Friday 8 June 2012

Shell game?

Is A4e unusual in having a maze of companies, most of which seem to serve no useful purpose?  
  • The parent company, the one we all think of as A4e, is A4e Ltd.
  • We looked at Action for Employment Trustees Ltd; directors Emma Harrison and Mark Lovell.  It's wholly owned by A4e Ltd and its purpose seems to be simply to hold shares in A4e Ltd - 7.1% of the total.
  • Then there's A4e Employee Trustee Ltd.  This was set up in March 2012 as All Employee Company Ltd, but changed its name in May of this year.  Its director is Steve Boyfield, one of A4e Ltd's directors.
  • A4e Fundraising Ltd was in existence from 2003 to 2009.
  • A4e Consult Ltd was set up in 2006 but has morphed into A4e Management Ltd.  Its directors are Andrew Dutton and Mark Lovell.  (Emma Harrison ceased to be a director in February this year.)  The company's 100 shares are all held by A4e Ltd.  Various directories give its purpose as career advice or the like.
  • Two other companies were set up in 2011.  They are A4e Europe Ltd and A4e Worldwide Ltd.  The sole director of both is Andrew Dutton.  A4e Europe's one share is held by A4e Worldwide.  A4e Worldwide's one share is held by A4e Ltd.
Some of these would appear to fit the definition of shell companies.  Perhaps this is normal practice.  Perhaps it makes perfect sense to a tax accountant.

7 comments:

  1. Sounds as confused as the Work Programme and as about as usefull.Personal bitch,I was aligned (their term) so my appointments would be close together(so they would not pay for the bus,train)after JCP went on strike JCP changed my time to 3.00pm. I have to go to the WP at 9:15am but because of the school run the next bus(with a different co)runs at 5:15pm so after asking both the JCP and the WP if it was possible to change times the answer was no!Would the WP pay for the additional bus fare..NO Why? As you have no job we feel that if you have to spend your day at say a library it would be beneficial..OK can I use the facilities here?..NO we do not have the staff! asking if any facilities (council run)would be willing to let me help out(for free)NO we do not let the unemployed do this as it will effect your benefits...Unbelievable

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    1. On another note the JCP and WP seem to be at odds with each other there is no cohesion and the JCP are pissed(Advisors words)that their funding has gone to the WP who do less than the JCP..but tick boxes and watch the cash roll in..Cherry picking? you bet..in wales under 25 down the mines on £113.00 a week as an apprentice=BIG PAYOUT for these $%&$

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  2. This is one more example of the hypocrisy behind the WP. The coalition government has IMPOSED this draconian programme that serves mainly to tick boxes and benefit BIG BUSINESS who are the ONLY ones that are 'awarded' these contracts.

    Hang in there... the ConDem government will be voted out soon.

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    1. This government is here until 2015. And I can't see Labour changing the WP, given its record.

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  3. It is not unusual to see a company "owning" a number of subsidiary companies. Some of which may be actively trading whilst others are dormant. It provides a means for monies to be moved around in order to reduce the overall tax burden or to hide funds from certain prying eyes. The more cynical of us might even think "money laundering", not that A4e would engage in any sort of illegal activity.

    Once you tire of looking at the shell companies operating under the A4e banner, count up how many web sites they run or have registered - I got to around 30 before I got called away to do something else.

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    1. We have looked at the A4e websites before, but you're right. However, we are emphatically not suggesting that A4e is doing anything illegal with its companies.

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  4. Though it isn't their main purpose, A4e occasionally use their subsidiaries for bidding on smaller contracts - particularly as some PQQs ask if any contracts have been terminated, and by bidding in the name of the subsidiary, it's possible to honestly answer "yes" to that question and avoid being automatically excluded.

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