Five Lamps

What Five Lamps does

Five Lamps Organisation is a UK charity registered with the Charity Commission (No. 702314) and operating from Stockton-on-Tees in the Tees Valley of North East England, with a secondary retail location in Dunfermline under the Conduit Scotland brand. The organisation delivers an integrated portfolio of social, economic, and financial inclusion services targeted at financially excluded individuals, vulnerable young people, elderly and disabled adults, NEET youth, and aspiring entrepreneurs. Core service lines include youth programmes delivered through The Youthy facility (All Stars for ages 7-11, YUSA for ages 11-18, and VIBE for young people with disabilities aged 7-21), CQC-rated 'Good' domiciliary and home-from-hospital care, an enterprise and business advisory team supporting 1,000+ people into self-employment annually, and an FCA-regulated responsible lending operation (Conduit / Conduit Scotland) that has disbursed over £15 million in affordable personal loans to more than 25,000 individuals over the past five years.

The underlying operating model is a dual-entity structure: Five Lamps Organisation holds the charitable activities and an FCA permission (FRN 656112), while its wholly-owned trading subsidiary Five Lamps Trading Limited (FRN 791848) carries out regulated consumer lending, with profits gifted back to the charity. Revenue is generated through a blend of UK and EU public-sector grants and contracts (DWP New Enterprise Allowance, European Social Fund, European Regional Development Fund, Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Care at Home contract), lottery and charitable trust funding (National Lottery Community Fund, Children in Need), corporate donations (Warburtons, CF Fertilisers, Persimmion Homes), enterprise loan interest, and service fees. Distribution is community-based via physical locations, telephone helplines, partner referral networks, and online enquiry forms.

In October 2025 Five Lamps Trading Ltd applied to withdraw its FCA permissions, and in May 2026 the parent charity paused all new lending to reposition itself as a smaller, community-focused lender, marking a strategic retreat from the 2018-2023 scaled UK lending proposition that had been backed by a £5 million social-investment round.

Name

Five Lamps

Legal name

The Five Lamps Organisation

Website

https://fivelamps.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Five Lamps is a UK non-profit charity based in Stockton-on-Tees delivering integrated social, financial, and economic inclusion services — including youth programmes, home care, enterprise support, and FCA-regulated responsible lending (Conduit) — to vulnerable communities across the Tees Valley.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Social and Financial Inclusion Services

NAICS

Social Assistance (624), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Child and Youth Services (62411)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Loan Brokers (6163)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Inclusion & Consumer Empowerment (Banking Access, Credit Building) (BPAGALAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC), Financial Assistance & Benefits Navigation Services (BPAGAEAK)

Keywords

• Community lending services
• Responsible personal loans
• Financial inclusion services
• Youth development programmes
• Domiciliary home care

Headquarters

HQ city

Stockton-on-tees

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Affordable Personal Loans (Conduit/Conduit Scotland): Five Lamps Trading Limited operates as a responsible lender offering fair and affordable personal loans as an alternative to high-cost credit providers. Loans enable people excluded from mainstream banking to access credit and improve their credit score over time. Any profits are gifted back to the charity to support charitable activities.
2. Government Grants and Contracts: Five Lamps receives funding from government sources including DWP (New Enterprise Allowance), European Social Fund, European Regional Development Fund, and local authority contracts for care services.
3. Donations: Charitable donations from individuals, local businesses, and grant-making organisations to support various community programmes including home care, youth services, and financial inclusion activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Five Lamps delivers an integrated range of social, economic and financial inclusion services for vulnerable and financially excluded residents of the Tees Valley and North East England. Through its charity arm it provides youth clubs at The Youthy, domiciliary home care (CQC-rated Good) and Home from Hospital support, while its trading subsidiary historically offered affordable personal loans under the Conduit and Conduit Scotland brands as a responsible alternative to high-cost credit. Enterprise and business startup support, employment coaching and financial inclusion advice round out the offering, with profits from lending gifted back to the charity.

