What The Reader does

The Reader is a UK-based charitable social enterprise that operates Shared Reading as a free, group-based literary facilitation practice. Founded in 1997 by Jane Davis as a University of Liverpool magazine project, the organisation has grown into the UK's largest Shared Reading charity, delivering 350+ weekly groups across libraries, community centres, care homes, hospitals, prisons, and workplaces through a network of 500+ trained volunteer Reader Leaders. Core products include the Shared Reading methodology itself, the annual Reader Bookshelf curated anthology (now in its 6th edition), The Reader Magazine (the founding publication), and The Storybarn family play space. Revenue is generated through a hybrid charitable and social-enterprise model: individual and corporate donations, Arts Council England and People's Postcode Lottery funding, NHS and Ministry of Justice commissioned services, Calderstones Membership at £25/year, venue hire of the Grade II listed Mansion House, on-site retail (café, bookshop, ice cream parlour) operated through the wholly-owned subsidiary Calderstones CIC, and international licensing via the Read to Lead digital training programme priced at £800 per candidate.

The organisation operates a "platform-plus-modules" architecture in which Shared Reading is the unifying methodology, with Calderstones Park in Liverpool serving as the physical headquarters and International Centre for Shared Reading. Service verticals span community wellbeing, mental health (with NHS Trusts including Mersey Care and Royal Liverpool Broadgreen), dementia care, addiction recovery (Phoenix Futures, Project 6), criminal justice (national Ministry of Justice contract covering 34 settings and 64 weekly groups), and workplace Shared Reading for corporate clients. International operations extend to 18 countries across 4 continents through licensed partner organisations trained via Read to Lead.

The Reader is governed as a charitable company (Charity Numbers 1126806 and SCO43054, Company Number 06607389) with a Board of Trustees chaired by Anita Marsland and Jamiejohn Anderson. Founder Jane Davis remains actively involved, working alongside Managing Director Jemma Guerrier and a senior team including Tamzin Golding (Development and Communications), Ginny Hopton (Finance), Katie Clark (Literature), Kara Orford (Delivery), Anton Clarke (Social Enterprise), and Jen Chapman (Brand, Communications and Digital). Calderstones CIC was created in 2014 as a wholly-owned subsidiary to ring-fence commercial operations.

Name

The Reader

Legal name

The Reader Organisation

Website

https://thereader.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

The Reader is a UK charitable social enterprise that delivers Shared Reading — group-based literary facilitation by trained volunteer Reader Leaders — to adults and children in communities, healthcare, criminal justice, and workplaces, reaching 19,500+ people annually across 350+ weekly groups in the UK and 18 countries internationally.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Liverpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Charitable Giving: The charity relies on generous support from individuals and organisations. Donations help spark personal and social change by bringing people together and books to life.
2. Calderstones Membership: Annual membership programme at £25 per year offering benefits including 10% off food and drinks at cafes, 10% off events, £3 Storybarn tickets, exclusive priority booking, and 10% off at Ice Cream Parlour and Bookshop.
3. Event Hire and Venue Rental: The Grade II listed Georgian Mansion House at Calderstones is hired out for weddings, ceremonies, corporate events, conferences, celebrations, Christmas parties, and office space rental.
4. Retail Operations: On-site Reader Café, Bookshop & Café, and Ice Cream Parlour operated as social enterprises with profits gifted back to The Reader charity to support charitable activities.
5. International Training: Read to Lead training programme delivered digitally internationally at £800 per candidate, training partner organisations' staff to deliver Shared Reading groups in their communities.
6. Commissioned Services: NHS Trusts, local authorities, and organisations commission The Reader to deliver Shared Reading programmes in health, social care, and criminal justice settings.
7. Workplace Shared Reading: Corporate packages offering Shared Reading sessions for employee wellbeing, team building, and professional development, delivered by Reader staff or through training packages.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

The Reader delivers Shared Reading, a group facilitation methodology where trained volunteer Reader Leaders read literature aloud to groups of adults and children in settings including libraries, care homes, hospitals, prisons, workplaces, and community spaces. It complements this core methodology with paid training (Read to Lead), curated content (Reader Bookshelf, Magazine), commissioned delivery for NHS and criminal justice, venue hire at Calderstones Mansion House, social enterprise retail (café, bookshop, ice cream parlour), and a children's family space (Storybarn).

