The Clothworkers Company

What The Clothworkers Company does

The Clothworkers' Company is one of London's Great Twelve Livery Companies, founded in 1528 through the merger of The Fullers' Company and The Shearmen's Company under a Royal Charter granted by King Henry VIII on 18 January 1528. The organization operates as a historic membership body of more than 900 Members (Freemen and Liverymen) who participate in civic duties in the City of London, elect the Lord Mayor and Sheriffs, and serve on the Court of Common Council and as Aldermen. Members progress from Freedom (by Patrimony, Patrimonial Redemption, or Redemption) to the Livery, with one-time admission fees of £360 for Freedom and £720 for Livery Election.

The Company delivers its charitable mission through two principal vehicles: The Clothworkers' Foundation (the independent charitable arm established in 1977 with an endowment from the Angel Court Estate leasehold sale, which has distributed over £140m since inception) and a suite of direct grant programmes focused on UK textiles, charity governance (trusteeship), and philanthropy. The textiles portfolio comprises academic research and innovation (notably the £8.9m 10-year commitment founding the Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour in 2021 and the £1.75m anchor donation establishing the Clothworkers' Centre for Textile Materials Innovation for Healthcare in 2012), technical education and vocational support (including UKFT, Cockpit Arts, and Weavers' Company Entry to Work Scheme), design and craft bursaries, and heritage and conservation grants to institutions including the V&A, British Museum, Historic Royal Palaces, and University of Oxford. The trusteeship programme sponsors the annual Charity Governance Awards, funded the Charity Governance Code (2017), and partners with NPC, Reach Volunteering, Prospectus, Cause4, and Close Brothers Asset Management to improve UK charity governance.

Revenue is generated primarily through property investments and endowment distributions rather than membership fees. The organization is structured as a private membership body with no parent company, operating through Ramteazle Limited (its service company subsidiary) and The Clothworkers' Foundation (its charitable arm). The Company is currently headquartered at 16 Eastcheap, London EC3M 1BD following the temporary closure of Clothworkers' Hall for the 50 Fenchurch Street redevelopment project. It focuses its activities geographically on London, Yorkshire, and Northern England, and maintains a social media presence and digital infrastructure including the member portal, online catalogues (CalmView and London Roll), and the Reach Volunteering platform.

Name

The Clothworkers Company

Legal name

Ramteazle Limited

Website

https://clothworkers.co.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

The Clothworkers' Company is a London Livery Company founded in 1528 that supports UK textiles through education and research grants, promotes charity governance via its trusteeship programme, and serves 900+ members while distributing £140m+ through its Foundation since 1977.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Livery Company Membership and Charitable Grant-Making

NAICS

Fabric Mills (3132)

SIC

Textile Mill Products (2200)

akta.pro primary industry

Pile Fabrics & Terry Cloth Mills (Velvet/Corduroy/Terry) (IMAOABAF)

akta.pro secondary industry

Apparel Dyeing, Printing, Finishing & Laundries (CRAAAAAM)

Keywords

• Livery company membership
• Charitable grant-making
• Textiles education funding
• Charity trusteeship support
• Heritage textile conservation

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Clothworkers' Company is a historic livery company (membership organisation) operating as one of London's Great Twelve Livery Companies since 1528. It sells admission to its membership (Freedom and Livery) and operates The Clothworkers' Foundation, which distributes charitable grants to support UK textiles, charity trusteeship, and heritage conservation. Its products include textile academic research funding, technical education bursaries, design awards, conservation grants, and trustee training programmes.

