of our community, and we will continue to do this as long as we have the resources to facilitate what is needed. Never have we as a community sector needed to come together more to ensure that the decision making for our community meets the needs locally and that our community have a voice! Families are under pressure; people feel they have no say on the issues that affect them, Rotunda will continue to advocate for our community.

Strategic Partnerships:

Our CEO has focussed on developing and maintaining key strategic partnerships; locally, regional and nationally, through this partnership working we have and will continue to grow Rotunda’s offer to meet the needs of local people, now and in the future. Rotunda is recognised and a trusted partner and advocate of the sector sharing best practice and co-designing service delivery from the ground up. We are a key partner and stakeholder of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authorities Local Skills Action Plan, Social Impact Action Plan and our CEO sits on the Social and Solidarity Economy Panel responsible for shaping the strategic direction of the LCRCA approach and third sector engagement and commissioning.

We are active members on the Liverpool Citizen Alliance, which consists of a group of likeminded people who care deeply about the future of our communities - our health, safety, and livelihoods - and are concerned about the fact that deprivation, isolation and division are all too common place.

This is an organisation owned and led by a group of local community groups who together, aim to build people power in their local areas to create meaningful change, organising and promoting community participation to secure a seat at the decision-making table. Rotunda as a part of this group are representing our community and helping to ensure that Liverpool are accountable to their communities and that organisations coming together have a stronger voice to activate change for the better in and for our communities.

2022 saw the establishment of Rotunda Enterprise CIC, the core aim of this arm of the organisation is to provide enhanced support to new start businesses and third sector organisations through concentrated business support, incubator space and business mentoring. We aim to provide support to 20 new businesses over the next twelve months with the support of partners such as Locality, Power2Change and LCRCA among others.

The results for the year and the charity's financial position at the end of the year are shown in the attached financial statements.

Total income in the year was £1,196,356 (2021: £978,779) before accounting for the release of deferred income in relation to the refurbishment project of £589,689 (2021: £nil) (see note 7) and the insurance claims totalling £218,676 (2021: £nil) (see note 8). Expenditure was £1,182,051 (2021: £886,048). The surplus for the year is £822,670 (2021: £92,731).

As at 31 August 2022, the charity had reserves of £2,588,878 (2021: £1,766,208). Included within these reserves are £973,499 (2021: £1,047,294) of restricted funds (see note 25). Included within unrestricted funds are fixed assets totalling £1,363,932 (2021: £487,626), the balance of the fixed assets are included within the restricted funds. These funds can only be realised upon sale of these assets. The charity had free reserves of £251,446 as at 31 August 2022 (2021: £231,287).

Reserves policy

The charity has successfully increased free unrestricted funds to a level equivalent to three months' total expenditure. The trustees consider that reserves at this level will provide financial stability whilst additional funding is sought.

Risk policy

The Trustees have examined the major strategic, business and operational risks which the charitable company may face and believe that all major risks have been identified. The Trustees have adopted a formal Risk Assessment procedure and have established systems to ensure that the necessary steps can be taken to mitigate these risks.

Future Plans:

As we reflect on 2021/2022 and the challenges we faced, we can celebrate the diversity, resilience, and commitment of our staff team. Yet again the team has risen to the challenges that they have been faced with and responded accordingly. We continue to work with local employers and our community to ensure that we meet their needs and that our delivery methods don’t exclude anybody that needs help, guidance or educational direction. Our staff team and volunteers have continued to show resilience, creativity and humour in meeting the needs and challenges during this period whilst maintaining the core values of Rotunda.

We have an exciting year ahead of us 2022/2023, as we look to develop Rotunda’s Community Led Housing programme initially with the purchase of the end terrace property, ensuring Rotunda owns the entire block of the only Georgian Houses in North Liverpool and retains their historic meaning in the area for decades to come, but also and in partnership with LCC CLT’s groups build, quality assured affordable housing for our local community. We will continue to develop and deliver high quality educational programmes that meet the needs of both individuals in our community and those businesses needing skilled staff in order to rebuild or sustain their business and help LCR – build back better! We have a contract in partnership with WISE Group, delivering welfare advice, guidance and support in prisons and following release in the community across LCR. We will continue to develop our offer of the Homework Hub and Grub Club for our young people providing the much needed support to our young people to help them gain better life chances. Our focus will be on supporting and encouraging our community to reach out for help, to retrain, to refocus their skills, to build confidence and self-esteem and to reinforce our strong resilient community.

Rotunda is a small organisation with a big heart, developed by our community for our community. It is a true reflection of the city region and impact of national issues and the challenges that have been faced and overcome through joint efforts. We will continue to develop and deliver for our community against its needs and we will continue to be part of a proud city that never loses its spirit especially in times of adversity - Red and Blue standing shoulder to shoulder helping each other!

