ABOUT US
Founded in 2015, Change Please is an award-winning social enterprise tackling homelessness through the power of social enterprise and great tasting coffee. 100% of our profits help people experiencing homelessness through our Barista Training Programme. We train people experiencing homelessness to become baristas and support them with everything they need to turn their lives around – a living wage job, accommodation advice, therapy, bank account and onward employment opportunities.
Our impact work started in London with a single coffee cart in Covent Garden. This was followed by the opening of the Change Please training academy in Peckham, London, training to Speciality Coffee Association standards.
Today, we have grown to 10 coffee bars across London and have big plans to expand. We always push ourselves to find innovative solutions to address homelessness.
More recently, in 2021, we launched a new Impact Programmes called Driving for Change, which delivers vital services to the most vulnerable. The services our guests have access to include NHS and oral healthcare nurses, a hairdresser, social support, digital and financial literacy training and inclusion, financial advice, support with employment and much more
It all starts with a cup of coffee!
We’re proud that Change Please is officially a certified BCorp, meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. We’re excited to be part of a global community of businesses committed to positively impacting people, communities and the planet.
It’s confirmation of what we have always done; working hard using business as a force for good. Certifying is just part of our journey — we’re on a mission to continue improving our impact, heling to create an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.
We’re proud that Change Please is officially a certified BCorp, meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, transparency and accountability. We’re excited to be part of a global community of businesses committed to positively impacting people, communities and the planet.
It’s confirmation of what we have always done; working hard using business as a force for good. Certifying is just part of our journey — we’re on a mission to continue improving our impact, heling to create an inclusive, equitable and regenerative economy.
8
NUMBER OF COUNTRIES
WE ARE NOW IN
100%
OF CHANGE PLEASE PROFITS
FIGHT HOMELESSNESS
0VER 85%
OF OUR TRAINEES HAVE SUCCESSFULLY
FOUND ONGOING EMPLOYMENT
500
TRAINEES WHO HAVE BECOME BARISTAS
THROUGH OUR TRAINING
1,000
TRAINEES TARGETED
FOR 2022 ALONE
5,000
NIGHTS OF ACCOMMODATION
PROVIDED BY US
£75,000
IN HOUSE SUPPORT FOR
PEOPLE BATTLING HOMELESSNESS
£2.5M+
GRANTS AND DONATIONS RAISED TO
HELP FIGHT HOMELESSNESS
GOVERNANCE
The Change Please (CIC) and the Change Please Foundation (CIO) operate separately but work closely together and share the same purpose of ending homelessness.
We use 100% of our profits from coffee sales to fund our mission and Impact Programmes. We never have, and never will, take money out of the business through director’s bonuses or dividends.
We use the money to open more training sites, pay trainees a living wage, and then we give 100% of the remaining profits directly to the Change Please Foundation. In 2023 this equated to 80% of our company profits.
CHANGE PLEASE CIC
Cemal Ezel, CEO and Director
Cemal is the Founder and Co-CEO of Change Please CIC; his passion to tackle homelessness is the driving force behind our mission.
Rob Gillon, Co-CEO
Rob is the Co-CEO of Change Please CIC. His early involvement with the CIC & CIO through the Trafigura Foundation enabled the creation of the Change Please Training Academy, step-changing our impact. His continued support helps to further shape and deliver our life-changing mission.
Alison Egan, CFO and Director
Alison is the CFO of Change Please CIC, a qualified ACA with Deloitte where she spent 9 years before becoming CFO for Jimmy Choo & LK Bennett. She met Cemal in 2017 and has been with Change Please ever since!
CHANGE PLEASE FOUNDATION, BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Glenn Earlam
Glenn joined David Lloyd Leisure as CEO in 2015, later becoming Executive Chair in 2021. He also holds positions as Non-Executive Chair of TeamSport and Director of HB Leisure Ltd. Prior to his current roles, Glenn held various positions at Merlin Entertainments Group, including Managing Director for Midway Attractions, Director of Marketing at Alton Towers, and Divisional Director at Chessington World of Adventures and Thorpe Park.
Justin Irwin
Justin has over twenty-five years of experience in the charity and public sectors, starting in the press team at Samaritans before becoming Director of Services at ChildLine. He specializes in governance consultancy and interim leadership, focusing on UK social issues such as poverty alleviation, equity creation, and mental health improvement, particularly in organizations serving young people and children.
Nimesh Shah
Nimesh became CEO of Blick Rothenberg in 2020, with close to two decades of experience in personal tax, he specialises in advising entrepreneurs across diverse industries on personal and corporate tax affairs throughout their business life cycles. Actively engaging in shaping UK tax policy, he advocates for simplification and reduced barriers to entrepreneurship.
Cemal Ezel, Rob Gillon and Alison Egan are also members of the Change Please Foundation Board of Trustees.
