JSA

What JSA does

Jane Simpson Access (JSA) is a UK-based, founder-owned access consultancy practice incorporated in 2008 as Jane Simpson Access Ltd and headquartered in Huddersfield. The firm advises clients on Equality Act 2010 compliance and inclusive design across the built environment, operating as a professional services firm rather than a software or platform business. Its core services comprise access audits (producing a Premises Audit Database for maintenance and future design), inclusive design advice spanning briefing to post-occupancy, equality legislation advisory, access statements for planning submissions, consultation facilitation, evacuation strategies (GEEPs/PEEPs), expert witness work, training, and equality impact assessments. JSA sells these services through direct, enterprise-grade consulting engagements to architects, design teams, contractors, developers, public sector bodies, educational institutions, and heritage, arts, retail, transport, health, and ecclesiastical clients across the UK.

JSA's economic moat is anchored in the founder Jane Simpson's personal credentials: she is an architect and NRAC-registered Access Consultant with 28+ years of inclusion experience, a member of the BSI drafting panel for BS8300:1 (2019), and an advisor to RIBA, DPTAC, CABE, Design Council, Pocklington Trust, the BESiDE Project at Dundee University, Sport England, and the DfE. The firm delivers work across eleven named verticals and lists prominent logos including Manchester City Council (Inclusion Client Advisor on the Our Town Hall project, valued at £300M), Sport England, Leeds Bradford Airport, ASDA, RIBA, Willmott Dixon, Kier, and Royal Armouries, among others. Marketing is primarily thought-leadership driven via industry publications, webinars, conference participation (e.g., UIA, Destinations for All), podcasts, and Radio 4 appearances.

The company is a privately held, single-entity limited company with no disclosed subsidiaries, no external funding, no parent company, and no M&A activity in the source material. It has no disclosed revenue, headcount, or pricing. There is no AI, API, app, or software platform component to the offering; service delivery is consultancy-led and project-based. Geographic scope is the United Kingdom, with training provision noted as extending 'throughout Europe' via the RIBA CPD panel.

Name

JSA

Legal name

Jane Simpson Access Ltd

Website

https://janesimpsonaccess.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2008

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Jane Simpson Access (JSA) is a UK-based, founder-owned access consultancy specializing in Equality Act 2010 compliance and inclusive design advisory for the built environment, serving architects, contractors, public sector, education, heritage, retail, and arts clients across eleven sectors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Huddersfield

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Consulting Services: Professional consulting services including access audits, inclusive design advice, equality legislation guidance, access statements, consultation, evacuation strategies, expert witness services, training, and equality impact assessments for clients in the built environment sector.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

JSA is a UK-based access consultancy practice providing professional advisory services on inclusive design and Equality Act 2010 compliance for the built environment. The firm delivers access audits, inclusive design advice from briefing through to post-occupancy, equality legislation guidance, access statements, consultation, evacuation strategies, expert witness services, training, and equality impact assessments to architects, contractors, developers, public sector bodies, and other organizations commissioning building and infrastructure projects.

Product overview

JSA (Jane Simpson Access) is an access consultancy offering a unified suite of professional advisory services rather than a software product platform. The core offering consists of Access Audits, Inclusive Design Advice from Briefing to Occupancy, Equality Legislation Advisory, Access Statements, Consultation Services, Evacuation Strategies, Expert Witness, Training Services, and Equality Impact Assessments. These services are provided across eleven sectors including Education, Heritage, Public Space/Urban Design/Landscape, Health, Transport, Governmental, Retail & Commercial, Arts, Ecclesiastical, Hotels, and Residential. JSA operates as a consultancy firm specializing in accessibility and inclusion compliance, primarily serving architects, planners, developers, contractors, and public sector organizations throughout the UK.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Access Audits
• Inclusive Design Advice from Briefing to Occupancy
• Equality Legislation Advisory
• Access Statements
• Consultation Services
• Evacuation Strategies
• Expert Witness
• Training Services
• Equality Impact Assessments

Quantifiable outcome

• Inclusion client advisor for Our Town Hall, Manchester project valued at £300M
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLong-standing member of RIBA CPD panel helping establish core curriculum requirements. Provides training to architects and professionals throughout Europe. Jane Simpson contributes to RIBA professional support and research activities.
• DPTAC (Disabled Persons Transport Advisory Committee)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJane Simpson provides advice and expertise to DPTAC on disability access and transportation matters.
• CABE (Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerContributes to Design Council/CABE activities related to inclusive design in the built environment.
• BSI (British Standards Institution)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJane Simpson was a member of the drafting panel for BS8300:1 published in 2019, providing expertise on inclusive design standards.
• Pocklington TrustminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJSA has worked with the Pocklington Trust on housing design for visually impaired individuals.
• BESiDE Project at Dundee UniversitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJane Simpson sits on the advisory board of the BESiDE Project at Dundee University, focused on environmental design for older adults.
• Sport EnglandcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides advice to Sport England on documentation and accessible sports facilities guidance.
• DfE (Department for Education)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAdvises Department for Education on documentation related to inclusive educational environments.
• NRAC (National Register of Access Consultants)coreOthersJane Simpson is an NRAC registered Access Consultant. NRAC is the national register recognizing access consultants meeting competency standards.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Arup: Global engineering and design firm with dedicated accessibility and inclusive design teams advising on transport, buildings and public realm. Competes for the same inclusive design mandates JSA serves, though within much larger multidisciplinary programmes.
• WSP: Global engineering professional services firm with accessibility, inclusive design and social value advisory capabilities embedded in buildings, transport and environmental projects. Competes for inclusive design advisory on large UK infrastructure and built-environment briefs.
• Buro Happold: Global engineering consultancy offering accessibility and inclusive design advisory as part of broader building services and structural engineering mandates. Overlaps with JSA on inclusive design advisory for major UK built-environment projects.
• Mott MacDonald: International engineering consultancy with accessibility and social inclusion practices covering buildings, transport and urban infrastructure. Provides overlapping access consultancy to UK public-sector and developer clients.
• AtkinsRéalis (SNC-Lavalin): Global design, engineering and project management consultancy with accessibility and inclusive environment services across buildings, transport and defence portfolios. Overlaps with JSA on UK inclusive design mandates as part of larger programmes.

Others

• RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects): UK professional body for architects that sets CPD curriculum and publishes guidance, including on inclusive design. Ecosystem participant rather than direct competitor, but a key channel through which JSA delivers training and influences practice.
• Design Council: UK design body advancing inclusive and accessible design through research, guidance and programmes (formerly involving CABE). Related ecosystem participant that shapes inclusive design standards and practices relevant to JSA's market.

Direct peers

• Centre for Accessible Environments (CAE): UK charity and access consultancy providing access audits, design advice and training on inclusive environments. Most directly comparable to JSA as a UK specialist access consultancy serving built-environment professionals and public sector clients.
• Access by Design (Anne Hall): UK-based independent access consultancy offering access audits, inclusive design advice and Equality Act advisory for buildings and the public realm. Direct peer to JSA in the UK specialist access consultancy segment.

Emerging players

• Sensory Trust: UK charity providing inclusive design advice, sensory audits and access consultancy for outdoor spaces, heritage and community environments. Comparable niche access consultancy serving built-environment and public-sector clients in the UK.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights2 records

Customer concentration

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 JSA