The Wise Group

What The Wise Group does

The Wise Group is a Scottish social enterprise founded in 1983, headquartered in Paisley/Glasgow, that designs and delivers public-sector-commissioned services aimed at lifting people out of poverty. Its core operating methodology is "Relational Mentoring," in which approximately 50% of mentors are recruited on the basis of lived experience of the issues faced by beneficiaries; reported outcomes include 83% of participants reporting improved situations and a 9.7% reoffending rate in the New Routes justice programme versus a 35% national average.

Service lines span employability (Fair Start Scotland, JETS, Wise Steps), community justice (New Routes for young males aged 16–24), energy advice (Home Energy Scotland, HEAT, with 53,000 households supported and £1.4M in energy savings generated), digital and vocational skills (Connect Platform, Digital Skills Service with CGI UK, CSCS card training), and counselling (Re-Connect). The group operates across Scotland and Northern England, including Tyne and Wear through the North of Tyne Combined Authority partnership.

The business model is that of a non-profit social enterprise: services are delivered free to end-beneficiaries and funded primarily through multi-year government contracts (Scottish Government, DWP), charitable grants (National Lottery Community Fund, European Social Fund), and corporate partnerships (St Giles Trust, E.ON Next, SGN, CGI UK). Reported scale indicators include more than 1 million data points captured annually across 15 service domains, and stated annual social value in excess of £50M from the St Giles partnership alone. The organisation's 40-year operating history and multi-programme commissioned status create a stable but funder-concentrated revenue base.

Name

The Wise Group

Legal name

The Wise Group

Website

https://thewisegroup.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1983

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Wise Group is a Scottish social enterprise, founded 1983, delivering Relational Mentoring–led employability, justice, energy-advice and digital-skills services to people experiencing poverty across Scotland and Northern England, funded via government contracts and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Enterprise Services (Poverty Alleviation & Employability)

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB), Youth Mental Health, Counseling & Wellbeing (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAK), Financial Assistance & Benefits Navigation Services (BPAGAEAK)

Keywords

• Employment support services
• Community justice mentoring
• Energy advice services
• Social enterprise services
• Skills and training

Headquarters

HQ city

Paisley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts: The Wise Group receives funding through government contracts including Fair Start Scotland (Scottish Government employability service) and justice mentoring programmes commissioned by public sector bodies.
2. Government Grants: Funding from Scottish Government Tackling Child Poverty Fund (£2.2 million), National Lottery Community Fund for Wise Steps programme, and other public grants for specific initiatives.
3. Partnership Funding: Collaborative funding arrangements with corporate partners (e.g., E.ON Next for energy projects) and energy distribution networks (e.g., SGN) to deliver targeted support programmes.
4. Social Enterprise Reinvestment: As a social enterprise, profits are reinvested into the organisation's mission of transforming lives and lifting people out of poverty rather than distributed to shareholders.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Wise Group delivers free, government- and grant-funded social services through a Relational Mentoring model. Its core offerings span employment support (Fair Start Scotland, Wise Steps, JETS), community justice mentoring (New Routes, Wise Choices, SHINE), energy advice (Home Energy Scotland, HEAT), skills and training (CSCS), and in-house counselling (Re-Connect). Services target unemployed individuals, justice-involved people, fuel-poor households, and vulnerable families across Scotland and North East England.

Product overview

The Wise Group is a social enterprise offering a portfolio of services unified by its Relational Mentoring approach. The core offering spans three strategic business units: employment services and skills (Fair Start Scotland, Wise Steps, JETS, Skills and Training); energy advice and advocacy (Home Energy Scotland, HEAT); and community justice (New Routes, Wise Choices, Shine Women's Mentoring, Connect Platform, Re-Connect). The company also offers a Digital Skills Service in partnership with CGI UK. These services are delivered through one-to-one mentoring relationships focused on holistic, whole-person support across multiple life domains.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Relational Mentoring: A compassionate, relationship-based approach to supporting individuals facing multiple challenges including employment, fuel poverty, health, and justice system involvement.
• HEAT (Home Energy Advice Team)
• Home Energy Scotland
• New Routes
• Wise Choices
• SHINE Women's Mentoring Service
• Fair Start Scotland
• Wise Steps
• JETS (Job Entry: Targeted Support)
• Re-Connect
• Connect

Products and services

• Relational Mentoring The Wise Group's core service methodology providing one-to-one mentoring across multiple areas including employment, mental health, housing, financial security and family stability, based on long-term compassionate relationships rather than transactional interventions.
• Fair Start Scotland Scottish Government's flagship employment support service providing dedicated work coaches, CV support, interview preparation, training access and employer engagement to help people in Scotland find work. Wise Group delivers across Renfrewshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, East Dunbartonshire and West Dunbartonshire.

Quantifiable outcome

• 9.7% reoffending rate (vs 35% national average for young males) for New Routes participants who completed the programme
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers11 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core, primary and minor.