The charity is a company limited by guarantee, incorporated on 28 August 1986 and registered as a charity on 17 July 1987. The charity was established under a Memorandum of Association which established the objects and powers of the company and is governed under its Articles of Association.

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:

The Board of Trustees consists of at least seven but not more than eleven individuals.

The Board of Trustees may appoint any person nominated by any member of the Association as a member of the Board of Trustees.

No person who is not a member of the Association shall in any circumstances be eligible to hold office as a member of the Board of Trustees.

All trustees are asked to sign to confirm their eligibility to serve as a trustee and as a director. At the beginning of every meeting all Trustees and representatives are reminded of their obligation to declare an interest in any item and, if necessary, withdraw from further discussions and decision making on that subject.

The Board of Trustees met on a regular basis throughout the year.

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.

A Chief Executive is appointed by the Trustees to manage the day-to-day operations of the charity.

A Remuneration Committee will determine the salary of members of the Executive Team.

In accordance with the company's articles, a resolution proposing that BWM be reappointed as auditor of the company will be put at a General Meeting.

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 auditor is aware of such information.

Small company provisions

This report has been prepared in accordance with the special provisions relating to small companies within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.

On behalf of the board of Trustees

The Trustees, who are also the directors of Rotunda Ltd. 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 charity 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 charity 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 charity and enable them to ensure that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding the assets of the charity and hence for taking reasonable steps for the prevention and detection of fraud and other irregularities.

Opinion

We have audited the financial statements of Rotunda Ltd. (the ‘charity’) for the year ended 31 August 2022 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:

give a true and fair view of the state of the charitable company's affairs as at 31 August 2022 and of its incoming resources and application of resources, including its income and expenditure, for the year then ended;

have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.

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, except to the extent otherwise explicitly stated in our report, 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.

Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006

In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of our audit:

the information given in the trustees' report for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared, which includes the directors' report prepared for the purposes of company law, is consistent with the financial statements; and

the directors' report included within the trustees' report has been prepared in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

In the light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the directors' report included within the trustees' report.

We have nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006 requires us to report to you if, in our opinion:

adequate accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have not been received from branches not visited by us; or

the financial statements are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns; or

we have not received all the information and explanations we require for our audit; or

the Trustees were not entitled to prepare the financial statements in accordance with the small companies regime and take advantage of the small companies' exemptions in preparing the trustees' report and from the requirement to prepare a strategic report.

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.

Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, to detect material misstatements in respect of irregularities, including fraud. The extent to which our procedures are capable of detecting irregularities, including fraud, is detailed below.

Our approach to identifying and assessing the risks of material misstatement in respect of irregularities, including fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations, was as follows:

• the engagement partner ensured that the engagement team collectively had the appropriate competence, capabilities and skills to identify or recognise non-compliance with applicable laws and regulations;

• we identified the laws and regulations applicable to the company through discussions with directors and other management;

• we focused on specific laws and regulations which we considered may have a direct material effect on the financial statements or the operations of the company, including the Companies Act 2006, taxation legislation and data protection, anti-bribery, employment and health and safety legislation;

• we assessed the extent of compliance with the laws and regulations identified above through making enquiries of management and inspecting legal correspondence; and

• identified laws and regulations were communicated within the audit team regularly and the team remained alert to instances of non-compliance throughout the audit.

We assessed the susceptibility of the company’s financial statements to material misstatement, including obtaining an understanding of how fraud might occur, by:

• making enquiries of management as to where they considered there was susceptibility to fraud, their knowledge of actual, suspected and alleged fraud; and

• considering the internal controls in place to mitigate risks of fraud and non-compliance with laws and regulations.

To address the risk of fraud through management bias and override of controls, we:

• performed analytical procedures to identify any unusual or unexpected relationships;

• tested journal entries to identify unusual transactions;

• assessed whether judgements and assumptions made in determining the accounting estimates were indicative of potential bias; and

• investigated the rationale behind significant or unusual transactions.

In response to the risk of irregularities and non-compliance with laws and regulations, we designed procedures which included, but were not limited to:

• agreeing financial statement disclosures to underlying supporting documentation;

• reading the minutes of meetings of those charged with governance; and

• enquiring of management as to actual and potential litigation anad claims.

There are inherent limitations in our audit procedures described above. The more removed that laws and regulations are from financial transactions, the less likely it is that we would become aware of non-compliance. Auditing standards also limit the audit procedures required to identify non-compliance with laws and regulations to enquiry of the directors and other management and the inspection of regulatory and legal correspondence, if any.

Material misstatements that arise due to fraud can be harder to detect than those that arise from error as they may involve deliberate concealment or collusion.

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.

Other matters

The amounts shown for the corresponding financial period to 31 August 2021 are unaudited since the Charitable Company was eligible to claim the exemption available under the Companies Act 2006 and Charities SORP from the requirement to have its financial statements audited.

