Union Southampton

What Union Southampton does

Union Southampton (SUSU) is the official, university-mandated students' union for the University of Southampton, serving approximately 25,000 enrolled undergraduate and postgraduate students. Founded in 2001 and operating as a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity no. 1148683), SUSU delivers a comprehensive ecosystem of student services: democratic representation via elected sabbatical officers and Student Council, academic advocacy, free welfare support through an Advice Centre, safety services (SUSU Safe, safety bus), and community building through 300+ clubs, societies, and student networks (Accessibility, Parent/Carer, International, PGR Hub). Membership is automatic and free for all enrolled students under a data-sharing agreement with the university.

The organization's product surface spans a web platform (susu.org with 30,000 monthly visitors) and a separate e-commerce ticketing platform (boxoffice.susu.org) running on standard web infrastructure with Stripe payment processing, Google Analytics, and a Cheddar integration for student deals. Six physical venues — The Bridge, The Stag's, Below Deck, Redbrick Kitchen, The Shop, and The Locker — operate on the Highfield Campus, and a SUSU+ loyalty program integrates with the Moves+ app for passive fitness rewards. Commercial trading is conducted through SUSU Social Enterprises (Company no. 8837159), a wholly-owned subsidiary handling venue, retail, and hospitality operations.

SUSU's revenue model is diversified across four streams: (1) advertising and sponsorship sold to external businesses targeting the student audience, with a published rate card ranging from £85/week digital screens to £1,850 premium Freshers Fair stalls, plus digital banners, email newsletter placements, social media posts, and on-site activations; (2) direct retail and hospitality revenue from campus food, drink, and merchandise venues; (3) box office ticketing fees for union-run and club/society events; and (4) services to clubs and societies including space bookings and membership administration. External reach is limited to the United Kingdom, primarily Southampton and Winchester.

Name

Union Southampton

Legal name

University of Southampton Students' Union

Website

https://susu.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2001

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Union Southampton (SUSU) is the official students' union for the University of Southampton, serving 25,000 students with democratic representation, 300+ clubs and societies, welfare support, ticketing, and on-campus food, drink, and retail venues, funded via advertising, venue sales, and a commercial trading subsidiary.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Student Union Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Student Organizations & Club Administration (EDALAHAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

University/College Club Sports Programs (MPAKACAK)

Keywords

• Student representation services
• Student welfare support
• Campus venue operations
• Clubs and societies
• Event ticketing services

Headquarters

HQ city

Southampton

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Advertising & Sponsorship: SUSU sells advertising space and sponsorship packages to external businesses targeting students. This includes Freshers Fair stall bookings, digital advertising (website banners, email newsletter placements, digital screens), social media posts, on-site activation stalls, and hot food vendor trading pitches. Pricing ranges from £85/week (digital screens) to £1,850 (Redbrick Showcase stall).
2. Venue Operations & Retail: SUSU operates multiple food, drink, and retail venues on campus including The Stag's, The Bridge, Below Deck, Redbrick Kitchen, The Shop, and The Locker (university merch). These generate revenue through direct sales to students.
3. Box Office & Event Ticketing: SUSU operates a box office selling tickets to events run by the union and by clubs and societies. This includes Grad Ball, craft sessions, graduation photo sessions, and other union-run events.
4. Club & Society Services: SUSU provides booking services, funding, and support to over 300 student clubs and societies. Revenue is generated through space bookings, event facilitation, and membership administration services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels10 records

Core offering

Union Southampton (SUSU) is the official, university-mandated students' union of the University of Southampton, providing democratic student representation, welfare and academic support, a network of 300+ clubs and societies, and operating on-campus food, drink, retail and entertainment venues. It also runs a Box Office ticketing platform for union and club events and sells advertising and sponsorship packages to external brands seeking to reach the student population of about 25,000.

