Recovery Connections

Name

Recovery Connections

Legal name

Recovery Connections

Website

https://recoveryconnections.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Addiction Recovery Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Vocational Rehabilitation Services (6243)

SIC

Services-Specialty Outpatient Facilities, Nec (8093), Services-Nursing & Personal Care Facilities (8050)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

Keywords

• Addiction recovery services
• Peer-led recovery support
• Drug alcohol recovery
• Lived experience recovery
• Recovery charity services

Headquarters

HQ city

Middlesbrough

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Social Enterprise Revenue: Recovery Connections operates social enterprise ventures including community cafes (Connections Café and Deli, Hendon Community Café), a community venue (131 The Venue), and a mobile coffee bike. Profits from these enterprises are reinvested into frontline recovery services.
2. Training and Consultancy Services: The organisation delivers CPD-accredited training programmes including Recovery Ally Training, Substance & Recovery Awareness Training, and Safety-Critical Environments training to employers, universities, councils, NHS teams, and community organisations. Also includes Employee Support Consultancy services.
3. Charitable Funding and Donations: Fundraising from individuals, corporate partners, and grant-making bodies. Activities include sponsored challenges, community fundraising events, workplace giving, and regular donations. Funding supports peer-led recovery hubs, housing/employment/education support, and community outreach.
4. Government and Commissioner Contracts: Partnership with local authorities and public health commissioners to deliver drug and alcohol recovery services, including the STRIDE partnership in Darlington and Individual Placement & Support (IPS) employment services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Recovery Connections is a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO) and registered charity that delivers free peer-led recovery support services to individuals recovering from drug and alcohol problems in the North East of England. It operates social enterprises (cafes, venue, mobile coffee bike), CPD-accredited training programmes, and Employee Support Consultancy for employers, with profits and surplus reinvested into frontline recovery services.

Product overview

Recovery Connections is a Lived Experience Recovery Organisation (LERO) offering a portfolio of integrated support services for people recovering from drug and alcohol issues in the North East of England. The organisation operates a hub-and-spoke model combining frontline recovery services (peer-led groups, community outreach, residential rehab, mental health support, harm reduction, and employment assistance) with social enterprises (the Free Hot Coffee Bike, Connections Community Café and Deli, 131 The Venue, and Hendon Community Café) that reinvest profits into frontline services. Training and consultancy programmes include CPD-accredited Recovery Ally Training, Substance & Recovery Awareness Training, and Safety-Critical Environments training. The organisation also runs the Inclusive Recovery Cities civic framework, the Collegiate Recovery UK university network, and the Recovery Friendly Pledge accreditation programme. Student support is provided at Teesside and Sunderland universities. All core services are free and do not require a referral or diagnosis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 131 The Venue: A community space on Linthorpe Road in Middlesbrough, run with support of people in recovery, offering hands-on experience in hospitality, customer service and event management.
• Connections Community Café and Deli
• Hendon Community Café
• Free Hot Coffee Bike
• New Central Media

Products and services

• Recovery Groups

Quantifiable outcome

• Supported over 100 people into work and training in 2024/25
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered key, core and minor.