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. Our audit work has been undertaken so that we might state to the charitable company's members 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 charitable company and the charitable company’s members as a body, for our audit work, for this report, or for the opinions we have formed.

Grant income in relation to refurbishment project

Other income

The statement of financial activities includes all gains and losses recognised in the year.

All income and expenditure derive from continuing activities.

These financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the provisions applicable to companies subject to the small companies regime.

Rotunda Ltd. is a private company limited by guarantee incorporated in England and Wales. The registered office is Rotunda College, 109 Great Mersey Street, Liverpool, Merseyside, L5 2PL.

The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with the charity's governing document, the Companies Act 2006 and "Accounting and Reporting by Charities: Statement of Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (FRS 102) (effective 1 January 2019)". The 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 general funds - these are funds which can be used in accordance with the charitable objects at the discretion of the trustees.

Restricted funds - these are funds that 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.

All donations received are recognised at the time of receipt. Unless specifically designated, all income received from donations will be treated as unrestricted funds for the Charity to do with as they see fit.

Goods and services provided free of charge to the Charity are recognised as other income using the trustees' estimate of the amounts the Charity would have to pay in the open market for their equivalents.

Grants received are recognised at the time the charity becomes legally entitled to them. Any grants received that are restricted to future accounting periods are deferred and recognised in those future periods. Grants received for specific purposes are accounted for as restricted funds.

Rental income is accounted for on an accruals basis.

Liabilities are recognised as soon as there is a legal or constructive obligation committing the charitable company to that expenditure, it is probable that settlement will be required and the amount of the obligation can be measured reliably.

All expenditure is accounted for on an accruals basis. All expenses, including support costs and governance costs, are allocated or apportioned to the applicable expenditure headings in the Statement of Financial Activities. Support and governance costs are applied to unrestricted funds unless specifically included in the restrictions, as specified by the donor.

Expenditure on charitable activities relate to the operation of the charity comprising of direct charitable expenditure to meet the objectives of the charitable company. Support and governance costs relate to the management and operation of the organisation and also compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements in producing the annual report. These are dealt with in the Statement of Financial Activities when payment has been approved by the charity.

Tangible fixed assets are initially measured at cost and subsequently measured at cost or valuation, net of depreciation and any impairment losses. The investment property is included as tangible fixed assets and is measured at cost as the fair value cannot be measured reliably without undue cost or effort.

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:

Freehold land is not depreciated.

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.

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.

Fixed asset investments are stated at cost.

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.

Rentals payable under operating leases, including any lease incentives received, are charged as an expense on a straight line basis over the term of the relevant lease.

Taxation

The charity benefits from various exemptions from taxation afforded by tax legislation and is not liable to corporation tax on income or gains falling within those exemptions.

The charity is not able to recover Value Added Tax. Expenditure is recorded in the accounts inclusive of VAT.

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.

Grants receivable

Donated services are an estimate of the benefit of volunteer time based on hours spent and notional salary, together with time donated by the CEO and donated services from an architect.

Included in this balance are also goods donated to the charity.

Charitable activities

Bistro

Grant income in relation to refurbishment project

The renovation of the grade II listed building is nearing completion and the grant from Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Skills Investment Fund, who agreed to fund the renovation of the ‘envelope’ of the building, can now be released from deferred income.

Other income

Insurance claim

Liquidation and Ascertained Damages claim

Bistro

Bistro food, drink and other consumables

Repairs and maintenance

Consultancy costs

Project costs

Advertising and subscriptions

Rates and insurance

Office costs

Travel and volunteer expenses

Other costs

Support and governance costs are allocated to direct charitable activity.

None of the Trustees (or any persons connected with them) received any remuneration or benefits from the charity during the year (2021: £nil).

The average monthly number of employees during the year was:

The carrying value of land included in land and buildings comprises:

A Charge was issued on 12 October 2011 to the National Heritage Memorial Fund over 107 Great Mersey Street in accordance with the grant agreement dated 22 June 2011 between Rotunda Limited and the National Heritage Memorial Fund. The charge will last for 25 years from the agreement date.

The trustees consider that the net book value of tangible fixed assets is a true and fair representation of their value in use at the year end.

Land and buildings and building improvements includes investment property. The trustees deem approximately 20% is investment property producing rental income. The asset is shown under tangible fixed assets only.

The company holds 100% issued shares in Rotunda Enterprises Limited, which was incorporated as a trading subsidiary on 9 December 2004, but remained dormant at 31 August 2021.

The major component of the deferred income relates to the Strategic Investment Fund of £590K which has now been released to income.

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 charge to profit or loss in respect of defined contribution schemes was £8,510 (2021 - £8,709).

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:

The remuneration of key management personnel is as follows.

There were no other related party transactions in the year.

Rotunda Limited is incorporated under the Companies Act as a company limited by guarantee. The liability of the members is limited to £1.