• St GilesflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2025Deepened national partnership combining over 100 years of collective experience in justice, rehabilitation, and whole-person support. Provides integrated rehabilitation pathway from custody to community with whole-family support and evidence-led practice. Generates over £50m annual social value.
• CGI UKcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 November 2024Digital Skills Service partnership empowering individuals with technology skills and confidence. Addresses digital exclusion as a fundamental barrier to opportunity, equality, and dignity.
• E.ON NextcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 October 2024Strategic collaboration on pioneering home battery technology project with Glasgow City Council. E.ON Next provides smart home battery installations while The Wise Group delivers Relational Mentoring support to families facing fuel poverty. Up to 100 households to benefit initially with ambition to scale city-wide.
• Glasgow City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 October 2024Partnership with E.ON Next and The Wise Group to deliver home battery pilot targeting families at risk of fuel poverty and child poverty. Council provides data-led targeting and leadership within public service integration framework.
• SGN (Scotland Gas Networks)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 October 2024Partnership to provide targeted energy support to vulnerable communities in Falkirk. Addresses energy affordability, efficiency, and safety for households in areas with nearly a third in fuel poverty and 16% in deprived areas.
• Purpose CoalitioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 December 2023Joint Commission on Breaking Down Barriers to Employment Opportunity co-chaired by Rt Hon Justine Greening and CEO Sean Duffy. Aims to drive long-term change for vulnerable groups through evidence-based policy discussions in areas of employment, skills, offender rehabilitation, mental health, and fuel poverty.
• E.ONcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with E.ON and Glasgow City Council on smart home battery installation pilot combining battery technology with Relational Mentoring to help families store electricity during off-peak hours and reduce energy bills.
• EnableprimaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner in Fair Start Scotland delivery alongside The Lennox Partnership, providing employment support services in Scottish local authority areas.
• The Lennox PartnershipprimaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerPartner in Fair Start Scotland delivery alongside Enable, providing employment support services in Scottish local authority areas.
• Energy Saving TrustcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHome Energy Scotland is funded by Scottish Government and managed by Energy Saving Trust. The Wise Group operates the Strathclyde and Central advice centre.
• Ten North EastprimaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal delivery partner for Wise Steps programme in Tyne and Wear, providing work coaches and community-based support.
• Women's Health in Tyneside (WHiST)primaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLocal delivery partner for Wise Steps programme providing support for women facing barriers to employment.
• SacroprimaryImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerLead partner in Public Sector Partnership (PSP) for New Routes justice mentoring service. The Wise Group delivers male mentoring aged 16-24 as part of this partnership.
• Glasgow TogethercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunity Interest Company supporting people with offending backgrounds to gain skills and experience in the workplace through construction project partnerships. Provides employment opportunities for New Routes customers.
• Mario GroupminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorFacilities management company providing employment opportunities for JETS programme participants. Employer partner receiving recruitment support from The Wise Group's Employer Engagement Team.
• Change Grow LiveminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDrug and alcohol service in Middlesborough providing referral pathway for justice customers needing addiction support.
• CRG HomecareminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHome care provider offering employment opportunities for Wise Steps programme participants in Tyne and Wear.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Catch22: UK social business delivering employability, justice, and social inclusion services with an integrated, outcomes-focused model similar to The Wise Group's Relational Mentoring approach. Catch22 operates across England and Wales, providing comparable services to vulnerable populations.
• Enable Scotland: Scottish charity supporting people with learning disabilities and their families, also a delivery partner in Fair Start Scotland alongside The Wise Group. Enable Scotland's combination of advocacy, employment, and personal support services mirrors The Wise Group's integrated Relational Mentoring approach.
• Energy Saving Trust: UK organisation managing Home Energy Scotland on behalf of the Scottish Government, with The Wise Group operating the Strathclyde and Central advice centre under its umbrella. Energy Saving Trust's fuel poverty and energy efficiency remit directly overlaps with The Wise Group's HEAT and Home Energy Scotland services.
• Sacro: Scottish justice charity and Public Sector Partnership lead for the New Routes mentoring service alongside The Wise Group. Sacro delivers community justice, restorative justice, and offender rehabilitation services across Scotland, directly comparable to The Wise Group's community justice portfolio.
• St Giles Trust: UK charity helping people facing severe disadvantage including prison leavers, delivering mentoring and rehabilitation services. St Giles is also The Wise Group's flagship partnership partner (over £50M annual social value), making it both a peer and collaborator with directly overlapping service offerings.

Broad incumbents

• Turning Point: UK social enterprise providing health and social care services including mental health, substance misuse, and learning disability support. Comparable to The Wise Group's Re-Connect counselling service and broader holistic support model, with substantially larger UK-wide footprint.
• Ingeus: Major UK employment services provider delivering welfare-to-work and skills programmes under government contracts (similar to Fair Start Scotland and JETS). Ingeus operates at significantly larger scale than The Wise Group with comparable target populations and contract-based revenue model.
• Shaw Trust: Large UK charity delivering employment services, skills training, and disability support across the UK. Shaw Trust's employability and welfare-to-work programmes are directly comparable to The Wise Group's Fair Start Scotland, Wise Steps, and JETS offerings, though at greater national scale.
• The Prince's Trust: Large UK youth charity supporting young people into education, training, and employment. Comparable to The Wise Group's youth-focused services (New Routes for males 16-24, Wise Steps), with a broader national brand and significantly larger fundraising base.

Emerging players

• Money Advice Trust: UK charity providing debt advice and financial inclusion services. Comparable to The Wise Group's financial security domain within Relational Mentoring (benefits navigation, debt resolution), though with narrower scope focused specifically on money advice rather than whole-person support.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wisegroup_se

Compliance6 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 The Wise Group