SHARE Oxford

What SHARE Oxford does

SHARE Oxford is a registered Charitable Incorporated Organisation (charity registration number 1201082) founded in 2017 and based at Makespace Oxford in Jericho, Oxford. It operates three interconnected community services: a Library of Things allowing members to borrow tools, party equipment, camping gear, and other items they would otherwise have to purchase; monthly volunteer-run Repair Cafés at multiple venues (Makespace Jericho, Blackbird Leys, Cowley) that help community members fix electrical items, bikes, clothing, and other goods; and Tech Rescue sessions providing IT troubleshooting, data transfer, and device preparation for donation. The organisation's core inventory and booking platform is powered by MyTurn, with Stripe and Square handling card payments, MailChimp for newsletters, Eventbrite for event ticketing, and Monday.com for volunteer management.

SHARE Oxford serves individual Oxford residents, local community groups, and non-profits seeking low-cost access to equipment and repair services. It targets four overlapping use cases: occasional-use borrowing for cost and storage savings; repair to extend product life; IT support; and event equipment rental. Pricing is usage-based for the Library (specific fees not publicly disclosed; late returns incur double the daily fee plus replacement costs for missing parts), with the remainder of revenue sourced from voluntary donations at Repair Cafés and grant funding from bodies including the National Lottery Community Fund, Network for Social Change, CAG Oxfordshire, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Summertown & St Margaret's Forum, and The Grocers' Charity. Approximately 1,000 customers used the Library in the trailing year, with 30–50 guests attending each Repair Café.

The organisation operates with 2–3 paid staff (a Project Coordinator, Library Manager, and a librarian) supported by around 30 volunteers and a board of trustees. It is a member of the CAG Oxfordshire network of 100+ sustainability groups and a core partner in the WISH county-wide circular economy network funded by the National Lottery. SHARE Oxford is part of the broader UK Libraries of Things movement (90+ libraries nationally), sharing best practice with peer organisations such as London Library of Things and SHARE Frome, and holds international links with the Circle Centre in Lund.

Name

SHARE Oxford

Legal name

SHARE Oxford CIO

Website

https://shareoxford.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SHARE Oxford is a registered Oxford-based charity operating a community Library of Things, monthly Repair Cafés, and Tech Rescue sessions that help local residents and community groups borrow tools, fix broken items, and reduce waste through reuse.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Sharing Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Libraries and Archives (51921)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Libraries & Information Services (BPAIACAO)

Keywords

• Library of things
• Repair cafe services
• Tool lending library
• Circular economy services
• Community reuse services

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Library of Things Hire Fees: Revenue from hiring out items from the Library of Things. Members pay fees to borrow tools, equipment, and other items they need occasionally.
2. Donations: Voluntary donations accepted at repair cafés and through Crowdfunder and other platforms. Charity relies on public support.
3. Grants and Funding: Grants from organizations including National Lottery Community Fund, Network for Social Change, CAG Oxfordshire, Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council, Summertown & St Margaret's Forum, and The Grocers' Charity.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

SHARE Oxford operates a community-sharing charity providing three core services: a Library of Things where members borrow tools, equipment, party gear, and household items they only need occasionally; monthly Repair Cafés where volunteers help fix electrical items, bikes, clothes, and other goods; and Tech Rescue sessions providing IT support, data transfer, and device donation assistance. The organisation serves Oxford residents to reduce overconsumption, save money, and build community connections around sharing and repairing.

Product overview

SHARE Oxford operates as a community-sharing charity offering three interconnected services: the Library of Things (a core hire platform enabling members to borrow tools, equipment, and items they need only occasionally), Repair Cafés (monthly volunteer-led repair events for fixing electrical items, bikes, clothes, and more), and Tech Rescue (IT-focused sessions for software support, data management, and device donation). The Library of Things uses the MyTurn platform for inventory management and booking, with Stripe and Square for payment processing. The services work together to reduce waste, save money, and build community connections around sharing and repairing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Library of Things Community hire service allowing Oxford residents to borrow tools, party equipment, camping gear, kitchen appliances, and other household items they only need occasionally, reducing consumption and waste.
• Repair Cafés

