Off The Record

What Off The Record does

Off The Record (OTR) is a UK-registered charity (Charity Number 1064275, Company Number 3333729) founded in 1977 and headquartered at Leigh Park, Havant, Hampshire. It provides free, confidential mental health and emotional wellbeing services to young people aged 11-25 and their families across Havant Borough and East Hampshire. Its service portfolio comprises 1-to-1 counselling (up to 8 weeks for young people, 6 weeks for parents/carers), Managing Emotions groupwork (6-week course), family counselling (up to 6 sessions), You First parent/carer groupwork, and a Young Carers programme (fortnightly clubs for ages 8-18 and monthly sessions for young adult carers 17-25). Distribution is multi-channel: a self-referral portal (otrs-south.org.uk/portal), centre-based delivery at four sites (Leigh Park, Emsworth, Hayling Island, Bordon), school outreach for groupwork, and remote delivery via telephone and video. All services are free at point of use.

The underlying technology is non-proprietary and minimal: standard web infrastructure, Microsoft Forms for intake, Donorfy for donor management, and standard video conferencing. There is no AI/ML capability or proprietary platform; service delivery is human-led by qualified, trainee, and self-employed volunteer counsellors adhering to BACP standards. The business model is donation-and-grant-funded: individual donations, legacy giving, community lottery (£1/ticket), sponsored fundraising events, corporate partnerships (30+ named partners including BBC Children In Need, National Lottery Community Fund, Tesco, Waitrose, Screwfix Foundation), charitable trusts, and statutory funding from Havant Borough Council and Hampshire County Council. Volunteer labour (counsellors, support, groupwork, events) underwrites free service delivery. The organisation employs 11-50 staff and is led by CEO Corniche Plumridge with a Board of Trustees chaired by Andrew Carter.

Go-to-market is community-led: self-referral is the primary intake mechanism, supplemented by school outreach, professional referrals (for young carers with parental consent), and a Youth Panel that shapes service design. Marketing relies on organic social (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram), testimonial-driven content, email newsletters, and corporate partner communications. Geographic expansion has occurred within South East Hampshire via satellite sites, and the service mix has been broadened in recent years to include family counselling and You First groupwork, with continued trustee-level capacity-building through 2023-2024 appointments.

Name

Off The Record

Legal name

Off The Record – South

Website

https://otr-south.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1977

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Off The Record is a UK charity founded in 1977 providing free mental health counselling, groupwork, and young carers support to young people aged 11-25 and their families in Havant Borough and East Hampshire, funded by donations, grants, and corporate partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Leigh

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Individual Donations: One-time and regular donations from individuals supporting young people's mental health services. Donation amounts suggested include £5 for telephone support, £25 for groupwork session, £50 for counselling session. Regular giving programs available through JustGiving platform.
2. Corporate Partnerships & Funding: Partnership arrangements with corporate donors including VIVID Plus, Action Hampshire, Cash For Kids, The Sir Jules Thorn Charitable Trust, Hendy Foundation, Barratt Redrow Foundation, National Highways, The Hedley Foundation, Wessex Community Bank, Warburtons, Veolia Sustainability Fund, UK Youth Fund, The Talent Fund, The Swire Charitable Trust, Tesco, Screwfix Foundation, Shanly Foundation, Postcode Community Trust, Havant Borough Council, Hampshire & Isle of Wight Fire Rescue Service, BBC Children In Need, John Pritchard Trust, The Guinness Partnership, National Lottery Community Fund, Hampshire County Council, and others. Partnerships include employee fundraising, commercial donations, volunteering, and one-off activities.
3. Community Lottery: Havant Borough Community Lottery tickets sold at £1 each with weekly prize draws and potential winnings up to £25,000. Proceeds support OTR services.
4. Legacy Giving: Donations made through wills including residual gifts (share of estate after debts) and pecuniary gifts (specific sums).
5. Fundraising Events: Sponsored fundraising events including Great South Run, danceathons, bake sales. JustGiving platform used for collection. London Marathon places offered for fundraising with minimum sponsorship of £2,500.
6. Volunteer Contributions: As a small grassroots charity, OTR relies on volunteer contributions including volunteer counsellors (trained and qualified), support volunteers, groupwork volunteers, young carers volunteers, and events/community engagement volunteers. Volunteers provide services at no cost, enabling free service delivery.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Off The Record is an independent charity that provides free, confidential mental health counselling and wellbeing services to young people aged 11-25 and their families in Havant and South East Hampshire. Core offerings include up to 8 weeks of 1-to-1 counselling for young people, 6 weeks of parent/carer counselling, family counselling, the Managing Emotions 6-week groupwork course, the You First parent/carer course, and a Young Carers programme. All services are delivered at no cost, funded by donations, grants, and corporate partnerships.

