What Bower does

Bower Retirement Limited, trading as Bower Home Finance, is a UK-based, FCA-regulated financial advisory firm founded in 2006 that provides whole-of-market equity release and mortgage advice to homeowners aged 55 and over. Its core product set spans lifetime mortgages (including drawdown and interest-payment variants), home reversion plans, and a broad mortgage range covering first-time buyers, remortgages, buy-to-let, green and specialist lending, with complementary Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney services. The firm operates a nationwide face-to-face adviser network across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, supported by an inbound contact centre, a digital lead-generation funnel (including an online equity release calculator), and a formal Bower Partnerships introducer programme. Specialist sub-brands include Bower Private Clients, which serves high-net-worth borrowers with bespoke lifetime and million-pound mortgages.

The business earns revenue through two principal streams: a per-case advice and administration fee of £1,495–£1,695, charged only on successful plan completion, and commission from equity release and mortgage lenders including Aviva, Canada Life, Legal & General, More2Life and Pure Retirement. Bower sits under the Bower Group Limited holding entity, is founder-led by CEO Geoff Charles, and is a member of the Equity Release Council, with the CEO on the Council's Standards Board and CCO Andrea Rozario a former Director General of both the Council and its predecessor SHIP. The company is privately held, bootstrapped, with no disclosed institutional investment, M&A activity, or revenue figures in the public domain.

Name

Bower

Legal name

Bower Retirement Limited

Website

https://bowerhomefinance.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Bower Retirement Limited is a UK, FCA-regulated financial advisory firm founded in 2006 offering whole-of-market equity release and mortgage advice to homeowners aged 55+, with a nationwide adviser network and specialist HNW and partnership sub-brands.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Equity Release and Mortgage Advisory

NAICS

Mortgage and Nonmortgage Loan Brokers (522310), Real Estate Credit (522292), Consumer Lending (522291)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163), Mortgage Bankers & Loan Correspondents (6162)

akta.pro primary industry

Mortgage & Loan Introducers (Residential & Commercial) (FSAEAMAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Reverse Mortgage Servicing & Subservicing (FSALAIAC), Emergency & Short-Term Installment Personal Loans (Unsecured) (FSAKAAAH)

Keywords

• Equity release advice
• Lifetime mortgages
• Home reversion plans
• Mortgage brokerage
• Later life lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Chipping Ongar

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Advice and Administration Fees: Bower charges an advice and administration fee when a plan completes. Initial consultation is free and without obligation. The typical/maximum fee ranges from £1,495 to £1,695 depending on the source, charged only upon successful plan completion.
2. Commission from Lenders: Bower receives commission from equity release and mortgage lenders for arranging products. As a whole-of-market adviser, they work with multiple providers including Aviva, Canada Life, Legal & General, More2Life, Pure Retirement, and others.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Bower provides independent, whole-of-market equity release and mortgage advice to UK homeowners, primarily those aged 55 and over. Core offerings include lifetime mortgages, home reversion plans, drawdown and interest-payment variants, plus full mortgage brokerage across standard, buy-to-let, later life, specialist, and bespoke HNW lending. A specialist Bower Private Clients sub-brand serves high net worth individuals, and complementary Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney services are sold alongside the core advice proposition.

Product overview

Bower is an independent, whole-of-market financial advisory firm offering equity release and mortgage services. The core offering consists of equity release products (lifetime mortgages, home reversion plans, drawdown and interest payment variants) and whole-of-market mortgage advice (standard, bespoke, and later life finance). The company operates Bower Private Clients as a specialist sub-brand for high net worth individuals, and offers complementary services including Wills & LPAs. An online equity release calculator provides lead qualification, while the Bower Partnerships program enables third-party referrals. All services are FCA regulated with Equity Release Council membership.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Bower Private Clients: High net worth division of Bower providing personalised lifetime mortgages to high net worth individuals.

