CEIS Group

What CEIS Group does

CEIS Group, legally Community Enterprise in Scotland, is a Scottish charitable company limited by guarantee (Scottish Charity No. SC010036) founded in 1984 as Strathclyde Community Business. The organisation describes itself as the UK's largest and most experienced social enterprise support agency, delivering bespoke advisory services, workshops, e-learning, and leadership programmes to social enterprises, charities, community organisations, ethnic-minority-led bodies, and academic researchers across Scotland. Its core enterprise-support service portfolio covers business planning, sales and marketing, income generation, finance and funding, board governance, and digital support, complemented by a community support practice focused on place planning.

CEIS operates a hybrid revenue model dominated by Scottish Government programme delivery contracts, most notably the Just Enterprise programme, alongside paid consultancy and international services via the ISEO programme and academic commercialisation via SISO. The majority of just-enterprise services are free to end beneficiaries; income flows from government grants, contracted programme delivery, and fees for specialist advisory work. CEIS does not develop proprietary software platforms; its operating technology is principally standard web, CRM, and e-learning infrastructure. Distribution is direct-to-client through a network of advisers drawn from a dozen third-sector partners, plus workshop and webinar channels.

The organisation's strategic posture is consolidating around a 2024-announced re-founding agenda for 21st-century economic challenges, anchored by a leadership transition in April 2025 that brought Simon Smith into a full-time Executive Director role alongside newly elected Chair Matthew Baqueriza-Jackson. Customer scale is broad but shallow: 8,000+ organisations and 11,000+ individuals supported since 2011 across all Scottish local authorities, operating against a backdrop of a Scottish social-enterprise market generating over £2.3B and supporting 88,000 jobs.

Name

CEIS Group

Legal name

CEIS Group (Community Enterprise in Scotland)

Website

https://ceis.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1984

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CEIS Group is a Scottish charitable company founded in 1984 that delivers business advisory, capacity-building, and programme-management services to social enterprises, charities, and community organisations across Scotland, primarily via Scottish Government-funded programmes.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Snodland

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Scottish Government Funding: CEIS receives core funding from the Scottish Government to deliver programmes such as Just Enterprise, which provides free support to social enterprises and third sector organisations.
2. Programme Delivery Contracts: CEIS delivers contracted programmes including Just Enterprise, ISEO, and SISO, which are funded by government and public sector bodies.
3. Advisory and Consultancy Services: CEIS provides paid consultancy services including financial reviews, strategy facilitation, and board governance support to organisations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

CEIS Group is a Scottish charitable company that provides advisory, training, and capacity-building services to social enterprises, third sector organisations, and community groups. Its core commercial offering comprises seven service lines (Business Planning, Sales & Marketing, Income Generation, Finance & Funding, Board Governance, Digital Support, and Community Support/Place Planning), delivered primarily through Scottish Government-funded programmes such as Just Enterprise and supplemented by paid consultancy engagements.

Product overview

CEIS Group is a social enterprise support organisation offering a portfolio of advisory and support services to social enterprises, third sector organisations, and community groups across Scotland. The core offering consists of six enterprise support services (Business Planning, Sales & Marketing, Income Generation, Finance & Funding, Board Governance, and Digital Support) plus Community Support. CEIS also manages three key partnership programmes: Just Enterprise (a Scottish Government-funded support programme), ISEO (International Social Enterprise Observatory for global growth), and SISO (Social Impact Spin-Outs for academic commercialisation). The organisation positions itself as a consultancy/advisory service rather than a software product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Just Enterprise: Scottish Government-funded programme providing specialist support to social enterprises and third sector organisations in Scotland.
• ISEO
• SISO

Products and services

• Business Planning Support Expert assistance helping social enterprises and third sector organisations develop business plans and strategies to maximise their impact.
• Sales and Marketing Support Specialised support helping social enterprises communicate their message effectively in crowded marketplaces.
• Income Generation Expert guidance to diversify revenue streams, secure funding, and ensure long-term organisational sustainability.
• Finance and Funding Financial expertise and guidance to secure funding, manage finances effectively, and achieve long-term sustainability.
• Board Governance Comprehensive support covering board development, evolutions, and succession planning to strengthen organisational foundations.
• Digital Support Guidance to navigate the digital landscape and leverage technology to maximise organisational impact.
• Community Support Support services including place planning to help communities develop and thrive.
• Just Enterprise Scottish Government-funded programme providing specialist support to start, strengthen, or grow social enterprises through bespoke one-to-one support, workshops, e-learning, and leadership programmes.
• International Social Enterprise Observatory (ISEO) Programme supporting Scottish social enterprises in international expansion and supporting international social enterprises to expand into Scotland, including study visits.
• SISO - Social Impact Spin-Outs Service helping turn academic research with social impact into sustainable social enterprises, offering bespoke one-to-one support alongside university commercialisation teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• Participating organisations increase turnover by £50,000 on average and create 2 new full-time jobs
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 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

