What Big Difference Company does

Big Difference Company is a UK-registered charity (Charity 1135167), founded in 1994 and headquartered at LCB Depot, 31 Rutland Street, Leicester. It operates as a private company limited by guarantee, governed by a board of eight chaired by Jonathan Kerry, with Michael Harris-Wakelam as Chief Executive Officer and a core staff of approximately seven. The organisation grew out of the Leicester Comedy Festival and is structured around three wholly-owned operating brands: Leicester Comedy Festival (a flagship annual open-access festival running for 30 years), the UK Kids' Comedy Festival (the only dedicated children's comedy festival in the UK), and The Big Difference (a year-round live music and comedy venue on Leicester High Street). It also runs Big Difference Productions as a trading subsidiary for community schemes such as Comedy in the Dark, Loving Laughing, and Beyond a Joke.

The company generates revenue across five principal streams: ticket sales for festival and venue events, public donations (JustGiving, EasyFundraising, Movement for Good Awards), grants and sponsorship from funders including The National Lottery Community Fund, De Montfort University Leicester, Leicester City Council, Harborough and Blaby District Councils, OPCC, Leicestershire and Rutland Community Foundation, and Everards brewery, transaction-fee revenue from The Big Difference venue (bar sales, gig bookings), and professional services income from comedian booking and bespoke project consultation. It serves a hybrid customer base spanning children and young people, underserved and underrepresented communities, local government and institutional partners, comedians and performers, corporate and business partners, and healthcare/education clients using comedy to deliver health and wellbeing messages. Marketing is event-driven and community-led, leveraging multiple web properties, an email newsletter (via SquareSpace), social channels, and partner platforms.

Big Difference Company's go-to-market is fundamentally event-driven: it operates large-scale comedy festivals (Leicester Comedy Festival, UK Kids' Comedy Festival, The Big Weekend county extensions) and a physical venue, while using comedy as a delivery vehicle for charitable missions around access and inclusion, equality and diversity, rural outreach, and children and young people. Programme offerings include Bridging The Gap (performer support fund), Laugh Academy (half-term comedy school for 11-18 year olds), Safer Spaces (inclusivity and active bystander training funded by OPCC), Circuit Breakers (emerging comedian development), Silver Stand-Up, and Beyond a Joke (academic partnership with the Centre for Comedy Studies Research). The underlying technology footprint is non-proprietary, built on third-party platforms (Fringe 180BO for ticketing, Eventotron for registrations, SquareSpace for email, Survey Monkey for feedback, JustGiving/EasyFundraising/CAF for donations), and the company has no disclosed AI/ML capability.

Name

Big Difference Company

Legal name

Big Difference Company Ltd

Website

https://bigdifferencecompany.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Big Difference Company is a Leicester-based UK charity (Charity 1135167) that delivers comedy-led arts, education, and wellbeing programmes, operating Leicester Comedy Festival, the UK Kids' Comedy Festival, and The Big Difference live venue, serving audiences, young people, and community partners.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Performing Arts, Spectator Sports, and Related Industries (711), Drinking Places (Alcoholic Beverages) (7224), Arts, Entertainment, and Recreation (71)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990), Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Comedy Festivals (MPAGACAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Stand-Up Comedy Shows (MPAGACAA), Nightclub & Small Live Venue Operations (Clubs, Bars with Stages) (MPAGALAF), Comedy Shows & Spoken-Word Events (THAJAFAC)

Keywords

• Comedy festivals
• Arts education
• Community wellbeing
• Live comedy programming
• Charity events

Headquarters

HQ city

Leicester

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, Others

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales: Revenue from ticket sales for Leicester Comedy Festival events, UK Kids' Comedy Festival, The Big Difference venue shows, and other performances.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Public donations through JustGiving platform and other fundraising initiatives. The organization states that less than 5% of income comes from public subsidy, indicating heavy reliance on donations and fundraising.
3. Funder and Partner Support: Grants and sponsorship from organizations including De Montfort University Leicester, Leicester City Council, Harborough District Council, Blaby District Council, Everards, The National Lottery Community Fund, Leicester Leicestershire & Rutland Active Together, Leicester and Leicestershire Heritage, and BID Leicester.
4. Venue Operations: Revenue from The Big Difference venue on Leicester High Street including bar sales, gig bookings, and comedy show tickets.
5. Consulting and Project Services: Fees for consultation services helping organizations develop their own comedy programmes, including route maps, agent contact guidance, budget setup, and promotion strategies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Big Difference Company is a charity that produces and delivers large-scale comedy festivals (Leicester Comedy Festival, UK Kids' Comedy Festival) and operates The Big Difference, a live music and comedy venue on Leicester High Street. It also designs and delivers bespoke community projects using comedy as a vehicle for arts, education, health and wellbeing outcomes, alongside paid services including comedian booking, consultation for developing comedy programmes, and project/event delivery.

