CORNERSTONE SUPPORTED HOUSING & COUNSELLING LTD

What CORNERSTONE SUPPORTED HOUSING & COUNSELLING LTD does

Cornerstone Supported Housing and Counselling Ltd is a UK registered charity (Charity No: 1145726) operating in the North East of England that combines a homeless support operation with a handcrafted-furniture social enterprise. Founded in 2004 (per the company-history record, though firmographics list 2009), the charity delivers a staged pathway from emergency accommodation through supported housing to independent living, anchored by two Homeless Hubs in Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool offering professional one-to-one housing support, disabled access showers, internet and phone access, and First Steps emergency accommodation. Over the past decade the organization has employed more than 30 people with lived experience of homelessness.

The social-enterprise arm produces handcrafted timber furniture — sheds, summerhouses, garden furniture, indoor products (including the heritage Cracket stool), a Kids Range, and log/bin stores — at a workshop in County Durham using traditional woodworking techniques and weather-resistant materials, with bespoke sizing and made-to-order customization. Distribution runs through a Shopify e-commerce storefront, two physical showrooms (Hartlepool indoor showroom and Bishop Auckland Preloved Furniture store), direct workshop pickup, and an easyfundraising.org.uk partner channel that taps 8,000+ retailers for passive donations.

The business model blends multiple revenue streams: hardware sales of new and preloved furniture, tiered donations (£5–£40 for meals, sleeping bags, general support, emergency accommodation), gift vouchers (£10–£500), and corporate support / volunteering partnerships. All furniture profits are reinvested into homeless housing and counselling services. The charity is privately operated with no disclosed external funding, no parent company, and 7 listed employees.

Name

CORNERSTONE SUPPORTED HOUSING & COUNSELLING LTD

Legal name

Cornerstone Supported Housing and Counselling Ltd

Website

https://cornerstone-north.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2004

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UK registered charity in North East England providing homeless support services (emergency accommodation, housing pathways, two Homeless Hubs) funded by a handcrafted timber furniture social enterprise selling sheds, garden furniture, and bespoke pieces via Shopify, showrooms, and an easyfundraising partner network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Homelessness Services and Supported Housing

NAICS

Community Housing Services (62422), Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Retail-Furniture Stores (5712)

akta.pro primary industry

Homelessness Prevention, Shelter & Supportive Housing Services (BPAIANAC)

akta.pro secondary industry

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB)

Keywords

• Homeless support services
• Supported housing
• Social enterprise furniture
• Charity furniture workshop
• Handcrafted garden furniture

Headquarters

HQ city

Willington, Crook

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Furniture Sales: Sale of handcrafted timber garden furniture, sheds, summerhouses, children's play equipment, and indoor furniture. Products are made to order with bespoke options. All profits fund homeless support and housing programs.
2. Donations: Charitable donations at various price points (£5, £10, £20, £40) specifically designated for homeless support, emergency accommodation, meals, and sleeping bags. Direct revenue stream for charitable activities.
3. Gift Vouchers: Gift vouchers sold at various denominations (£10-£500) for garden products and kids items. Provides flexible gifting options while generating upfront revenue.
4. easyfundraising Partnership: Revenue through easyfundraising.org.uk partnership where over 8,000 retailers donate a percentage of purchases when users select Cornerstone as their cause. Zero-cost passive revenue stream.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Cornerstone Supported Housing and Counselling Ltd delivers emergency accommodation, supported housing, and a staged homelessness recovery pathway (basic needs, place of safety, belonging, esteem, independence) in the North East of England. It cross-funds these services through "Furniture By Cornerstone," a handcrafted, made-to-order timber furniture social enterprise (sheds, summerhouses, garden furniture, indoor items, kids range, log/bin stores) sold via Shopify e-commerce and physical showrooms in Hartlepool and Bishop Auckland, with all profits directed to homeless housing and counselling programs.

