Robes Project
Robes Project is a UK-registered charity providing homelessness services in the South London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, operating a winter night shelter of 35 beds across approximately 30 churches alongside a day centre and Floating Support service for rough sleepers.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- HeadquartersLondon, London, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Robes Project does
Robes Project is a UK-registered charity (registration number 1174060) delivering homelessness services across the London Boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth. Its core offering is a winter night shelter model in which approximately 30 churches each contribute a small number of bed spaces, aggregating to 35 beds per night, supplemented by a day centre, advice and guidance, and a Floating Support service that helps guests sustain tenancies post-shelter. Beneficiaries are rough sleepers and people at risk of homelessness in South London; the charity sheltered 49 guests across the 2023/24 season, up 19 year-over-year, and over 80 guests in 2018/19. Operational delivery is volunteer-led at scale: roughly 550 volunteers support six paid employees, including an interim Shelter Coordinator appointed in 2024.
The charity's underlying infrastructure is non-technical and human-driven: a distributed church network, a small employed team, and recognized trustees and a patron (Sir Simon Hughes). There is no proprietary technology platform, and donor engagement relies on a combination of an annual SleepOut fundraising event held at Southwark Cathedral, corporate partnerships (including creative agency The Clearing, named Charity of the Year 2023, and Byrne Bros), and digital channels such as the Giving Machine and Giving Lottery. The annual SleepOut is described as generating the 'bulk of income,' with the 2023 event raising approximately £45,000, down from £68,647 in 2018.
Strategically, Robes Project has been building profile and external validation: it joined Prince William's Royal Foundation Homewards Coalition in 2024 to end homelessness, won the 2024 High Impact Award at the Donup sector event, and appointed a new Trustee Treasurer (Asad Ansari) in August 2023 to professionalize financial governance. The combination of a lean paid team, a deeply rooted volunteer and church base, and growing national-level recognition positions the charity as a localized but increasingly connected operator within the UK homelessness sector.
Robes Project firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Robes Project
- Legal name
- Robes Project
- Website
- https://robes.org.uk
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Robes Project is a UK-registered charity providing homelessness services in the South London boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, operating a winter night shelter of 35 beds across approximately 30 churches alongside a day centre and Floating Support service for rough sleepers.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Robes Project industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Homeless Shelter Services
- NAICS
- Temporary Shelters (624221), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)
- SIC
- Hotels, Rooming Houses, Camps & Other Lodging Places (7000)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Emergency Shelter, Camp Coordination & Camp Management (CCCM) (BPADADAB)
Keywords
Where Robes Project is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- London, London
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Robes Project business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Individual Donations: One-time and recurring donations from individuals via SMS (text ROBES 5/10/20 to 70085), JustGiving, bank transfer, and the website donate button. The organization also encourages monthly giving ('the price of a cup of tea a week').
- Annual SleepOut Fundraiser: The Southwark Cathedral SleepOut is described as 'a major event generating the bulk of Robes income.' Participants raise sponsorship through JustGiving pages or paper sponsorship forms.
- Corporate Partnerships: Corporate partners sponsor staff salaries (Advice Workers, Shelter Manager), provide storage, laundry, food, material goods, technology donations, and volunteer teams at Wednesday Club.
- Community Chow Down: Local restaurants donate a portion of proceeds from a designated 'Chow Down Special' dish or drink during August to support Robes.
- The Giving Machine (Shop & Give): Online shopping referral program where a percentage of purchases from participating retailers is donated to Robes at no cost to the shopper.
- The Giving Lottery: Lottery entry at £1 per ticket with a chance to win £25,000; 40p from each ticket goes directly to Robes.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Pay-as-you-go | SMS Text Donation |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels9 records
Robes Project product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Robes Project is a homelessness charity that delivers a 35-bed Winter Night Shelter (November–April) across approximately 30 partner churches in Southwark and Lambeth, a year-round Wednesday Club day centre providing meals, showers, and advice, a Floating Support programme for guests who have moved into accommodation, and ongoing Advice & Guidance on housing, benefits, employment, and ID documentation. Services are provided free of charge to guests and funded through donations, the annual SleepOut fundraiser, and corporate partnerships.
