RUILS

What RUILS does

RUILS (Ruils Independent Living) is a user-led charity registered in 2003 (with origins in 1999) that supports Disabled children, adults, and people with long-term health and mental health conditions to live independently across four South West London boroughs — Richmond, Kingston, Wandsworth, and Hounslow. The organisation delivers a portfolio of 15 services organised around four pillars: Children's Services (SEND Family Matters, Bright Futures SEND Transitions, SEND Advice, FriendBee Befriending, SEND Minecraft Group, Workshops); Adult Services (Direct Payment Support, Compass care navigation, Pathways housing/benefits, Connect to Tech, Befriending, Counselling); Health & Wellbeing (Social Prescribing, Health in Your Hands, Proactive Anticipatory Care); and Activities (Theatre, Creative Writing, Allotment, Wellbeing Walks). In 2024/2025 it served over 5,000 clients with a staff team of 57 supported by 65 volunteers, and ran 350+ activity group sessions with 3,300+ attendances.

The underlying technology is a modest digital service-delivery stack rather than a proprietary platform: the Find-a-PA recruitment platform at find-a-pa.co.uk matches Direct Payment employers with Personal Assistants; Connect to Tech provides in-home IT support with a try-before-you-buy device loan scheme; and routine web infrastructure supports Direct Payments payroll and managed accounts. The organisation is governed by a Board of Trustees of which over 75% have lived experience of Disability, and over 50% of staff are Disabled.

The revenue model is a hybrid of restricted and unrestricted grants, donations, local authority contracts, NHS commissioned services, and a small subscription/managed-services revenue stream. Major funders include the National Lottery Community Fund (3-year funding for FriendBee from 2025), City Bridge Foundation (Bright Futures), Wimbledon Foundation, Richmond Foundation, Hampton Fund, Heathrow Community Trust, NHS South West London Integrated Care Board, London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, and Wandsworth Council. Direct monetisation routes are limited: Compass membership at £10/month or £100/year, Payroll/Advice at £35/month, recruitment rounds at £220 each, and workshop fees of £5–£10 — all designed to be accessible rather than profit-generating. The charity is funded through grants, donations, and public-sector contracts, with no revenue disclosed publicly.

Name

RUILS

Legal name

Ruils Independent Living

Website

https://ruils.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Short description

RUILS is a user-led UK charity supporting Disabled people across South West London with information, advice, advocacy, social prescribing, direct payment support, and independent living services, operating across Richmond, Kingston, Wandsworth, and Hounslow.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Disability Support Services

NAICS

Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (624120)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Disability Services & Independent Living Support (BPAGAEAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Disability Services & Assistive Solutions (Accessibility, Assistive Tech) (BPAGALAM), Interagency Coordination & Case Management (VR, DD, Medicaid Waivers) (EDAKANAM), Benefits Counseling & Financial Literacy for Transition-Age Youth (EDAKANAJ)

Keywords

• Disability support services
• Independent living services
• SEND advocacy services
• Social prescribing services
• Direct payments support

Headquarters

HQ city

Teddington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Donations and Fundraising: Charitable donations from individuals and organizations to support counselling services and services for Disabled young people.
2. Membership Fees (Compass): Monthly or annual membership fees for care navigation and support services.
3. Payroll Services: Managed payroll and accounts services for Direct Payment clients employing Personal Assistants.
4. Recruitment Services: PA recruitment support and agency setup services.
5. Workshop Fees: Charges for SEND workshops: £5 per parent/carer, £10 for professionals.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

RUILS is a user-led charity providing information, advice, advocacy, social prescribing, befriending, activities, and independent living services to Disabled children, adults, and people with long-term health and mental health conditions across South West London. Its service portfolio includes SEND Family Matters and SEND Advice for children, Direct Payment Support, Compass care navigation, Pathways housing and benefits advice, Connect to Tech IT support, befriending, counselling, social prescribing, health and wellbeing programmes, and a Find-a-PA recruitment platform.

