Bath Abbey Finance Summary Income Expenditure. Mission Links

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1 Bath Abbey Finance Summary 2014 Based on Management Accounts Income (Contribution) Planned Giving 203, ,298 Collections and Donations 140, ,374 Visitors 509, ,554 Ltd Company - Shop Sales, Commercial Lettings 116,380 95,628 Special Services and Recitals 12,755 14,943 Tower Tours 35,621 26,884 Other (Dividends, Fabric & General, Rentals) 3,014 11,843 Total 1,021, ,524 Expenditure Parish Share and Clergy Costs 247, ,479 Mission Links 117, ,637 Music and Melody Makers 145, ,961 Schools Singing Programme 17,099 16,598 Youth and Student Ministry 12,428 11,172 Worship and Pastoral care 127, ,948 Communications 27,098 37,074 Maintenance, Insurance and Utilities 214, ,501 Operating Surplus 112,642 68,154 Total 1,021, ,524 The figures above (and to the right) are 1. Net figures (income less associated costs) 2. Apportioned e.g. Vergers costs split across what they did. Funds (to the nearest thousand pounds) Funds at the start of the year 1,362,000 1,325,000 Operating Surplus 113,000 68,000 Endowment Income 8,000 16,000 Fabric and Organ Maintenance -19,000-10,000 Footprint Net Spend 39,000-19,000 Year end and & Depreciation -41,000-19,000 Other -2,000 1,000 Funds at the end of the year 1,460,000 1,362, Income. Planned Giving Collections and Donations Visitors Shop Sales, Commercial Lettings Special Services and Recitals Tower Tours Other (Dividends, Fabric & General and Rentals) Parish Share and Clergy Costs 2014 Expenditure. Mission Links Music and Melody Makers Youth and Student Ministry Worship and Pastoral care Communications Schools Singing Programme Maintenance, Insurance and Utilities Operating Surplus

2 Commentary Planned Giving - is down a little, this is perhaps to be expected. Every year a few of our number leave us, some in the house-moving sense, some not. So, unless something happens, the trend is usually downwards. This year in particular, the congregation has been very generous in its giving to Footprint and I suspect that that, coupled with the straightened times, has resulted in the small overall downward movement. We recognise the sacrifices involved in all your continued giving to the Abbey and are very grateful to you all for it. Door Income This was again the star performer on the income side in 2014, particularly in the second half of the year. The new visitors centre at Stonehenge means that visitors are spending longer there and that some tourist coaches which leave London in the morning, stop at Stonehenge and end up at Stratford in the evening, no longer have time to stop in Bath. Visitor numbers in 2014 were down by 20% in the Abbey and across Bath. Despite the reduction in visitor numbers, the total amount we received from visitors is up by around 10%. I don t know how Dawn and her team have done this, but we are hugely grateful to them for it. Shop and Lettings the shop has had a good year, we are grateful for all that the staff and volunteers do. As we continue to become better known as a venue for concerts etc. lettings income continues to rise year on year. Tower Tours are a relatively new venture for us. It s hard to organise enough staff ahead of time, to cope with all the visitors who may turn up, without having too many staff (and therefore cost). It s a tricky balance and one that we are continuing to get better at. We also continue to find more people to take up the tower every year. Dividend Income is down markedly, but it is a relatively small amount. dropped elsewhere, so we are paying a higher proportion of the diocese s budget. Mission Links The Abbey gives away 10% of the money it receives from Visitors and also money specifically donated, either for the Pentecost appeal or for any charitable run/walk etc. This year the Abbey supported its Mission Partners with almost 120,000, something of which we can be justly proud. Adding to Reserves Last year I said that we had decided not to add to our reserves, but instead to keep the money accessible and to use it to fund our running costs through the lean time before the visitors come back at Easter. I am delighted to announce that, as we hoped, the PCC has felt able to add 50,000 to our reserves at the end of This money is there so that we can draw on it if we have a major and unforeseen expense (e.g. for building work), or a sudden drop in income. Many assume that the Abbey will have established endowments over the centuries, this is not the case, but we are delighted to be in a position to put some money aside and to start building reserves. Footprint In the early stages of Footprint, we paid for a lot of design and investigation with our own money, mainly with the proceeds the sale of the lease on Abbey Church House. As a result, our funds dropped, e.g. by 202,000 in In 2013 we did more concrete things like the chandeliers and floor trials, these discrete projects were funded by donations so we spent less overall. In 2014, having secured Heritage Lottery Funding (stage 1), we paused to look again at our contractors and see that we had the right people in place. This again meant that we spent less than a couple of years before. In addition money started to arrive from congregational pledges. As a result Footprint ended the year with more money than it started with. I suspect that that will change in the near future. Parish Share This has again risen by more than the rate of inflation, for the same reason. The amount spent by the diocese has been held steady over past years or has only risen in line with inflation. However, we are paying more because our membership numbers are holding steady whilst they have