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Just EnterprisecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJust Enterprise is a Scottish Government-funded programme delivered by CEIS and partners. It provides specialist support to social enterprises and enterprising third sector organisations across Scotland through a network of advisers from diverse third sector partners.
• International Social Enterprise Observatory (ISEO)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerISEO is managed by CEIS and draws on specialist delivery partners under the 'Team Scotland' approach, including Challenges Group, Social Enterprise World Forum CIC, Social Enterprise Academy, Scottish Development International, and Scotland's three national enterprise support agencies.
• SISO (Social Impact Spin-Outs)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSISO turns academic research with social impact into successful and sustainable social enterprises. It is the first programme to introduce asset-locked social enterprise as a business model for start-up or spin-out from academia.
• Challenges GroupmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerKey partner in ISEO delivering international expansion support and growth finance for social enterprises, including through The Venture Lab.
• Social Enterprise World Forum CICmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCEIS played central role in founding SEWF in 2008. SEWF has grown into a major global event for sharing best practices of social enterprises from across the world.
• Social Enterprise AcademymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ISEO's Team Scotland approach, contributing to international social enterprise support.
• Scottish Development InternationalmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner in ISEO's Team Scotland approach supporting international trade and development for social enterprises.
• Scotland's Three National Enterprise Support AgenciesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartners in ISEO's Team Scotland approach for delivering comprehensive enterprise support.
• DSL Business FinancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDSL is the only Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) in Scotland with a focus on SME lending. Since 2000, DSL has provided more than £33 million of loan funding to create and maintain 7,462 jobs in 1,745 SMEs.
• CEMVO ScotlandmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-term partner leading Just Enterprise's business support service for ethnic minority-led organisations.
• Glasgow City CouncilmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGlasgow City Council's People Make Glasgow Communities Programme works with CEIS to support organisations taking over community assets.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Social Enterprise Academy: Provides learning and development programmes for social entrepreneurs and leaders; an ISEO 'Team Scotland' partner of CEIS and a close functional peer in the leadership training and capacity-building space.
• Development Trusts Association Scotland (DTAS): Membership body for community-ownership and development trusts in Scotland, providing governance, funding and asset-transfer support — overlapping CEIS's community-enterprise and place-planning services.
• The Young Foundation: UK charity developing and supporting social enterprises and innovative ventures, including research, programmes and advisory. Closely comparable to CEIS in the social-innovation capacity-building space.
• UnLtd: UK-wide foundation supporting early-stage social entrepreneurs with funding, mentoring and development programmes. Comparable in the social-enterprise support mission, though operating across the UK rather than Scotland alone.
• Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO): Scotland's national umbrella body for the voluntary sector, offering training, policy, funding advice and digital tools to charities and social enterprises — directly overlapping CEIS's third-sector support remit across Scotland.
• Social Enterprise UK: The UK national membership body for social enterprises, providing policy advocacy, training and support. Closely comparable to CEIS in mission, though UK-wide rather than Scotland-only, and more advocacy-led than direct advisory.
• School for Social Entrepreneurs: UK charity running learning programmes, mentoring and grants for social entrepreneurs. Comparable as a capacity-building and training provider for social-enterprise founders.
• Cooperatives UK: UK trade body supporting co-operative and mutual enterprises with advice, training, and policy advocacy — adjacent to CEIS's support remit for community and trading social enterprises.
• The Big Issue Invest: Social-investment arm of The Big Issue providing loans and investments to social enterprises and charities. Comparable in supporting SE sustainability, though with a capital-markets rather than advisory angle.

Regional players

• Wales Co-operative Centre: Provides business support, training and advisory services to co-operatives and social enterprises in Wales. Functionally very similar to CEIS but geographically distinct, operating in a different UK nation.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ceisgroup
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cois-group

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors

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 CEIS Group