A disagreement between two homelessness charities in the southwest of England has prompted the larger organisation to change its name.
Julian House, based in Bath, recently announced it would change its name in June after a dispute with a similarly-named homelessness charity.
Waldemar Duzniak, chair of Julian Trust in Bristol, told Civil Society that they were “very pleased” that the other charity was rebranding to avoid any future confusion.
Julian House is the larger of the two charities with a total income in its most recently published accounts for the year to March 2025 of £11.2m, compared with the Julian Trust’s £196,000.
In a public statement, Julian House said the dispute had been ongoing “for some time” but announced that it had taken steps to end it.
“To avoid confusion and in the interest of protecting our charitable resources, we have taken the decision to rebrand,” it said.
Julian House has yet to confirm what it will change its name to, but that the word “Julian” will go.
Its name was taken from the charity’s founding project in 1987, which was an emergency hostel for rough sleepers in Bath.
Meanwhile, Meg Grimes, Julian Trust founder, was inspired by Dame Julian of Norwich before launching her charity in 1986.
Financial picture at the charities
Julian House said it would use its reserves to fund the rebrand and that its name change would not disrupt any of its services or affect clients.
“This is also a great opportunity to evolve our brand in line with the changing scope and scale of our work,” the charity stated. “We are not in trouble, and this is not a signal that anything is wrong at Julian House.”
Julian House added that it has grown “significantly” over the last 15 years from a Bath-based charity to a regional provider serving 2,700 people with outreach.
Its total income has increased year-on-year since 2022-23, when the charity took in £7.64m, with its income above its spending in the last two financial years.
Julian House has 180 employees, 10 trustees and 178 volunteers, according to its Charity Commission page.
In comparison, the Julian Trust has 11 trustees and 120 volunteers, with no listed employees.
The Julian Trust’s expenditure was £265,000 in its most recent financial year, above its total income of £196,000.
Total expenditure has surpassed income in all but one of its last five years, according to its accounts.
