The Harlea Charitable Trust
North London grant-making trust funded by one of its trustees whose 2024 grants were £20,000 to the United Synagogue and £15,500 in six unnamed grants; Israel is a registered area of operation but no Israeli recipient is named
| The Harlea Charitable Trust
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Trust |
| Founded | 1987-01-16 (registered) |
| Registration ID | Registered charity 327324 |
| Headquarters | Craven Park Road, London N15, care of its accountants Shears & Partners Limited |
| Area served | Throughout London, Israel |
The Harlea Charitable Trust is a charitable trust constituted by a declaration of trust of 10 December 1986 and registered on 16 January 1987.[1][2] Its register address is that of its accountants, Shears & Partners Limited, in Craven Park Road, London N15, and the register lists "Throughout London" and Israel as its areas of operation.[3][1] The register lists three trustees: David Sonn, Yigal Goodman and Hanna Zafrir (from 22 January 2018); the accounts name them as D. J. Sonn, Y. Goodman and Ms. H. M. P. Zafrir.[3][1] In the year to 31 December 2024 income was £36,158 (2023: £113,968), made up of donations of £33,500 (2023: £112,000) and investment income of £2,658; spending was £37,000, of which grants were £35,500 (2023: £14,000) and the independent examiner's fee £1,500; funds fell from £162,623 to £160,767, held almost entirely in cash (£156,851).[1] The donations came from the trustee D. J. Sonn, including Gift Aid.[1] The accounts were examined by Stephen Sacks FCA for Shears & Partners Limited and the trustees' report was signed by D. J. Sonn on 27 October 2025.[1]
Objects and activities
The charity's registered objects read: "THE FOLLOWING SHALL BE THE OBJECTS OF THE TRUST:- 1. THE RELIEF AND ASSISTANCE OF POOR AND NEEDY PERSONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR ELSEWHERE IRRESPECTIVE OF COLOUR OR RACE OR CREED; 2. THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE EDUCATION OF INDIVIDUALS AND/OR EDUCATIONAL OR TRAINING ESTABLISHMENTS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM OR ELSEWHERE. 3. TO CARRY OUT SUCH OTHER PURPOSES AND TO DO SUCH OTHER THINGS FOR THE RELIEF OF POVERTY OR THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION AS THE TRUSTEES IN THEIR DISCRETION SHALL FROM TIME TO TIME DECIDE."[3]
The register describes its activities as: "1. relief & assistance of poor & needy persons in the UK or elsewhere irrespective of colour, race or creed,2. advancement of the education of individuals and/or educational or training establishments in the UK or elsewhere,3. such other purposes & 2 do such other things 4 the relief of poverty or the advancement of education as the Trustees in their discretion shall from time 2 time decide."[3]
Register classifications: General Charitable Purposes, Education/training, The Advancement Of Health Or Saving Of Lives, The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty, Religious Activities.[3]
Areas of operation recorded on the register: Throughout London, Israel.[3]
Trustees
Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[3]
| Trustee | Appointed | Chair | Other trusteeships |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yigal Goodman | not recorded | — | |
| David Sonn | not recorded | The Norrice Lea Charitable Settlement (285662); The Sue Harris Bone Marrow Trust (1056579) | |
| Hanna Zafrir | 2018-01-22 | — |
Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)
| Capture date | Trustees listed | Source |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-12 | David Sonn – also trustee of The Sue Harris Bone Marrow Trust; Hanna Zafrir (from 22 January 2018); Yigal Goodman | [4] |
The examiner, Stephen Sacks FCA, is also a register trustee of the Fitzroy Foundation (1026139), whose register address is the same building in Craven Park Road, London N15.[1][5] David Sonn is also a register trustee of The Norrice Lea Charitable Settlement (285662) and The Sue Harris Bone Marrow Trust (1056579).[3]
Finances
| Financial year end | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2020-12-31 | £11,625 | £12,690 |
| 2021-12-31 | £26,458 | £27,750 |
| 2022-12-31 | £10,394 | £13,600 |
| 2023-12-31 | £113,968 | £15,500 |
| 2024-12-31 | £36,158 | £37,000 |
Source: register annual-return history.[3]
Archived accounts
Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:
- Accounts for the year ended 31/12/2017[6]
Funding in Israel
- Year to 31 December 2024: grants of £35,500 – "Religious Institutions" £20,000 (one grant, to the United Synagogue) and "General Charitable" £15,500 (six grants described as immaterial and not named). In 2023 grants were £14,000, including Camp Simcha £7,500 and Jewish Care £4,000. No recipient in Israel is named.[1]
Israeli partners
No Israeli recipient is named. The register lists Israel among the charity's areas of operation.[3]
Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF
Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the Israeli recipient organisation, not proven use of UK funds.
