Audit Phase: V-ECON (Economic Forensics)
Subject: The Very Group Limited (Companies House: 04730752)
Prepared: May 2026
Evidence basis: Research memo dated May 2026; training knowledge to April 2026. Live web search was unavailable during research. All findings reflect the evidentiary standard applied in the research memo.
The Very Group is a pure-play UK digital retailer with no grocery or fresh produce operations.36 Its product categories span fashion, electricals, home goods, toys, beauty, and sports. This model eliminates entire classes of agricultural and commodity sourcing risk that would otherwise be relevant to an Israel/occupied-territory supply chain audit.
No public evidence has been identified of any direct commercial relationship between The Very Group and Israeli agricultural exporters, including Mehadrin, Hadiklaim, Galilee Export, or Agrexco successor entities. The entity trading as “The VeryGreen Grocer” (theverygreengrocer.co.uk) is a wholly separate, unrelated independent London-based vegetable-box business with no corporate connection to The Very Group.27
Very.co.uk retails gift hamper products from third-party brands including Spicers of Hythe.2324 Medjool dates are a documented component of UK Christmas hampers, and a significant proportion of global Medjool date supply originates from Israel and Israeli-controlled areas of the Jordan Valley. However, no public evidence has been identified confirming that Spicers of Hythe specifically sources dates from Israeli or settlement suppliers. Very exercises no disclosed procurement control over sub-ingredient sourcing by third-party hamper brands it retails. This remains an unconfirmed indirect pathway; confirmation would require live access to Spicers of Hythe supplier disclosures or Very’s supply chain audit records.
The Very Group’s marketplace carries confirmed product listings for two brands with documented connections to Israeli manufacturing:
No public evidence has been identified of a wholly-owned Very Group subsidiary acting as importer of record for Israeli-origin goods. Companies House records contain no registered entity named “Very Israel Ltd” or equivalent.28 For both SodaStream and Keter, UK-domiciled subsidiaries of those manufacturers are the standard importer-of-record entities under UK customs practice.
The Very Group’s Modern Slavery Statements for FY24 and FY25 reference 19 sourcing countries and participation in the Open Supply Hub framework.910 Neither document contains explicit reference to Israeli-origin supply chains, settlement industrial zones, or occupied-territory sourcing. No corroborating evidence connects these omissions to a deliberate non-disclosure posture — the group’s non-food model means most conventional settlement-produce exposure categories are structurally inapplicable.
UK law — as retained from EU Directive 1169/2011 and set out in the DEFRA 2020 technical notice on labeling of produce from Israeli settlements — requires that goods produced in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, Gaza, the Golan Heights, or East Jerusalem be labeled as originating from those specific territories rather than from “Israel.” No public evidence of HMRC, Trading Standards, or DEFRA enforcement action specifically against The Very Group regarding settlement-origin product labeling has been identified.
SodaStream operated its primary manufacturing facility at the Mishor Adumim industrial zone in the West Bank — an Israeli settlement — until it closed that factory in August 2015 and relocated production to the Idan HaNegev/Lehavim facility in southern Israel.1530 West Bank manufacturing by SodaStream is therefore confirmed discontinued as of 2015. Current SodaStream products retailed by Very are manufactured at the Lehavim facility, which lies within Israel’s pre-1967 borders. No current settlement-origin labeling risk attaches to SodaStream products stocked by Very on the basis of available evidence.
Keter Group has documented manufacturing operations at the Barkan Industrial Zone in the West Bank, confirmed by Who Profits29 and Corporate Watch documentation.19 Wikipedia’s Keter Group entry corroborates Barkan-area operations.16 Most NGO documentation on Keter’s Barkan operations dates from the 2015–2020 period; whether manufacturing at Barkan continues at full operational scale as of 2024–2026 requires current-period confirmation unavailable without live access. If Keter goods sold through Very are manufactured at Barkan and labeled “Made in Israel” rather than “West Bank” or “Israeli settlement,” this would constitute a labeling compliance concern under UK post-Brexit regulations. No specific UK enforcement action or regulatory finding against Very relating to Keter labeling has been identified in public records.
