The Secret Garden Hillsborough Castle

saverbuyer

maggiecon wrote: »

I totally agree, whoever is in charge at Praxis, should be held somewhat accountable. Im sure if it was their own money they wouldnt have risked it without the security of a long lease.

Exactly, someone at Praxis has authorised spending, according to Praxis, several hundreds of thousands on the strength of a license where they can be made to vacate the site within a few months.


Someone should be held to account. The caf! is a separate company so I very much doubt it.

donnac2558

in_need_of_direction wrote: »

Weren't they grant aided for the capital works. There is also dr b cafe in bridge st belfast

Dr.B cafe is lovely.

BigAl94

There are unsubstantiated reports that the chief exec of the charity has an annual package worth around £200K. Despite paying £1 rent per annum, the charity apparently sub let land to Garden Show Ireland for several thousand pounds.


Their latest accounts show turnover £27million, retained profit £346K and net worth £8.25m. Their current liabilities however exceed current assets by £1m which could indicate cash flow problems.

saverbuyer

BigAl94 wrote: »

There are unsubstantiated reports that the chief exec of the charity has an annual package worth around £200K. Despite paying £1 rent per annum, the charity apparently sub let land to Garden Show Ireland for several thousand pounds.


Their latest accounts show turnover £27million, retained profit £346K and net worth £8.25m. Their current liabilities however exceed current assets by £1m which could indicate cash flow problems.

And several million pounds each year to fund their final salary pension provisions deficit. Nice work if you can get it.


10% of turnover going to fund the staff pension deficit.

tommie

This is the trouble with charities in general,
I wonder i real terms how much of say a £10 donation would make it through to the people you intended it to??

A.L.D.A

BigAl94 wrote: »

There are unsubstantiated reports that the chief exec of the charity has an annual package worth around £200K. Despite paying £1 rent per annum, the charity apparently sub let land to Garden Show Ireland for several thousand pounds.

Their latest accounts show turnover £27million, retained profit £346K and net worth £8.25m. Their current liabilities however exceed current assets by £1m which could indicate cash flow problems.

There is a wider issue here to do with charities generally, how they are run, who actually gains most, and the tax breaks they receive. Regrettable the more I consider many of them the less I think they deserve charitable status. Many could be viewed as a form of tax avoidance or as privileged entities providing services in direct competition with normal businesses. It is a matter that needs to be addressed.

saverbuyer

A.L.D.A wrote: »

There is a wider issue here to do with charities generally, how they are run, who actually gains most, and the tax breaks they receive. Regrettable the more I consider many of them the less I think they deserve charitable status. Many could be viewed as a form of tax avoidance or as privileged entities providing services in direct competition with normal businesses. It is a matter that needs to be addressed.

Vacant rates for charities really needs to be addressed. When you see the charity shops on Royal Avenue saving the landlord several hundred thousand in rates a year from a vacant unit you know something is seriously wrong with the system.

A.L.D.A

saverbuyer wrote: »

Vacant rates for charities really needs to be addressed. When you see the charity shops on Royal Avenue saving the landlord several hundred thousand in rates a year from a vacant unit you know something is seriously wrong with the system.

Landlords will rent to anyone. In a general sense the current system gives charities a major advantage over others. The problem is much wider than rates. The number of 'enterprises' that have charitable status would surprise you!! I can think of a few where (to my cynical eyes) the main beneficiaries are the directors etc. They attract funding, people give time to raise money etc and it is a shame, because there are also many that are what they claim to be and do perform a worthwhile task. Needs a major clean up and if a charity starts to run a business to fund its activities why should they be given an advantage over a business preforming the same role. It feels very wrong to me. Often wonder why corner shops do not set themselves up as a community resource!