Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited
Ilford-based Chabad charity; Official Warning January 2025 over fundraising for an IDF soldier
| Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited
| |
|---|---|
| Logo | 
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| Type | Charitable company (Chabad-Lubavitch) |
| Founded | 1983 (centre); incorporated 21 November 2007 |
| Registration ID | Company 06432715; charity 1123001 |
| Headquarters | Doris Shpiro House, 395–397 Eastern Avenue, Gants Hill, Ilford IG2 6LR |
| Key people | Aryeh M. Sufrin MBE and Deborah Sufrin (executive directors since 1983) |
| Website | chabadilford.co.uk (defunct as of October 2026); Internet Archive holdings of chabadilford.co.uk |
Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited (CLC-NELE; also Ilford Chabad, Chabad Lubavitch for Ilford; synagogue name Beis Hamedrash Chabad) is the charitable company that runs the Chabad-Lubavitch centre at Doris Shpiro House, 395–397 Eastern Avenue, Gants Hill, and branch houses in Buckhurst Hill, Epping, Southend and Havering. Company number 06432715 (guarantee company, incorporated 21 November 2007; name changed from the singular “Centre” on 15 August 2017). Charity number 1123001 (registered 28 February 2008).[1][2][3]
It is an autonomous constituent of the Chabad Lubavitch UK network, not a subsidiary of the Stamford Hill headquarters charity. On 9 January 2025 the Charity Commission issued an Official Warning after trustees raised about £2,280 for a soldier of the Israel Defense Forces and sent him cash and “non-lethal military equipment.” Helen Earner, then director for regulatory services, said it is “not lawful, or acceptable, for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military.” The register has carried a regulatory alert.[4]
History
The Ilford centre opened in 1983 under Rabbi Aryeh M. Sufrin MBE and Deborah Sufrin, who remain executive directors. From 2001 the house and synagogue have sat at Doris Shpiro House, Eastern Avenue. Between about 2013 and 2017 the operation moved temporarily to Gaysham Avenue, Gants Hill, while Eastern Avenue was demolished and rebuilt as a 4,000 sq ft facility. Rabbi Moshe Muller was assistant director and assistant rabbi from 1996 to 2016.[3]
JCR-UK lists ritual as Ashkenazi Orthodox and affiliation as “an autonomous constituent of the Chabad Lubavitch UK Network, and part of the worldwide Chabad-Lubavitch Movement.”[3][5]
Relation to Chabad Lubavitch UK headquarters
British Chabad’s historic headquarters is Lubavitch House, 107–115 Stamford Hill, N16 5RP. The umbrella charity is Chabad Lubavitch UK (227638), governed by a corporate trustee, Lubavitch (UK) Limited (02932344). Directors of that trustee include Rabbis Yeremi Angyalfi, Paul Pesach Efune, Shmuel Lew, Yehuda Pink and Yitzchok Sufrin, and Stephen Chevern. Day-to-day names on recent accounts include Rabbi Yitchok Sufrin, finance director Katherine Eaton and chief operating officer Jon Benjamin. World headquarters lists the Stamford Hill house as “Chabad Lubavitch UK Hdqts.”[6][7][8]
NELE is not 227638. It files its own accounts, owns or leases its own sites, and has its own trustee board. The link is movement discipline and family: the Sufrin name appears both at Ilford (Aryeh M. Sufrin, Yaakov Sufrin) and on the Stamford Hill trustee/hanholo lists (Yitzchok Sufrin, A. M. Sufrin). Golders Green Chabad runs through a third charity, Tzivos Hashem UK (1163714). Chabad houses in Britain are typically separately incorporated; the Stamford Hill charity is first among equals, not a holding company.[5][9]
Branches
| Centre | Notes |
|---|---|
| Beis Hamedrash Chabad / Ilford HQ | Doris Shpiro House, 395–397 Eastern Avenue, IG2 6LR |
| Chabad Lubavitch for Buckhurst Hill | Branch of NELE |
| Chabad Lubavitch for Epping | Branch of NELE |
| Chabad Lubavitch for Southend | Westcliff; Rabbi Tzvi Birnhack and Mushkie Birnhack from 2022 |
| Chabad Lubavitch for Havering | Launched February 2020 by Rabbi and Mrs Sufrin from Gants Hill; Collier Row, Romford, Hornchurch, Upminster, Rainham; no separate company |
Charitable status of the branches is the Ilford company.[3][10]
Objects, money, donors
