What Nudge Community Builders does

Nudge Community Builders is a UK Charitable Community Benefit Society (FCA-registered, one-member-one-vote) founded in September 2017 in Stonehouse, Plymouth by co-founders Wendy Hart and Hannah Sloggett, long-term local residents and volunteers. It acquires, refurbishes and operates derelict or underused buildings along Union Street — currently five properties (three owned: The Clipper 2017, The Millennium Building 2020, C103 2022; two leased: Union Corner and The Plot 2019) — and runs them as subsidised community spaces for small social enterprises, creatives, food vendors, youth organisations and residents. Layered programmes include City Farm House (an indoor urban mushroom and aeroponic farm launched December 2024), the Jabulani food court and Plymouth Jollof Kitchen tenant network, the annual Union Street Party (17 editions), building tours, events and an online retail shop (Shop Nudge) selling limited-edition merchandise and grow kits.

The technology stack is intentionally low-tech and operational rather than digital: a Squarespace website and e-commerce shop, Mailchimp newsletter, organic social media accounts across sub-brands, an in-house Crowdfunder-driven community share-offer mechanism, and bespoke heritage-building stabilisation know-how (asbestos removal, structural work, demountable shed fit-outs) — with the City Farm House indoor mushroom cultivation in C103's old barrel cellar as the only quasi-technical production asset. Nudge has no public API, SDK or developer-facing surface, and no disclosed AI/ML capability.

The business model is a hybrid of community share capital, philanthropic and government grants, and modest recurring commercial income. Community share offers have raised £205,000 (2018, The Clipper) and £300,000 (2020, The Millennium) from 595 members. Major grants include £470,000 from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (2024–2025), support from Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, The Rank Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund, Power to Change, Historic England, the Youth Investment Fund, and Resonance. Commercial revenue streams are small and subsidised: workspace rents at The Plot from £130 per month including bills, The Millennium commercial units at £14 per sqft, Union Corner at £6 per hour for local residents, ticketed events at The Millennium (e.g. "Awakening" sold 2,000+ tickets across nine nights in April 2023), and Shop Nudge retail. Reported impact metrics include 4,000 sqm of space restored, 21 small businesses hosted, 1,479 events over five years and 54,000 attendees.

Name

Nudge Community Builders

Legal name

Nudge Community Builders Ltd

Website

https://nudge.community

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Nudge Community Builders is a Plymouth-based Charitable Community Benefit Society that acquires and operates derelict buildings along Union Street in Stonehouse as subsidised community spaces, food courts, event venues and an indoor urban mushroom farm, serving local residents, micro-businesses, creatives and small social enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Regeneration and Social Enterprise

NAICS

Land Subdivision (23721), Landscaping Services (561730)

SIC

Land Subdividers & Developers (No Cemeteries) (6552), Refuse Systems (4953)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Land Development & Subdivision Homebuilding (Build-to-Sell Communities) (IMAFABAL)

Keywords

• Community regeneration
• Affordable workspace
• Urban mushroom farming
• Community share offers
• Heritage building renovation

Headquarters

HQ city

Plymouth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Infrastructure, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Community share offers: Equity-style community share raises from local members; each shareholder gets one vote regardless of investment size (ranging from £50 to £100,000). £205,000 raised on first share offer for The Clipper in September 2018; £300,000 raised on second share offer for The Millennium in December 2020. The Clipper has 165 shareholders.
2. Grants and philanthropic capital: Mixed grant funding from foundations and government programmes including Esmee Fairbairn Foundation, The Rank Foundation, The National Lottery Community Fund, The Shared Prosperity Fund (£470,000 secured), The Youth Investment Fund, Power to Change, Historic England, Plymouth Octopus Project, and Resonance (loan facility to buy out the original private investor on The Millennium in 2025).
3. Retail shop (Shop Nudge): Independent in-house e-commerce and in-person shop at The Plot selling limited-edition merchandise (mushroom grow kits, apparel, enamel badges, stationery, gift cards) plus gift vouchers valid 12 months. Small-batch production prioritising local suppliers and tenants, with delivery by bike/foot within 1 mile.
4. Workspace rents (The Plot): Subsidised workspace rental income from small social enterprises and creatives occupying individual sheds/units at The Plot (745 sqm). Nudge tops up part of the rent to the landlord to keep space affordable for start-ups, with rents starting at £130 per month (all bills and WiFi included).
5. Commercial space rents (The Millennium): New commercial ground-floor units at The Millennium ranging 1,000–2,500 sqft at £14 per sqft, targeting uses that include opportunities for local young people.
6. Community venue hire (Union Corner): Hourly hire of Union Corner community space from £6 per hour for local residents, supporting events, classes and community activity.
7. Event and venue hire (The Millennium auditorium): Ticketed and hire-based revenue from cultural events, music, cinema, comedy, filming and photography in The Millennium. April 2023 'Awakening' programme sold over 2,000 tickets across nine nights; also hires out space for filming/photography.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Nudge Community Builders is a Charitable Community Benefit Society that acquires, renovates and operates community-owned buildings on Union Street in Plymouth, UK. It provides affordable workspaces, community venues, food hubs, an indoor urban mushroom farm (City Farm House), retail merchandise (Shop Nudge), and an events programme including the annual Union Street Party and Millennium auditorium hires. Capital is raised through community share offers and philanthropic grants.

