Places for People
Places for People is the UK's leading social enterprise, owning or managing over 262,000 homes through 20+ specialist subsidiaries spanning development, social and market rental, supported living, property management (RMG), and 100+ leisure centres, serving more than 1 million customers nationwide.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1970
- HeadquartersLondon, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Places for People does
Places for People is the UK's leading social enterprise operating across property management, development, regeneration, and leisure. Founded in 1965 and headquartered in London, the group comprises more than 20 specialist companies and approximately 13,000 colleagues, owning or managing over 262,000 homes across the UK. The organisation serves a diversified customer base including social housing tenants, shared ownership buyers, supported living residents, students, market rent tenants, and leisure centre members, with council and institutional investor partnerships underpinning new development pipelines.
The group operates a vertically integrated platform spanning the full property value chain: site procurement, development (via PfP New Homes and Places for People Developments), property management (RMG, Touchstone, Places for People Homes), supported living (Places for People Living Plus, Brio Retirement), student housing (PfP Students), leisure (Places Leisure, 100+ centres), procurement (Procurement Hub), and fund management (Thriving Investments, formerly PfP Capital). Underlying technology consists of standard property management systems, customer portals (new portal launched August 2025), and digital platforms for tenant services; no proprietary AI/ML capabilities are disclosed. Subsidiaries include South Yorkshire Housing Association (acquired December 2025), Places for People Scotland (Castle Rock Edinvar Housing Association), igloo (UK's first B Corp real estate developer), and Allenbuild for construction.
Revenue mechanics combine recurring rental income from social, affordable, and market rent housing across the 262,000+ home portfolio, one-time property sales through shared ownership and market sale schemes, recurring leisure membership fees, and managed-service fees from RMG's 110,000+ managed homes. Social rent is regulated at 40-60% below market rates by the Regulator of Social Housing; affordable rent is capped at up to 80% of market rent; shared ownership follows government-backed 25-75% purchase share models; and leisure membership pricing varies by location. The go-to-market combines direct-to-consumer channels (website, customer portal, 100+ leisure centres) with enterprise sales targeting local authorities for housing nominations and institutional investors (e.g., Greater Manchester Pension Fund) for development forward commitments.
Places for People firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Places for People
- Legal name
- Places for People Group Limited
- Website
- https://placesforpeople.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1970
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Places for People is the UK's leading social enterprise, owning or managing over 262,000 homes through 20+ specialist subsidiaries spanning development, social and market rental, supported living, property management (RMG), and 100+ leisure centres, serving more than 1 million customers nationwide.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Places for People industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Social Housing and Property Management
- NAICS
- Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (623312), Continuing Care Retirement Communities and Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly (62331), Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities (62321), Other Residential Care Facilities (62399)
- SIC
- Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Services-To Dwellings & Other Buildings (7340), Services-Social Services (8300)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Market-Rate Independent Living (Private Pay) Communities (HLADAAAA)
Keywords
Where Places for People is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices4 records
Markets served
Places for People business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Social Housing Rent: Rental income from over 245,000 homes managed, including social rent, affordable rent, and market rent properties across the UK.
- Property Sales: Sale of new homes through shared ownership, part exchange, and market sales under the PfP New Homes brand.
- Leisure Services: Revenue from operating over 100 leisure centres, sports facilities, and health and wellbeing programmes in partnership with local authorities.
- Property Management Services: Management fees from residential property management through RMG (110,000+ homes) and other group companies.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Social Rent - Housing association rental at below-market rates |
| Subscription | Monthly | Affordable Rent - Capped at up to 80% of market rent |
| Other | Monthly | Shared Ownership - Part-buy, part-rent scheme |
| Subscription | Monthly | Market Rent - Full market value rental |
| Subscription | Monthly | Leisure Memberships |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels7 records
Places for People product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Places for People is a UK-based social enterprise that operates as a group of more than 20 specialist companies providing affordable and market-rent housing, shared ownership homes, supported living and care services, property management, housing development and regeneration, and leisure facilities. Its offering spans the full housing lifecycle, from building new homes and regenerating neighborhoods to letting, managing, and maintaining properties on behalf of residents, local authorities, and institutional partners.
Product overview
Places for People is the UK's leading social enterprise operating as a platform-plus-subsidiaries model, bringing together over 20 specialist organisations to build, manage and support thriving communities. The core offerings include homes to rent and homes to buy (through PfP New Homes), supported living services (Places for People Living Plus), property management (RMG, Touchstone), leisure facilities (Places Leisure), and specialist services including procurement (Procurement Hub), fund management (Thriving Investments), and student accommodation (PfP Students). The group manages over 262,000 homes across the UK and Scotland, delivered 2,296 new homes, and generated £500M in total social value. Regional operations include Places for People Scotland managing over 9,000 homes, with subsidiaries like Brio Retirement, South Yorkshire Housing Association, The Hire Place UK, and The Listening Room customer insight platform completing the portfolio.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Thriving Investments: UK fund management sector leader for responsible approach to investment, managing four funds: Private Rented Sector (PRS), Mid-Market Rent (MMR), Shared Ownership (SO), and igloo Developments.
