MARY WARD SETTLEMENT

• ⚠

  Material uncertainty over going concern

  The Board approved financial statements on a basis other than Going Concern. An operating deficit of £576k for 2024-25, higher than expected costs for the new Mary Ward Centre, and lower cash receipts led to DfE loan assistance (£500k). A merger with Newham College of Further Education is the most likely outcome to provide financial resilience.

Values shown as filed in the company's annual accounts. — indicates the figure wasn't present under that line item in that period. About these numbers

Margins divide P&L lines by turnover. Gearing is liabilities over total assets. Current ratio is current assets over creditors falling due within one year. Interest cover is operating profit over absolute finance costs. Sector-distribution context coming next.

Accounting basis

FRS 102

Reporting scope

Consolidated group

Auditor

Buzzacott Audit LLP

Audit opinion

Unqualified (clean)

Going concern

Material uncertainty disclosed

“The Board approved financial statements on a basis other than Going Concern. An operating deficit of £576k for 2024-25, higher than expected costs for the new Mary Ward Centre, and lower cash receipts led to DfE loan assistance (£500k). A merger with Newham College of Further Education is the most likely outcome to provide financial resilience.”

Group structure

1. MARY WARD SETTLEMENT · parent
   1. Mary Ward Legal Centre 100% · UK · legal advice casework and representation in the areas of debt, housing and welfare benefits
   2. Blackfriars Settlement 100% · UK · community services

Significant events

• “The combination of lower average tuition fee income and higher than expected costs of running the new premises led to financial difficulties during the period.”
• “This culminated in a request from the Settlement to the Department for Education for financial support, which was granted in the form of an emergency loan.”
• “The SPA process has resulted in the identification of Newham College of Further Education as a potential merger partner to provide stronger financial resilience.”
• “Due to financial pressures and the need to reduce costs, the Centre closed its community outreach programme.”

Auditor, going-concern and subsidiary information is drawn from the narrative of the latest annual accounts. About these numbers

Filings

11

last 12 months

Capital events

0

last 24 months

Officers appointed

3

last 12 months

Officers resigned

2

last 12 months

Direct counts from the register. No score, no rating — see the Filing timeline for the underlying events.

• Turnover

  +3%

  £5,806,000 → £5,981,000

• Cash

  -6.9%

  £860,000 → £801,000

• Net assets

  -4.6%

  £12,447,000 → £11,871,000

• Employees

  -5.3%

  76 → 72

• Profit before tax

  -1,934.5%

  -£29,000 → -£590,000

• Wages

  +7.4%

  £2,785,000 → £2,990,000

Each % is (latest − prior) ÷ |prior| for the line item as filed. The comparison is only shown when the latest and prior accounts cover broadly equal-length periods — short or long stubs (typical around incorporation or a year-end change) are suppressed rather than misrepresented. Lines a company doesn't report are omitted. About these numbers