What UTurn does

UTurn (legally UTurn4Support, Charity No: 1188285) is a UK-registered youth charity founded in October 2019 by Directors Shani and Tania and headquartered at The UTurn Hub, 70 Old Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex. The charity serves children and young people aged 9-18 (up to 25 with additional needs) plus their families across the Tendring district and Colchester, delivering early-intervention mentoring, wellbeing programmes, violence-prevention work, structured activities, and youth leadership through a portfolio that includes the Hub drop-in, after-school clubs, summer and half-term holiday clubs, the Transitional Mental Health Programme, the Wellbeing Fitness Programme, and the Youth Ambassadors Programme.

The operating model is community-led and referral-driven, with three formal pathways (parent/carer, professional/school, and young-person self-referral) feeding into direct service delivery at the Hub and via street-based outreach. Technology is minimal: a WordPress/WooCommerce website with Stripe payment processing, JustGiving for donations, and WhatsApp Business for enquiries — there is no proprietary platform, no app, and no AI/ML capability. Safeguarding infrastructure is robust for the sector, with DBS-checked staff, a published safeguarding policy, and King's Award-trusted status.

The revenue model is overwhelmingly grant-funded. Major funders include the National Lottery (Developing Futures, 2023-2026), the Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit (Youth Resource Network), Active Essex (Transitional Mental Health Programme, Wellbeing Fitness Programme with MIND), the Jack Petchey Foundation (Achievement Award Scheme and intern programme), and Tendring District Council (minibus capital grant). Earned income is deliberately small and accessibility-driven: weekly activity sessions at £2.50 per session or £9 per month, holiday clubs at £30-£50 per day, an annual membership at £40, and a merchandise line (handmade bracelets, t-shirts, hoodies, tracksuits). The charity operates with approximately 8 staff plus trustees, volunteers, and a youth ambassador cohort, and is governed by a board including Trustees Mike, Gary, Tom, Sam, Tracey and Emily, with Simon as Charity Ambassador.

Name

UTurn

Legal name

UTurn4Support

Website

https://uturn4support.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

UTurn is a King's Award-winning UK youth charity based in Clacton-on-Sea, delivering mentoring, wellbeing programmes, and structured activities to young people aged 9-25 across Tendring and Colchester, Essex, primarily funded by grants and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Clacton-on-Sea

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: UTurn relies heavily on donations from individuals, community supporters, and businesses. JustGiving platform is used for one-time and recurring donations. Monthly giving options starting at £5 help with planning.
2. Activity and Programme Fees: Low-cost activity fees for youth clubs (£2.50-£9/month), holiday clubs (£30-£50/day), and community sessions (£2-£5). Membership at £40/year provides priority booking and credits.
3. Merchandise Sales: Online store selling UTurn merchandise including hoodies, t-shirts, tracksuits, and handmade bracelets made by Youth Ambassadors.
4. Funded Programmes: Secured funding from National Lottery (Developing Futures), Essex Violence and Vulnerability Unit, Active Essex, Jack Petchey Foundation, and Tendring District Council for specific projects and programmes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

UTurn is a registered youth charity delivering early-intervention support, mentoring, structured activities, and wellbeing programmes for young people aged 9-18 (up to 25 with additional needs) across Tendring and Essex. Its core offering centres on The UTurn Hub — a safe physical space supplementing with outreach, holiday clubs, school-based delivery, and funded programmes — combined with referral pathways, low-cost activity fees, donations, and merchandise sales to sustain operations.

Product overview

UTurn is a King's Award-winning youth charity offering a portfolio of integrated programmes and services for young people aged 9-18 (up to 25 with additional needs) across Tendring and Essex. The core offering centres on The UTurn Hub — a safe physical space delivering structured activities, mentoring, and early-help support. The service portfolio includes: Youth Drop-In Hub sessions and Activity Clubs (Monday, Wednesday, LEGO Club); Holiday Clubs (Summer and Half-Term); Wellbeing programmes (Transitional Mental Health Programme, Wellbeing Fitness Programme, Health In A Hurry); Violence Prevention initiatives (Operation Flourish, Outreach, Youth Resource Network); Mental Health support (Mental Health Mondays, Men Too!, Next Steps); Sports and Activities (UTurn 2 Sport); Family Support (Food & Mood, UTurn 2 Staying Warm, Warmer Winters, Christmas Present Appeal); and Youth Leadership (Youth Ambassadors Programme, Jack Petchey Achievement Awards, Motion to Change). Supplementary offerings include an Annual Membership (£40/year) providing priority booking benefits and merchandise (hoodies, t-shirts, tracksuits, handmade bracelets). All services operate alongside referral pathways and community engagement activities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• The UTurn Hub: The physical hub location in Clacton-on-Sea where UTurn delivers its activities, workshops, mentoring and early-help support services.
• UGO

