Fat Macy's

What Fat Macy's does

Fat Macy's is a London-based registered charity (no. 1173688) and social enterprise founded in 2016 that runs the Milestone Programme, a four-stage pathway supporting people experiencing homelessness from temporary accommodation into employment and stable housing. The programme comprises a six-week cohort-based Training Academy delivering hospitality and employability skills alongside a Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene qualification, followed by one-to-one employment support, a Move On grant of up to £1,500 to cover rental deposits and moving costs, and up to one year of post-move resettlement support. Beneficiaries are referred by front-line partners including temporary accommodation providers (e.g., YMCA Crouch End), local authorities, and charities across London.

The organisation funds the programme through a blended revenue model combining charitable donations (with tiered giving at £10, £20, £50, £100), a corporate and private events catering business (Fat Macy's Catering) serving clients including Coutts, L'Oréal, UBS, LSE, Donmar Warehouse, and Sadler's Wells, a Shoreditch natural wine bar and Lebanese-inspired restaurant (Sohaila) operating at 232 Shoreditch High Street as a public-facing social enterprise and training venue, and an e-commerce shop selling Lebanese pantry staples, hampers, and gift cards. The technology stack is minimal: no proprietary platform, no AI/ML components, and no mobile app are described; operations rely on a Squarespace website, standard e-commerce, and direct enquiry channels ([email protected], [email protected], [email protected]).

Fat Macy's is led by founders Meg Doherty (Founding Director & Chief Executive) and Nathalie Moukarzel (Co-founder & Business Director), with a headcount of 1-10 employees. The organisation has received significant earned media coverage (The Guardian, BBC Three, Vice, The Times, Reuters, New Statesman) and has raised capital via a 2017 crowdfunding round of approximately $45,960, but carries no disclosed private equity or venture backing. All services are free to participants, including travel expenses, and the programme operates exclusively within London.

Name

Fat Macy's

Legal name

Fat Macy's

Website

https://fatmacys.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Fat Macy's is a London-based registered charity and social enterprise running the Milestone Programme, a free hospitality training and resettlement pathway for people experiencing homelessness, funded by catering, a Shoreditch restaurant (Sohaila), and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Social Enterprise Catering: Fat Macy's operates a catering business delivering hand-crafted menus prepared by trainees and professional chefs. Catering generates revenue from corporate and private events, weddings, team away-days, and private dinners across London. The catering team also includes venue hire at the Sohaila restaurant for private events and wine tastings.
2. Donations and Charitable Funding: Fat Macy's receives donations from supporters to fund the Milestone Programme. Donation tiers are listed (£10, £20, £50, £100) targeting individual supporters. The charity is registered (company 10176379, charity 1173688).
3. Retail Product Sales: Fat Macy's operates an online shop selling Lebanese pantry staples, Christmas hampers, and treats including granola (£10), harissa (£6.50), dukkah (£6.50), and gift cards (£25+). Proceeds support the training programme.
4. Social Enterprise Restaurant — Sohaila: Sohaila is a natural wine bar and Lebanese-inspired restaurant in Shoreditch operated as a social enterprise site. It serves as both a training venue for trainees and a revenue-generating restaurant open to the public.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Fat Macy's is a charity and social enterprise that supports people experiencing homelessness in London through its Milestone Programme, a long-term pathway combining a six-week Training Academy (with Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification), tailored employment support, Move On grants of up to £1,500, and up to one year of post-move resettlement support. The programme is funded and delivered through trading activities: the Sohaila natural wine bar and Lebanese-inspired restaurant in Shoreditch, a corporate and private events catering service operating across London since 2016, and an online shop selling Lebanese pantry staples, hampers, and gift cards.

Product overview

Fat Macy's is a charity and social enterprise operating as a unified portfolio of hospitality businesses that fund and deliver their core Milestone Programme. The offering consists of the Milestone Programme (a 4-stage initiative: Training Academy, employment transition, Move On grant, and resettlement support), supplemented by social enterprise venues including the Sohaila restaurant and Fat Macy's Catering service, and a Shop selling Lebanese pantry products. The restaurants and catering operations serve as training venues where programme participants gain hands-on hospitality experience, while the Shop provides additional funding through product sales. The Training Academy delivers a 6-week structured programme with Level 2 Food Safety & Hygiene qualification, after which participants receive ongoing one-to-one support, access to Move On grants (up to £1,500), and up to one year of post-move resettlement support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sohaila: Natural wine bar and Lebanese-inspired restaurant located in Shoreditch, London, operated as Fat Macy's social enterprise
• Milestone Programme
• Training Academy

