Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Bid

What Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Bid does

Royal Tunbridge Wells Together CIC is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that operates the Royal Tunbridge Wells Business Improvement District (BID), serving 640+ member businesses across a defined area of the town centre. Founded in 2019 after a successful ballot of the business community, the organisation was re-elected for a second five-year term in February 2024 (81% yes votes, 91% by rateable value), with the renewed mandate running from April 2024 to March 2029. Day-to-day operations are run by a lean core team of three (Chief Executive Alex Green, Projects & Operations Manager Grace Simpson, Finance Suzie Lewis) under the oversight of a voluntary board of fourteen directors drawn from member businesses and Tunbridge Wells Borough Council.

The organisation's activities are organised around three pillars. Under Supporting, it offers free training (over 200 courses via SEEDL plus BID School conferences), security patrols and a town-wide radio/CCTV network through the Safe Town Partnership, HR and recruitment support, procurement savings, and various small grants. Under Promoting, it runs the Discover Royal Tunbridge Wells, Support Local, Visit Tunbridge Wells and TW Works campaigns (reaching over 25 million people across rail posters, radio, bus wraps and digital), town events including FanZone and FilmZone, an event-grant programme, and physical distribution of town guides and trails. Under Enhancing, it invests in Christmas lights, festoon lighting, planters, public-realm projects, graffiti removal, street cleaning, CCTV expansion, accessibility programmes and sustainability initiatives (Amplifi partnership).

The business model is a closed-membership levy: eligible businesses with property rateable values above £15k within the BID area are automatically members and pay an annual mandatory levy of 1.75% of rateable value (1.5% for serviced accommodation), capped at £6,000 per property and collected by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council on RTW Together's behalf. Smaller or out-of-area businesses can join voluntarily at a flat £120/year. Implied annual income is roughly £280k–£340k, derived from the £16.79m aggregate rateable value. RTW Together holds no patents, has no app or public API, and operates no proprietary technology platform — its "products" are services, grants and campaigns delivered directly or through partner organisations.

Name

Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Bid

Legal name

Royal Tunbridge Wells Together CIC

Website

https://www.rtwtogether.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Royal Tunbridge Wells Together CIC is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company operating the RTW Business Improvement District, supporting 640+ member businesses with training, marketing, events and town-enhancement services funded by a mandatory 1.75% levy on commercial rateable values.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Royal Tunbridge Wells

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. BID Levy: Annual mandatory levy charged to businesses within the defined BID area with rateable value above £15k. Levy rate is 1.75% of business rateable value, capped at £6k per year. Collected by Tunbridge Wells Borough Council on behalf of RTW Together. Reduced rate of 1.5% for serviced accommodation to account for existing service charges.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Royal Tunbridge Wells Together BID is a not-for-profit Community Interest Company that operates the Royal Tunbridge Wells town-centre Business Improvement District. It collects annual levies from businesses within a defined BID area and reinvests them into collective services — including town-centre security, cleansing, marketing and promotion, business support and training, events, and grant administration — that support, promote, and enhance the trading environment for its levy payers.

