What CERT does

CERT CIC is a UK-registered Community Interest Company consultancy headquartered in Barton upon Humber, North Lincolnshire, providing practical advisory services to social enterprises, charities, voluntary sector organisations, and community groups. Founded in 1997, the organisation has operated for nearly 25 years and is structured as a CIC to lock assets for community benefit. Its core offering is one-to-one coaching and mentoring, delivered through three regional Social Enterprise Support Units covering North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, and Hull & East Riding, supplemented by a portfolio of consultancy services spanning company formation, charitable registration, feasibility studies, social return on investment analysis, business and strategic planning, governance, monitoring and evaluation, and crisis troubleshooting.

CERT's only digital product is the Knowledge Hubs platform, built under the Connect Fund programme, which provides free downloadable business planning resources across nine social-enterprise verticals (Community Cafe, Meals on Wheels, Supported Housing, Community Hub, Domiciliary Care, Health & Fitness, Digital Hub, Befriending Service, and Training Provider). The underlying technology stack is undifferentiated: a Wix.com-hosted marketing website with Google Analytics for traffic measurement; there is no proprietary software, API, or mobile application. Distribution is purely regional and direct, with referrals flowing from government bodies (Humberside Fire), NHS commissioning groups, and charitable foundations.

The business model combines government grant-funded regional programmes (HM Government Levelling Up, Connect Fund) with quote-based advisory fees for one-off engagements such as CIC formation, social-investment facilitation, and bespoke organisational development work. The Knowledge Hubs product is free post-registration, functioning as a top-of-funnel content marketing asset rather than a revenue stream. Pricing for paid services is not publicly disclosed. Key customers include Lincolnshire Community Foundation, Royal Berkshire Fire & Rescue, North East Lincolnshire CCG, Foresight, Ropewalk, Higher Rythm, Hessle Road Network, The C.L.E.A.N. Team, and Toranj Tuition.

Name

CERT

Legal name

CERT CIC

Website

https://cert-ltd.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CERT CIC is a UK Community Interest Company consultancy advising social enterprises, charities, and community organisations across Lincolnshire, Hull & East Riding, and North East Lincolnshire on formation, governance, social investment, and business planning.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Barton Upon Humber, North Lincolnshire

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Consultancy Services: Professional advisory and consulting services for social enterprises, charities, and community organizations including company formation, business planning, governance, and strategic planning support.
2. Social Investment Facilitation: Helping organizations unlock and manage social investment, connecting them with funding sources and providing guidance through investment processes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

CERT CIC provides practical consultancy support to social enterprises, charities, and voluntary sector organizations across the Greater Lincolnshire and Hull & East Riding regions. Services span company formation (including CICs and charities), feasibility studies, business and strategic planning, financial governance, social investment facilitation, monitoring and evaluation, and crisis troubleshooting. The organization also operates free Knowledge Hubs delivering digital resources on developing sustainable income streams.

Product overview

CERT CIC operates as a consultancy organisation providing practical support to the Social Enterprise, Voluntary and Community sectors. Rather than a unified software product, CERT offers a portfolio of advisory services centred on Social Enterprise Support (coaching and mentoring) and Knowledge Hubs (a Connect Fund-funded digital resource platform). Their consultancy services span company formation, business planning, financial governance, marketing, and monitoring and evaluation. The Knowledge Hubs platform serves as the primary digital offering, providing free downloadable resources for business planning across multiple sectors including community cafes, supported housing, domiciliary care, health and fitness, and training providers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Consultancy Services

Quantifiable outcome

• £103,000 Social Investment secured for Ropewalk

Named customers9 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Good FinancecoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for social investment support. CERT is listed on Good Finance website as a trusted organization helping investors and advisors connect with social enterprises requiring investment.
• Connect FundcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreated Knowledge Hubs as part of the Connect Fund programme - a one-stop shop for organizations developing new sources of sustainable income. Knowledge Hubs cover Community Cafe, Meals on Wheels, Supported Housing, Community Hub, Domiciliary Care, Health & Fitness, Digital Hub, Befriending Service, and Training Provider topics.
• HM GovernmentcoreOthersGovernment-funded programmes supporting regional social enterprise development across multiple areas including Hull & East Riding, North East Lincolnshire, and Lincolnshire through Levelling Up funded initiatives.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Locality: UK national membership body supporting community organisations and social enterprises with advice, training and networking. Directly comparable to CERT in providing capacity-building support to the same third-sector customer base, but at national rather than regional scale.
• Pilotlight: UK charity that pairs business professionals with charities to build organisational capacity. Directly comparable to CERT's organisational diagnostics, trustee support and capacity-building consultancy services for third-sector clients.
• UnLtd: UK social enterprise incubator providing funding, mentoring and support to early-stage social entrepreneurs. Overlaps with CERT's one-to-one coaching and social investment facilitation services, particularly for emerging CIC and charity founders.
• New Philanthropy Capital (NPC): UK think tank and consultancy advising charities and social enterprises on strategy, impact measurement and social investment. Overlaps with CERT on social return on investment analysis, monitoring & evaluation, and strategic planning services.
• School for Social Entrepreneurs: UK charity running programmes and training courses for social entrepreneurs and community leaders. Comparable to CERT through its training programmes and mentoring, with overlap to CERT Apprenticeships, CERT Learning and CERT Training sub-brands.
• Social Investment Business: UK social investor providing loans and grants to charities and social enterprises, with advisory support. Overlaps directly with CERT's social investment facilitation revenue stream and its work connecting organisations with funding sources.
• Bates Wells: UK law firm specialising in the social sector, advising charities, social enterprises and CICs on legal structures, governance and regulation. Directly comparable to CERT's legal structures, company formation (CIC) and governance advisory services.

Broad incumbents

• Power to Change: Independent trust supporting community businesses in England with grant funding, research and capacity-building programmes. Comparable ecosystem role to CERT in developing community-based social enterprises, but at significantly greater funding scale.
• Social Enterprise UK: UK trade body representing the social enterprise sector with policy, research and member support functions. Acts as a broader market-shaping incumbent compared with CERT's regional practitioner role, and is the de facto reference body for the same customers CERT serves.

Regional players

• The King's Fund: UK health policy and management consultancy supporting commissioners and providers, including CCGs. Comparable to CERT's North East Lincolnshire CCG engagement on health and wellbeing initiatives and commissioner-to-community brokerage work, though at much broader policy scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cert-ltd

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 CERT