Uniting Friends

What Uniting Friends does

Uniting Friends is a UK-registered charity (no. 1126190) and company limited by guarantee (reg. no. 6495763), founded in 1996 in the Ilford/Redbridge area of Greater London and now in its 30th year of operation. Its mission is to enable people with learning disabilities to live full and equal lives with independence, freedom, and pride. The organisation serves approximately 220 members through a user-led model in which members shape services via a Steering Committee, and employs 15 staff across a portfolio of programmes under the umbrella 'Out There!' brand.

The core service offering covers daytime activities (56 per week including walking groups, drama, arts and crafts, swimming, cycling, and cooking classes), evening and weekend activities (204 per year, including Change4Life Mondays, Pub Night Thursdays, and the Groovy Cat Club monthly nightclub), UK and overseas holidays, the Sprout There! allotment project, a Training Cafe producing around 150 meals weekly for skills development, and UF Radio, a member-produced podcast distributed via Mixcloud and YouTube. Underlying technology is a standard web-based platform (Access Control Cloud) for event booking, donations, and member communications, with payments processed through Stripe, GoCardless, PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay; no mobile app or proprietary AI/ML capability is in evidence.

Revenue is generated through three streams: donations and fundraising (including Gift Aid and personal fundraising pages), per-event activity fees ranging from £7 to £40 per person, and membership subscriptions. Distribution is direct-to-member at owned facilities (the headquarters at 92c Beehive Lane, The Hive and UF Creative Hub at 94 Beehive Lane, the Training Cafe, and the allotment) and at partner venues such as Champs Sports Bar, Gravity MAX, and PizzaExpress Live. The organisation markets primarily through organic social channels (Facebook, Twitter, YouTube), UF Radio podcasts, email newsletters, and word-of-mouth referrals, with geographic scope limited to the London region.

Name

Uniting Friends

Legal name

Uniting Friends

Website

https://unitingfriends.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1996

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Uniting Friends is a UK user-led charity in Ilford providing daytime activities, evening events, holidays, a training cafe, allotment, and radio show for around 220 adults with learning disabilities, funded by membership, activity fees, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Learning Disability Support Services

NAICS

Civic and Social Organizations (8134), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGACAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Peer Support, Buddy Programs & Cooperative Learning Facilitation (EDAKABAI), Life Skills & SEL Camps (Confidence, Executive Function, Social Skills) (EDAMALAO)

Keywords

• Learning disability services
• Disability day programs
• Social activities charity
• Community support services
• Disability holiday programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Ilford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: The organization accepts charitable donations from individuals and corporate supporters. Gift Aid is available for UK taxpayers. Fundraising pages allow supporters to create personalized fundraising campaigns for the organization.
2. Activity and Event Fees: Members pay fees to participate in various activities and events including the Groovy Cat Club nightclub, day trips, meals out, bowling, karaoke, and other social activities.
3. Membership: Individuals with learning disabilities become members to access daytime activities, evening events, holidays, and other services provided by the organization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Uniting Friends is a registered charity that provides social, recreational, and independence-building activities for people with learning disabilities. Its core offerings include the 'Out There!' daytime activities program, evening and weekend events such as the Groovy Cat Club nightclub and Pub Nights, the Sprout There! allotment project, a Training Cafe, UF Radio podcasts, and holiday programs. All services are delivered directly to members in the Ilford/Redbridge area of London, with fees collected per activity and broader operations funded by charitable donations.

Product overview

Uniting Friends is a UK-based charity providing services for people with learning disabilities. The organization operates a portfolio of programs centered around the 'Out There!' brand, which encompasses daytime activities (including walking groups, drama, arts and crafts, swimming, cycling, and cooking classes) and evening/weekend activities (pub nights, Change4Life Mondays, and the Groovy Cat Club nightclub). Additional services include the Sprout There! allotment project for horticultural activities, a Training Cafe where members develop hospitality skills, the UF Radio podcast produced by members, and holiday programs. The organization serves 220 members and delivers 56 daytime activities weekly along with 204 evening activities annually, all focused on enabling independence, freedom and pride for people with learning disabilities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Out There!: Daytime activities project offering a wide range of activities for members
• Groovy Cat Club
• Sprout There!
• UF Radio
• The Hive
• UF Creative Hub

Products and services

• Out There! Daytime Activities Flagship daytime activities program offering a wide range of activities including walking groups, drama, sensory creations, arts and crafts, swimming, cycling, and cooking classes, designed to teach members about health and wellbeing. Targeted at members with learning disabilities.
• Out There! Evening and Weekend Activities Evening and weekend activities including Change4Life Mondays, Pub Night Thursdays, the Groovy Cat Club nightclub, and various events and day trips throughout the year. Targeted at members with learning disabilities.
• Groovy Cat Club Monthly nightclub run by and for people with learning disabilities, held every first Thursday at Champs Sports Bar and Grill in Ilford, featuring DJs Boney Tony, Doctor Bass, Spartacus and more. Entry priced at £7 per person.
• Sprout There! Allotment Allotment and gardening project that promotes confidence and independence through horticultural activities, with members participating in growing food and related tasks.
• Training Cafe Cafe providing food preparation training where members cook approximately 150 meals weekly, supporting skill development in hospitality and daily living skills.
• UF Radio Radio show and podcast produced by members, featuring seasonal themes, discussions on topics like love and friendship, sleep wellness, and information about activities. Distributed via Mixcloud and YouTube.
• Holidays Holiday programs both abroad and in the UK offered throughout the year for members to relax and have fun.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mencap: Largest UK charity for people with learning disabilities, providing services, advocacy, and information nationally. Comparable as a peer only at a broad level — operates a much larger portfolio including residential care, employment support, and campaigning, whereas Uniting Friends is a local user-led activities/community organization.
• Hft: UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities through residential, day, and community services. Comparable in mission (learning disability support) but broader in scope, including 24/7 supported living that Uniting Friends does not provide.
• MacIntyre: UK charity providing learning disability services including education, residential care, and community programs. Shares the learning disability focus and person-centered ethos but operates at substantially larger scale and geographic footprint.
• Community Integrated Care: One of the UK's largest social care charities supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs. Comparable in service breadth (community activities, supported living) but much larger scale and contract-driven rather than community-led.
• United Response: National UK charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs through supported living and community services. Overlap is in the community-based activities and person-centered support mission; differs in scale and inclusion of autism/mental health populations.
• Sense: UK disability charity supporting people with complex disabilities including those with learning disabilities. Comparable as a disability-focused nonprofit but with a specialization in deafblindness that Uniting Friends does not serve.
• Leonard Cheshire: UK charity supporting people with disabilities including learning disabilities through global programs. Overlap in disability-focused community programming; differs in international footprint and emphasis on disability more broadly.

Regional players

• Certitude: London-based charity supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, and mental health needs through community-based services. Comparable in geographic market (London) and learning disability focus, but also provides supported living and operates at larger scale.

Direct peers

• Stay Up Late: Small UK charity specifically supporting people with learning disabilities to lead active social lives, including evening events and nightlife. Closely comparable in mission to the Groovy Cat Club and Out There! evening/weekend programs, though smaller and not user-led.
• Outlook Care: Essex-based charity providing support for people with learning disabilities across day services, supported living, and community activities. Comparable as a regional user-led-style operator serving a similar population with a similar activity-focused portfolio.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UnitingFriends1
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UC3_GeVcR0q9zEnhQ8_nDZBg/videos
• Facebookfacebook.com/unitingfriends1
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uniting-friends

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 Uniting Friends