FRIENDS OF THE GREAT CENTRAL MAIN LINE REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE AND UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2012

Transcription

1 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE AND UNAUDITED STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2012

2 CONTENTS Page Notice of Annual General Meeting 2 Report of the Committee 3-4 Independent Accountant s Report 5 Accounts 6-9 Statement of Financial Interests of Committee Members 10

3 COMMITTEE MEMBERS A Fillingham (Chairman and Treasurer) A Brassey (Membership Secretary) S Evans (General Secretary) D Hallam T Jones (resigned 4 January 2012) R Kinton A Sparks (Vice Chairman) R Stephens D Wilcock (Publications Secretary) INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT Grant Thornton UK LLP Chartered Accountants Regent House 80 Regent Road Leicester LE1 7NH 1

4 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE AND STATEMENT OF ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 JANUARY 2012 NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the Sixth Annual General Meeting of the Friends of the Great Central Main Line will be held at Lovatt House, 3, Wharncliffe Road, Loughborough, LE11 1SL immediately following the Great Central Railway PLC Annual General Meeting (scheduled to be held on Saturday 14 July 2012 at 10.00am) and for the following purposes:- 1 To read and approve the minutes of the Fifth Annual General Meeting held on 2 July Matters arising from the minutes. 3 To receive the Report of the Committee and approve the Independently Examined Accounts for the year ended 31 January To elect and re-elect persons to the Committee:- Messrs S Evans and R Stephens retire in accordance with the Constitution of the Friends of the Great Central Main Line and, being eligible, seek re-election. The Committee also requests nominations for election to the Committee. Each nomination for election shall be proposed and seconded by Adult Members of the Friends of the Great Central Main Line and shall carry the Candidate s written consent that they are willing to stand for election. The Candidate shall also provide his/her declaration of any financial interest in the Great Central Railway PLC during the previous financial year. Financial interest means an interest in Great Central Railway PLC as shareholder, employee, contractor, supplier or commercial customer. All nominations for election must be delivered to Lovatt House, 3, Wharncliffe Road, Loughborough, LE11 1SL by Saturday 30 June 2012 at the latest. Nominations received after this date will be deemed invalid. 5 To elect Messrs Grant Thornton UK LLP as Independent Accountant to the Friends of the Great Central Main Line and to authorise the Committee to fix their remuneration. By Order of the Committee Lovatt House 3, Wharncliffe Road Loughborough LE11 1SL S EVANS Secretary 14 April 2012 Admission will be by this Notice. PROXIES A Member entitled to attend and vote at the above Meeting is entitled to appoint a proxy to attend and vote instead of him and such proxy need not also be a Member. The instrument appointing the Proxy must be deposited at Lovatt House, 3, Wharncliffe Road, Loughborough, LE11 1SL not less than 48 hours before the time of holding the meeting. A proxy is entitled to speak at the meeting. 2

