The Company
Tower Supplies is a Poole-based PPE and safety equipment supplier — exactly the kind of established sector specialist one would expect to be involved in pandemic procurement. The company is owned by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church and was awarded two DHSC contracts during the early months of the pandemic, both via the VIP channel.
However, Tower Supplies is not a limited company, a sole trader or a partnership. It operates as a commercial trust — the Tower Trust — managed by a combination of limited companies and named individuals acting as trustees. This structure has significant implications for financial transparency and legal accountability.
The Contracts
Tower Supplies was awarded two contracts by the Department of Health and Social Care, each worth £20,250,000 — a combined total of £40.5 million. Both contracts were for disposable coveralls and both were awarded via the VIP channel, the high-priority procurement lane that fast-tracked companies with political connections or ministerial referrals.
The first contract was awarded on 11 April 2020 — one of the earliest PPE contracts issued during the pandemic. On Contract Finder, the supplier address is unusually sparse: one contract lists only Dorset, the other lists only Poole. The contract attachments do not contain the actual contract documentation — only a statement that the award was made by negotiated procedure without prior publication, the emergency procurement route used throughout the pandemic.
Spotlight on Corruption, following a Freedom of Information request, received information showing that £10.6 million of the PPE supplied by Tower Supplies was categorised as "Do Not Supply" by the UK Government — approximately 25% of the total contract value. This PPE was deemed unsuitable for use.
The Trust Structure
Tower Supplies' own terms of trading identify the full legal entity behind the brand. The business is operated by Wyderington Ltd, Ashley & Pollock Ltd, Parley Chase Ltd, Jondan Ltd, and John, Daniel and Jonathan Aris — acting in their capacity as Trustees of the Tower Trust, trading as Tower Supplies.
This trust structure means there is no obligation to publish consolidated accounts for Tower Supplies as a whole. There is no single set of figures showing combined turnover, profit, tax or cash position. What can be examined are the shareholder funds of the individual limited company trustees — themselves adding a further layer of complexity, as some are owned by parent holding companies.
| Entity | Shareholder Funds | Parent Company | Parent Funds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wyderington Ltd | £4.2 million | Wyderington Assets Ltd | £8,000 |
| Ashley & Pollock Ltd | £221,000 | Ashley & Pollock Assets Ltd | £1.8 million |
| Parley Chase Ltd | £2.7 million | Parley Chase Assets Ltd | £1.7 million |
| Jondan Ltd | Non-trading | — | — |
| Total (trustees) | ~£10.6 million | Pre-pandemic total: £6.1 million | |
The combined shareholder funds of the trustee companies total approximately £10.6 million — the same figure as the PPE categorised as Do Not Supply. This may be coincidence. What is clear is that shareholder funds have increased by approximately £4.5 million since the pandemic. The trust structure means the full financial picture — how much revenue flowed through Tower Supplies, what profit was made and what tax was paid — remains invisible to the public.
"There is no way of seeing the company turnover, profits or tax."
Brethren Exposed, October 2023The Political Connection
On 30 January 2018, Michelle Donelan MP — then a Conservative backbencher and later Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology — raised a question in Parliament recorded in Hansard concerning Tower Supplies and contract awards.
Jerry Turner, Donelan's uncle through marriage, lives in her Chippenham constituency and is the Safety Director at Tower Supplies.
Jerry Turner (uncle through marriage to Michelle Donelan) — Safety Director, Tower Supplies. Jerry Turner was also a director of Stronghold Global Ltd from 2013 to 2017. Tom Turner, Michelle Donelan's husband, is now Commercial Director at Stronghold Global Ltd.
Questions That Remain Unanswered
- Against whom would the government bring a legal claim for the £10.6 million in faulty PPE — and which of the trustees or the trust itself holds sufficient assets to meet that claim?
- Why do the Contract Finder entries lack even the most basic supplier details?
- Who legally employs the staff working for Tower Supplies, and under which entity?
- What legal basis allowed a commercial trust of this structure to be awarded public contracts without the transparency obligations that apply to limited companies?
- What was the selection process for the VIP channel referral, and who made it?
- Why is there no requirement for a trust operating at this commercial scale — with £40 million in public contracts — to publish a full set of accounts?