The Social Brokers

What The Social Brokers does

The Social Brokers is a Community Interest Company (CIC) founded in 2019 and headquartered in Liverpool, United Kingdom, that delivers integrated early-intervention and family-support services to vulnerable children, young people, and families in deprived communities across the Liverpool City Region, with a primary operational hub in Kirkdale. The organisation runs eleven distinct service lines spanning school-based early interventions for years 5 and 6 pupils, criminal exploitation awareness education, debt and welfare rights advice (RAISE), English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) classes, an affordable Food Club operated with The Bread and Butter Thing, weekly coffee mornings, a mobile NHS Living Well Bus delivering free health checks, home safety and energy efficiency visits (Safer Homes, Stronger Families), physical and wellbeing activities, a Centre of Warmth community hub in partnership with Cadent Gas, and a university volunteer programme. Co-founded by Paul Walmsley (Head of Development & Network, Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Liverpool) and Pete Owens (Head of Operations, former 30-year Merseyside Fire & Rescue Service officer), the organisation is built on a trauma-informed, whole-family approach. There is no proprietary technology platform; delivery is community-based, physical, and relational.

The business model is that of a UK social-purpose CIC rather than a commercial enterprise: revenue is generated through contracted service delivery, grant funding, and partnership contributions rather than commercial pricing. The largest disclosed anchor is a £500,000 partnership with Cadent Gas to operate the Kirkdale Centre of Warmth as part of Cadent's 350-site UK network. Additional funding flows from local authorities (Liverpool City Council, Sefton Council), national grant bodies (Community Fund, Steve Morgan Foundation), housing associations (Torus Foundation, Riverside), NHS delivery contracts, academic partners (University of Liverpool), and a network of corporate and charity partners. The only direct-to-consumer revenue stream is the Food Club membership, which charges £5 (individual), £8.50 (family), or £17 (large family) weekly for food packages worth approximately £35. Go-to-market is community-led: services are accessed via drop-in at the Centre of Warmth, the Living Well Bus, partner venues, and referrals from schools, councils, and NHS partners. Marketing is conducted through organic social media (Instagram, Facebook, X, LinkedIn, TikTok) and partnership referrals rather than paid acquisition.

Customer concentration is high, with the Cadent Gas contract representing the dominant single source of contracted income. The organisation's strategic moats derive from its embedded position within a 20+ partner ecosystem, the trust and physical presence built in Kirkdale over multiple years, the academic credentials of its leadership team, and its unique ability to channel real-time frontline community intelligence into public-health and social-justice research through the University of Liverpool partnership.

Name

The Social Brokers

Legal name

The Social Brokers CIC

Website

https://thesocialbrokers.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Social Brokers is a Liverpool-based Community Interest Company delivering integrated early-intervention, family-support, debt advice, ESOL, food security, and youth services to deprived communities in the Liverpool City Region, anchored by its Kirkdale Centre of Warmth hub and a 20+ partner ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Liverpool

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Partnership and Grant Funding: The Social Brokers operates as a Community Interest Company (CIC) funded through partnerships with organisations such as Cadent (£500,000 partnership), local authorities, universities, NHS, and national charities. Revenue comes from delivering contracted services including debt advice, energy efficiency programmes, youth interventions, and community support.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

The Social Brokers CIC delivers integrated community social services through its Centre of Warmth hub in Kirkdale, Liverpool. Core services include early-intervention classroom sessions and 1:1 tutoring, criminal exploitation awareness workshops, welfare rights and debt advice (RAISE Advice), ESOL language courses, the Food Club affordable food distribution programme, the Living Well Bus mobile NHS health service, home safety and energy efficiency visits (Safer Homes Stronger Families), physical and wellbeing activities, and weekly community coffee mornings.

Product overview

The Social Brokers is a community interest company offering a portfolio of integrated social support services rather than a traditional technology product. Their core offering consists of community-facing programmes including Early Interventions for schools, Criminal Exploitation Awareness education, University Volunteer Programme, Physical & Wellbeing Activities, the Living Well Bus (NHS health services), Safer Homes Stronger Families, Coffee Mornings, Raise Advice (debt/welfare), ESOL language courses, Food Club, and the Centre of Warmth hub. These services work together as a joined-up community support ecosystem, with the Centre of Warmth serving as the central hub where multiple services converge to provide holistic support to families in deprived areas, particularly in Kirkdale, Liverpool.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Early Interventions School-based support service delivering bespoke classroom sessions for years 5 and 6 students covering children's rights, emotional regulation, government awareness, and diversity, along with 1:1 Maths and English tutoring to help children thrive academically and personally. Targeted at vulnerable pupils in deprived areas.
• Criminal Exploitation Awareness Interactive education sessions helping young people and professionals recognise, prevent, and respond to exploitation through bespoke workshops, talks, and roleplay activities delivered to universities, colleges, schools, and local councils.
• University Volunteer Programme Student engagement programme providing university students hands-on experience in community work through public health approach partnerships, enabling real-time data collection and creation of practical solutions for deprived areas.
• Physical & Wellbeing Activities Community health programmes including women's boxercise and yoga sessions, Junior Social Brokers youth activities, maths clubs, and half-term activities designed to boost physical and mental wellbeing across the Liverpool City Region.
• Living Well Bus Mobile health service visiting the Kirkdale Centre offering free NHS health checks, vaccinations, and wellbeing advice including blood pressure, diabetes checks, and flu/MMR vaccinations without appointments.
• Safer Homes, Stronger Families Multi-agency home safety programme providing Safe and Well visits, carbon monoxide monitor distribution, energy efficiency advice, and connections to income maximisation and wellbeing support services.
• Coffee Mornings

