The Grace Trust
The Plymouth Brethren Christian Church operates one of the UK's largest charities. The Grace Trust has declared income in excess of £100 million per annum for three of the last five years, making it a significant institution within the charitable sector — and one of the least scrutinised.
The Grace Trust operates through a cluster of subsidiary entities. Those active in 2019 were UBT (EU) Ltd and UBT Accountants, both of which provide business support services and central buying to Brethren-owned companies. Inactive subsidiaries in the same period included NOA (UK), UBT (Vine), Insignia Enterprises (Europe) and Academy Schoolwear (Int). The UBT umbrella also operates an investment vehicle, the Vision Foundation Fund — comparable to the Vision Accelerator Fund operated by UBT in Australia, which owns Moroak Management and Nuvik Global.
How the Money Flows
The structure operates as a closed loop between Brethren member companies, UBT's service businesses, and the school network:
In 2019, UBT (EU) Ltd contributed approximately £78 million to Grace Trust income against expenditure of approximately £64 million — a surplus of around £14 million. The Grace Trust also received donations of approximately £21 million. After costs, the Trust had £32.9 million available to distribute.
Where the £32.9 Million Went
Education — 89%
| Recipient | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| OneSchool Global UK | £18,300,000 | Brethren school network |
| Focus Learning Trust | £11,000,000 | Rebranding to OneSchool Global UK |
| Balmoral Education | £120,000 | Brethren-connected education |
| Education subtotal | ~£29.4 million (89%) | |
Brethren Member Support — 6%
| Recipient | Amount | Note |
|---|---|---|
| NAF Fond DK | £1,700,000 | National Assistance Fund for Brethren members across Europe |
| CHART | £240,000 | Central Hardship and Relief Trust — supports Brethren members |
| Member support subtotal | ~£1.94 million (6%) | |
RRT & Overheads — ~3%
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Rapid Relief Team | £804,000 |
| Overheads (professional fees, admin, audit, currency exchange, amortisation) | £482,000 |
| Subtotal | ~£1.29 million |
External Charities — 0.7%
| Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|
| Air Ambulance Charities | £48,000 |
| Save the Children | £7,500 |
| British Red Cross | £5,000 |
| Barnardo's | £5,000 |
| Cancer Research UK | £5,000 |
| NSPCC | £5,000 |
| Other charities | ~£130,000 |
| External total | ~£205,500 (0.7%) |
"Almost 90% of all donations were shared with the Brethren school network. Less than 1% reached external, non-Brethren charities."
Brethren Exposed, January 2021The Charitable Purpose Question
The Grace Trust's income primarily originates from Brethren companies paying for services through UBT (EU) Ltd — a charitable company. Those same companies' members benefit from the resulting grants through subsidised access to OneSchool Global schools. As the original article puts it: a Brethren member company pays for business services from UBT, and receives education for their children through OneSchool Global. The schools may still charge attendance fees as independent schools, but a substantial proportion of their funding derives from this tax-free structure.
The 2019 figures show £29.3 million flowing to Brethren school networks against £205,500 to external charities — a ratio of approximately 142:1 in favour of internal Brethren beneficiaries.
The Corporate Trustee Structure
The Grace Trust uses an unusual governance arrangement that attracted the attention of the Charity Commission as far back as 2013. The charity's trustees are not individuals but two corporate entities — Scribefort Ltd and Allerbrook Ltd — both of which share the same directors:
| Director | Associated Company / Role |
|---|---|
| John Anderson | Australian Brethren |
| Richard Blackledge | Arrow County Supplies |
| Timothy Dallow | Plant Plan |
| Charles Hathorn | Pineapple Contracts |
| Bernard Reiner | Bible & Gospel Trust |
| Douglas Smart | Frederic Smart |
The Charity Commission met with the Grace Trust in 2013 following a significant increase in income and concerns about the unusual arrangement of having two corporate entities — rather than individuals — acting as trustees. Civil Society reported on this meeting. Both corporate trustees share identical directors — all of them connected to Brethren-affiliated businesses.
The Covid Question
This article was written in January 2021, at a point when PBCC-connected companies had already begun winning significant Covid contracts. The observation then was pertinent — and has since been borne out. With Brethren-connected companies winning billions in PPE and testing contracts in 2020–21, the question of how much of those profits flowed through UBT (EU) Ltd and into the Grace Trust coffers became directly material to understanding the full scale of public money that ultimately benefited the PBCC's internal ecosystem.
The Grace Trust's subsequent accounts for 2020 — covered in our separate investigation Grace Growth Through PPE — showed income rising from £102.7 million to £127.3 million.