3 Bath Abbey Finance Summary 2013 Based on Management Accounts Income (Contribution) Planned Giving 212, ,792 Collections and Donations 130, ,464 Visitors 463, ,605 Ltd Company - Shop Sales, Commercial Lettings 95,628 71,974 Special Services and Recitals 14,943 1,954 Tower Tours 26,884 25,261 Other (Dividends, Fabric & General, Rentals) 11,843 19,021 Total 955, ,071 Expenditure Parish Share and Clergy Costs 237, ,950 Mission Links 123,637 96,077 Music and Melody Makers 144, ,386 Schools Singing Programme 16,598 18,327 Youth and Student Ministry 11,172 17,217 Worship and Pastoral care 108, ,041 Communications 37,074 30,136 Maintenance, Insurance and Utilities 207, ,044 Operating Surplus 68,154 16,892 Total 955, ,071 The figures above (and to the right) are 1. Netted off costs so e.g. visitors to show contribution 2. Apportioned e.g. Vergers to what they were doing. Funds (to the nearest thousand pounds) Funds at the start of the year 1,325,000 1,518,000 Operating Surplus 68,000 17,000 Endowment Income 16,000 13,000 Organ Maintenance -10,000 0 Footprint Net Spend -19, ,000 Allocation & Depreciation -19,000-19,000 Other 1,000-2,000 Funds at the end of the year 1,362,000 1,325, Income 2013 Expenditure Planned Giving Collections and Donations Visitors Ltd Company - Shop Sales, Commercial Lettings Special Services and Recitals Tower Tours Other (Dividends, Fabric & General, Rentals) Parish Share and Clergy Costs Mission Links Music and Melody Makers Youth and Student Ministry Worship and Pastoral care Communications Schools Singing Programme Maintenance, Insurance and Utilities Operating Surplus

4 Commentary Door Income This was the star performer on the income side in The amount we receive per visitor has dropped a little but the number of visitors is up. The amounts received beat both the year before and also the budget. There were some issues when the entrance was moved to the South-West door which will need to be looked at if that s where the entrance ends up under Footprint. Parish Share This continues to increase by well above the rate of inflation. The amount spent by the diocese has been held steady over past years or has only risen in line with inflation. The reason we are paying more is largely because our numbers are holding steady whilst they have dropped elsewhere. Mission Links The Abbey gives away 10% of the money it receives from Visitors and also money specifically donated, either for the Pentecost appeal or for any charitable run/walk etc. The Abbey has also been the channel for a large grant for the church in Zambia and the Pentecost appeal raised more than past years. All this meant the Abbey supported its Mission Partners with almost 120,000. Adding to Reserves - The Abbey makes a surplus between Easter and the end of September, but the costs are more evenly spread, so we make a surplus in the summer and loss in the winter. We therefore hold back cash at the end of the summer, to tide us over the period from January to March. As the turnover of the Abbey has grown, so the scale of these peaks and troughs has also grown and each year we need more money to tide us over. In the recent past, the PCC has put almost all of the annual surplus into reserve funds and this has made it difficult to manage finances around March. The PCC therefore decided not to add the 2013 surplus to reserves, but expects to start doing so again in Funds In the early stages of Footprint, we paid for a lot of design and investigation with our own money, mainly with money we received from the sale of the lease on Abbey Church House. As a result, our funds dropped, e.g. by 202,000 in In the past year we have started doing more concrete things like the chandeliers and floor trials, these are more likely to be funded by donations so we should see fewer and smaller drops in the coming years. Matters arising At the time of the last APCM, there was a lot in the press about firms avoiding paying what was seen as their fair share of tax. In the context of that, a question was asked at the last APCM about Bath Abbey Ltd donating its profit under Gift Aid to the Abbey and whether we were similarly avoiding paying our fair share of tax. I did my best to answer it at the time. However, a subsequent question was asked of Edward and I would like to share his response with you. David Grendon Taxation of the Abbey s profit on commercial activities A Church Council member has asked me what tax should we be paying on the profits of our commercial arm? Here is my answer: Bath Abbey Limited was set up to comply with legislation which requires all charities with profit from commercial activities in excess of 50,000 to form a trading company. In the light of the moral outrage and negative publicity levelled at several large multinational firms that have used aggressive but legal tax avoidance practices, I asked the Finance Committee to look at our current practice. The committee considered the matter at its meeting on June 6th The Committee is satisfied that the Abbey is acting entirely as it should in utilising the Gift Aid scheme on profits from its commercial activities and thus accepting the Government s arrangement to allow charities to avoid tax being paid on donations. The Finance Committee is also satisfied that the Abbey is following best advice from our auditors and that it is operating entirely within both the letter and spirit of the law i.e. the Abbey is doing precisely what the law was intended to achieve. Edward

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