LFS

What LFS does

LFS (Lottery Fundraising Services Ltd.) is a UK-based for-profit fundraising services company founded in 1988 (as Compulotteries) by Steve and Julie Williams. The company operates as a Gambling Commission-licensed External Lottery Manager (ELM) and provides three core services: face-to-face fundraising (venue and door-to-door supporter acquisition), external lottery management (society lottery draw administration, direct debit and BACS management, cancellation handling), and regular giving fundraising (recurring donor campaign management). These services are delivered through a workforce of 200+ professional face-to-face fundraisers organized across four regional UK offices, supplemented by a bespoke telesales function for supporter uplift and conversion campaigns that achieves up to 63% conversion rates.

The company's underlying technology includes the first bespoke computer lottery system built in the UK (1988), digital tablet sign-up technology for field data capture, and an ISO 27001-accredited information security management system that securely processes over 5 million data records annually. LFS holds the Gambling Commission ELM licence, was the first ELM to achieve ISO 27001 certification in 2016, and maintains memberships in the Lotteries Council (where CEO Ged Jones serves as Director), Air Ambulances UK, and the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.

LFS serves UK charity partners — primarily air ambulance charities (e.g., Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, Magpas, Cornwall Air Ambulance Trust), hospice charities (e.g., Julia's House, St Andrews Hospice), and children's healthcare charities (e.g., Alder Hey Children's Charity) — under bespoke multi-year managed and non-managed partnership models. The company offers a 100% ROI guarantee with no financial risk to charity partners and raises over £31 million annually for its clients through lottery and regular giving campaigns. Revenue is generated through management fees and commissions on funds raised, plus telesales uplift services. The company remains privately held with no disclosed institutional investors, funding rounds, or M&A activity.

Name

LFS

Legal name

Lottery Fundraising Services Ltd.

Website

https://lfs.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

LFS (Lottery Fundraising Services Ltd.) is a UK-based External Lottery Manager and face-to-face fundraising specialist, delivering bespoke lottery, regular giving, and telesales campaigns for UK charity partners — primarily air ambulance, hospice, and children's healthcare charities — raising over £31m annually.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Charity Fundraising Services

NAICS

Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles (525)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Business Services (7380), Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Lottery Operators (Government & Private Licensed) (MPAEAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Lottery Beneficiary/Fund Administration & Grant Management Services (MPAEAFAN)

Keywords

• Charity fundraising services
• External lottery management
• Regular giving campaigns
• Face-to-face fundraising
• Donor acquisition

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. External Lottery Management Services: Fully managed and supporter recruitment-only lottery partnerships including lottery draw administration, direct debit and BACS management, and cancellation handling for Gambling Commission-licensed external lottery management
2. Face-to-Face Fundraising Campaigns: Venue and door-to-door fundraising campaigns for supporter acquisition, managed by experienced regional managers with professional fundraisers
3. Regular Giving Campaigns: Fully managed regular giving fundraising campaigns with direct debit management, supporter administration, and ongoing operational support
4. Telesales Uplift and Conversion Campaigns: Bespoke telesales campaign services for supporter upgrades with 63% conversion rate on top campaigns

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

LFS (Lottery Fundraising Services Ltd.) provides bespoke managed fundraising services to UK charities, including external society lottery management with draw administration and direct debit handling, face-to-face venue and door-to-door supporter acquisition campaigns, regular giving programmes with supporter administration, and telesales uplift/conversion campaigns. The firm is a Gambling Commission-licensed External Lottery Manager operating as a fully managed fundraising partner.

Product overview

LFS is a fundraising services company offering a portfolio of complementary fundraising solutions. The core offerings include Face-to-Face Fundraising (venue and door-to-door campaigns), External Lottery Management (society lottery campaigns with draw administration and direct debit management), and Regular Giving Fundraising (committed giving campaigns with supporter administration). These are supported by Telesales Upgrade Campaigns for supporter conversion and Digital Tablet Sign-up Technology for secure data capture. The company operates as a Gambling Commission-licensed External Lottery Manager (ELM) serving charity partners across the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Face-to-Face Fundraising Venue and door-to-face fundraising campaigns supporting UK charities through bespoke donor acquisition programmes, with supporter administration, digital tablet sign-up technology, and campaign reporting.
• External Lottery Management Bespoke society lottery campaigns including professional venue and door-to-door supporter acquisition, lottery draw administration, direct debit and BACS management, cancellation handling, and bespoke reporting for charity partners, under Gambling Commission ELM licensing.
• Regular Giving Fundraising Bespoke regular giving fundraising campaigns including supporter administration, direct debit and BACS management, cancellation handling, campaign reporting, compliance processes, and Gift Aid support for charity partners.
• Telesales Upgrade Campaigns

Quantifiable outcome

• Over £31 million raised annually for charity partners
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Lotteries CouncilcoreOthersLFS CEO Ged Jones serves as Director of the Lotteries Council. The company is a member of this industry body representing charity lotteries in the UK, providing industry leadership and regulatory influence.
• Air Ambulances UKcoreOthersLFS is a member of Air Ambulances UK, the national organization representing air ambulance charities across the UK, demonstrating deep expertise in this vertical.
• Chartered Institute of FundraisingcoreOthersLFS is a member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising with team members holding MCIOF certification, reflecting commitment to professional standards.
• Gambling CommissioncoreOthersLFS holds Gambling Commission licensing as an External Lottery Manager (ELM), the regulatory body overseeing UK gambling including society lotteries.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Hospice Lottery Partnership: Operates lottery products on behalf of multiple UK hospice charities, similar to LFS's hospice vertical work. Competes in the same hospice lottery management segment with overlapping service offerings.
• Unity Lottery: UK charity lottery management service that runs society lotteries for small and medium charities. Directly comparable to LFS as a Gambling Commission-licensed External Lottery Manager competing for the same charity lottery clients.
• Local Hospice Lottery: UK-based External Lottery Manager focused specifically on hospice charities, operating society lotteries on behalf of multiple hospice partners. Directly comparable to LFS's hospice lottery management offering and competes for the same hospice charity RFPs.
• Sterling Lotteries: UK-based External Lottery Manager providing society lottery management, direct debit administration and supporter acquisition services for charities. Directly comparable to LFS across the lottery management value chain.
• Real Fundraising: UK face-to-face fundraising agency providing door-to-door and private site fundraising for charities. Directly comparable to LFS's face-to-face fundraising service line and competes for the same charity acquisition campaigns.

Broad incumbents

• The Health Lottery: Multi-charity society lottery operating across the UK, raising funds for health-related causes. Comparable to LFS as another UK society lottery operator, though larger and broader in remit.
• People's Postcode Lottery: Large UK charity lottery operator running multi-million subscriber lotteries with charity beneficiaries. While much larger and operating a different lottery model, it competes for UK charity fundraising wallet share and sets consumer expectations around charity lotteries.
• Allwyn (UK National Lottery operator): Operator of the UK National Lottery under licence from the Gambling Commission. Not a direct competitor but a broad incumbent defining the UK charity lottery regulatory and consumer landscape in which LFS operates.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/lfsorguk

Compliance4 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 LFS