Commission activity line: advancement of the Orthodox Jewish religion; staff and volunteers; service delivery; partnerships. Area of operation in practice: north-east London and Essex. Year to 31 December 2024: income £837,200 (almost all donations), expenditure £802,803; 10 staff, 6 trustees; one employee in the £60,000–£70,000 band. Companies House registered office: Suite 1, 2c Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green IG8 8HD. Operating address remains Doris Shpiro House.[2]
Donors
Official Warning, January 2025
In October 2023 the charity put up a fundraising page for an IDF soldier stationed in the north of the Zionist colony. The page was taken down in January 2024 after raising about £2,280. Of that, £937 went directly to the soldier; trustees could not account for how he spent it. The rest was spent on non-lethal military equipment bought by the trustees and sent to the same man. The Commission received more than 180 complaints, opened a compliance case in December 2023, and on 9 January 2025 issued an Official Warning under section 75A.[4][11]
Findings: the activity was outside the objects and not capable of being charitable; trustees failed to act in the charity’s best interests or protect its reputation; misconduct and/or mismanagement and breach of trust. Earner: British charities with the right objects may promote the efficiency of the UK armed forces; “Providing aid or military supplies to any foreign armed force is not a charitable purpose, and no charity can legally undertake such activity.” Failure to implement the warning’s requirements can lead to further action.[4]
That warning is the Commission’s published template for later cases, including Mizrachi (UK) Israel Support Trust (promotion of an IDF-kit appeal, November 2025).
Trustees and officers
Commission register, six trustees:[12]
| Name | Role | Appointed (register / CH) | Other trusteeships on the register |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Stephen Mitchell | Chair; company secretary from 21 November 2007 | incorporation | — |
| Daren Mark Burney | Trustee / director | 6 July 2014 | — |
| Joanne Alison Osen | Trustee / director | 1 June 2018 | — |
| Yaakov Sufrin (Yaakov Yehuda Sufrin) | Trustee / director | 1 May 2020 | — |
| Paul Jonathan Groman-Marks | Trustee / director | 21 November 2007 (CH) | — |
| Eli Itzinger | Trustee | 2007 (Giving is Great / register) | Peninim Charity Trust; Chabad Lubavitch of Bournemouth; Chabad Lubavitch of South London; Chabad Terror Victims Project; Chabad of Hampstead Garden Suburb Limited |
Companies House also lists Adam Simon Brandman as secretary from 13 August 2013. Endole names Joanne Alison Osen as a person with significant control.[13]
Eli Itzinger is the board member who also sits on Chabad Terror Victims Project and on other English Chabad companies. Yaakov Sufrin is the generational link to the founding couple.
Companies House officers
Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited (06432715). Officers as filed at Companies House. Aryeh Sufrin MBE, the executive director in communal reports, is not on this list.[13]
| Name | Role | Status | Date of birth | Appointed | Resigned | Nationality | Residence | Correspondence address |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Stephen Mitchell | Director | Active | August 1953 | 21 November 2007 | — | British | England | 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8HD |
| Brian Stephen Mitchell | Secretary | Active | — | 21 November 2007 | — | British | — | 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8HD |
| Paul Jonathan Groman-Marks | Director | Active | September 1960 | 21 November 2007 | — | British | United Kingdom | 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8HD |
| Eli Itzinger | Director | Active | December 1961 | 21 November 2007 | — | British | United Kingdom | 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8HD |
| Daren Mark Burney | Director | Active | August 1964 | 6 July 2014 | — | British | England | 46 Forest Lane, Chigwell, Essex, IG7 5AE |
| Joanne Alison Osen | Director | Active | July 1962 | 1 June 2018 | — | British | England | Suite 1, 2c Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8HD |
| Yaakov Yehuda Sufrin | Director | Active | August 1989 | 1 May 2020 | — | British | United States | 15 Highwood Gardens, Ilford, IG5 0AZ |
| Adam Simon Brandman | Secretary | Active | — | 13 August 2013 | — | — | — | 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8HD |