| Finding | Confidence |
|---|---|
| No place in Israel is named.[1] | Not established |
Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[1]
Controversies and regulatory action
- No Charity Commission inquiry, Official Warning or Gazette insolvency notice naming this charity was found, and its register entry shows no regulatory alert;[7] it is not among the charities named in the Commission's cheque-cashing class-inquiry announcements (May, September and December 2025) or in the September 2026 statement of results.[8][9][10][11] The charities in the Commission's settlements class inquiry (opened August 2026) have not been named, so it is not known whether this charity is among them.[12]
- Single donor. The accounts record that all donations in 2024 (£33,500) and 2023 (£112,000) came from the trustee D. J. Sonn.[1]
- Boilerplate reserves text. The reserves statement says "the continued improvement of the premises and facilities is the primary objective at the moment", although the accounts show no premises or fixed assets other than quoted shares of £5,109.[1]
Other registers and records
Scotland and Northern Ireland
No entry was found on the Scottish Charity Register for this charity (register export dated 14 October 2026, searched by name).[13] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[14]
The Gazette
Searches of The Gazette notice feeds (all notices, insolvency and company) for the charity's name found no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice.[15]
Grants recorded by 360Giving
No grants received or made by this charity are recorded in 360Giving data.[16]
Sanctions screening
The charity's name, its current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees and officers named in the accounts read for this profile and (for charitable companies) its Companies House officers were screened against the UK Sanctions List and the OFSI Consolidated List. No match was found.[17]
Land and property
The register records that the charity does not own or lease land or property.[3] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[18]
Parliament
Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Harlea Charitable Trust", "The Harlea Charitable Trust" returned 0 contributions in total.[19]
Web archive
The UK Government Web Archive holds 2 archived Charity Commission register pages used in this profile (cited in the sections above). The 2021 archived full print showed the status "Charity reporting is up to date" and "Other regulators: No information available".[4]
External links
- No current official website.
Notes
- ↑ 1.00 1.01 1.02 1.03 1.04 1.05 1.06 1.07 1.08 1.09 1.10 1.11 Charity Commission, The Harlea Charitable Trust (327324): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
- ↑ Charity Commission, The Harlea Charitable Trust (327324): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (tables charity, charity_trustee, charity_annual_return_history, charity_area_of_operation, charity_classification, charity_other_names), extract dated 14 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Register entry 327324, full print (capture of 20210112) UK Government Web Archive.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Fitzroy Foundation (1026139): full print Register of Charities, retrieved 16 October 2026.
- ↑ The Harlea Charitable Trust accounts, year ended 2017-12-31 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200104).
- ↑ Charity Commission, Register of Charities, charity overview page (register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk/en/charity-search/-/charity-details/ followed by the organisation number) for each of the 25 batch-25 charities, all retrieved on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" notice; none showed one.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
- ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator concludes investigation into 4 charities as class inquiry continues GOV.UK, 9 September 2026, with Statement of the results of a class inquiry (same date).
- ↑ Charity Commission, Charity regulator opens inquiry into charities working in illegal Israeli settlements GOV.UK, 5 August 2026 (a fact-finding statutory class inquiry initially involving 8 charities which "are not being publicly named at this time").
- ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-25 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
- ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-25 charity names returned zero results).
- ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Harlea Charitable Trust' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
- ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-327324 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-25 screening covered 459 name strings: the 25 charity names and their other names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, trustees, officers, examiners and other people and organisations named in the accounts and websites read for this batch, every person and organisation linked in the profiles, and the Companies House officers of the charitable companies and of the related companies Renco Properties, Conlatuse and Landmead; the only hits were generic words (the word "QA" in the names of corporate formation agents) and surname-only matches, which were rejected; no person matched. Screened 16 October 2026.
- ↑ HM Land Registry, Search for land and property information GOV.UK – the service returned HTTP 403 (bot protection) to automated access in October 2026; no titles were looked up or purchased. Candidate title numbers below come from the free CCOD / OCOD datasets (October 2026 release), not from paid title registers.
- ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Harlea Charitable Trust" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).