Cranstoun

What Cranstoun does

Cranstoun is a UK-registered social justice charity (Registered Charity No. 1061582) operating for over 50 years across England, delivering person-centred harm reduction, substance use treatment, criminal justice, domestic abuse, housing and homelessness, and children and young people's services. In 2024/25 the organisation supported over 34,000 adults, children and young people across at least ten commissioned regions including Worcestershire, Sutton, Sandwell, Wokingham, the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, Derby, Dudley, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Buckinghamshire, with outcomes reported at 94% Housing First accommodation, 94.5% care plan achievement for young people, and 97% of service users rating staff as friendly and approachable.

The core technology assets are Drugbot, an AI-powered NLP harm reduction chatbot co-developed with Substancy that served over 6,040 unique users in its first year, and WODDAS, a wearable overdose detection device pilot developed with Manchester Metropolitan University, St Paul's Hostel and Queen's University Belfast. Sub-brands include DIVERT (a registered pre-arrest drug diversion programme operating with Thames Valley Police), WiSE (women-only harm reduction spaces), Here4YOUth (young people's services), and an Individual Placement & Support (IPS) employment programme. The technology is enabled by AI modality limited to text and is integrated into, rather than central to, the human-delivered service model.

Revenue is generated through three streams: managed-service contracts commissioned by local authorities and statutory bodies (the primary income source), philanthropic donations including text-donation keyword campaigns and major-donor appeals, and fundraising through charity running events such as the London Marathon and regional half marathons. The go-to-market is direct service delivery via self-referral and professional referral pathways from GPs, probation, housing providers and police, supplemented by digital harm reduction access via Drugbot and B2B training and consultancy. Cranstoun holds UK GDPR, Charity Commission, Fundraising Regulator, Modern Day Slavery Act, and Investing in Volunteers accreditations, and employs between 251 and 500 staff.

Name

Cranstoun

Legal name

Cranstoun

Website

https://cranstoun.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1970

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

Cranstoun is a UK social justice charity, operating for over 50 years, that delivers harm reduction, substance use, criminal justice, housing, domestic abuse and young people's services across more than ten English regions, complemented by the Drugbot AI chatbot and the WODDAS wearable overdose detection pilot.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Welfare Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Voluntary Health Organizations (813212), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (62431)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Substance Use, Addiction & Harm Reduction Health Departments (HLAJAAAM)

Keywords

• Substance use treatment
• Harm reduction services
• Social justice charity
• Domestic abuse support
• Housing support services

Headquarters

HQ city

Esher

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices6 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Government Commissioning: Cranstoun delivers commissioned services on behalf of local authorities and government bodies including Wokingham Borough Council, and various local authorities across their service areas. Services include substance use treatment, young people's services, and criminal justice programmes.
2. Donations: Charitable donations from individuals and organizations supporting the organization's life-changing work. Text donations available via keyword campaigns.
3. Charity Events and Fundraising: Fundraising through organized events including running events (London Marathon, Oxford Half Marathon, Worcester City Runs) with charity places, entry fees, and fundraising targets.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cranstoun is a UK-registered social justice charity that delivers person-centered harm reduction, alcohol and drug treatment, housing, domestic abuse, criminal justice, and young people's services across multiple English regions. It also operates Drugbot, a free 24/7 AI-powered harm reduction chatbot, and is piloting WODDAS wearable overdose detection technology in collaboration with UK universities.

Product overview

Cranstoun is a social justice charity providing a comprehensive portfolio of harm reduction, treatment, and support services rather than a traditional software product company. The core service portfolio includes regional alcohol and drug services across multiple UK areas (Derby, Sutton, Sandwell, Windsor & Maidenhead, Wokingham, Worcestershire), specialized programmes like DIVERT (pre-arrest diversion), WiSE (women's harm reduction), and Here4YOUth (young people's services). The primary digital product is Drugbot, an AI-powered 24/7 harm reduction chatbot. Additional innovations include WODDAS (wearable overdose detection devices) and the pharmacy naloxone pilot. Services span harm reduction (needle exchange, naloxone), treatment (prescribing, detox), recovery support (IPS employment support, peer mentors), and broader social justice work (housing, domestic abuse, criminal justice). Breaking Free Online provides a smartphone companion app for recovery support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Drugbot: A free, anonymous 24/7 AI-powered harm reduction chatbot providing non-judgemental information about drugs. Available to anyone aged 18+ in the UK.
• DIVERT
• WiSE Project
• WODDAS

Products and services

• Drugbot Free, anonymous, 24/7 AI-powered harm reduction chatbot providing evidence-based, non-judgemental information about alcohol and other drugs to UK adults aged 18+, built on a curated knowledge base combining trusted external sources with Cranstoun's expertise.
• Alcohol & Other Drugs Services Person-centered alcohol and drug support services for adults aged 18+ delivered across multiple UK regions, including assessment, harm reduction, recovery planning, prescribing, detox, and family support.
• DIVERT Pre-arrest drug diversion programme for adults and young people caught by police in possession of small quantities of controlled substances, providing education courses and treatment pathways as an alternative to arrest.
• WiSE (Women in Safe Environments) Women-focused harm reduction service providing safe, welcoming spaces with harm reduction, group work, wellbeing support, creative activities, and community connection. No assessment required to attend.
• WODDAS (Wearable Overdose Detection Devices and Alert System) Pioneering wearable device project for people at risk of fatal drug overdoses, detecting changes in vital signs and alerting on-site staff for emergency response. Developed in collaboration with Manchester Metropolitan University, St Paul's Hostel, and Queen's University Belfast.
• Here4YOUth Children and young people's wellbeing service providing social prescribing, emotional health and wellbeing support, substance misuse treatment, and open access support for ages 8-25 and families affected by substance use.
• Individual Placement & Support (IPS) Employment support service helping people into competitive paid employment, providing one-to-one support, job matching, benefits advice, and ongoing employment specialist support for those using local drug and alcohol services.
• Housing & Homelessness Services Services supporting people experiencing homelessness including Housing First programme (94% accommodation success rate), housing advice, liaison, referral, and support for vulnerable adults and families.
• Domestic Abuse Services Support for victims of domestic abuse including refuge services, safety planning, and emotional support. Services available for all victims including male survivors.
• Criminal Justice Services Services supporting people involved with the criminal justice system including arrest referral, diversion programmes, and support for those affected by substance use in the justice system.
• Harm Reduction Services Comprehensive harm reduction services including needle syringe programme, blood-borne virus testing, naloxone distribution, drug diary tools, and alcohol/drug self-assessment tools.
• Breaking Free Online Companion smartphone app providing structured interventions and recovery support for people using drug and alcohol services, with digital tools to support their recovery journey.
• Training and Consultancy Services Professional training and consultancy services for organizations seeking to develop harm reduction, substance use support, or related social justice capabilities.