Products and services

• Equity Release Advice Independent, whole-of-market equity release advice service for UK homeowners aged 55+ who want to unlock tax-free cash from their property without selling. Covers lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans, delivered through free initial consultation, in-home adviser visits, and full case management from application through completion.
• Lifetime Mortgages Loan product secured against the customer's property that allows homeowners to retain full ownership while accessing equity as a lump sum, with optional monthly repayments or interest roll-up. Repaid from the property upon death, sale, or move into long-term care.
• Home Reversion Plans Plan allowing homeowners to sell part or all of their property to a reversion provider below market value in exchange for a tax-free lump sum or drawdown, while remaining in the home rent-free until death or moving into long-term care.
• Drawdown Lifetime Mortgages Variant of a lifetime mortgage that releases an initial lump sum with the option to withdraw further funds as needed, helping manage interest accrual and providing flexibility over when and how equity is drawn.
• Interest Payment Lifetime Mortgages Lifetime mortgage structure in which the customer pays the monthly interest, often qualifying for a lender interest-rate discount, reducing the overall cost of borrowing against the property.
• Mortgages Independent, whole-of-market mortgage advice covering first-time buyers, remortgages, home moves, buy-to-let, green mortgages, retirement interest-only mortgages, and specialist lending such as contractor or professional mortgages. Provides access to over 500 mortgage products across all major UK lenders, supported by adviser-led case management.
• Bespoke Mortgages Specialist mortgage service for complex or high-net-worth borrowers including company directors, entrepreneurs, contractors, professionals (dentists and doctors), limited-company buy-to-let investors, and customers needing large or million-pound mortgages across high-value properties.
• Later Life Finance Later-life finance advice including retirement interest-only mortgages and home reversion plans for customers planning finances around retirement circumstances, including situations that may qualify for enhanced products based on health or other factors.
• Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney Professionally drafted Wills and Lasting Powers of Attorney services designed to protect loved ones and ensure a customer's wishes are followed, sold as a complementary later-life protection product alongside Bower's core equity release and mortgage advice.
• Bower Private Clients High net worth sub-brand of Bower providing personalised lifetime mortgages and high-value mortgage solutions for affluent UK homeowners, delivering premium service and bespoke structuring through specialist advisers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9/5 Feefo rating with over 1,930 reviews and 96% 5-star ratings
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Tree AppealminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEnvironmental partnership for carbon offsetting through tree planting. Bower plants a tree for every new customer through Tree Appeal, an initiative that plants trees in schools, nature reserves, hedgerows, and dedicated woodland areas throughout the UK. Customers receive unique Tree Codes to track the location and species of trees donated.
• Equity Release CouncilcoreOthersIndustry trade body for the UK equity release sector. Bower is a member and CEO Geoff Charles serves on the Equity Release Council Standards Board. CCO Andrea Rozario was former Director General of the Council. Membership requires adherence to strict code of conduct and consumer protection standards.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Responsible Life: UK equity release adviser offering whole-of-market lifetime mortgages and home reversion plans, closely comparable to Bower's core equity-release product set and 55+ customer focus.
• Later Life Lending Partnership: UK partnership network specialising in equity release and later-life lending introducers; overlaps with Bower's Partnerships division as both build introducer funnels into equity release advice.
• Retirement Line: UK equity release specialist adviser offering whole-of-market later-life lending advice over the phone and online, directly competing with Bower for the same over-55 customer base.
• Key Retirement: Specialist UK equity release and later-life lending adviser (now part of the LV= group), with a comparable whole-of-market advisory model and shared lender panel to Bower.
• Age Partnership: UK's largest equity release and later-life lending adviser, operating a whole-of-market model similar to Bower with regional advisers and multi-channel lead generation targeting the 55+ demographic.

Emerging players

• Habito: Online mortgage broker offering whole-of-market mortgage advice via digital channels, competing with Bower's mortgage (and increasingly later-life) book through a technology-led experience.
• Tembo: Digital mortgage and equity release broker with a tech-led customer journey, representing the emerging digital-first competitive threat to Bower's human-adviser model in later-life lending.

Broad incumbents

• Just Group: UK specialist retirement provider with a significant equity release (Just for Intermediaries) arm, comparable to Bower via shared customers and lender relationships, though operating as a capital-heavy incumbent rather than an adviser.
• Skipton Building Society: One of the UK's largest equity release lenders and a core counterparty on Bower's lender panel; as a lender-direct provider it competes by cutting out the advice intermediary layer.
• Legal & General: Major UK life insurer and equity release lender, also a Bower panel counterparty; competes at scale across the equity release value chain, including via direct and advised channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/boweradvice
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/bower-retirement-services
• Facebookfacebook.com/BowerHomeFinance

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Bower