Product overview

Off The Record (OTR) is a charity providing free, confidential mental health and emotional wellbeing services to young people aged 11-25 and their families in South East Hampshire. The organization operates a multi-service model centered on counselling (1-to-1 and family counselling), groupwork programmes (Managing Emotions and You First for parents/carers), and dedicated Young Carers support. Services are accessible through a self-referral portal and include initial assessments, waiting list support with volunteer check-in calls, and delivery across multiple formats (face-to-face, online, telephone) and locations. OTR also maintains a Youth Panel for participatory service shaping and provides signposting resources for crisis and specialised support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 1-to-1 Counselling

Quantifiable outcome

• Young people report learning coping strategies, managing anxiety, and developing emotional resilience through counselling and groupwork services
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Hampshire Youth AccesscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHampshire Youth Access (HYA) is a strategic partner providing young carers services coordination across Hampshire and referral pathways.
• HYCAcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHYCA (Hampshire Young Carers Association) provides young carers services coordination, referral forms, and partnership for young carers aged 8-18.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mind: Major UK mental health charity offering information, advice, local Mind services, and campaigning on mental health for adults and young people. Comparable as a broad mental health charity network; less youth-specialised but overlapping in service type.
• CAMHS (NHS): Statutory NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services providing free specialist mental health support for children and young people across England. Comparable as a public-sector youth mental health provider; OTR's positioning statement explicitly references filling gaps in NHS CAMHS.
• The Children's Society: National UK charity supporting vulnerable children and young people, including young carers programmes. Directly comparable as OTR trustee Emma Dovener previously worked in The Children's Society's young carers service, and both organisations run young carers programmes.

Direct peers

• The Mix: UK charity providing essential support for under-25s including mental health, wellbeing, and crisis support via phone, web, and social channels. Comparable as a free, multi-channel youth support service targeting the same 11–25 demographic OTR serves.
• Relate: UK's largest relationship counselling charity offering counselling for individuals, couples, families, and young people. Directly comparable as a free/subsidised counselling provider with a volunteer counsellor model; OTR trustee Dee Holmes previously served as National Safeguarding Lead at Relate.
• Childline (NSPCC): NSPCC-run free, confidential helpline and online service for children and young people up to 19. Comparable as a free, nationally accessible mental health and wellbeing service for young people using a mix of trained staff and volunteers.
• Place2Be: UK children's mental health charity providing in-school counselling and mental health support for pupils, parents, and teachers. Highly comparable as a school-embedded youth mental health provider using volunteer/trained counsellors in schools.
• Kooth: UK-based digital mental health platform commissioned by the NHS to provide free, anonymous counselling and wellbeing support for children and young people. Comparable as a free youth mental health service offering remote/online delivery — a digital-native competitor to OTR's remote counselling offering.
• YoungMinds: UK charity focused on children and young people's mental health through campaigning, parent helpline, and youth participation. Comparable as a youth mental health non-profit serving overlapping age cohorts and operating self-referral/parent support pathways.

Regional players

• Carers Trust: UK charity supporting unpaid carers, with a strong Young Carers programme across the UK. Comparable as a young carers service provider; OTR delivers a local Havant-only young carers programme that overlaps with Carers Trust's national network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/offtherecordsoutheasthampshire
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/off-the-record-south-east-hampshire-
• Instagraminstagram.com/otr_se_hants

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 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 Off The Record