Watercress Line Heritage Railway Trust Limited

Registered charity 284406 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register · also known as MID-HANTS RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY LIMITED, WATERCRESS LINE · listed website unreachable when last crawled

Latest income
£3.7m
Latest spending
£3.8m
Registered
1982
Accounts read
FY2023

Financial health, per its FY2023 accounts

The accounts state that the group reported a net deficit of £996,625 for the year ended 31 March 2023, primarily due to asset write-downs, compared to a surplus in the prior year. The trustees acknowledge a material uncertainty regarding the group's ability to continue as a going concern due to challenging economic conditions and funding risks, although they believe continued bank support and operational changes will allow the charity to survive. Free reserves are reported as negative £743,003 after deducting fixed assets from unrestricted funds.

What the accounts disclose

Accounts audited by Cochrane & Co Accountants Limited.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — Watercress Line Heritage Railway Trust Limited (matched by registered charity number).

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

Total income
£3.7m
Total spending
£3.8m
Cost of raising funds
£3.5m
Reserves (reported)
£0
Employees
44

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.8 months; benchmarks).

Trustees

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

Operates in: Hampshire · Portsmouth City · Southampton City · Surrey · West Berkshire

Income and spending

Financial year endIncomeSpending
31/03/2025£3.7m£3.8m
31/03/2024£3.8m£3.4m
31/03/2023£3.9m£4.9m
31/03/2022£4.6m£3.8m
31/01/2021£3.1m£2.7m

Common questions

Is Watercress Line Heritage Railway Trust Limited financially healthy?

The accounts state that the group reported a net deficit of £996,625 for the year ended 31 March 2023, primarily due to asset write-downs, compared to a surplus in the prior year. The trustees acknowledge a material uncertainty regarding the group's ability to continue as a going concern due to challenging economic conditions and funding risks, although they believe continued bank support and operational changes will allow the charity to survive. Free reserves are reported as negative £743,003 after deducting fixed assets from unrestricted funds. Its FY2023 accounts were audited by Cochrane & Co Accountants Limited.

Who funds Watercress Line Heritage Railway Trust Limited?

Funders whose own accounts filings name Watercress Line Heritage Railway Trust Limited as a grant recipient include THE LILLYWHITE FAMILY TRUST.

Known funders

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

FunderYearAmount
THE LILLYWHITE FAMILY TRUSTFY2023£1k

Government & lottery funding

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

FunderDateAmountPurpose
The National Lottery Heritage Fund24/08/2020£250k"COVID19 Mid Hants Railway Ltd & Mid Hants Railway Preservation Society Ltd"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund13/06/2014£1.3m"Canadian Pacific - Engineering a Future from the Past"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund19/12/2011£12k"Research & Interpretation of Kings Cross Station Footbridge"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund25/05/2010£332k""Mind the Gap" - Transferring Heritage Engineering Skills Across the Generations"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund18/09/2008£765k"Mid Hants Railway: Redevelopment and Enhancement of the Railway's Buildings, Public Access and Activities, Training and Education"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund29/11/2005£50k"Ropley Wheel Drop and Paintshop Project"
The National Lottery Heritage Fund25/08/1998£250k"Alresford Station LSWR Goods Shed - Restoration"

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 THE BLUEBELL RAILWAY TRUST.