City's Cash is an endowment fund, overseen by the

City of London Corporation The City of London Corporation, officially and legally the Mayor and Commonalty and Citizens of the City of London, is the municipal governing body of the City of London, the historic centre of London and the location of much of the United King ...

, built up over 800 years and passed from generation to generation to fund services that the Corporation claims benefit London and the nation as a whole. It is one of three funds run by the City of London Corporation, the other two being the City Fund and the

Bridge House Estates The Bridge House Estates is a charitable trust, originating in the late eleventh century and formally established by royal charter in 1282 by the City of London Corporation in London, England. It was originally established to maintain London Brid ...

. The City of London's right to acquire any "wastes and open spaces" gave rise to the City's Cash estate. Its core holding is a 35-acre (14-hectare) estate within the "Square Mile", including the

Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...

, sections of New Broad Street, Whitefriars and Fenchurch Street, plus the markets of Smithfield and

Leadenhall Leadenhall Market is a covered market in London, located on Gracechurch Street but with vehicular access also available via Whittington Avenue to the north and Lime Street to the south and east, and additional pedestrian access via a number o ...

Billingsgate Billingsgate is one of the 25 Wards of the City of London. This small City Ward is situated on the north bank of the River Thames between London Bridge and Tower Bridge in the south-east of the Square Mile. The modern Ward extends south to the ...

market, although now outside the City, also forms part of the Cash estate.

History

The City's Cash account has been regarded as being as old as the City of London Corporation itself, but the oldest remaining set of accounts date from

Michaelmas Michaelmas ( ; also known as the Feast of Saints Michael, Gabriel, and Raphael, the Feast of the Archangels, or the Feast of Saint Michael and All Angels) is a Christian festival observed in some Western liturgical calendars on 29 September, a ...

1632–Michaelmas 1633. These were the seventh set of accounts presented by Robert Bateman who had been

Chamberlain of London The Chamberlain of the City of London is an ancient office of the City of London, dating back to at least 1237. The Chamberlain is the finance director of the City of London Corporation. They are the financial adviser, accountant, receiver and pa ...

since 1626. They were audited by

Nicholas Rainton Sir Nicholas Rainton (1569–19 August 1646) was an English merchant who was Lord Mayor of London in 1632. Life He was the third son of Robert Rainton of Heighington, Lincolnshire and was baptised in the parish of Washingborough on 10 June 15 ...

, who was at that time Lord Mayor. The City's Cash was used to supplement the Police Rate, which had been authorised in the City of London Police Acts 1839 and 1919 to cover the costs of the

City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, o ...

. However owing to problems in the management of the funds, the City of London had to ask the government to contribute a grant for the upkeep of their police force. In the year ending 31 March 1938, the City's Cash balance sheet totalled over £6.5 million, while income from the estate and other sources was estimated at over £850,000.

Public scrutiny

In 2012, in response to pressure from

Occupy London Occupy London was a political movement in London, England, and part of the international Occupy movement. While some media described it as an "anti-capitalist" movement, in the statement written and endorsed by consensus by the Occupy assembly i ...

, the City of London Corporation released some information about the account, where the money came from and what it gets spent on. It proved to contain more than £1.319 billion. With an income, in 2012, of £145 million, 29% of which came from school fees, with a further eight per cent coming from rents and nine per cent coming from grants, reimbursements and contributions. However, the largest source of revenue was 52 per cent from investments. By the end of March 2016, it had net assets of £2.3 billion, while Duncan said the Cash estate generated a "reasonably respectable £210 million a year." The City's Cash Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with Financial Reporting Standard 102 (FRS 102) as issued by the Financial Reporting Council and the external auditor's opinion confirms that the statements give a ‘true and fair view’ of the state of City's Cash. A detailed City's Cash Overview summary statement is published along with other accounts on the City of London website.

Uses of fund

The City's Cash published account summary details how the funds are used to provide services that are of importance nationally and internationally as well as to the City and Greater London.

Open spaces

The City of London Corporation looks after 11,000 acres of open spaces across London. Some of the sites have been owned and managed by the City of London Corporation since 1870 to protect them from development and preserve them as a natural resource. Many sites have gained national

Green Flag Green Flag or Green Flag Rescue, is a British roadside assistance and vehicle recovery provider, which is part of the Direct Line Group. Formed in 1971, as the National Breakdown Recovery Club, as an alternative to the AA and RAC, it used ...

and Green Heritage Awards, are

Sites of Special Scientific Interest A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of ...

or are important wildlife habitats. Some sites are national nature reserves for the public to enjoy. Annual visits to these open spaces are currently estimated at 23 million.

The Lord Mayor's activities

All of the Lord Mayor's activities are paid for through the City's Cash.

The City of London markets

The wholesale markets currently operated by the City of London Corporation are Smithfield and Billingsgate (both of which are funded by City's Cash), plus New Spitalfields (accounted for in the City Fund). The City of London Corporation retains its property interests in the former markets of Leadenhall and Old Spitalfields, but these are not managed by its Department of Markets and Consumer Protection.

The City Remembrancer

The City's Cash is also used to fund the Office of the City Remembrancer.

Subsidised refreshments

The Members Bar in the

Guildhall A guildhall, also known as a "guild hall" or "guild house", is a historical building originally used for tax collecting by municipalities or merchants in Great Britain and the Low Countries. These buildings commonly become town halls and in some ...

is a subsidised facility for members of the

Court of Common Council The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. Elections are held at least every four years. It is largely composed o ...

and the

Court of Aldermen The Court of Aldermen forms part of the senior governance of the City of London Corporation. It comprises twenty-five aldermen of the City of London, presided over by the Lord Mayor (becoming senior alderman during his year of office). The Co ...

. Access to the facilities is an entitlement for life even after an individual is no longer a member of either court. Members can also entertain guests there. With spirits available for as little as 60p, in October 2017, it was substantially cheaper than any other bar in the

City of London The City of London is a city, ceremonial county and local government district that contains the historic centre and constitutes, alongside Canary Wharf, the primary central business district (CBD) of London. It constituted most of London f ...

. In 2016, over £200,000 was allocated for a refurbishment of the club. Catering and bar costs here amounted to more than £0.5 million in 2016, partly offset by income from hiring for private events.

References

{{reflist 15th-century establishments in England City of London Corporation Finances of the City of London Sovereign wealth funds