CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY CHARITY LIMITED
Registered charity 265239 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as SOCIETY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL IMPROVEMENT LIMITED
CAT seeks to inspire, inform and enable people to adopt sustainable technologies and practices. The Charity achieves its objectives by: promoting scenarios for a Zero Carbon Britian; providing education through school visits, short courses and postgraduate teaching; publishing a members' magazine; providing a free information service; operating a visitor centre; hosting external events.
Causes: Education/training · Environment/conservation/heritage · website · Get email alerts
Financial health, per its FY2025 accounts
The accounts state that the charity has a material uncertainty relating to its going concern status due to a lack of free reserves and reliance on future fundraising and student income. While total income increased to £4.31 million, the charity remains in a net current liabilities position and has had to secure a loan from WCVA to support cash flow. The trustees maintain that the charity is a going concern based on conservative cash flow forecasts extending to March 2027.
Automated summary of the FY2025 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.
What the accounts disclose
Reserves position: below the charity's own stated reserves policy
“There were no free reserves at the year-end because of the additional challenges we have faced over the last few years.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Going concern: material uncertainty disclosed
“For these reasons, we conclude that there is a material uncertainty relating to the Going Concern position.”
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Interest-free loan from anonymous trustee
“One of the Trustees, who wishes to remain anonymous, has made an interest free loan to the Charity of £18,000 with no fixed repayment date.” — page 60
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Trading subsidiary: C.A.T Alternative Technology Trading Ltd
“The Charity holds 100% of the share capital (100 £1 shares) and voting rights in its dormant subsidiary, C.A.T Alternative Technology Trading Ltd.” — page 51
Per its FY2025 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Accounts audited by Sayer Vincent LLP. Discloses 4 of 6 completeness components.
Year-over-year changes
- Going concern: no going-concern doubt (FY2024) → material uncertainty (FY2025).
Comparing this charity’s FY2024 and FY2025 accounts as analysed by this site.
Corporate structure
Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Centre for Alternative Technology Charity (matched by registered charity number).
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.
- BLACK, Claire Elizabeth — director, appointed 14/09/2026on trustee list
- BARNES, Thomas Elliott — director, appointed 14/07/2026on trustee list
- ADAMS, Elizabeth Clare — director, appointed 09/07/2026on trustee list
- MONAGHAN, Rob James — director, appointed 05/07/2026on trustee list
- CHESNEY-ROBERTS, Julia Sian — director, appointed 29/06/2026on trustee list
- BREWER, Tim James — director, appointed 05/06/2026on trustee list
- MCGRATTAN, Megan Bianca — director, appointed 03/03/2025on trustee list
- SHORT, Damien Christiaan, Professor — director, appointed 02/01/2025on trustee list
- BEDFORD, Sonya — director, appointed 25/06/2020on trustee list
Official officers record.
Property (HM Land Registry)
5 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (4 freehold). 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
£472k
Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).
Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 11.0% of total income — above the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).
Register events
- Received assets from another charity (29/09/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
- Claire Elizabeth Black
- Elizabeth Clare Adams
- Julia Sian Chesney-Roberts
- MEGAN MCGRATTAN
- Professor Damien Christiaan Short
- Rob James Monaghan
- Sonya Bedford
- Thomas Elliott Barnes · trustee of 1 other charity
- Tim Brewer
Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).
Operates in: Powys
Income and spending
Common questions
Is CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY CHARITY LIMITED financially healthy?
Per its FY2025 accounts: The accounts state that the charity has a material uncertainty relating to its going concern status due to a lack of free reserves and reliance on future fundraising and student income. While total income increased to £4.31 million, the charity remains in a net current liabilities position and has had to secure a loan from WCVA to support cash flow. The trustees maintain that the charity is a going concern based on conservative cash flow forecasts extending to March 2027. Its FY2025 accounts were audited by Sayer Vincent LLP.
Who funds CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY CHARITY LIMITED?
Funders whose own accounts filings name CENTRE FOR ALTERNATIVE TECHNOLOGY CHARITY LIMITED as a grant recipient include CHAPMAN CHARITABLE 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.
Charities like this
Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with CANTERBURY ARCHAEOLOGICAL TRUST LIMITED.
Side by side with its peers
Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.