OutsideClinic
OutsideClinic is the UK's largest domiciliary optical and audiology practice, delivering home eye tests, home hearing tests, custom-made glasses, and hearing aids via mobile clinicians to elderly, homebound, and care home patients across the UK, with NHS and private revenue streams.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1987
- HeadquartersSwindon, United Kingdom
- Headcount251–500
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What OutsideClinic does
OutsideClinic is a UK-based private limited company founded in 1987 that operates the largest domiciliary optical and audiology practice in the country. The company's core service is bringing comprehensive eye and hearing care directly to customers' homes via a network of mobile Optometrists and Audiologists carrying portable testing equipment. It serves primarily homebound individuals, elderly patients, those with mobility or cognitive difficulties (including dementia), and care home residents, with NHS-funded home eye tests available to eligible individuals and free home hearing tests for all. A secondary segment is care homes, served through a dedicated end-to-end B2B service.
The product portfolio spans home eye tests (NHS-funded or £60 private), home hearing tests (free), prescription glasses custom-manufactured in the company's Glasgow laboratory, and hearing aids across multiple styles (BTE, RIC, ITE, CIC) and brands including Signia and Widex at price points from £1,500 to £4,595 per pair. Supporting products include CarePlus and CarePremium subscription aftercare plans, an online hearing check tool, electronic magnifiers via Optelec partnership, and an e-commerce shop for accessories. The Glasgow lab, acquired in 2022 through the Visioncall acquisition, employs 18 dedicated colleagues and produces an average of 500 pairs of spectacles per day with a record of 1,565 pairs in a single day.
Revenue is generated through a mix of one-time product sales (hearing aids, glasses), recurring subscription revenue (aftercare plans), NHS reimbursement for funded eye tests, transaction fees on finance arrangements brokered via Chrysalis Finance Limited (an FCA-regulated credit broker arrangement), and private eye test fees. The company holds FCA authorisation (FRN 1000050) for credit broking and NHS approval for home eye testing. The company has stated a target of 20% growth over the next 18 months and self-describes as the fastest-growing domiciliary practice in the UK. It operates a registered headquarters in Swindon, a manufacturing facility in Glasgow, physical hearing centres for walk-in customers, and a UK-wide field force for home visits.
OutsideClinic firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- OutsideClinic
- Legal name
- OutsideClinic Limited
- Website
- https://outsideclinic.co.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1987
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 251–500 employees
- Short description
- OutsideClinic is the UK's largest domiciliary optical and audiology practice, delivering home eye tests, home hearing tests, custom-made glasses, and hearing aids via mobile clinicians to elderly, homebound, and care home patients across the UK, with NHS and private revenue streams.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
OutsideClinic industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Domiciliary Eye and Hearing Care
- NAICS
- Home Health Care Services (62161), Offices of Optometrists (62132)
- SIC
- Services-Home Health Care Services (8082), Ophthalmic Goods (3851)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Lab Draws, Specimen Collection & Point-of-Care Testing (In-Home) (HSABACAN)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Reading Glasses (OTC) (CRAAAKAG)
Keywords
Where OutsideClinic is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Swindon
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
OutsideClinic business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Hearing Aids Sales: Sale of hearing aids including BTE, RIC, ITE, and CIC styles from brands like Signia and Widex. Hearing aids come with warranty, aftercare, and financing options.
- Glasses/Eyewear Sales: Sale of prescription glasses with custom-made lenses and frames. Frames from various brands, lenses tailored to prescription and lifestyle.
- Aftercare/Warranty Services: CarePlus and CarePremium aftercare plans for extended protection on hearing aids. Lifetime aftercare and free servicing included with purchases.
- NHS Funded Eye Tests: Free NHS-funded home eye tests for eligible individuals who cannot leave their home unaccompanied.