Ahava’s primary cosmetics manufacturing and mineral extraction operations are conducted at the “Dead Sea Laboratories” facility located at Mitzpe Shalem, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank’s Dead Sea basin.1718 Ahava’s extraction of Dead Sea minerals from this settlement location is confirmed by Who Profits and consistent with the company’s own published facility disclosures.18 The prior research asserts Ahava products are listed on Very.co.uk, but direct confirmation of current Ahava product listings on Very.co.uk could not be independently verified without live web access. If confirmed as current stock, settlement-origin labeling compliance for these products would be a material regulatory consideration.
The prior research identifies Premier Dead Sea and -417 brand products as potential Very.co.uk listings.32 No independent corroboration of current Premier Dead Sea or -417 listings on Very.co.uk has been identified. These brands are confirmed to exist and operate in connection with Dead Sea mineral extraction in occupied territory, but their presence on Very.co.uk at the time of this audit is unconfirmed.
No public evidence has been identified of any stated Very Group corporate policy regarding the sourcing, stocking, or labeling of goods from occupied or contested territories.91036
No public evidence has been identified of The Very Group holding direct capital investments within Israel or the occupied territories — no acquisitions, manufacturing assets, logistics facilities, data centres, or real estate holdings in Israel are disclosed in any available filing.3628
The Carlyle Group acquired a controlling equity stake in The Very Group in approximately November 2025, exercising step-in rights on existing debt and injecting additional capital. The transaction was reported at a total enterprise valuation of approximately £2.5 billion.12 Carlyle had previously extended a reported £125 million debt facility to the group prior to conversion.12 Carlyle is a US-domiciled, NYSE-listed private equity firm with approximately $426 billion in AUM as of 2024–2025 disclosures.4
In 2021, Carlyle Europe Technology Partners (CETP) IV acquired LiveU, an Israeli live-video transmission technology company headquartered in Kfar Saba, Israel, for approximately $400 million.335 This acquisition is confirmed by multiple trade press sources. LiveU’s primary commercial market is broadcast media (live news transmission using cellular-bonded video); it is not classified as a defence contractor, though cellular-bonding video transmission technology is dual-use capable. LiveU remains a Carlyle portfolio asset as of available evidence.333
The Very Group and LiveU sit within the same Carlyle general partner universe. They are held in separate legal fund vehicles, and profit flows from Very do not flow directly into LiveU. However, both assets contribute to the overall performance and carry calculations of Carlyle’s European investment activities managed by the same GP. The precise identification of the specific Carlyle fund vehicle holding Very’s equity — and whether it is co-mingled with LiveU at the fund level — has not been publicly confirmed.124
Carlyle holds or has held a significant stake in StandardAero, an aviation maintenance, repair, and overhaul company servicing both commercial and military aircraft.34 No evidence establishes a direct relationship between StandardAero’s contracts and Israeli defence or commercial procurement.
Prior research claimed Carlyle “explored acquisitions” of NSO Group (the Israeli surveillance technology company). This claim has not been independently corroborated by any source in available training knowledge and is treated as unverified and discarded for purposes of this audit.
IMI is an Abu Dhabi-based investment vehicle associated with Abu Dhabi Media Investment Corporation (ADMIC), linked to Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan.31 Available reporting describes IMI as a “key stakeholder and lender” in The Very Group following the Carlyle transaction,1 though the precise post-transaction equity versus debt position of IMI has not been fully disclosed in public documents. Whether IMI retains residual equity (as distinct from debt) in The Very Group post-Carlyle conversion is not confirmed.
IMI operates a joint venture with RedBird Capital Partners called RedBird IMI. This entity pursued the acquisition of The Daily Telegraph in the UK in 2024, which was ultimately blocked by the UK government on media plurality grounds.57
RedBird Capital Partners (distinct from the RedBird IMI JV) co-invested with the Azrieli Group (Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: AZRG), Israel’s largest publicly traded real estate conglomerate, in Compass Datacenters. This investment has been fully exited — Brookfield Infrastructure and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan acquired Compass Datacenters from RedBird Capital Partners and the Azrieli Group.6 The chain of connection from The Very Group to the Azrieli Group runs as follows: Very Group → IMI (stakeholder/lender) → RedBird IMI (JV) → RedBird Capital Partners (JV partner) → Azrieli Group (former co-investor in Compass, now exited). This represents a multi-step indirect network relationship, not a direct investment link, and the underlying Compass co-investment has been exited.
