CAAND - Community Advice Ards and North Down

What CAAND - Community Advice Ards and North Down does

Community Advice Ards and North Down (CAAND) is an independent registered charity and Company Limited by Guarantee (Charity No. NIC101425; Company No. 33560) founded in 1975 and headquartered in Newtownards, Northern Ireland. The organisation provides free, confidential, and impartial advice across a broad welfare-and-rights portfolio including debt, social security benefits, housing, employment, consumer, legal, health, discrimination, immigration, and relationship issues, plus appeal and tribunal representation services. CAAND operates from four offices (Newtownards, Bangor, Holywood, and a Macmillan-partnered unit at The Ulster Hospital in Dundonald), supplemented by 8+ community outreach clinics and a centralised phone advice line, delivering services through 31 paid staff and 14 trained volunteers.

CAAND's underlying technology consists of standard electronic client case management and record-keeping systems rather than proprietary platforms or AI tooling. The service model is human-adviser-centric, with regulated debt advice authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 616962) and adviser training delivered via an accredited programme provided by The Law Centre NI. An 85% success rate in appeal/tribunal cases evidences the capability depth of its three specialist advocates.

CAAND generates no fee income from clients; it is funded entirely by grants from government departments (Department for Communities, Ards and North Down Borough Council), charitable foundations (The National Lottery Community Fund, Halifax Foundation), and a strategic partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support. The organisation is a member of Advice NI and operates within a broader referral ecosystem that includes Money Advice Service, NIdirect, and Pension Wise. Its go-to-market is community-led, relying on physical presence, word-of-mouth, partner referrals, and a modest social media presence (Facebook and Instagram) rather than outbound sales.

Name

CAAND - Community Advice Ards and North Down

Legal name

Community Advice Ards and North Down

Website

https://caand.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1975

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Advice Services

SIC

Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM)

Keywords

• Community advice services
• Debt counseling
• Benefits advisory
• Tribunal representation
• Consumer rights advice

Headquarters

HQ city

Newtownards

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding: CAAND is a registered charity funded by government departments and charitable foundations. Funding sources include the Department for Communities, Ards and North Down Borough Council, The National Lottery Community Fund, and Halifax Foundation. The organization also receives support from Macmillan Cancer Support for their specialist cancer advice service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CAAND provides free, confidential, and impartial advice services to residents of the Ards and North Down area in Northern Ireland. Its core offering covers debt, social security benefits, housing, employment, consumer, legal, health, discrimination, immigration, tax, and relationship issues, delivered face-to-face, by phone, and through community outreach clinics by 31 staff and 14 trained volunteers.

Product overview

Community Advice Ards and North Down (CAAND) is a charity providing free, independent, confidential, and impartial advice services through multiple channels including face-to-face, phone, email, and online. The organization operates a portfolio of advice services including Benefits Advice, Debt Advice, Housing Advice, Employment Advice, Consumer Advice, and Appeal & Tribunal Representation. The service is delivered through four main offices (Ards, Bangor, Holywood, and Ulster Hospital), supported by 14 volunteer advisers trained through The Law Centre NI programme, and multiple outreach clinics across the Ards and North Down area. The organization also partners with Macmillan Cancer Support to provide specialist advice to cancer patients and maintains an 85% success rate in tribunal representation cases.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Benefits Advice Free, confidential and impartial advice on welfare benefits including Universal Credit, ESA, PIP, Carers Allowance, Pension Credit, State Pension, Industrial Injuries, Tax Credits, Income Support, Housing Benefit, JSA, DLA, and Attendance Allowance, including benefit entitlement checks for residents of the Ards and North Down area.
• Debt Advice Free, confidential help with a wide range of debt issues including credit cards, loans, mortgage arrears, rent arrears, debt management plans, bankruptcy, individual voluntary arrangements, and debt relief orders, delivered in partnership with the Money Advice Service (which supplies 17 full-time Specialist Debt Advisers across eleven council areas).
• Housing Advice Free advice across housing issues including threat of eviction, housing selection scheme, neighbour issues, rent arrears, and the rights and responsibilities of tenants and landlords for residents of the Ards and North Down area.
• Employment Advice Free, confidential and impartial advice on complex employment law matters covering rights at work for employees and workers who believe they are being treated unfairly, available to residents of the Ards and North Down area.
• Consumer Advice Free consumer advice covering faulty goods, refunds, service complaints, building work problems, home improvements, repairs, and utility services for residents of the Ards and North Down area.
• Appeal & Tribunal Representation Free, confidential appeals and tribunal representation service delivered by three highly trained advocates who advise clients, draft written submissions, and represent them at tribunal hearings, achieving an 85% success rate with appeal cases.
• Macmillan Cancer Support Partnership Specialist advice service for cancer patients and their families, delivered through four advisors based in The Macmillan Unit at The Ulster Hospital covering benefits, Macmillan grants, employment, housing, and debt issues.
• Outreach Clinics Community-based advice delivered at multiple outreach locations including Bangor (North Down Community Network, Foodbank, YMCA), Carrowdore, Comber, Kilcooley, Kircubbin, and Newtownards (Salvation Army, CFC Warehouse).
• Volunteer Adviser Programme Volunteer adviser training programme delivered by The Law Centre NI and accredited by a university, supporting roles including advisers, IT administrators, receptionists, publicity assistants, administrators, and information and policy assistants.
• General Advice General advice service covering legal, health, discrimination, immigration, tax, relationship, land law, and consumer issues, available through drop-in sessions and appointments across the Ards and North Down area.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85% success rate with appeal/tribunal cases