Product overview

Nudge Community Builders is a Plymouth-based Community Benefit Society (social enterprise), not a single software product. Its offering is a portfolio of physical community-owned buildings and the programmes / events that animate them. The core "platform" is Union Street itself, onto which five buildings are connected: three owned (The Clipper, The Millennium Building and C103) and two leased (Union Corner and The Plot). Layered on top of these buildings are several programmes: City Farm House (an indoor urban farm at C103 producing mushrooms and aeroponic crops, sold through Shop Nudge), the Jabulani food court and Plymouth Jollof Kitchen (food tenants), an annual Union Street Party plus recurring events/tours at The Millennium and C103, a portfolio of online and in-person shop merchandise (Shop Nudge), and the Mistress Plan / Action Cards community-engagement framework supported by the Land Exchange initiative. Together these buildings, programmes and digital storefront form a community-led real-estate, retail and events ecosystem rather than a unified SaaS product.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• City Farm House: Urban farm developed at C103 providing fresh produce, grow-your-own mushroom kits, education, workshops and apprenticeships through production of mushrooms and aeroponic crops
• The Plot
• The Clipper
• C103 (Club 103)
• The Millennium Building
• Union Corner
• Plymouth Jollof Kitchen (PJK)
• Union Street Party

Products and services

• The Plot Co-Working Workspace A 745 sqm leased community-led workspace at 80-84 Union Street offering demountable sheds, shared kitchen, 24/7 access, WiFi and event space to small social enterprises, creatives and community organisations, with subsidised rents from £130 per month including bills and WiFi. Tenants are expected to be present 60% of core opening hours (Tuesday-Saturday 11am-5pm). Currently at capacity with a waiting list.
• Union Corner Community Venue Hire An affordable community venue on Union Street hireable by local residents and community groups from £6 per hour for meetings, classes, events and community activities. Funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
• The Millennium Building Commercial Space Leasing Ground-floor commercial units of 1,000-2,500 sqft in the former 1931 Gaumont Palace building on Union Street, available at £14 per sqft, with a focus on uses that include opportunities for local young people and participation in community-led change.
• The Millennium Auditorium Event and Venue Hire Ticketed cultural events plus hire of The Millennium auditorium and spaces for music nights, cinema, comedy, filming and photography. Monthly tours of the buildings run on the last Friday of the month at midday starting at The Plot.
• Shop Nudge Retail Online and in-person shop at The Plot selling limited-edition merchandise including mushroom grow kits (Grow-Your-Own Blue Oyster Mushrooms Kit £18, Large Grow at Home Kit £25), apparel (Union Corner Bucket Hat £35 handmade by Minski), enamel badges (Love Union Street £3, City Farm House Button Badges £1), stationery and gift cards (£5/£10/£20). Ships UK and Ireland; free local delivery within one mile by bike or foot.
• City Farm House Urban Mushroom Farm An indoor urban mushroom farm at C103 producing fresh Blue Oyster mushrooms grown in recycled hessian bags donated by Owen's Coffee, with grow-your-own kits sold via Shop Nudge plus workshops and apprenticeships. Each kit yields 300+ grams over three cycles.
• The Clipper Café and Community Market Café and community market on Union Street housing Plymouth Jollof Kitchen (a West African food vendor), serving as a venue for private parties, food vendors and community events, with two affordable flats upstairs.
• Nudge Gift Vouchers Gift vouchers available at £5, £10 and £20 tiers, valid for 12 months from purchase and redeemable in Nudge buildings or via the online shop; cannot be exchanged for cash.

