Acorn Health and Safety

What Acorn Health and Safety does

Acorn Health and Safety Ltd is a privately held UK health and safety training and consultancy business founded in 2000 and headquartered in Bristol. The company delivers over 60 accredited courses spanning first aid, fire safety, manual handling, food safety, IOSH and CITB construction programmes (SMSTS/SSSTS), mental health first aid, medication administration, and workplace wellbeing, offered as open courses at its purpose-built Warmley training centre, as in-house programmes delivered at client premises across the UK through a sessional trainer network, and through a 24/7 self-serve e-learning platform covering eleven course categories. Revenues are generated through three mechanics: one-off course fees for open and in-house training (pay-as-you-go unit pricing), a monthly Hassle Free Retained Consultancy subscription starting at £125 (+VAT) that bundles advice, templates and discounted training, and one-off consultancy engagements such as fire risk assessments, RIDDOR investigations, policy development and SSIP scheme support. Customers span more than ten verticals including health and social care, retail, manufacturing, local authorities, education and construction, with 350+ businesses and 18,000+ delegates served annually and named enterprise references including Co-Op Avonmouth, Accolade Wines, Brunelcare and four UK councils. Acorn holds UKAS ISO 9001:2015 accreditation and is approved by Qualsafe Awards, IOSH, CITB, CHAS, SMAS Worksafe, IATP and IIRSM, and is endorsed by the College of Occupational Therapy for manual handling trainer training.

Name

Acorn Health and Safety

Legal name

Acorn Health and Safety Ltd

Website

https://acornsafety.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Acorn Health and Safety is a UK-based, Bristol-headquartered training and consultancy firm delivering over 60 accredited health, safety, first aid, fire, manual handling, food safety and IOSH/CITB courses — plus retained compliance advisory — to 350+ businesses and 18,000+ delegates annually across sectors including healthcare, construction, retail, education and local authorities.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Health and Safety Training Services

NAICS

Technical and Trade Schools (61151), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Occupational Safety, OSHA & Workplace Compliance Training (EDAOAMAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Food Safety & Workplace Sanitation (HACCP, Hygiene) (EDABAEAN), Environmental, Health & Safety / Sustainability (EHS, Environmental Compliance CE) (EDAAALAO), Working at Heights, Fall Protection & Scaffolding (EDABAEAH)

Keywords

• Workplace safety training
• Health and safety consultancy
• First aid training
• Fire safety training
• E-learning training

Headquarters

HQ city

Bristol

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Training Courses: Revenue from delivering accredited and bespoke training courses including first aid, fire safety, manual handling, health and safety (IOSH), food safety, mental health first aid, and medication administration. Courses are delivered as open programmes at their training centre or in-house at client premises. Pricing varies by course type and duration, with maximum 12 delegates per course for most courses.
2. Hassle Free Retained Consultancy Service: Monthly retained consultancy service providing ongoing access to health and safety advice, documentation, templates, and policy support. Starting from £125 (+VAT) per month, this provides recurring subscription revenue with tiered service levels including basic retained services and SSIP scheme-specific reduced services.
3. Consultancy Services: One-off consultancy engagements including fire risk assessments, audits, first aid needs assessments, accident investigations (RIDDOR), health and safety policy development, risk assessments, and sector-specific consultancy for construction, education, food safety, health and social care, and landlords.
4. Free CPR Training with Donation: Free CPR training sessions with donations to the Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA). While the training itself is free, donations are collected on behalf of the charity, making this a community service initiative that generates goodwill and brand awareness rather than direct revenue.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Acorn Health and Safety provides workplace health and safety training, e-learning, and consultancy services from its Bristol base. The company delivers over 60 accredited courses covering first aid, fire safety, manual handling, and asbestos awareness, training more than 18,000 delegates annually across 350+ businesses. It also offers retained consultancy, open public courses, and tailored in-company training programmes.

Product overview

Acorn Health and Safety offers a unified training and consultancy platform combining over 60 in-person and e-learning courses with advisory services. The core offering consists of accredited classroom training (First Aid, Fire Safety, Manual Handling, Food Safety, IOSH, Mental Health First Aid, and CITB-construction courses like SMSTS/SSSTS), a 24/7 E-Learning Platform, and Health and Safety Consultancy Services. The Hassle Free Retained Consultancy add-on (from £125/month) provides ongoing advisory access alongside the self-service Acorn Portal for managing bookings, documentation, and compliance tracking. The company serves diverse industry sectors including childcare, healthcare, construction, education, retail, hospitality, and local authorities from its Bristol training centre.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Health and Safety Training Courses
• E-Learning Safety Courses
• Hassle Free Retained Consultancy
• Open Public Courses
• In-Company Training

