What Baker Consultants does

Baker Consultants is a UK-based ecological consultancy founded in 2009 by Andrew Baker and headquartered at Cromford Station, Matlock, Derbyshire. The firm provides professional ecology services to housing developers, infrastructure operators, local authorities, landowners, and agriculture and viticulture clients across the United Kingdom, spanning the full development lifecycle from site acquisition and Preliminary Ecological Appraisal through planning, public inquiry representation, construction-phase ecological clerk of works, and post-construction monitoring. Core services include protected species surveys (bats, great crested newts, dormice, badgers, reptiles, invertebrates, birds), Environmental Impact Assessments, Habitats Regulations Assessments, Biodiversity Net Gain calculations, expert witness work, and protected species licensing.

The firm differentiates through proprietary ecoacoustic monitoring technology. The Soil Acoustic Meter (SAM) is a hand-held, probe-based device with world-wide patents pending for non-invasive soil health assessment, supported by a large international soil acoustic database. The firm applies AI-powered acoustic analysis combined with expert ecologist verification, and contributes to UK standards via co-authorship of UKAN Good Practice Guidelines for Long-Term Ecoacoustic Monitoring and a JNCC report on acoustic monitoring policy needs. Baker Consultants is a CIEEM Registered Practice with ISO 14001:2015 certification and holds Natural England Class 1 and Class 2 protected species survey licences across the senior team.

Revenue is generated through project-based professional services fees, quoted per project or at agreed hourly/daily rates, with 30-day payment terms. The firm has grown materially, doubling headcount over the last three years, launching a sister business for soil ecoacoustics, and securing a £250,000 DEFRA Farming Innovation Programme grant in 2023. The firm adopted a permanent four-day working week in January 2024 and operates with a remote-working culture centred on the Derbyshire headquarters. Go-to-market is sales-led, supplemented by thought leadership at conferences (CIEEM, Agri-TechE, Groundswell, international conservation technology events) and earned media in outlets such as The Guardian, BBC, and New Scientist.

Name

Baker Consultants

Legal name

Baker Consultants Limited

Website

https://bakerconsultants.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2009

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Baker Consultants is a UK-based ecological consultancy founded in 2009, serving housing developers, infrastructure operators, local authorities, and landowners with protected species surveys, environmental impact assessments, Biodiversity Net Gain, expert witness services, and proprietary ecoacoustic monitoring technology including a patent-pending Soil Acoustic Meter.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Ecological Consultancy Services

NAICS

Environmental Consulting Services (54162), Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (54169)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Ecosystem Services & Natural Capital Assessment / Valuation (EUAHAHAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Brownfield Redevelopment Due Diligence & Grant Support (EUAHAEAD), Real Estate Development & Feasibility Advisory (Highest-and-Best-Use, Entitlements Support) (BPAJANAC), Nature & Biodiversity Reporting (TNFD, natural capital) (EUAHAJAM)

Keywords

• Ecological consultancy
• Ecoacoustic surveys
• Biodiversity net gain
• Protected species surveys
• Environmental impact assessment

Headquarters

HQ city

Matlock

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Ecology Consultancy Services: Professional ecology consultancy services delivered on a project basis, spanning the full development lifecycle from land acquisition through planning, construction, and post-construction monitoring. Services include Preliminary Ecological Appraisal, species and habitat surveys, Environmental Impact Assessments, Habitats Regulations Assessments, Biodiversity Net Gain calculations, Expert Witness and Public Inquiry representation, Protected Species Licensing, and construction ecological clerk of works. Fees are charged per project or at agreed hourly/daily rates as specified in correspondence. Payment terms are 30 days from invoice date.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Baker Consultants provides professional ecological consultancy services for development and land management projects across the UK, spanning the entire project lifecycle from land acquisition and preliminary ecological appraisal through planning submission, public inquiries, construction supervision, and post-construction monitoring. Core offerings include ecoacoustic surveys, protected species surveys, Environmental Impact Assessments, Habitats Regulations Assessments, Biodiversity Net Gain calculations, and expert witness representation at public inquiries. The firm also develops and deploys proprietary ecoacoustic technology, including the Soil Acoustic Meter (patents pending) for non-invasive soil health assessment, backed by an international soil acoustic database and AI-powered analysis.

Product overview

Baker Consultants is an award-winning UK ecology consultancy offering a comprehensive suite of ecological survey and consultancy services. Their portfolio includes ecoacoustic survey services using cutting-edge acoustic monitoring technology (including the proprietary Soil Acoustic Meter for soil health assessment), protected species surveys (bats, great crested newts, dormice, birds, invertebrates, reptiles), ecological impact assessments (EIA, EcIA, HRA), Biodiversity Net Gain calculations, expert witness services, and construction-phase ecological supervision. The company integrates AI-powered acoustic analysis with expert ecological interpretation, and has developed innovative methodologies including long-term ecoacoustic monitoring protocols. Services span the full development timeline from land acquisition through planning to construction and post-construction monitoring.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Soil Acoustic Meter (SAM) Hand-held hardware device with a probe that records soil sounds and measures relative soil health. Allows users to place a probe in the ground and collect soil sounds for analysis against an acoustic signature library to identify abundance, diversity, and activity levels of soil fauna. World-wide patents pending. Supports farmers, vineyards, and estate managers in evaluating soil conditions non-invasively.
• Ecoacoustic Surveys

Quantifiable outcome

• Saved developer £500,000 on one BNG project by identifying alternative delivery approaches
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability6 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor, flagship and core.

