Caring Connections

What Caring Connections does

Caring Connections is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1013152) that has delivered community-based care in the North West of England since July 1992, when it was founded as Crossroads Care Knowsley. It was renamed Care and Respite Support Services Limited in 2012 and rebranded to Caring Connections in 2017. The organisation provides adult home care, reablement, end-of-life support, personalised care, and bereavement counselling delivered through its Barbara Bettle Foundation. Its operational footprint comprises five branches covering Knowsley, Wigan, Cheshire & Wirral (Birkenhead), Warrington, and Blackpool, with services commissioned primarily by local authorities and supplemented by charitable donations and fundraising.

The operating model is built around CQC-regulated personal care, with an active Good rating achieved in September 2024 following a prior Requires Improvement rating at the Wigan branch in 2023. The technology stack is non-differentiated sector tooling: QuickPlan for rota management, and The PASS System and The Open Pass System for electronic care planning and real-time care records. Over the most recent two-year period disclosed, the charity delivered 443,973+ hours of home care and reablement and 7,730+ fully funded bereavement counselling sessions. Workforce accreditations include Disability Confident, Mindful Employer, and Armed Forces Covenant, and the leadership team is led by CEO Paul Growney with Julie Griffiths as Director of People and Culture and Rachael Fraser as Director of Finance and Systems.

Revenue is generated through two channels: local authority contracts for regulated care services (the primary, recurring-revenue stream) and charitable donations and fundraising that subsidise non-commissioned services such as bereavement counselling. Customer acquisition is referral-driven through local councils, NHS bodies, GP practices, and social prescribing teams. The organisation has pursued a partnership-led growth model, working with Liverpool YMCA, Whitechapel Centre, Brownlow Health, and The Brick (Wigan) to extend reach into homelessness, primary care, and welfare services, and has added adjacent charitable verticals including veterans support and heritage projects since 2017.

Name

Caring Connections

Legal name

Caring Connections

Website

https://caringconnections.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1992

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Caring Connections is a UK-registered charity delivering home care, reablement, end-of-life support, and bereavement counselling across the North West of England via five branches, serving local authority and NHS-commissioned clients alongside donor-funded service users.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Home Care Services

NAICS

Home Health Care Services (62161)

SIC

Services-Home Health Care Services (8082)

akta.pro primary industry

Home Hospice Agencies (HLAFAEAC)

Keywords

• Home care services
• Social care
• Reablement services
• Bereavement counselling
• Community health

Headquarters

HQ city

Knowsley

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Local Authority Contracts: Primary revenue from contracts with local authorities across the North West for the provision of social care services. The organization is registered with CQC for personal care delivery and receives public funding to deliver home care and reablement services.
2. Charitable Donations and Fundraising: Fully funded bereavement counselling sessions provided through charitable donations and fundraising activities. Community projects funded through charitable sources.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Caring Connections is a not-for-profit registered charity that delivers CQC-registered in-home care services (Adult Care Support, End of Life Support, Personalised Care Support, and Reablement Services) to vulnerable adults across North West England, complemented by a fully funded bereavement counselling service (Barbara Bettle Foundation) for those bereaved, including by suicide or life-limiting conditions. Care is delivered 24/7 by employed, DBS-checked care workers under contracts with local authorities and supported by charitable donations and fundraising.

Product overview

Caring Connections is a not-for-profit registered charity providing a unified portfolio of CQC-registered home care services across the North West of England. The core offerings consist of Adult Care Support, End of Life Support, Personalised Care Support, and Reablement Services—all delivered as in-home care by trained, DBS-checked staff available 24/7. These core services are supplemented by the Bereavement Counselling Service (Barbara Bettle Foundation), a charitable counselling programme providing fully funded sessions. The organization operates multiple regional branches (Merseyside/Knowsley, Wigan, Cheshire & Wirral, and Warrington) and leverages technology systems including QuickPlan for rota management, The PASS System for electronic care planning, and Open Pass for service user access to care records.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The Barbara Bettle Foundation (BBF): Bereavement Counselling Service established in 2017 in memory of Barbara Bettle who lost her life to suicide in 2015. Provides emotional, practical and psychological support to carers, family and friends and to those living with cancer and other life-limiting conditions.

