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LAUNCHPAD READING

Registered charity 279859 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as READING CYRENIANS LIMITED, READING SINGLE HOMELESS PROJECT, READING SINGLE HOMELESS PROJECT LTD

We house, support and empower vulnerable people in Reading so they can transform their lives, get back on track and fulfil their potential.Every person who turns to us for help is different, facing unique challenges. We provide support on an individual basis, always considering the best way to help in each situation.

Causes: General Charitable Purposes · Education/training · The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty · Accommodation/housing · Economic/community Development/employment · Other Charitable Purposes · website · Get email alerts

Latest income
£4.9m
Latest spending
£4.6m
Registered
1980
Accounts read
FY2026

Financial health, per its FY2026 accounts

The accounts state that the charity generated an operational surplus of £339,665 for the year ended 31 March 2026. Per the trustees' report, the charity maintains free unrestricted reserves of £745,483 (excluding functional fixed assets and related borrowing), which exceeds its stated policy target of £490,000. The charity holds significant tangible fixed assets valued at £7,757,788, secured by long-term borrowing of £1,328,180.

Automated summary of the FY2026 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Highest-paid employee band: £60,001 - £70,000 — below the median for charities its size (£70k)
“In the band £60,001 - £70,000 1” — page 42
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Reserves policy: £490,000 (held: £745k)
“the Trustees have determined that Launchpad Reading should maintain free unrestricted reserves of £490,000 to meet these needs.”
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Rent paid to Reading Rotary Community Projects, a landlord of Launchpad Reading, for which Trustees Matt Andrews and Bill Montague served as Trustees.
“The total payments for services or goods made to organisations connected to Launchpad Reading trustees during the period was £43,009 (2024 - £38,541). The organisation paid was Reading Rotary Community Projects £43,009 (2024 - £38,541) for rent.” — page 51
“Stephen Poland (appointed) has declared a potential conflict of interest as the owner of a limited company with property in Reading that has previously accommodated Launchpad Reading clients and may be involved in future property arrangements.”
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Stephen Poland declared a potential conflict as owner of a limited company with property in Reading that has previously accommodated clients.
“The total payments for services or goods made to organisations connected to Launchpad Reading trustees during the period was £43,009 (2024 - £38,541). The organisation paid was Reading Rotary Community Projects £43,009 (2024 - £38,541) for rent.” — page 51
“Stephen Poland (appointed) has declared a potential conflict of interest as the owner of a limited company with property in Reading that has previously accommodated Launchpad Reading clients and may be involved in future property arrangements.”
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.
Related-party transaction: Christopher Goulding is MD of Wade MacDonald, which may provide services relevant to the charity.
“The total payments for services or goods made to organisations connected to Launchpad Reading trustees during the period was £43,009 (2024 - £38,541). The organisation paid was Reading Rotary Community Projects £43,009 (2024 - £38,541) for rent.” — page 51
“Stephen Poland (appointed) has declared a potential conflict of interest as the owner of a limited company with property in Reading that has previously accommodated Launchpad Reading clients and may be involved in future property arrangements.”
Per its FY2026 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by James Cowper Kreston Audit. Discloses 5 of 6 completeness components.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Launchpad Reading (matched by registered charity number).

Property (HM Land Registry)

18 registered titles in England and Wales held by the charity’s company or corporate body (11 freehold); recorded price paid £4.1m. 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 31/03/2026)

Total income
£4.9m
Total spending
£4.6m
Cost of raising funds
£96k
Reserves (reported)
£0
Employees
57

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, largest income source: Charitable activities (86% 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: 1.9% of total income — below the median for charities its size (5.2%) (benchmarks).

Trustees · trustee networks

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

Operates in: Reading

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2026£4.9m£4.6m
31/03/2025£4.7m£4.3m
31/03/2024£3.6m£3.5m
31/03/2023£3.7m£3.2m
31/03/2022£3.3m£2.9m

Common questions

Is LAUNCHPAD READING financially healthy?

Per its FY2026 accounts: The accounts state that the charity generated an operational surplus of £339,665 for the year ended 31 March 2026. Per the trustees' report, the charity maintains free unrestricted reserves of £745,483 (excluding functional fixed assets and related borrowing), which exceeds its stated policy target of £490,000. The charity holds significant tangible fixed assets valued at £7,757,788, secured by long-term borrowing of £1,328,180. Its FY2026 accounts were audited by James Cowper Kreston Audit.

What does the highest-paid employee of LAUNCHPAD READING earn?

Per its FY2026 accounts, the highest-paid employee was in the £60,001 - £70,000 band.

Who funds LAUNCHPAD READING?