Quantifiable outcome

• 34,000 people supported in 2024/25
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SubstancycoreTechnology or IntegrationSubstancy developed Drugbot in partnership with Cranstoun. Drugbot is an AI-powered harm reduction chatbot that provides 24/7 anonymous information about substances, built on a curated knowledge base combining trusted external sources with Cranstoun's expertise.
• Forward TrustminorGTM or Marketing PartnerForward Trust embeds Drugbot links on their website, extending harm reduction reach to their service users and demonstrating partnership-based digital offer expansion.
• Drink and Drugs NewsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerDrink and Drugs News hosts Drugbot links on their website, integrating harm reduction information into their media platform for the sector.
• Cardiff Metropolitan UniversityminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCardiff Metropolitan University hosts Drugbot links on their website, providing harm reduction resources for their student population.
• Manchester Metropolitan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on WODDAS (Wearable Overdose Detection Devices and Alert System) pilot project. Dr Li Guo's team provides technical expertise in AI and wearable technology integration for health solutions, specifically developing wearable devices to monitor biometric data and detect opioid overdose risk.
• St Paul's HostelcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSt Paul's Hostel provides the setting for the WODDAS pilot project, hosting at-risk individuals who use drugs and providing on-site staff to respond to alerts from wearable devices during overdose risk situations.
• Queen's University BelfastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerQueen's University Belfast provides project evaluation for WODDAS pilot. Dr Anne Campbell leads work on wearables technology to detect opioid overdose and has established international reputation in substance use research informing UK Government drug policy.
• Pharmacy at Spring Gardens (Worcester)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating pharmacy in Cranstoun's naloxone take-home pilot scheme in Worcestershire, providing take-home naloxone kits and brief training to adults at risk of opioid overdose.
• Knights Birmingham Road (Bromsgrove)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating pharmacy in Cranstoun's naloxone take-home pilot scheme in Worcestershire, providing take-home naloxone kits and brief training to adults at risk of opioid overdose.
• Knights Winyates Pharmacy (Redditch)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerParticipating pharmacy in Cranstoun's naloxone take-home pilot scheme in Worcestershire, providing take-home naloxone kits and brief training to adults at risk of opioid overdose.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Breaking Free Online (Health Innovations): Breaking Free Online is a digital recovery-support intervention already integrated into Cranstoun's services as a smartphone companion app — comparable as a digital substance-use recovery tool embedded into treatment pathways.

Broad incumbents

• Shelter: Shelter is a leading UK housing and homelessness charity — broader than Cranstoun but overlapping on the Housing First programme (94% accommodation outcome reported by Cranstoun) and on housing-policy advocacy.
• Mind (National Association for Mental Health): Mind is a large UK mental-health charity — broader than Cranstoun but overlapping on the co-occurring mental-health and substance-use population and on local/national commissioning relationships.

Direct peers

• Phoenix Futures: Phoenix Futures is a UK charity delivering residential and community drug/alcohol recovery, housing, and family services — comparable in the harm-reduction/recovery continuum and local-authority commissioning relationships.
• Turning Point: Turning Point is a UK social enterprise delivering substance-use, mental health, learning-disability, and housing services — a direct peer on the multi-service social-care platform model and local-authority commissioning approach.
• With You (formerly Addaction / We Are With You): With You is a UK national charity providing drug and alcohol treatment, mental health, and family support commissioned across multiple local authorities — a near-direct peer on substance-use services, harm reduction, and multi-region commissioning.
• Humankind Charity: Humankind is a UK charity providing drug and alcohol treatment, housing, and family support across the North of England — directly comparable in services, harm-reduction focus, and local-authority commissioning model.
• Change Grow Live (CGL): CGL is one of the largest UK charities delivering substance-use treatment, recovery, and harm-reduction services commissioned by local authorities — directly comparable in services, customer base (substance users, families, criminal-justice clients), and UK commissioning model to Cranstoun.
• WDP (Drug, Alcohol and Homelessness Charity): WDP is a UK charity providing drug and alcohol treatment, recovery, and homelessness services across multiple London boroughs and regions — comparable in harm-reduction services, naloxone distribution, and regional commissioned-delivery model.

Regional players

• Scottish Drugs Forum: Scottish Drugs Forum is a Scotland-based harm-reduction advocacy and information organization — comparable in harm-reduction mission and Drugbot-like information provision, though geographically distinct from Cranstoun's England footprint.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Cranstoun_org
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCLBTeCv3y1kxDaGBc57f1Nw
• Facebookfacebook.com/Cranstoun.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cranstoun
• Instagraminstagram.com/cranstoun_org

Compliance8 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 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 Cranstoun