Product overview

The Clothworkers' Company is a historic livery company (established 1528) offering membership services and charitable programmes focused on UK textiles, trusteeship, and philanthropy. Its product portfolio consists of: (1) Membership & Livery Services as the core offering for individuals joining the company; (2) The Clothworkers' Foundation as its charitable grant-making arm; (3) Five interconnected textile support programmes covering Academic Research & Innovation (including LITAC and CCTMIH), Technical Education & Vocational Support, Design & Craft (including bursaries and design awards), and Heritage & Conservation; (4) a Trusteeship Programme supporting charity governance; and (5) an Archive & Collections service preserving company history. The organisation is among the largest private-sector supporters of textiles in the UK, having awarded over £1.8 million in 2021-2023 plus an £8.9 million investment in LITAC.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• £140 million+ in charitable giving since 1977
• +2 more outcomes

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

22 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and flagship.

• Central Saint MartinscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Grant of £15,000 in 2022 for MA bursary in Material Futures. Previously awarded £55,000 to match-fund a STOLL digital knitting machine and grants for three digital TC2 jacquard looms. The Company funds the Materials Fund and Clothworkers' Print Bursary.
• UK Fashion & Textiles (UKFT)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022In 2022, the Company granted £170,000 to UKFT to promote British textiles abroad and strengthen the industry's reputation over three years. Also funded initiatives for opportunities within the industry, employability, skills development and on-the-job training.
• Cockpit ArtscoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership with creative business incubator continues with another grant of £66,000 over three years, allowing a new round of award recipients to take up positions in the weaving studio at Deptford.
• Fashion-Enter LtdminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022The Fashion-Enter Ltd Tailoring Academy opened in London with funding from the Mayor of London's 'Good Growth Fund' as well as £24,500 from The Company.
• University of Leeds (Leeds Institute of Textiles and Colour - LITAC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021In 2021, The Clothworkers' Company made its largest ever commitment (£8.9 million over 10 years) to found LITAC at the University of Leeds. The Company also co-funded academic and needs-based bursaries for the new Textiles Innovation and Sustainability BSc programme. The Company has supported Textiles and Colour Science activities at Leeds for many years.
• University of Oxford (Pitt Rivers Museum - Textile Study Centre)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020£265,000 committed in 2020 to the University of Oxford Textile Study Centre, supporting two roles over three years during a £10 million capital project to build one of the world's most important textile collections centres.
• Manchester Art GalleryminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Awarded £70,000 in 2020 towards the cost of moving the costume collection from Platt Hall to a newly-created space in central Manchester.
• Worthing MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Awarded £45,500 in 2019 to create a costume research centre covering this regional museum's important collection of textiles and costume.
• Cause4coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Delivers the Trustee Leadership Programme in London, co-funded by Close Brothers Asset Management and The Clothworkers' Company. The five-week training course connects participants with charities that have board vacancies.
• Reach VolunteeringcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Online recruitment platform that connects volunteers and trustees with charities. In 2022, placed 3,586 volunteers including 1,189 trustees across 2,658 organizations, bringing £50m+ of expertise into the third sector. The Company supports the platform and helped fund the Trustee Recruitment Cycle resource pack.
• ProspectusminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2019Partner in the annual Charity Governance Awards, helping celebrate best practice and innovation of trustee boards throughout the UK.
• Historic Royal PalacesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018The Company continues to fund internships in tapestry conservation through Historic Royal Palaces, at Hampton Court Palace, and now at the National Museums of Scotland as well.
• Charity Governance Code (partners including NPC, AC and NCVO)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017The Company funded the development, consultation and publication of the new Charity Governance Code in 2017, as well as a consultation and update to the Code in 2020.
• British MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014£750,000 grant towards the British Museum's World Conservation and Exhibitions Centre, specifically for the Organics Conservation lab which opened in 2014.
• University of Leeds (Clothworkers' Centre for Textile Materials Innovation for Healthcare - CCTMIH)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Established in 2012 with a £1.75 million anchor donation. The Centre works to develop enabling technologies based on advances in textile science and engineering for healthcare applications including bioactive wound dressings and implantable devices.
• Victoria and Albert Museum (Clothworkers' Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012The Clothworkers' Centre for the Study and Conservation of Textiles and Fashion at V&A Blythe House was made possible by the Company's £1 million grant towards the £3 million cost of the Centre.
• New Philanthropy Capital (NPC)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012Partnered with NPC to investigate challenges facing the third sector through the landmark 'Board Matters' report in 2012, which has informed Company strategy since. NPC develops and delivers seminars on trustee challenges and skills gaps.
• University of Glasgow (Centre for Textile Conservation)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2012The Company has made capital grants, funded research, and provided bursaries for students at the Centre for Textile Conservation, supporting the Centre to the tune of £1.75 million when it was at the University of Southampton, and now at Glasgow. In 2022, made a grant to support bursaries on its two-year MPhil course.
• The Weavers' CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funders of the UKFT Young Textiles Technician Training Fund along with The Clothworkers' Company and The Drapers' Company.
• The Drapers' CompanyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-funders of the UKFT Young Textiles Technician Training Fund along with The Clothworkers' Company and The Weavers' Company.
• Textiles Centre for ExcellenceminorStrategic or Co-development Partner2022 grant to support the Sustainability Strategy Programme (pilot), providing a road map for integrating sustainability into core purpose, strategy and operations for 10 textile companies in Yorkshire.
• Institute of Historical Research (Centre for Metropolitan History)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the 'People, Property and Charity' one-year research fellowship providing the first detailed study of benefaction to The Company in the early modern period.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Drapers' Company: One of London's Great Twelve Livery Companies with historical roots in the wool and cloth trade. Directly comparable as a peer livery company with textile heritage, similar charitable-giving model, and overlapping grant programs (e.g., co-funding the UKFT Young Textiles Technician Training Fund).
• The Weavers' Company: Livery Company focused on the silk and weaving trade. Direct peer as another textile-heritage Livery Company with membership, civic, and charitable-giving structures closely paralleling the Clothworkers', including joint textile industry funding initiatives.

