COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS

What COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS does

Compliance Solutions (UK) Limited is a privately-held, boutique compliance consultancy registered in England & Wales (Company No. 3857363) and headquartered at 33 Thingwall Road, Irby, Wirral. Founded in 1999 by co-founders Liz Lamb and Craig Hargreaves — both of whom hold recognised professional qualifications and over 20 years of industry experience each across insurance, financial advisory, compliance officer, and T&C supervisor roles — the firm delivers bespoke compliance support services exclusively to UK-based financial intermediaries. The firm is explicitly not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority itself, but serves firms operating under the UK regulatory regime.

The company's service portfolio spans core offerings — Health Check & Annual Reviews, Regular Monitoring Visits, Compliance Documentation templates, Remote File Review Assessment, and Telephone/Online/Email Support — and a broad set of additional services covering FCA Application Support, SMCR training, Financial Promotion/Website Review, Complaint Handling, Appointed Representative Services, Staff Training & T&C Supervision, Themed Assessment Preparation, Recruitment Support, Regulatory Updates & Bulletins, Knowledge Assessments, and Integrated Regulatory Reporting. Delivery is entirely human-advisory, with no technology product component; remote file reviews are conducted via secure server access, cloud upload, or email attachments. The firm holds professional memberships in the Association of Professional Compliance Consultants, Personal Finance Society, Chartered Insurance Institute, and Standards International (ISO 22222), providing credibility and access to FCA and Financial Ombudsman Service channels.

Commercially, Compliance Solutions operates a sales-led, direct-engagement model: clients contact consultants Liz Lamb or Craig Hargreaves by phone, email, or in-person to scope bespoke engagements, which are formalised via a Letter of Engagement. Services can be purchased as full consultancy packages or as individual discrete services designed to dovetail with a client's existing compliance framework. Revenue is generated through these tailored consultancy engagements plus an annual Regulatory Updates newsletter (recurring) available to registered firms and purchasable separately by non-registered firms. The firm markets through its website, the APCC membership network, Twitter and Facebook organic social channels, and the annual newsletter, reaching financial advisers, mortgage and general insurance brokers, professional firms offering DPB investment services, and consumer credit and claims management firms across the United Kingdom.

Name

COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS

Legal name

Compliance Solutions (UK) Limited

Website

https://compliancesolutions.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Compliance Solutions (UK) Limited is a boutique UK compliance consultancy founded in 1999, offering bespoke advisory services in FCA regulation, health checks, monitoring visits, documentation, and training to financial advisers, brokers, and other UK financial intermediaries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Financial Services Compliance Consultancy

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Regulatory Compliance Advisory (BPAHAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Regulatory Change Management & Compliance Workflow (FSAFAOAH), Regulatory Compliance Management (Policies, Attestations, Obligations Mapping) (FSAFAKAG)

Keywords

• Compliance consultancy services
• Regulatory compliance advisory
• FCA compliance support
• Financial services compliance
• Compliance monitoring services

Headquarters

HQ city

Birkenhead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Compliance Consultancy Services: The company generates revenue through providing bespoke compliance support and consultancy services to financial services firms. Services can be purchased as full consultancy packages or as individual discrete services, allowing firms to select support that dovetails with their existing compliance framework. The company issues Regulatory Update newsletters to registered firms, which can be subscribed to annually.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Compliance Solutions is a boutique UK compliance consultancy providing tailored advisory and support services to financial services intermediaries. The firm helps clients meet FCA regulatory obligations through health checks, monitoring visits, compliance documentation, remote file reviews, training, SMCR implementation, FCA application support, and complaint handling. Services are delivered by the two co-founders, Liz Lamb and Craig Hargreaves, each with over 20 years of industry experience.