Products and services

• Milestone Programme Free, long-term initiative supporting people living in temporary accommodation in London towards secure employment, stable housing and better personal wellbeing, combining a six-week Training Academy (with Level 2 Food Hygiene qualification), one-to-one employment support, a Move On grant of up to £1,500, and up to one year of post-move resettlement support.
• Fat Macy's Catering Corporate, office, events, weddings, and home catering service across London, delivering hand-crafted bespoke menus prepared by programme trainees and professional chefs.
• Sohaila Restaurant Natural wine bar and Lebanese-inspired restaurant in Shoreditch, London, operating as a Fat Macy's social enterprise training venue and public-facing restaurant, with private hire available for events and wine tastings.
• Fat Macy's Online Shop E-commerce shop selling Lebanese-inspired pantry staples, Christmas hampers, baked goods, and gift cards, with proceeds supporting the Milestone Programme.
• Fat Macy's Christmas Hamper Christmas gift hamper priced at £30, containing Lebanese pantry staples and treats, with proceeds supporting the Fat Macy's programme.
• Cinnamon & Almond Granola House-made Cinnamon & Almond Granola priced at £10, sold as a pantry staple supporting the Fat Macy's programme.
• Cardamom Shortbread Cardamom-flavoured shortbread priced at £6.50, sold as a Lebanese-inspired baked treat.
• Harissa Lebanese hot pepper paste priced at £6.50, part of the pantry staple product line.
• Hazelnut Dukkah Nut and spice blend condiment priced at £6.50, part of the Lebanese pantry staples product line.
• Gift Card Gift vouchers available from £25, redeemable against catering or shop products.

Quantifiable outcome

• Beneficiaries are supported from homelessness through training and employment to stable private rented housing, with up to one year of post-move resettlement support to sustain tenancy.
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Brookfield PropertiescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021Brookfield Properties provided a two-week HR work experience placement for programme graduate Amika. Amika worked alongside a larger corporate HR team at Brookfield, which contributed to her subsequent employment at MTVH Housing Trust.
• YMCA Crouch EndcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerYMCA Crouch End is a temporary accommodation provider where Fat Macy's first-ever trainee, Emmanuel, was living when he joined the programme in 2016. YMCA and similar providers serve as referral partners, identifying and referring suitable residents to the Milestone Programme.
• Temporary Accommodation Providers and Local Authorities (London-wide)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFat Macy's receives referrals from front-line partners including temporary accommodation providers, local authorities, and other charity organisations across London. These partners identify eligible individuals living in temporary accommodation and refer them to the Milestone Programme.
• CouttsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCoutts is a corporate client that has used Fat Macy's catering services for events.
• L'OréalminorGTM or Marketing PartnerL'Oréal is a corporate client that has used Fat Macy's catering services for events.
• Donmar Warehouse theatreminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDonmar Warehouse theatre is a corporate client that has used Fat Macy's catering services for events.
• UBSminorGTM or Marketing PartnerUBS is a corporate client that has used Fat Macy's catering services for events.
• LSE (London School of Economics)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerLSE is a corporate client that has used Fat Macy's catering services for events.
• Sadler's WellsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSadler's Wells is a corporate client that has used Fat Macy's catering services for events.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Clink Charity: UK charity that runs restaurants inside prisons and in the community, training offenders in hospitality — the same charity-restaurant-plus-catering hybrid model as Fat Macy's, with a comparable London/UK footprint.
• Fifteen Foundation (Jamie Oliver): Original UK restaurant model training disadvantaged young people in hospitality. Closely comparable business design: charity, training pipeline, and trading restaurant re-investing surplus into the mission.
• Luminary Bakery: London-based social enterprise bakery training women facing disadvantage, with café sites, catering, and a product range — directly comparable in trading-arm-plus-training hybrid.
• Change Please: UK social enterprise coffee company training people affected by homelessness or prison in barista skills, blending trading revenue with charitable mission — near-identical operating logic to Fat Macy's.
• Emmaus UK: National homelessness charity running social enterprises (furniture recycling, retail) that fund supported housing for formerly homeless people — the most analogous charity-plus-trading model for moving beneficiaries into housing.
• The Big Issue: UK social enterprise offering homeless vendors a route to earn an income; comparable in mission (pathway out of homelessness) and in blended revenue model (magazine + commercial services).

Broad incumbents

• Pret Foundation: Pret a Manger's charity arm running barista training and employment programmes for ex-offenders and those facing homelessness in London; competing for the same corporate-catering-with-impact narrative.
• Crisis UK: UK national homelessness charity operating at much larger scale; broadly competes for donor mind-share and policy attention around the same beneficiary population Fat Macy's serves.
• Centrepoint: Major UK youth homelessness charity offering training, housing, and employment support — comparable beneficiary focus and training-to-employment pathway, though at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• The Bread and Butter Thing: UK community food charity redistributing surplus food at low cost — comparable social-assistance + food category footprint, and competes with Fat Macy's for community-food-services donor funding.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/company/fatmacys
• Instagraminstagram.com/fatmacys
• Xx.com/fatmacys
• Facebookfacebook.com/fatmacys

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries2 records

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 Fat Macy's