North of England Refugee Service

What North of England Refugee Service does

North of England Refugee Service (NERS) is an independent charitable organization founded in 1989 and registered as a company limited by guarantee (No. 03643622) and a registered charity (No. 1091200). It is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne and operates regional offices in Sunderland and Middlesbrough, serving asylum seekers and refugees across the North East of England. The organization provides a portfolio of free services including asylum advice throughout the application process, integration support for those granted leave to remain, a supported housing project of 20 properties in Newcastle, ESOL classes, and the RISE employability program, alongside interpreting and translation services.

NERS is funded through charitable donations (accepted via PayPal, JustGiving, and Amazon Smile) along with grants and contracted funding; revenue figures are not publicly disclosed. Service delivery is community-led, operating through physical drop-in centers, scheduled appointments, telephone advice (including a COVID-19 direct local phone service), and outreach visits to areas such as Stockton. As of FY 2018-2019, the organization served 3,983 clients across its offices and outreach points. The organization maintains partnerships with local foodbanks, council services, religious groups, and other refugee agencies to coordinate regional support.

Governance is provided by a Board of Trustees, which in August 2023 opened recruitment for 5-6 new trustees, and leadership is headed by Director Dr Mohamed Nasreldin. The organization marked 35 years of continuous operation in 2024. It has 23 employees, no proprietary technology products, no AI/ML capabilities, and no external funding rounds or acquisitions; it is not backed by venture capital or private equity investors.

Name

North of England Refugee Service

Legal name

North of England Refugee Service

Website

https://refugee.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

North of England Refugee Service (NERS) is an independent UK charity founded in 1989 that provides free asylum advice, integration support, ESOL classes, employability programs, and a 20-property supported housing portfolio to asylum seekers and refugees across the North East of England.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee and Asylum Support Services

NAICS

Community Food and Housing, and Emergency and Other Relief Services (6242), Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Housing Services (62422), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Refugee & Immigrant Support Services (BPAGAEAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Integration & Inclusion Services (Housing, Education, Employment) (BPADAHAI), Migrant & Refugee Legal Aid and Documentation Services (BPADAHAE), Asylum & Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Support (BPADAHAB), Refugee, IDP & Migration Humanitarian Assistance (BPAGAAAH)

Keywords

• Asylum advice services
• Refugee integration support
• Supported housing services
• Humanitarian assistance
• ESOL language training

Headquarters

HQ city

Newcastle upon Tyne

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 Donations: NERS operates as a charitable organization (registered charity No. 1091200) funded primarily through donations. The organization accepts donations via PayPal, JustGiving, and Amazon Smile. As a nonprofit providing humanitarian services, revenue is generated through public donations and charitable giving rather than client payments.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

North of England Refugee Service is a registered charity providing advice, representation, and integration support to asylum seekers and refugees across the North East of England. Core offerings include asylum process advice, integration support (housing, welfare benefits, health access, employment, education), a Supported Housing Project managing 20 properties in Newcastle, the RISE employability programme, ESOL classes, and interpreting/translation services — all delivered free of charge through offices in Newcastle, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough.

Product overview

North of England Refugee Service is a charitable organisation offering a portfolio of integrated services to asylum seekers and refugees in the North of England. The core services include the Asylum Advice Service (providing advice and support throughout the asylum process), the Integration Service (supporting those granted refugee status with housing, welfare benefits, health access, education and employment), and the Supported Housing Project (providing short-term accommodation and support for vulnerable individuals for up to two years). Additional services include the RISE employability programme, ESOL language classes, and Interpreting and Translation Services. These services work together to support clients from initial asylum application through to full integration into British society.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Asylum Advice Service Provides advice and support to individuals throughout all stages of the UK asylum process — from pre-application through processing to transition after refugee status is granted. Also offers impartial advice for refused applicants and Assisted Voluntary Return referrals. Targeted at asylum seekers in the North East of England.
• Integration Service Supports individuals granted refugee status or leave to remain with rebuilding their lives in the UK, covering housing, finance, welfare benefits, health services, employment, and education. Targeted at refugees transitioning from asylum support to independent life.
• Supported Housing Project Provides short-term accommodation (up to two years) and individualised support for vulnerable individuals granted leave to remain, until they can move to independent living. Includes support for tenancy management, welfare benefits, health access, ESOL education, and community integration. Targeted at vulnerable refugees in Newcastle.
• RISE (Refugees Into Sustainable Employment) Employability Skills and Career Management programme helping refugees find sustainable employment, including CV support, job-seeking guidance, and career management assistance. Targeted at refugees granted status who need employment support.
• ESOL Classes English for Speakers of Other Languages classes to help refugees and asylum seekers improve their English language skills. Targeted at refugees and asylum seekers in the North East of England.
• Interpreting and Translation Services Provides interpreting and translation support to asylum seekers and refugees facing language barriers when accessing NERS services. Targeted at non-English-speaking service users in the North East of England.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,983 clients served in FY 2018-2019
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supportive.