• Circularity DirectminorOthers · 27 April 2026Baker Consultants has joined Circularity Direct's Hard Hat Recycling Scheme to responsibly dispose of used hard hats from site work, diverting them from landfill. The scheme processes mixed-material safety equipment in compliance with environmental and compliance standards.
• University of WarwickflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUniversity of Warwick Crop Centre is the academic partner on the £250,000 DEFRA-funded two-year research project investigating the feasibility of using ecoacoustics for monitoring soil health. Dr. Jacqueline Stroud from the university has expertise in soil security and earthworms as bioindicators. The partnership is developing acoustic signatures, algorithms, and a soil acoustic database. The collaboration also involves Flinders University (Martin Breed, Jake Robinson) on soil ecoacoustics research publications.
• UK Acoustics Network (UKAN+)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe UK Acoustics Network Plus funded the co-production of Good Practice Guidelines for Long-Term Ecoacoustic Monitoring in the UK, in collaboration with Baker Consultants Ltd and Manchester Metropolitan University. The guidelines bring consistency and good-practice to acoustic monitoring methods.
• Manchester Metropolitan UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered through a Knowledge Transfer Partnership (KTP) funded by UK Acoustics Network. Co-produced Good Practice Guidelines for Long-Term Ecoacoustic Monitoring in the UK. Oliver Metcalf (PhD) from MMU was a co-author.
• Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerBaker Consultants' Director of Bioacoustics, Dr. Carlos Abrahams, was a lead author on the JNCC report 'Realising the Potential for Acoustic Monitoring to Address Environmental Policy Needs', addressing biodiversity monitoring policy requirements through acoustic methods.
• Flinders UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAcademic partnership with Flinders University on soil ecoacoustics research. Martin Breed and Jake Robinson (formerly of Baker Consultants) co-authored the study 'The Sound of Restored Soil: Measuring Soil Biodiversity in a Forest Restoration Chronosequence with Ecoacoustics'.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Aspect Ecology: UK ecological consultancy providing protected species surveys, BNG assessments, ecological impact assessments, and arboriculture services. Directly comparable in scope, geography (UK-wide), and target customer segments (developers, planners, local authorities).
• Ecus Ltd: UK environmental consultancy delivering ecological surveys, planning support, and environmental impact assessments. Comparable in service mix and client base, with overlapping expertise in protected species and development-sector ecology.
• Greengage Environmental: UK environmental consultancy offering ecology, arboriculture, and landscape services to developers, architects, and local authorities. Comparable peer for ecological assessment, BNG, and planning-phase support.
• Phlorum: UK-based consultancy providing ecological surveys, arboriculture, and environmental planning services. Comparable in size, geography, and the mix of development-sector and conservation work.
• Middlemarch Environmental: UK-based ecological consultancy of comparable size offering ecological surveys, EIA, HRA, and BNG services for developers and infrastructure clients. Closest like-for-like competitor to Baker Consultants in the mid-sized UK ecology consultancy segment.
• Wildwood Ecology: UK ecology consultancy offering species surveys, BNG, and ecological appraisal services for development projects. Small-to-mid-sized competitor with a similar service portfolio targeting housing developers and local planning authorities.

Emerging players

• Wildlife Acoustics: US-based manufacturer of bioacoustic monitoring hardware (SongMeter and Echo Meter products) used widely for bird, bat, and amphibian surveys. Adjacent rather than directly competing — Baker Consultants uses similar hardware platforms but differentiates through AI-led analysis and its proprietary Soil Acoustic Meter.

Broad incumbents

• Jacobs: Major global consultancy with significant UK environmental and ecology capability serving infrastructure, water, and development clients. Competes on larger EIA frameworks; Baker Consultants typically partners rather than competes head-to-head on scale.
• WSP Environment: Global professional services firm with a substantial UK ecology and environmental impact assessment practice. Competes with Baker Consultants for larger development and infrastructure EIA/HRA contracts but as part of a much broader multi-disciplinary portfolio.
• Mott MacDonald: Global engineering and development consultancy with an established ecology and environmental assessment practice in the UK. Competes for major infrastructure and regeneration projects where ecological input is bundled into larger multi-disciplinary commissions.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/baker-consultants
• Facebookfacebook.com/bakerconsultants

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Baker Consultants