Broad incumbents

• The Goldsmiths' Company: One of the Great Twelve Livery Companies with a much larger endowment and a broader portfolio spanning trade regulation, philanthropy (including the Goldsmiths' Centre for training goldsmiths), and City of London civic duties. Comparable as a peer Livery Company but with substantially larger scale and a non-textile trade focus.
• The Mercers' Company: Premier Great Twelve Livery Company historically linked to the textile trade (mercers traded textiles). Comparable governance and charitable-giving structure, with a significantly larger endowment and a diversified philanthropy portfolio spanning education and social mobility.
• The Haberdashers' Company: Great Twelve Livery Company with textile-trade origins. Operates a network of schools and significant charitable programs. Peer by structure (membership, civic duties, philanthropy) but with a larger absolute endowment and education-heavy focus.
• The Salters' Company: Great Twelve Livery Company focused on the chemical industry and STEM education. Comparable Livery governance model and charitable-giving approach, with a STEM-education philanthropy portfolio that mirrors the Clothworkers' textiles education strategy.
• The Skinners' Company: Great Twelve Livery Company with fur-trade origins. Comparable Livery structure and substantial endowment funding schools and charitable programs. Differs in non-textile trade focus but shares the membership, civic, and philanthropic operating model.

Others

• UK Fashion & Textiles (UKFT): The UK's largest fashion and textile trade body, representing designers, manufacturers, and retailers. Closely comparable mission to the Clothworkers' industry program and a direct recipient of Company grants (£170k over 3 years from 2022).
• Wellcome Trust: One of the world's largest charitable foundations, supporting science, health, and society. Comparable as a UK-focused, endowment-driven philanthropic institution with multi-decade strategic grant programs, though operating at a vastly larger scale and a different mission area.
• Leverhulme Trust: Major UK charitable foundation supporting research and education. Comparable as an endowment-backed UK philanthropy with long-horizon grant-making, though with an academic-research rather than trade-heritage focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ClothworkersCo

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries2 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 Clothworkers Company