Product overview
Robes Project is a single-purpose charity providing homelessness services in Southwark and Lambeth, South London. The organization operates through a hub-and-spoke model combining its own programs (Winter Night Shelter, Floating Support, Wednesday Club, Advice & Guidance) with a network of approximately 30 partner churches that host shelter venues. The Winter Night Shelter is the core offering, providing seasonal beds November-April through church halls; the Wednesday Club operates as a year-round day centre offering meals and support; Floating Support helps guests maintain accommodation after leaving the shelter; and Advice & Guidance provides ongoing casework support. The annual SleepOut fundraising event at Southwark Cathedral is a major income generator.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Winter Night Shelter Provides 35 warm beds per night from November to April through a network of approximately 30 partner churches in the London Boroughs of Southwark and Lambeth, with around 550 volunteers delivering overnight shelter, dinner, and breakfast to homeless guests.
- Wednesday Club Year-round day centre at Elephant and Castle operating every Wednesday from 10:30 am to 2:30 pm, offering breakfast, hot nutritious lunch, showers, games, friendly conversation, and access to advice on employability and training for shelter guests, former guests, and the wider homeless community.
- Floating Support Ongoing support programme designed to help guests who have moved into accommodation sustain their housing and know where to get help in their new community.
- Advice & Guidance Ongoing practical and emotional support for shelter guests and those experiencing homelessness, covering housing, benefits, employment, accessing health services, and help with ID documentation. Open to all regardless of country of origin, mother tongue, age, or identity.
Quantifiable outcome
- 49 shelter placements in 2023/24 season (up 19 from prior year); 23 positive move-ons documented in February 2024; 80+ guests sheltered in 2018/19 season with 35 full-house most nights
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Robes Project
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments1 record
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Robes Project technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Robes Project partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Twelve partnerships are on record, tiered core, strategic and minor.
- Southwark CathedralcoreSouthwark Cathedral is the primary host and organiser of the annual Robes SleepOut fundraiser, described as 'a major event generating the bulk of Robes income.' The Cathedral provides its grounds for the overnight SleepOut event and has been hosting since 2010. The relationship is long-standing and fundamental to Robes's fundraising model.
- Partner Churches (Southwark and Lambeth)coreApproximately 30 churches of various denominations provide venue space (church halls) for the Winter Night Shelter, enabling Robes to offer 35 warm beds per night from November to April. Venues include St George the Martyr, St John the Divine, Christ Church Southwark, Holy Trinity Clapham, St Luke's Peckham, and many others. Churches recruit and manage their own volunteer teams.
- Spires Rough Sleeper SpacecorePartner referral agency for Robes Winter Night Shelter. Provides food, clothing, emergency healthcare, housing advice, and employment advice at St Leonard's Church (Tooting Bec Gardens) and St Luke's Church (Norwood High Street). Also runs a Women's Space. Referrals required to access Robes shelter.
- Manna CentrecorePartner referral agency open seven days a week 8:30am–1:30pm at 12 Melior St, Bermondsey. Provides food, showers, laundry facilities, clothing, housing advice, and welfare advice. Referrals required to access Robes shelter.
- Ace of ClubscorePartner referral agency open Monday–Friday 12pm–2:30pm at St Alphonsus Road. Provides food, clothing, laundry facilities, accommodation advice, welfare advice, healthcare, and volunteering opportunities. Referrals required to access Robes shelter.
- Webber Street Day CentrecorePartner referral agency open 6 days a week at 6-8 Webber Street, Waterloo. Provides breakfast, showers, clothing, signposting, healthcare, employment support, art club, and bible reading club. Referrals required to access Robes shelter.
- Crisis Skylight LondoncorePartner referral agency open Monday–Friday 9:30am–4:30pm at 66 Commercial St, London. Provides housing advice, healthcare, welfare benefits support, employment and training, and social activities. Referrals required to access Robes shelter.
- The PassagecorePartner referral agency open Monday–Friday 9am–3:30pm at St Vincent's Centre, Carlisle Place. Provides homelessness services. Referrals required to access Robes shelter.
- The ClearingstrategicCreative brand agency that chose Robes as their Charity of the Year in 2023. Helped redesign the SleepOut brand and logo. Provided social media support and marketing expertise. Relationship began in 2023.
