The links to Unispace/Sante Global continues for Medco Solutions. It is an interesting contract, as it does not readily appear when searching the UK Govt contract finder website and it involves another Plymouth Brethren Member ran company, Sterilabs based in Harrogate. Owned by the Sellars family they are a transit packaging business with a number of well known clients including Iceland, Thorntons & Halewood International. UK-based psychologist Jill Mytton - who was born into the Brethren but left in 1960 when she was 16 - recently surveyed former worldwide members of the Church and found 27 per cent of a large. The difference is, it would be their choice. They add a further 570 million in covid contracts to the total awarded to companies owned by members of the Plymouth Brethren. Have worked with a few EB companies. Receive our monthly print edition and help to support fearless, independent journalism. This company was run by a family who were a part of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC). According to the Charity Commission, Greenfield Gospel Hall Trust is part of the Brethren network. When we launched Open & Candid back in 2020, one of the first stories we covered was the remarkable number of covid contracts that had been won by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. These eight companies all have connections to Unispace/Sante Global or Medco Solutions. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. The Antrim based Snack business owned by the Walker family were one of the biggest brethren winners and link closely to other Northern Ireland & Scotland brethren ran companies. Active. No headphones, no radio. Oska Care won two contracts with NHS Scotland for the supply of beds & mattresses. Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (Exclusive Brethren) 2015. The company website states they provide a complete design, supply, deliver & maintenance solution for healthcare equipment. The two current directors are Anthony Hazell of Unispace and Gregory Hales another son of Plymouth Brethren Church leader Bruce Hales. Unispace also have an office situated in Aberdeen. Yeah you will have no problem, just be aware that down the track they might replace you with a Brethren person. The North Ferriby registered Origin Packaging was awarded 2 contracts from the DHSC for a total value of 121,072,000 to supply saline filled tubes & funnels. Were the elaborate rules that still stand today established to ensure good and proper Christian living? I'm not religious at all, but as long as you are respectful and get on with your job, I don't think you'd have a problem. CMT Equipment is a Belverdere based, industrial & PPE supplies business. In the department I sat with, it was the family member running the department who did sweet FA. A month after the story was published, a Brethren company registered as a charity, the Plymouth . Printed on the bottom . I couldnt help but wonder if we, the non-comms in the business, were the right people for the job, or just a box ticking exercise. David Temple is an ex director of Nexus Team and the Breckland Park School Ltd alongside Stephen Turner of Southgate Global. Byline Times has attempted to contact every company, gospel hall and school to confirm the associations of the individuals named above but, as it has discovered with previous procurement contracts, many of these businesses appear to exist on paper only. ARMENIAN EVANGELICAL BRETHREN CHURCH. They are cousins of Unispace co founders Garth Woodcock & Cyril Parsons, they are also cousins of Roger Parsons of Ascot Signs. Sante was formed early in the pandemic by the Hales in conjunction with Anthony Hazell, Sebastian Parsons & Ralph Green. In total we found over 400 UK companies owned by members of the Plymouth Brethren Christian church with assets of more than 1 million. In Australia alone, our history spans more than 100 years, and we have more than 15,000 members who gather at . This was via 2 contracts one with the DHSC for 2,290,000 and another for a hospital trust worth 500,000. This is one of many examples of the groups lobbying activities, that have seen it able to mobilise the support of hundreds of MPs and raise millions of pounds. Sam formerly worked for Traxx Tyres, this has links to various winners of covid contracts. There is a large Plymouth bretheren community locally. Currently with three directors Roger, Ralph & Laurie Lewis and with one ex director Kevin Michel. Sante Trading Co. Ltd Shareholders (part 1). Inivos work closely with Unispace and on the webinar section of their website you can find a webinar that is brought to you. 01 Mar 2023 18:53:41 31/08/2013 22:55. Press J to jump to the feed. No support, no previous experience in the wider world. Whilst you might be thinking, that doesnt sound so bad I witnessed a certain member of staff burn out in front of my eyes. He notoriously didnt read his emails. Otherwise he said they are professional and dont force their beliefs on anyone and are lovely to work with. This company was run by a family who were a part of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC). Our beliefs & values are the reason we get so passionate, emotional, even aggressive sometimes. It was awarded on the 5th September 2021 and published on the 16th September 2021. GDC Healthcare or Global Design Concepts are a Dublin based interior design company. Im glad to report Aidan was resilient and always bounced back. In January this year, he was accused of assault by two former members on a public street next to his fathers mansion in Australia, where he lives next door. So, is it really a choice? Bronze Architecture based in Rackheath, Norwich. 