Citizens Advice Southwark

What Citizens Advice Southwark does

Citizens Advice Southwark (legal entity: Southwark Citizens Advice Bureau Service; Reg Charity No 1070263, Reg Company No 3507093) is an independent local charity and member of the national Citizens Advice network, operating since 1939. It delivers free, confidential, independent and impartial advice to residents and workers of the London Borough of Southwark on money, housing, employment, legal issues, welfare benefits, debt, and immigration. Services are delivered through multiple channels — face-to-face drop-in at offices in Walworth (6-8 Westmoreland Road, SE17 2AY) and Peckham (97 Peckham High Street, SE15 5RS), a telephone advice line, email, webchat, and outreach at GP practices, hospitals, and community venues. The Bermondsey branch was permanently closed in May 2023.

The core product is generalist advice, augmented by specialist projects including the Private Renters Project (with Southwark Law Centre), Homeowners Advice for council leaseholders, Macmillan & Dimbleby Welfare Benefits Advice at five NHS hospitals, specialist immigration casework, Debt Free London, Pound Advice for L&Q tenants, the Back on Track Project, and Help to Claim (Universal Credit). The charity also coordinates the Southwark Legal Advice Network (SLAN) and chairs the Forum for Equalities and Human Rights in Southwark (FEHRS). Technology is a standard charity case management system with secure data handling; there are no proprietary AI or platform features. The organisation is regulated by the FCA (FRN 617747) and OISC-registered (N201100026) and holds the Advice Quality Standard and Cyber Essentials certification.

Revenue is grant- and donation-funded, with no fees charged to clients. Funders include the London Borough of Southwark, the Greater London Authority, Citizens Advice (national), Toynbee Hall, City Bridge Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Impact on Urban Health, Thames Water Trust Fund, and The Money and Pensions Service. The organisation operates with 49 paid staff, 80 volunteers (contributing 36,720 hours valued at £651,646), and 10 pro bono solicitors. In its most recent reporting it supported 24,000 clients with 36,799 issues, achieving £8.8M in client financial gains; the broader GLA-funded Advising Londoners Project has helped more than 85,000 people with over £40M in financial increases since 2022.

Name

Citizens Advice Southwark

Legal name

Southwark Citizens Advice Bureau Service

Website

https://citizensadvicesouthwark.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Citizens Advice Southwark is an independent charity (est. 1939) providing free, confidential advice on money, housing, employment, legal, debt, and immigration issues to residents of the London Borough of Southwark via drop-in, phone, email, webchat, and outreach services, funded by grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Advice and Social Welfare Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (62419), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Legal Services (8111)

akta.pro primary industry

Housing Counseling, Foreclosure Prevention & Loss Mitigation Programs (FSALAKAM)

akta.pro secondary industries

Housing Benefits & Rent Subsidy Administration (BPAIAKAG), Protection Services (GBV, Child Protection, Safeguarding) (BPADAHAF)

Keywords

• Free legal advice
• Debt counselling
• Welfare benefits
• Housing advice
• Immigration casework

Headquarters

HQ city

Walworth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Funding and Grants: Funded by multiple organizations including London Borough of Southwark, Citizens Advice, Toynbee Hall, City Bridge Foundation, Macmillan Cancer Support, Dimbleby Cancer Care, GLA, The Money and Pensions Service, and various housing trusts and charitable foundations. Also receives individual donations.
2. Donations: Receives donations from fundraisers and individuals, including clients who donate in recognition of help received.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Citizens Advice Southwark provides free, confidential, independent and impartial advice to residents and workers of the London Borough of Southwark on money, housing, employment, legal issues, welfare benefits, debt and immigration, delivered face-to-face at drop-in sessions, by phone, email, webchat and outreach. It supplements this generalist service with specialist projects for private renters, council leaseholders, cancer patients, asylum seekers, Universal Credit claimants and social housing tenants.

