UNITED SYNAGOGUE

Registered charity 242552 · accounts filings on the Charity Commission register

There are five primary objects of the charity.1 To create and maintain synagogues conforming to the orthodox form of Jewish worship.2 To advance education in Jewish religion.3 To provide burial for same4 Relief of the poor 5 To advance charitable purposes of other Jewish bodies and in general any other charitable purpose in connection with the above.

Causes: Religious Activities · website · Get email alerts

Latest income

£47.2m

Latest spending

£49.9m

Registered

1965

Accounts read

FY2024

Financial health, per its FY2024 accounts

The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £1.8m for the year ended 31 December 2024, a significant improvement from the £4.5m surplus in the prior year, driven by increased salaries and operational costs. Despite the operating deficit, total reserves remained robust at £138.6m, with the trustees confirming adequate resources to continue activities for the foreseeable future.

Automated summary of the FY2024 accounts; the evidenced findings below carry the verbatim passages.

What the accounts disclose

Related-party transaction: Trustee Simon Mitchell is employed by Amazon Web Services. During the year, the Charity paid £33,057 for services provided by the company, with all services being entirely unrelated to Simon Mitchell’s employment position.

“Trustee Simon Mitchell is employed by Amazon Web Services. During the year, the Charity paid £33,057 for services provided by the company, with all services being entirely unrelated to Simon Mitchell’s employment position.” — page 34

“Trustee Jacqui Zinkin has an immediate family member who serves as a councillor at Barnet Council. During the year, the Charity paid £33,976 for services and £44,399 for rental expenses to Barnet Council, with all services being entirely unrelated to Jacqui Zinkin.” — page 34

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Trustee Jacqui Zinkin has an immediate family member who serves as a councillor at Barnet Council. During the year, the Charity paid £33,976 for services and £44,399 for rental expenses to Barnet Council, with all services being entirely unrelated to Jacqui Zinkin.

“Trustee Simon Mitchell is employed by Amazon Web Services. During the year, the Charity paid £33,057 for services provided by the company, with all services being entirely unrelated to Simon Mitchell’s employment position.” — page 34

“Trustee Jacqui Zinkin has an immediate family member who serves as a councillor at Barnet Council. During the year, the Charity paid £33,976 for services and £44,399 for rental expenses to Barnet Council, with all services being entirely unrelated to Jacqui Zinkin.” — page 34

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Key Executive Jo Grose is a Member and Trustee of Yavneh College Academy Trust. During the year, the Charity paid £60,000 to Yavneh as rental payments for the use of premises on Shabbat and Festival days, as well as £1,750 in donations.

“Trustee Simon Mitchell is employed by Amazon Web Services. During the year, the Charity paid £33,057 for services provided by the company, with all services being entirely unrelated to Simon Mitchell’s employment position.” — page 34

“Trustee Jacqui Zinkin has an immediate family member who serves as a councillor at Barnet Council. During the year, the Charity paid £33,976 for services and £44,399 for rental expenses to Barnet Council, with all services being entirely unrelated to Jacqui Zinkin.” — page 34

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: Trustee Maxwell Nisner is a Trustee of the Western Charitable Foundation. During the year, the Charity paid £37,436 to Western in respect of member funerals held in cemeteries operated by Western.

“Trustee Simon Mitchell is employed by Amazon Web Services. During the year, the Charity paid £33,057 for services provided by the company, with all services being entirely unrelated to Simon Mitchell’s employment position.” — page 34

“Trustee Jacqui Zinkin has an immediate family member who serves as a councillor at Barnet Council. During the year, the Charity paid £33,976 for services and £44,399 for rental expenses to Barnet Council, with all services being entirely unrelated to Jacqui Zinkin.” — page 34

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Related-party transaction: The Charity paid £36,113 for services provided by the London School of Jewish Studies, an organization where the President's immediate family member serves as a trustee.

“Trustee Simon Mitchell is employed by Amazon Web Services. During the year, the Charity paid £33,057 for services provided by the company, with all services being entirely unrelated to Simon Mitchell’s employment position.” — page 34

“Trustee Jacqui Zinkin has an immediate family member who serves as a councillor at Barnet Council. During the year, the Charity paid £33,976 for services and £44,399 for rental expenses to Barnet Council, with all services being entirely unrelated to Jacqui Zinkin.” — page 34

Per its FY2024 accounts as filed with the Charity Commission.

Accounts audited by Crowe U.K. LLP. Discloses 3 of 6 completeness components.

Public fundraising profile: JustGiving — South Hampstead Synagogue (matched by registered charity number).