Product overview

Royal Tunbridge Wells Together operates as a Business Improvement District (BID), a not-for-profit organization representing and supporting businesses in the RTW town centre. The organization delivers a comprehensive suite of services through three core pillars: Supporting (free training via SEEDL platform and BID School, footfall analytics with Springboard, security services through Safe Town Partnership, HR and recruitment support, and various grants), Promoting (marketing campaigns including Discover Royal Tunbridge Wells, TW Works employment campaign, Support Local initiatives, town events like FanZone and FilmZone, and event grants), and Enhancing (town safety including CCTV support and self-defence training, visual enhancements including Christmas lights and festoon lighting, street art including Camden Road Art Trail, public realm projects like High Street decking, street cleaning, accessibility improvements, and environmental sustainability initiatives through partnerships like Amplifi). The BID manages a 1.75% levy on rateable values above £15k and was renewed for a second five-year term in 2024 with 91% rateable value support.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 81% yes vote (91% RV) in 2024 ballot renewal
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SEEDLcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2023Free online training partner providing over 200 courses including Microsoft 365, Health and Safety, Mindfulness, Customer Service and Leadership. BID members receive free unlimited access to all courses.
• West Kent Business PartnershipminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership funded by Government offering additional training opportunities that BID members can benefit from.
• Safe Town PartnershipcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides businesses with access to town-wide radio network including town CCTV unit. BID members receive 20% discount on radio invoices and free access to security information sharing from 1st April.
• SpringboardcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership formed March 2023 for footfall monitoring across RTW Town Centre. From April 2024 provides annual comparative footfall data to inform promotions.
• Tunbridge Wells Borough Council (TWBC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBID levy collected on behalf of RTW Together. Regular meetings with Chief Exec (monthly) and Leader (bi-monthly). Collaborates on joint projects including street scene investment, Job Fairs, and RTW Business Pack.
• Visit Tunbridge WellscoreGTM or Marketing PartnerDestination Management Organisation led by TWBC Economic Development team. RTW Together works with and supports their mission to promote the town as a visitor destination via visittunbridgewells.com, social media and campaigns.
• Kent County CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRTW Together communicates with KCC on key issues such as transport and road infrastructure that affect local businesses.
• MP Greg ClarkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal MP meets with RTW Together bi-monthly. Has raised issues in parliament impacting local businesses e.g. during Covid. BID uses this voice to influence government.
• AmplificoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness-led sustainability initiative. RTW Together is a founding member investing to help businesses reduce carbon footprint in economically viable ways. Partnership offers water butt procurement support.
• Creative Tunbridge WellsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmerging partnership developing creative economy and employment. Initially funded by Arts Council, recently attracted additional government funds. RTW Together hosts resource and is steering group member.
• The TN CardminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLocal loyalty card scheme supporting local spending. RTW Together offers support to help scheme continue and develop as it fits well with 'Support Local' aims.
• ArrivaminorGTM or Marketing PartnerBus operator partnership offering up to 20% discounts for BID member employees travelling to work. Supports accessibility and public transport use.
• British BIDsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerNational membership organization for Business Improvement Districts. RTW Together is a member alongside over 350 other UK BIDs and two other BIDs in Kent (Canterbury and Maidstone).
• Tunbridge Wells In-BloomminorGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership working closely with TWBC to green the town. RTW Together sponsors business category, offers prizes for participants, and invests in planters across town.
• Cooper BurnettminorGTM or Marketing PartnerLaw firm sponsor of FilmZone event. Represents local business community involvement in town events.
• Local Landowners (RVP, Pantiles, Camden Road)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerRTW Together invests time speaking to key local stakeholders to support their objectives as BID members and connect their visions into wider town planning.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Canterbury BID: One of the other three Kent BIDs, delivering a similar levy-funded portfolio of supporting, promoting and enhancing services to Canterbury city-centre businesses. Direct comparator on funding model, ballot mechanics and service mix.
• Maidstone BID: The third Kent BID, operating the same statutory BID framework on Maidstone town centre. Useful benchmark for levy rates, ballot dynamics and service catalogue in the same region.
• Brighton BID: BID for Brighton's central commercial area, delivering a comparable package of business support, marketing campaigns and public-realm projects to a UK coastal town centre economy.

Broad incumbents

• Heart of London Business Alliance: Large, established London BID covering the West End. Comparable levy-funded model but at much greater scale and budget, providing a useful reference for an evolved, well-resourced BID operating structure.
• New West End Company: BID for London's Bond Street, Oxford Street and Regent Street area. Operates a similar supporting/promoting/enhancing mandate at significantly higher rateable value and media reach, useful for benchmarking evolving BID services.
• Bristol BID: City-wide BID for Bristol city centre, offering a comparable portfolio of training, security, events, marketing and public-realm services. Direct model comparator at a larger scale.
• Liverpool BID Company: Liverpool city centre BID delivering marketing, events, business support and public realm to a large member base. Comparable in mandate and service breadth to RTW Together.
• Manchester BID: Manchester city centre BID with similar supporting/promoting/enhancing pillars. Useful peer for assessing scale, partnership strategy and member engagement approaches.

Others

• British BIDs: National membership body for UK Business Improvement Districts that RTW Together already belongs to. More an enabling/peer-network than a competitor, but the primary industry association for benchmarking and shared services.
• Visit Tunbridge Wells: Local Destination Management Organisation tasked with promoting RTW to visitors. Functionally adjacent rather than directly competitive, and a documented partner of RTW Together.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/RTWTogether
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/royal-tunbridge-wells-together-bid
• Instagraminstagram.com/rtwtogether

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 Royal Tunbridge Wells Together Bid