Manchester-based charity secures major investment to fund new commercial startup

The investment, which is part of the Enterprising Communities Fund, is part of a wider scheme that enables savers in Greater Manchester to invest in local businesses that do good in their communities.

Greater Manchester Mayor, Andy Burnham, will discuss the important role of social investment and the credit union movement in creating a fairer Greater Manchester at the launch event for the Enterprising Communities Fund, which takes place Tuesday 30th January

Michelle Hill, CEO at TLC: Talk, Listen, Change will also be at the event, talking about what it means to be the recipient of the fund's first investment.

TLC: Talk, Listen, Change will use the investment to launch a new commercial subsidiary, Now You’re Talking Therapy, a paid-for counselling service which will be available for individuals and businesses, with profit generated being fed back into TLC: Talk, Listen, Change to help offer support for domestic abuse, mental health, separation and other issues.

The influx of capital will be used to recruit skilled professionals and implement operational infrastructures to ensure the delivery of an efficient, high-quality counselling and therapy service. Funding will also be directed to develop Now You’re Talking’s digital presence and marketing & communications approaches.

This investment also marks the third social investment loan for the charity, following the exceptional success and growth that the charity saw since its previous investment rounds in 2017 and 2020.

Now You’re Talking Therapy will offer customers choice, flexibility, and assurance that the support they receive is of the highest quality, by being a part of the TLC group with a 40-year history.

The new start-up will be offering counselling and psychotherapy, relationship counselling, sex therapy, and children and young people’s counselling.

Now You’re Talking Therapy launches nationally both online and in-person on April 1.

Michelle Hill, CEO for TLC, Talk, Listen, Change said: “2024 is an incredibly exciting time for all of us here at TLC. Despite the numerous challenges that the charity sector is facing as a whole, with less funding and more people needing help, we’re looking to widen our service reach and set ourselves on a path to sustained growth over the rest of the year and beyond.

“We’re seeing a consistent rise in the number of people that need support from our team at TLC, which is the main reason behind our move to secure the new investment funding and launch our Now You’re Talking subsidiary. To grow and scale our organisation, we know we need to be developing our own independent revenue streams that can fund our vital charitable work, and Now You’re Talking is the first step in this journey.

“This major development forms a key part of our overall growth strategy that targets sustained expansion for our services.

Everyone at TLC is very excited about the launch of this brand new company and what the profit generated can help us achieve within our charity. “