Cheesmans

What Cheesmans does

Cheesmans is a privately held, medium-sized accountancy firm founded in 1990 by Carol Cheesman in North London. It operates from two offices — a headquarters at 4 Aztec Row, Berners Road in Islington (N1 0PW) and a secondary office in Woking, Surrey — serving SMEs and individual clients across the UK and Ireland. The firm is registered to carry out audit work by the ICAEW (including ICAEW Scotland and ICAEW Ireland) and is authorised to perform non-contentious probate in England & Wales, having been one of the first accountancy firms to obtain probate authorisation following the October 2014 legal change. The business is wholly founder-owned, with no external investors, parent company, subsidiaries, or disclosed M&A activity.

The firm's service portfolio spans the full lifecycle of a small or medium-sized client: business formation and incorporation, company secretarial compliance, year-end accounts, audit, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, corporation tax (including R&D relief), personal tax (income, CGT, IHT), financial planning, cash flow forecasting, wills, lasting powers of attorney, and probate estate administration. Revenue is generated entirely through professional services fees billed for these engagements, with probate specifically priced on a time basis rather than as a percentage of estate value, distinguishing the model from solicitor alternatives. No pricing tiers or fee schedules are publicly disclosed, and the firm does not offer a self-serve product.

Cheesmans distributes exclusively through direct engagement — website, telephone, email, and in-person consultations — with a free, no-obligation face-to-face initial appraisal as the entry point. Marketing is content-led via the firm's blog and founder-published trade-article contributions, alongside its ICAEW directory listing and word-of-mouth referrals. There is no app, no public API, no proprietary technology platform, and no disclosed AI/ML capability; the offering is fundamentally people-led professional services delivered by a small named team.

Name

Cheesmans

Legal name

Cheesman Accountants

Website

https://cheesman.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1990

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cheesmans is a privately held, founder-owned UK accountancy firm (founded 1990, Islington and Surrey) delivering integrated accounting, audit, tax, payroll, company secretarial, wills, and probate services to SMEs and individual clients across the UK and Ireland.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Accounting Services

NAICS

Offices of Certified Public Accountants (541211), Payroll Services (541214)

akta.pro primary industry

Tax-Aware Retirement & Estate Coordination (FSAEABAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Tax Planning & Compliance for Family Offices (FSAAADAE), Employer Payroll Processing (SMB & Enterprise) (FSAMAKAA)

Keywords

• Accounting services
• Tax advisory
• Audit services
• Company secretarial
• Probate services

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Professional Services Fees: Cheesmans generates revenue through fees charged for its suite of professional accountancy services including audit, accounting, bookkeeping, corporation tax, personal tax, company secretarial, wills, probate, payroll, and financial planning. Fees for probate are specifically noted as time-based rather than percentage-of-estate, distinguishing their model from solicitor charges.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Cheesmans is a chartered accountancy practice providing accounting, auditing, corporation tax, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, company secretarial, financial planning, and business formation services to SMEs, alongside wills, probate, inheritance tax planning, lasting powers of attorney, and personal tax services for individuals. The firm delivers its services through face-to-face advisory meetings from offices in Islington and Woking, serving clients throughout the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Product overview

Cheesmans is a medium-sized accountancy firm based in North London providing a comprehensive suite of accounting, tax, and advisory services. The firm operates as a single integrated practice offering core accounting and auditing services alongside complementary services including company secretarial work, personal tax planning, probate (since 2014), will preparation, inheritance tax planning, and lasting powers of attorney. Their services span business formation and company secretarial compliance, corporation tax planning, accounting and auditing, bookkeeping, payroll, VAT, financial planning with cash flow forecasting, and personal client services including wills, probate, and estate planning. The firm serves clients across the UK and Ireland and was founded in 1990 by Carol Cheesman.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Business Formation Company incorporation services for new UK businesses, including same-day incorporation, advice on selecting the appropriate corporate structure (limited company, LLP, partnership, sole trader), and name availability assistance. Aimed at entrepreneurs and SMEs forming new entities.
• Company Secretarial Services
• Corporation Tax Services
• Accounting Services
• Auditing Services
• Bookkeeping Services
• Financial Planning
• Personal Tax Services
• Probate Services Estate administration services including grant of representation, estate valuation, tax-efficient processing, and inheritance tax planning. Fees are time-based rather than percentage-of-estate.
• Wills and Will Review
• Inheritance Tax Planning
• Lasting Powers of Attorney
• Payroll Services
• VAT Services

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Barnes Roffe LLP: Chartered accountancy firm with offices in London and the South East, serving SMEs, partnerships, and individuals across accounts, tax, audit, and advisory — directly comparable to Cheesmans in geography, size, and client mix.
• Menzies LLP: UK chartered accountancy firm of comparable size focused on owner-managed businesses and private clients, delivering accounts, tax, audit, and advisory across multiple regions.
• BKL (formerly Blick Rothenberg): London-based chartered accountants providing accounts, tax, audit, and private client services to SMEs and high-net-worth individuals — closely comparable to Cheesmans' service breadth and client profile.
• HW Fisher: London-based chartered accountancy firm of comparable size to Cheesmans, serving SMEs and private clients with audit, tax, and advisory services — a direct head-to-head competitor in the same London mid-tier segment.

Broad incumbents

• RSM UK: Major UK mid-tier accountancy firm providing audit, tax, and advisory to the SME market — a larger incumbent competing for many of the same owner-managed and private-client engagements as Cheesmans.
• Crowe UK: UK arm of an international accounting network offering audit, tax, and advisory to SMEs and private clients — broader scope and resources than Cheesmans, but overlapping target market.
• Moore Kingston Smith: Mid-tier UK chartered accountancy firm serving SMEs, owner-managed businesses, and private clients with accounts, audit, tax, and advisory services — overlaps with Cheesmans across both corporate and personal client work.
• Buzzacott: London chartered accountancy firm with a strong private client and SME practice covering accounts, tax, audit, and advisory — directly comparable in client mix and London-centric delivery.
• MHA MacIntyre Hudson: Top-20 UK chartered accountancy network offering audit, tax, and advisory to SMEs and private clients — overlaps broadly with Cheesmans but operates at greater scale via its member-firm model.

Others

• Sumer Group: UK accountancy and professional services consolidator actively acquiring regional and mid-tier firms — relevant as a potential acquirer or roll-up partner that shapes the competitive backdrop for independent practices like Cheesmans.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/cheesmans

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

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 Cheesmans