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Norfolk County Council

Arms' Length NPS

Local authorities are demonstrating ever more clearly their inability to manage, control and operate via wholly owned subsidiaries, the various functions hitherto run completely in house. This is for a variety of reasons but one cause is their lack of awareness of the fundamental principle of "arms length" relationship in finance, trading and elsewhere. The rules are necessary in order to be able to judge performance but also to let the local management get on with the job and the Authority must act only as shareholders and as such they can get involved only at important meetings like AGMs, EGMs. The operation of this principle is now being examined closely in its nationwide application to multi-national concerns by KHMRC in order to ensure each unit is paying its fair share of tax. Google, for example, does all its billing from Ireland and Starbucks only pays a small fraction of what is expected in Britain - £10 million on sales of £3 billion.

While we must focus on the present triple dip recession, amateurs like Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council should concentrate more on their own business or hire people who can and/or bring everything back indoors.

Norfolk County Council is the ultimate controlling party - 100% ordinary shares of

Norse Group Ltd
which is the ultimate parent undertaking of

NPS Property Consultants Ltd
which is the intermediate parent undertaking - 80% - of

NPS Stockport Ltd
which provides archicectural and engineering and consultancy services to Stockport Council

NPS Group receives a large amount of public money, but doesn't consider itself subject to the Freedom of Information Act or Environmental Information Regulations 2004. They get round their obligations using a Teckal Exemption which states: - 'a. in order to satisfy the first condition of the Teckal exemption, the controlling contracting authority (or contracting authorities) must possess "a power of decisive influence over both strategic objectives and significant decisions of the other legal entity" (i.e., the more independently the entity in question is able to act, the less likely it is for the Teckal examption to apply).'

Norfolk County Council's Problems with NPS

Norfolk County Council has serious concerns about NPS.

NPS started in 1994.

Related companies -
Barnsley Norse
Clubart Ltd - Lenny Grice a director of Clubart and NPS Stockport - no accounts available for Clubart
Engage Lambeth Ltd - Anna Davidson director
Enfield Norse Ltd
Eventguard Limited
GYB Services Ltd
LG Plaster Mouldings - Lenny Grice a director
Hamson Partnership Ltd - Glenn Reynolds a director
Information, Technology and Exchequer Services
John Packer Associates - Glen Reynolds a director
Legislator 1656 - Glen Reynolds a director
Legislator 1657 - Glen Reynolds a direcotor
Martinau Consultancy and Management and Training Ltd
Norfok County Services Transport
Norse Commercial Services Ltd
Norse Transport
Norwich Airport Ltd
Norwich Area Development Agency
Norwich School Enterprises Ltd
NPS Group Ltd
NPS Humber Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
NPS Humber Group - Glen Reynolds a director
NPS Leeds Ltd
NPS London Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
NPS North London Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
NPS North East Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
NPS North West Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
NPS North London Ltd
NPS South East Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
NPS South West Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
Hearth UK Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
Norse Group Ltd
Barron and Smith Ltd
Robson Liddle Ltd - Glen Reynolds a director
Suffolk Coastal Services
Travel Norwich Airport Ltd
Towerholme Services Ltd - Lenny Grice a director - no accounts available for Towerholme.
Waveney Norse Ltd

This is the oversight process at NPS/Norse

Suffolk Norse Transport

No accounts available.

Legislator 1656 Accounts

Legislator 1656 Accounts to January 2010.
Holding company for its subsidiary company Legislator 1657.
Directors
Mr S W Bett
Mr C M Dady (resigned 1st June 2010)
Profit for the financial year £101,438
Equity shareholder funds £5,689,807

Legislator 1657

Legislator 1657 Accounts to 2010.
Principal activity - leasing of investment properties
Turnover - rental of investment properties £14,892
Loss £73,644
Directors
Mr S W Bett
Mr C M Dady

Legislator 1033

Legislator 1033 Accounts
2010
Exempt from audit

Legislator 1680

No accounts available.

Hamson Partnerships Ltd

Accounts for Hamson Partnerships Ltd.
2010
Principle activity chartered building surveying and ancillary services.
Does work for:-
East Sussex County Council
West Sussex County Council
Sussex Police Authority
Houses of Parliament Fire Safety Engineering
Hampshire County Council
Royal Marsden NHSFT

John Packer Associates

John Packer Associates Accounts.
Building Services consultants specialising is sustainable design.
2010
Turnover 1,812,906
Profit £187,093.
Directors
J M Quay
M Yarham
J A Porter
S Vincent

Norse Transport

Accounts for Norse Transport.
This company is involved with the provison of passenger transportfor local authorities largely Norfolk County Council.
2010
Turnover 7,863,272
Profit £3,738
Actuarial loss in respect of defined benefit pension scheme £415,000
Directors
P W Adams
P M Hawes
A T Williams

NPS Group Ltd

NPS Group Ltd Accounts.
2010
Abbreviated accounts - no real details given

NPS Humber Ltd

NPS Humber LtdAccounts.
Property consultants, CDM, architectural design, building surveying and project management. Mainly works for Kingston upon Hull City Council.
2010
Turnover £10,336,292
Profit £351,251
Directors
K A Betts
C Canadine
M Collinson (resigned 31/10/09)
M W Hudson
C Powell
A K Bell
P Vozza
S R Bush (appointed 31/10/09)
Directors remuneration 2010 - £88,485 - 2009 £14,055

NPS London Ltd

NPS London Ltd Accounts.