47 036 078 343. After a meeting, the conference table littered with empty cans, paper cups, mugs and biscuit wrappers, would be abandoned by the men. Any comments much appreciated and have a lovely day. So, what gives? With computer usage now a necessity in any business, God fortuitously changed his mind in 2005 and made them OK for business use. Lloyd is also a director of Masterweld Equipment (UK) Ltd. Safpro Industrial Supplies is part of the Gloucester based Onyx Workgear Ltd. Growing up in the Exclusive Brethren meant missing out on a lot of things other children took for granted. People are talking about not mentioning alcohol. Or was the Draconian code enforced to make people comply by limiting free thinking? Another company called Tower Supplies, based in Dorset, appears to have been awarded more than 40 million in two contracts to supply PPE. Keep note of any verbal agreements,as they can bite you in the arse. They cook, clean their ginormous homes & bring up their children. The Trust was rebranded into the OSG network in April last year. E.g. Then again, I also remember how they went from technology is evil to Steve, the servers down in a year because their great leader saw how much they were falling behind in business without computers, and decided to change the EB rulebook. Thats not aiming to put anyone down, the non-comms I met working there were more than capable of their roles & fantastic people. We now have a community of over 50,000 members across Australia, New Zealand, Europe, the Americas and UK. There has been a further contract awarded by the DHSC under the Sante Global LLP moniker, this is on top of the 680 million won under the Unispace name. They list Lloyd & Bronwen Robertson as directors. They are all very close. All of a sudden, something I had never even considered to exist, let alone be an issue, had piqued my intrigue. The employees of Unispace have moved to other brethren companies following the sale, many have moved to Sante. I worked for a Breathren company for a while. With regards to mobile phones, they are purchased through their own suppliers and are restricted to block social media apps, amongst others. According to its website, the OSG operates 130 campuses with 2,500 staff across 21 countries. He rubbed people up the wrong way, put his foot down wherever he could to assert his authority and trampled all over any new and innovative ideas. The Conservative MP Peter Bone supported the churchs position and even tabled a motion in Parliament aimed at amending the Charities Act to restore the presumption that all religious groups are for the public benefit and therefore can be charities. Bob Oliver is a former director of ACAD trading with Alfred Soulsby of CID Products. The MoG's job is to travel the world visiting Exclusive Brethren enclaves, and of course he would stay at member's houses, not hotels (too 'worldly'). According to Companies House, Gareth Hales has significant control of the company and records an Australian address. Kingsbury Press Ltd is a micro business owned by the Layton family and showing 16k worth of assets. Estimates suggest there are 50,000 brethren members worldwide, with 16,000 in the UK. working for companies owned by plymouth brethren. I never knew if that was an attempt at being derogatory. It just seemed, well, non-optional. The culture seemed entrepreneurial, the offices modern & the people kind. Further to the prohibition of donning a pair of leggings and tying their hair up, Brethren women are inhibited from so many choices most of us take for granted. Lee Denny is also a director of Pinnacle (EU) whose ex directors include Matthew Calder of Baca Holdings. The business is owned by the Temple family and lists David & Maurice Temple as directors. If youre wondering why this might happen, imagine not being able to use contraception and having one breadwinner without a steady income. Director Kenneth James is an ex director of the now dissolved Silverdale Projects Ltd. The company based in Plymouth, is a safety wear & PPE company ran by the Burtenshaw's. It was temporary, within walking distance and well paid. Leaving is fairly non-optional for the Brethrens. In 2015, Brethren members followed Charity Commission officials during a dispute over the Preston Down Trust. For example, my boss couldn't get on YouTube or Facebook without getting permission from some software they all have installed on their machines, but my company provided laptop had no restrictions at all. He cared deeply for his family and did all he could to help them out financially (even though he was in his very early 20s). I began to hear of Brethrens who had unlocked mobile phones or computers at their houses. The network began in Australia and now we have more than 23 campuses across the country. He is the son of Exclusive Brethren world leader Bruce Hales. Theres only one God and hes yours. You cant vote, or argue with the opposition. He moved to Dally on a 457 visa, his wife has joined him and soon they plan . It's fine if none of the Bretheren are there because, well, what they don't know won't hurt them but they'll be offended at worst if they catch you. Byline Times is funded by its subscribers. Youd be walking into hell, right? Youre not allowed to have your say. It was awarded a 416,000 contract to supply PPE to Leeds City Council. Mostly because they get shit done though. Recent filings for PLYMOUTH BRETHREN CHRISTIAN CHURCH (NEW ZEALAND) LIMITED. Plymouth Brethren members are also involved in the import and resale of hardware for industry, such as welding equipment. 