Gloucester BID

What Gloucester BID does

Gloucester BID is a business-led, non-profit Business Improvement District (BID) that operates within a defined boundary in Gloucester city centre, United Kingdom. It coordinates collective services for levy-paying local businesses across retail, food and beverage, and the visitor economy, including city safety initiatives, street cleanliness, area marketing and promotion, networking, business cost reduction support, and a portfolio of recurring events such as the Gloucester Rhythm & Blues Festival, Folk Trail, Goes Retro, Americana Music Festival, Shanty Festival, Gloucester Day, and the Santa Fun Run.

The organization operates three core member-facing products: the Gloucester Gift Card (a city-wide gift card accepted at 185+ participating local businesses via the Town and City Gift Cards platform), the Gloucester Foodie Passport (a seasonal digital and printed dining incentive with 20 participating venues on the RetailGeek/PerQ digital wallet), and an online Gloucester Business Directory. It also delivers the Safe City program in partnership with the Hollie Guard personal safety app and runs volunteer-led initiatives such as the BIG Gloucester Clean Up. The operating team is small (1-10 employees) and is headquartered at Floor 1, 46 Westgate Street in Gloucester's Cathedral Quarter.

Revenue is generated through an annual BID levy on businesses within the geographic boundary, calculated on rateable value, with the mandate subject to periodic ballot renewal; the organization is currently in its second term ballot. Distribution relies on direct relationships with levy payers, partner venues for gift card and passport programs, the Gloucester Quays estate for retail distribution, and Gloucester City Council for statutory coordination. The organization does not raise venture or institutional capital, has no parent company, and is governed by a board representing the local business community.

Name

Gloucester BID

Legal name

Gloucester BID

Website

https://gloucesterbid.org.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Improvement District Services

NAICS

Advertising Agencies (54181), Other Services Related to Advertising (541890)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Sponsorship Activation & Experiential Marketing (THAHAGAC)

Keywords

• Business improvement district
• City centre marketing
• Local business support
• City gift card program
• Community events management

Headquarters

HQ city

Gloucester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. BID Levy: Annual levy paid by businesses within the BID boundary to fund the organization's operations and initiatives. Businesses vote on the BID arrangement in ballot periods.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Gloucester BID is a business-led, non-profit Business Improvement District organisation operating in Gloucester city centre. It funds and delivers shared services including city safety initiatives, street cleanliness programmes, area marketing and promotion, city events and festivals, business networking, cost-reduction schemes, and the Gloucester Gift Card and Foodie Passport consumer programmes, financed primarily through an annual BID levy paid by businesses within the BID boundary.

Product overview

Gloucester BID is a business-led, non-profit organization providing a suite of programs and services to support the Gloucester business community and city experience. The core offerings include the Gloucester Gift Card (a city-wide gift card accepted at 185+ local businesses), the Gloucester Foodie Passport (a seasonal dining incentive program), and the Gloucester Business Directory. Additional services include safety initiatives, street cleanliness programs, marketing and events support, business cost reduction assistance, and networking opportunities.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Gloucester Gift Card City-wide gift card programme available as physical or e-cards, accepted at over 185 local businesses in Gloucester. Issued and managed in partnership with Town and City Gift Cards platform.
• Gloucester Foodie Passport
• Gloucester Business Directory Online directory listing local businesses in Gloucester, enabling users to explore and discover businesses in the city and providing listing exposure to BID member businesses.
• Safe City Programme City-centre safety initiative promoting use of the Hollie Guard personal safety app to support protection of city workers, residents, and visitors, delivered with Gloucester City Council support.
• Gloucester Street Cleanliness Programme Volunteer-led street cleansing programme branded as the BIG Gloucester Clean Up, organising monthly volunteer weeding and litter removal sessions across the city centre.
• Gloucester City Festivals and Events Annual portfolio of city festivals and events promoting the visitor economy, including Gloucester Rhythm & Blues Festival, Gloucester Folk Trail, Gloucester Goes Retro, Americana Music Festival, Gloucester Shanty Festival, Gloucester Day, and Gloucester Quays Food Festival.

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Town and City Gift CardscoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership for Gloucester Gift Card digital and physical card platform, enabling gift card issuance and redemption at 185+ local businesses across the city.
• Hollie Guard AppcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSafety partnership providing personal safety app to support the Safe City initiative, designed to help protect workers and residents.
• Gloucester City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with local authority for city improvement initiatives including street cleanliness, safety, and economic development.
• RetailGeek (PerQ)supportingTechnology or IntegrationTechnology platform for Foodie Passport digital wallet integration, enabling smartphone-based stamp collection for the food and drink initiative.
• Gloucester QuayssupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerPartnership for Gloucester Gift Card distribution at Customer Services desk and joint promotion of food festivals and events.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• LeedsBID: Business Improvement District for Leeds city centre providing marketing, events, and business-support services funded by levy payers. Closely comparable in scale and program mix.
• Nottingham BID: Business Improvement District for Nottingham city centre running marketing, events, and city-management programs funded by member levies. Similar mid-size UK city BID.
• Sheffield City Centre BID: BID delivering marketing, events, and city-centre improvement services to Sheffield's levy-paying businesses. Comparable UK regional city BID.
• Manchester City Centre BID: BID covering Manchester city centre, running city marketing, events, and security/cleanliness programs funded by levy payers. Comparable size and mandate.
• Edinburgh BID (Essential Edinburgh): BID representing businesses in Edinburgh's Old Town / city centre, delivering marketing, events, and city improvement funded by levy. Comparable UK city-centre BID mandate.
• Liverpool BID Company: BID company for Liverpool city centre delivering marketing, events, and city-centre services funded by business levies. Comparable mid-size UK city BID structure.
• Bristol City Centre BID: Business Improvement District for Bristol city centre, focused on city marketing, business support, and events funded by levy-paying member businesses. Regional UK city BID with similar scope.
• Birmingham City Centre BID (Re:set): Business Improvement District for Birmingham city centre, delivering marketing, events, and city-centre improvement funded by a levy on local businesses. Closest comparable by city size and program mix.

Broad incumbents

• Heart of London Business Alliance: West End BID representing businesses across London's theatre and leisure district. Comparable as a UK BID running city-centre marketing, events, and business-support programs funded by member levies.
• New West End Company: One of the UK's largest Business Improvement Districts covering London's West End. Directly comparable as a UK BID funded by a levy on commercial ratepayers, delivering marketing, events, safety, and street environment services. Larger scale but same operating model.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GloucesterBID
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/gloucesterbid
• Instagraminstagram.com/gloucester_bid
• Xx.com/gloucesterbid

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 Gloucester BID