Mohammad Bhaiyat, as a trustee on behalf of Olive Grove Foundation v The Charity Commission for England and Wales
[2023] UKFTT 307 (GRC)
Tony Miller & Anor v The Charity Commission for England and Wales & Anor
21 September 2023
[2023] UKFTT 805 (GRC)
First-tier Tribunal
A charity's building was going to be leased in a complicated deal. A judge said the deal was okay but the plan for the charity's money wasn't good enough and needed to be redone to better protect the charity's assets and independence from the local council who were also the charity's trustees.
Key Facts
- •The Victoria Hall Trust charity's property (Victoria Hall and Prince's Hall) was deemed unsustainable.
- •The Charity Commission (First Respondent) authorized a Scheme of Arrangement to apply the charity's property cy-près.
- •Appellants (Tony Miller and Will French) appealed the Scheme's terms.
- •The Second Respondent is the London Borough of Ealing, also the sole trustee of the Charity.
- •The Scheme involved a 250-year lease to Surejogi (linked to a developer, Mastcraft) redeveloping the Town Hall complex.
- •The Appellants argued the Scheme didn't adequately protect the Charity's interests.
- •Public interest and several community groups were involved.
Legal Principles
Cy-près application requires meeting statutory and policy criteria (sections 61-68 of the Charities Act 2011).
Charities Act 2011
Tribunal's power to review a Scheme includes quashing, substituting, or adding to the Order (Schedule 6 of the Act).
Charities Act 2011
Appropriate weight must be given to the First Respondent's decision when a cy-prês occasion arises.
Case Law (implied)
Outcomes
Appeal partially allowed.
A cy-près occasion existed, but the Scheme's terms were deemed inappropriate.
First Respondent directed to prepare a new Scheme.
The Tribunal found the original Scheme inadequate in protecting the Charity's interests, especially regarding the Mastcraft transaction and governance issues.
The Mastcraft transaction was endorsed, but with conditions.
The transaction was deemed necessary for the Charity's financial viability and lacked viable alternatives.
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