Empower Trust

What Empower Trust does

Empower Trust (legally "The Empower Trust," also known as Empower Multi-Academy Trust or Empower MAT) is a UK Multi-Academy Trust registered as a company limited by guarantee and exempt charity in England and Wales (company number 11259965). Founded in 2018 and headquartered in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, it operates a network of 9 wholly-owned church and community primary and nursery academies across the Shropshire region. The trust serves children and families through infant, nursery, junior, and primary education, with Greenacres Primary School having received a GOOD Ofsted rating in all areas. Revenue is derived entirely from UK government education grants on a per-pupil basis; no tuition is charged to families. The trust employs between 101 and 250 staff and is led by CEO Carla Whelan.

Empower Trust's core offerings extend beyond direct classroom education to include centralized shared services provided to member academies: finance, governance support, leadership development, and data management handled by a central team. It also operates Teaching & Learning policy frameworks, Initial Teacher Training with three varied placements, Continuing Professional Development (CPD) for existing teachers, governance support for trustees, and a Collaboration Group and Associate Membership pathway designed to onboard additional schools into the trust. Communication with governors, staff, and families is maintained through regular trust newsletters, blogs, and annual impact reports (the most recent covering 2024-2025). Marketing and outreach are conducted through organic channels including LinkedIn, Facebook, X/Twitter, email, and the trust's website.

Business model mechanics are characteristic of UK state-funded MATs: per-pupil funding flows from the Department for Education via local authorities, with each academy operating under a standardized funding agreement and scheme of delegation. The trust is governed by a board of trustees and members, with no parent company, private equity, or venture capital ownership identified in available data. Distribution is entirely regional — all 9 academies are located within Shropshire — and growth is pursued through converting or associating with additional local schools rather than commercial sales activity. Partnerships are limited to operational vendors such as Blue Apple Education (creative services) with no disclosed commercial revenue partners.

Name

Empower Trust

Legal name

The Empower Trust

Website

https://empowertrust.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Empower Trust is a UK Multi-Academy Trust operating 9 wholly-owned church and community primary and nursery academies across Shropshire. It delivers state-funded primary education and centralized shared services — finance, governance, leadership, and teacher training — to children, families, and member schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Multi-Academy Primary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Faith-Based (Religious) K–12 Schools (EDAJABAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Faith-Based Early Learning Academies (EDACADAH)

Keywords

• Multi-academy trust education
• Primary school education
• Nursery school education
• Academy shared services
• Teacher professional development

Headquarters

HQ city

Hadnall

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Empower Trust operates a Multi-Academy Trust comprising nine church and community academies across Shropshire. It provides free, state-funded primary and nursery education to children and centralized finance, governance, leadership, teaching, and data support to its member academies.

Product overview

Empower Multi-Academy Trust is a network of church and community academies across Shropshire, UK, providing educational services through multiple primary and nursery schools. The trust operates as a unified educational organization offering shared services including centralized finance, governance support, and leadership development to member academies. Key offerings include Teaching & Learning frameworks with assessment tools, Initial Teacher Training programs, and ongoing CPD opportunities. The trust facilitates collaboration among schools through networks such as EYFS Networks and provides governance support including training and Chair Forum meetings. Regular communication is maintained through trust news, newsletters, and annual impact reports.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Multi-Academy Trust Educational Services A network of nine church and community academies across Shropshire providing state-funded primary, infant, junior, and nursery education to children, with collaborative school-improvement support across the Trust.

Named customers9 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Blue Apple EducationminorOthersBlue Apple Education provides branding, website design, and photography services for Empower Trust. They are responsible for school branding, website design, and photography as noted in the website footer.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Harris Federation: A large London-origin MAT running primary and secondary academies across multiple regions. Comparable as a direct MAT peer with centralised shared services and an aggressive academy-conversion growth strategy.
• Star Academies: A growing UK MAT running primary and secondary schools with a faith-based heritage. Comparable as a faith-rooted MAT competitor actively recruiting new schools into its network.
• REAch2 Academy Trust: A national primary-focused MAT with a collaborative school-improvement model and central services. Highly comparable to Empower Trust's stated collaborative approach to lifting academy outcomes.
• United Learning: A national MAT running both faith and non-faith schools under a shared governance and curriculum model. Comparable to Empower Trust's hybrid faith+community identity and central-team operating approach.
• Greenwood Academies Trust: A multi-region MAT operating multiple primary academies with a focus on school improvement and central shared services. Comparable to Empower Trust in operating model and target school profile.
• Oasis Community Learning: One of the largest UK Multi-Academy Trusts operating a national network of primary and secondary academies with a faith-tinged community identity. Directly comparable to Empower Trust as a MAT model, though at materially greater scale.

Direct peers

• Severn Academies Education Trust: A smaller Shropshire-area MAT running a comparable number of primary academies in overlapping geography. The closest direct peer to Empower Trust in scale, geography, and school-improvement positioning.

Regional players

• Diocese of Shrewsbury Multi Academy Trust: A Catholic diocesan MAT operating schools across the North West and Shropshire. Comparable as a faith-based regional MAT operating in overlapping or adjacent Shropshire geography to Empower Trust's Church of England academies.
• Lichfield Diocese Education Team: The Church of England diocesan education authority covering parts of the same Shropshire catchment as Empower Trust. Comparable as a regional Church of England school sponsor and potential conversion partner or competitor for C.E. primary schools.
• Shrewsbury Schools Foundation: A long-established Shrewsbury-based educational foundation operating independent schools in the same geography as Empower Trust. Comparable as a regional education provider, though operating in the independent rather than state-funded MAT segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/trustempower
• Facebookfacebook.com/EmpowerTrustMAT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/empowertrust

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Subsidiaries9 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 Empower Trust