What Sacro does

Sacro is a Scottish registered charity (No. SC016293) founded in 1971 and headquartered at 112 Commercial Street, Edinburgh. It operates as a national community justice, community safety, and public protection organisation, delivering services across Scotland through a portfolio of more than 15 branded programmes. These include Justice Services (supporting people leaving custody and community reintegration), Community Safety and Public Protection, the Veterans Mentoring Service, FearFree (domestic abuse support for men, LGBT+ and non-binary individuals), Shine (women's mentoring), Aura and Aditi (gender-based violence and wellbeing), Click (digital safety for women selling sex online), YourHome (Edinburgh homelessness support), the Garden Project, the Community Payback Service (which includes online digital behavioural change modules), and the Scottish Community Mediation Centre. The April 2025 launch of Upside, a national prison throughcare service delivered in partnership with seven other charities, marks its most significant recent expansion.

Sacro does not operate proprietary technology or software; its offering is a human-delivered, trauma-informed service model accessed via referrals from criminal justice social workers, courts, housing services, health services, and other statutory agencies. The only digital surface is the Online Digital Modules for Community Payback Services and standard web/newsletter publishing. The organisation holds accreditations including Investors in People Gold, SafeLives Leading Lights, Restorative Justice Council Registered Training Provider status, and Care Inspectorate registration, which underpin eligibility for statutory contracts.

Sacro's revenue model is grant- and contract-funded rather than commercial. It does not charge service users for core justice and community safety services. Revenue streams include core Scottish Government funding, local authority contracts, National Lottery Community Fund grants (e.g., Veterans Mentoring Service), the Veterans Foundation, UK Government Tampon Tax funds, and other charitable trust grants. The go-to-market is sales-led and partnership-driven, with new contracts and consortium positions (e.g., Upside, Shine Public Social Partnership) replacing traditional sales pipelines. The organisation is governed by a Board of Trustees and led by Chief Executive Annie Mauger-Thompson.

Name

Sacro

Legal name

Sacro

Website

https://sacro.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Sacro is a Scottish registered charity founded in 1971 that delivers community justice, community safety, and public protection services across Scotland, including prison throughcare, domestic abuse support, women's mentoring, veterans mentoring, and mediation, funded primarily by government contracts and grants.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Justice Services

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Affordable Housing & Community Development (Housing, Community Land Trusts) (BPAGALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB), Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD), Protection, Child Protection & Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Response (BPAGAAAG)

Keywords

• Community justice services
• Prison rehabilitation programs
• Victim support services
• Restorative mediation services
• Offender rehabilitation support

Headquarters

HQ city

Edinburgh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government and Statutory Funding: Sacro receives funding from government bodies including the Scottish Government, local authorities, and national funding bodies to deliver justice, community safety, and public protection services across Scotland.
2. National Lottery Funding: The organization receives funding from The National Lottery Community Fund for specific programs such as the Veterans Mentoring Service in Edinburgh and the Lothians.
3. Charitable Trust and Foundation Grants: Sacro receives grants from charitable foundations including the Veterans Foundation and UK Government funding programs (such as Tampon Tax funds) for specialized services.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Sacro is a Scottish community justice charity that delivers a wide range of direct services in Community Justice, Community Safety, and Public Protection. Its work covers prison throughcare and rehabilitation for people leaving custody, victim support, domestic abuse and gender-based violence services, restorative mediation, mentoring for veterans and women, housing support, and digital behavioural change modules for Community Payback Orders. Services are delivered across Scotland through Sacro's own staff and volunteers in partnership with the Scottish Government, local authorities, and third-sector organisations.

Product overview

Sacro is a Scottish community justice charity offering a portfolio of social services across Justice, Community Safety and Public Protection. The organization operates both direct service delivery (Veterans Mentoring Service, FearFree domestic abuse support, Shine Women's Mentoring, Aura, Aditi, Garden Project, Community Payback Service, Travel Service, YourHome housing support, School's Out Moray, Upside prison throughcare) and digital products (Online Digital Modules for Community Payback Services). Services are delivered through partnerships with local authorities, Scottish Government, and third-sector organizations. The Scottish Community Mediation Centre provides conflict resolution services. Key recent launches include Upside (national prison throughcare, April 2025) and Click (digital safety service for women selling sex online).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Upside: National prison throughcare service launched in April 2025 to support people transitioning from short-term custody or remand back into the community.
• Shine
• FearFree
• Aditi
• Aura
• YourHome
• Click
• Veterans Mentoring Service
• Garden Project
• Forces of Nature

