Sainsbury Family Charitable Trust

Client

The Sainsbury Family Charitable Trusts (SFCT) act as the umbrella organisation for a network of grant-making trusts and charities established by the Sainsbury family, supporting a wide range of causes across the UK and beyond. Their work covers refugee and asylum support, intercommunity dialogue, and initiatives aimed at improving opportunities for disadvantaged young people in Southwark through the Alan and Babette Sainsbury Charitable Fund. They are also deeply committed to sustainability and climate solutions, funding projects such as home retrofitting, clean energy provision in refugee camps, and campaigns advocating fossil fuel divestment. Alongside this, SFCT champions diversity, equity, and inclusion, driving progress towards a fairer society through inclusive grant making and programming. Collectively, their efforts play a vital role in strengthening communities, advancing environmental justice, and promoting social equity both nationally and internationally.

Challenges Faced by SFCT Offices in London

SFCT’s central office in London faced a range of Wi-Fi and network challenges that impacted both efficiency and productivity. Staff experienced unreliable wireless connectivity, with frequent signal drops, inconsistent coverage, and poor throughput, disrupting meetings and limiting access to essential online tools. No formal wireless fault detection or WiFi survey had been carried out, making it challenging to identify and resolve issues. The infrastructure also lacked scalability, offering little in the way of future-readiness as technologies such as Wi-Fi 6 and Wi-Fi 7 continue to evolve.

Performance Networks’ Solution

To address SFCT’s connectivity challenges, Performance Networks carried out a structured, multi-phased approach designed to deliver a robust and scalable wireless network. The process began with a comprehensive Wireless Fault Find Survey,  mapping the London office to identify dead zones, interference hotspots, and underperforming areas. Using detailed heatmaps and diagnostics, the team gained a clear picture of where improvements were needed. This was followed by the deployment of Unifi access points, replacing outdated hardware with a modern, centrally managed system that offered both reliability and scalability. Finally, our team refined the network configuration by adjusting channel widths and separating access points to reduce co-channel interference, as well as rebalancing the 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands to ensure optimal bandwidth and minimise contention, creating a more efficient and future-ready setup.

Outcome

The improvements delivered by Performance Networks brought significant benefits to SFCT’s London office. Coverage and reliability were transformed, with strong and consistent connectivity now available throughout the entire workspace. This boosted speed and performance, enabling faster downloads, smoother streaming, and higher-quality virtual meetings. Staff also enjoyed a far better user experience, with uninterrupted Wi-Fi access across all devices, reducing frustration and downtime.

Importantly, the network has also been future-proofed, providing a scalable foundation that supports a phased rollout towards Wi-Fi 7 infrastructure.

Summary

Performance Networks delivered a comprehensive wireless transformation for SFCT’s London office: from pinpointing performance faults, deploying modern Unifi hardware, to fine-tuning configurations and establishing a future-ready path to Wi-Fi 7. This delivered a resilient, high-performance network that supports SFCT’s vital work, providing staff the connectivity they need to drive social impact and grant-making across communities.