What Arthur Rank Hospice Charity does

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity is an independent registered UK charity (No. 1133354), founded in 1981, that delivers specialist palliative and end-of-life care to people in Cambridgeshire living with advancing serious illness. Operating from a main hospice in Cambridge (Shelford Bottom) and the Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre in Wisbech, the charity serves over 3,750 patients annually across a 23-bed Inpatient Unit (15 single rooms plus two 4-bedded wings), a Hospice at Home community team, a Living Well therapeutic programme (rebranded from Day Therapy in 2024), a Lymphoedema Service, Therapy Teams, and a Patient and Family Support service offering bereavement counselling. The Alan Hudson Centre extends these services into the Fens and North Cambridgeshire, including clinical treatment days (blood transfusions, oncology, symptom management), complementary therapies, and bereavement support. A Palliative Care Hub integrates with NHS 111 to provide 24/7 specialist advice, and a Young People Service supports 18-25 year-olds transitioning from children's to adult hospice care.

The charity's technology footprint is operational rather than transformative: Stripe handles online donations, Zoom delivers the virtual Living Well programme, GriefChat provides third-party bereavement webchat, and eBay/Discogs host online retail for donated goods including rare records. No proprietary AI/ML systems or patents are evident; clinical delivery relies on multi-disciplinary teams (consultants, nurses, therapists, the Matron at Wisbech) and a 600+ volunteer base.

The revenue model is a hybrid of public-sector contracts and charitable fundraising. NHS contracts from Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG contribute £7.33 million of the £12.12 million annual operating cost (2023/2024), with the remaining £4.79 million raised through one-off and monthly donations (£5/£10/£20 tiers via the Enthuse platform with Gift Aid), community fundraising events (Star Shine Night Walk, Bridge the Gap, Christmas Tree Recycling), a weekly lottery, five charity retail shops across Cambridgeshire, an MIA-accredited Education and Conference Centre for venue hire, and the 5-star food-hygiene-rated Hospice Bistro open to the public. All clinical services are provided free of charge to patients and families. Patient referrals come via NHS pathways (GPs, District Nurses, Addenbrooke's Hospital) plus self-referrals for bereavement support.

Name

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity

Legal name

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity

Website

https://arhc.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity is an independent UK charity founded in 1981 that provides free specialist palliative and end-of-life care to over 3,750 patients annually across Cambridgeshire, operating a 23-bed inpatient unit in Cambridge, the Alan Hudson Centre in Wisbech, and a Hospice at Home community service.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Hospice and Palliative Care Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals (622310)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Services-Skilled Nursing Care Facilities (8051), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Residential Hospice / Hospice House (Facility-Based) (HLADAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Non-Hospice Serious-Illness / Community-Based Palliative Care (In-Home) (HSABAFAF), Home Hospice Agencies (HLAFAEAC), Community-Based Palliative Care (Home-Based Non-Hospice) (HLADAHAH), Palliative Care, Hospice & Serious Illness Support (BPAGACAK)

Keywords

• Palliative care services
• End-of-life care
• Hospice care
• Bereavement support
• Community nursing care

Headquarters

HQ city

Shelford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. NHS Contracts: Contracted services from the NHS (Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Clinical Commissioning Group) are budgeted at £7.33 million. These fund the Inpatient Unit, community teams, and Hospice at Home provision on a case-by-case basis.
2. Donations and Fundraising: One-off and monthly donations, event participation fees, corporate partnerships, community fundraising initiatives. The charity runs flagship events including Star Shine Night Walk, Bridge the Gap, and Christmas Tree Recycling which raise significant community funds. Monthly giving programmes at £5, £10, £20 tiers.
3. Retail Sales: Charity shops across Cambridgeshire (Burleigh Street, Mill Road, Regent Street, Cottenham, Great Shelford) plus an online shop on eBay and Discogs for rare records and other items. Revenue supports frontline hospice care.
4. Venue Hire: Education and Conference Centre hire for meetings, conferences, and training events. MIA accredited venue with packages including AV facilities, catering by the Bistro team. Revenue supports specialist hospice care.
5. Bistro Catering: The Hospice Bistro serves meals to visitors and the public, contributing to revenue while also serving as a community hub open to all. The Bistro was recently awarded a 5-star food safety rating.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity provides free specialist palliative and end-of-life care to people in Cambridgeshire with advancing serious illnesses. Core clinical services include a 23-bed Inpatient Unit, Hospice at Home community nursing, Living Well therapeutic programmes, lymphoedema treatment, a 24/7 NHS 111-integrated Palliative Care Hub, and bereavement support for families. The charity also runs retail shops, a public Bistro, and a venue-hire conference centre to generate funds for frontline care.