Named customers20 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Eat Work ArtflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerOriginal private co-investor in The Millennium Building purchase in 2020 ('we bought The Millennium with Eat Work Art in 2020'). Nudge bought them out in 2025 with Esmee Fairbairn and Resonance financing.
• Plymouth Octopus ProjectcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic partner supporting the Mistress Plan refresh and co-developing the Land Exchange pilot for community-owned land on Union Street and in Stonehouse.
• Plymouth CulturecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed partner in setting up the Land Exchange.
• Plymouth Social Enterprise NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing partner in the Land Exchange; referenced via Rank and Power to Change funding that 'has been supporting social enterprises and community businesses to thrive in the city thanks to the ongoing work of Plymouth Social Enterprise Network.'
• Real IdeascoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed partner in setting up the Land Exchange for community ownership of land.
• Incremental UrbanismminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNational expert engaged via the Community Renewal Fund in 2022 to support the development of the Mistress Plan.
• Vacancy AtlasminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNational expert engaged via the Community Renewal Fund in 2022 to support vacancy data and Mistress Plan development.
• The ScrapstoreminorOthersReceives revenue funding routed via Nudge's £470,000 Shared Prosperity Fund award.
• LeadworksminorOthersReceives revenue funding routed via Nudge's £470,000 Shared Prosperity Fund award.
• Diversity Business IncubatorcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-located and supported by Nudge; receiving Shared Prosperity Fund revenue support to expand Jabulani into the events and food space next to The Plot. Jabulani was originally founded out of a DBI networking event.
• University of Plymouth (The Greenhouse)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Greenhouse operates inside The Plot as a creative technology hub delivering workshops and one-to-one support for local people; supports the Civic University approach and increases the University's local profile.
• Owen's CoffeeminorOthersLocal Plymouth coffee business donating recycled hessian bags that are then decorated by local people and used to make the Blue Oyster mushroom grow-your-own kits.
• Borrow Don't BuyminorOthersRefurbished 130 digital devices that Nudge distributed to local families during COVID-19 lockdowns.
• 51 Studio (Dave Tetley)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLong-standing brand identity partner. Dave Tetley sits one day a week at The Plot working with Nudge on visual identity; designed the Intro to Nudge booklet and Awakening merchandise. Website footer credits 'Design by 51 Studio'.
• Plymouth City Council (Patrick Knight)coreOthersPatrick Knight, Plymouth City Council's Economy, Partnerships and Regeneration Manager, sits on the Nudge Board. Hannah Sloggett previously worked for Plymouth City Council Planning Department before co-founding Nudge.
• MailchimpcoreTechnology or IntegrationEmail marketing platform powering the monthly Nudge newsletter signup (eep.io/Mailchimp embed). Used for newsletter and event updates.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Castlehaven Community Association: Camden-based community association running a community hub, workspace, café and youth programmes from redeveloped local buildings. Comparable as a small-staff community organisation operating mixed-use community buildings with workspace and events.
• The Ubele Initiative: London-based community enterprise supporting African diaspora-led social enterprises and community-owned spaces. Comparable as a BME-led community enterprise combining workspace, events, food and community development on a single site.
• Ambition Lawrence Weston: Bristol community-led neighbourhood regeneration organisation developing housing, workspace and community assets in Lawrence Weston. Comparable as a place-based community enterprise acquiring and developing property in a single neighbourhood.
• Coin Street Community Builders: London-based community benefit society that owns and operates a mixed-use neighbourhood on the South Bank (residential, retail, cultural, workspace). Directly comparable as a long-established community-owned property and regeneration vehicle combining commercial rents, community space, retail and events.
• Eastside Community Heritage: East London heritage and community organisation running events, training and oral-history programmes in community-owned spaces. Comparable as a place-based community enterprise with cultural/heritage programming and venue hire revenue.
• Hackney Co-operative Developments: East London community co-operative developing community-owned workspace, housing and creative space for local people. Comparable as a co-operative structure acquiring property for community use on a single high street.

Broad incumbents

• Locality: UK national membership body for community-led organisations, providing funding advice, peer support and policy voice. Comparable as the sector body whose members include Nudge, and whose research underpins community-ownership frameworks.
• Social Enterprise UK: UK membership body for social enterprises. Comparable as the broader social-enterprise ecosystem body whose sector definitions, certification and lobbying shape the operating context for Nudge's Community Benefit Society structure.

Regional players

• Real Ideas: Plymouth-based community enterprise running creative workspace, cultural programmes and the Market Hall. Comparable as a regional Plymouth community-business partner with overlapping workspace and events operations.
• Plymouth Octopus Project: Plymouth-based community-led network supporting community-owned food and land projects across the city. Comparable as a regional Plymouth community enterprise collaborator and Land Exchange co-development partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/nudgecommunity
• YouTubeyoutube.com/watch?v=JTIYYXvTpHs
• Facebookfacebook.com/nudgecommunitybuilders
• Instagraminstagram.com/nudgecommunity
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nudgecommunitybuilders

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Nudge Community Builders