| Leigh Ryce Young | Director | Resigned | September 1972 | 1 December 2019 | 11 December 2023 | English | England | 19-20 Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green, IG8 8HD |
| Corporate Appointments Limited | Nominee director | Resigned | — | 21 November 2007 | 21 November 2007 | — | — | 16 Churchill Way, Cardiff, CF10 2DX |
| Secretarial Appointments Limited | Nominee secretary | Resigned | — | 21 November 2007 | 21 November 2007 | — | — | 16 Churchill Way, Cardiff, CF10 2DX |
Finances
| Year ending | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-12-31 | £919,811 | £799,378 |
| 2022-12-31 | £659,047 | £786,609 |
| 2023-12-31 | £766,098 | £893,164 |
| 2024-12-31 | £837,200 | £802,803 |
| 2025-12-31 | £813,106 | £837,849 |
Source: register annual-return history.[14]
In the year to 31 December 2025 the charity had a deficit of £24,743 (2024: surplus of £34,397), leaving total funds of £444,256 (2024: £468,999) (PDF p.6), of which free reserves were £108,917 (PDF p.7). Donations were £689,670 and grants received £11,792; there were 10 employees (PDF pp.17, 19). The trustees' report says that "the Gants Hill property was sold in August 2026" and that the charity will build its future around its centres in Buckhurst Hill, Epping and Southend (PDF p.7).[15] The register records that the charity owns and/or leases land or property.[14]
Support for the Israeli military
Activities. The trustees raised about £2,280 for a serving soldier of the Israel Defense Forces and sent him cash and equipment; the Charity Commission said it is not lawful for a charity to raise funds to support a soldier of a foreign military.[4]
Prior scrutiny. The Commission issued an Official Warning on 9 January 2025 (see above).[4] The 2025 accounts do not mention it.[15] The charity is not listed on the Powerbase page UK AWIS - supporters.
Activity beyond the Green Line
| Finding | Confidence |
|---|---|
| The charity's activities are in north-east London and Essex; no activity beyond the Green Line is stated in the 2025 accounts. | Not established |
Contact
- Chabad Lubavitch Centre, Doris Shpiro House, 397 Eastern Avenue, Gants Hill, Ilford IG2 6LR
- Tel. 020 8554 1624
- admin@chabadilford.co.uk
- chabadilford.co.uk
- Charity register address (October 2026): Chabad Lubavitch Centre, Suite 1, 2c Bourne Court, Southend Road, Woodford Green IG8 8HD; email admin@chabadessex.co.uk; web www.chabadessex.co.uk[14]
See also
- Chabad Lubavitch UK
- Chabad-Lubavitch
- Mizrachi UK
- Westminster Synagogue
- Chabad Terror Victims Project
- British Jewish charities investigated by the Charity Commission
Notes
- ↑ CHABAD LUBAVITCH CENTRES NORTH EAST LONDON AND ESSEX LIMITED, Companies House 06432715.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited, Charity Commission 1123001.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Chabad Lubavitch for North East London & Essex, JCR-UK.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 Charity issued with Official Warning over support for foreign military, GOV.UK, 9 January 2025.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Chabad Lubavitch UK, JCR-UK affiliations.
- ↑ Chabad Lubavitch UK, annual report and accounts, year ended 31 December 2024; charity 227638.
- ↑ Chabad Lubavitch UK Hdqts., Chabad-Lubavitch World Headquarters.
- ↑ Our Team, Chabad.org.uk.
- ↑ Chabad of Golders Green, Powerbase.
- ↑ Chabad Lubavitch of Southend, JCR-UK.
- ↑ Imogen Garfinkel, London Chabad centre accused of ‘misconduct’ by charity regulator after raising money for IDF, Jewish Chronicle, 9 January 2025.
- ↑ Trustees, 1123001.
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 CHABAD LUBAVITCH CENTRES NORTH EAST LONDON AND ESSEX LIMITED officers, Companies House, 06432715.
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (bulk download, tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_governing_document, charity_classification and charity_area_of_operation dated 14 October 2026), rows for charity 1123001.
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Chabad Lubavitch Centres North East London and Essex Limited, Report of the Trustees and Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2025, from accounts and annual returns Register of Charities ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).