PossAbilities CIC

What PossAbilities CIC does

PossAbilities CIC is a UK Community Interest Company spun out of Rochdale Borough Council's Learning Disabilities Service in 2014. It delivers integrated adult social care services—primarily Supported Living & Outreach, Day Services (four Rochdale-based Wellbeing Hubs plus Bradford), Shared Lives, Respite (Harelands House and Leighton House), Employment Services, and dementia care—to adults with learning disabilities, young people leaving care, people with dementia, and people with mental health needs across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and West Yorkshire. The company also operates Cherwell Farm & Wellbeing Garden and the 17-unit Cherwell Green Apartments, which provide both a therapeutic environment and a permanent-housing platform for service users.

The operating model is built on long-term, local-authority-commissioned contracts. The largest disclosed engagement is a £8.5M seven-year contract with Wigan Council (2021), alongside a £1.3M Greater Manchester 'Working Well' mental-health employment partnership with Pure Innovations, smaller contracts across at least nine boroughs, DWP-funded employment programmes, personal-budget respite/day services, and grant income. Technology is primarily operational: a social-care delivery platform, 'The Curiosity Box' digital learning portal, and VR-based facility tours. The business holds two consecutive CQC 'Outstanding' ratings—an outcome achieved by roughly 3% of adult social-care providers—and is led by Chair Donna Hall CBE.

Revenue mechanics are therefore heavily B2G and tender-driven, with multi-year recurring contracts providing visibility but creating concentrated dependency on a small number of public-sector commissioners. Headcount has scaled from 501 (2020/21) to approximately 600 (2022), and the company continues to expand geographically and into adjacent verticals (mental health employment, respite, dementia) while investing in owned physical assets that broaden its service envelope.

Name

PossAbilities CIC

Legal name

PossAbilities CIC

Website

https://possabilities.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

PossAbilities CIC is a UK social enterprise providing integrated supported living, day services, Shared Lives, respite, and employment programmes for adults with learning disabilities, care leavers, and people with dementia across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and West Yorkshire.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Adult Social Care Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Continuing Care at Home (CCaH) / Virtual CCRC Programs (HLADAEAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Continuing Care Retirement Communities (CCRC) with Memory Care (HLADACAD)

Keywords

• Supported living services
• Learning disability care
• Shared lives placements
• Adult social care
• Supported employment services

Headquarters

HQ city

Heywood

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices7 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Local Authority Commissioned Contracts: PossAbilities generates the majority of revenue through formal contracts with local authorities across Greater Manchester, Merseyside, and West Yorkshire. Contracts include a £8.5M seven-year contract with Wigan Council for supported living services. Revenue is recurring over multi-year contract terms and tied to commissioned care provision.
2. Government-Funded Employment Programme Delivery: PossAbilities Employment delivers DWP-funded programmes including Workchoice and Specialist Employability Support (SES) in partnership with Shaw Trust and the European Social Fund. These are government-contracted service delivery arrangements.
3. Respite and Short-Breaks (Personal Budgets): Respite services charged per session, with costs met from individuals' personal budgets. Also includes heavily discounted holiday lodge packages at Ribby Hall Village.
4. Day Services Session Fees: Day services charged per session, which can be met from a person's personal budget if they have one, or funded directly. Day services span four Wellbeing Hubs and Bradford-based services.
5. Shared Lives Carer Payments: Shared Lives carers receive a weekly fee for providing placements and support in their own homes. This is funded through local authority commissioning for shared living arrangements.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

PossAbilities CIC delivers an integrated portfolio of adult social care services for vulnerable people — primarily supported living and outreach, day services across multiple Wellbeing Hubs, Shared Lives family-based placements, respite and short-breaks (including a Ribby Hall Village holiday lodge), and supported employment programmes. Its physical infrastructure includes the Cherwell Farm & Wellbeing Garden and the Cherwell Green Apartments (17 self-contained homes for people with learning disabilities); bespoke digital tools such as The Curiosity Box learning portal support online learning and engagement.

Product overview

PossAbilities CIC is a social enterprise providing integrated social care services to vulnerable people, primarily those with learning disabilities, young people leaving care, and people with dementia. The organisation operates a portfolio of interconnected services including Supported Living & Outreach, Day Services at four Wellbeing Hubs, Shared Lives placements, Respite services at two dedicated houses, and Employment Services helping people into paid work. The organisation also operates physical facilities including the Cherwell Farm & Wellbeing Garden and has developed housing (Cherwell Green Apartments) for 17 people with learning disabilities. Services span Greater Manchester, Merseyside, West Yorkshire, and Bradford areas.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Supported Living & Outreach Services Flexible, person-centred supported living and outreach for young people and adults with learning disabilities, including personal care and tenancy support, across Greater Manchester, Merseyside and West Yorkshire.
• Day Services at Wellbeing Hubs Day services across four Wellbeing Hubs in Rochdale Borough and additional sites in Bradford (The Learning Zone, E4 Life Skills Hub, Springfield Garden) offering art, cookery, music, health and beauty, cycling, voluntary work, gardening and literacy/numeracy for adults with learning and physical disabilities.
• Shared Lives Service Matches vulnerable adults with vetted Shared Lives carers who share their own homes, delivering long-term and short-term placements, day support, home-from-hospital care and dementia care for people with disabilities, older people and those with mental health needs. Carers can earn up to £350 per week.
• Respite, Breaks and Supported Holidays Overnight respite at Harelands House (Heywood) and Leighton House (Littleborough, near Hollingworth Lake), short-break holidays at a Ribby Hall Village lodge offered at heavily discounted rates, day trips and outreach breaks for parents and carers.
• Employment Services (PossAbilities Employment) Specialist employment support for people with learning disabilities, physical/sensory disabilities, autism, mental health conditions and other disabilities, delivered via the Greater Manchester Working Well (GMWW) programme (with Pure Innovations), DWP Workchoice, and Specialist Employability Support (SES) via Shaw Trust across Rochdale, Heywood, Middleton and Greater Manchester.
• Cherwell Green Apartments A purpose-built, £1.8 million development of 17 self-contained homes for people with learning disabilities, each containing a living room, kitchen, wet room and bedroom, owned and operated by PossAbilities CIC on the Cherwell site in Heywood.
• Cherwell Farm & Wellbeing Garden Community wellbeing facility at Head Office featuring pigs, goats, chickens, rabbits, snakes and spiders, alongside a sensory garden, performance space, mud kitchen, dipping pond and growing zones, used in service delivery and community engagement.