Product overview

The Reader is a UK-based charitable organization operating Shared Reading as its core methodology—a social movement bringing people together to read literature aloud in groups. The organization functions as a platform-plus-modules architecture, with Shared Reading as the central practice supplemented by physical venues (Calderstones headquarters), children's programming (The Storybarn, Reading Heroes), literary curation (The Reader Bookshelf), publications (The Reader Magazine, Podcast), membership programs, event hire, commercial enterprises (café, ice cream parlour, bookshop), and training (Read to Lead). The Reading Room enables online participation. Key programs are free to access while commercial operations support the charity's mission.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Storybarn: A magical, multi-purpose family space at The Reader's home in Calderstones Park for children and families to explore a shared love of books
• The Reader Café
• The Reader Bookshop & Café
• The Reader Ice Cream Parlour
• The Reader Bookshelf
• Reading Heroes
• Calderstones Membership
• The Reader Magazine
• Read to Lead

Products and services

• Shared Reading Core methodology where trained Reader Leaders read literature aloud to groups of adults and children in libraries, care homes, hospitals, prisons, workplaces, and community spaces. Free to attend with no literacy requirement and no pressure to read or speak.
• Read to Lead Training Programme Six half-day digital training programme that equips participants to become Reader Leaders and establish their own Shared Reading groups. Priced at £800 per candidate including access to the Online Community Hub with teaching and learning resources. Delivered to partner organisations in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, USA and others.
• Calderstones Membership

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% of participants report Shared Reading lifts their mood
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NHS Trusts (Various)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with NHS Trusts across the country to deliver Shared Reading groups on inpatient wards and in community settings as part of mental health and wellbeing strategies. Includes Royal Liverpool Broadgreen University Hospital Trust and Mersey Care NHS Trust.
• Ministry of Justice and HM Prison and Probation ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational contract to deliver Shared Reading in Psychologically Informed Planned Environments (PIPEs) as part of the Offender Personality Disorder Pathway. Includes all prisons in Northern Ireland.
• UK Libraries NetworkcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartnership with public libraries across the UK to host free Shared Reading groups. Includes library partnerships in East Midlands, Eastern region, London, North West, South East, South West, Wales, West Midlands, Yorkshire and Humber, and Scotland.
• University of Liverpool - CRILScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCentre for Research Into Reading, Literature and Society (CRILS) at University of Liverpool has conducted over a decade of research demonstrating the impact of Shared Reading on mental and physical health.
• International Partner OrganisationscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner organisations in Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, New Zealand, United States, and other countries delivering Shared Reading through licensed Read to Lead training.
• Local Authorities and CCGscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnerships with local authorities and Clinical Commissioning Groups to deliver Shared Reading in care homes, dementia services, and community settings as part of social prescribing and health improvement programmes.
• Phoenix FuturesminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAddiction recovery charity using Shared Reading in the workplace for staff wellbeing and client support.
• National Museums LiverpoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCultural heritage organisation using Shared Reading for staff wellbeing and team building at their Liverpool venues.
• Project 6 DoncasterminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSubstance use support service hosting weekly Shared Reading groups for members as part of their free and confidential support services.
• University of Cambridge - Institute of CriminologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProfessor Alison Liebling and team conducted independent evaluation of Shared Reading in PIPEs, published by Ministry of Justice in 2022, identifying significant value and positive outcomes.

Scale indicators19 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• The Reading Agency: UK charity that promotes reading for pleasure and runs national reading programmes (Summer Reading Challenge, Reading Well). Closest direct comparator as a UK charity operating reading-based social and wellbeing interventions at scale.
• BookTrust: UK literacy charity providing books and reading support to children and families, including care-experienced children. Directly comparable to The Reader's Reading Heroes programme and shared mission of widening access to literature.
• National Literacy Trust: UK literacy charity addressing reading attainment and enjoyment for children and adults. Comparable in mission (literacy for disadvantaged groups), advocacy role, and partnership-driven operating model.

Emerging players

• Quick Reads: UK initiative producing short, accessible books by bestselling authors for adult emergent readers. Comparable as a curated-content intervention aimed at reluctant or less-literate adults, complementing Shared Reading's read-aloud model.
• Apples and Snakes: England's leading spoken-word and poetry organisation. Comparable as a literature-based wellbeing and participation charity delivering group literary experiences with trained facilitators across health and community settings.
• Togetherall: Digital mental health platform chaired by Reader Calderstones CIC board member Liam Black. Adjacent in mental health commissioning and in the Reader's extended leadership network.

Broad incumbents

• Mind: UK's largest mental health charity. A broad incumbent operating in the same mental wellbeing commissioning landscape as The Reader's NHS partnerships, though Mind focuses on direct clinical support rather than literary interventions.
• Headspace: Global digital mental health and wellbeing platform. Not a direct peer, but a competitor for NHS social prescribing and corporate wellbeing budgets, and a benchmark for scalable wellbeing monetisation.

Others

• Libraries Connected: UK sector body for public libraries — a key delivery partner and overlapping venue network for The Reader's Shared Reading groups. Adjacent enabler in the same reading-for-wellbeing ecosystem.
• Tate (Tate Liverpool): Major UK arts institution with a Liverpool site that is also a Reader corporate client. Comparable as an Arts Council England-funded cultural organisation and Calderstones neighbour operating in Liverpool's cultural ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/thereaderorg
• Facebookfacebook.com/thereaderorg
• Instagraminstagram.com/thereaderorg
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-reader-uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles17 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

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 The Reader