Product overview

SUSU (Southampton University Students' Union) operates as a comprehensive student services platform and venue operator. The organization offers a unified ecosystem of student-facing services organized around several core areas: a ticketing/box office platform for event management, a clubs and societies discovery and management system with over 300 groups, physical venue operations (The Bridge, The Stag's, Redbrick Kitchen, The Shop, Below Deck, SUSU+ loyalty program), democratic representation through Sabbatical Officers and Student Voice mechanisms, welfare support via the Advice Centre and Safety Services, and community building through Student Networks. The digital platform integrates event ticketing, membership management, and student communication, while physical venues provide food service, retail, and social spaces.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SUSU+: Membership rewards and discount program offering exclusive deals and points for students.
• The Stag's
• The Bridge
• Redbrick Kitchen
• The Locker
• Below Deck

Products and services

• Box Office / Ticketing System Online ticketing platform for SUSU events, club and society activities, and graduation photography sessions, supporting event registration and ticket purchases with integrated payment processing for University of Southampton students and the wider public.
• Clubs & Societies Platform Platform connecting University of Southampton students with more than 300 societies and sports clubs, offering taster sessions, volunteering opportunities and Give It A Go programmes for new members.
• The Bridge On-campus food venue operated by SUSU offering hot food, daily trading and student-focused dining for University of Southampton students and visitors.
• The Stag's Student pub and social venue on campus providing food, drinks and entertainment for the University of Southampton student community.
• Redbrick Kitchen Campus restaurant and cafe venue operated by SUSU offering food service for University of Southampton students and visitors.
• The Shop SUSU retail shop offering food, beverages and university merchandise, including The Locker brand for University of Southampton student apparel.
• Below Deck Student venue offering affordable food and social space for the University of Southampton campus community.
• SUSU+ Membership loyalty and rewards program offering exclusive deals and points for University of Southampton students, with rewards redeemable at campus cafes and Moves+ app integration for passive fitness rewards.

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• University of Bristol Students' Union: Statutory students' union of the University of Bristol with an elected officer team, 200+ societies and sports clubs, on-campus venues and a wide-ranging advertising and sponsorship offer targeting a similarly-sized Russell Group student body.
• King's College London Students' Union: KCLSU provides representation, advice, clubs and societies, and venue operations to KCL students across central London campuses. Operates under an identical charity / elected-officer / trading-subsidiary framework as SUSU.
• Edinburgh University Students' Association: The students' association of the University of Edinburgh, providing representation, clubs/societies, advice centre, and trading venues including Teviot Row House. Directly comparable on activities, commercial model and democratic governance to SUSU.
• Newcastle University Students' Union: Statutory students' union of Newcastle University operating venues, societies, sports clubs and elections in the same model. Useful size and activity-mix comparable to SUSU given a similar mid-sized Russell Group enrolment.
• University of Birmingham Guild of Students: Statutory students' union at the University of Birmingham, running a similar slate of representation, student activities, advertising/sponsorship and on-campus food and drink venues under one structure.
• University of Leeds Union: The statutory students' union for the University of Leeds, running a comparable portfolio of elected sabbatical officers, hundreds of clubs and societies, on-campus bars, retail and event ticketing. Operates the same mixed-charity / trading-subsidiary structure as SUSU.
• UCL Students' Union: Official students' union of University College London, providing representation, advice, clubs/societies and venue operations to a large London-based student population. Closely comparable activities, democratic structure and commercial trading model to SUSU.
• University of Nottingham Students' Union: Official students' union of the University of Nottingham, operating venues, clubs/societies, elections and an Advice Centre in the same model as SUSU, with a comparable membership base size among large UK Russell Group institutions.
• University of Manchester Students' Union: The official students' union of the University of Manchester, offering an almost identical mix of student representation, clubs and societies, on-campus venues, advertising sales and commercial trading via a wholly-owned subsidiary. It is the closest large-scale UK students' union analogue to SUSU in both mandate and operating model.

Others

• Student Beans: Digital student verification, discount and marketing platform that monetises the same UK university student audiences as SUSU. Included as an adjacent rather than competing player because Student Beans reaches students digitally across many universities whereas SUSU's audience is restricted to the University of Southampton campus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCsPiEsvG8DcCCPFuvJ1YHiw
• Facebookfacebook.com/UnionSouthampton
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/university-of-southampton-students-union
• Instagraminstagram.com/union_soton

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 Union Southampton