Quantifiable outcome

• £4.3 million social value added in 2022-23 (£2 of social value per £10 spent)
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Mutual VenturesminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting Partner · 3 November 2023Facilitated the co-production of PossAbilities' new three-year Engagement and Service Development Strategy, developed through a series of events with service users and staff.
• Liverpool City Region Fair Employment CharterminorOthers · 1 March 2023PossAbilities became a member of the Liverpool City Region Fair Employment Charter, committing to four pillars: Healthy, Fair, Inclusive, and Just workplaces. The Charter aims to make the Liverpool City Region the fairest place in the UK to work and run a business.
• Mutual VenturesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 August 2022Mutual Ventures facilitated the co-production of PossAbilities' Engagement and Service Development Strategy ('A place to make your heart sing') over a series of events with the people PossAbilities supports. Andrew Laird, co-founder of Mutual Ventures, is also a Non-Executive Director on PossAbilities' Board.
• Wigan CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2021Awarded PossAbilities a seven-year, £8.5 million contract to provide supported living services in parts of Wigan borough. This was a competitive tender win and represents one of PossAbilities' largest contracts. The relationship extends PossAbilities' footprint across the North West and West Yorkshire, building on its presence in Rochdale, Widnes, Runcorn, Oldham, Stockport, Trafford, and Calderdale.
• Pure Innovations (Stockport)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2020Partnership with Stockport-based social enterprise Pure Innovations to deliver the three-year, £1.3 million Greater Manchester Working Well contract across Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, and Tameside. Funded by Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Target: 167 people with learning disabilities and 381 people with mental health diagnoses into paid employment.
• Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 January 2019Funder and commissioning partner for the Greater Manchester Working Well Programme (£1.3M, three-year contract), delivered in partnership with Pure Innovations. Represents a step-change in the drive to support people with disabilities into work across Greater Manchester.
• Shaw TrustminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 14 January 2019Shaw Trust is the prime contractor for the DWP-funded Workchoice Programme and Specialist Employability Support (SES), with PossAbilities as a sub-contractor delivering services throughout Rochdale Borough, alongside 3SC and the Royal National College for the Blind, co-funded by the European Social Fund.

Scale indicators15 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Dimensions: Specialist provider of support for people with learning disabilities and autism, including supported living and residential services. Direct comparable on commissioning model, CQC framework focus, and digital learning initiatives for service users.
• Hft (Home Farm Trust): National charity providing supported living, residential care, and Shared Lives for people with learning disabilities. Direct comparable on supported living model, CQC ratings focus, and local authority commissioning model.
• Turning Point: UK social enterprise providing learning disability, mental health, and substance misuse services. Overlaps with PossAbilities on supported living, employment support, and Shared Lives, particularly in the North West where both compete for local authority contracts.
• Lifeways: Specialist provider of supported living and residential care for adults with learning disabilities, autism, and complex needs. Comparable on CQC-rated operational model and local authority commissioning across English regions.
• The Regard Group: UK provider of supported living and residential services for people with learning disabilities, mental health needs, and complex care. Direct comparable on service model, local authority commissioning, and CQC-rated operations.
• United Response: UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs through supported living, Shared Lives, and employment services. Most directly comparable as a mission-driven, multi-region provider competing for similar local authority contracts in the North West and nationally.
• Pure Innovations: Stockport-based social enterprise providing employment support and disability services, currently PossAbilities' delivery partner on the £1.3M Greater Manchester Working Well contract. Most direct operational peer as a co-delivery partner in overlapping geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Mencap: UK's leading charity for people with learning disabilities, providing supported living, residential care, employment support, and advocacy. Much larger scale but comparable service mix and target population.
• National Autistic Society: Major UK charity providing services for autistic people including supported living, employment programmes, and day services. Comparable employment support model (analogous to PossAbilities' Workchoice/SES delivery).
• Voyage Care: Large national provider of supported living and residential care for people with learning disabilities, autism, and complex needs. Operates at significantly greater scale than PossAbilities and competes in overlapping geographies for local authority contracts.

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/poss_Abilities
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCk4dSKAN0tc-T19VE1Rdiwg
• Facebookfacebook.com/PossAbilities-278808465637893

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 PossAbilities CIC