Product overview

Citizens Advice Southwark provides free, confidential, independent and impartial advice services across Southwark through multiple channels (face-to-face, telephone, email, webchat, and outreach). The core offering is Generalist Advice Services covering money, housing, employment, legal issues and more. This is complemented by specialist projects including the Private Renters Project (in partnership with Southwark Law Centre), Homeowners Advice for council leaseholders, FEHRS (Forum for Equalities and Human Rights), Social Housing Complaints guidance, and Outreach & Projects (Debt Free London, Macmillan benefits advice, immigration casework). Additional networks include the Southwark Advice Forum and Universal Credit Network for training and coordination.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Generalist Advice Services Free, confidential, independent and impartial advice for residents and workers of Southwark covering money, housing, employment, legal issues, benefits, debt and immigration, delivered face-to-face at Peckham and Walworth drop-ins, by phone, email, webchat and outreach.
• Private Renters Project for Residents of Southwark Specialist partnership project with Southwark Law Centre that collates evidence on the Private Rented Sector, gathers data on issues faced by renters, and works to develop a permanent support organisation for private renters in Southwark.
• Homeowners Advice Free, independent and confidential advice for Southwark Council long leaseholders and freeholders on service charges, major works, building standards, lease and freehold rights, and tribunal applications.
• Forum for Equalities and Human Rights in Southwark (FEHRS) Forum chaired by Citizens Advice Southwark and funded by Southwark Council to champion a fair and equal society by promoting diversity, tolerance and the elimination of discrimination.
• Social Housing Complaints Service Guidance for social housing residents on reporting issues to their landlord, navigating the two-stage complaints process, and escalating unresolved complaints to the Housing Ombudsman.
• Help to Claim Service Support for Universal Credit applicants from making the initial claim through to receiving the first full payment, available face-to-face, over the phone on 0800 144 8 444, and online.
• Outreach & Projects Portfolio Specialist outreach projects including Debt Free London, Pound Advice for London & Quadrant tenants, Thames Water Trust Fund debt advice, Energy Best Deal Extra, Specialist Immigration Advice, and Macmillan & Dimbleby Welfare Benefits Advice for cancer patients at Guy's & St Thomas', King's College, Princess Royal University Hospital, University Hospital Lewisham and Queen Elizabeth hospitals.
• Back on Track Project Advice and assistance for GP practice patients in Southwark and Lambeth with financial worries, funded by Impact on Urban Health, with a particular focus on people with long-term health conditions.
• Advising Londoners Project London-wide partnership funded by the Greater London Authority that delivered welfare benefits, debt, housing, employment and immigration advice, supporting more than 85,000 people with over £40 million in financial increases across its first three years.

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• London Borough of SouthwarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary funder providing significant operational funding. Also contracted to lead and chair the Forum for Equalities and Human Rights in Southwark (FEHRS).
• Citizens Advice (National)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational membership organization providing brand, training, resources, research support, and policy guidance. Part of the national network of Citizens Advice offices.
• Toynbee HallcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor funder supporting operational costs
• Macmillan Cancer SupportcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFunding the Macmillan & Dimbleby Welfare Benefits Advice Project providing benefits advice to cancer patients at hospital sites
• London & Quadrant Housing TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership through Pound Advice providing debt advice services for L&Q tenants in Southwark
• Southwark Law CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Private Renters Project and asylum support work. Collaborates on legal advice provision.
• Southwark Refugee Communities ForumminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on refugee support, asylum questionnaire assistance, and Refugee Week events
• Debt Free LondoncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLondon-wide partnership tackling debt and financial exclusion. CAS is part of this network providing specialist face-to-face debt advice.
• Southwark Legal Advice Network (SLAN)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAS leads the SLAN which oversees all advice-related networks in Southwark and produces the Southwark Advice Strategy
• Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerDESNZ filmed at CAS offices to create social media content supporting energy efficiency announcements in the private rented sector
• Southwark Day Centre for Asylum SeekersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on asylum questionnaire assistance and support for asylum seekers
• PecanminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on Peckham Pantry food access program and Cost of Living Roadshows

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights10 records

Emerging players

• Pecan: South London charity focused on food poverty, debt, and community support including the Peckham Pantry. A current CAS partner on Cost of Living Roadshows with overlapping reach into the same vulnerable populations in Southwark.

Broad incumbents

• StepChange Debt Charity: National debt advice charity providing free telephone and online debt counselling. Overlaps directly with CAS's debt advice service but at much larger national scale.
• Money Advice Trust: National charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline and trains debt advice caseworkers. Overlaps with CAS's debt advice specialism and is a potential partner or competitor for funded debt advice work.
• Law Centres Network: Membership body for local law centres across England providing free legal advice in social welfare law, including housing, immigration, employment, and welfare benefits — areas where CAS also advises.
• Shelter: National housing charity providing advice, advocacy, and legal support on housing issues including private renting, eviction, and disrepair. Competes for housing-advice funding and clients.

Direct peers

• Citizens Advice Lambeth: Sister local Citizens Advice in the adjacent London borough of Lambeth, offering the same free generalist and specialist advice model to residents, with similar funding streams from the local council and national network.
• Toynbee Hall: East London charity providing advice, wellbeing, and learning services including debt and welfare benefits advice to people in poverty. A core funder and operational peer delivering similar free, in-person social welfare services.
• Citizens Advice Lewisham: Another neighbouring South East London Citizens Advice providing identical drop-in, telephone, and outreach advice services, competing for similar council grants and pan-London project funding.
• Southwark Law Centre: Independent charity providing free specialist legal advice in Southwark on housing, immigration, employment, and welfare benefits. CAS partners with Southwark Law Centre on the Private Renters Project and asylum support, but they overlap in legal advice delivery.

Others

• Citizens Advice (National): The national membership body that sets quality standards, provides brand and training, and operates the public-facing website. CAS is a member bureau and benefits from but does not directly compete with the national body.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/SouthwarkCAB
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/citizens-advice-southwark

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 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 Citizens Advice Southwark