Between January 2022 and March 2026, NHS England made payments totalling £47.3 million to a management consultancy called Meridian Advisory Partners. The payments are recorded in NHS England's published accounts. The work they paid for is not.
Guardian In submitted Freedom of Information requests to NHS England in February seeking copies of the contracts underpinning these payments. After three months and two internal reviews, we received documents that were almost entirely redacted. The stated reason for the redactions was "commercial sensitivity". The contracts' duration, scope of work, deliverables and performance metrics were all withheld.
Meridian Advisory Partners was incorporated at Companies House in November 2021 — two months before the first payment from NHS England. Its registered address is a serviced office in Mayfair. Its sole director is listed as a 34-year-old with no prior directorships. Its accounts, filed at the minimum level of detail permitted for a small company, show turnover consistent with the NHS payments but provide no further information about its activities.
We put these findings to NHS England and asked for an explanation of what services Meridian provided and how the contract was awarded. A spokesperson said: "NHS England follows all applicable procurement rules and takes value for money extremely seriously. We are unable to provide further detail on specific commercial arrangements." We asked whether the contract had been subject to competitive tender. The spokesperson did not answer the question.
We also contacted Meridian Advisory Partners directly. We received no response. We attempted to contact the sole director through the registered address. Our letters were returned.
We are continuing to investigate. If you have information about Meridian Advisory Partners or NHS procurement practices, please contact us securely at tips@guardian-in.click.