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OCTAGON THEATRE TRUST LIMITED

Registered charity 248833 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as OCTAGON THEATRE BOLTON

TO PROMOTE, MAINTAIN, IMPROVE AND ADVANCE, EDUCATION, PARTICULARLY BY THE PRODUCTION OF EDUCATIONAL PLAYS AND THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE ARTS INCLUDING DRAMA, MIME, DANCE, SINGING AND MUSIC, AND TO FORMULATE, PREPARE AND ESTABLISH SCHEMES THEREFOR PROVIDED THAT ALL OBJECTS OF THE COMPANY SHALL BE OF A CHARITABLE NATURE.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · Amateur Sport · Economic/community Development/employment · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£4.2m
Latest spending
£4.4m
Registered
1966
Accounts read
FY2025

Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts

The accounts state that the charity completed the year with a financial surplus on unrestricted funds of £100,038. Free reserves stood at £1,104,088, which is above the trustees' stated policy target of retaining at least £650,000. The trustees confirmed that the accounts are properly prepared on a going concern basis.

Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Reserves policy: at least £650,000 (held: £1.1m)
“The Trustees have a reserves policy of retaining unrestricted reserves of at least £650,000.” — page 11
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Bolton Council is a landlord and funder; GMCA is a funder; Arts Council England is a funder. Directors are nominated by Bolton Council and GMCA.
“Both the Arts Council and Bolton Council committed significant funds to support the re-development of the Theatre. Bolton Council are the landlords of the theatre.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Octagon Catering Services Limited, Octagon Theatre Productions Ltd
“The Charity has two trading subsidiaries named Octagon Catering Services Limited and Octagon Theatre Productions Ltd.” — page 22
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Sumer Auditco Limited. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.

Corporate structure

OCTAGON CATERING SERVICES LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts
    OCTAGON THEATRE PRODUCTIONS LTD — per its own Companies House accounts
    • Amounts owed to group undertakings: £510,519

    Company officers (Companies House)

    Current officers of the charity’s own company per the Companies House register, cross-checked against the Charity Commission trustee list by name. A director not on the trustee list is usually a timing or naming difference between the two registers — check both records before drawing conclusions.

    Official officers record.

    Property (HM Land Registry)

    3 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (0 freehold); recorded price paid £1.2m. All charity-held property. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright, OGL v3.0.

    Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook · instagram

    Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/03/2025)

    Total income
    £4.2m
    Total spending
    £4.4m
    Cost of raising funds
    £509k
    Reserves (reported)
    £1.3m
    Employees
    78

    Reported reserves equal ~3.6 months of spending — below the median for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

    Per its annual return, largest income source: Charitable activities (62% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

    Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 12.0% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

    Trustees · trustee networks

    Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

    Operates in: Bolton · Lancashire · Manchester City · Oldham · Salford City · Trafford

    Income and spending

    Financial year endIncomeSpending
    31/03/2025£4.2m£4.4m
    31/03/2024£3.5m£3.9m
    31/03/2023£3.3m£3.7m
    31/03/2022£2.2m£2.7m
    31/03/2021£2.6m£1.7m

    Common questions

    Is OCTAGON THEATRE TRUST LIMITED financially healthy?

    Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity completed the year with a financial surplus on unrestricted funds of £100,038. Free reserves stood at £1,104,088, which is above the trustees' stated policy target of retaining at least £650,000. The trustees confirmed that the accounts are properly prepared on a going concern basis. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Sumer Auditco Limited.

    Government & lottery funding

    Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

    FunderDateAmountPurpose
    UK government13/10/2022£625kNational Portfolio Organisations
    UK government13/10/2022£625kNational Portfolio Organisations
    UK government13/12/2021£625kNational Portfolio Organisations
    UK government27/10/2021£124kCulture Recovery Fund: Continuity Support
    UK government29/09/2020£55kCoronavirus Community Support Fund
    The National Lottery Community Fund18/02/2019£93kReACT
    The National Lottery Heritage Fund31/07/2018£10k"Outcaste: Women, Recruitment & Censorship in British Colonial India during the First World War"
    UK government08/06/2017£625kNational Portfolio Organisations
    The National Lottery Heritage Fund07/10/2014£10k"The Lancashire Boys"
    The National Lottery Community Fund24/09/2014£10kRelaxing Theatre

    Funders of similar charities

    Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

    FunderSimilar charities fundedAmount to them
    SCARBOROUGH THEATRE DEVELOPMENT TRUST1£54k
    THE MACKINTOSH FOUNDATION1£38k
    THE REED FOUNDATION1£35k
    WILLIAM ADLINGTON CADBURY CHARITABLE TRUST1£20k
    THE THEATRES TRUST CHARITABLE FUND1£16k
    THE GRIMMITT TRUST1£15k
    THE HOBSON CHARITY LIMITED1£5k
    THE SAINTBURY TRUST1£5k

    Charities like this

    Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with TALL STORIES THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED.

    Side by side with its peers

    CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
    OCTAGON THEATRE TRUST LIMITED£4.2m——unclear—no doubt
    TALL STORIES THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED FY2025£2.9m—0above—no doubt
    THEATRE ORCHARD PROJECTS LIMITED FY2025£560k—0unclear—no doubt
    THE MAYFLOWER THEATRE TRUST FY2025£28.8m£190,001 - £200,000—above—no doubt
    RAOS MUSICAL THEATRE COMPANY FY2025£117k—0above—no doubt
    SCARBOROUGH THEATRE TRUST LIMITED FY2025£3.1m——below—noted

    Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.