Product overview

Compliance Solutions is a compliance consulting firm offering professional services to financial services firms, not a software product company. The company provides a suite of advisory and consultancy services including Health Check & Annual Reviews, Regular Monitoring Visits, Compliance Documentation, Remote File Review Assessment, and Telephone/Online/Email Support as core offerings. Additional services include FCA Application Support, SMCR Training, Business Review, Financial Promotion Review, Complaint Handling, Appointed Representative Services, Staff Training, Themed Assessment Preparation, Recruitment Support, Regulatory Updates & Bulletins, Knowledge Assessments, and Integrated Regulatory Reporting. These services are delivered as professional consulting rather than software products, providing tailored guidance on FCA regulatory requirements.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Compliance Health Checks Independent review of a firm's compliance arrangements against FCA requirements, identifying gaps and recommending remedial actions. Targeted at UK financial advisers, brokers and intermediary firms that need an external assessment of their compliance framework.
• Monitoring Visits On-site or remote compliance monitoring visits to review files, processes and conduct in line with FCA expectations. Designed for authorised firms seeking ongoing oversight between formal FCA visits.
• Compliance Documentation Preparation and maintenance of compliance manuals, policies and procedures tailored to a firm's business model and FCA permissions. Used by UK intermediary firms that need bespoke compliance documentation.
• Remote File Review Off-site review of client files and records against FCA record-keeping and suitability standards. Used by financial advisers, brokers and professional firms to validate file quality without on-site consultant presence.
• SMCR Support Advisory and implementation support for the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, including documentation, gap analysis and readiness reviews. Targeted at FCA-authorised firms that must comply with SMCR.
• FCA Application Support Guidance and preparation assistance for firms applying to the FCA for authorisation or variations of permission. Used by consumer credit, claims management and other firms entering or expanding FCA-regulated activity.
• Financial Promotion Review Review of marketing materials and financial promotions against FCA financial promotion rules. Targeted at intermediary and professional firms publishing or distributing financial promotions.
• Complaint Handling Support Assistance with complaint handling processes, root cause analysis and FCA DISP-compliant responses. Used by UK regulated firms that need support managing or investigating customer complaints.
• Appointed Representatives Service Compliance support for principal firms overseeing appointed representatives, including oversight reviews and documentation. Used by UK principal firms with AR arrangements.
• Staff Training and Knowledge Assessments Compliance training programmes and knowledge assessments for staff of FCA-regulated firms. Targeted at advisers, broker staff and appointed representatives needing regulatory competence evidence.
• Themed Assessments and Business Reviews Targeted reviews of specific business areas or themes (such as suitability, vulnerability or advice quality) to assess conduct and remediation needs. Used by firms preparing for or responding to FCA thematic work.
• Regulatory Updates Subscription Ongoing subscription service delivering regulatory news and updates to client firms. Targeted at UK authorised firms that need timely awareness of FCA developments.
• Recruitment Support Compliance-focused recruitment support to help firms identify and appoint compliant personnel, including compliance officers and advisers. Used by UK financial services firms hiring into compliance-sensitive roles.
• Telephone, Online and Email Support Ad-hoc compliance advisory support delivered via telephone, online portal and email for client queries on regulatory matters. Used by client firms needing on-demand consultant access between formal engagements.
• Integrated Regulatory Reporting Support with integrated regulatory reporting obligations, including preparation and submission of required FCA reports. Used by authorised firms needing help meeting their reporting deadlines and data quality requirements.

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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Association of Professional Compliance Consultants (APCC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCompliance Solutions maintains professional membership in the APCC, an organization for compliance consultants. Through this membership, the company has access to industry resources and contacts, including connections to the FCA and Financial Ombudsman Service that allow client firms to remain anonymous during regulatory queries.
• Personal Finance SocietyminorOthersProfessional membership organization for personal finance professionals. Membership demonstrates professional standing and provides access to industry resources.
• Chartered Insurance Institute (CII)minorOthersProfessional body for insurance and financial services professionals. Membership supports the company's professional credibility and provides access to industry standards and qualifications framework.
• Standards International (ISO 22222)minorOthersOrganization associated with international standards. ISO 22222 relates to personal financial planning. Membership demonstrates commitment to professional standards.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Thistle Initiatives: UK regulatory compliance consultancy providing compliance, risk and governance advisory to FCA-regulated firms including advisers, brokers and consumer credit firms — directly comparable offering and customer base to Compliance Solutions.
• Compliance Options: Boutique UK compliance consultancy delivering FCA-aligned support to financial advisers and intermediaries, with a similar small-team, personalised service model and overlapping service catalogue (health checks, monitoring, FCA applications).
• Aspect Compliance: UK FCA compliance consultancy offering health checks, monitoring visits, file reviews and SMCR support to financial advisers and brokers, with a comparable service catalogue and target segment.
• Cavendish Ware Compliance: UK firm providing regulatory compliance support, file reviews and FCA application assistance to financial intermediaries — overlapping advisory services and SME intermediary client base.
• Rushton Brown Consultancy: UK financial services compliance consultancy providing practical FCA-aligned support to advisers, brokers and wealth managers — directly comparable boutique advisory positioning.
• Philip Williams & Co: Long-established UK compliance consultancy specialising in FCA regulation for general insurance, mortgage and investment intermediaries — overlapping SME client base and bespoke advisory delivery model.

Others

• The Personal Finance Society (PFS): UK professional membership body for personal finance practitioners, of which Compliance Solutions is itself a member; provides qualifications, CPD and standards that the firm leverages in its advisory work.

Broad incumbents

• SimplyBiz Group: Large UK provider of compliance support, regulatory services and business resources to IFAs, mortgage brokers and intermediaries; competes on the same compliance-adjacent value proposition but at materially greater scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/ComplianceS
• Facebookfacebook.com/compliancesolutions.co.uk

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 COMPLIANCE SOLUTIONS