Atlas Memorial Limited
Northern Ireland-registered company run by four London trustees of the Gross family, granting about £1m a year to Orthodox Jewish organisations; it owns a London property developer and a quarter of a Chester office investor; areas include Israel
| Atlas Memorial Limited
| |
|---|---|
| Type | Charitable company limited by guarantee (Northern Ireland) |
| Founded | 2005-11-02 (incorporated); 2015-03-04 (registered with CCNI) |
| Registration ID | NI charity 101043; company NI057073 |
| Headquarters | The Ewart, 3 Bedford Square, Belfast BT2 7EP (registered office); public address on the register 86 Filey Avenue, London N16 6JJ |
| Area served | UK, Israel, United States |
Atlas Memorial Limited is a charitable company incorporated in Northern Ireland on 2 November 2005. It was registered with the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland on 4 March 2015.[1][2] Its registered office is with the law firm Tughans in Belfast, but all four trustees, and the public address on the register, are in London.[1][2] The trustees' report says the charity "was set up to support the activities of organisations promoting and advancing Orthodox Judaism". It distributed grants of £960,000 in the year to 31 January 2025.[3]
Objects and activities
The charitable purposes on the register are: "(a) The advancement and furtherance of the Jewish Religion and Jewish religious education and the alleviation of poverty among the Jewish Community throughout the World. (b) Other Charitable Activities that the trustees may from time to time determine."[1]
The register says: "The Charity was set up to support the activities of religious Jewish organisations especially in the field of education. The trustees identify institutions and organisations which meet its criteria and regularly support a number of these institutions and organisations." Regions: UK, Israel, United States of America. Employees: 0; volunteers: 0.[1]
Trustees
Trustees on the register and directors at Companies House (all appointed 2 November 2005), with month and year of birth:[1][2]
| Trustee | Appointed | Chair | Other |
|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Gross | 2005-11-02 | Director of Wharf Properties and Chester Beech | |
| Berish Gross | 2005-11-02 | Company secretary; director of Wharf Properties | |
| Israel Gross | 2005-11-02 | ||
| Abraham Gross | 2005-11-02 |
Berish Gross is also company secretary.[2] The report says "Every trustee holds office for life" unless removed under Article 35.[3]
Historical trustees
Companies House shows no other directors since incorporation.[2]
Finances
| Financial year end | Income | Expenditure |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-01-31 | £190,663 | £601,676 |
| 2023-01-31 | £303,825 | £1,222,908 |
| 2024-01-31 | £171,364 | £1,090,400 |
| 2025-01-31 | £356,901 | £969,395 |
Source: accounts for 2023, 2024 and 2025 (with comparatives).[3][4][5]
Income in the year to 31 January 2025 was £356,901: donations £200,000, interest £37,842 and a foreign-exchange gain of £119,017. In 2024 there was a foreign-exchange loss of £71,224. Funds fell from £1,962,042 to £1,374,762. At the year end the charity held investments of £571,392 and debtors of £815,429.[3] Grants were £590,500 (2022), £1,213,500 (2023), £1,081,000 (2024) and £960,000 (2025).[3][4][5] The accounts were approved on 24 October 2025 and signed by Joel Gross. The independent examiner was Dov Harris FCA of Cohen Arnold, New Burlington House, 1075 Finchley Road, London NW11 0PU.[3]
| Recipient | FY2023 (£) | FY2024 (£) | FY2025 (£) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asser Bishvil Foundation | 393,000 | 224,000 | – |
| Notzar Chesed | 178,000 | 125,000 | – |
| Utry Ltd | – | 60,000 | – |
| Low Cost Living Ltd | – | 45,000 | – |
| The Rehabilitation Trust | – | – | 130,000 |
| United Talmudical Associates Ltd | – | – | 100,000 |
| Mifal Tzedoko Vochesed Ltd | – | – | 58,000 |
| Friends of Beis Chinuch Lebonos Trust | – | – | 51,000 |
| Others (not named) | 642,500 | 627,000 | 621,000 |
Subsidiaries. The charity "owns 100% of the ordinary share capital of Wharf Properties Limited and 25% of the ordinary share capital of Chester Beech Limited", which it describes as "a property development company and property investment company respectively", both registered in England.[3]
- Wharf Properties Limited (07849964): Atlas Memorial is the person with significant control (75% or more). Its directors are Berish Gross and Joel Gross, and its registered office is New Burlington House, 1075 Finchley Road, London NW11 0PU.[6]
- Chester Beech Limited (08804619): the person with significant control (75% or more) is the SF Foundation (05213113), and its director is Joel Gross.[6]
Until an earlier year, investment property was held through Wakefield Investments (UK) Limited as bare trustee. That investment was sold and the company dissolved.[5]
Funding in Israel
The register lists Israel as an area of operation, but none of the named recipients is an Israeli body. The accounts say only that "All grants were paid to institutions in support of the relief of poverty, the advancement of health, the advancement of Jewish religion and the advancement of education".[3][1]
Israeli partners
No partner is named.[3]
Activity beyond the Green Line and support for the IDF
Findings are graded by confidence. "Partner" findings concern the recipient organisation, not proven use of the charity's funds.
