WATERMILL THEATRE LIMITED
Registered charity 261430 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as THE WATERMILL THEATRE LIMITED
The Watermill seeks to spread knowledge and understanding about the arts and in particular the art of theatre through the production of plays and related activities encompassing touring, education, youth and community work, new writing and the nurturing of talented individuals. The Watermill seeks to entertain and enrich the quality of life for all, whether participants or audience.
Causes: Education/training · Arts/culture/heritage/science · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity reported a total surplus of £176,167 for the year ended 31 March 2025, with unrestricted reserves standing at £656,285. The trustees consider this balance adequate against their policy target of holding three to six months of core running costs, which are budgeted at £1.8 million for the following year. The auditor confirmed that the financial statements give a true and fair view and identified no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern.
Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Reserves policy: three to six months of core running costs (held: £656k)
“The reserves policy aims to hold the equivalent of between 3 to 6 months core running costs as a general unrestricted fund. The core running costs for 25/26 are budgeted to be £1.8M and so the Trustees have concluded that the balance of £656k in this fund is adequate.” — page 19
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Trustee remuneration for outreach work
“During the year, no Trustees received remuneration for work with the Watermill (2024: one Trustee received remuneration of £690 for work with the outreach team. This fee was completely unrelated to their work as a Trustee.). No other related party transactions during the year.” — page 42
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: Watermill Theatre Productions Limited
“Watermill Theatre Productions Limited is a subsidiary of Watermill Theatre Limited (the charity) and is commissioned by the Trustees of the charity to produce and make artistic decisions about all its shows and to claim Theatre Tax Relief (TTR) on qualifying production costs.” — page 18
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Wenn Townsend. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
Corporate structure
WATERMILL THEATRE PRODUCTIONS LIMITED — per its own Companies House accounts
Leadership, per the charity’s website
- Paul Hart — Joint Chief Executive (source)
- Claire Murray — Joint Chief Executive (source)
Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.
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.
- LYNAS, Michael Cowper — director, appointed 04/06/2024on trustee list
- BARBER, Caroline Elizabeth — director, appointed 04/06/2024on trustee list
- JAHANGARD, Rosanna — director, appointed 28/01/2023on trustee list
- POWELL, Danielle — director, appointed 28/01/2023on trustee list
- TITLEY-RAWSON, Craig — director, appointed 28/01/2023on trustee list
- HUMBY, Nicholas — director, appointed 28/01/2023not on trustee list
- WILLIAMSON, Howard Robert Mario — director, appointed 31/07/2021on trustee list
- BANSAL, Sunjit — director, appointed 31/07/2021on trustee list
- BREATHWICK, Katherine Juliet — director, appointed 31/07/2021on trustee list
- WENTWORTH, Thomas James — director, appointed 31/07/2021on trustee list
- WHITLUM-COOPER, Margaret Kathleen — director, appointed 24/09/2016not on trustee list
- GRINDROD, David William — director, appointed 28/11/2015on trustee list
- HART, Paul — secretary, appointed 28/09/2015
Official officers record.
Property (HM Land Registry)
4 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (4 freehold); recorded price paid £390k. 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)
Cost of raising funds
£143k
Reported reserves equal ~4.6 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: 3.3% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).
- Caroline Barber · trustee of 1 other charity
- Craig Titley-Rawson
- DAVID GRINDROD
- Danielle Powell
- Howard Robert Mario Williamson
- Katherine Juliet Breathwick · trustee of 1 other charity
- Margaret Whitlum- Cooper
- Michael Cowper Lynas
- NICK HUMBY
- Rosanna Jahangard
- Sunjit Bansal
- Thomas James Wentworth
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: West Berkshire
Income and spending
Common questions
Is WATERMILL THEATRE LIMITED financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a total surplus of £176,167 for the year ended 31 March 2025, with unrestricted reserves standing at £656,285. The trustees consider this balance adequate against their policy target of holding three to six months of core running costs, which are budgeted at £1.8 million for the following year. The auditor confirmed that the financial statements give a true and fair view and identified no material uncertainties regarding the charity's ability to continue as a going concern. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Wenn Townsend.
Who funds WATERMILL THEATRE LIMITED?
Funders whose own accounts filings name WATERMILL THEATRE LIMITED as a grant recipient include BACKSTAGE TRUST, GREENHAM TRUST LTD, MISS W E LAWRENCE 1973 CHARITABLE SETTLEMENT, THE ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER FOUNDATION, THE SACKLER TRUST.
Known funders
Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.
Government & lottery funding
Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).
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.
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Side by side with its peers
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