What Homeless Link does

Homeless Link is the national membership charity for organisations working directly with people who become homeless in England, founded in 2001 and headquartered in London (company number 04313826, charity number 1089173). The organisation operates as a sector body and social enterprise, serving over 800 member organisations with a portfolio spanning membership services, consultancy, training and qualifications, research, data services, grant management, and campaigning. Its work is structured around the 2024-2027 strategic plan titled 'Many voices, one vision', and it leads policy engagement on issues including the repeal of the Vagrancy Act 1824, Housing First implementation, and the Homelessness Reduction Act.

The organisation's core technology asset is In-Form, a client relationship and service management platform built natively on Salesforce and used by over 300 homelessness organisations in three tiers: Community (free for members, up to 5 users), Essential (paid, up to 15 users), and Enterprise (custom, 15+ users). Complementary data products include the CHAIN database (the UK's most detailed rough sleeping dataset, commissioned by the Mayor of London), Homeless England (a geolocation-searchable directory of 1,500 homelessness services), StreetLink (a public rough sleeper alerting service), and the Health Needs Audit toolkit. Distribution is anchored by partnership managers covering every English region, with sales channels including direct membership acquisition, In-Form demos, Eventbrite training bookings, and email-led consultancy enquiries.

Revenue is generated across seven streams: tiered membership subscriptions (free for organisations under £50k turnover, scaling to £1,275/year), In-Form software subscriptions, grant programme administration (Homewards Fund with The Royal Foundation, Night Shelter Transformation Fund, access point for Reach Fund and Energy Resilience Fund with Social Investment Business), consultancy services, CIH-accredited training, events and conferences, and public donations via JustGiving. Customer segments span voluntary sector homelessness organisations (primary), local authorities, housing associations, individual professionals, and general public supporters. The charity is governed by a Board of Trustees chaired by Jamie Burton KC, with Rick Henderson serving as Chief Executive and Matt Harrison as Deputy Chief Executive.

Name

Homeless Link

Legal name

Homeless Link

Website

https://homeless.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

National membership charity serving 800+ organisations working with homeless people in England, delivering Salesforce-based case management software (In-Form), consultancy, training, sector data services, and grant programme administration including The Royal Foundation's Homewards Fund.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homelessness Sector Support Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC), Emergency Shelter, Camp Management & Non-Food Items (NFI) (BPAGAAAC)

Keywords

• Homelessness sector membership
• Case management software
• Sector training programmes
• Rough sleeping data services
• Homelessness consultancy support

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from over 750 member organisations, tiered by annual turnover (Free for under £50k, ranging from £65 to £1,275 for larger organisations). Individual associate membership at £70/year and Friend membership at £35/year.
2. In-Form Software Licensing: Social enterprise providing the In-Form CRM platform (Community, Essential, and Enterprise tiers) to homelessness organisations. Community edition is free for members; Essential and Enterprise versions provide paid subscriptions.
3. Grants and Fund Management: Managing grant programmes on behalf of others including the Homewards Fund, Night Shelter Transformation Fund, and acting as access point for Reach Fund and Energy Resilience Fund. Surpluses help fund wider work.
4. Consultancy Services: Tailored support including research, evaluations, strategies, policy reviews, service design, organisational development, and trauma-informed practice implementation.
5. Training and Qualifications: Open scheduled courses for individuals, tailored in-house training for teams, CIH-accredited qualifications (Level 3 and 4), and leadership development programmes. Members receive 25% discount.
6. Events and Conferences: Revenue from conference fees, training courses, and events including Transforming Case Management conference, Rough Sleeping Conference, and various practice events.
7. Donations and Fundraising: Public donations through JustGiving platform to support homelessness prevention and sector improvement work.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Homeless Link is the national membership charity for organisations working directly with people who become homeless in England, providing a portfolio of services including a tiered membership programme (800+ member organisations), specialised Salesforce-based case management software (In-Form used by 300+ organisations), sector-specific training and accredited qualifications, tailored consultancy, policy and research, data services (CHAIN, StreetLink, Homeless England, Rough Sleeper Count), and grant programme administration on behalf of partners such as the Royal Foundation's Homewards Fund.

