What SEUK does

Sharing Economy UK (SEUK), now operating as the CBI Sharing Economy Council following its 2021 integration into the Confederation of British Industry, is a UK trade body and membership organisation that represents businesses enabling people to trade space, skills, and stuff. Founded in 2015 following a government-commissioned independent review, SEUK serves platform-economy operators across accommodation (Airbnb), car sharing (Liftshare, hiyacar, Turo), marketplaces (Gumtree, TaskRabbit), fashion rental (By Rotation, Bundlee), skills (Kesero, AnyGood?), and adjacent verticals, with named members ranging from unicorns to early-stage startups. The organisation does not build proprietary technology; it delivers value through policy advocacy, events, networking, and the CBI's Central London workspace and economic intelligence resources.

SEUK generates revenue through recurring membership subscriptions on an annual billing cadence, with pricing not publicly disclosed and onboarding handled through a survey-based application and approval process. Its go-to-market is hybrid: community-led (advocacy, member showcases), event-driven (Sharing Economy Global Summit, CBI webinars, ITV documentary participation), and sales-led via direct website enrollment. The organisation's most material commercial achievement is securing what it describes as the world's first sharing economy tax breaks, and it continues to produce formal policy responses (e.g., Autumn Statement 2022) on short-term lets, gig work, and platform regulation.

Operationally, SEUK is lean (1–10 employees) and is now governed within the CBI structure alongside the Innovation and Tech Council. It is led by Kapila Perera (Head of Sharing Economy and Entrepreneurship) and chaired by Juliet Eccleston (Founder of AnyGood?), with a board drawn from member companies including Airbnb, By Rotation, Kesero, and GrubClub. The addressable market is large — the UK sharing economy was projected to be worth £140 billion by 2025 — but SEUK's own revenue base is undisclosed and small in scale, and it has no AI, patent, M&A, or funding activity on record.

Name

SEUK

Legal name

Sharing Economy UK

Website

https://sharingeconomyuk.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Sharing Economy UK (SEUK), now the CBI Sharing Economy Council, is a UK trade body founded in 2015 that represents platform businesses enabling people to trade space, skills, and stuff, serving members from startups to unicorns like Airbnb through policy advocacy, events, and CBI-affiliated networking.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees: SEUK operates as part of the CBI (Confederation of British Industry) and generates revenue through membership fees from sharing economy businesses. Benefits include access to Central London work and meeting space, expert policy teams, in-depth economic intelligence, networking opportunities, and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SEUK is a trade body and membership organization that protects and promotes the interests of UK sharing economy businesses. It sells annual membership subscriptions to platform companies (from startups to unicorns such as Airbnb and Gumtree), providing policy advocacy, access to CBI's network of 190,000+ businesses, Central London workspace, expert policy teams, economic intelligence, networking events, and press/speaker opportunities.

Product overview

SEUK (Sharing Economy UK), now operating as the CBI Sharing Economy Council, is a trade body and membership organization that protects and promotes the interests of businesses in the sharing economy. Rather than offering a software product, SEUK provides membership benefits including access to CBI membership, expert policy teams, Central London workspace, networking opportunities with sharing economy companies, event participation, and policy advocacy. The organization connects like-minded businesses across sectors including car-sharing, accommodation rentals, fashion rental, skills sharing, and peer-to-peer marketplaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CBI Sharing Economy Council Membership
• Sharing Economy Global Summit

Quantifiable outcome

• Established world's first sharing economy tax breaks
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers20 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Confederation of British Industry (CBI)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 July 2021SEUK integrated into the CBI in 2021, becoming the CBI Sharing Economy Council. This strategic partnership provides access to CBI's network of 190,000+ businesses, Central London workspace, expert policy teams, and economic intelligence. SEUK works alongside CBI's Innovation and Tech Council on policy across tax, tech, and net-zero topics.
• AirbnbcoreOthersMajor unicorn member of SEUK/CBI Sharing Economy Council. Airbnb participates in policy advocacy, short-term lets research, and COVID-19 relief initiatives through the trade body.
• GumtreecoreOthersFounding member and major marketplace partner of SEUK. Collaborated with SEUK and Motors.co.uk on Synergy '21 circular economy panel.
• TaskRabbitcoreOthersTask services marketplace member of SEUK. Experienced surge in demand for home renovations during COVID-19 pandemic.
• LiftsharecoreOthersUK's oldest and largest car-sharing platform member. Works with 700 employers on commuter emissions reduction and has saved communities over 1 billion miles.
• Marketplace RiskcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSEUK co-sponsored the Sharing Economy Global Summit 2022 with Marketplace Risk, the premier sharing economy event of the year.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Make UK: UK manufacturers' trade body providing policy advocacy, member services, events, and economic intelligence. Operates a similar trade body model with annual membership dues and government-facing representation.
• Federation of Small Businesses (FSB): Large UK membership trade body representing small businesses with policy advocacy, member benefits, and events. Comparable trade body structure though it serves the broader SMB market rather than sharing economy specifically.
• Chamber of Progress: US-based tech industry coalition representing major platform companies on policy issues. Comparable role in advocating for platform economy businesses before government, though broader in scope and US-focused.
• TechUK: UK-wide technology industry trade body that overlaps with SEUK on policy advocacy, member services, and government engagement for tech/platform companies, but covers the broader tech sector rather than sharing economy specifically.

Direct peers

• Coadec: UK startup and digital economy trade body focused on representing high-growth tech companies to government. Comparable mission of representing emerging platform/digital businesses through advocacy and networking, though broader than sharing economy alone.
• Co-operatives UK: UK trade body promoting cooperative and mutual business models, including platform co-ops and sharing economy structures. Operates a similar membership-based model with policy advocacy and member services for collaborative-economy entities.
• European Sharing Economy Coalition (Sharing Economy EU): European-level trade body for the sharing economy, directly analogous to SEUK but operating at EU/continental scope. Most directly comparable as a sector-specific advocacy body serving sharing economy platforms.

Regional players

• Digital Catapult: UK government-backed digital innovation organization that supports emerging technology businesses, including sharing economy and platform models. Comparable in supporting UK digital economy growth, though structured as a catapult rather than membership trade body.
• Sharing Economy Association of Canada: Canadian sharing economy trade association with similar advocacy mandate for platform businesses. Comparable mission and sector focus, but operating in a different geography.

Others

• Marketplace Risk: Provider of risk management, insurance, and trust-and-safety solutions for sharing economy and marketplace platforms; co-sponsor of the Sharing Economy Global Summit 2022 with SEUK. Adjacent ecosystem participant serving the same member base.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SharEconUK

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 SEUK