5 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE FRIENDS OF THE GREAT CENTRAL MAIN LINE This year has seen continuing development and progress for Friends of the Great Central Main Line. We are the railway s membership organisation and work in partnership with the railway s supporting charity The David Clarke Railway Trust and the PLC to help provide the continually improving heritage experience that is the Great Central Railway. As reported at last year s AGM, Main Line Steam Trust Limited has been formally dissolved as a company. As MLST has ceased to exist as a company, it has been removed from the Register of Charities. Tom Jones retired from the Committee on 4 January The Committee gives its thanks to Tom for his valuable support over the past years and is pleased to note that he still remains a volunteer on the railway. Dave Hallam will be retiring from the Committee at the AGM. Dave has for a number of years managed the FoGCML stands seen at galas and events, and has attracted many new members. The Committee wishes Dave all the best in his new endeavours on the waterways during retirement. Tony Sparks will also be retiring from the Committee at the AGM. Tony was a key member of the inaugural FoGCML Committee and helped set up the thriving membership club that is FoGCML today. Tony has provided a valuable link to the GCR PLC in the critical early years of the FoGCML/GCR/DCRT triumvirate. The Committee is pleased to note that Tony will remain a Director of GCR PLC and will still be carrying out project work on the railway such as the successes with the canopies at Loughborough and Leicester North, Butler-Henderson café, Ellis Shed tearoom and turntable. During the last 12 months we have maintained the improvement in service to you, our members. A local group has been set up in the Northampton area and is now holding regular talks and presentations at the Weston Favell Parish Hall, Booth Lane South, Northampton, NN3 3EP (see Main Line for details of programme) the first successful season has recently been completed. We are also considering forming additional local area groups. The main focus for the groups will be to hold a programme of illustrated talks and meetings, but they will also act as a base for spreading the message about the vibrant GCR. If you are interested in helping to set up a local group in your area please contact Dennis Wilcock in the first instance by at dennis.wilcock@btopenworld.com (or write to Dennis c/o FoGCML, Great Central Station, Great Central Road, Loughborough, LE11 1RW). Thanks are also due to our membership administrators Hanni Trahar and Alex Pakes for their hard work during the year, ably supported by our membership secretary Alan Brassey. Membership has grown during the year to over 4,100 members. Given the financial constraints that we all face, this is a remarkable achievement. The increase in membership has had the double benefit of allowing us to yet again maintain membership rates generally at the same levels as last year whilst being able to increase the level of grant to Great Central Railway PLC. Please help us reach our new target of 4,500 members by recruiting a friend or one of the family. Consider giving an FoGCML membership as a birthday or Christmas present. An excellent way to support your club (and get to watch GCR gala events first hand and for free!) is to volunteer to help on the members recruitment stand. Full training can be given, and it really is a job where you can give as much or as little time as you wish. In addition to making grants to GCR directly we have also supported The DCRT in their Raising the Roof appeal for refurbishment of the canopy at Loughborough Central station. We have at the time of writing already raised more than 5,000 in a raffle we have organised on behalf of The DCRT dedicated to this appeal. Dennis Wilcock and his editorial team have continued to deliver very high quality editions of Main Line. This is backed up by the regular newsletter with its extra special offers to FoGCML members. 3

6 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE (continued) The smart personalised fleeces with FoGCML badges and Great Central Railway embroidered on them are now to be seen frequently around the railway and are still available contact Andy Bennett at Loughborough Central Station to order one. The financial results for the period under review are set out in the attached financial statements. There was sufficient income to not only cover the costs but also, as noted above, to make a substantially improved grant to the Great Central Railway. Principal expenditure was on production and distribution costs of Main Line magazine. Although it is recognised that we remain in a difficult economic climate, the Committee anticipates that we will achieve an excess of income over expenditure in the current financial year. Having maintained the general subscription rates at the same level since the start of FoGCML in 2006, following the latest increase in postage costs the Committee has reluctantly decided that the rates for membership will be increased from 1 January The future aspirations for FoGCML are to continue to grow the membership and to add value for existing members, whilst maximising our support for the railway. Our Your membership organisation underpins the railway, with volunteers, a continuing source of regular visitors and donations to The David Clarke Railway Trust. Members of FoGCML are therefore central to the railway s future success and can take pride in the achievements of the last 12 months. An excellent example of what can be achieved by this alliance is the ongoing vital refurbishment work to the canopy at Loughborough now progressing along Platform 2. We are pleased to support the fundraising appeal for the building (organised by The David Clarke Railway Trust) including promotion in Main Line and the raffle. We also supported the production of Tom Ingall s excellent GCR DVDs, the sale proceeds of which have gone to the appeal. Yet more money is needed to complete the work so please continue to give generously to this important appeal. It is a worthwhile club to be part of, and we can continue to make a difference:- VISIT THE RAILWAY; JOIN IN THE FUN AS A VOLUNTEER; DONATE TO THE DCRT PLEASE help by encouraging others to join, thereby supporting the only heritage main line railway in the UK. There is huge potential in the GCR, DCRT and FoGCML partnership share in it. The Report was approved by the Committee on 14 April 2012 On behalf of the Committee S Evans Secretary 4

