Key Metrics
SCUBAHUB
British Sub-Aqua Club Financial Review 2025
The directors present their report with the financial statements of the company and the group for the year ended 31 December 2025.
Legal status
The company is limited by guarantee without share capital. The council members control the activities of the company. Under the Articles of Association, the liability of the members is limited and every member undertakes to contribute such an amount as may be required, not exceeding £ 1 in the case of any member, to the assets of the company on the event of it being wound up during the time that they are a member or within one year afterwards.
Principal activity
The principal activity of the group in the year under review was that of promoting underwater sport, exploration and science and related studies, safety in those activities, to maintain the highest standards therein, to co-operate with related organisations, and to sustain recognition as the National Governing Body in the UK.
Key Metrics
Review of business
Financial summary
In 2025, the BSAC Group delivered a disappointing financial performance with a deficit before tax and exceptional item of £ 39,954. This compares to a small surplus of £ 5,562 in 2024. Much of the year was dominated by the implementation of the new Sport 80 system, the costs of which materially contributed to the operating loss.
Retail activity has reduced considerably in recent years and the move to digital training packs has accelerated. The combined effect has been to necessitate a further( and final) write down of old and obsolete stock of £ 57,457, on top of the amount of £ 39,101 written off last year. Though the stock write off does not affect BSAC’ s cash position, on top of the aforementioned deficit this has generated an overall post tax deficit of £ 99,537, compared to a deficit of £ 38,490 in 2024. Stock values are now at an historic low and no further write offs are expected.
Key to the overall health of BSAC is membership which has continued to decline. During 2025 the overall number of fully paid members( excluding Egypt) reduced by 1,104 from 22,152 to 21,048. The rate of decline mirrors that of the past decade.
As at 31 December 2025 2024 MEMBERSHIP Fully paid-up Members( excluding Egypt members) 21,048 22,152 New Members during the Year 4,549 3,766 FINANCIAL £’ 000 Total income 1,855.2 1,923.2 Operating expenses( 1,895.2)( 1,917.6) Surplus /( deficit) before tax and exceptional item( 40.0) 5.6 Tax( 2.0)( 5.0) Exceptional item: write down of slow-moving stock( 57.5)( 39.1) Deficit after tax and exceptional item( 99.5)( 38.5)
Highlights of the year
Significant effort was expended by BSAC HQ staff over the summer and autumn in implementing the long-awaited Sport 80 system. Other IT enhancements were also made, including other systems implementations and migration from physical to virtual servers. The need to modernise and replace our old systems was identified several years ago and Sport 80 was selected after a thorough evaluation. It is a wellestablished solution used by over 80 UK sports national governing bodies. Nevertheless, the move away from multiple legacy systems to a new‘ off-the-shelf’ system has proven extremely challenging. The resources and time required to implement and operationalise the new systems was significantly greater than planned and disrupted progress on other priorities over the second half of 2025.
Thanks to the efforts of the BSAC HQ team and our members and club officers, the new system is now mostly bedded in with a 78 % engagement rate so far from members and clubs. Importantly, the anticipated efficiency benefits set out in the business case are now also starting to be realised. Fully embedding the new system remains a high priority going forward. Though disruptive, implementing the new system was crucial, as it has enabled BSAC to cease using multiple unsupported legacy systems and establish a modern and sustainable IT infrastructure.
Turning to other matters, BSAC’ s new Marine Champions initiative enjoyed a very strong start following its launch in August. Katherine Knight was appointed as the new chair of BSAC’ s Environment Committee and we now have over 70 Marine Champions across the country; each working to inspire and advocate for healthier seas. We are seeing real activity taking place at Club level and are expanding our engagement and partnerships nationally, primarily through our successful membership of the Clean Water Alliance.
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