The Bath-based youth charity went into solvent liquidation on 12 October. Its athlete mentor programmes moved to LTSB; creditors have until 13 November to claim.

The Dame Kelly Holmes Trust, the youth charity run from an office in Bath’s Northumberland Buildings, has been formally wound up. Its members voted on 12 October to put the charity into a members’ voluntary liquidation, according to notices in The Gazette.

This is a solvent closure. The directors have made a statutory declaration that the charity can pay all its known debts in full, the liquidators’ notice says.

The charity’s work does not end with it. Its schools programmes and its team of athlete mentors moved to another charity, Leadership Through Sport & Business (LTSB), in a transfer the two announced on 14 September.

What the records show

The Gazette notices, published on 15 October, set out the formal steps:

  • 12 October: a virtual general meeting of members resolved that the charity be wound up voluntarily (resolution notice).
  • Joint liquidators: Gareth Buckley and Steve Elliott of The Insolvency Company, appointed the same day (appointment notice).
  • Principal trading address: 7a Northumberland Buildings, Bath, BA1 2JB. The registered office has moved to the liquidators’ office in Swindon.
  • 13 November: the last date for creditors to send in their claims.

Companies House filings show six of the charity’s directors stepped down on 17 September, three days after the transfer was announced. The company number is 06531532 and the charity number 1128529.

Why the trust is closing

The two charities put the move down to money. Their joint announcement said it reflected “a shared commitment to ensuring that successful programmes continue to grow cost-effectively”. It described “an increasingly challenging charitable funding environment”.

The trust’s last published accounts, for the year to 31 March 2025, show a charity that had just grown but was still on a narrow margin (accounts, PDF):

Year to 31 March 2024 2025
Income £769,155 £1,048,632
Spending £881,564 £945,683
Funds at year end £72,688 £175,637

The auditors drew attention to “a material uncertainty” over cash flow that “may cast significant doubt” on the charity’s ability to continue. Their opinion was not modified because of it.

In that year the trust said it supported 1,119 young people, 922 of them new. Most of the work it listed was outside Bath: a hub in Sheffield in its fifth year, growth in the Liverpool City Region and Kent, and health programmes with Sheffield Children’s Hospital and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital.

What Dame Kelly said

Dame Kelly Holmes, the double Olympic champion, founded the trust in 2008. Her statement in the announcement said:

“The challenges facing the charity sector mean organisations must continually think about how they create the greatest possible impact. I believe this transition gives these programmes the strongest possible future to continue supporting the young people who need a champion in their corner.”

She has become LTSB’s patron, according to LTSB’s page on the trust.

Martin Talbot, LTSB’s chief executive, said the move would create “a more comprehensive journey for young people that starts at a younger age”, supporting them “from their school years through to sustainable employment”.

What it means for you

  • Schools and youth groups using the programmes: the announcement says delivery continues through LTSB with the same athlete mentors. LTSB is the contact now.
  • Anyone owed money by the trust: send a claim to the liquidators by 13 November. The notice says final payments may be made without regard to claims that arrive after that date. Contact details are on the Gazette notice.

We track company closures and insolvencies across Bath and North East Somerset in our local news coverage, always from the official register.