7 INDEPENDENT ACCOUNTANT S REPORT TO THE COMMITTEE OF FRIENDS OF THE GREAT CENTRAL MAIN LINE We have performed certain procedures in respect of the Association s unaudited financial statements for the year ended 31 January 2012 as set out on pages 8 to 11, made enquiries of the Committee and assessed accounting policies adopted by the Committee, in order to gather sufficient evidence for our conclusion in this report. This report is made solely to the Committee, as a body, in accordance with the terms of our engagement letter dated 10 April It has been released to the Committee on the basis that this report shall not be copied, referred to or disclosed, in whole or in part, without our prior written consent. Our work has been undertaken so that we might state to the Committee those matters that we have agreed to state to them in this 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 Association and the Committee as a body for our work, for this report or the conclusions we have formed. Respective responsibilities The Committee have confirmed that they have met their duty as set out in the Association s constitution. They consider that the Association is exempt from the statutory requirement for an audit for the period. Our responsibility is to form and express an independent conclusion, based on the work carried out, to the Committee on the financial statements. Scope We conducted our engagement in accordance with the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales Interim Technical Release AAF 03/06. Our work was based primarily upon enquiry, analytical procedures and assessing accounting policies in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Practice in the UK. If we considered it to be necessary, we also performed limited examination of evidence relevant to certain balances and disclosures in the financial statements where we became aware of matters that might indicate a risk of material misstatement in the financial statements. The terms of our engagement exclude any requirement to carry out a comprehensive assessment of the risks of material misstatement, a consideration of fraud, laws, regulations and internal controls, and we have not done so. We are not required to, and we do not, express an audit opinion on these financial statements. Conclusion Based on our work, nothing has come to our attention to refute the Committee s confirmation that the financial statements have been properly prepared from the Association s accounting records for the year ended 31 January Grant Thornton UK LLP Chartered Accountants Regent House 80 Regent Road Leicester LE1 7NH 14 April

8 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE ACCOUNT For the year ended 31 January 2012 Income Notes Membership subscriptions 1 76,074 73,413 Donations and other income 4,368 2,578 Advertising revenue 1, Interest received ,685 76,403 Expenditure Printing - Main Line magazine 1 18,172 21,755 - Newsletters, leaflets and AGM report 6,240 3,588 Postage and distribution 4,413 2,053 Quarterly Grants to Great Central Railway PLC 20,000 20,000 Additional Grants to Great Central Railway PLC 23,000 19,000 Accountancy 1,200 1,500 Insurance Marketing 1, Management charges 4,800 4,700 DCRT Canopy donations 1,152 1,206 Spring raffle prizes Purchase of stock for resale Bank charges 8 - Depreciation Sundry items ,524 75,069 Surplus for the year 161 1,334 General reserves at 1 February ,970 24,636 General reserves at 31 January ,131 25,970 6

9 BALANCE SHEET As at 31 January 2012 Fixed Assets Notes Tangible assets Current Assets Debtors 3 4,159 3,550 Bank balances 24,221 24,410 28,380 27,960 Current Liabilities Creditors 4 2,508 2,415 Net Current Assets 25,872 25,545 Total assets less current liabilities 26,131 25,970 Capital and Reserves General reserves 26,131 25,970 The Committee acknowledges their responsibility under the constitution for keeping proper accountancy records and for preparing accounts. Approved by the Committee for issue. A FILLINGHAM Treasurer 14 April

10 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS As at 31 January ACCOUNTING POLICIES The financial statements have been prepared in accordance with applicable accounting standards. Accounting convention The accounts are prepared under the historical cost convention. Membership subscriptions Subscriptions for all categories of membership are credited to income in the period to which they are received. Expenditure Main Line magazine costs are those incurred on the production of Main Line Magazine, which is produced for members of the Association. Fixed assets Depreciation of fixed assets is charged by equal annual instalments commencing with the year of acquisition at rates estimated to write off the cost less any residual values over their expected useful lives as follows:- Equipment - over 5 years. 2. FIXED ASSETS Equipment Cost: At 1 February 2011 and 31 January Depreciation: At 1 February Charge for the year 166 At 31 January Net book value: At 31 January At 31 January DEBTORS Other debtors 3,962 3,355 Prepayments ,159 3,550 8

11 NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS (continued) As at 31 January CREDITORS Other creditors Accruals and deferred income 2,026 2,069 2,508 2,415 9

12 STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL INTERESTS OF COMMITTEE MEMBERS Constitution item 12 (c) states that The Committee will declare in a statement included with the Annual Accounts of the Friends the existence and nature of any financial interest in the Company of individual members of the Committee during the previous Friends financial year. Financial interest means an interest in the Company as shareholder, employee, contractor, supplier, or commercial customer. Constitution item 3 defines the Company as Great Central Railway PLC. The financial interests of the Committee members are set out in the following table: Committee Members A Brassey S Evans A Fillingham D Hallam T Jones R Kinton A Sparks R Stephens D Wilcock Financial interest GCR Shareholder (400 shares) GCR Shareholder (800 shares), MLST Director GCR Shareholder (5,208 shares) GCR Shareholder (10,250 shares) None GCR Shareholder (4000 shares) GCR Director and Shareholder (800 shares) DCRT Trustee, MLST Director GCR Shareholder (10,904 shares) 10