Product overview

Homeless Link operates as a membership charity offering a portfolio of products and services for the homelessness sector in England. The core product portfolio includes In-Form (a Salesforce-based client relationship and service management solution available in Community, Essential, and Enterprise tiers), Homeless England (a database of 1500 homelessness services), and data services including CHAIN (London rough sleeping database), StreetLink (rough sleeper alerting service), and the Rough Sleeper Count programme. Additional offerings include consultancy services, training and development programmes, policy influencing, grants management, and research tools such as the Health Needs Audit. The products work together as an ecosystem supporting organisations working to end homelessness, with In-Form serving as the primary case management platform and the data services providing population-level intelligence.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• In-Form CRM Software The UK's leading client relationship and service management solution specifically designed for the homelessness sector, built on the Salesforce platform. It provides case management, outcomes tracking, and reporting for organisations supporting people experiencing homelessness, used by 300+ organisations.
• Homeless England The most comprehensive database of homelessness services in England, listing 1,500 projects nationwide with contact details, service descriptions, and geolocation search to help individuals and professionals find local services.
• CHAIN Database A multi-agency database recording information about people sleeping rough and the wider street population in London, representing the UK's most detailed source of rough sleeping information, commissioned and funded by the Mayor of London.
• StreetLink A service that enables members of the public to alert local authorities about people sleeping rough, helping connect them with relevant local services.
• Rough Sleeper Counts and Estimates Programme Annual programme supporting local authorities across England to conduct counts or estimates of rough sleeping in their areas, funded by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities.
• Health Needs Audit A toolkit for assessing the health needs of homeless populations, used across dozens of local authorities and health authorities, underpinning the Unhealthy State of Homelessness research publication.
• Membership Programme Annual membership programme for voluntary sector organisations, statutory bodies, and individuals working to end homelessness in England, with tiered pricing by turnover, networking opportunities, discounted training, and policy influence.
• Consultancy Services Tailored support including research, evaluations, strategies, policy reviews, service design, organisational development, and trauma-informed practice implementation for homelessness organisations and local authorities.
• Training and Qualifications Open scheduled courses for individuals, tailored in-house training for teams, CIH-accredited qualifications (Level 3 and 4), and leadership development programmes for the homelessness workforce, with 25% member discount.
• Grants Programme Administration Management of grant programmes on behalf of partners including the Homewards Fund (with The Royal Foundation), Night Shelter Transformation Fund, and acting as access point for the Reach Fund and Energy Resilience Fund administered by Social Investment Business.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 800 organisations in membership movement
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Royal Foundation of The Prince and Princess of WalescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomeless Link is managing and administering the Homewards Fund in partnership with The Royal Foundation. The fund supports implementation of action plans in each of the six flagship locations identified by Homewards, Prince William's initiative to prevent homelessness.
• SheltercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLondon PLUS Project is a partnership between Homeless Link and Shelter, funded by London Councils to improve the response to homelessness in London working with housing and homelessness organisations and professionals.
• London Housing FederationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to produce the annual London Atlas of Street Homelessness - an interactive map of London's homelessness services with overlay maps of rough sleepers and service types by borough.
• Social Investment BusinesscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHomeless Link is an approved access point for the Reach Fund and Energy Resilience Fund, referring organisations to apply for these grants administered by Social Investment Business.
• PraxisminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated a free training programme for supporting Non-UK Nationals facing homelessness with online training, bitesize recordings, tailored workshops and an online community, supported by the Mayor of London.
• aktminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to develop guidance and resources for services supporting LGBTQI+ people experiencing homelessness.
• Outside ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered to develop guidance and resources for services supporting LGBTQI+ people experiencing homelessness.
• Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) CoalitionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHomeless Link works as part of the MEAM coalition to improve the way services across different sectors support people facing multiple disadvantage and create long-term changes to local and national systems.
• Expert LinkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Expert Link and Housing Justice to co-produce Good Practice Principles for Day Services, involving 35 different services over 7 months of consultation.
• Housing JusticeminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Expert Link and Housing Justice to co-produce Good Practice Principles for Day Services, involving 35 different services over 7 months of consultation.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Shelter: Shelter is the UK's other major national homelessness charity, focused on housing advice, campaigns, and frontline services. It is a direct peer as the co-partner with Homeless Link on the London PLUS Project and competes for membership, policy influence, and public visibility in the same England homelessness sector.
• Crisis: Crisis is a national UK homelessness charity delivering services, research, and campaigns, with a strong focus on ending homelessness. It is directly comparable to Homeless Link in mission, policy influence, and member/sector engagement, though operates service delivery directly rather than as a membership body.
• Centrepoint: Centrepoint is a major UK charity focused specifically on youth homelessness, providing accommodation and support. It is comparable as a sector leader in a homelessness sub-vertical, often partnering with Homeless Link on workforce and practice development.
• St Mungo's: St Mungo's is one of the largest frontline homelessness charities in England and London, providing accommodation, recovery, and rough sleeping services. It is a direct peer and likely In-Form user, comparable in operational scale and sector footprint.
• Depaul UK: Depaul UK is a national homelessness charity working with young people and adults experiencing homelessness. It is a direct peer in the voluntary sector homelessness space, particularly around night shelter transformation and supported housing — areas where Homeless Link runs grant programmes.
• Housing Justice: Housing Justice is a UK charity supporting faith-based and community responses to homelessness, including the Winter Night Shelter network. It is a direct peer having co-produced the Good Practice Principles for Day Services with Homeless Link, and overlapping on shelter transformation work.
• Pathway: Pathway is a UK charity focused on healthcare for people experiencing homelessness, running hospital-led specialist teams. It is directly comparable given Homeless Link's Health Needs Audit tool and shared concern with the intersection of health and homelessness.

Broad incumbents

• National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO): NCVO is the umbrella membership body for the entire voluntary sector in England. It is a broad incumbent comparable to Homeless Link in operating as a sector membership, research, and policy body, but covering all charities rather than specialising in homelessness.

Emerging players

• Making Every Adult Matter (MEAM) Coalition: MEAM is a coalition of charities (Homeless Link is a partner) focused on multiple disadvantage including homelessness, offending, and substance use. It is an emerging peer that overlaps with Homeless Link on policy influencing and cross-sector collaboration for people facing multiple disadvantage.

Others

• Social Investment Business: Social Investment Business is an accredited social investor that administers the Reach Fund and Energy Resilience Fund, for which Homeless Link acts as an access point. It is an adjacent/partner organisation rather than a competitor, comparable in distributing capital into the homelessness and social sector.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HomelessLink
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/homeless-link

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

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 Homeless Link