Co-Chief Executive’s Review
In 2020, I joined Kooth as Chief Operating Officer, working closely alongside
Tim Barker and at every step of our journey together he has been an
exemplary Chief Executive Officer. Five years down the line, I am honoured
to join Tim as Co-CEO until he moves on to his next challenge in June 2025
leaving behind an incredible legacy of growth and a mentally healthier
future across the populations we serve.
This time spent working together has provided an opportunity to take stock of
what we’ve achieved and what the future might hold.
Over the past five years, we’ve grown a phenomenal team to achieve
incredible things
Kooth remains the largest digital mental health provider in the UK, with over
65% of the youth population having free access via the NHS and local
authorities.
We took Kooth public on the AIM segment of the London Stock Exchange in 2020,
raising capital to invest in the long-term growth of our people and
technology platform, as well as giving every employee at Kooth the
opportunity to be a shareholder in the business.
We expanded into the US, which now represents over 70% of our business, and
worked with young people to develop Soluna, Kooth’s enhanced platform and
service. We’ve launched and grown a unique, world-first programme in
California, enabling universal access to support for all 13-25 year olds
across the state, working within and alongside healthcare, education systems
and communities to provide a joined up approach.
This rapid scaling has driven a five-fold growth in the business since our
IPO enabling us to build our team of healthcare professionals and
practitioners, moderators, developers and data scientists, content creators,
safeguarding specialists, and the hundreds of other staff members across the
UK and US that keep our services running safely and smoothly.
Underpinning these headlines are over 20 years of know-how, which have shaped
the building blocks of our services: our people and processes that keep our
users safe and staff well-supported; the technology that enables us to widen
access to care at scale and continuously monitor and improve the quality of
our services; and our commitment to research, evidence and clinical best
practice. Our experience goes beyond building effective digital mental
health support, extending to our users, communities, and system partners to
have a positive impact.
A backdrop of political uncertainty through 2024 offers a timely reminder of
the importance of showcasing the strong foundations that have enabled our
success. As we move into 2025, these foundations will come to the fore as we
shift from transformation to consolidation.
We are an international company, powered by technology, but with
real-world outcomes at the core of our mission.
At Kooth we’re driven by our purpose, to build mentally healthier populations
to enable a more sustainable, resilient and productive future, leaving no
one behind. In 2024, and as we move into 2025, it is clear that this is
becoming ever more important. Too many people cannot access support for
their mental health when they need it, in a way that suits them, before
things get worse and hold them back from living more fulfilling and
productive lives.
At Kooth, we provide high-quality, effective support that meets people where
they are; that can support them in the moment and connect them to further
help, if needed.
Mental health needs look different for everyone, and we are there all day,
every day, supporting people to develop the skills they need to feel better
and achieve their goals whether that’s managing exam stress, handling
difficult relationships, getting up for the day or maintaining the balance
required to be their best at work. Importantly, we’re there to support
whether an individual has a diagnosed mental health condition or not,
because the tools and strategies that support improved outcomes should be
available to everyone.
The evidence tells us that this approach works, equipping people to manage
psychological distress, in all its forms, reduces the need for further and
more costly interventions later down the line. In 2024, this understanding
began to permeate beyond the mental health sector, with increased
recognition of the inextricable link between poor mental health and risks to
fiscal growth and resilience. Psychological distress is now recognised as a
key barrier to cognitive skills development, educational attainment,
workplace satisfaction and engagement, and economic productivity.
At Kooth, we have been advocating for greater understanding of the ‘ripple
effect’ of poor mental health since inception. Our focus on this topic and
sharing our learning has dovetailed with an uptick in global acknowledgement
of the importance of population mental health.
With this in mind, as we reflect on 2024 and look to the future, it is our
solid foundations and legacy of innovation that will form the bedrock of
extending our reach going forward.
This means a continuous and relentless focus on the safety, effectiveness,
and accessibility of our services. It means reaching into communities
otherwise underserved by traditional models of care and ensuring that our
users are protected from harm, on and offline. We need to harness technology
to drive engagement, improve user experience, and more effectively connect
users to the high-quality support they need; and be robust in our approach
to measuring service outcomes, both in real-time and longitudinally.
We will continue to invest time and care into local partnerships and system
integration to ensure that we support and enhance the help offered across
local ecosystems, whether in schools, workplaces, healthcare or
community-based organisations.
We will also take seriously our responsibility to advocate on behalf of the
populations we serve, using our experience, data and insights to secure
mentally healthier populations, leaving no-one behind.
Last but not least, we will retain our pioneering spirit, being agile and
entrepreneurial in harnessing our know-how to reach into new populations
that need our support.
These foundations underpin our strategic priorities for 2025
In the US, our landmark service in California will continue to be a major
priority, reflecting the significant investment and ambition of the State in
addressing the youth mental health crisis. We have made great strides,
reaching 75,000 young people across all 58 counties by the end of February
2025 alongside the youth-informed evolution of our product. The outbreak of
wildfires across California in January 2025 brought a stark reminder of the
importance of the support we provide, as demand for coaching and care
navigation surged. Growing advocacy, awareness, usage, and impact are
critical, recognising the importance of demonstrable and sustainable success
in California to inform and secure further growth of Soluna across our
services in New Jersey, Illinois, the US, and beyond.
In the UK, whilst the environment remained complex as the general election
and funding pressure continued to put pressure on local decision-making, we
were able to draw on our evidence of impact to successfully retain the
majority of our contracts.
We have commenced work on migrating Soluna to the UK and secured new services
through collaborating with other partners, which will form a key strand of
focus in 2025 as we do more to extend our reach beyond our core services for
children and young people and NHS funding. Government plans to transform the
healthcare system and address broader social challenges offer a key
opportunity to build on our existing relationships and evidence base to
address these priorities across sectors, offering opportunities for growth
to mitigate risks associated with plans to reorganise the NHS. The UK’s
increasingly robust regulatory environment for digital mental health
technologies and online services also provides us with an opportunity for
external assurance and scrutiny of our safety and efficacy. To this end, we
are grateful that Dame Sue Bailey OBE DBE sits on our Board. Her extensive
clinical, research, education and policy background helps ensure that the
Board can provide effective scrutiny and challenge in areas related to
safeguarding and clinical efficacy.
Outlook
Our successful entry into the US market, strong recurring revenue and cash
position give us a great platform as we enter 2025. We are confident that
our strong foundations, grounded in our strategy and service delivery model,
as well as the increasing demand for accessible, digital mental health
services, will enable us to continue our progress in the year ahead.
Kate Newhouse
Co-Chief Executive
15 April 2025