IMI’s parent sovereign ecosystem (Abu Dhabi/UAE) announced a $10 billion bilateral investment fund with Israel following the Abraham Accords in 2020.25 UAE–Israel economic normalisation has continued through 2025 despite the Gaza conflict.26 This geopolitical context is material to understanding IMI’s institutional orientation but does not constitute a direct financial connection between The Very Group and Israeli capital markets.
No public evidence has been identified of The Very Group itself — as distinct from parent Carlyle or stakeholder IMI — holding Israeli sovereign bonds, shares in Israeli-domiciled companies, or Israel-focused investment funds.
No public evidence has been identified of The Very Group operating offices, sales operations, warehouses, retail locations, contact centres, or technology facilities within Israel or the occupied territories. The group operates exclusively as a UK-market digital retailer.36
No public evidence has been identified of The Very Group characterising Israel as a customer market — minor, strategic, or otherwise — in any annual report, investor presentation, or press release. Israel does not appear as a disclosed export or served geography in the group’s financial reporting.3614
No public evidence identified. Not applicable given the absence of any identified Israeli operational presence.
BioCatch is an Israeli-founded behavioral biometrics company headquartered in Tel Aviv, providing fraud detection and account security services to financial institutions and credit-offering retailers.8 Its founding and senior technical leadership have documented connections to IDF intelligence signals unit (Unit 8200), a background BioCatch discloses on its own public materials.8
The prior research identified a job listing for a “Fraud Detection Analyst” at The Very Group that purportedly required candidates to “analyse BioCatch data.” However, the cited URL links to a general Jobsite search results page, not a preserved specific posting, and a secondary citation — a Scribd document described as an “IBM revenue report” — has no evident connection to a BioCatch client list and is assessed as a likely erroneous citation.8 Very’s use of BioCatch is plausible given BioCatch’s significant UK financial services and retail credit client base, but the primary cited evidence is unverifiable without live web confirmation. This finding requires live corroboration before it can be treated as confirmed.
The Very Group’s confirmed use of TransUnion for credit risk decisioning is established by TransUnion UK’s published case study.11 TransUnion is a US-domiciled company (NYSE: TRU) with no Israeli state ownership.
Riskified (NYSE: RSKD) is an Israeli-founded e-commerce fraud prevention company with significant R&D operations in Tel Aviv.20 The prior research characterised Very as appearing “in data aggregations of companies using Riskified’s partner networks” but qualified this as inferential. No verified public evidence of a direct procurement relationship between The Very Group and Riskified has been identified. This finding is treated as speculative.
The prior research correctly identified a disambiguation issue. A testimonial from Paul Hornby (then Digital Customer Experience Director, The Very Group) on the Constructor platform referred to “true glassbox AI” as a description of explainable/transparent AI architecture — not a reference to Glassbox Ltd (TASE: GLBX), the Israeli digital experience analytics company.22 No confirmed procurement relationship between The Very Group and Glassbox Ltd has been identified.
Granulate, an Israeli cloud workload optimization startup, was acquired by Intel for approximately $650 million in 2022.21 No direct evidence of The Very Group using Granulate has been identified. This remains speculative.
The Very Group traces its origins to Littlewoods, a UK catalogue retail and football pools company founded in Liverpool in 1923 by Sir John Moores. The group was subsequently acquired by the Barclay family and rebranded progressively through Shop Direct Group to The Very Group. The group has no Israeli founding history and no acquired entity with Israeli-origin operations or intellectual property.3628
The Very Group Limited is incorporated in England and Wales (Companies House number 04730752) with its registered office in Liverpool.28 It maintains no dual or legacy headquarters in Israel and has no registered subsidiary or branch in Israel on the public record.2836
Following the Carlyle transaction in approximately November 2025:12
No public evidence has been identified of Israeli state ownership, Israeli government board appointees, Israeli government contracts with The Very Group, or designation of The Very Group as critical national infrastructure within Israel.3628 Carlyle is a privately-held US PE firm with no state ownership.4 IMI is a state-linked Abu Dhabi entity, not Israeli.31
No public evidence has been identified of golden shares, founder shares, or charter restrictions tying The Very Group’s operations or mission to the Israeli state or any Israeli institutional interest.