- Places Leisure
- Places for People Scotland
- Procurement Hub
Products and services
- Rental Housing Affordable and market-rent homes let to individual households across the UK, managed and maintained by Places for People.
Quantifiable outcome
- Generated £500M total social value
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use Places for People
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Places for People technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Places for People partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic, major and minor.
- igloocoreigloo is a UK-based impact-led developer and the UK's first real estate B Corp, integrated into the Places for People group. Currently pursuing a 3,000+ home development pipeline with Thriving Investments.
- Thriving InvestmentscoreThriving Investments is a subsidiary of Places for People Group focused on responsible UK fund management, managing PRS, Mid-Market Rent, Shared Ownership, and igloo Development funds.
- Molly's ProjectstrategicPartnership to create 'forever homes' for people with autism and learning disabilities, combining Places for People's housing expertise with Molly's Project's specialist support services.
- Step PlacesmajorStep Places is the developer bringing forward The Foundry development in Bolton town centre as part of Bolton Council's town centre masterplan.
- Urban SplashcoreUrban Splash is partnered with Places for People on the Park Hill regeneration scheme in Sheffield, having completed three phases creating 455 homes, 356 student accommodations, and over 50,000 sq ft of commercial space.
- Great Places Housing GroupmajorAgreement with Great Places Housing Group to deliver 30 affordable homes as part of Phase 4 of the Park Hill regeneration, backed by Homes England funding.
- Andrew Usher PreferredstrategicPartnership for delivering 500 new homes in Orkney, representing a landmark housing development for Places for People Scotland.
- Orkney CouncilstrategicPartnership with Orkney Council for landmark 500-home development, representing significant expansion of affordable housing in the Orkney region.
- Benefit MankindminorCharitable partner providing £500 funding to support Samantha Pixley's care bags project tackling period poverty and helping homeless people.
- British Blind SportstrategicPartnership with Places Leisure to increase access to leisure facilities for people living with sight loss, supporting inclusivity in fitness and recreation.
Scale indicators12 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Places for People competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Clarion Housing Group: The UK's largest housing association by number of homes managed (~125,000). Directly comparable as a UK social housing provider with similar operating model spanning housing development, management, and resident services.
- L&Q Group: Major UK housing association and developer with ~110,000 homes. Closely comparable in scale, business model (development + management + sales), and customer base (social and affordable renters, shared ownership).
- Peabody: One of the UK's oldest and largest housing associations managing ~104,000 homes. Highly comparable as a London-anchored social landlord with mixed-tenure development and regeneration activity.
- Orbit Group: UK housing association managing ~47,000 homes across the Midlands, East, and South. Comparable as a regional social housing provider with development, sales (shared ownership), and supported living services.
- Sanctuary Housing: UK housing association managing ~100,000 homes, providing general needs, supported housing, retirement living, and care services. Comparable mixed-tenure and supported living model to Places for People.
- Guinness Partnership: UK housing association with ~66,000 homes, strong focus on supported living, retirement, and general needs housing. Comparable in the supported and independent living segments to PfP's Living Plus and Brio Retirement brands.
- Home Group: UK housing association managing ~55,000 homes with significant supported housing and mental health services. Comparable in the supported living and vulnerable customer segments.
- Anchor Hanover: Major UK provider of specialist housing for older people, combining retirement living, extra care, and care homes. Comparable to Brio Retirement and the older-adult housing segment of Places for People.
- LiveWest: UK housing association managing ~40,000 homes across the South West. Comparable as a regional social landlord with development, shared ownership, and general needs rental activity.
Broad incumbents
- Barratt Redrow: Largest UK housebuilder. Comparable in the new homes development and shared ownership sales segments (PfP New Homes), though as a market-rate developer rather than social housing specialist.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat7 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Places for People social profiles
Digital presencePlaces for People financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Places for People leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Places for People subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries25 records
Places for People funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Places for People M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A4 records
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Places for People
What does Places for People do?
Places for People is a UK-based social enterprise that operates as a group of more than 20 specialist companies providing affordable and market-rent housing, shared ownership homes, supported living and care services, property management, housing development and regeneration, and leisure facilities. Its offering spans the full housing lifecycle, from building new homes and regenerating neighborhoods to letting, managing, and maintaining properties on behalf of residents, local authorities, and institutional partners.
Is Places for People a public or private company?
Places for People is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was Places for People founded?
Places for People was founded in 1970. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Places for People based?
Places for People is headquartered in London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Places for People make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Social Housing Rent is the primary driver. The others are property Sales, leisure Services and property Management Services.
Who are Places for People's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Clarion Housing Group, L&Q Group, Peabody, Orbit Group, Sanctuary Housing, Guinness Partnership, Home Group, Anchor Hanover and LiveWest. Barratt Redrow is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Places for People have an API?
No public API is recorded for Places for People.
What industry is Places for People in?
Places for People's product category is Social Housing and Property Management. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLADAAAA, Market-Rate Independent Living (Private Pay) Communities. Its NAICS code is 623312 and its SIC code is 6531.