Unfold

What Unfold does

Unfold (legally Westminster Befriend a Family) is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee founded in 1989 and rebranded to its current name in August 2022. It is headquartered at Fivefields, 8-10 Grosvenor Gardens, London, and operates with a staff of approximately 42 plus a board of 12 trustees led by CEO Ciara Devlin. The organisation delivers free, person-centred mentoring to vulnerable populations across Westminster and seven neighbouring London boroughs, including Kensington and Chelsea, Brent, Camden, the City, Southwark, Lambeth and Wandsworth.

Unfold runs three core programmes: Broadening Horizons, a goal-focused mentoring programme for young people aged 10-25 based on positive psychology principles, delivered in 12-24 weekly sessions; Mentoring for Mothers, a one-to-one offer for women or non-binary individuals with children aged 5+ running 12-24 weeks; and Women's Support Groups, providing safe weekly spaces for women seeking asylum. There is no proprietary technology platform; delivery is human-powered by trained volunteer mentors supported by a small in-house programme team, with mentee engagement occurring in-person, online, or by phone. A Youth Advisory Board embeds lived experience into programme design and accountability.

The business model is grant-and-donation funded, with no fees charged to beneficiaries. Unfold relies on individual donations, corporate giving, trust and foundation grants, and statutory partnerships, evidenced by supporter logos including Tesco Community Grants and the Big Give. Distribution is community-led: 60% of referrals originate from partner organisations, principally the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC) Social Services and peer charities including The Abbey Centre, Westbourne Park Family Centre, LMK and Settle. Of families supported, 85% are single-parent households led by a woman and 93% of service users are from minoritized communities, indicating a tightly defined beneficiary profile. No funding rounds, parent company, or AI/ML capability are disclosed.

Name

Unfold

Legal name

Westminster Befriend a Family

Website

https://unfold.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Unfold is a London-based charity, founded 1989 and rebranded in 2022, delivering free volunteer-led mentoring programmes to vulnerable young people, single mothers, and asylum seekers across Westminster and seven neighbouring London boroughs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Youth and Family Mentoring Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Mentoring & Peer Support Programs (EDAJALAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Newcomer & Refugee Student Support Programs (EDAJAGAH)

Keywords

• Youth mentoring programmes
• Family support services
• Asylum seeker mentoring
• Community charity services
• Volunteer mentoring

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable donations and grants: Unfold relies on donations from individuals, companies, and communities, as well as grant funding from trusts and foundations. They are a registered charity (Number: 1082452) and company limited by guarantee (Company Number: 4002287).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Unfold delivers free, person-centred, goal-focused mentoring programmes through trained volunteer mentors over 12–24 weekly one-hour sessions. Its three core programmes are Broadening Horizons (young people aged 10–25), Mentoring for Mothers (women/non-binary parents with children aged 5+), and Women's Support Groups (women asylum seekers and refugees). Services are delivered in person, online, or by phone across Westminster and neighbouring London boroughs.

Product overview

Unfold is a mentoring charity offering three distinct programmes: Broadening Horizons for young people aged 10-25, Mentoring for Mothers for women with children aged 5+, and Women's Support Groups for women seeking asylum. The organisation was established in 1989 and rebranded from Westminster Befriend a Family to Unfold in August 2022. All programmes use trained volunteer mentors providing person-centred, goal-focused support over 12-24 sessions, delivered in-person, online, or by phone.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Broadening Horizons A goal-focused mentoring programme for young people aged 10–25, based on positive-psychology principles and designed to encourage a growth mindset. Young people are matched with trained volunteer mentors who meet weekly for 12–24 sessions of approximately one hour each, delivered in person, online, or by phone.
• Mentoring for Mothers A one-to-one mentoring programme for women or non-binary individuals with children aged 5+, offering weekly mentoring over 12–24 weeks to improve confidence, wellbeing, and community connections. 85% of families supported are single-parent households led by a woman, and 93% of service users are from minoritized communities.
• Women's Support Groups Weekly facilitated support groups providing safe spaces for women who are seeking asylum, offering access to help, friendship, and supportive peer networks. Open to anyone who identifies as a woman or non-binary person, delivered in partnership with refugee and asylum-seeker support organisations.

Quantifiable outcome

• Confidence improvement from 36% to 75% of participants feeling confident often or all of the time after programme
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• The Abbey CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with The Abbey Centre, a charity supporting people in Westminster. Both organizations share similar values and place the needs of those they support at the forefront, particularly for refugees and asylum seekers.
• Westbourne Park Family CentrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership working to engage with people, understand individual and group needs, and tailor responses to advocate, support and empower people.
• LMK (Let Me Know)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership providing welcoming, safe, and empowering space for service users. Unfold supports children and young people through this partnership.
• SettleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership prioritizing work with young people with lived experience to shape programmes for care-experienced young people.
• Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with RBKC Social Services, Head of Early Help, Social Work and Youth Offending for working with homeless families and young asylum seekers.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Kids Inspire: Essex/London-based charity providing therapeutic mentoring for vulnerable young people and families. Comparable in operating model: trained volunteer mentors delivering person-centred, time-limited mentoring to at-risk youth.
• Refuge: UK charity providing specialist support for women and children experiencing domestic abuse, including refuge accommodation and outreach. Comparable in focus on women-led single-parent households and vulnerable women including refugees.
• Home-Start UK: UK family-support charity that trains volunteers to visit parents with young children at home. Directly comparable in volunteer-led, 1:1 support model for single parents and vulnerable families in defined borough footprints.
• Switchback (Real Action): London-based charity providing one-to-one mentoring for young men leaving prison. Comparable as a small-to-mid UK charity delivering goal-focused, volunteer-led 1:1 mentoring over a defined session structure.

Broad incumbents

• Barnardo's: One of the UK's largest children's charities, running mentoring, family support and services for care-experienced young people. Comparable in supporting single-parent families, children in need, and asylum/refugee cohorts.
• Catch22: Large UK social business delivering mentoring, education and social inclusion programmes for young people and vulnerable adults, including care-leavers and those in the justice system. Comparable as a charity/non-profit delivering structured mentoring across multiple regions.
• YMCA England & Wales: National federation providing supported housing, youth work and mentoring for young people and families across the UK. Comparable as a charitable mentoring and youth-development organisation.
• The Prince's Trust: Major UK youth charity offering mentoring, training and personal development for 11-30 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds. Comparable in target cohort (vulnerable young people) and core mentoring/wraparound model.
• The Children's Society: National charity supporting disadvantaged children including refugees, asylum seekers and young carers through mentoring and targeted programmes. Comparable in focus on vulnerable young people including refugees in London.
• NSPCC: Major UK children's charity providing direct services, helplines and face-to-face support including mentoring for children and families facing abuse or neglect. Comparable in supporting vulnerable children and families across London boroughs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UnfoldMentoring
• Facebookfacebook.com/UnfoldMentoring
• Instagraminstagram.com/unfoldmentoring
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/unfoldmentoring

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles16 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 Unfold