No public evidence has been identified of The Very Group disclosing revenue generated from or attributed to Israel as a customer market. Israel is not a disclosed operating geography in any available financial filing, including the Q2 FY25 interim accounts.1436
Under the post-November 2025 Carlyle ownership structure, profits generated by The Very Group flow upward to Carlyle’s fund structure — Carlyle Europe Technology Partners or the relevant successor fund vehicle — which is a US/global private equity vehicle.124 No profits generated by The Very Group flow into Israel-domiciled entities, as the group has no Israeli subsidiary or operating presence. Carlyle fund structures holding The Very Group and those holding LiveU (the Israeli portfolio asset) are separate legal entities; however, both contribute to the aggregate performance metrics managed by Carlyle’s European GP.34 The specific fund vehicle holding Very equity has not been publicly identified, and whether it is co-mingled at fund level with LiveU or other Israeli-connected assets remains unconfirmed.
IMI’s position as lender and/or stakeholder means that interest payments and/or equity distributions from The Very Group’s capital structure flow to an Abu Dhabi sovereign-linked entity.131 Given the UAE’s institutional framework of economic normalisation with Israel — including the $10 billion bilateral investment fund announced following the Abraham Accords25 — capital flowing to IMI enters an institutional ecosystem that maintains active investment relationships with Israel, though no direct onward transmission of Very Group profits to Israeli entities has been identified.
No public evidence has been identified of any assessment characterising The Very Group as economically significant within any sector of the Israeli economy. The group has no identified operational, employment, or fiscal presence in Israel.
https://retail-systems.com/rs/The_Very_Group_Changes_Hands_As_Carlyle_Takes_Control.php ↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩↩
https://www.k2-partners.com/insights/carlyles-25-billion-takeover-of-very-group-signals-end-of-barclay-dynasty-in-british-retail ↩↩↩↩↩↩
https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3912782,00.html ↩↩↩
https://pe-insights.com/redbird-imi-secures-750m-deal-to-back-barclay-familys-telegraph-bid/ ↩
https://www.mccarthy.ca/en/experience/brookfield-infrastructure-and-ontario-teachers-pension-plan-acquires-compass-datacenters-from-redbird-capital-partners-and-azrieli-group ↩
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RedBird_Capital_Partners ↩
https://www.theverygroup.com/files/Sustainability/the-very-group-modern-slavery-statement-fy25.pdf ↩↩
https://www.theverygroup.com/files/Sustainability/The-Very-Group-Modern-Slavery-Statement-2024.pdf ↩↩
https://www.transunion.co.uk/case-study/the-very-group ↩
https://www.very.co.uk/browse/brand–sodastream ↩
https://www.very.co.uk/browse/brand–keter ↩
https://www.theverygroup.com/files/Results/2025/Q2-FY25-Accounts.pdf ↩↩
https://global.ahava.com/ ↩
https://corporatewatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Palestine_CW_report.pdf ↩
https://www.riskified.com/about/ ↩
https://siliconangle.com/2022/03/31/intel-acquires-infrastructure-optimization-startup-granulate-reported-650m/ ↩
https://constructor.com/partners ↩
https://www.very.co.uk/browse/gifts-hampers ↩
https://www.very.co.uk/browse/gifts-hampers/brand–spicers-of-hythe ↩
https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/missions/tel-aviv/media-hub/embassy-news/uae-announces-$10-billion-fund-for-investments-in-israel ↩↩
https://mecouncil.org/blog_posts/five-years-on-uae-israel-normalization-weathers-the-gaza-storm/ ↩
https://theverygreengrocer.co.uk/ ↩
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/04730752 ↩↩↩↩↩↩
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/aug/28/sodastream-closes-west-bank-factory ↩
https://www.premierdeadsea-europe.com/ ↩
https://fintel.io/i/carlyle ↩
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/StandardAero ↩
https://tadviser.com/index.php/Company:LiveU ↩
