Charity Details

The Free Fringe

SC052628Registered charity from 19 June 2023

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Charity Information:

The Name the Charity is Known By PBH's Free Fringe

Address 31 Fortess Road
London

Postcode NW5 1AD

Website freefringe.org.uk

Regulatory Type Standard

Link to Companies House https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/

Object:

2 The company's objects are: a. The advancement of the Performing Arts. b. The advancement of access to the Performing Arts by performers and public. In furtherance of these objectives the organisation will undertake the following activities: i. Stage, promote, facilitate, perform and support shows of all types and genres at the Edinburgh Fringe, with free non-ticketed admission to the public; ii. Stage, promote, facilitate, perform and support shows of all types and genres at any other events and locations that may be deemed fit; iii. Provide performance space to such performer-applicants at the Edinburgh Fringe who shall be deemed suitable on artistic grounds and can be accommodated within the available spaces, without any compulsory charge to those performers; iv. Carry out all reasonable activities to encourage public attendance at these performances, including but not limited to printed and electronic listings of such performances and activities, as far as resources permit; v. Carry out all reasonable measures to facilitate the staging of these performances, including but not limited to the purchase, borrowing or hiring of lighting, sound equipment, chairs and staging, as far as resources permit; vi. Appoint volunteer applicants to such posts as may be deemed necessary, such as Artistic Director, Scheduler, Publications Manager etc, such applicants not to be remunerated except for reimbursement of genuine expenses; vii. Receive from performers such voluntary contributions as they may think fit to give in respect of the performance spaces and services given to them without compulsory charge; viii. Encourage a collaborative, mutually supportive and self-sufficient atmosphere among performers, fostering realistic expectations of what their presence at the Edinburgh Fringe can achieve; ix. Encourage all tasks necessary to the fulfilment of these objectives to be carried out by performers themselves, thus fostering a completely self-sufficient organisation. The company?s objects are restricted to those set out in article 2 (but subject to article 3).

Operations:

What the charity is set up to do and how it does this:

We put on about 6000 performances of about 400 shows free of all charges to performers and public at the Edinburgh Fringe, thus enabling access to this world-famous event for performers and public, without the otherwise high cost of participation. This develops our performers' competences in the performing arts and makes those arts accessible to the citizens of Edinburgh and to visitors to that city. We negotiate performance spaces free of charge to us: the spaces get the refreshment sale profits. We select and programme the shows from those who apply to us, usually at least twice as many as we have space for. We operate as a collective and nobody is remunerated for the work they do for the Free Fringe, although of course suppliers are paid.

Charity Status: Active

Constitutional Form: Company (the charity is registered with Companies House)

Constitutional Form Date: 19 Jun 2023

Main Operating Location: City of Edinburgh

Number of Staff: 0

Number of Volunteers: over 250

Purposes: "the advancement of the arts, heritage, culture or science"

Beneficiaries: "No specific group, or for the benefit of the community"

Types Of Activity Undertaken: "It carries out activities or services itself"

Annual Submissions:

Year End	Income	Expenditure	Annual Return Received	Accounts Received	Latest Annual Reports and Accounts
31 Dec 2024	£32,855	£24,193	17 Sept 2025	Yes	Published accounts can be found on the Companies House website
31 Dec 2025			No	Annual Information due by 30 Sept 2026
If an annual return has been received on time (within nine months of the Year End Date), the 'Annual Return Received' box is green . If an annual return is late, the box is red .

Income and Expenditure:

Charity Trustees:

First Name	Last Name
Luke	Williams
Elise	Harris
Peter	Hill
Melanie	Hill-Stephens
From 09 March 2026, OSCR is required by law to publish the names of a charity’s trustees as part of its Scottish Charity Register entry. We are also required to publish each charity’s annual report and accounts as received from this date, which may include the names of certain individuals. The only exceptions to publication are where a charity or one of its charity trustees applies for this information to be excluded, and OSCR is satisfied that publishing it would jeopardise the safety or security of a person or premises. If the charity trustee information on a Register entry appears blank, this may mean that an exemption applies or that the charity has not yet provided the required details to OSCR. Supplying this information will become mandatory as part of future annual submissions.

From 30 June 2025, OSCR began collecting charity trustee information through OSCR Online. Providing this information is a legal requirement for all charities. The names of trustees will be published on the Scottish Charity Register from early 2026 to promote transparency and strengthen public trust in the sector.

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