Product overview

RUILS (Ruils Independent Living) is a user-led charity offering a broad portfolio of person-centred services for Disabled children and adults across South West London (Richmond, Kingston, Wandsworth, and Hounslow). The portfolio is organized around four service pillars: Children's Services (SEND Family Matters, Bright Futures, SEND Advice, FriendBee, SEND Minecraft Group, and Workshops); Adult Services (Direct Payment Support, Compass, Pathways, Connect to Tech, Befriending, and Counselling); Health & Wellbeing (Social Prescribing, Health in Your Hands, and Proactive Anticipatory Care); and Activities (Theatre, Creative Writing, Allotment, Wellbeing Walks). Additional offerings include Welfare Grants and the Find-a-PA recruitment platform. The service model is holistic and equity-based, integrating information, advice, advocacy, befriending, activities, and health support to enable independent living.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• SEND Family Matters
• Bright Futures SEND Transitions
• SEND Advice
• FriendBee SEND Befriending
• SEND Minecraft Group
• Children's Workshops
• Direct Payment Support Service
• Compass: Navigating Your Care
• Pathways: Housing & Benefits
• Connect to Tech
• Adult Befriending Service
• Counselling
• Social Prescribing
• Health in Your Hands
• Proactive Anticipatory Care (PAC)
• Activity Groups (Theatre, Creative Writing, Allotment, Wellbeing Walks)
• Welfare Grants
• Find-a-PA

Quantifiable outcome

• 5,000+ clients supported in 2024/2025
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NHS South West London Integrated Care BoardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic NHS partner for health and wellbeing services across South West London.
• Richmond GP AlliancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with GP alliance to deliver Social Prescribing and PAC services across Richmond Borough PCNs.
• London Borough of Richmond upon ThamescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal authority partner and funder for disability services.
• Wandsworth CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal authority partner and funder for Direct Payments and other services in Wandsworth.
• DPO Forum EnglandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership in national DPO network led by and for Disabled people.
• Hidden Disabilities Sunflower Lanyard SchememinorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMembership scheme increasing visibility of hidden disabilities.
• Dementia Friendly RichmondminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Age UK and others to make services inclusive for those with Dementia.
• Inclusion LondonminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of network of D/deaf and Disabled People's Organisations in London.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Hestia Housing & Support: London-focused charity providing housing, mental health and domestic abuse support including personalisation and Direct Payments services. Comparable to Ruils' adult Pathways housing/benefits and adult independent living services within a London operating footprint.

Direct peers

• Disability Rights UK: User-led national DPO providing benefits advice, independent living advocacy and disability rights information. Directly comparable to Ruils' Pathways benefits/housing service and user-led advocacy model.
• Inclusion London: London-wide coalition of D/deaf and Disabled People's Organisations providing advocacy, policy work and user-led support. Directly comparable as a London DPO network partner of Ruils with overlapping campaigning and DPO infrastructure.
• United Response: National charity supporting people with learning disabilities and mental health needs through personalised support and Direct Payments services. Directly comparable to Ruils' Direct Payments, Compass and personalisation services.
• Choice Support: UK charity providing personalised support, Direct Payments and supported living for people with learning disabilities and mental health needs. Closely comparable to Ruils' Direct Payments support service and personalised care navigation model.
• Aspire (Independent Living charity): UK charity supporting people with spinal cord injuries to live independently through advice, housing, employment and grants. Comparable to Ruils' independent living, Direct Payments and welfare grants portfolio though focused on a specific impairment group.
• Sense: UK charity for people with complex disabilities including deafblindness, providing information, advice, housing and social activities. Comparable to Ruils' adult befriending, activities, and independent living services for Disabled adults with complex needs.

Broad incumbents

• Scope: National disability equality charity offering information, advice, online community and services for Disabled people. Overlaps with Ruils' information, advice, advocacy and SEND Family Matters offerings but operates at national scale.
• Mencap: Largest UK learning disability charity providing information, advice and services nationwide. Comparable because it operates across the same SEND/learning disability social assistance space, though with much greater scale and national footprint.
• Leonard Cheshire: UK charity supporting Disabled people through services, employment programmes and campaigning. Comparable to Ruils' adult-focused independent living and Direct Payments portfolio but with residential care and international programmes.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RUILS
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/ruils
• Instagraminstagram.com/ruils_community

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 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 RUILS