ESSEX WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED

• ◆

  3 officer resignations in last 12 months

  Multiple officers have left the board recently — see the People section for who.

1. ESSEX WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED 1991-01-01 → present
2. ESSEX NATURALISTS TRUST LIMITED(THE) 1959-10-02 → 1991-01-01

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

Moore Kingston Smith LLP

Audit opinion

Unqualified (clean)

Going concern

Affirmed

“Trustees have a reasonable expectation that the group has adequate resources to continue in operational existence for the foreseeable future and for a period of at least 12 months following the approval of these financial statements. Thus, the going concern basis has been adopted in preparing the group statements for the year ended 31 December 2024.”

Group structure

1. ESSEX WILDLIFE TRUST LIMITED · parent
   1. Essex Wildlife Sales Limited 100% · England · The retail sale of goods and catering at various Trust Nature Discovery Centres and other venues.
   2. Essex Ecology Services Limited 100% · England · The provision of advisory services relating to environmental matters.
   3. Chafford Gorges Limited 100% · England · The conservation and maintenance of the area known as Chafford Gorges Nature Park in Thurrock.
   4. Thameside Nature Park Limited 100% · England · The conservation and maintenance of the area known as Thurrock Thameside Nature Park adjacent to Mucking in Thurrock.

Significant events

• “Outgoing Chief Executive, Andrew Impey, stepped down; Rich Yates took over as CEO in February, made permanent in August.”
• “Chair, Keeley Hazelhurst, reached maximum term and was succeeded by James Wren.”
• “Launch of new Conservation Strategy 2030 to enable clear articulation and prioritisation of goals over the next five years.”
• “Purchase of Fir Tree Wood in Little Baddow, in partnership with Little Baddow Parish Council, as the first land acquisition for several years, funded by £250,000 community fundraising.”
• “Attended Chelsea Flower Show for the first time in several years, part of an international display that brought native orchids to the show for the first time.”
• “Responded to consultations on North Falls and Five Estuaries offshore wind farm projects, worked on campaign to prevent development on Middlewick Ranges.”
• “Secured £0.52m for water vole recovery from Lower Thames Crossing funding, creating a new five-year Waterlife Recovery Officer role.”
• “Re-establishment of water vole populations along two key river basins, aiming for a mink-free county by 2029.”
• “Lost Ponds project mapped 17,200 historic Essex ponds and restored/created 80 ponds in partnership with Farm Clusters and RSPB.”
• “Doubled the size of the Conservation Grazing Team to better manage nature reserves.”
• “Transplanting 115 intertidal seagrass cores at St Lawrence in the Blackwater Estuary as part of Project Seagrass restoration trials.”
• “Orchid count across reserves reached over 142,000 plants of 11 species, including 2,300 man orchids at Chafford Gorges.”
• “Recorded the highest number of heath fritillary butterflies (218) at Pound Wood nature reserve.”
• “Conducted 223 surveys across 36 nature reserves using two sophisticated drones.”
• “Total visitors to Nature Discovery Centres exceeded one million in 2024.”
• “Achieved significant and measurable impact for wildlife in Essex, with an aim to have 30% of land and sea in Essex actively managed for nature's recovery by 2030.”
• “Working towards 1 in 4 people in Essex taking action for nature and climate by 2030.”
• “Decision to close the Nature Nursery, which offered full-time preschool education and childcare outdoors.”
• “Implemented a voluntary redundancy and cost-saving programme, Project Chrysalis, impacting several staff.”
• “2023 Capital Commitments: £95,553.”

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

Filings

9

last 12 months

Capital events

0

last 24 months

Officers appointed

3

last 12 months

Officers resigned

3

last 12 months

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

• Turnover

  +7.9%

  £9,226,032 → £9,953,036

• Cash

  +3.7%

  £789,760 → £818,744

  highest in 4 filed years

• Net assets

  +4.7%

  £29,751,094 → £31,144,343

• Employees

  -13.9%

  158 → 136

  lowest in 4 filed years

• Operating profit

  +117%

  -£1,337,717 → £228,024

• Profit before tax

  +117%

  -£1,337,717 → £228,024

• Wages

  -6%

  £4,796,351 → £4,509,736

Each % is (latest − prior) ÷ |prior| for the line item as filed. Periods don't have to be exactly 12 months apart — a long or short period (typical around incorporation or year-end changes) will distort the comparison. Lines a company doesn't report are omitted. About these numbers