Named customers2 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Macmillan Cancer SupportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing specialist cancer advice services. CAAND has four advisors based within The Macmillan Unit at The Ulster Hospital, providing advice to cancer patients and families on benefits, grants, employment, housing, and debt issues.
• Money Advice ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership in which Money Advice Service provides free debt advice to the public across all council areas, with 17 full-time Specialist Debt Advisers throughout eleven council areas. The service is available via freephone, email, webchat, and face-to-face appointments.
• Advice NIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership organization for advice agencies in Northern Ireland. CAAND is a member of Advice NI.
• Financial Conduct AuthoritycoreOthersCAAND is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 616962) for debt advice services.
• The Law Centre NIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTraining provider for CAAND's volunteer adviser training programme, which is highly respected in the advice sector and accredited by a university.
• Pension WiseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerGovernment pension guidance service partnered with CAAND to provide pension-related advice to the community.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Macmillan Cancer Support: National cancer charity that co-locates CAAND's specialist advisers within The Macmillan Unit. A core strategic partner rather than competitor, but operates overlapping advice and welfare-rights support for cancer patients.
• Money Advice Trust: UK charity that operates National Debtline and Business Debtline and provides the Money Advice Service framework under which CAAND delivers specialist debt advice. Comparable mission and operating context.

Direct peers

• Christians Against Poverty (CAP): UK charity delivering free debt advice, money coaching and related support through local church-based centres. Comparable operating model and target client base to CAAND's debt and benefits work.
• Shelter: UK national housing charity providing free housing advice, advocacy and legal representation. Directly comparable to CAAND's housing advice service covering eviction, rent arrears and tenancy rights.
• Law Centres Network: UK-wide network of not-for-profit law centres providing free legal advice and representation in social welfare law. Highly comparable to CAAND's legal advice and tribunal representation service.
• Citizens Advice: National umbrella for the Citizens Advice network in England and Wales. CAAND was formerly part of this network before rebranding and operates an overlapping model of free, independent advice on debt, benefits, housing and employment.
• StepChange Debt Charity: UK national debt advice charity providing free debt advice and solutions. Directly comparable to CAAND's debt advice service and partnership with Money Advice Service.
• Advice NI: Membership body for independent advice agencies in Northern Ireland. CAAND is itself a member of Advice NI, making it a direct peer in the NI community advice ecosystem with shared training, quality and referral frameworks.

Emerging players

• Age UK: UK national charity for older people providing advice on benefits, housing, debt and consumer issues. Partial overlap with CAAND's general advice services where elderly clients are concerned.
• Gingerbread: UK charity providing advice and support for single-parent families. Tangential overlap with CAAND's relationship and family-related advice streams, with a comparable free, advice-led service model.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ArdsNorthDown
• Instagraminstagram.com/communityadviceardsnorthdown
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caand---community-advice-ards-and-north-down

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 CAAND - Community Advice Ards and North Down