Product overview

Cornerstone Supported Housing and Counselling Ltd operates as a charitable organization providing homeless support services combined with a social enterprise furniture business. The core offering consists of Furniture By Cornerstone, a handcrafted, made-to-order wooden furniture shop powered by Shopify that generates profits funding homeless housing across the North East. The product portfolio includes Sheds (Budget Range from £570, Weardale Premier Range from £670), Summerhouses (from £1,394), and an extensive Garden Furniture line (chairs, benches, tables, arbours, planters, bird/bat boxes), plus an Indoor collection (crackets, vegetable racks, log stores) and a Kids Range (play houses, benches, workshop stations, mud kitchens, picnic tables). Additional products include Log and Bin Stores and Gift Vouchers. The organization also operates Homeless Hub services in Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool providing housing support, showers, and emergency accommodation, along with a structured Volunteering Program offering roles in workshop, retail, tenant support, and administration. All products are handmade in their Durham workshop using traditional techniques.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Furniture by Cornerstone: Handcrafted outdoor furniture product line including sheds, summerhouses, garden furniture, and bespoke pieces. All profits support homeless housing and counselling services in the North East.

Products and services

• Furniture By Cornerstone Handcrafted, made-to-order wooden furniture line including sheds, summerhouses, garden furniture, indoor items, and a kids range. All profits fund homeless support and housing services across the North East of England.
• Homeless Hub Services Support services at Homeless Hubs in Bishop Auckland and Hartlepool providing professional one-to-one housing support, disabled access showers, internet and phone access, and a clear housing pathway starting with First Steps emergency accommodation for individuals who are rough sleeping.
• Volunteering Program Flexible volunteering opportunities including workshop support, retail and community hub assistance, tenant support, and administrative support roles across multiple locations in the North East.
• Charitable Donations Monetary donations supporting homeless housing and services in the North East, with tiered options from £5 to £40 designated for specific purposes including meals, sleeping bags, general support, and emergency accommodation access.
• Gift Vouchers Gift vouchers valid for 6 months from purchase, available in denominations from £10 to £500, redeemable for garden products including kids items.
• Corporate Support Program Corporate partnerships including team-building activities, volunteering days, and charitable engagement opportunities for businesses seeking CSR impact in the North East of England.

Quantifiable outcome

• Emergency accommodation provided with no referral needed for £40 donation
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• easyfundraising.org.ukcoreGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership with easyfundraising.org.uk enables supporters to raise free donations when shopping online with over 8,000 participating retailers. Users register and select Cornerstone as their cause, then retailers automatically donate a percentage of purchases at no extra cost to the shopper.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Crisis UK: National UK homelessness charity operating Skylight centres delivering housing, employment, and training services. Comparable homelessness mission at a much larger national scale; broader but less regionally embedded.
• British Heart Foundation (Furniture & Electrical Stores): UK charity that operates large-scale furniture reuse and resale shops to fund its core health mission. Closest analogue for the furniture-retail-funds-charity model, though at vastly greater scale and without homeless services.
• Forest Garden: UK's largest manufacturer and retailer of garden sheds, summerhouses, and outdoor timber products. Direct competitor in the timber garden furniture category at significantly larger scale and lower price points.
• Shelter (UK): National UK housing and homelessness charity providing advice, campaigning, and direct services. Broader incumbent operating across the full UK with policy and advocacy work beyond Cornerstone's regional scope.
• Sue Ryder (Charity Shops): UK charity operating a national network of charity shops including furniture resale to fund palliative and bereavement support. Comparable charity-shop-funds-mission model at much larger scale.

Direct peers

• Depaul UK: UK charity providing emergency accommodation and supported housing for people experiencing homelessness. Comparable mission, similar frontline services, though without the furniture social enterprise component.
• Changing Lives: North East England homelessness and supported housing charity providing emergency accommodation, housing pathways, and training. Direct regional peer operating similar homelessness services in the same geography.
• St Anne's Community Services: North East-based charity providing supported housing, homelessness services, and recovery support across Yorkshire and the North East. Operates in the same regional catchment with overlapping service lines.
• Emmaus UK: UK charity running companion communities where formerly homeless people live and work, with social enterprises that collect, restore, and sell furniture to fund the mission. Emmaus is the closest structural analogue to Cornerstone's hub-plus-furniture social enterprise model.

Others

• easyfundraising.org.uk: Affiliate referral platform that routes a percentage of purchases from 8,000+ retailers to user-selected UK charities. Listed as a direct Cornerstone partnership; included as an ecosystem/adjacent peer rather than a competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CornerstoneSH
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@cornerstonesh5343
• Facebookfacebook.com/CornerstoneSH
• Instagraminstagram.com/cornerstonesh/?hl=en
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cornerstone-supported-housing-&-counselling-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 CORNERSTONE SUPPORTED HOUSING & COUNSELLING LTD