Break
Break is a Norwich-headquartered UK children's charity, founded in 1968, that delivers fostering, residential care, disability services, therapeutic support, and leaving-care programmes to vulnerable children, young people, and families across East Anglia through local authority contracts, donations, charity retail, and the GoGo sculpture trail fundraising franchise.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1968
- HeadquartersNorwich, United Kingdom
- Headcount1,001–5,000
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingServices
What Break does
Break is a registered UK charity (No. 286650), founded in 1968 and headquartered at Schofield House in Norwich, that supports vulnerable children, young people, and families across East Anglia. The organisation delivers a multi-service portfolio including three residential children's homes, disabilities services centred on the Nelson Lodge short-breaks facility, a not-for-profit fostering agency offering long-term, short-term, parent-and-child, and support foster care, and a wraparound leaving-care offer encompassing the Staying Close Staying Connected programme (commissioned by Norfolk, Cambridgeshire, and Peterborough councils with DfE Innovation Fund backing), the Emotional Wellbeing Service for care leavers aged 16-25, volunteer mentoring, and a 'Lifelong Offer' ensuring ongoing support beyond age 18. Break also runs the CoffeeBreak mobile coffee van social enterprise (launched 2020 with the University of East Anglia) to provide employability experience for care-experienced young people.
Break operates a diversified income model spanning four primary streams: (1) statutory funding from local authority contracts for fostering, residential, and short-breaks services; (2) voluntary income from individual donations, a charity lottery, gifts in wills, and grant funding (notably the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation for Routes to Roofs); (3) charity retail income from a network of Break charity shops; and (4) corporate sponsorship and major event fundraising, anchored by the GoGo sculpture trail franchise with Wild in Art (10+ year relationship, over £1 million cumulative) and the 2025 GoGoSafari trail which raised over £380,000. The organisation's go-to-market is community-led, combining direct recruitment of foster carers across East Anglia, corporate partnership development, volunteer mentor recruitment, and public-facing fundraising events. Its underlying technology is conventional for the sector — website, Mailchimp email, Google Analytics, third-party payment processors, a GoGoSafari mobile app for trail discovery, and Meta-based digital advertising — with no proprietary AI or data platform disclosed. As of April 2025, Break reported a 267-person workforce, with a strong female gender skew (approximately 80%) consistent with the social care sector.
Break firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Break
- Legal name
- Break
- Website
- https://break-charity.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1968
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1,001–5,000 employees
- Short description
- Break is a Norwich-headquartered UK children's charity, founded in 1968, that delivers fostering, residential care, disability services, therapeutic support, and leaving-care programmes to vulnerable children, young people, and families across East Anglia through local authority contracts, donations, charity retail, and the GoGo sculpture trail fundraising franchise.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Break industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Children's Social Care Services
- NAICS
- Child and Youth Services (62411), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Community Housing Services (62422)
- SIC
- Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Child Day Care Services (8351)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM), Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)
Keywords
Where Break is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Norwich
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Break business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D, Others
Revenue model
- Charitable Donations and Fundraising: Break generates revenue through public donations, lottery entries, gifts in wills, and major fundraising events including the GoGoSafari sculpture trail and charity auction which raised over £290,000 in 2025.
- Charity Retail: Break operates a network of charity shops selling donated goods, generating income through retail sales.
- Government and Local Authority Contracts: Break receives funding from local authorities for providing fostering services, residential care, short breaks for disabilities, and leaving care support services. Partnerships with Cambridgeshire County Council, Norfolk County Council, and Peterborough City Council for Staying Close programme.
- Corporate Sponsorship and Partnerships: Corporate sponsors pay to support GoGoSafari sculpture trails and other events. Sponsors include local businesses across Norwich and Norfolk region.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Weekly | Full-time foster carer weekly payment |
| Subscription | Weekly | Parent and child foster placement |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | Support foster carer |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels8 records
Break product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Break is a registered charity operating residential children's homes, fostering services, disabilities services (including Nelson Lodge short breaks home), and therapeutic support for children and young people in, around, and leaving care across East Anglia. Services are delivered directly by Break staff and foster carers and supplemented by social enterprise and employment programmes such as CoffeeBreak and Breaking the Mould.