Quantifiable outcome

• £35 worth of food provided per £8.50 family order
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

17 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Cadent GasflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner£500,000 partnership establishing Kirkdale Centre of Warmth as part of Cadent's 350 Centres of Warmth across the UK. Provides safe, welcoming space for energy efficiency advice, home safety, income maximisation, debt relief, ESOL classes, food provision, and wellbeing sessions.
• University of LiverpoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership connecting community issues with public health research. Involves School of Law & Social Justice and School of Psychology. Paul Walmsley serves as Honorary Research Fellow. Professors Stalford and Taylor-Robinson collaborate on research bridging academia and community.
• Liverpool City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal authority partner for community intervention programmes and early help initiatives.
• NHScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare partner supporting Living Well Bus initiative and health/wellbeing programmes at the Centre of Warmth.
• The Bread and Butter ThingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational food scheme partner providing affordable food distribution through The Social Brokers' Kirkdale hub. Offers weekly food bags (Individual £5, Family £8.50, Large Family £17) delivering approximately £35 worth of food.
• Alder Hey Children's HospitalcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHealthcare research partner collaborating on child health and wellbeing programmes.
• Merseyside Fire & Rescue ServicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing partnership dating to Pete Owens' career. Co-developed 'Weapons Down Gloves Up' project and continued collaboration on community safety initiatives.
• Merseyside PolicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership on violence reduction and community safety programmes.
• Sefton CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership including Turnaround Project where Paul Walmsley served as Key Youth Outreach Worker in 2023.
• Kirkdale St Lawrence SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEducational partner receiving bespoke classroom sessions for years 5 and 6, 1:1 tutoring support, and youth engagement programmes.
• Liverpool FC FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball club charitable foundation partner for community sports and wellbeing activities.
• Everton In The CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFootball club charitable foundation partner for community initiatives.
• The Big IssueminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational social enterprise partner for community support programmes.
• RAISE AdvicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDebt advice partner providing welfare rights, benefit support, and debt advice services at the Kirkdale centre. Nicola from RAISE delivers confidential financial guidance.
• Torus FoundationminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing association foundation partner for community support and housing-related assistance.
• RiversideminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHousing provider partner for community initiatives.
• Kirkdale ABCminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal gym venue partner hosting women's exercise group (boxercise and yoga) at their facility.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Change Grow Live: National charity providing substance-misuse, mental-health, and family-support services via commissioned contracts. Comparable commissioned-service model targeting vulnerable populations across multiple service lines.
• Big Issue Group: UK social enterprise tackling poverty through vendor programmes, services, and advocacy. Listed as a partner of The Social Brokers and shares the community-impact mission targeting marginalised populations.
• Centrepoint: National youth homelessness charity providing housing, education, and employment support to vulnerable young people. Comparable early-intervention and youth-outreach approach but operating at national scale.
• The Trussell Trust: National food-bank network supporting people in food poverty. Overlaps with The Social Brokers on household food security and emergency relief in deprived communities, but at significantly larger network scale.
• FareShare: UK's largest food redistribution charity redistributing surplus food to a frontline network. Comparable food-security mission and hub-distribution model that overlaps with The Social Brokers' Food Club.
• Citizens Advice: National advice charity delivering debt, welfare, and consumer guidance through local bureaux. Overlaps with The Social Brokers' RAISE Advice debt and income-maximisation work but at much larger national scale.

Direct peers

• The Bread and Butter Thing: UK community food redistribution charity operating affordable food clubs through partner hubs. Directly comparable to The Social Brokers via the Food Club partnership and shared model of low-cost weekly food bags delivered through community sites in deprived areas.
• Local Solutions: Merseyside-based charity providing multi-service community support including advice, wellbeing, and family services. Comparable operating geography and integrated community-services model serving deprived populations in the Liverpool City Region.

Regional players

• The Whitechapel Centre: Liverpool-based charity addressing homelessness and multiple disadvantage through supported housing, advice, and outreach. Comparable regional focus on deprived Merseyside populations and similar multi-agency partnership approach.
• Together Liverpool: Liverpool civic partnership of churches, charities, and community organisations addressing poverty and social justice. Comparable regional coalition-based model and community-development focus in the Liverpool City Region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/socialbrokersuk
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-social-brokers
• Instagraminstagram.com/thesocialbrokersuk
• TikToktiktok.com/@thesocialbrokers

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 The Social Brokers