Products and services

• The UTurn Hub A safe, welcoming physical space in Clacton-on-Sea providing structured activities, workshops, mentoring and early-help support for young people aged 9-25.
• Youth Activity Clubs After-school clubs including Monday Activity Club (ages 16-18), Wednesday Activity Club, and LEGO Club (ages 9-18, up to 25 with additional needs). Priced at £2.50 per session or £9 monthly.
• Health In A Hurry Club Wednesday food confidence group helping young people build healthy habits, practical skills and confidence around food through no-cook preparation and life skills activities. Ages 9-16.
• Summer Holiday Club Safe, structured holiday sessions for young people aged 9+ during school summer holidays. Standard day 9am-3pm (£30), Extended day 8:30am-5:30pm (£50). 23 sessions across 6 weeks.
• Transitional Mental Health Programme 36-week wellbeing programme (April-December 2026, Mondays) for young people aged 15+ experiencing mental health challenges. Fully funded by Active Essex. Limited to 20 places.
• Wellbeing Fitness Programme 6-week structured programme combining HIIT & boxing-style sessions with confidence building and positive wellbeing support. Small groups max 16 participants. Delivered in partnership with MIND and Active Essex.
• UTurn Book Club Monthly book club (£5 per person) held last Friday of each month at The UTurn Hub for adults. Includes book discussion, refreshments, and book-related gifts.
• Youth Resource Network Essex VVU funded programme helping young people, families, schools and professionals find local youth support, safe spaces and positive activities across Tendring.
• Operation Flourish Intensive early intervention project for young people aged 11-16 at risk of exclusion, serious violence or county lines exploitation. Includes 1:1 mentoring, school-based support, family support and multi-agency planning.
• Outreach & Community Support Street and community-based youth work offering advice, support and positive activities in local hotspots. Working with Essex Police and community partners.
• Youth Ambassadors Programme Voluntary youth leadership initiative where young people help shape UTurn's work, represent peers and lead on projects, campaigns and events. Ambassadors build confidence, skills and leadership experience.
• UTurn Annual Membership £40 annual membership providing 48-hour early booking access, exclusive half-term block booking, priority waiting list, £10 activity credit and free club T-shirt. Valid 12 months from sign-up.
• Handmade Youth Ambassador Bracelet Handmade bracelets created by UTurn's Youth Ambassadors in various colours and styles. Supports UTurn's work with young people. £2 per bracelet.
• UTurn Hoodie Classic black hoodie with UTurn branding. 80% ringspun cotton, 20% polyester. 280gsm medium weight with double-fabric hood and kangaroo pocket. Priced £20-£25.
• UTurn T-Shirt Everyday black T-shirt with UTurn logo. 100% ringspun cotton, 180gsm. Soft breathable feel with crew neck and twin-needle stitching. Priced £12.99-£19.99.
• UTurn Tracksuit Top Zip-up tracksuit top with UTurn detailing. 100% polyester interlock, 250gsm. Full zip front with stand-up collar, contrast panels, side pockets with zip closure. Sizes from child 7-8 years to adult 3XL.
• Referral Services Referral pathways for parents, carers, schools, professionals, youth workers and young people themselves. Three referral routes available: Parent/Carer Referral, Professional/School Referral, and Young Person Self-Referral.

Quantifiable outcome

• 11,500+ youth and family engagements through Developing Futures project
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments5 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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered supporting and core.

• East of England Co-op (Fronks Road Store, Harwich)supportingGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026Selected as Local Giving charity for summer 2026 (June-August). The store will collect donations, raise awareness of UTurn's work, and support young people in the local community through mentoring, youth projects, sport, creative activities, and safe spaces.
• MINDcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Active Essex for the Wellbeing Fitness Programme supporting positive wellbeing outcomes for young people through structured physical activity and mentoring. Feedback surveys and case studies monitor wellbeing progress and programme impact.
• Essex PolicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerUTurn works with Essex Police on outreach, community safety events, street action days, and campaigns around grooming, county lines, knife crime, and exploitation. Essex Police also funded Operation Flourish for intensive early intervention with at-risk young people.
• Essex County Council (Sons and Daughters Project)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerJules, UTurn's Youth Ambassador Leader, and family members have been involved in interviews and events linked to Essex County Council's Sons and Daughters project, sharing reflections on fostering, family, belonging, and positive futures.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• St Giles Trust: National charity using mentoring, family support and resettlement services to help disadvantaged young people break cycles of offending and violence. Operates programmes that closely parallel UTurn's mentoring, Operation Flourish-style intervention, and multi-agency casework approach.
• Catch22: UK social business delivering mentoring, early intervention and support for young people at risk of exclusion, involvement in crime or exploitation. Directly comparable to UTurn's model of hub-based youth work, mentoring, and partnership with policing/vulnerability units in Essex.
• Centrepoint: UK charity supporting disadvantaged young people (16–25) through housing, mental health and employability programmes. Comparable to UTurn's older-youth cohort and its multi-disciplinary wellbeing approach (mental health, mentoring, holiday provision).

Others

• Mind: National mental health charity and an active partner of UTurn (co-funds the Wellbeing Fitness Programme). Adjacent rather than directly competitive; relevant for benchmarking the mental-health delivery model that UTurn co-produces at a local Essex level.

Broad incumbents

• The Prince's Trust: The UK's largest youth-focused charity, supporting 11–30 year-olds through education, training, mentoring and enterprise programmes. UTurn operates the same youth-development proposition at a much smaller, locally-embedded scale.
• Action for Children: Major UK children's services charity delivering early-help, family support and youth services, often via local authority contracts. Operates in a similar commissioning and safeguarding environment to UTurn.
• NSPCC: UK's leading children's charity specialising in child protection, safeguarding and child mental health. UTurn's safeguarding infrastructure (DBS-checked staff, Safeguarding & Child Protection Policy) and early-help positioning make NSPCC a credible adjacent comparator.
• The Children's Society: National UK charity working with vulnerable children and young people, including those at risk of exploitation, mental health issues and exclusion. Comparable mission and target demographic to UTurn, with overlapping safeguarding and wellbeing services.
• Barnardo's: One of the UK's largest children's charities, running services for children and young people including early intervention, mentoring and family support. UTurn's safeguarding-led, multi-agency model overlaps significantly with Barnardo's local authority-commissioned services.

Emerging players

• Safer London: London-focused charity working with young people affected by violence, exploitation and county lines through mentoring and youth-led campaigns. Comparable to UTurn's Operation Flourish / Operation Shield / Motion to Change activities, though geographically distinct.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/UTurn4Support
• Facebookfacebook.com/UTurn4Support
• Instagraminstagram.com/UTurn4Support
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/uturn4support

Compliance2 records

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 UTurn