• FoodbankssupportiveOthersNERS coordinates with local foodbanks to support refugees and asylum seekers who are vulnerable and in need during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Foodbanks provide emergency food supplies to clients who lack adequate financial resources.
• Community and Religious GroupssupportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerNERS works with community and religious organizations across the North East to provide coordinated support to refugees and asylum seekers, addressing needs including food, shelter, and social integration services.
• Council HelplinesupportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerNERS collaborates with local Council Helpline services to support vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers, particularly during the COVID-19 crisis when many clients faced additional hardships.
• Other AgenciessupportiveStrategic or Co-development PartnerNERS coordinates with other agencies working with migrants and refugees across the North East region to provide comprehensive support services and share resources.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• City of Sanctuary: UK-wide movement of local groups supporting asylum seekers and refugees through community-led activities rather than direct casework. Adjacent operating model — community-based refugee support — that complements rather than directly competes with NERS's service-delivery focus.

Direct peers

• Refugee Action: National charity delivering frontline services including asylum advice, destitution support, and integration programmes across England. Closely comparable service mix to NERS, operating in overlapping English regions and competing for similar local authority and grant funding.
• Refugee Council: UK's largest national refugee charity providing asylum advice, integration support, and advocacy. Direct peer offering overlapping services (asylum advice, integration, policy advocacy) but at a national rather than regional scale, competing for the same donor and local-authority funding pools.
• Asylum Welcome: Oxford-based charity providing advice, housing, and integration support to asylum seekers and refugees. Very comparable community-based, multi-service model to NERS at a similar organizational scale, demonstrating the same advice-plus-housing-plus-integration model in a different English region.
• Migrant Help: UK-wide charity providing advice and support to asylum seekers, including contract delivery for the Home Office's Asylum Support Advice Line. Comparable asylum-advice and support service model, with national scale that competes with regional providers like NERS for government contracts.
• Reset Communities and Refugees: UK charity providing employment, training, and integration support specifically for refugees, including RISE-equivalent employment programmes. Directly comparable to NERS's RISE employability service and integration offering, competing for the same funding and corporate partnerships.

Broad incumbents

• British Red Cross: Large UK humanitarian organization operating refugee support, family reunion, and destitution services nationwide. Overlaps with NERS in refugee-specific support but operates across a much broader humanitarian portfolio with greater resources and brand reach.

Others

• Home Office (UK Visas and Immigration): UK government department that is both the principal commissioner of asylum support services and the regulator of the asylum system that NERS's clients navigate. Critical ecosystem counterpart — NERS depends on Home Office policy decisions and contracts, but does not compete with it.

Regional players

• Welsh Refugee Council: Wales's national body providing advice, advocacy, and integration support to asylum seekers and refugees. Strong analogue to NERS in structure (regional charity, advice + integration focus) but operating in a different UK country.
• Scottish Refugee Council: Scotland's national refugee support body offering advice, integration, and policy advocacy. Mirrors NERS's regional model with the same wraparound service offering (advice, ESOL, integration) but operating in a different UK jurisdiction.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/about
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/north-of-england-refugee-service

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about North of England Refugee Service