• PD PortskeyStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 May 2023Employee support partnership providing recovery support for PD Ports staff. The Group's CEO Frans Caljé demonstrated commitment to helping employees on recovery paths, noting the intrinsic link between supporting recovery and benefit to Teesside, families, and the organisation. Partnership was nominated for a North East HRD Award in 2023.
• STRIDE (Darlington Drug & Alcohol Services) PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 May 2023Recovery Connections is officially part of the Darlington Drug & Alcohol Services (STRIDE) partnership alongside With You and the Council's Access Team. The partnership provides a trio of excellent pathways into recovery in Darlington, including an Access Team, Clinical Team supporting young people, and new Recovery Team. IPS Employment services are also active in Darlington through this partnership.
• Leeds Trinity UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKnowledge Transfer Partnership between Recovery Connections and Leeds Trinity University produced the 'Inclusive Recovery Cities: A Civic Framework for Community Recovery' learning report. Professor David Best (Leeds Trinity University and co-host of Inclusive Recovery Cities) leads research alongside Recovery Connections.
• With YoucoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCharity partner in the STRIDE (Darlington Drug & Alcohol Services) partnership, working alongside Recovery Connections and Darlington Council's Access Team to provide comprehensive drug and alcohol recovery services.
• Teesside UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership including the UK's first university-based peer programme. Recovery Connections maintains a Collegiate Recovery Programme presence at the university, with student support services and Recovery Friendly Pledge implementation.
• Sunderland UniversitykeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerStudent support partnership with dedicated recovery support services for students and Recovery Friendly Pledge implementation to make campuses more recovery-friendly.
• Collegiate Recovery UKkeyStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational network founded by Recovery Connections that brings together universities wanting to create recovery-friendly campuses. Through events, shared resources and peer-led expertise, the network helps institutions develop approaches that work locally and nationally. Universities from Middlesbrough to Manchester are joining.
• New Central MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Dr David Patton to publish books, essays and collections by people with lived experience of addiction and recovery. Gives people the chance to tell their own stories in their own words, debunking myths and challenging stigma. Authors are paid for their work.
• Spennymoor FCminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCommunity partnership with Spennymoor FC (National League North football club) hosting the Recovery Connections coffee bike at match events. Enables conversations about recovery with fans and demonstrates the club's community values.
• Inclusive Recovery Cities NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational movement putting lived experience at the heart of how cities respond to drug and alcohol problems. Recovery Connections helped Middlesbrough become the UK's first Inclusive Recovery City. All 12 North-East local authority areas have committed to the first UK Inclusive Recovery Region, with 30 cities projected nationally by end of 2026. Network includes cities in Ghent, Dublin, and Gothenburg.
• Local Authorities Across North EastcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrong, long-established links with local councils across Middlesbrough, Stockton, Darlington, Redcar, Hartlepool, Gateshead, and Sunderland. Partnerships support commissioned recovery services, Inclusive Recovery City development, and civic ownership of recovery as shared responsibility.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Change Grow Live: One of the largest UK substance use charities, delivering recovery and treatment services across most of England. Comparable as a broad incumbent competing for the same local authority commissioning contracts and employing peer-led recovery workers.
• The Forward Trust: UK charity providing substance use treatment, recovery housing, and employment services across prisons and the community. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering peer-led recovery and employment pathways similar to Recovery Connections' IPS Employment team.
• Turning Point: National UK health and social care provider covering substance use, mental health, and learning disabilities. Comparable as a broad incumbent with peer-led recovery services and similar commissioning relationships with UK local authorities.

Direct peers

• Phoenix Futures: UK recovery charity providing residential rehab, community recovery housing, and employment support. Comparable through its peer-led recovery programmes, employment pathway focus, and residential rehab service that mirrors Recovery Connections' offer.
• Humankind: UK charity providing substance use, housing, and health services across the North of England. Operates peer-led recovery models similar to Recovery Connections and competes for the same North East local authority contracts.
• With You: Major UK substance use treatment charity (formerly Addaction) that directly partners with Recovery Connections in the STRIDE Darlington partnership. Comparable as a national peer-led recovery and treatment provider targeting the same service users across overlapping UK geographies.
• Cranstoun: UK recovery and reintegration charity offering substance use, housing, and family services. Comparable as a peer-led recovery organisation with social enterprise revenue streams and a national footprint overlapping Recovery Connections' North East catchment.
• Double Impact: Nottingham-based recovery charity offering peer-led recovery services, social enterprises (cafes and trading arms), and employment support. Closely comparable through its combination of peer-led recovery hubs, social enterprise revenue reinvested in services, and vocational support model.

Regional players

• Adfam: UK national charity supporting families affected by substance use. Comparable to the secondary families-and-carers support arm of Recovery Connections, though it operates as a UK-wide advocacy and information body rather than a direct service provider.
• Norcas: East of England substance use and recovery charity delivering peer-led recovery and employment support. Comparable as a regionally focused peer-led recovery organisation with similar service mix to Recovery Connections, though focused on a different UK geography.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@recoveryconnections9240
• Facebookfacebook.com/RecoveryConnectionsBoro
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/recoveryconnections
• Instagraminstagram.com/recovery_connections
• TikToktiktok.com/discover/recovery-connections

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Recovery Connections