Product overview

Arthur Rank Hospice Charity is a hospice care provider offering a portfolio of integrated services for people in Cambridgeshire with advancing serious illness and end-of-life care needs. The core clinical services include the 23-bed Inpatient Unit at the Cambridge hospice, Hospice at Home community care, Living Well Service (formerly Day Therapy), Lymphoedema Service, Palliative Care Hub (24/7 via NHS 111), Patient and Family Support, and Therapy Teams. The Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre in Wisbech extends these services to the Fens region. Complementary support services include Bereavement Support, Carer Support, Life Celebration Work, and Young People Service. Community-facing offerings include Arthur's Shed, The Bistro, Hair Salon, Retail Shops, Online Shop, Education and Conference Centre venue hire, Your Hospice Lottery, and a Donations Platform. All clinical services are provided free of charge to patients and families, funded through NHS contracts, charitable donations, and fundraising activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Inpatient Unit 23-bed ward providing specialist end of life care and complex symptom management for adults in Cambridgeshire with advancing serious illness. Features 15 single rooms and two 4-bedded wings, all with en-suite facilities and accessible gardens. Approximately 60% of beds are dedicated to complex end of life care and 40% to medically light beds.
• Hospice at Home Specialist hands-on care and support provided in patients' own homes across Cambridgeshire and the Fens, working with GPs and District Nurses to enable people to be cared for or to die at home if they wish.
• Living Well Service Therapeutic activities, group programmes, and one-to-one consultations supporting patients with life-limiting conditions. Includes symptom management, creative therapies, exercise, fatigue and anxiety management, breathlessness support, music therapy, relaxation, and carer support. Delivered in person and virtually via Zoom.
• Lymphoedema Service Specialist treatment and education for patients with lymphoedema, helping them take control of their condition through therapy and self-management support.
• Palliative Care Hub Free phone-based service providing expert palliative care advice and support 24/7 via NHS 111 with a dedicated 'Palliative and End of Life Care' option, accessible to patients, families, and healthcare professionals.
• Patient and Family Support Emotional, psychological and spiritual support for patients and their families, including bereavement services, counselling, and assessment sessions. Available to families of patients cared for by the Inpatient Unit, Living Well, and Community Teams.
• Alan Hudson Day Treatment Centre Free personalised care and support for individuals with life-limiting illness in Wisbech and the Fens. Located at North Cambs Hospital, offering Living Well services, clinical treatments including blood transfusions and oncology, complementary therapies, bereavement support, and Hospice at Home services for the region.
• Young People Service Specialist care for young adults aged 18-25 living with complex or life-limiting conditions, supporting their transition from children's services to adult hospice care.
• Therapy Teams Physiotherapy, occupational therapy, and complementary therapy services integral to the holistic care approach, helping patients manage symptoms and maintain independence.
• Bereavement Support Comprehensive bereavement services including Grief Kind Space sessions, Understanding Grief sessions, Online Grief Chat, one-to-one and group sessions, and referral to clinical psychologists for families of patients.
• Carer Support Service Support and guidance for carers of patients with palliative diagnoses using the Carer Support Needs Assessment Tool, offered via telephone, video, or face-to-face.
• Education and Conference Centre (Venue Hire) Modern MIA-accredited meeting and conference space for hire, accommodating 30-90 delegates, with conference suite, AV facilities, breakout rooms, and in-house catering. Proceeds fund frontline hospice care.
• The Bistro On-site cafe open to visitors, patients, families, and the general public. Rated 5 stars for food hygiene. Hosts weekly Grief Kind Bereavement Sessions and provides catering for venue hire events.
• Retail Shops Charity shops located across Cambridgeshire in Burleigh Street, Mill Road, Regent Street (Cambridge), Cottenham, and Great Shelford, plus a Retail Hub in Sawston, selling donated goods to raise funds for the hospice.
