Brookes Union

What Brookes Union does

Brookes Union, formally Oxford Brookes Students' Union Ltd, is the official students' union serving students enrolled at Oxford Brookes University in Oxford, England. The organization is constituted as a private limited company (Company Number: 13275949) and registered as a charity in England and Wales (Charity number: 1194635). It delivers a portfolio of student-facing services to the Oxford Brookes student body, including confidential and independent advice on housing, academic matters, finance, mental health and wellbeing, relationships, and personal safety; student groups and societies; elected student leadership through elections and course representative programs; employability support; student networks; events; and student-led campaigns and projects. All services are offered free of charge to enrolled students.

The union operates a standard website platform with member management functionality and single sign-on (SSO) integration into Oxford Brookes University systems for student authentication. A separate merchandise e-commerce storefront is hosted at brookesunion.square.site on Square's commerce platform, handling student apparel and merchandise sales. The technology stack is described as commodity rather than proprietary, with no APIs, SDKs, mobile applications, or documented AI/ML components. Engagement channels include organic social media presence on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, supplemented by content marketing via news articles and informational help articles covering housing, academic, finance, wellbeing, safety, and relationships topics.

The business model follows the standard UK higher-education students' union arrangement, with core funding provided by Oxford Brookes University as a block grant under the affiliated students' union model and a secondary revenue stream from merchandise sales via the Square storefront. The organization has no disclosed headcount, no external shareholders, no parent company, no external equity or debt financing, and no documented geographic expansion beyond a single UK region (England). Reach is exclusively through the Oxford Brookes student population.

Name

Brookes Union

Legal name

Oxford Brookes Students' Union Ltd

Website

https://brookesunion.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Brookes Union is the official students' union for Oxford Brookes University, delivering free advice, societies, elections, employability support, and student services to the university's enrolled student body in Oxford, England, funded by a university block grant.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Oxford

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. University Funding: Oxford Brookes Students' Union receives funding from Oxford Brookes University as the affiliated students' union, consistent with UK higher education students' union model.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Brookes Union provides a comprehensive suite of student services for Oxford Brookes University students, including a confidential help and advice service covering housing, academic, finance, mental health, relationships, and safety matters; student groups and societies platforms; democratic processes through elections, course representative systems, and all-members meetings; employability and career support; student networks; projects and campaigns; and event management. A merchandise store operates as a supplementary revenue-generating offering via Square e-commerce.

Product overview

Brookes Union operates as a students' union platform offering a unified suite of student services. The core offering consists of multiple interconnected service modules: student groups and societies with monthly recognition programs, a confidential help and advice service covering housing, academic, finance, wellbeing and safety topics, student leadership and representation through elections and course rep systems, employability and career support, student networks, projects and campaigns, all-student meetings, and an events platform. Additionally, a merchandise store operates as a sub-product via Square e-commerce. All services are accessible through single sign-on for Oxford Brookes students.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Help and Advice Service Confidential, independent advice service for Oxford Brookes University students covering housing, academic matters, finance, sex and relationships, mental health and wellbeing, and staying safe topics.
• Student Groups and Societies Platform for Oxford Brookes University students to join and manage student societies and groups, with monthly recognition of top societies (Society of the Month).
• Elections Student election management system enabling Oxford Brookes University students to participate in voting for student leaders and representatives.
• Course Reps System for managing student course representatives at Oxford Brookes University, with monthly Faculty Rep of the Month recognition.
• Employability Career development resources and support for Oxford Brookes University students focused on job readiness.
• Student Networks Community groups and networks for Oxford Brookes University students to connect based on shared interests or backgrounds.
• Projects and Campaigns Initiatives and campaigns that Oxford Brookes University students can participate in to drive change within the university and broader community.
• All Members Meeting Democratic platform enabling all Oxford Brookes University students to participate in union governance through all-student meetings.
• Events Event listings and management platform for student activities and union events at Oxford Brookes University.
• Merch Store Online merchandise store powered by Square e-commerce platform, selling student apparel and goods to the Oxford Brookes University community.

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Cambridge Students' Union: Cambridge SU is the official students' union for the University of Cambridge, offering advice, societies, and representation to Cambridge students. Comparable to Brookes Union in service mandate, regulatory framework, and UK charitable structure, differing mainly in scale and institutional prestige.
• UCL Students' Union: UCLSU serves University College London students with advice, societies, and representation. Operates under the same UK students' union regulatory and funding model as Brookes Union, with a larger and more internationally diverse membership base.
• Leeds University Union: Leeds University Union is the official students' union for the University of Leeds, providing advice, representation, and student activities. Operates under the same UK students' union regulatory and funding framework as Brookes Union.
• King's College London Students' Union: KCLSU serves students at King's College London with advice, societies, and representation. Directly comparable to Brookes Union in operating model, member services, and UK regulatory environment.
• Imperial College Union: Imperial College Union is the students' union for Imperial College London, providing representation, advice, and societies to a STEM-heavy student body. Shares Brookes Union's charitable governance and UK block-grant funding model.
• Oxford Student Union (University of Oxford): Oxford SU is the official students' union for the University of Oxford, providing advice, representation, societies, and student services to Oxford undergraduates and postgraduates. It is structurally the closest peer to Brookes Union given shared geography, shared regulatory environment under UK higher education, and near-identical service mandate.
• Warwick Students' Union: Warwick SU is the students' union for the University of Warwick, delivering advice, societies, and democratic representation to its student body. Directly comparable to Brookes Union in service scope and UK regulatory model.
• Manchester Students' Union: Manchester SU is one of the largest UK students' unions, serving the University of Manchester with advice, societies, and events. Comparable to Brookes Union in mandate and governance model, but materially larger in membership and budget.
• Bristol SU: Bristol SU is the students' union for the University of Bristol, offering advice, societies, and democratic representation under the same UK charitable model as Brookes Union. Comparable in scale and operating structure given similar-sized university populations.

Emerging players

• SU Arts, University of London: SU Arts is a smaller, specialist students' union serving University of the Arts London colleges. Shares the UK students' union governance and funding model with Brookes Union but operates at smaller scale and across multiple specialist institutions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/BrookesUnion
• Instagraminstagram.com/brookesunion
• TikToktiktok.com/@brookesunion

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 Brookes Union