Funders whose own accounts filings name LAUNCHPAD READING as a grant recipient include IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATION, THE EARLEY CHARITY, THE EDWARD GOSTLING FOUNDATION, THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUST, GERALD PALMER ELING TRUST COMPANY.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

FunderYearAmountPurpose (as stated by the funder)
IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATIONFY2023£188k
THE EARLEY CHARITYFY2024£50kCapital Grants Programme
THE EDWARD GOSTLING FOUNDATIONFY2024£25k
THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£25k
THE EARLEY CHARITYFY2025£15kCapital Grants Programme
GERALD PALMER ELING TRUST COMPANYFY2024£10k
THE EDWARD GOSTLING FOUNDATIONFY2022£10k
THE EARLEY CHARITYFY2024£6kApplications
THE STEVENSON FAMILY'S CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£5kGeneral charitable purposes
GERALD PALMER ELING TRUST COMPANYFY2025£5k
THE EARLEY CHARITYFY2023£4kApplications
THE ANTON JURGENS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£3k
AFPA TRUSTFY2023£3kDonation - Launchpad Reading
THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£3k
AFPA TRUSTFY2025£3kDonation
AFPA TRUSTFY2024£3kDonation
THE ARDEOLA CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2024£3k
THE WILLIAM ALLEN YOUNG CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£2k
THE LEACH FOURTEENTH TRUSTFY2024£2k
THE LEACH FOURTEENTH TRUSTFY2023£2k
SKIPTON BUILDING SOCIETY CHARITABLE FOUNDATIONFY2025£1k
THE STEVENSON FAMILY'S CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2023£1kGeneral charitable purposes
THE STEVENSON FAMILY'S CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022£1kGeneral charitable purposes
THE STEVENSON FAMILY'S CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2025£1kGeneral charitable purposes
IRWIN MITCHELL CHARITIES FOUNDATIONFY2024£14
THE ANTON JURGENS CHARITABLE TRUSTFY2022—

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Community Fund05/12/2024£398kLaunchpad 135 - Rebuilding Lives After Homelessness
The National Lottery Community Fund04/10/2024£20kCreating a space to support vulnerable women with multiple support needs
The National Lottery Community Fund29/09/2022£10kLaunchpad Reading Moving In and Moving On Support
The National Lottery Community Fund04/11/2021£410kLaunchpad 135 - Rebuilding Lives
The National Lottery Community Fund07/05/2021£10kLikeskills: Preventing Homelessness
The National Lottery Community Fund17/04/2020£4kPreventing Homeless - Working Differently in the COVID-19 Pandemic
The National Lottery Community Fund27/06/2019£4kVolunteering Project
The National Lottery Community Fund24/08/2016£330kImproving Life Chances - Moving on from Homelessness
The National Lottery Community Fund06/07/2016£10kPsychologically Informed Environments for Homeless People
The National Lottery Community Fund30/07/2014£8kBuilding Skills and Confidence Within Reading's Homeless Community
The National Lottery Community Fund31/01/2013£10kHousing the Homeless
The National Lottery Community Fund17/05/2012£299kEducation, Training, Employment for Homeless People
The National Lottery Community Fund22/09/2011£10kInspirational Theatre
The National Lottery Community Fund08/11/2010£5kGo Wild in Reading
The National Lottery Community Fund14/08/2009£4kEmotional Intelligence and Personal Development Project
The National Lottery Community Fund16/12/2005£5kHealthier eating and physical activity project
The National Lottery Community Fund11/01/2005£82kDevelopment of Outreach and development programme

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
CHARITY OF SIR RICHARD WHITTINGTON2£190k
THE JULIA RAUSING TRUST1£1.2m
The Barratt Redrow Foundation1£403k
TRUST FOR LONDON1£350k
THE MASTER CHARITABLE TRUST1£265k
THE VETERANS' FOUNDATION1£241k
THE CHILDHOOD TRUST1£233k
Army Benevolent Fund1£231k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with BOOKMARK READING CHARITY.

Side by side with its peers

CharityIncomeTop pay bandStaff >£60kReserves vs policyFundraising costGoing concern
LAUNCHPAD READING£4.9m£60,001 - £70,000—unclear—no doubt
BOOKMARK READING CHARITY FY2025£4.1m——above—no doubt
AF&V LAUNCHPAD LIMITED FY2025£2.1m—0below—no doubt
READING COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTRE LTD FY2025£244k—0unclear—no doubt
Launchpad Social Enterprise FY2025£5.6m—0below—no doubt
BUSINESS LAUNCHPAD FY2025£1.5m£80,001 - £90,0001below—no doubt

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