Skainos

What Skainos does

Skainos operates an urban regeneration development in inner East Belfast, providing shared venue space for community transformation and renewal. The facility offers five hireable rooms accommodating 5 to 250 delegates, alongside conference facilities, meeting rooms, catering services, and office space for lease. The organisation functions as a registered charity and social economy entity, growing out of East Belfast Mission's work in one of Northern Ireland's most economically and socially deprived communities. Multiple partner organisations — including Age NI, NI Housing Rights, BHSCT, International Justice Mission, Volunteer Now, BookTrust, Terra Nova Productions, Specialisterne, and Tearfund — share the building, consolidating homelessness, employability, youth, family, and community development services under one roof.

The building incorporates environmentally sensitive design features including a natural ventilation strategy, a biomass boiler plant, solar thermal panels, and intelligent lighting controls, structurally reducing operational energy costs and CO2 emissions. Five rooms are available for hire Monday through Friday from 8:00 to 17:00, equipped with Wi-Fi, audio-visual facilities, natural daylight, disability access, and on-street parking. Catering is delivered through Refresh, a wholly-owned in-house social enterprise that serves events held at the Centre and also provides external catering for christenings, funerals, parties, and office meetings.

Skainos generates revenue through three primary streams: room hire and conference facilities (with preferential rates for voluntary, community, and charity groups), office space rental within the Skainos Square development, and catering services through Refresh. The business model blends commercial venue hire with social purpose, as profits from venue operations and Refresh catering support East Belfast Mission's work with vulnerable populations. The go-to-market approach is direct-to-customer via the website, phone, email enquiry forms, and walk-in site visits, targeting the voluntary sector, commercial organisations, and private individuals in the Belfast and Northern Ireland market. The organisation is governed by a Board of Directors chaired by Dr David Dobbin CBE, with no venture capital, private equity, or public ownership disclosed.

Name

Skainos

Legal name

Skainos Project

Website

https://skainos.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Skainos operates a conference and meeting venue in inner East Belfast, providing five hireable rooms, office lettings, and catering through its Refresh social enterprise. A registered charity, it supports East Belfast Mission's community work while generating revenue from room hire, conferences, and offices.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Conference and Event Venue Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (561920), Caterers (722320)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Convention & Exhibition Centers (Public Convention Centers, Civic Centers) (THAHAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Venue Sourcing & Site Coordination (HSACAAAD), Conferences & Conventions Operations Services (Registration, AV, Logistics) (MPAGAGAM), Venue & Facility Reservations (Private Rooms, Event Spaces) (HSACALAJ)

Keywords

• Conference venue hire
• Meeting room rental
• Community conference facilities
• Event catering services
• Office space leasing

Headquarters

HQ city

Belfast

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Room Hire and Conference Facilities: Revenue from hiring out meeting rooms, conference facilities, and event spaces. The venue offers competitive rates with discounts for voluntary, community and charity groups.
2. Catering Services (Refresh): In-house catering social enterprise providing food services for events, training sessions, and external catering for christenings, funerals, parties and office meetings. Profits support East Belfast Mission's community work.
3. Office Space Rental: Revenue from letting office spaces within the Skainos Centre building

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Skainos operates a conference and meeting facilities venue in inner East Belfast, offering five hireable rooms for interviews, meetings, functions, and small conferences accommodating 5 to 250 delegates. The venue provides Wi-Fi, audio-visual facilities, disability access, on-street parking, and on-site catering through its Refresh social enterprise, with single and multi-session, day, and evening rates. The site also offers office space for lease within the Skainos Square development.

Product overview

Skainos is a conference and meeting facilities venue in inner East Belfast offering five hireable rooms for interviews, meetings, functions, and small conferences (5-250 delegates). The venue operates Monday to Friday with Wi-Fi, audio-visual facilities, disability access, on-street parking, and flexible spaces. Catering is provided through the Refresh social enterprise, which serves hired rooms and offers external catering. Additional services include office space for lease and job postings. The venue is managed by Skainos Ltd., a registered charity and social economy organisation affiliated with East Belfast Mission, with preferential rates for voluntary, community, and charity groups.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Refresh: In-house catering social enterprise called Refresh, providing catering for events, training, and external catering services. As a social enterprise, profits enable East Belfast Mission to help vulnerable people.