NPS North London Ltd

NPS North London Ltd Accounts.

NPS North East Ltd

NPS North East Ltd Accounts.
2010
Turnover £7,979,617
Operating profit £447,315
Actuarial loss in respect of defined benefit pension scheme £894,000
Total loss for the year £478,331
Directors - Hilary Louise Jones, Andrew John Wallhead, Graham Stokes, Glen Reynolds, Adrian Gerard Michael Blakey. Associated directors - Richard Hodgson, John Pitt,

NPS North West Ltd

NPS North West Accounts.
2010
Turnover £6,544,195
Loss £699,968
Acutarial loss in respect of defined benefit pension scheme £588,000
Total loss £1,123,328
Directors
David Clements, Hilary Jones, Paul Mckevitt, Kevin Anderson, Glen Reynolds,

NPS South West Ltd

NPS South West Accounts.
2010
Turnover £8,565,443
Profit for the financial year £365,796
Total loss for the year following actuarial loss in defined benefit pension scheme £784,044
Directors - Jeremy Owen Yabsley, Hilary Louise Jones, Christopher Bernard Sanders, Francis Jeremy Brook, Stephen Colin Daw,

Hearth UK Ltd

Hearth UK Accounts
2010

Barron Smith Ltd

Barron Smith Electrical Ltd Accounts.
2010

NPS Leeds Ltd.

No accounts available.

Omniport Dura Vermeer BV - OMDV

No accounts available.

"The OMDV Group of companies has not complied with the investment requirement relating to government grants received in the past, which required the grant to be expended on specified improvements to Maastricht Airport by 1 February 2010. The outstanding amount of unallocated government grants, amounting to £15,560,000 (17,443,000 Euros), is, accordingly technically repayable on the demand of the Province of Limburg and the State of the Netherlands. Taking into account the financial position of OMDV, any possible repayment demanded by the Province of the State would lead to uncertainty about OMDV's status as a going concern, in the absence of alternative sources of funding."

"OMDV is in discussions with the Province and the State regarding the timing and scope of the remaining investment programme in the light of the current economic climate. The Province has commissioned a strategic review of the airport and its role in the region, and is evaluating the best course of action and the findings are expected to be announced in due course....."

Enfield Norse Ltd

Enfield Norse Ltd Accounts
2010
The company works mainly for the London Borough of Enfield with regards to cleaning services.
Turnover £2,782,666
Loss - £5,662
Employees 330 wages and salary £2,219,982 average salary £6,727.
Directors
P M Hawes
J Rolfe
Mrs R Metcalf
E Hurer resigned and E Georgio appointed
A M Staines

Omniport Norwich Ltd

Omniport Holdings Ltd

Omniport Holdings Ltd Accounts. "Airport ownership, managementand the provision of associated facilities and services. The Group also operates as a UK based travel agency. The Group also operates as an investment holding company."
"The group owns and manages Norwich Airport in the UK and Maastricht/Aachen Airport..."
2010
Turnover £21,030,000
Loss for the year £10,005,000
Exceptional charges of £6,561,000 "in relation to a realised loss on the transer of assets to an associated company."
Net assets 31/3/10 were £39,430,000.

Omniport Ltd

Omniport Ltd Accounts. Investment holding company. "Provides management support and technical advice to its main trading subsidiary Norwich Airport Ltd."

2010
Turnover £11,901
Operating loss £48,467
Interest receivable and similar income £203,861
Retained profit for the financial year £126,154
Investments £8,282,270

Directors
DR GHH Ainsworth
Mr A M Bell
Mr M Laing

Travel Norwich Airport Ltd

Travel Norwich Airport Ltd Accounts. Travel Agent with two branches.

2010
Turnover £490,187
Loss £29,296
19 employees average wage £11,586

Directors
Dr GHH Ainsworth
Mr Andrew Bell
Mrs A Steward (appointed 21/1/10)
Mr E B Summers (resigned 23/3/10)
Mr BJM Iles (resigned 25/11/209)
Cllr S Morphew (resigned 7/10/09)

Suffolk Coastal Services Ltd

Suffolk Coastal Services Accounts.
2010

Robson Liddle Ltd

Robson Liddle Ltd Accounts
2010

Cost of sales (£841,486)
Gross profit £459,130
Other operating charges (£415,813) I wonder what those charges were?
Net profil 2.9%

GYB Services Ltd

GYB Services Accounts 2010, providing services largely for Great Yarmouth Borough Council - refuse and environmental services.

Directors
P W Adams
PM Hawes
AT Williams

Turnover over £9 million
Profit just over £4,000. Not a good result for the council taxpayers!
2.36% profit margin

FRS 17 pensions adjustment

GYB is a 100% owned subsidiary of Norse Commercial Services Ltd. The ultimate controlling party is Norfolk County Council.