A counselling charity operating in Yorkshire will merge into a national voluntary organisation, protecting its “vital operations” which had been at risk of closure.
Relate Bradford & Leeds, which was previously part of the former national charity Relate, was acquired by the TLC Group, which comprises TLC: Talk, Listen, Change and Now You’re Talking, on 1 April.
The following month, Relate Bradford & Leeds announced that it had changed its name to Let’s Talk Relationships (LTR) to “truly reflect who we are and what we do”.
Now, the 76-year-old charity has announced that it will merge with TLC: Talk, Listen, Change on 1 September, “sharing funding, resources and expertise”.
All LTR staff will retain their roles in the merger. According to the trustees’ report and accounts for the year ended 31 March 2024, the charity employed 18 people last year.
Meanwhile, some positions on TLC: Talk, Listen, Change’s board have been offered to LTR trustees, with the details being finalised.
Local charity’s future was at risk
A spokesperson for TLC: Talk, Listen, Change told Civil Society that LTR was facing several challenges around income generation and finance, “so much so that its future was at risk”.
“After considering several options, the trustees decided that the merger with TLC presented both commercial sense, and – importantly – a connection at a vision and values level that could not be replicated within any other partnership,” they said.
They said the TLC development team “will incorporate looking for Bradford and Leeds funding into their work, as they do for the other areas we operate in outside of Greater Manchester”.
“We may be looking to expand on the services LTR provides in West Yorkshire, if a suitable opportunity presents itself to us,” they added.
TLC: Talk, Listen, Change’s chief executive Michelle Hill said: “We’re so excited to welcome our friends from LTR fully into the TLC family – bringing fresh ideas, new perspectives, and expanding our horizons under one shared set of values.”
Tina Butler, CEO of LTR, said: “It’s time to be bold. We’re confident that becoming part of TLC is the right move to make the most of every penny for every person we support.”
The merger follows another local Relate charity recently announcing that it will close due to “financial challenges and a lack of sustainable funding”.
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