“Trust for company employees' children fails public benefit test for charity”
Tobacco Securities Trust Company established a trust to provide education for children of employees and former employees of British-American Tobacco Company and its subsidiaries. The question arose whether this constituted a valid charitable trust for educational purposes.
Whether a trust for the education of children of employees of a particular company or group of companies constitutes a charitable trust, specifically whether such a trust satisfies the requirement of public benefit.
The trust was not charitable. A trust is not charitable if the beneficiaries are defined by reference to their relationship to a particular individual or company, as this creates a personal nexus that defeats the public character required for charity.
This case established the 'personal nexus' test for determining public benefit in charity law, which remains influential in determining whether trusts satisfy the public benefit requirement for charitable status.
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OSCOLA Citation
Oppenheim v Tobacco Securities Trust Co Ltd [1951] AC 297 (HL)
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