Telephone fundraising agency Pell & Bales saw its overall turnover fall by over 30 per cent in 2014, and has cut staff numbers from 455 to 314, according to its most recent accounts.

Pell and Bales’ full accounts for the year ending 31 December 2014, filed with Companies House on 14 October 2015, show that the fundraising agency’s total income fell to £6.9m from just over £10m in the last financial year.

The agency’s operating profits also fell sharply in the same period, down to £369,000 in 2014 from £988,000 in 2013 – a difference of more than 60 per cent.

The accounts also show that the agency’s overall profit for the year amounted to just £267,000, down from £1.2m in 2013. This, according to the director’s statement, was due to “lower revenue as a consequence of changing market conditions” and “a loss of business from significant clients, regulatory compliance and effective management of finances”.

Pell & Bales also cut jobs, with its average number of employees falling to 314 for the financial year, down from 455 in 2013.

In its previous financial year, Pell & Bales had spent £5.2m on staff costs, which equated to around 52 per cent of its total income. In 2014, staff costs fell to £4.3m, with just over £4m of that figure going directly towards wages and salaries.

Despite the fall in income, turnover, operating profits and staff numbers, the agency's director received total emoluments of £115,696 – a figure £43,128 higher than the previous year.

Total shareholders' funds also rose by £267,000 to £1.1m.

Amounts owed to debtors rose to just over £4m. Pell & Bales also took out a £403,000 bank loan which represented “amounts owed in respect of an invoice discount facility for which the debts are secured against current trade debts of the company”.

In a statement, James Johnson managing director of Pell & Bales, said: “Pell & Bales are one of the oldest fundraising companies in the market. We receive continued support from our parent company and it is because of this support we believe we are the strongest financial player in the industry and look forward to celebrating our 25th anniversary next year.

"The summer presented an opportunity for the entire industry to raise standards and we feel very positive about what the future holds for the sector. We remain an industry leader and look forward to continuing to raise funds for some of the world’s most worthy causes.”

Editor's note:

Pell & Bales issued a second statement on its website and contacted Civil Society News over the weekend. The statement is as follows: 

"The industry article leads with the headline 'Pell & Bales sheds over 130 jobs as turnover falls by 30 per cent'. This is untrue. The data related to 2013 when the company was acquired by Parseq. Following Pell & Bales joining the Parseq group a large number of employees are now accounted for elsewhere within the group; under no circumstances were mass redundancies made. In fact, our headcount is currently higher than in 2013.

"We wish to reassure you that with parent company support and investment, today we are in the strongest financial position in the fundraising market and we continue to invest in our staff to deliver for our charity partners.

"Pell & Bales has a long history of providing vital services to charities of every size and of raising funds of over £1bn for some of the world’s most worthy causes. This work continues uninterrupted and with the full support, in every sense of the word, from everybody involved with the company as we look forward to celebrating our 25th anniversary next year. We remain totally dedicated to continued investment in our company and the fundraising industry as a whole."

Civil Society News would like to clarify that the news story above makes reference only to a reduction in headcount at Pell & Bales, rather than to redundancies, as suggested in the above response, and that we therefore believe the facts as presented in our article are entirely true.

Civil Society News gave Pell & Bales opportunity to respond at the time of writing, and received a statement from them which did not address the issue of reduced headcount.

The Parseq website makes it clear that Pell & Bales is the only section of the group which dedicates any resource to fundraising.