The Grace Trust is the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church's primary fundraising charity in the UK. It funds the operation of OneSchool Global, the Rapid Relief Team and a range of hardship funds within the PBCC community. Its income is generated principally through UBT (Universal Business Team), the group buying and business services operation.
The 2020 annual accounts — examined at the time of this investigation in October 2021 — showed something striking: a £25 million jump in income in a year when most charities were under pressure.
The 2020 Income Jump
2020
£127,452,335
▲ £24,758,302 (+24%)
Income StreamChange vs 2019Notes
Trading activities (UBT + OneSchool)
+£17m
Includes CoShield rebate. Offset by £29m drop in discontinued PPE activities.
Donations
+£8m
Possibly reflecting PBCC member donations boosted by contract profits
Government covid grant
£303,000
Small grant received during the pandemic
Discontinued unrestricted funds
−£29m
UBT's direct PPE activities — sold to CoShield in June 2020
The "discontinued unrestricted funds" line — a £29 million reduction — represents UBT's own direct PPE trading, which was sold to CoShield Global in June 2020. That sale, and the profit-sharing arrangement that followed, is the most significant financial story in the 2020 accounts.
The UBT to CoShield Handover
1
April 2020
UBT (EU) Ltd — the trading arm of The Grace Trust — entered the PPE market. Within weeks it had traded PPE on a turnover of £28.8 million.
↓
2
June 2020
UBT sold the PPE-related side of the business to CoShield Global Ltd — a company that had just changed directors in May 2020 (see below). The sale terms included an agreement: CoShield would pay 30% of net profit back to UBT (EU) Ltd for the following 12 months, until June 2021.
↓
3
June 2020 — June 2021
The rebate generated £2,582,123 for The Grace Trust — covering the sale proceeds, profits and the ongoing 30% profit share arrangement across the 12-month period.
CoShield Global Ltd — The Buyer
CoShield Global Ltd was not an arms-length outside company. Its history and address tie it firmly into the PBCC network.
CoShield Global Ltd — Company Details
Original name
Campus Trading Investments Ltd
Original directors
Daniel Lyon, Bruce Dallow & Neil Hardwick
New directors (May 2020)
Ralph Lewis & Edward Wheatcroft (PBCC members)
Name changed to CoShield Global
May 2020 — same month new directors appointed
Registered address
Same as UBT (EU) Ltd
The timing is notable: CoShield changed its name and changed its directors in May 2020 — one month after UBT entered the PPE market, and one month before UBT sold the PPE business to CoShield. The company that bought UBT's PPE operation was prepared for that transaction in the month preceding it, and shares UBT's registered address.
CoShield & Canada: The same CoShield Global later appeared in Canadian PPE supply chains. A PressProgress investigation into Ontario government PPE contracts found CoShield directing Canadian customers to email the
UBT group buying service in Australia. UBT was listed as a major Canadian PPE importer in 2020. The UK sale, the Australian buying service and the Canadian supply route all connected through the same entity. See:
Canada: Doug Ford's Government Paid $1.94 Million to a PBCC Oil Company for Face Masks.
Disclaimer: All figures are drawn from The Grace Trust's published Charity Commission annual accounts for 2020. The CoShield Global Ltd details are from Companies House filings. This investigation does not allege wrongdoing by any named individuals or companies. Originally published by Brethren Exposed, 29 October 2021.