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,232 kg of items fixed through repair cafés
• +3 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

Integration4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Oxford HubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Partnership to bring repair café services to Blackbird Leys at Oxford Hub, Windale Ave. Offers sewing, electrical/mechanical and bike repairs plus IT support. First session June 2026.
• Redirect Community PlatformminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2026New hyper-local community platform and sustainability-first alternative to traditional social media. SHARE Oxford is partnering with this platform being piloted in Oxfordshire in 2026.
• CAG Oxfordshire (Community Action Groups Oxfordshire)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAG Oxfordshire provides setup support, guidance, and grants including £7,500 in 2021 to develop the Library of Things and launch three more in Oxfordshire. They have also provided special project grants for smoothie bike, Tech Rescue pilot, and Windows 10 programme. SHARE Oxford is a member of this network of 100+ sustainability groups.
• WISH Network (Waste Innovation Station)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWISH is a county-wide partnership run by Cherwell Collective, funded by National Lottery Community Fund (£42k over 5 years from 2023). SHARE Oxford is one of the core partners helping create change through connecting communities to nature and each other. The partnership supports circular economy initiatives.
• Makespace OxfordcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakespace Oxford hosts SHARE Oxford's operations at 1 Aristotle Lane. It's a community workspace hub for social enterprises, charities, and cooperatives working on social and environmental justice. SHARE Oxford has been based there since early 2018.
• Getting Oxfordshire OnlinecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership for Tech Rescue sessions. SHARE Oxford accepts IT donations which are passed to Getting Oxfordshire Online for secure wiping and distribution to people in need. Getting Oxfordshire Online operates at SOFEA in Didcot and Aspire in Oxford.
• Oxford Community Action (OCA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to run Tech Rescue sessions at John Bunyan Baptist Church Hall, Cowley. New service launched as drop-in on first Wednesday of each month.
• Circle Centre, LundminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational library friendship with SHARE Oxford. Links to many international libraries as part of global sharing and repairing community.
• London Library of ThingsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHelped turn the idea of a Library of Things in Oxford from concept to reality, along with SHARE Frome.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Olio: Much larger UK-based app for sharing surplus food and household items between neighbours. Operates a broader, more commercial sharing-economy model but overlaps with SHARE Oxford's reuse/lending ethos.
• Hygglo (formerly Fat Llama): UK-originated peer-to-peer rental marketplace for tools, electronics, and equipment. Targets the same 'borrow rather than buy' need as SHARE Oxford's Library of Things but as a commercial platform rather than a charity.
• Freegle: UK-wide reuse community (formerly Freecycle) for free local gifting of unwanted items. Comparable to SHARE Oxford's Reuse/Pass On Things service, but at much greater scale and with a different operating model.

Direct peers

• The Restart Project: UK-based charity running community repair events (especially for electronics) and campaigning for the Right to Repair. Overlaps directly with SHARE Oxford's Repair Café and Tech Rescue services.
• London Library of Things: London-based community Library of Things that helped SHARE Oxford turn the concept into reality. Operates the same lend-tools-and-household-items-to-members model in a different UK city, making it the closest comparable.
• Share Reuse Repair Initiative (SHARE Frome): Frome-based sharing and repair charity, part of the same UK Libraries of Things network. Cited as one of the organisations that supported SHARE Oxford's launch, with overlapping lending and repair activities.
• Repair Café UK (national movement): National UK chapter of the global Repair Café movement, coordinating local volunteer-run repair events. Operates the same monthly fix-it-event model that SHARE Oxford's Repair Cafés use.

Emerging players

• Whirli: UK-based subscription toy rental service applying the access-over-ownership model to a narrower product category. Similar sharing-rental DNA but operates as a commercial subscription rather than community charity.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shareoxford_lot
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@SHARE-Oxford
• Facebookfacebook.com/shareoxfordLoT
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shareoxford
• Instagraminstagram.com/shareoxford/?hl=en

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 SHARE Oxford