The 'Friendship Tax' Is Ruining UK Communities. It’s Time to Fight Back.

You probably haven’t heard of GatherUK yet, but if you’ve ever felt isolated, lonely, or just wanted to find a local club, this is for you.

Right now, almost one in four adults in the UK reports feeling lonely often, always, or some of the time. Think about that. That is millions of our neighbours feeling completely cut off.

Back in 2002, a platform called Meetup was started with one pure goal: to bring people together after a tragedy. It was a brilliant idea. But it never truly understood the UK, and recently, it was sold to a corporate company. Since then, they have at least tripled the fees for group organisers to over £280 a year, and slapped a paywall on everyday members just to talk to each other.

Charging people money simply to belong to a local group is wrong. Forcing small, vital community clubs to close down because they can't afford the tech is wrong. I know, because the ever-increasing costs forced me to shut down my own local group.

I refused to accept that community should only belong to those who can afford it. So, in January 2026, Steve Podbury founded GatherUK.org.

GatherUK is a non-profit platform built right here in the UK. Because we actually live here, we understand what "local" means. We have dedicated County Hubs and precise postcode searching so you can find real people right on your doorstep.

Here is how we work:

For Members: It is completely, 100% free. There are no hidden membership tiers, no paywalls, and absolutely no charge to simply belong.

For Organisers: We charge a flat £5 a month to cover our servers, and your first three months are completely free so you can find your tribe before paying a single penny. You get the full suite of tools from day one—event creation, RSVPs, calendar syncing, and automatic waiting lists.

For Peace of Mind: We are officially registered with the UK Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and are fully GDPR-compliant. We don’t sell your data, we don’t host invasive corporate ads, and we keep your conversations secure.

We are a non-profit currently converting to Charity Status. We don’t have shareholders to please, which means we have zero reason to ever hike up prices. We only want to cover our costs and keep community affordable for everyone.

Because we are brand new, you might log on today and find there isn't a group near you yet. So, why not start one?

It doesn’t need to be flash. It doesn’t need to be a massive production. Start with a coffee morning at a local café. A lunch at a garden centre. A gentle stroll around your local country park. If you feel the need to get out and connect, I promise you there are people in your community who need it just as much as you do.

If you want to get out more, find your tribe, and rebuild real community without the corporate greed, join us for free at GatherUK.org. There is no excuse left. Let’s start gathering.d to cover costs. As a charity we can even get some assistance with those costs, so we have no reason to put up fees. We want to make sure we are affordable to all!