The Old Fire Station LS9

What The Old Fire Station LS9 does

The Old Fire Station LS9 is a non-profit community hub operating from a 1930s landmark building on the Gipton estate in East Leeds (LS9 6NL), founded in 2017 and operated by GFS Community Enterprise, a wholly owned subsidiary of Community Foundation for Leeds. It delivers an integrated set of services: SLATE's Feel Good Café (an onsite 5-star hygiene rated kitchen providing employment and training for people with learning difficulties), seven bookable rooms for hire (capacities from 2 to 70 people) priced on a four-tier community/charity/NHS-local authority/commercial model, and tenant space housing six third-sector organisations (Basecamp, GIPSIL, Elevate, People in Action, Healthwatch Leeds, Space2). Approximately 1,000 people use the building weekly, and a 2022 Leeds Beckett University evaluation calculated a Social Return on Investment of £20.01 per £1 invested and £360,000+ annual NHS cost savings from reduced health inequalities. The technology stack is non-proprietary and consists of standard facilities management, hospitality, and consumer payment tooling (Worldpay PCI-DSS compliant terminal, Microsoft Teams/Zoom for hire, UK GDPR-compliant data handling). Revenue is generated through café transactions, room hire sessions, and tenant rents, supplemented by grants from entities such as Leeds Community Foundation and West Yorkshire Combined Authority; no revenue figure is publicly disclosed.

Name

The Old Fire Station LS9

Legal name

GFS Community Enterprise

Website

https://theoldfirestationgipton.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Old Fire Station LS9 is a non-profit community hub in East Leeds, operated by GFS Community Enterprise, offering a café, seven hireable rooms, and tenant space for six local charities to serve approximately 1,000 weekly residents.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Hub Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Facilities Support Management Services (8744)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Purpose Event Halls & Community Centers (THAHAAAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Independent Neighborhood Cafes (THAFADAC)

Keywords

• Community hub services
• Meeting room hire
• Charity office space
• Community cafe operations
• Event venue hire

Headquarters

HQ city

Leeds

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Room Hire: Revenue from hiring out meeting rooms and event spaces to community groups, charities, businesses, and individuals. Multiple room sizes available with tiered pricing based on user type (community, charity, NHS/local authority, commercial).
2. Café Sales: Revenue from café food and beverage sales. SLATE's Feel Good Café serves freshly made food including breakfast items, sandwiches, paninis, wraps, jacket potatoes, and snacks. Café also provides catering services for meeting room bookings.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

The Old Fire Station is a multipurpose community hub in East Leeds that operates an onsite café (SLATE's Feel Good Café), hires out meeting and event rooms across seven accessible spaces, and provides office/hub space for six local charities. It also runs a community events programme and offers catering via its café for room-hire bookings. All services are delivered from a 1930s landmark building on the Gipton estate and share the dual purpose of providing accessible community space and generating social impact.

Product overview

The Old Fire Station LS9 is a multipurpose community hub in East Leeds offering integrated facilities and services. The core offering consists of SLATE's Feel Good Café (onsite 5-star hygiene rated café providing employment and training for people with learning difficulties), room hire services across seven distinct spaces (Jimi's Community Room, The Heselden Room, The Eastern Room, Meeting Rooms 1-3, The Enterprise Room, and Café Seating Area) accommodating 2-100 people, and tenant space housing six third sector organisations. The venue also runs a full community events programme. All services share the common purpose of providing accessible community space, social inclusion, and support for local wellbeing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SLATE's Feel Good Café Onsite café operating from 5-star hygiene rated kitchens, serving freshly made food including all-day breakfast items, sandwiches, paninis, wraps, jacket potatoes, sides, snacks, and hot drinks. Provides employment and training to people with learning and other difficulties. Open to walk-in customers Monday to Friday 8am-4pm and offers catering delivery to booked meeting rooms.
• Room Hire Accessible hire of seven meeting and event spaces in 4-hour sessions or full days, with tiered pricing for community, charity, NHS/local authority, and commercial users. Spaces include Jimi's Community Room (up to 70 social, 50 theatre/banquet, 40 workshop, 24 boardroom), The Heselden Room (up to 20, overlooking the community garden, with projection and conference-call capability), The Eastern Room (15-20 people), Meeting Rooms 1-3 (2-6 people, suitable for interviews and small meetings), The Enterprise Room (6-10 people), and the Café Seating Area. Optional Teams/Zoom camera and speaker equipment available at £10.00 per session.
• Tenant Space for Third Sector Organisations Long-term office and operational hub space for six local charities and third sector organisations: Basecamp (young people), GIPSIL (children, young people and families), Elevate (empty homes and volunteer/apprenticeship programmes), People in Action (learning disabled and autistic adults), Healthwatch Leeds (healthcare advocacy), and Space2 (community arts organisation). Tenants access meeting rooms, the café, parking, and the wider support ecosystem on-site.

Quantifiable outcome

• Social Return on Investment of £20.01 for every £1 invested (Leeds Beckett University, 5-year evaluation)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• GIPSIL LtdcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 October 2025Tenant organization working with children, young people and families. Awarded funding from West Yorkshire Combined Authority through the digital inclusion programme. Provides counselling, housing support, welfare advice, and employment support services from the Old Fire Station.
• Leeds Beckett UniversitymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSchool of Health conducted the Five Year Impact Evaluation (2022), calculating the Social Return on Investment at £20.01 per £1 invested and documenting NHS cost savings of £360,000+ annually.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Others

• Locality: UK national membership body supporting community organisations, hubs, and social enterprises. Adjacent as an ecosystem enabler and capacity-building peer for community-hub operators like The Old Fire Station.

Direct peers

• Community Shop: Network of social supermarkets and community hubs combining discounted food access with training, wellbeing, and community programming. Comparable as a multi-purpose community venue using food/café operations to drive social outcomes.
• Impact Hub London: Co-working and community space for social enterprises and purpose-driven organisations, offering flexible rooms, café, and event programming. Comparable as a venue that monetises space hire while curating a community of mission-led tenants and members.
• Meanwhile Space CIC: Social enterprise that activates meanwhile-use vacant buildings for community and creative tenants. Operates a similar hub model of placing charities and community groups into repurposed buildings with shared facilities.
• St Luke's Bombed Out Church: Liverpool heritage venue operating as a community arts and events space with café and room hire in a landmark building. Directly comparable repurposed-landmark community venue with mixed café/events/venue-hire business model.
• Phoenix Leicester: Independent cinema and creative community hub in Leicester combining an events/venue business with a café and community programming. Directly comparable as a heritage-building venue hosting room hire, café, and charitable/community mission activities under one roof.
• Castlefield Community Centre: Manchester-based community centre offering tiered room hire for community groups, charities, and commercial users with on-site facilities. Closely comparable venue-hire and community programming model with similar pricing tier structure.

Broad incumbents

• Battersea Arts Centre: Heritage-building arts and community venue in South London offering room hire, events, café, and creative programming. Comparable as a landmark building repurposed for community/commercial use with room hire and café, though at significantly larger scale.

Emerging players

• The Bread and Butter Thing: Social enterprise redistributing surplus food via community membership hubs across the North of England. Comparable community-hub operating model with social mission embedded in everyday service delivery.
• The Real Junk Food Project: Social enterprise using surplus food to run community cafés with pay-as-you-feel pricing. Directly comparable social-enterprise café model embedded in community impact outcomes.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-old-fire-station-gipton

Compliance2 records

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 The Old Fire Station LS9