Product overview
Break is a children's and young people's charity providing a comprehensive portfolio of services across East Anglia. The organization operates as a not-for-profit with all funds reinvested into services. Core offerings include residential children's homes, disabilities services (including Nelson Lodge short breaks), fostering services (long-term, support, and parent-child fostering), and therapeutic services. Supporting services include volunteer mentoring, the Emotional Wellbeing Service for care leavers aged 16-25, and the Lifelong Offer ensuring ongoing support. Social enterprises include CoffeeBreak mobile coffee van providing work experience, and GoGoSafari sculpture trails as major fundraising initiatives. Employment pathways include Breaking the Mould and Routes to Roofs housing project.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Children's Homes
- Nelson Lodge Residential Short Breaks
- Fostering Services
- Staying Close, Staying Connected
- Break Therapeutic Services (Emotional Wellbeing Service)
- Volunteer Mentoring
- CoffeeBreak Mobile Coffee Van
- Breaking the Mould Employment Programme
- Routes to Roofs Housing Project
- Lifelong Offer
- GoGoSafari Sculpture Trail
Quantifiable outcome
- Over 1,000 nights of short breaks provided annually
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Break
Customer profileNamed customers2 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Break technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration11 records
Break partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
20 partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, supporting, key, pilot and planned.
- Zoological Society of East Anglia (ZSEA)corePrinciple partner for GoGoSafari trail alongside Break. ZSEA is the charity behind Banham Zoo and Africa Alive. All proceeds from the Safari Prize Draw split equally between Break and ZSEA. Partnership combines wildlife conservation with support for care-experienced young people.
- Wild in ArtcoreCollaboration for over 10 years producing mass-appeal public art events. Previous trails include GoGoGorillas (2013), GoGoDragons (2015), GoGoHares (2018), GoGoDiscover (2021 & 2022), and Cows about Cambridge (2021). Together raising over £1 million for Break. Wild in Art events have enabled over £26.3 million raised for charitable causes.
- Norwich BIDmajorPresenting partner for GoGoSafari trail. Norwich Business Improvement District represents city businesses and supports the trail as a major community event.
- Chantry PlacemajorPresenting partner for GoGoSafari trail. Norwich shopping center hosts sculptures and supports the event.
- Eastern Daily PresssupportingSupporting partner providing media coverage and running token-based entry promotion for the prize draw. Local newspaper with significant readership in Norfolk.
- The Forum (Norwich)supportingSupporting partner for GoGoSafari trail. Norwich's key civic and cultural venue.
- LongwatersupportingSupporting partner for GoGoSafari trail. Local construction/supply company.
- University of East Anglia Norwich Business SchoolkeyPartnered with Break's young people to develop CoffeeBreak project business plan. Students worked with young people to help give employability skills and experience, leading to the creation of the mobile coffee van project in August 2020.
- Osiris ITkeySponsor of CoffeeBreak mobile coffee van project. Helps support the project serving freshly ground coffee at events while providing work experience for care-experienced young people.
- Green Farm CoffeesupportingLocal roaster based just outside Norwich providing Rainforest Alliance certified coffee for CoffeeBreak. Supports sustainability objectives through rainforest alliance guidelines.
- Health Transport Group (HTG)pilotNorwich-based partner for pilot 'Breaking the Mould' work experience programme in January 2026. Provided hands-on experience with HTG's crew and logistics teams alongside employability workshops.
- Banham ZooplannedPartner for second co-designed 'Breaking the Mould' programme launching later in 2026. Part of ZSEA group.
- Cambridgeshire County CouncilkeyLocal authority partner alongside Norfolk County Council and Peterborough City Council, funded by DfE Innovation Fund, for delivering Staying Close, Staying Connected pioneering support service for care leavers.
- Norfolk County CouncilkeyLocal authority partner for Staying Close, Staying Connected programme for care leavers.