Quantifiable outcome

• 18,000+ delegates trained annually
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments14 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Bristol City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcorn Health and Safety provides flexible health and safety training and consultancy solutions for Bristol City Council departments. Work includes bespoke training, medication policy review, and support for various council teams.
• Cardiff City CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcorn provides health and safety training and consultancy services to Cardiff City Council departments, demonstrating capability in serving major local authority clients.
• South Gloucestershire CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with South Gloucestershire Council for provision of health and safety training and consultancy services across council departments.
• North Somerset CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcorn provides flexible solutions for North Somerset Council departments including training and consultancy services.
• Safety Management Advisory Services (SMAS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAcorn Health and Safety is a 'Worksafe' consultant through Safety Management Advisory Services (SMAS), enabling them to support clients requiring SMAS Worksafe accreditation as part of their SSIP scheme requirements.
• Qualsafe AwardscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAccredited training centre for Qualsafe Awards, delivering Ofqual regulated qualifications including First Aid, Food Safety, and other health and safety courses. Provides certified credentials to delegates.
• Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAccredited by IOSH for delivery of health and safety training programmes including IOSH Working Safely and IOSH Managing Safely courses.
• CITB (Construction Industry Training Board)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorApproved CITB training centre delivering Site Managers Safety Training Scheme (SMSTS) and Site Supervisors Safety Training Scheme (SSSTS). Levy-paying CITB members may be eligible for grants up to £250 for training.
• UKAS (United Kingdom Accreditation Service)coreTechnology or IntegrationUKAS ISO 9001:2008 accredited organisation demonstrating quality management system certification. Maintains ISO 9001:2015 accreditation.
• SMAS Worksafe Consultant / Contractor Health & Safety Assessment SchemecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAccredited by SMAS Worksafe Consultant and Contractor Health & Safety Assessment Scheme (both SSIP schemes) enabling support for clients requiring SSIP accreditation with CHAS, SMAS, EXOR, Construction Line, FASET, Safe Contractor and Acclaim.
• Motor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCharitable partnership where Acorn provides free CPR training sessions with donations collected for MNDA. Director Danny is personally fundraising for MNDA, linking corporate social responsibility with community engagement.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• St John Ambulance: UK's leading first aid and workplace health & safety training charity offering accredited first aid, fire marshal, manual handling, and mental health courses across all regions. Directly comparable in product portfolio (First Aid at Work, paediatric first aid, mental health first aid) and in serving enterprise and public-sector customers.
• British Red Cross: Major UK first aid training provider delivering workplace first aid, AED, and emergency response courses to employers, schools, and healthcare providers. Overlaps with Acorn's first aid catalogue and serves a similar mix of corporate, education, and healthcare segments.
• Astutis: UK-based health and safety training specialist offering IOSH, NEBOSH, and bespoke corporate training primarily via e-learning and remote delivery. Directly competes with Acorn's IOSH and general H&S training, particularly in the digital/e-learning channel.
• CTC Training: UK health and safety training provider delivering First Aid, Fire Safety, Manual Handling, IOSH, and Mental Health First Aid courses. Closely comparable in course breadth, target customer (SME and mid-market employers), and the combined in-house plus open-course delivery model.
• Phoenix Health & Safety: UK-based health and safety consultancy and training provider offering a similar mix of accredited training (NEBOSH, IOSH, First Aid), e-learning, and retained advisory services. Comparable business model spanning classroom, in-house, e-learning, and ongoing consultancy engagements.
• First Aid for Life: Specialist UK first aid training provider offering paediatric, adult, and workplace first aid courses, including Train-the-Trainer programmes. Directly overlaps with Acorn's first aid portfolio and serves similar SME and community customers nationwide.

Broad incumbents

• British Safety Council: Long-established UK health and safety membership body delivering IOSH-accredited training, auditing, and consultancy to large enterprises. Overlaps with Acorn on training delivery but operates more broadly across advocacy, awards, and standards-setting with a wider portfolio.
• Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA): UK safety charity offering workplace safety training (IOSH, NEBOSH, first aid), accident investigation, and consultancy. Adjacent competitor with stronger brand recognition in road and home safety plus broader awards and policy remit.
• Highfield Qualifications: UK awarding body and approved training provider offering food safety, first aid, fire safety, and health & safety qualifications. Comparable in accredited food safety and first aid content though operating more as an awarding organization and approved centre network than as a direct end-provider like Acorn.

Emerging players

• iHASCO: UK e-learning health & safety, HR, and compliance training provider delivering accredited courses via subscription platform to thousands of UK businesses. Direct competitor in Acorn's e-learning channel with stronger digital-only positioning and lower per-seat pricing.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/AcornSafety
• Facebookfacebook.com/acornsafety/?fref=ts
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/acorn-health-and-safety

Compliance9 records

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 Acorn Health and Safety