• Online Shop E-commerce platform selling merchandise including homewares, stationery, and charity-branded items. Products are also listed on eBay and Discogs (for rare records).
• Your Hospice Lottery Weekly lottery draw giving supporters the opportunity to win cash prizes while raising funds to support the hospice.
• Donations Platform Online donation system enabling single and recurring monthly gifts, Gift Aid processing, legacy giving, in-memory donations, and dedicated campaigns such as Protect Our Care.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 3,750 patients cared for each year across all services
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Queen Elizabeth Hospital King's LynncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQueen Elizabeth Hospital in King's Lynn provides additional funding for services delivered for their patients at the Alan Hudson Centre, supporting patients from the King's Lynn catchment area.
• Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Health AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Health Alliance, which recognises responsibilities to keep people safe from harm and abuse, committed to highest possible standards of quality and safety in line with the Care Act 2014.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Marie Curie Hospice: Marie Curie operates the UK's largest charitable hospice network with inpatient units and a community nursing service providing end-of-life care. Directly comparable as a hospice charity delivering inpatient palliative care, Hospice at Home services, and family bereavement support funded by NHS contracts and charitable donations.
• Sue Ryder: Sue Ryder runs a network of hospices and palliative care services across the UK, providing end-of-life care, bereavement support, and community nursing. Closely comparable business model: charitable hospice operator with NHS contracts, multi-site inpatient and home-care delivery, and donation-driven fundraising.
• East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH): EACH provides hospice and palliative care for children and young people across Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex. Comparable as a regional hospice charity with NHS contracts, multi-site delivery (including in Cambridgeshire), and reliance on community fundraising — overlapping directly in Arthur Rank's territory.
• St. Catherine's Hospice (Sussex): Independent regional hospice in Sussex offering inpatient care, Hospice at Home, bereavement support and community fundraising. Closely comparable charity hospice model with NHS contract dependency and mixed fundraising revenue.
• Dorothy House Hospice Care: Hospice charity serving Bath and surrounding region with inpatient unit, Hospice at Home, and family support services. Directly comparable in service mix, NHS-funded + donation-funded model, and 40+ year operating history.
• Farleigh Hospice: Mid Essex hospice charity providing inpatient and community palliative care plus bereavement support. Comparable regional hospice operator with NHS contracts and a diversified retail and fundraising portfolio.
• St. Joseph's Hospice (London): East London hospice providing inpatient palliative care, Hospice at Home, and family support. Comparable as a charitable hospice with NHS contracts, multi-disciplinary team model, and a history dating back to the early 1900s.
• Helen & Douglas House: Oxford-based hospice charity providing palliative care for children and young adults. Comparable as a hospice charity with NHS funding, community fundraising, retail, and complementary therapies — overlapping in Young People Service positioning.

Others

• Hospice UK: National membership body representing UK hospices and palliative care charities. Comparable as the umbrella organisation of which Arthur Rank is a member, providing advocacy, sector benchmarking, and collective commissioning influence.

Broad incumbents

• Macmillan Cancer Support: Large UK cancer charity funding palliative care nurses and end-of-life support services. Overlaps in end-of-life care delivery and NHS partnership models but operates at national scale across cancer rather than as a regional hospice provider.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses2 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ArthurRankHospiceCharity
• Xx.com/ArthurRankHouse
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arthur-rank-hospice

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Arthur Rank Hospice Charity