- Finance Intermediation: Credit broker arrangement with Chrysalis Finance Limited, arranging financing for hearing aids and eyewear purchases.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Hearing Aids - Starting Price |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Widex Moment ITE Hearing Aids |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Signia Insio ITE Hearing Aids |
| Unit Pricing | Pay-as-you-go | Handheld Electronic Magnifiers |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Private Home Eye Test |
| Subscription | Monthly | Finance Payment Plans |
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | NHS Funded Eye Tests |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels7 records
OutsideClinic product offering
Product offeringCore offering
OutsideClinic is a UK domiciliary optical and audiology practice that delivers complete eye and hearing care to customers in their homes. Services include free NHS-funded home eye tests, free home hearing tests, custom-made prescription glasses manufactured in its Glasgow lab, and multiple hearing aid brands (Signia, Widex) fitted and serviced at home. The company provides end-to-end care including testing, dispensing, fitting, and lifetime aftercare for both individual customers and care home residents.
Product overview
OutsideClinic is a domiciliary healthcare provider offering a unified home-based eye and hearing care service. The core offerings include home eye tests (NHS-funded for eligible patients or £60 private) and home hearing tests (free), complemented by prescription glasses (custom-manufactured in the Glasgow lab) and hearing aids across multiple styles (BTE, RIC, ITE, CIC) and brands (Signia, Widex) priced from £1,500 per pair. The product portfolio also includes the CarePlus aftercare plan, online hearing assessments, electronic magnifiers for low vision, and dedicated care home services. All products and services are delivered through mobile clinicians who visit patients at home, with glasses manufactured in-house and hearing aids sourced from premium manufacturers.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Home Eye Tests Comprehensive at-home eye examinations delivered by mobile optometrists using portable testing equipment, available as free NHS-funded tests for eligible individuals or as private tests for £60. Results and advice are provided during the visit.
- Home Hearing Tests Free at-home hearing assessments conducted by HCPC-registered audiologists using portable equipment, typically taking around an hour and including consultation and recommendations on hearing aids.
- Prescription Glasses Custom-made prescription glasses with a range of frames and lenses, manufactured in the UK at the Glasgow laboratory and delivered to customers' homes.
- Hearing Aids Multiple hearing aid styles (BTE, RIC, ITE, CIC) from brands including Signia and Widex, fitted at home by audiologists with prices starting from £1,500 per pair and including warranty, aftercare, and financing options.
- CarePlus Aftercare Plans Bespoke aftercare plan for hearing aids with two coverage levels (CarePlus and CarePremium) providing extended protection, maintenance essentials, and ongoing servicing beyond the standard warranty.
- Care Homes Service Complete end-to-end eye and hearing care service tailored for care homes, providing on-site testing, fitting, and aftercare for residents.
Quantifiable outcome
- 40% of UK population over 50 have some form of hearing loss
- +4 more outcomes
Companies that use OutsideClinic
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
OutsideClinic technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
OutsideClinic partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- VisioncallcoreVisioncall was acquired by OutsideClinic in 2022, bringing a team of exceptional colleagues and a state-of-the-art spectacle lab in Glasgow. This acquisition has significantly enhanced OutsideClinic's spectacle production capabilities.
- Lions Recycle for SightminorPartnership for glasses recycling programme. Lions Recycle for Sight collects and refurbishes old glasses to distribute to those in need globally, having collected over 1,000,000 pairs over 30 years.
- Optelec Electronic MagnifiersminorPartnership offering 5% discount on Optelec Electronic Magnifiers using code TOC5 at checkout. Supports customers with low vision needing magnification aids.
- Tasting ColoursminorEmployee wellbeing programme partner. Tasting Colours delivers a six-week wellbeing programme to OutsideClinic staff, with 132 people having participated in the 'life-changing' programme.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves7 records
Expansion highlights6 records
OutsideClinic competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Scrivens Opticians: Scrivens Opticians is a UK family-owned optical and hearing-care chain with a domiciliary home-visit service. It is highly comparable to OutsideClinic in combining optometry and audiology under one brand and reaching customers who cannot easily visit a high-street practice.
- Leightons Opticians: Leightons Opticians is a UK independent optical and hearing-care chain with a domiciliary home-visit service for housebound and elderly customers. It is a focused peer to OutsideClinic given its similar combined optometry-and-audiology model and home-visit capability.
