Department for Health & Social Care
Covid Contract(s) & Court Case: The Hales business empire
An Open & Candid Investigation - September 2024
Contents
- Background
- The Hales Family
- Companies owned by the Hales
- Companies connected to the Hales
- Hales Covid Contracts
- The £100 Million+ Court Case
- UK Health Security Agency & 2San Global
- Linking the Companies
- Summary
Background
The UK government is at risk of losing more than £100 million of taxpayers money to a family that were awarded Covid contract across the globe worth more than £2.5 billion. An Open & Candid investigation into the Sydney based Hales business empire.
The UK government is at risk of losing more than £100 million of taxpayers money to a family that were awarded Covid contract across the globe worth more than £2.5 billion. An Open & Candid investigation into the Sydney based Hales business empire.
The Hales Family
Bruce Hales is based in Sydney, Australia and is the leader of a sect known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), also known as the Exclusive Brethren. He is attributed for stating the brethren must "spoil the Egyptians", which ex-brethren members claim to mean "ensuring they take their spoils from the non-brethren population".
The brethren with a membership of just 54,000 worldwide have seen their members build up a huge global commercial enterprises turning over £22 billion (AUS $43 billion) in 2023. The secretive sect were one of the biggest winners from the global Covid pandemic. A story for which only fragments have been picked up and reported by the mainstream media.
We expose how the biggest brethren winners were the family of Bruce Hales, and how they are now via the UK courts seeking recompense of £100 million plus from the UK Government for a contract that was terminated.
Gareth Hales, Charles Hales and Dean Hales are three of the sons of Bruce Hales, these sons run companies which did not exist prior to Covid but since their incorporation in 2020 have been involved in contracts worth a minimum of £2.6 billion (AUS $5 billion).
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that over the last few years, the Hales family have extended their portfolio of residential properties across Sydney, with an approximate value of around £40 million.
Bruce Hales is based in Sydney, Australia and is the leader of a sect known as the Plymouth Brethren Christian Church (PBCC), also known as the Exclusive Brethren. He is attributed for stating the brethren must "spoil the Egyptians", which ex-brethren members claim to mean "ensuring they take their spoils from the non-brethren population".
The brethren with a membership of just 54,000 worldwide have seen their members build up a huge global commercial enterprises turning over £22 billion (AUS $43 billion) in 2023. The secretive sect were one of the biggest winners from the global Covid pandemic. A story for which only fragments have been picked up and reported by the mainstream media.
We expose how the biggest brethren winners were the family of Bruce Hales, and how they are now via the UK courts seeking recompense of £100 million plus from the UK Government for a contract that was terminated.
Gareth Hales, Charles Hales and Dean Hales are three of the sons of Bruce Hales, these sons run companies which did not exist prior to Covid but since their incorporation in 2020 have been involved in contracts worth a minimum of £2.6 billion (AUS $5 billion).
The Sydney Morning Herald reports that over the last few years, the Hales family have extended their portfolio of residential properties across Sydney, with an approximate value of around £40 million.
Companies owned by the Hales
- Sante Global LLP: UK main shareholders (99%) are Charles & Gareth Hales
- Sante Global PTY Ltd: Australia shareholders with 50% each Charles & Gareth Hales
- Sante USA LLC: USA
- Sante Group Ltd: New Zealand shareholders with 50% each Charles & Gareth Hales
- 2San PTY Ltd: Australia main shareholder Dean Hales
- 2San Global Ltd: UK shareholders include Dean Hales
- 2San ApS: Denmark shareholders include Dean Hales
- Medco Solutions PTY Ltd: Australian main shareholder Dean Hales
- Medco Solutions LLC: USA main shareholder Dean Hales
Companies connected to the Hales
- Mornington 2000 LLP t/a Sterilab Services: UK
- Westlab PTY Ltd: Australia
- Coulmed Products Group LLC: USA
- Core Supply Group B.V: Netherlands
- Medco Solutions Ltd: UK
- Coshield Global Ltd: UK
- Coshield Global Trading Limited: New Zealand
Hales Covid Contracts
In total the companies owned or connected to the Hales were awarded contracts worth a staggering £2.575 billion. These are the awarded contracts that we can verify and have identified, we are confident that other contracts were awarded in both Australia & Denmark for which we are currently unable to verify.
It does not take into consideration any other of the £700 million worth of contracts awarded to companies owned by other members of the Plymouth Brethren, in either the UK or other countries. These are purely contracts connected to the Hales family.