Products and services

• Justice Services Sacro's Justice services support people leaving custody and work with them in the community to support positive change and rehabilitation. Delivered as part of Sacro's direct service delivery portfolio for people involved in the Scottish criminal justice system.
• Community Safety and Public Protection Provides support to prevent reoffending, protect people from harm, resolve conflict, and support victims. Covers Sacro's victim support, domestic abuse, restorative mediation, and public protection service lines delivered across Scotland.
• Veterans Mentoring Service (VMS) Provides support to armed forces veterans who are caught up in the justice system, helping them rebuild confidence, independence, and overall wellbeing. Delivered for veterans in Edinburgh and the Lothians with continuation funding awarded by The National Lottery Community Fund.
• FearFree (formerly Fearless) Specialist domestic abuse support service for men, LGBT+ people, trans and non-binary individuals affected by domestic abuse. Has successfully completed external accreditation with SafeLives under the 'Leading Lights' programme covering service provision, multi-agency working, HR, and governance.
• Shine Women's Mentoring Service National mentoring service for women with recent experience of the justice system in Scotland, supporting them to build brighter futures. Delivered through the Shine Public Social Partnership with Wise Group, Apex, Access to Industry, Turning Point Scotland, Barnardos, Circle, and Venture Trust, with support from the Scottish Government, Scottish Prison Service, and Social Work Scotland.
• Aura Safety and wellbeing service for women affected by domestic abuse, involving service users in its design and function.
• Aditi Gender-based violence service providing support to individuals experiencing gender-based violence.
• Click Digital safety, support and wellbeing service for women selling or exchanging sex or sexual activity online. Launched as a Scotland-wide project supported by UK Government Tampon Tax funding.
• Garden Project Offers individuals aged 18+ who face barriers to employment and social inclusion the opportunity to learn and develop new skills through gardening activities. Delivered in partnership with Glasgow City Council, Land Environment Services, and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service in Glasgow parks.
• Community Payback Service (CPS) Provides community-based sentences and unpaid work, including online digital behavioural change and wellbeing modules, for individuals and groups on Community Payback Orders in Scotland.
• Travel Service Volunteer driver service that helps people access Sacro services and other appointments.
• YourHome Housing support service in Edinburgh for people who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, providing visiting support and digital access assistance.
• School's Out Moray Moray-wide LGBTQI service run by Sacro for young people and those who work with them, bringing together support available for LGBTQI people and plugging gaps in service provision.
• Upside New national prison throughcare service designed to support people in Scotland moving from short-term custody or remand back into the community, offering trauma-informed, person-centred support tailored to individual needs. Delivered by Sacro with Access to Industry, Action for Children, Apex Scotland, Barnardo's, Circle, Families Outside, and Turning Point Scotland.
• Scottish Community Mediation Centre Provides mediation services to resolve conflicts between individuals and communities, including neighbourhood disputes and housing-related conflicts. Operated by Sacro as a Registered Training Provider approved by the Restorative Justice Council.

Quantifiable outcome

• Reconviction rates in Scotland have shown continued fall, indicating effectiveness of community justice approaches

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Upside Partnership (Access to Industry, Action for Children, Apex Scotland, Barnardo's, Circle, Families Outside, Sacro, Turning Point Scotland)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2025A transformative national prison throughcare service partnership to deliver voluntary throughcare support across Scotland. Designed to support individuals transitioning from short-term custody or remand to community life, offering trauma-informed, person-centred support tailored to individual needs.
• Shine Public Social Partnership (Wise Group, Apex, Access to Industry, Turning Point Scotland, Barnardos, Circle, Venture Trust)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPublic Social Partnership led by Sacro providing women's mentoring services, with support from Scottish Government, Scottish Prison Service and Social Work Scotland.
• Glasgow City Council, Land Environment Services, Scottish Fire and Rescue ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for the Garden Project delivering horticultural and outdoor activities for individuals facing barriers to employment and social inclusion, located in Glasgow parks.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Turning Point Scotland: Scottish social care charity delivering justice, homelessness, addiction, and recovery services. Direct peer across Sacro's public protection portfolio; also an Upside partnership member with overlapping service delivery and funder base.
• Shelter Scotland: Scotland's leading housing and homelessness charity. Comparable to Sacro's YourHome service line and overlaps in the homelessness prevention and housing support segments; competes for the same local authority and Scottish Government housing-related funding.
• Families Outside: Scottish charity supporting families affected by imprisonment. Directly comparable to Sacro's prison throughcare mission (Upside partnership member) and shares the same statutory funder ecosystem in Scottish criminal justice.
• Apex Scotland: Scottish charity supporting people with criminal convictions into employment and training. Directly comparable to Sacro's Justice and prison throughcare services; Apex is also an Upside partnership member, indicating deep overlap in mission and target population.
• Circle Scotland: Scottish charity supporting families, children, and people affected by imprisonment or substance use. Direct peer across family-facing justice services; Upside partnership member with overlapping service model.
• Victim Support Scotland: Scotland's lead victim support charity, providing emotional and practical support to people affected by crime. Directly comparable to Sacro's victim and domestic abuse service lines (FearFree, Aura, Aditi) and competes for the same Scottish Government victim support funding.

Broad incumbents

• Action for Children: Major UK children's services charity operating across Scotland. Comparable as a broader incumbent in youth justice, family support, and throughcare; Upside partnership member competing for the same Scottish Government contracts.
• Barnardo's Scotland: Major UK children's charity with significant Scotland operations. A broader incumbent with overlapping youth justice, family support, and throughcare programs; Upside partnership member and significant competitor for Scottish Government children and family services contracts.

Emerging players

• Cyrenians: Edinburgh-based charity tackling homelessness, social exclusion, and offending. Comparable niche player to Sacro in Edinburgh-focused community reintegration, housing support, and reducing reoffending programs; smaller scale but overlapping geographic and beneficiary footprint.
• Wise Group: Scottish social enterprise delivering employability and justice services. Comparable across employability, justice, and women's mentoring (Shine partnership member); similar funder base and operational scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/sacroscotland
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/sacro
• Xx.com/sacro_

Compliance5 records

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 Sacro