Andrews’ £593,000 charities pay out

Andrews & Partners has announced its latest shareholder dividend of £593,000 to the three registered charitable trusts by which it is wholly owned – Andrews Charitable Trust (ACT), Christian Book Promotion Trust (CBPT), and Christian Initiative Trust (CIT). The payout marks an increase of £41,000 compared to last year and is the highest of the last decade.

Andrews is the only property group in the UK to be wholly owned in this way – a conscious decision made by founder Cecil Jackson Cole, a philanthropist and humanitarian also known for being an founder of Oxfam, Help the Aged, the Anchor Housing Trust and Action Aid.

The cheque was handed over to Sian Edwards, Charity Director at ACT who was acting on behalf of all the Trusts, at the Andrews’ annual staff conference, in February. Michael Robson, Chief Executive of Andrews & Partners, said, “The ethos that Cecil Jackson Cole installed in this business is one that our team still holds dear today. Simply, his vision was for business to benefit society and by focusing on this our staff benefit from an added dimension to their day to day work.”

One of the beneficiaries of funding from ACT has been Bristol Together, an organisation that works with ex-offenders to develop property which is then sold or leased to housing associations. In addition to a grant worth £70,000 over three years, Michael Robson (Andrews Chief Executive) and David Westgate (Managing Director, Andrews Lettings & Management) serve as ACT appointed Directors to Bristol Together.

The payments were: ACT – £421,000, CBPT – £107,000 and CIT – £65,000.