United Kingdom
Sante Global LLP £680 million for PPE (awarded under Unispace Global and then novated to Sante Global)
Medco Solutions Ltd £947 million for Tests (£863 million), PPE (£84 million)
Mornington 2000 Ltd t/a Sterilabs Services £271.5 million for Tests, this contract was terminated by DHSC
Australia
2San PTY Ltd £13.3 million for Tests
Westlab PTY Ltd £70.5 million for Tests & PPE
Netherlands
Core Supply Group B.V £270 million for Tests
USA
Sante USA LLC £44 million for PPE
Coulmed Products Group LLC £117 million for PPE
New Zealand
Coshield Global Trading Ltd £161 million for Tests*
*This is calculated on a reported 38 million test being supplied and uses the reported average price of NZ $9 per test.
In total the companies owned or connected to the Hales were awarded contracts worth a staggering £2.575 billion. These are the awarded contracts that we can verify and have identified, we are confident that other contracts were awarded in both Australia & Denmark for which we are currently unable to verify.
It does not take into consideration any other of the £700 million worth of contracts awarded to companies owned by other members of the Plymouth Brethren, in either the UK or other countries. These are purely contracts connected to the Hales family.
United Kingdom
Sante Global LLP £680 million for PPE (awarded under Unispace Global and then novated to Sante Global)
Medco Solutions Ltd £947 million for Tests (£863 million), PPE (£84 million)
Mornington 2000 Ltd t/a Sterilabs Services £271.5 million for Tests, this contract was terminated by DHSC
Australia
2San PTY Ltd £13.3 million for Tests
Westlab PTY Ltd £70.5 million for Tests & PPE
Netherlands
Core Supply Group B.V £270 million for Tests
USA
Sante USA LLC £44 million for PPE
Coulmed Products Group LLC £117 million for PPE
New Zealand
Coshield Global Trading Ltd £161 million for Tests*
*This is calculated on a reported 38 million test being supplied and uses the reported average price of NZ $9 per test.
Company Accounts
We have through various sources including Companies House in the UK and the Australian Tax Office, been able to substantiate reported turnover for some of the Hales companies. The turnover/income is as follows:
Sante Global Pty Ltd: Income £780 million from May 2020 until June 2022
Sante Global LLP: Income £782 million from May 2020 until March 2022
2San Pty Ltd: Income £385 million from July 2021 until June 2022
Medco Solutions Ltd: £763 million from March 2020 until December 2022.
Westlab: £279 million from July 2021 until June 2022
What is unusual is that with the exception of Westlab the above companies were set up at the start of the pandemic and for the eagle-eyed, the total turnover is much higher than the contracts published, despite not including accounts for Sante USA LLC, Mornington 2000 LLP, Core Supply Group B.V, Coulmed Products Group and only having partial Westlab & 2San Pty accounts.
In fact for the companies we could verify the income equals almost £3 billion, against contracts valued for the same companies of £1.7 billion.
We have through various sources including Companies House in the UK and the Australian Tax Office, been able to substantiate reported turnover for some of the Hales companies. The turnover/income is as follows:
Sante Global Pty Ltd: Income £780 million from May 2020 until June 2022
Sante Global LLP: Income £782 million from May 2020 until March 2022
2San Pty Ltd: Income £385 million from July 2021 until June 2022
Medco Solutions Ltd: £763 million from March 2020 until December 2022.
Westlab: £279 million from July 2021 until June 2022
What is unusual is that with the exception of Westlab the above companies were set up at the start of the pandemic and for the eagle-eyed, the total turnover is much higher than the contracts published, despite not including accounts for Sante USA LLC, Mornington 2000 LLP, Core Supply Group B.V, Coulmed Products Group and only having partial Westlab & 2San Pty accounts.
In fact for the companies we could verify the income equals almost £3 billion, against contracts valued for the same companies of £1.7 billion.
The £100 million+ Court Case
Sante Global LLP/Mornington 2000 LLP vs Department of Health & Social Care
There is a court case currently progressing through the UK courts. We have established in the latest update from the courts that the claimants are seeking £100 million from the UK Government, Department of Health & Social Care, for the termination of a £271 million contract with Sante Global LLP & Mornington 2000 LLP t/a Sterilab Services. We understand they are also seeking further damages for being prevented from tendering for the contract once it had been terminated.
Termination of Contract & opportunity to compete for further Contracts
Further Information: www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2024/1708.html
What is interesting is that the contract that was terminated is referenced under C22033 (5th March 2021), the other companies awarded this contract include Medco Solutions Ltd! It is therefore a possibility that when the Sante Global LLP contract was terminated, that though Gareth & Charles Hales lost out, that Medco Solutions picked up an additional contract and potentially Dean Hales benefitted.
Sante Global LLP/Mornington 2000 LLP vs Department of Health & Social Care
There is a court case currently progressing through the UK courts. We have established in the latest update from the courts that the claimants are seeking £100 million from the UK Government, Department of Health & Social Care, for the termination of a £271 million contract with Sante Global LLP & Mornington 2000 LLP t/a Sterilab Services. We understand they are also seeking further damages for being prevented from tendering for the contract once it had been terminated.