56 808 920 147. SMI Int Group is the Prisgrove family business based in Haslemere, Surrey. Once the un-sex educated virgins manage to successfully navigate intercourse, no protection is to be used. (No offence to my parents who generously let me impose whenever I feel like it). He is also a director of Aller Brook Ltd alongside Charles Hathorn, Charlie Leflaive of Toffeln and Bernard Reiner brother of Mark Reiner of Bryson Products. All businesses owned by Plymouth Brethren operate independently of the Church and do not fund the Church. He was eventually signed off for a period of time but I cant say I noticed an improvement upon his return. Brethren women are expected to give up working once theyve had children. The children attend the local schools until about 9yr old when they move on to their own faith school. The last accounts filed by the business showed net assets of -179k. Owned by the Aris family Daniel & Jonathan Aris. They recognise and follow through on their responsibility to provide for their families financially by earning an honest living. Secondly, the church doesnt make it all that easy to leave. The OneSchool Global network was established in the early 1990s. Most of the details people have mentioned here are rightthey eat separately, wont socialize with you, generally keep themselves exclusive as mentioned. On the other hand, Aidan was an overachiever, he frequently had bright ideas for the business and genuinely seemed to care about its success. They also show Lester Martin as a director of the UK business. John Baker is a former director of Novus Trading, he is also listed as a director of Springfield Supplies & Projects. A high proportion of Plymouth Brethren members operate family businesses. In my experience they are great to deal with, and they have well run and financially successfully businesses and that money is going back into the local community in one way or another. [25] The Stewards' Foundation, established in 1955, lends money to Brethren assemblies, institutions, workers, and missionaries. Not bad for a "church" with 16,000 members in the UK. Swearing isn't good,neither is clothing that has offensive things written on it. Home Blog Business Brethren Family Businesses. Meetings mostly entailed the group talking him through doing his own work. If we go back, one of the many questions is how and why the contracts were awarded? Working for Brethren company Hi I have recently got an opportunity to work for a company whose employees and management are Christian Brethren (the recruiter mentioned the word Brethren and to look it up). Unispace links to Oska Care, Orcagel, Ocura Healthcare Furniture & Archer Marketing which all operate in the North East of Scotland. But then, being derogatory isnt very Christian, so probably not. In addition to the 177 million in contracts above, two contracts worth more than 107 million were awarded to Clandeboye Agencies Ltd to supply PPE to the DHSC. The family business listed Garth, Mark, Benjamin & Daniel Woodcock alongside Alistair Wickland as directors. In addition, the religious group owns many gospel halls up and down the UK. Entity Name. Its already got to take a lot to make you even consider walking away from that. Pop your email address in the field below to receive my monthly newsletter. I see it all the time when I get lost in comments threads, which I often do. Members businesses include a diverse range of fields, such as distribution and sales in clothing, architecture, rehabilitation aids, food and manufacturing. Lindum Packaging director Bernard Sellars is also a director of Edutrade Humber along with Tim Pocock, Graham Hazell (cousin of Anthony Hazell) & Ralph Green (Gloves4U & Nexom SCM group). To put this into a sports metaphor that oh so many small businesses like to use. Marketing expert Manu Ofianza is one of the non-Brethren migrants who has taken up work with a Brethren-owned business. She was awesome, wore power suits, had short hair and took no nonsense. You can wear trousers, but you might get looked at funny. Whilst were on the recurring theme of donts and donts, one thing I could never get my head around was that it seemed the more central to the church you were, the more allowances you had to break the rules you were supposed to live by. Sterilab Services Contract inc Sante Global LLP. We were established in the early nineteenth century in Plymouth, southern England. Long story short, church people are generally good with money, so if you can tolerate religious people in general, theyre pretty good to stick with. The company was awarded 3 contracts to supply the DHSC with masks & gowns. THE TRUSTEE FOR THE CHRISTIAN BRETHREN TRUST. She was not replaced. The business had to be a success and, I guess similarly to any male dominated office, there was a lot of dick swinging in meetings. Shareholders since 2015 are Garth Woodcock & Anthony Hazell with a 50% share each. The PA to the