- Peterborough City CouncilkeyLocal authority partner for Staying Close, Staying Connected programme for care leavers.
- Wrongs CovertsupportingWoodland partner offering young people opportunities to develop skills including using tools, fire making, natural dying and more.
- British Exploring SocietysupportingPartnership offering expeditions in the UK and overseas for Break's young people.
- Landmark TrustsupportingProvided residency opportunities for groups of young people in Landmark Trust properties.
- Norwich Puppet TheatresupportingArts organization partner bringing puppetry expertise and workshops for young people.
- Excelsior TrustsupportingSailing boat offering trips where young people take the lead of the boat and go overseas.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Break competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Action for Children: One of the UK's largest children's charities, operating fostering, residential care, and leaving-care services nationally. Most directly comparable to Break by service mix (fostering + residential + disabilities + leaving care) and target population, though at significantly larger scale.
- Centrepoint: UK charity supporting homeless and unsupported young people, with a strong focus on care leavers. Comparable by population served (16–25 care-experienced young people) and overlapping programmes around housing, employability, and wellbeing — parallel to Break's Routes to Roofs.
- The Children's Society: National charity supporting vulnerable children including those in care and at risk of exploitation. Comparable by mission and target population (vulnerable children and young people), with overlapping programmes around emotional wellbeing and leaving care.
- Five Rivers Child Care: Independent fostering and residential care provider offering therapeutic foster care, residential children's homes, and leaving-care support. Closely comparable service model to Break, including trauma-informed therapeutic practice and small caseload approach.
- St Christopher's Fellowship: Children's charity providing residential care, foster care, and leaving-care support across the UK. Comparable therapeutic, relationship-based approach and similar target population to Break, including the same 'lifelong' support ethos.
- Together for Children: Children's services charity operating fostering, residential, and family support services, originally spun out of Sunderland City Council. Comparable by mission, service mix, and charity/non-profit governance model.
- National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS): Charitable provider of advocacy, children's rights, and leaving-care support for looked-after children and care leavers. Comparable by focus on care-experienced young people and statutory advocacy/wellbeing services, complementing Break's therapeutic and mentoring portfolio.
- TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust): National fostering and adoption charity providing fostering placements, supported lodgings, and leaving-care services. Highly comparable to Break's fostering-led, therapeutic model, operating at similar regional footprint scale.
Broad incumbents
- Barnardo's: The UK's largest children's charity, with fostering, residential, leaving-care, disabilities, and emotional wellbeing services across all regions. Comparable by service portfolio but materially larger, broader in scope, and more nationally distributed than Break.
- Catch22: Not-for-profit social business running fostering, leaving-care, and broader social services including education and justice. Comparable by social-mission operating model and overlapping services, though Catch22 spans a wider portfolio than Break.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Break social profiles
Digital presenceBreak financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Break leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles12 records
Break funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Break M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Break
What does Break do?
Break is a registered charity operating residential children's homes, fostering services, disabilities services (including Nelson Lodge short breaks home), and therapeutic support for children and young people in, around, and leaving care across East Anglia. Services are delivered directly by Break staff and foster carers and supplemented by social enterprise and employment programmes such as CoffeeBreak and Breaking the Mould.
Is Break a public or private company?
Break is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Break founded?
Break was founded in 1968. It employs 1,001 to 5,000 people.
Where is Break based?
Break is headquartered in Norwich, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Break make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Charitable Donations and Fundraising is the primary driver. The others are charity Retail, government and Local Authority Contracts and corporate Sponsorship and Partnerships.
Who are Break's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Action for Children, Centrepoint, The Children's Society, Five Rivers Child Care, St Christopher's Fellowship, Together for Children, National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) and TACT (The Adolescent and Children's Trust). Broad incumbents are Barnardo's and Catch22.
Does Break have an API?
No public API is recorded for Break.
What industry is Break in?
Break's product category is Children's Social Care Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAGADAO, Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits, with a secondary code of BPAGALAM, Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech). Its NAICS code is 62411 and its SIC code is 8300.