Termination of Contract & opportunity to compete for further Contracts
- This is an application by the Defendant to two related claims arising out of a contract for the supply of Covid-19 lateral flow test kits which was concluded between the Claimants and the Defendant on 6 September 2021 ("the contract"). In order to perform the contract, the Second Claimant ("Santé") had a sub-contract with a supplier based in Germany called MP Biomedicals Germany GmbH ("Bio") and Bio in turn had a sub-contract with the manufacturer of the test kits in China, Xiamen Boson Biotech Co Ltd ("Boson").
- The Defendant terminated the contract on account of alleged violations of labour law, health and safety and worker payment obligations in Boson's factory in China, following an audit conducted on behalf (ultimately) of the Defendant by a firm known as "QIMA". These violations were alleged to constitute breaches of contract, giving rise to a right to terminate the contract, on account of (a) the goods to be supplied not being in accordance with the terms of the contract, and (b) the Claimants and Boson having providing inaccurate and misleading information when applying to join the procurement pursuant to which the contract was awarded. The Claimants dispute that there was any breach of contract on their part and, as a result, claim damages and interest in excess of £100m for wrongful termination of the contract. There is also a procurement claim, alleging that the Defendant breached the Public Contracts Regulations 2015 by placing additional orders with other suppliers after having terminated the contract, and failing to offer the Claimants the opportunity to compete for further contracts, leading to further loss of profits, which – I apprehend - could run to further tens of millions of pounds.
Further Information: www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/TCC/2024/1708.html
What is interesting is that the contract that was terminated is referenced under C22033 (5th March 2021), the other companies awarded this contract include Medco Solutions Ltd! It is therefore a possibility that when the Sante Global LLP contract was terminated, that though Gareth & Charles Hales lost out, that Medco Solutions picked up an additional contract and potentially Dean Hales benefitted.
UK Health Security Agency & 2San Global
Test & Trace
In August 2020, Mark Hewlett was employed on a 12-month fixed-term contract as Director of Testing for the UK Government's Test & Trace department, later to become the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). In February 2021, he answered questions alongside Baroness Harding in front of a government committee. His contract was extended, and he ended up becoming the highest-paid director on the UKHSA executive board, with a salary of £220,000.
2San Global appoint new CEO
In March 2022, Mark Hewlett left his role as Director of Testing for UKHSA. Within five weeks, he had taken on his new role as CEO of 2San Global. He started the week commencing 11th April 2022. His first week was spent in Sydney, home to the Hales empire of Medco Solutions, Sante Global, and 2San.
In the following six months, 2San Global employed at least 10 more people from the UKHSA Test & Trace team, including senior employees. It is estimated the annual cost of these employees would have been in excess of £1 million. In their annual report for 2022, 2San Global stated that on average they had 15 employees; in reality, they employed Hewlett's Test & Trace team to run their business.
We are not suggesting that Mark Hewlett or anyone involved has done anything wrong. Though it certainly raised eyebrows, the team likely involved in awarding contracts ended up employed by a company heavily connected to testing contract winners in 2San, Medco Solutions & Sante Global.
In Australia, 2San reported a turnover of over £350 million in their first full 12 months of trading!
Test & Trace
In August 2020, Mark Hewlett was employed on a 12-month fixed-term contract as Director of Testing for the UK Government's Test & Trace department, later to become the United Kingdom Health Security Agency (UKHSA). In February 2021, he answered questions alongside Baroness Harding in front of a government committee. His contract was extended, and he ended up becoming the highest-paid director on the UKHSA executive board, with a salary of £220,000.
2San Global appoint new CEO
In March 2022, Mark Hewlett left his role as Director of Testing for UKHSA. Within five weeks, he had taken on his new role as CEO of 2San Global. He started the week commencing 11th April 2022. His first week was spent in Sydney, home to the Hales empire of Medco Solutions, Sante Global, and 2San.
In the following six months, 2San Global employed at least 10 more people from the UKHSA Test & Trace team, including senior employees. It is estimated the annual cost of these employees would have been in excess of £1 million. In their annual report for 2022, 2San Global stated that on average they had 15 employees; in reality, they employed Hewlett's Test & Trace team to run their business.
We are not suggesting that Mark Hewlett or anyone involved has done anything wrong. Though it certainly raised eyebrows, the team likely involved in awarding contracts ended up employed by a company heavily connected to testing contract winners in 2San, Medco Solutions & Sante Global.
In Australia, 2San reported a turnover of over £350 million in their first full 12 months of trading!
Linking the Contracts
The link between Sante Global and 2San is via the Hales Brothers. It is also worth noting that at the time of the testing contract awards, you will find that either the company or the shareholders of Sante Global PTY Ltd, Medco Solutions PTY Ltd & 2San PTY Ltd were all registered at the home of the Hales empire, 2a Hope Street, Ermington, NSW, 2115.