- Homewards Coalition (Royal Foundation / Prince William)strategicRobes is part of the Homewards Coalition, working with other agencies across Lambeth to end rough sleeping. The initiative is spearheaded by Prince William and the Royal Foundation. Robes participates in coalition meetings to share ideas, share best practice, and identify gaps around homelessness in Lambeth.
- Corporate Volunteers (Amazon, Richmond Pharmacology, Deep Mind)minorCorporate teams volunteer at Wednesday Club, preparing and cooking meals for guests. Amazon, Richmond Pharmacology, and Deep Mind have been cited as past volunteer teams. Nexus Planning also volunteered. These partnerships provide both volunteer labour and corporate visibility.
- Byrne BrosminorConstruction firm team that ran 5k/10k at Battersea Park raising £1,760 for Robes. Ongoing supporter participating in sponsored athletic events.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Robes Project competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Crisis: National UK homelessness charity providing year-round services including Skylight centres (London), housing advice, and education. Robes partners with Crisis Skylight London as a referral agency and operates in the same beneficiary population and geography.
- Spires: South London day centre (Brixton/Tooting/Norwood) offering food, showers, healthcare and housing advice to rough sleepers. Direct Robes referral partner with identical service mix and catchment overlap.
- St Mungo's: Major London homelessness charity offering hostels, outreach, and recovery services. Operates across the same South London catchment as Robes and serves overlapping rough-sleeping populations.
- Webber Street Day Centre: Southwark-based day centre at Webber Street, Waterloo, providing breakfast, showers, clothing, and signposting. Robes referral partner with overlapping client base and comparable services.
- The Passage: London day centre and homelessness service provider at St Vincent's Centre. Listed as a partner referral agency for Robes shelter, serving the same Westminster/Southwark rough-sleeping cohort with day services.
- Ace of Clubs: South London day centre (St Alphonsus Road) providing food, showers, laundry, and welfare advice. Robes referral partner operating in the same Lambeth/Southwark area with comparable service model.
- Manna Centre: Day centre in Bermondsey (Melior Street) offering food, showers, laundry, and welfare advice seven days a week. Robes referral partner serving the same Southwark rough-sleeping population.
Broad incumbents
- Depaul UK: National charity supporting homeless young people and adults through night stop, hostels, and outreach. Comparable faith-inspired service ethos with broader geographic reach than Robes.
- Centrepoint: Large UK youth homelessness charity with London hostels and support services. Operates in the same broader homelessness space with greater scale, government contracts, and a more focused youth mandate.
- Emmaus UK: UK federation supporting formerly homeless people through live-in communities and social enterprises. Operates in similar space with longer-term accommodation model and broader pan-UK footprint than Robes.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Robes Project social profiles
Digital presenceRobes Project financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Robes Project leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles6 records
Robes Project funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Robes Project M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Robes Project
What does Robes Project do?
Robes Project is a homelessness charity that delivers a 35-bed Winter Night Shelter (November–April) across approximately 30 partner churches in Southwark and Lambeth, a year-round Wednesday Club day centre providing meals, showers, and advice, a Floating Support programme for guests who have moved into accommodation, and ongoing Advice & Guidance on housing, benefits, employment, and ID documentation. Services are provided free of charge to guests and funded through donations, the annual SleepOut fundraiser, and corporate partnerships.
Is Robes Project a public or private company?
Robes Project is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Robes Project founded?
Robes Project was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Robes Project based?
Robes Project is headquartered in London, London, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Robes Project make money?
Six revenue lines are on record. Individual Donations are the primary driver. The others are annual SleepOut Fundraiser, corporate Partnerships, community Chow Down, the Giving Machine (Shop & Give) and the Giving Lottery.
Who are Robes Project's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Crisis, Spires, St Mungo's, Webber Street Day Centre, The Passage, Ace of Clubs and Manna Centre. Broad incumbents are Depaul UK, Centrepoint and Emmaus UK.
Does Robes Project have an API?
No public API is recorded for Robes Project.
What industry is Robes Project in?
Robes Project's product category is Homeless Shelter Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADADAB, Emergency Shelter, Camp Coordination & Camp Management (CCCM). Its NAICS code is 624221 and its SIC code is 7000.