sales director (and just about everybody else) was a middle-aged woman who had never married & still worked full time. One contract was concluded on 24 April this year, the other ended just a day later. They list just one director Nathan Whitbourn, he is also an ex director of Jesmond Construction where we find Doug Cowie of Orcagel as a director. Many of the men personally invested in the business worked extremely long hours. Commercial Ownership. It is one of the contract winners, that is worthy of much further investigation. I worked for them for a few years, never had any issues and found them fair, decent people to work for and would have no issues doing so again. It is also strange that it is not for PPE, instead the contract is for Lateral Flow Tests, there are very few companies that have been awarded contracts for both PPE and for Lateral Flow Tests. This is why pro environmentalists cant agree on anything with climate deniers. If you had a boat full of Aidens rowing you, you wouldnt need to toss anyone out. locally to me, there are several brethren . Oakdene are another Antrim based business, they are a commercial printing and branded merchandise supplier. The regulator then received more than 3,000 letters from church members and more than 200 letters from MPs, and The Times alleged that Charity Commission officials were followed to unrelated events by Brethren members. Well, heres where it gets tricky. A matter of fact, yet oddly humorous them and us description was delivered. Mark's brother Bernard is a director of the Bible & Gospel Trust, Aller Brook Ltd, Luke Reiner another relative is a director of the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church Ltd. Things became difficult for me after this pand I left a few weeks later. As Ive already mentioned, Brethrens dont go on holiday. Whilst the duty of church meetings called at 6PM daily and people were generally out of the door by 5, people would arrive at the office incredibly early. He was curious by nature. Biblical prophecy and the Second Coming of Christ were emphasized. By our reckoning contracts have been awarded to 54 companies and now total well over 2.2 Billion, that is correct over 2.2 Billion! Owned by the Soulsby family, they also have offices in Falkirk, Middlesborough, Manchester & London. If you dont mind me asking, What was the work social culture like. In 2017, after an extensive lobbying campaign, the Plymouth Brethren struck a deal with the charities watchdog, the Charity Commission, to overturn an earlier decision to refuse the group charitable status in a test case. 2213 NSW. The Brethren has around 20,000 UK members and includes a number of businesses and non-profit groups under its umbrella, charitable organisations such as the Rapid Relief Team, business consultancy UBT, and OneSchool Global (OSG). Our leading investigations include: empire & the culture war,Brexit, crony contracts,Russian interference,the Coronavirus pandemic,democracy in danger, andthe crisis in British journalism. EDIT: Oh, and if you piss one off, you will never work for any of them again. Garth Parsons is a former director of Larchcroft Trading alongside Christopher Napthine. You can wear trousers, but you might get looked at funny & definitely no swearing! It was local to where myself and my partner had decided to situate ourselves in the UK. Ill look after your email address real good. It says that the School is generously supported via the donation of time and financial support by the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church. If youre wondering what the common denominator is, you need not look further than their penises. Accora Ltd won a 248,000 contract to supply hospital beds to NHS Scotland. He did business training with UBT and, before that, attended Wilton Park School in Salisbury, which was part of the Brethren network. The Bushnell family business lists four current directors Julian, Karl, Shaun & Vaughan Bushnell. They might give you the cold shoulder if you offend their sensibilities, but theyll never underpay you or rip you off. Sure there are "oddities" but you get used to them. Ralph Lewis was very active on his linkedin account throughout the pandemic, regularly highlighting potential business for both themselves and other brethren member businesses. They love alcohol. Sam Blackledge of Arrow County Supplies is listed as a director of the "Catering for Crisis" business Rapid Relief Team (RRT), other directors of RRT include brothers of contract winners Andy Turner brother of Ben Turner of Toffeln and Murray Robertson brother of Luke & Ross Robertson of Medco Solutions. The Next day I wore black smart trousers with a smart jacket . You just need to be aware of the cultural/religious differences; the ones you will notice most are the eating separately (which you are already aware of) and they don't take well to swearing in the workplace. Director Andrew Walker is an ex director of Causeway Vision Ltd.Causeway Vision also includes Garth White as a current director & Dermott McMullan & Dale Paterson as ex directors. Hi I have recently got an opportunity to work for a company whose employees and management are Christian Brethren (the recruiter mentioned the word Brethren and to look it up). I have my own opinion and lucky for you, youre entitled to yours. John Nelson Darby, a former clergyman in the Church of Ireland (Anglican), soon . Why would someone want to change or hide their work history? I remember once watching his eyes roll into the back of his head over and over as he struggled to stay awake. Directors of CID include Alfred Soulsby through his family business Equitable Fortitude Ltd. Alfred is also a director of ACAD Trading. They are a bit odd in some ways, and you're never going to be their friends, but all of them have been solid for us. The UK business comes under Global Design Concepts UK and is headed up by the Gray family based in Dublin. Because its not just being cast out, its knowing that your family will supposedly no longer love you. Cyril Parsons left the business in 2015. Unsurprisingly, marriage typically happens at a relatively young age. AES Industrial supplies are based at the same business premises as Oxford Safety Supplies in Didcot. It can become a little overwhelming to follow, we will produce a connections list at the end of the Profit or Prophet. As told to Kate Graham. They will refer to themselves as "community members". They dont care about non community only themselves actually think they are the opposite to good but pure evil. Glen Reiner has worked for both companies. I felt awful that the culture was not to admit or talk about this kind of thing. It is only by opening the contract itself that you will find Sante Global LLP as part of the Supplier Group! Definitely no swearing, save that shit up for when you get home. Selkent Fastenings is a London based Fastenings & Fixing supplier. Asked my SO who used to work at a Brethren school: "If you're a bloke you should be fine; don't talk about science in front of them because you never know what'll hit a nerve" (I have a fair idea because I grew up Brethren-adjacent, SO's an atheist so didn't pick that up) "alcohol's probably okay but don't suggest it, let them suggest it; they won't get ~90% of any pop culture references you make in conversation; they won't eat with you, and they'll probably try not to socialize with you, but they're completely fine to work with and they keep their commitments.". The same person is also named as a director at Blueleaf Ltd, a company that was incorporated in 2011 for non-specialised wholesale trade. Formally known as the Exclusive Brethren. They can be generous and helpful employers esp when a staff member suffers a bereavement or gets sick . If there are any close links between the brethren member companies and the hardest question of all was there any connection to the UK government? Richard (Dick) Blackledge is also a former director of JMA Trading, JCA Trading & PAA Trading. Today, the PBCC have even more technology to contend with so the rules also extend to no internet & no social media. At Open & Candid we have previously highlighted that Blueleaf were awarded a contract to supply face masks to the DHSC worth 4,000,000, the oddity about this contract is that when cross referenced with payments over 25,000 published by the DHSC each month, that the payments appear to add up to well over 30,000,000. Given considerable concern about the billions spent on PPE contracts during the Coronavirus crisis without competitive tendering much of which appears to have gone to Conservative friends and donors this new revelation suggests an ever narrower sectional interest when it comes to public funds. Peter Harrison, 'elder' to the ex-Brethren Another person caught up in the Thompson and Clark surveillance is an 84-year-old ex-Brethren man in Palmerston North named Peter Harrison. Youve been brought up your whole life believing that your little sect is right and the rest of the world is wrong & going to hell. She worked hard, long hours, but questioned her own ability at every turn. Inivos is owned by the Fentiman family, the company was originally registered as Specialist Health Solutions Ltd, in Kings Lynn but is now registered in London under the Inivos name. Denka U.K. is a Chesterfield based supplier of equipment and supplies to the Dentistry Sector. Clean shaven is recommended. Warwick Penson is also a trustee of Althorpe Gospel Hall, a Plymouth Brethren church alongside Daniel Goodenough of GDC & Nexus Team. Updated: 8:18 ET, Mar 23 2021. No music (unless performed by fellow Brethren). I don't think there's a huge issue with working for them. We also introduce new voices of colour in Our Lives Matter. Traxx Tyres also shares registered company address with Sante Global LLP. Trustee Charlie Leflaive has significant interests in a company called ToffeIn Ltd, which was awarded three contracts worth more than 4 million. There would also appear to be family connections to Brymec Ltd, Brymec are located in the adjacent unit to Bryson Products in Coulsden. Belonging to the Church does not providespecial exemptions, privileges, concessions, tax breaks, etc. Daniel Fentiman is an ex director of Nexus Team and this again includes a number of other brethren business owners & employees. they are generally lovely, kind generous, happy people. Sign up to our newsletter (and get a free edition posted to you). Julian Bushnell is also director of Cheviot Construction Ltd, he was appointed a director of Cheviot at the same time as Lee Hazell ex director. Dick. Why ethical vegans cant agree with meat eaters. Fri 1 Jun 2007 19.06 EDT. Whilst he embraced his lifestyle and made the most of it, open conversations with Aidan often left me feeling upset for him.