Product overview

Five Lamps is a charity organization operating as a dual-entity structure comprising Five Lamps Organisation (the charity arm) and Five Lamps Trading Limited (the financial services subsidiary). The charity provides an integrated range of social, economic, and financial inclusion services including youth clubs (The Youthy with All Stars, YUSA, and VIBE programmes), home care services, and enterprise/business support. The trading subsidiary operates consumer lending brands Conduit and Conduit Scotland, offering affordable personal loans as an alternative to high-cost credit. In May 2026, Five Lamps announced a strategic shift from large-scale UK-wide lending to becoming a smaller, community-focused lender.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Five Lamps Organisation (Charity) Main charity entity providing integrated social inclusion activities including youth services, home care, financial inclusion, and enterprise support across the UK.
• Conduit Responsible Personal Loans Fair and affordable personal loans offered by Five Lamps Trading Ltd as a responsible alternative to high-cost credit providers, enabling people excluded from mainstream banking to access credit and improve their credit score over time.
• Conduit Scotland Personal Loans Personal loan service operating in Scotland, offering affordable loans as an alternative to high-cost credit providers for financially excluded Scottish customers.
• The Youthy Youth Facility Purpose-built youth facility opened in 2002 providing evening activities for young people aged 7-21 years to raise confidence and aspiration.
• All Stars Youth Club Youth club for young people aged 7 to 11 years, open on Wednesdays with onsite tuck shop.
• Youth United Stockton Alliance (YUSA) Youth club for young people aged 11 to 18 years, open on Thursdays with free entry.
• VIBE Special Needs Youth Club Youth club for young people aged 7 to 21 years with physical and learning disabilities, open on Tuesdays and Fridays with onsite cafe.
• Five Lamps Home Care Provides effective, safe, caring and responsive domiciliary care service for residents in the Stockton-on-Tees area, delivered under the Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Care at Home contract.
• Home from Hospital Service Supports individuals discharged from hospital, providing assistance during the recovery period; part-funded by the National Lottery Community Fund for 3 years.
• Enterprise and Business Support Supports individuals into self-employment through workshops, training, mentoring, one-to-one support and access to finance including enterprise loans from £250 to £100,000.
• Financial Inclusion Services FCA-regulated products and services providing financial inclusion support, including advice on debt management and affordable personal loans.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 25,000 individuals and families supported in five years
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council - Care at Home ContractcoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 15 May 2018Won competitive tender for primary and secondary provider status on Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council's Care at Home contract.
• Start Up Loans CompanycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 August 2016Delivery Partner providing government-backed personal loans for business purposes. Loans available to businesses yet to launch or already trading across all UK regions.
• Stockton Borough CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 June 2014Working in partnership to support young people through YES Project (Youth Employment Support) engaging 14-19 year olds NEET. Also partner for Home Care tender and other community services.
• MyBnkcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 September 2013Partnership to deliver MyBnk financial education programmes including Money Twist, Enterprise-in-a-Box, and Business Battle to schools across the North East.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Toynbee Hall: London-based charity delivering a comparable multi-service model combining financial inclusion (debt advice, money coaching), youth services, and adult learning programmes. Closely analogous to Five Lamps in combining regulated financial advice with community-facing social services under one charity umbrella.
• Fair for You: Not-for-profit community lender providing affordable credit to financially excluded households as an alternative to high-cost lenders — directly comparable to Five Lamps Trading's Conduit brand before its FCA withdrawal. Both target the same vulnerable customer segment with a responsible-lending value proposition.
• Moneyline: UK Community Development Finance Institution (CDFI) offering affordable loans to people excluded from mainstream credit. Direct competitor in the responsible-lending CDFI space, sharing the same regulatory regime, customer base, and impact-investor funding model as Five Lamps Trading.
• StepChange Debt Charity: UK's leading debt advice charity serving financially excluded individuals. Comparable on the financial inclusion / debt advisory mission that anchors Five Lamps' responsible lending and FCA-regulated financial inclusion services.
• Home Instead: Large UK home care provider offering domiciliary care services for older adults — directly comparable to Five Lamps Home Care, sharing the same CQC-regulated care-at-home operating model and local authority contract bidding dynamics.

Broad incumbents

• Big Issue Invest: Social investment arm of Big Issue that has directly backed Five Lamps. Operates as both an investor and a broader social-enterprise funder; comparable as the larger institutional social-investment ecosystem in which Five Lamps participates.
• Catch22: National social business delivering youth employment, education, and social justice services with significant ESF/ERDF contract exposure. Operates a similar multi-service charity model at much larger scale, comparable on the youth and NEET employment services lines.
• Locality: National membership network for community-led organisations providing infrastructure, funding access, and policy support. Comparable as a larger umbrella supporting community-based charities of the type Five Lamps operates in the Tees Valley.
• The Riverside Group: Major UK housing and care provider offering supported living, home care, and community services. Comparable as a larger organisation combining care services with community-facing programmes, including financial inclusion and youth engagement activities.
• The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth charity providing enterprise support, employment programmes, and personal development for young people including NEET cohorts. Comparable on the YEI/enterprise support and NEET-targeted youth employment work that Five Lamps delivers across the Tees Valley.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Five_Lamps
• Facebookfacebook.com/fivelamps
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/five-lamps

Compliance9 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles11 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors8 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 Five Lamps