AnnualReportfor2024Final2025 - Flipbook - Page 20
The charity’s total expenditure for the year was
£1,665,299, of which £1,649,486 was attributable to
charitable activities. Further details of the expenditure on
the charity’s various research and conservation projects
undertaken during the year are given within the notes to
the accounts.
Other expenditure incurred in the year principally related
to the costs of raising funds. Investment management costs
for the year totalled £15,814.
The charity’s ongoing work is funded partly by voluntary
income from grants and donations and partly by the
returns generated from its investment portfolio. Voluntary
income from grants and donations decreased to £662,528
from £1,716,266 in 2023, however it should be noted
that the 2023 昀椀gure includes grant income of £1,232,709
for a national project to be delivered between October
2023 and December 2027 and grant income of £68,038
for a feasibility study to be completed by March 2025.
Investment income (revenue returns) decreased to
£144,665 in 2024 from £216,896 in 2023. Total income for
the year saw an overall decrease from the prior year and
was £929,344.
Before taking into account any gains or losses on
investment assets, the charity’s net (expenditure) for
the year was (£735,955). Realised gains from the sale
of investments during the year totalled £157,086 and
unrealised gains on revaluation at the balance sheet date
were £1,592,781. After taking account of these investment
gains, the net movement in the charity’s funds for the year
was therefore an increase of £1,013,912 versus a increase
of £1,511,923 in 2023.
The charity’s total funds carried forward at the end of
the year therefore increased to £22,781,118, of which
£1,067,410 were restricted funds to be spent on speci昀椀c
purposes stipulated by the donor.
they do not allow for future growth or development.
The charity therefore seeks funding to 昀椀nance future
projects and developments as set out in its ten-year
strategy, whilst aiming to maintain free reserves that are
equivalent to at least six months operating costs.
Unlike many other British wildlife charities, VWT is not
a membership organisation, so our 昀椀nances are a little
different. Our founder, the late Hon Vincent Weir, passed
away in 2014 having left VWT an endowment which is
invested by our Trustees in a Core Financing Fund. Each
year the charity is allowed to draw down a proportion
of the Fund, primarily from interest earned that year,
to support core organisational costs. This accounts for
around half of VWT’s total annual expenditure, with the
other half mainly coming from Grants, Charitable Trusts
and Foundations, and a small proportion from businesses,
community groups and individuals. Importantly, the Core
Financing Fund cannot be used for project costs under
normal circumstances.
At the end of December 2024 our investments and tangible
assets stood at £21.7 million, of this £18.7 million was
designated for the Core Financing fund, £2.1 million was
designated for our Nature Reserves fund (the net book
value of our freehold and leasehold nature reserves, not
to be regarded as funds ordinarily deemed realisable), and
the remaining £0.9 million (around six months of VWT’s
annual expenditure) was our unrestricted ‘General’ fund.
Investment performance
Vincent Wildlife Trust’s investments are a critical aspect
of the charity. The investments enable VWT to achieve a
strategic evidence-based approach to the conservation
of threatened mammals. The annual drawdown from
the investments is allocated to core conservation
programmes. This ensures VWT has security and
breathing space to achieve strategic objectives. Divesting
investments for key strategic projects also enables the
charity to be 昀氀eet of foot and 昀氀exible.
Reserves policy
The charity’s unrestricted funds carried forward at
the end of 2024 were £21,713,708. The Trustees have
allocated the majority of these unrestricted funds to
two designated funds — a Nature Reserves fund and a
Core Costs Financing fund (as detailed in Note 18 to
the 昀椀nancial statements). This is in line with the Trust’s
policy to continue to concentrate its assets to maintain
future income so that its core programme of mammal
research and conservation work can continue. The
remaining free reserves of the charity therefore stood
at £913,193 at 31 December 2024 (2023: £641,278) and
this represents approximately six months of operating
costs at current levels. The Trustees believe that whilst
the free reserves of the charity are currently adequate
We continued to use CapGen Partners as one of our
investment portfolio managers throughout 2024, alongside
investments in three Northern Trust Green Transition
Passive Equity Funds, an M&G Multi Asset Credit Investors
Fund and the AVIVA Sterling Liquidity Fund.
In addition to the above investments, the Trust is a
limited partner in the Black Rock Global Renewable Power
Fund II, and, in 2017, agreed to a total commitment of US
$2,000,000. At 31 December 2024, $1,997,809 had been
invested leaving $2,191 as an outstanding commitment.
The Trust holds a mixed portfolio of 昀椀xed interest and
equities which are spread across the managers, as well
20 Vincent Wildlife Trust Annual Report and Financial Statements 2024
