Our history is impressive proof of our commitment to this mission, and we have always done this through developing local employment and training programmes which are made available to as many people as possible.
1988 – FURNITURE RESOURCE CENTRE
FRC Living was created in 1988 in Liverpool to collect furniture from people who didn’t want it anymore and give it to people who needed it. And that is at the heart of everything we do to this day.
We looked at ways to get more furniture to more people and decided to start speaking to social landlords to encourage them to provide more furnished tenancies. To make it easier for them, we decided to start selling new furniture to them and we now work with social landlords all across the country, selling furniture for furnished tenancies and shared living accommodation such as hostels, as well as supplying furniture to several local authority Local Welfare Provision schemes.
1999 – FRC GROUP
Moved to our current head office at Brunswick Dock, Liverpool.
2000 – BULKY BOB’S
Meanwhile we continued work with preloved furniture and in 2000 we won the contract to collect Liverpool City Council’s bulky household waste, and created Bulky Bob’s. In October 2022 Council cost cutting brought the successful partnership to an end. These contracts are a great way for us to get hold of lots of good quality preloved furniture, much of which we give away through our extensive crisis referral network.
2001 – FRC GROUP
Launched the first Cat’s Pyjamas event (in conjunction with Urban Strategy Associates) to convey learning about social businesses.
2003 – FRC GROUP
Opened a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream shop in Chester
2006 – BULKY BOB’S
Commenced the bulky household waste collection service in Oldham creating more jobs and training opportunities while maximising furniture reuse across the borough and working closely with Oldham Council.
2010 – BULKY BOB’S FURNITURE WORLD
We opened a preloved furniture store in Liverpool city centre in 2010. Bulky Bob’s Furniture World was a thriving shop selling a wide range of preloved furniture and many of our crisis referral customers received a voucher so they could enjoy the dignity of ‘shopping’ for their furniture. Although the shop closed in October 2022, we remain committed to offering choice to those seeking support. Our staff developed an app so that people referred to us can browse our range of items and make a choice online, saving on travel costs.
2013– DRIVING CHANGE
Over the years we have also developed our training programme, a key part of our charitable mission. Our rigorous social value measurement helped us to understand that our 12-month fixed term training programme aimed at long-term unemployed people could create more social impact if we opened it up to everyone as we recognised that many people work and still live in poverty. We also decided to tailor the programme to the individual so it is now anything from three months to 2 years, depending on the needs of the trainee. Over 450 people have completed Driving Change with the vast majority moving into secure and permanent jobs.
2015 – BUCKINGHAM INTERIORS
In 2015 we created a new brand, Buckingham Interiors, to sell new furniture and interior design to the senior living market. Buckingham Interiors has grown rapidly and works with customers, councils, procurements frameworks and housing associations across the country.
2015 – END FURNITURE POVERTY
We formally launched End Furniture Poverty in 2015 to raise awareness of Furniture Poverty, to educate people about the potential solutions to Furniture Poverty and, ultimately, to ensure that everyone has access to the essential furniture and goods they need to lead a secure life.
2017 – FRC GROUP
Opened our North East warehouse.
2017 – BULKY BOB’S FOR BUSINESS
We created Bulky Bob’s for business in 2017 to provide a wide range of commercial waste services, including office clearances and removals, with reuse as a priority. Since launching we have also introduced Total Mattress Management and Reuse IT Services to achieve reuse with these bulky items which are often just scrapped to sent to landfill. Our customer base is steadily growing and we provide an excellent opportunity for businesses to procure essential services from a social enterprise.
2019 – FRC GROUP
Opened our Manchester warehouse.
2019 – RE-USE IT
Commenced Reuse IT.
2021 – ULTRACLEAN
Ultraclean mattress machine was launched.