Products and services

• Adult Care Support Compassionate and professional in-home care service providing day-to-day support for loved ones and offering carers a break from the stresses of caring responsibilities. Delivered by trained, DBS-checked care workers across the North West of England.
• End of Life Support Emotional, practical, and psychological support service for carers, family, friends, and those living with cancer and other life-limiting conditions, delivered in the service user's own home.
• Personalised Care Support Tailored care support service designed to meet the individual and personal needs of each service user, recognising that every care request is different. Delivered as part of the in-home care portfolio.
• Reablement Services Dedicated service supporting individuals to regain independence after illness and hospital stays, providing one-to-one tailored support to reduce the need for long-term care provision.
• Bereavement Counselling Service (Barbara Bettle Foundation) Fully funded telephone-based one-on-one counselling service providing emotional, practical, and psychological support to those bereaved, including by suicide, and to those living with cancer and other life-limiting conditions. Delivered by professionally qualified counsellors using Cognitive Behavioural, Person-Centred, and Psychodynamic approaches.

Quantifiable outcome

• 443,973+ hours of home care/reablement delivered in past 2 years
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• The Brick (Wigan)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 May 2025Wigan-based charity providing vital assistance to individuals and families affected by homelessness. Caring Connections team climbed Snowdon to raise funds, raising over £581 for the charity.
• Local Authorities (North West)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary contractual partnerships with local authorities across the North West for the provision of social care services. Works with local authorities in Liverpool City Region, Wigan, Cheshire, and Warrington for care commissioning and delivery.
• Liverpool YMCAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Liverpool YMCA for providing one-to-one support to homeless individuals with care needs. Working together to address complex needs of vulnerable populations.
• The Whitechapel CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with The Whitechapel Centre for homeless support services. Provides one-to-one support to those experiencing homelessness with care needs and long-term health conditions.
• Brownlow HealthcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Brownlow Health for integrated healthcare support to homeless and vulnerable individuals. Joint provision of care services across Liverpool hostels.
• BACP / National Counselling ServiceminorOthersMembership organization providing professional standards and accreditation for counselling services. Ensures quality standards in bereavement counselling delivery.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Bluebird Care: UK network of regulated home care franchises providing personal care, reablement and live-in care. Operates across the same North West geographies and competes with Caring Connections for local authority personal care contracts.
• Cruse Bereavement Support: UK bereavement support charity delivering one-to-one counselling to bereaved individuals nationally. Directly comparable to the Barbara Bettle Foundation bereavement service within Caring Connections' portfolio.
• Home Instead: Large UK franchised home care provider delivering personal care, dementia care and end-of-life support to older adults in their own homes. Directly comparable service model and CQC-regulated footprint overlapping the same North West customer base as Caring Connections.
• Helping Hands Home Care: National UK home care provider offering visiting and live-in personal care, including end-of-life and reablement support, with CQC-registered branches in the North West. Direct competitor for the same customer segments and local authority contracts.

Emerging players

• Crossroads Together: Carer respite-focused home care charity with Northern England footprint sharing historical Crossroads Care heritage with Caring Connections (originally Crossroads Care Knowsley). Directly comparable mission and service offering.

Broad incumbents

• Age UK: National charity for older people delivering information, advice and home support services including personal care. Comparable as a charity addressing similar isolation, daily living and end-of-life challenges facing Caring Connections' service users.
• MHA (Methodist Homes): Large UK charity providing care and support for older people, including home care services, similar charitable ethos and mission-led model. Comparable as a not-for-profit competitor also working with local authority commissioners in the North West.
• Sanctuary Home Care: Large UK housing and care provider operating home care branches in northern England, providing personal care and reablement under council contracts. Overlaps operationally with Caring Connections across the North West contract market.

Regional players

• Locala Health and Wellbeing: NHS-affiliated community health provider delivering home-based care across the North of England. Comparable as a regional community health and home care organisation working under council/NHS commissioning in overlapping geographies.

Others

• EveryLife Technologies (PASS System): Technology vendor providing electronic care planning systems (The PASS System) used by Caring Connections. Comparable as a sector infrastructure provider and integration dependency for home care delivery.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CaringConnect1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCZ7hI4psirk9bzhpyd7ROSQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/caringconnect1
• LinkedInuk.linkedin.com/in/paul-growney-0aa4b3123
• Instagraminstagram.com/caringmerseyside

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 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 Caring Connections