- Hidden Hearing: Hidden Hearing is a UK-wide hearing-care provider offering home visits and high-street clinics, dispensing hearing aids from leading manufacturers. It is one of OutsideClinic's closest competitors on the domiciliary audiology side, serving similar elderly and homebound UK customers with a comparable delivery model.
Broad incumbents
- Specsavers: Specsavers is the dominant UK high-street optical retailer and has been expanding its home-visit and hearing-care services. It is highly comparable to OutsideClinic because both serve UK consumers needing eye tests and eyewear, including home visits, but Specsavers operates at much larger scale across physical stores.
- Amplifon: Amplifon is a global hearing-care retailer operating in the UK with both clinic-based and home-visit services. It is a direct hearing-aid peer to OutsideClinic's audiology side, competing on hearing assessments, hearing aid dispensing, and aftercare across the UK market.
- Boots Opticians: Boots Opticians is a major UK optical chain offering eye tests, glasses, and contact lenses, and has a hearingcare arm. It is comparable because it competes for the same UK eye-care consumer, including elderly patients, and operates a broader retail healthcare platform than OutsideClinic's focused home-visit model.
- Boots Hearingcare: Boots Hearingcare is the dedicated hearing-care arm of Boots offering hearing tests, hearing aids, and aftercare with both in-store and home-visit options. It directly competes with OutsideClinic's home hearing-test and hearing-aid dispensing service in the UK market.
Others
- Visioncall: Visioncall is a UK domiciliary eye-care provider acquired by OutsideClinic in 2022. It is comparable because it operates the same mobile optometry model serving care homes and homebound individuals, though it now functions as a wholly-owned subsidiary rather than an independent competitor.
- Sonova (Phonak & Unitron): Sonova is a global hearing aid manufacturer whose Phonak and Unitron brands are widely dispensed through UK audiology practices including home-visit services. It is comparable as an upstream supplier/ecosystem participant to OutsideClinic's hearing aid dispensing business, and a potential DTC disruptor to the dispensing model.
Regional players
- Bayfields Opticians: Bayfields Opticians is a UK independent optical group that has expanded hearing-care services alongside domiciliary eye tests. It is comparable to OutsideClinic in offering combined eye and hearing care with home visits, though at smaller scale and with a more regional footprint.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
OutsideClinic social profiles
Digital presenceOutsideClinic compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance3 records
OutsideClinic financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
OutsideClinic leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles3 records
OutsideClinic subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
OutsideClinic funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
OutsideClinic M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about OutsideClinic
What does OutsideClinic do?
OutsideClinic is a UK domiciliary optical and audiology practice that delivers complete eye and hearing care to customers in their homes. Services include free NHS-funded home eye tests, free home hearing tests, custom-made prescription glasses manufactured in its Glasgow lab, and multiple hearing aid brands (Signia, Widex) fitted and serviced at home. The company provides end-to-end care including testing, dispensing, fitting, and lifetime aftercare for both individual customers and care home residents.
Is OutsideClinic a public or private company?
OutsideClinic is a private company. It is classified as unknown and is currently operating.
When was OutsideClinic founded?
OutsideClinic was founded in 1987. It employs 251 to 500 people.
Where is OutsideClinic based?
OutsideClinic is headquartered in Swindon, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does OutsideClinic make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Hearing Aids Sales are the primary driver. The others are glasses/Eyewear Sales, aftercare/Warranty Services, NHS Funded Eye Tests and finance Intermediation.
Who are OutsideClinic's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Scrivens Opticians, Leightons Opticians and Hidden Hearing. Broad incumbents are Specsavers, Amplifon, Boots Opticians and Boots Hearingcare. Others are Visioncall and Sonova (Phonak & Unitron). Bayfields Opticians is listed as a regional player.
Does OutsideClinic have an API?
No public API is recorded for OutsideClinic.
What industry is OutsideClinic in?
OutsideClinic's product category is Domiciliary Eye and Hearing Care. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSABACAN, Lab Draws, Specimen Collection & Point-of-Care Testing (In-Home), with a secondary code of CRAAAKAG, Reading Glasses (OTC). Its NAICS code is 62161 and its SIC code is 8082.