Sameach

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Gateshead charitable company holding £821,229 of mortgaged investment property and funding Orthodox Jewish bodies in Gateshead; it invested £65,000 in a property company part-owned by a trustee

Sameach

Type Charitable company
Founded 2007-06-26 (registered)
Registration ID Registered charity 1119825; company 04417664
Headquarters Gateshead NE8
Area served Throughout London, Manchester City, Gateshead, Israel


Sameach is a charitable company (04417664) incorporated on 16 April 2002 and registered as a charity on 26 June 2007; its registered office is in Gateshead NE8.[1][2] Its objects include relief of poverty and the provision of affordable housing "for persons and families in need"; day-to-day management is by Mr Halberstadt (PDF p.3).[2] The trustees are J Halberstadt, Joshua Kestenbaum and Y M Halberstadt; the accountants are Whiteside and Davies of Salford and the independent examiner is C Frenkel FCCA (PDF p.3).[2] In the year to 30 April 2025 income was £79,809 (donations £29,132; investment income £50,677), investment management costs £32,007 and grants £100,532 (2024: £116,876), mainly to Gateshead institutions; funds fell to £1,208,257 (PDF p.7, 15).[2] The National Lottery Community Fund gave it £10,000 in 2020 for medical and health equipment for vulnerable members of the Jewish community in Gateshead (see 360Giving below).

Objects and activities

Bensham, Gateshead (2008); Sameach is based in Gateshead, and most of its named grantees are Gateshead Jewish institutions

The charity's registered objects read: "1 THE RELIEF OF POVERTY AMONGST THE ELDERLY OR PERSONS IN CONDITIONS OF NEED, HARDSHIP AND DISTRESS WITHIN THE JEWISH COMMUNITY2 THE ADVANCEMENT OF THE ORTHODOX JEWISH RELIGION3 THE ADVANCEMENT OF EDUCATION ACCORDING TO THE TENETS OF THE ORTHODOX JEWISH RELIGION4 TO PROMOTE ANY CHARITABLE PURPOSE FOR THE BENEFIT OF THE JEWISH COMMUNITY"[1]

The register describes its activities as: "general charitable Activities"[1]

Register classifications: General Charitable Purposes, Education/training, The Prevention Or Relief Of Poverty, Religious Activities.[1]

Areas of operation recorded on the register: Throughout London, Manchester City, Gateshead, Israel.[1]

Trustees

Current trustees, with other charities on which the same register trustee ID appears:[1]

Trustees of Sameach (register, October 2026)
Trustee Appointed Chair Other trusteeships
Yechezkel Michael Halberstadt not recorded Friends of Biala Limited (271377)
Judith Halberstadt 2012-04-06 —
Joshua Kestenbaum 2024-01-01 —

Historical trustees (UK Government Web Archive)

Trustees shown in archived register pages
Capture date Trustees listed Source
2010-07-07 David Schleider; Yechezkel Michael Halberstadt; Nathan Halberstadt [3]
2010-07-08 David Schleider; Yechezkel Michael Halberstadt; Nathan Halberstadt [4]
2021-01-13 Menachem Yaakov Salzer (from 02 May 2014); Yechezkel Michael Halberstadt – also trustee of Ateres, Friends of Biala Limited; Judith Halberstadt (from 06 April 2012) [5]

At Companies House, Menachem Yaakov Salzer was a director from 2015 to 2024.[6]

Companies House officers

Companies House lists 7 current and former officers of the charitable company (04417664), 3 of them active.[7]

Finances

Income and expenditure, five most recent reported years
Financial year end Income Expenditure
2021-04-30 £194,450 £133,072
2022-04-30 £258,030 £167,611
2023-04-30 £164,617 £219,506
2024-04-30 £151,793 £150,840
2025-04-30 £79,809 £135,121

Source: register annual-return history.[1]

Archived accounts

Accounts no longer on the live register were found in the UK Government Web Archive:

  • Accounts for the year ended 30/04/2014[8]
  • Accounts for the year ended 30/04/2015[9]
  • Accounts for the year ended 30/04/2016[10]
  • Accounts for the year ended 30/04/2017[11]
  • Accounts for the year ended 30/04/2018[12]
  • Accounts for the year ended 30/04/2019[13]

Funding in Israel

  • 2024/25 grants of £100,532 included Ateres £30,054, Yesmach Levov £18,000, Yeshaya Adler Memorial Fund £13,244, Lchu Vonim Youth Group £6,500, Gateshead Kehilla Kollel £5,210, Tatsil Trust £5,000 and Achisomoch £3,000; none is placed in Israel (PDF p.15).[2]

Israeli partners

No Israeli partner is named.[2]

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.

Evidence of activity beyond the 1949 armistice line
Finding Confidence
No place in Israel is named.[2] Not established

Support for the IDF: No IDF or military funding is stated.[2]

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;[14] 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.[15][16][17][18] 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.[19]
  • Investment in a trustee's company. The accounts say "The charity invested £65,000 in an investment property purchase, in a company in which one of the Trustees is a shareholder"; it also gave £30,054 to Ateres, of which Y M Halberstadt is a trustee (PDF p.18).[2]
  • Property, loans and reserves. Investment properties are held at a cost of £821,229, which the trustees consider "not materially different" to value after consulting local estate agents; bank loans are £330,348, other long-term creditors £194,606 and other debtors £394,187 (unchanged from 2024); mortgage interest was £17,571 (PDF p.4, 13, 16–17).[2] The report states free reserves of "£651,716 (2024: £699,513)", whereas the balance sheet shows net current assets of £606,366 (2024: £651,716) (PDF p.5, 8).[2]
  • Registration date. The report says the charity was "registered as a charity on 16 April 2002"; the register gives 26 June 2007 (PDF p.3).[2][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).[20] No entry was found on the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland register (API name searches returned zero results).[21]

The Gazette

Searches of The Gazette for "Sameach" returned only Companies House filing lists, some for other companies with similar names (such as Sameach Bayis Limited); no insolvency, winding-up or strike-off notice naming the charity was found.[22]

Grants recorded by 360Giving

Grants received (360Giving data)
Date Funder Amount (£) Purpose
2020-10-29 The National Lottery Community Fund 10,000 The funding will be used to provide vulnerable members of the Jewish community in Gateshead including older people with medical and health e

No grants made by the charity are published in 360Giving data, so flows between linked charities could not be traced there.[23]

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. Viatcheslav Moshe Kantor (UK sanctions ID RUS1127) does not appear among this charity's trustees or officers.[24]

Land and property

The register records that the charity owns and/or leases land or property.[1] No title registers were purchased; the HM Land Registry interactive search blocked automated access.[25] Candidate titles and addresses (CCOD dataset and register/accounts data):[26]

  • Investment properties £821,229 at cost, producing property income of £48,627, with bank loans of £330,348; addresses not stated – Accounts (PDF p.13, 16–17) (source: [2])
  • Freehold property, Moorfield Square, Southfields, Northampton NN3 (title NN65387, freehold; proprietor added 07/05/2025) – CCOD match on the charity's own company number 04417664; the accounts show investment properties at a cost of £821,229 (source: [26])
  • Freehold property, Ripon Street, Gateshead NE8 (title TY378020, freehold; proprietor added 31/07/2023, price paid £60,000) – CCOD match on the charity's own company number 04417664; the accounts show investment properties at a cost of £821,229 (source: [26])
  • Leasehold property, Ripon Street, Gateshead NE8 (title TY378022, leasehold; proprietor added 31/07/2023) – CCOD match on the charity's own company number 04417664; the accounts show investment properties at a cost of £821,229 (source: [26])
  • Freehold property, Ripon Street, Gateshead NE8 (title TY463153, freehold; proprietor added 26/04/2013) – CCOD match on the charity's own company number 04417664; the accounts show investment properties at a cost of £821,229 (source: [26])
  • Leasehold property, Ripon Street, Gateshead NE8 (title TY463154, leasehold; proprietor added 26/04/2013) – CCOD match on the charity's own company number 04417664; the accounts show investment properties at a cost of £821,229 (source: [26])

Parliament

Hansard exact-phrase searches for "Sameach" returned 16 contributions in total; those not listed above were not established to concern this charity.[27]

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".[5]

External links

  • No current official website.