Product overview

Big Difference Company is a UK-based charity that produces comedy festivals and manages performance venues. Its core product portfolio consists of three main event brands: Leicester Comedy Festival (the primary flagship annual event running since 1994), UK Kids' Comedy Festival (the only dedicated children's comedy festival in the UK), and The Big Difference (a live music/comedy venue on Leicester High Street). Beyond these, the company operates several community and development programs including Bridging The Gap (a performer support fund for underrepresented comedians), Laugh Academy (a half-term comedy school for young people), Safer Spaces (inclusivity training for venues), and other projects such as Comedy in the Dark, Silver Stand-Up, and Big Weekend county extensions. The company also provides paid services to third parties including comedian booking, event consultation, project management, and bespoke community project design. The portfolio functions as a unified arts organization with the festivals as the primary revenue drivers, the venue as a year-round community space, and the social programs as community-outreach initiatives aligned with the charity's mission to promote arts, education, and wellbeing through comedy.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• De Montfort University LeicestercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent funder and partner of Big Difference Company. Supports the organization's comedy festival and community projects in Leicester.
• Leicester City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent funder and partner supporting cultural events and community projects.
• Harborough District CouncilsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent funder and partner supporting Big Weekend events in Market Harborough area.
• Blaby District CouncilsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent funder and partner for district-level cultural initiatives.
• EverardssupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBrewery partner providing support for Leicester Comedy Festival and community events.
• BID LeicestersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness Improvement District partner, previously collaborated on Christmas in the Gardens and Luminarium projects to attract people to the city centre.
• Leicester, Leicestershire & Rutland Active TogethersupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership supporting active lifestyle and community wellbeing initiatives.
• Leicester and Leicestershire HeritagesupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeritage partner supporting cultural and historical projects.
• Fringe 180BOcoreTechnology or IntegrationAppointed ticketing company that collects and processes personal data on behalf of Big Difference Company for ticket orders.
• SquareSpacesupportingTechnology or IntegrationThird-party platform holding the company's newsletter mailing list. Used for email marketing communications.
• EventotroncoreTechnology or IntegrationThird-party platform that holds comedian, promoter, and venue registration data and processes applications for Leicester Comedy Festival participation.
• Survey MonkeysupportingTechnology or IntegrationThird-party survey platform used for collecting feedback and community input.
• Charities Aid Foundation (CAF)supportingGTM or Marketing PartnerIndependent fundraising site that shares donor information when consent is given for communications.
• Centre for Comedy Studies ResearchsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partner for Beyond A Joke series of debates, discussions and seminars on contemporary comedy issues.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Soho Theatre: London-based theatre and comedy venue with a strong development and new talent programme, combining a year-round venue with artist development — closely analogous to Big Difference Company's hybrid venue-plus-charitable-development model.
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society: The UK's largest and most prominent comedy and performing arts festival, running annually in August. Directly comparable as a major UK comedy festival organizer operating an open-access model, though at substantially greater scale than Leicester Comedy Festival.
• The Comedy Store: Iconic London-based comedy venue with associated talent promotion. Comparable as a UK comedy venue operator, though operating as a commercial promoter rather than a charity.
• PBH's Free Fringe: Edinburgh Fringe charity that runs free comedy shows, providing an open-access platform for emerging comedians. Comparable as a charitable comedy festival organizer with an open-access ethos and community-development focus.
• The Stand Comedy Club: Edinburgh-headquartered comedy venue chain with locations across the UK. Comparable as a UK comedy venue operator with multiple locations and year-round programming.
• Gilded Balloon: Edinburgh Fringe venue and comedy promotion operator with a year-round presence. Comparable as a UK comedy festival operator running multi-venue programming during peak festival periods.
• The Comedy School: UK charity focused on developing comedy skills and using comedy for social impact. Directly comparable as a charitable organization using comedy as a vehicle for education, community engagement, and underrepresented-talent development — analogous to programs like Bridging The Gap and Laugh Academy.
• Hot Water Comedy Club: Liverpool-based comedy venue and club operator. Comparable as a regional UK comedy venue operator, though commercial in structure rather than charitable.
• Just The Tonic: Edinburgh Fringe comedy venue and promoter. Comparable as a multi-venue comedy festival operator with year-round comedy programming.
• Machynlleth Comedy Festival: A UK regional comedy festival operating in Wales at a smaller scale than Leicester Comedy Festival. Directly comparable as a UK regional comedy festival with similar open-access programming and community-engagement focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/bigdiffco
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/big-difference-company

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries3 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 Big Difference Company