Products and services

• Room Hire Five different rooms available for hire from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday to Friday, suitable for interviews, meetings, functions, and small conferences. Rooms feature Wi-Fi, audio-visual facilities, disability access, flexible spaces, on-street parking, and on-site catering. Targeted at voluntary, community, and commercial organisations needing affordable meeting spaces in Belfast.
• Conference Facilities Conference facilities accommodating 5 to 250 delegates, with single and multi-session options, day and evening rates, Wi-Fi and audio-visual facilities, disability access, and personalised service. Parking available on nearby streets with Refresh Cafe providing catering. Designed for organisations hosting conferences, training courses, meetings, and community events.
• Refresh Catering In-house catering social enterprise providing food for events and training held at Skainos, including tea/coffee on arrival, lunch, and breaks served in hired rooms or a private overflow area seating up to 20. Also provides external catering for christenings, funeral catering, parties, and office meetings at competitive prices. As a social enterprise, profits support East Belfast Mission's work with vulnerable people.
• Offices to Let Office space available for lease within the Skainos Square development in inner East Belfast. Targeted at partner organisations and small tenants seeking office accommodation co-located with community and non-profit groups in the building.

Quantifiable outcome

• Helping a thousand vulnerable people every week to have a roof over their heads, get into work and improve their mental health

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• East Belfast Mission (EBM)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSkainos grew out of the work of East Belfast Mission. It brings together all aspects of EBM's work including homelessness services, employability, social economy projects, youth work, family work, community development and peace building, as well as a vibrant worshipping community.
• Age NIminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• NI Housing RightsminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• BHSCT (Belfast Health and Social Care Trust)minorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• International Justice MissionminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• Volunteer NowminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• BookTrustminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• Terra Nova ProductionsminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• SpecialisterneminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre
• TearfundminorOthersPartner organisation sharing space at the Skainos Centre

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Park Avenue Hotel Belfast: Belfast hotel with conference and banqueting facilities. Comparable to Skainos as a Belfast-based venue offering meeting rooms and event hosting, with hotel-style amenities as a broader differentiator.
• Clayton Hotel Belfast: Belfast city-centre hotel offering conference and meeting facilities for corporate clients. Comparable to Skainos in providing meeting and event spaces in Belfast, with a broader accommodation-led offering and commercial pricing model.
• Titanic Belfast: Large-scale visitor attraction and event venue in Belfast offering conference and banqueting facilities alongside tourism. Comparable to Skainos in hosting corporate and community events but operating at much larger scale and with a tourism-led business model.
• The Culloden Estate and Spa: Upscale Belfast-area hotel and conference venue offering meeting rooms, banqueting, and event facilities. Comparable to Skainos in hosting conferences and events in the Belfast market, but at a luxury/premium tier and hotel-integrated.
• Hilton Belfast Templepatrick Golf & Country Club: Hotel-based conference and event venue in the Belfast area offering meeting rooms and event spaces. Comparable to Skainos in providing corporate meeting and conference facilities, but with full hotel accommodation and a commercial positioning.

Regional players

• Mount Conference Centre: Belfast-based conference and meeting venue offering room hire for community, charity, and corporate clients. Comparable to Skainos in scale and target market (voluntary and community sector) and in offering affordable conference facilities.
• The MAC (Metropolitan Arts Centre): Belfast arts and conference venue hosting cultural events, theatre, and corporate hires. Comparable to Skainos as a Belfast cultural/community venue offering room and event hire, with a stronger arts programming orientation.

Direct peers

• Assembly Buildings Conference Centre: Belfast conference and meeting venue with a community/voluntary-sector orientation similar to Skainos. Directly comparable in target market (community organisations, charities) and in offering room hire and conference facilities at accessible rates.
• ICC Belfast (International Conference Centre Belfast): Belfast's flagship purpose-built conference and convention venue, accommodating large-scale conferences and exhibitions. Directly comparable to Skainos in core offering (conference facilities and event hosting) but at significantly larger scale and a more commercial positioning.
• Waterfront Hall Belfast: Major Belfast entertainment and conference venue hosting concerts, conferences, and exhibitions. Comparable to Skainos as a Belfast-based event and conference venue, though operating at much larger capacity and a more commercial entertainment focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/skainos
• Facebookfacebook.com/skainos
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ryan-development-llc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Skainos