Recovering strongly — and planning for the future

Back on our feet

Covid-19 closed every activity we ran. Income vanished, regular maintenance was deferred, and planned improvements simply didn't happen. Since then our trading company, Central Hall Westminster Ltd, has rebuilt steadily. Revenue reached a record £9.7m in the year to 31 August 2026, and the Company has returned to modest profit in each of the last two years, after losses of around £750,000 a year in 2022–23 and 2023–24. Clients have included the United Nations, the EBRD, Microsoft, Meta and Netflix.

But trading alone can no longer pay for the building. Company profit is budgeted at £150,000 for 2026–27, compared with £770,000 before Covid, while caring for Central Hall costs around £1.8 million a year. Spending on the building has averaged just £230,000 a year since the pandemic, less than half of what it needs, and a full condition survey in 2026 puts the cost of the work required over the next ten years at £14 million.

The income we generate still matters enormously, because it enables everything else: the congregation, the community work, the St Vincent's Family Project — and the services that people in Westminster depend on.