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 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.
  2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 Charity Commission, Sameach (1119825): accounts and annual returns Register of Charities; latest accounts downloaded 16 October 2026 ("PDF p." = page of the PDF file).
  3. ↑ Register entry 1119825, contact and trustees (capture of 20100707) UK Government Web Archive.
  4. ↑ Register entry 1119825, contact and trustees (capture of 20100708) UK Government Web Archive.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 Register entry 1119825, full print (capture of 20210113) UK Government Web Archive.
  6. ↑ Companies House, SAMEACH (04417664) Find and update company information, overview and officers, viewed 16 October 2026.
  7. ↑ Company 04417664: officers Companies House, viewed 16 October 2026.
  8. ↑ Sameach accounts, year ended 2014-04-30 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  9. ↑ Sameach accounts, year ended 2015-04-30 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  10. ↑ Sameach accounts, year ended 2016-04-30 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  11. ↑ Sameach accounts, year ended 2017-04-30 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  12. ↑ Sameach accounts, year ended 2018-04-30 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200108).
  13. ↑ Sameach accounts, year ended 2019-04-30 UK Government Web Archive (capture of 20200703).
  14. ↑ 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-19 charities, all retrieved successfully on 16 October 2026 and checked for a "Regulatory alerts" section; none was shown for any of them. Twenty-two registered charities showed "Charity reporting is up to date (on time)"; British Friends of Ramoth Jerusalem showed "Charity reporting is overdue by 1691 days"; Leibovici Charitable Trust and Friends of Bereaved Families Forum (1118221) showed "Removed charity".
  15. ↑ Charity Commission, Serious concerns over use of £22 million triggers investigation by charity regulator GOV.UK, 14 May 2025.
  16. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator opens next phase of investigation into 105 charities connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 1 September 2025.
  17. ↑ Charity Commission, Regulator announces next charities to be investigated as part of inquiry connected to company cashing cheques GOV.UK, 4 December 2025.
  18. ↑ 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).
  19. ↑ 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").
  20. ↑ Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator, Scottish Charity Register download OSCR, export dated 14 October 2026; keyword search of the 25 batch-19 charity names found no matching Scottish registration.
  21. ↑ Charity Commission for Northern Ireland, Register of charities search API CCNI, searched 16 October 2026 (keyword searches for each of the 25 batch-19 charity names returned zero results).
  22. ↑ The Gazette: notices matching 'Sameach' The Gazette, searched 16 October 2026.
  23. ↑ 360Giving API: grants received by GB-CHC-1119825 360Giving, queried 16 October 2026.
  24. ↑ Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office, UK Sanctions List (CSV); Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation, Consolidated List of Financial Sanctions Targets (ConList.csv). Batch-19 screening covered 358 name strings: the 25 charity names, current register trustees, trustees named on archived register pages, Companies House officers of the eight charitable companies, and trustees, examiners, grantees and other people and bodies named in the accounts and sources read for this batch; matching on surname plus forename tokens, reviewed manually. No forename-and-surname match for any person was found; token matches were surname-only coincidences (for example Miller, Gold) or generic words in organisation names (Trust, Ltd, Limited).
  25. ↑ 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.
  26. ↑ 26.0 26.1 26.2 26.3 26.4 26.5 HM Land Registry, UK companies that own property in England and Wales (CCOD) and Overseas companies that own property in England and Wales (OCOD) full extracts, October 2026 release, matched on the company numbers of the eight charitable companies in this batch (06615331, 03328487, 02311243, 08463157, 04417664, 07804771, 08738056, 10117583) and on the charities' registered names and named related companies; title numbers listed are candidates only – no title registers were purchased.
  27. ↑ UK Parliament, Hansard search API: contributions matching the exact phrase "Sameach" Hansard, queried 16 October 2026 (Spoken and Written endpoints; quoted-phrase search).
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