Leadership, per the charity’s website

Jo Grose — Chief Executive (source)
Saul Taylor — President (source)
Tristan Nagler — Treasurer (source)
David Collins — Chief Operating Officer (source)
Vickie Wiltshire — Chief People Officer (source)
Richard Verber — Chief Communications Officer (source)
David Frei — Director of External and Legal Services (source)
David Goldberg — Director of Fundraising Strategy (source)

Listed on the charity’s own website when we last crawled it; roles may have changed. Pay-band disclosures above are anonymous statutory disclosures and are not attributed to any named individual.

Public profiles (found on the charity’s own website): facebook (9,296 followers) · instagram (6,732 followers) · linkedin (1,906 followers)

Structured financials (annual return, FY ending 31/12/2024)

Total income

£47.2m

Total spending

£49.9m

Cost of raising funds

£456k

Reserves (reported)

£40k

Employees

797

Reported reserves equal ~0.0 months of spending — in the bottom quarter for charities its size (median 4.6 months; benchmarks).

Per its annual return, largest income source: Donations and legacies (52% of income) — components as reported reconcile to the return’s total income; not from the accounts narrative.

Per its annual return, cost of raising funds: 1.0% of total income — below the median for charities its size (3.8%) (benchmarks).

Register events

Received assets from another charity (10/03/2026) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (30/08/2024) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (11/04/2019) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (15/11/2018) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (13/11/2018) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.
Received assets from another charity (26/10/2018) — per the register’s event history; asset transfers typically record mergers or reorganisations.

Trustees · trustee networks

Saul David Taylorchair · trustee of 2 other charities
Amanda Corenne Lyons
Cindy Goldstein
Daniel Turner
Daren Lewis
Jacqueline Malca Zinkin · trustee of 3 other charities
Nicola Abigail Rosenfelder · trustee of 9 other charities
Rachel Irma Hartog · trustee of 8 other charities
Simon Anthony Mitchell · trustee of 8 other charities
Tristan Howard Nagler

Trustee list from the Charity Commission register (current, not historical).

Operates in: Throughout England And Wales

Income and spending

Financial year end	Income	Spending
31/12/2024	£47.2m	£49.9m
31/12/2023	£49.6m	£45.9m
31/12/2022	£42.0m	£43.1m
31/12/2021	£42.0m	£37.4m
31/12/2020	£41.6m	£37.7m

Common questions

Is UNITED SYNAGOGUE financially healthy?

Per its FY2024 accounts: The accounts state that the charity reported a net deficit of £1.8m for the year ended 31 December 2024, a significant improvement from the £4.5m surplus in the prior year, driven by increased salaries and operational costs. Despite the operating deficit, total reserves remained robust at £138.6m, with the trustees confirming adequate resources to continue activities for the foreseeable future. Its FY2024 accounts were audited by Crowe U.K. LLP.

Who funds UNITED SYNAGOGUE?

Funders whose own accounts filings name UNITED SYNAGOGUE as a grant recipient include SOUTH HAMPSTEAD CHARITABLE TRUST, ACHISOMOCH AID COMPANY LIMITED, STANLEY AND ZEA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION, THE MAURICE WOHL CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, THE GERTNER CHARITABLE TRUST.

Known funders

Grants to this charity found in funders’ own accounts filings.