| Finding | Confidence |
|---|---|
| No Israeli recipient or place is named.[3] | Not established |
Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[3]
Controversies and regulatory action
- No CCNI statutory inquiry report or Gazette insolvency notice naming the charity was found. The Gazette results are routine Belfast Gazette filing-list entries.[7]
- Registered in Northern Ireland, run from London. All the trustees, the public contact address, the examiner and the subsidiary are in north London; the only link to Northern Ireland is a registered office with Belfast solicitors.[1][3][2]
- Most grants unnamed. £621,000 of the £960,000 granted in 2025 (65%) went to recipients that are not named.[3]
- Property investment. Part of the assets is held through property companies: the wholly owned Wharf Properties Limited, whose directors are two of the trustees, and Chester Beech Limited, which is controlled (75% or more) by the SF Foundation and has trustee Joel Gross as its director.[3][6]
Other registers and records
Scotland and Northern Ireland
CCNI registration 101043, with its returns "Received: on time".[1] No Scottish or England and Wales registration was found.[8]
The Gazette
The Gazette results for "Atlas Memorial" are routine Belfast Gazette companies-registry supplements. There is no insolvency notice.[7]
Grants recorded by 360Giving
No grants to the charity are published in 360Giving data.[9]
Sanctions screening
The charity's name, its trustees and the directors of its subsidiaries were screened. No match was found.[10]
Land and property
- Leasehold title CH366311, Beech House, Park West, Sealand Road, Chester CH1 4RJ: proprietor Chester Beech Limited (08804619), price paid £2,610,000, dated 6 June 2014. Atlas Memorial holds 25% of the company.[11]
- No CCOD row was found for Wharf Properties Limited (07849964) or for Atlas Memorial itself. No title registers were bought.[11]
Parliament
Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Atlas Memorial" returned no contributions.[12]
Web archive
No website is listed on the register.
External links
Notes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Atlas Memorial Limited (101043) Register of Charities, retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Companies House, ATLAS MEMORIAL LIMITED (NI057073): officers and company overview, retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Atlas Memorial Limited: Trustees' annual report and financial statements, year ended 31 January 2025 (scanned; read by OCR) (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Atlas Memorial Limited: financial statements, year ended 31 January 2023 (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Atlas Memorial Limited: financial statements, year ended 31 January 2024 (PDF), retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Companies House, Wharf Properties Limited (07849964) and Chester Beech Limited (08804619): officers and persons with significant control, retrieved 20 October 2026.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 The Gazette: notices matching 'Atlas Memorial' and the insolvency notice feed, The Gazette (London, Edinburgh and Belfast editions), searched 20 October 2026.
- ↑ Charity Commission for England and Wales, Register of Charities public extract (charity table), extract dated 14 October 2026; searched by name and by the Scottish/Northern Ireland charity names in this batch – no England and Wales registration was found.
- ↑ 360Giving API, grants received by GB-NIC-101043; GB-COH-NI057073, 360Giving, queried 20 October 2026 – 0 grants returned.
- ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV, downloaded 17 October 2026); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv, 17 October 2026). Screening for the Scotland/Northern Ireland batch covered 93 name strings (the 12 charity names, current and former register trustees, trustees and officers named in the accounts read, and Companies House officers); no full-name match was found and 2,208 surname- or token-only hits were reviewed and rejected.
- ↑ 11.0 11.1 HM Land Registry, UK companies that own property in England and Wales (CCOD) and Overseas companies (OCOD) datasets, October 2026 full files, searched by proprietor name and company number. No title registers were purchased.
- ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Atlas Memorial" Hansard, queried 20 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase searches for "Atlas Memorial"). 0 contributions.