The link to Mornington 2000 LLP has been clearly established through the UK court case.
Westlab Pty Ltd was evidenced on both their company website and the website of Sante Global, with both companies claiming they had worked together to win the Australian testing contracts.
Core Supply Group was formerly Ox Tools Netherlands, Ox Tools being owned by Dean Hales, again the Sante Global website uses the Core Supply Group contract with the Dutch Government Health Department as one of their case studies/success stories.
Coulmed Products Group LLC, follows the same pattern as Westlab and Core Supply with the Sante Global website using the big contract win with the US Department of Defence as one of their case studies.
The Medco Solutions Ltd link to Dean Hales and 2San can be evidenced in the fact that Dean Hales is the owner of Medco Solutions PTY Ltd, Medco Solutions LLC and 2San Pty Ltd. The directors of Medco Solutions Ltd are brothers Ross & Luke Robertson. They are also directors and shareholders alongside Dean Hales in a company called Meraki Global Investments Ltd, registered at the same address as Medco Solutions Ltd.
Ross Robertson was an employee of Charles & Gareth Hales at Unispace Global until March 2020.
We also found Ross Robertson responding to Mark Hewlett on LinkedIn.
On New Zealand companies house, Coshield Global Trading Limited shows that its ultimate holding company is Sturli Brands Global Trading Limited. The shareholders of Sturli Brands at the time of the NZ government contract were various entities of UBT (the brethren central business) and Dean Hales.
The link between Sante Global and 2San is via the Hales Brothers. It is also worth noting that at the time of the testing contract awards, you will find that either the company or the shareholders of Sante Global PTY Ltd, Medco Solutions PTY Ltd & 2San PTY Ltd were all registered at the home of the Hales empire, 2a Hope Street, Ermington, NSW, 2115.
The link to Mornington 2000 LLP has been clearly established through the UK court case.
Westlab Pty Ltd was evidenced on both their company website and the website of Sante Global, with both companies claiming they had worked together to win the Australian testing contracts.
Core Supply Group was formerly Ox Tools Netherlands, Ox Tools being owned by Dean Hales, again the Sante Global website uses the Core Supply Group contract with the Dutch Government Health Department as one of their case studies/success stories.
Coulmed Products Group LLC, follows the same pattern as Westlab and Core Supply with the Sante Global website using the big contract win with the US Department of Defence as one of their case studies.
The Medco Solutions Ltd link to Dean Hales and 2San can be evidenced in the fact that Dean Hales is the owner of Medco Solutions PTY Ltd, Medco Solutions LLC and 2San Pty Ltd. The directors of Medco Solutions Ltd are brothers Ross & Luke Robertson. They are also directors and shareholders alongside Dean Hales in a company called Meraki Global Investments Ltd, registered at the same address as Medco Solutions Ltd.
Ross Robertson was an employee of Charles & Gareth Hales at Unispace Global until March 2020.
We also found Ross Robertson responding to Mark Hewlett on LinkedIn.
On New Zealand companies house, Coshield Global Trading Limited shows that its ultimate holding company is Sturli Brands Global Trading Limited. The shareholders of Sturli Brands at the time of the NZ government contract were various entities of UBT (the brethren central business) and Dean Hales.
Summary
The decision by Sante Global to pursue the DHSC via the UK court could be viewed as 'greedy', with the Hales companies having made hundreds of millions in profits from the pandemic contracts. It is of concern that the UK taxpayer who in reality funded all the above UK contracts, could end up footing a bill for £100 million more for a terminated contract.
Company accounts are showing companies that when combined had turnover of billions and as we have highlighted are quite clearly linked. We have not included the connection to another £100 million+ UK contract winner Inivos. We will be reporting the Inivos story separately.
It raises further questions
The story of the Hales business empire and their Covid Contract wins across the globe is in our view very much under reported.
The decision by Sante Global to pursue the DHSC via the UK court could be viewed as 'greedy', with the Hales companies having made hundreds of millions in profits from the pandemic contracts. It is of concern that the UK taxpayer who in reality funded all the above UK contracts, could end up footing a bill for £100 million more for a terminated contract.
Company accounts are showing companies that when combined had turnover of billions and as we have highlighted are quite clearly linked. We have not included the connection to another £100 million+ UK contract winner Inivos. We will be reporting the Inivos story separately.
It raises further questions
- The contracts awarded to companies run by other brethren members, where were they buying from?
- Direct from manufacturers or were they using one of the above Hales companies?
- Did this all start from the contact between Anthony Hazell and Michael Gove, with Unispace Global then being awarded PPE contracts?
The story of the Hales business empire and their Covid Contract wins across the globe is in our view very much under reported.