Funder	Year	Amount	Purpose (as stated by the funder)
SOUTH HAMPSTEAD CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£734k	redevelopment of a building owned by the United Synagogue and used by the Charity
ACHISOMOCH AID COMPANY LIMITED	FY2023	£195k
ACHISOMOCH AID COMPANY LIMITED	FY2022	£162k
STANLEY AND ZEA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2025	£78k
SOUTH HAMPSTEAD CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£60k	Grants to United Synagogue / Synagogue development fund
THE MAURICE WOHL CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	FY2021	£50k	The Arts
THE GERTNER CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£45k
STANLEY AND ZEA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2024	£42k
THE LYNNE AND NIGEL ROSS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£33k
THE WIGODER FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2022	£25k
THE SIR JOHN RITBLAT FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2022	£25k
THE SIR JOHN RITBLAT FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2025	£25k
THE WIGODER FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2023	£25k
DAVID TANNEN CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£23k
STANLEY AND ZEA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2022	£18k
THE MAURICE WOHL CHARITABLE FOUNDATION	FY2022	£18k	Arts and Humanities
LOFTUS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£18k	Religious organisation
The Gerald and Gail Ronson Family Foundation	FY2025	£15k
THE WIGODER FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2021	£15k
THE M AND L CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£14k
THE MORRIS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£13k	Advance of religion and medical
RICHARD J LIVINGSTONE CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£13k
THE GERTNER CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£11k
STANLEY AND ZEA LEWIS FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2023	£10k
THE IAN & NATALIE LIVINGSTONE CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£10k	to support its goal of serving the British Jewish community by the provision of critical infrastructure and programmes.
Coller Family Foundation	FY2025	£10k
THE DR BENJAMIN ANGEL FOUNDATION	FY2022	£9k	Support
THE DR BENJAMIN ANGEL FOUNDATION	FY2023	£7k	Grants to the UK Jewish Community
THE LAUFFER FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£7k	General charitable purposes
THE LAUFFER FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£6k	General charitable purposes
THE ALAN AND SHEILA DIAMOND CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£6k
THE PHILLIPS AND RUBENS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£6k
THE PHILLIPS FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£5k
THE MORRIS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£5k	Poor and needy
THE ROSE FOUNDATION	FY2024	£5k
THE LYNNE AND NIGEL ROSS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£5k
THE ROSE FOUNDATION	FY2023	£5k	Not specified in note 7 list
THE SIR JOHN RITBLAT FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2023	£5k
THE SIR JOHN RITBLAT FAMILY FOUNDATION	FY2024	£5k
THE DJANOGLY FOUNDATION	FY2023	£4k
THE PHILLIPS AND RUBENS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2024	£4k
THE DJANOGLY FOUNDATION	FY2025	£4k
THE PHILLIPS FAMILY CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£4k
THE PHILLIPS AND RUBENS CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£3k
LAWSON BECKMAN CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2022	£3k	Religious Activities
THE ALAN AND SHEILA DIAMOND CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2025	£3k
THE DR BENJAMIN ANGEL FOUNDATION	FY2024	£2k	Charitable support
THE DJANOGLY FOUNDATION	FY2022	£2k
THE ALAN AND SHEILA DIAMOND CHARITABLE TRUST	FY2023	£2k
THE DJANOGLY FOUNDATION	FY2024	£2k

Government & lottery funding

Grants to this charity published as open data by government and lottery funders (360Giving).

Funder	Date	Amount	Purpose
UK government	01/04/2019	£14k	HMPPS - Chaplaincy & Faith Services
UK government	01/04/2018	£14k	Provision of Jewish Advice and Support for Rastafarian Prisoners
The National Lottery Heritage Fund	17/09/2015	£2.0m	"Willesden Jewish Cemetery 'House of Life'"
City Bridge Foundation	14/10/2010	£37k	Grant to St John's Wood Synagogue
City Bridge Foundation	15/04/2010	£1k	Grant to St John's Wood Synagogue
The National Lottery Community Fund	21/08/2004	£4k	Mill Hill Youth

Funders of similar charities

Funders whose accounts show grants to charities similar to this one (and no recorded grant to this charity) — a starting list for fundraisers.

Funder	Similar charities funded	Amount to them
THE KASNER CHARITABLE TRUST	1	—
THE RAYNE FOUNDATION	1	£125k
THE ROTHSCHILD FOUNDATION	1	£100k
YESODEY HATORAH SCHOOLS	1	£41k
THE A M CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£20k
THE TOMORO FOUNDATION	1	£18k
THE BEAVERBROOKS CHARITABLE TRUST	1	£18k
THE CHILDREN'S AID COMMITTEE CHARITABLE FUND	1	£15k

Charities like this

Semantically similar by activities and financial character, from our analysed corpus. Compare with THE WEST LONDON SYNAGOGUE OF BRITISH JEWS.

THE WEST LONDON SYNAGOGUE OF BRITISH JEWS income £4.1m
YESHUAS CHAIM SYNAGOGUE income £169k
HIDAH SYNAGOGUE AND BETH MIDRASH income £132k
NEW CENTRAL VILNA SYNAGOGUES income £566k
EAST LONDON & ESSEX LIBERAL SYNAGOGUE income £331k
SOUTH MANCHESTER SYNAGOGUE income £587k

Side by side with its peers

Charity	Income	Top pay band	Staff >£60k	Reserves vs policy	Fundraising cost	Going concern
UNITED SYNAGOGUE	£47.2m	—	—	unclear	—	no doubt
THE WEST LONDON SYNAGOGUE OF BRITISH JEWS FY2025	£4.1m	—	—	below	—	no doubt
YESHUAS CHAIM SYNAGOGUE FY2025	£169k	—	0	below	—	no doubt
HIDAH SYNAGOGUE AND BETH MIDRASH FY2025	£132k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
NEW CENTRAL VILNA SYNAGOGUES FY2025	£566k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt
EAST LONDON & ESSEX LIBERAL SYNAGOGUE FY2025	£331k	—	0	unclear	—	no doubt

Each row is that charity’s latest analysed filing; every value is quote-backed on its own page.