Hough Bellis Communications

What Hough Bellis Communications does

Hough Bellis Communications is a privately held, founder-led UK communications consultancy founded in 2016 by Catherine Bellis, now led by Managing Director Bobbie Hough. The firm operates on a remote-first basis from bases in Chester and Manchester and serves clients nationally across England and Wales. Its stated mission is to deliver communications work that improves people's lives, with a clear focus on the social housing, public sector, charity, and housing contractor segments.

The company delivers four integrated service lines — Candid Strategic Counsel (strategic and crisis communications advisory), Campaigns (integrated campaign planning and delivery), Day to Day Expertise (ongoing PR, media relations, and communications support), and Personal Development (training, coaching, and mentoring for client teams) — supplemented by video production capability through its Studio 91 Media partnership. There is no proprietary technology platform; service delivery is people-led and consultancy-based. Notable campaign outcomes documented include a heat-network consumer policy change announced by the Prime Minister (Heat Trust), nearly 4% membership growth for Garden Organic's 'For Peat's Sake' campaign, and the ASB Awareness Week coalition that engaged 200+ organisations and prompted 12+ Parliamentary questions.

The business model is professional services: fees generated through project and retainer engagements acquired via direct consultative sales, referrals, industry networking, and conference presence. Go-to-market is B2B, sales-led, and exclusively direct (no channel, reseller, or marketplace routes). The team comprises 12 named individuals with deep sector credentials — including a Chartered PR Practitioner with 30+ years' experience, a founder with 50+ housing transfer and ALMO consultations, and a BBC-trained video partner — and the firm is actively hiring, indicating modest headcount expansion.

Name

Hough Bellis Communications

Legal name

Hough Bellis Communications

Website

https://houghbellis.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Cuddington

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Communications Consultancy Services: Hough Bellis generates revenue by providing communications expertise to clients including strategic advice, campaign planning, crisis communications, media relations, personal development training, and day-to-day communications support. Services are delivered to housing associations, local authorities, charities, and public sector organisations on a project and retainer basis.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Hough Bellis Communications is a UK-based communications consultancy that provides strategic counsel, integrated campaign delivery, ongoing public relations and media relations support, and personal development training to organisations working on social-mission projects. Services are delivered on a retainer and project basis to housing associations, local authorities, charities, and other public sector and not-for-profit organisations across England and Wales.

Product overview

Hough Bellis Communications is a communications consultancy offering a unified service portfolio rather than a modular software platform. Their core offering comprises four integrated service lines: Candid Strategic Counsel (crisis and strategic planning), Campaigns (integrated campaign delivery), Day to Day Expertise (ongoing PR and communications support), and Personal Development (training and mentoring). These services are delivered to clients across housing associations, charities, local authorities, and public sector organisations, with a focus on projects that improve people's lives.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Candid Strategic Counsel Strategic communications consulting service helping organisational leaders navigate complex situations, with explicit focus on crisis communications and future planning support for senior leadership teams.
• Campaigns Integrated communications campaign service covering planning through delivery, helping organisations deliver the change they want to see, including coalition-building and policy-influencing campaigns.
• Day to Day Expertise Ongoing communications support service including media relations, promotional content for good news announcements, and management of challenging or negative communications situations.
• Personal Development Tailored training sessions, personal coaching, and mentoring service designed to build communications skills and confidence within client teams.

Quantifiable outcome

• Heat Trust campaign led to direct government policy change, with new financial support for heat network customers announced by the Prime Minister, and fostered collaboration with industry bodies including the National Housing Federation.
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Studio 91 MediacoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 January 2021Hough Bellis entered into a partnership with video production agency Studio 91 Media in January 2021. The partnership enables Hough Bellis to offer video production services to clients through Studio 91's capabilities. Studio 91 was founded by Ben Horrigan, who previously produced digital content for flagship BBC brands including Blue Peter and BBC News. The partnership is described as ongoing and celebrated as having entered its fourth year (2024), with an anniversary blog post marking continued collaboration.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Portland Communications: Portland is a UK-based strategic communications consultancy serving corporate, public sector, and NGO clients with public affairs, campaigns, and media relations. It competes for similar institutional mandates in the UK.
• Hanover Communications: Hanover is a UK and European communications consultancy with strong healthcare, public sector, and charity practices. It offers comparable services (strategic counsel, campaigns, public affairs) to similar institutional clients, making it a closely aligned direct peer.
• MHP Communications: MHP is one of the UK's leading public affairs and communications consultancies serving corporate, public sector, and charity clients. It is the closest scale-comparable UK PR and public affairs peer to Hough Bellis, with overlapping services in media relations, campaigns, and crisis communications.
• WA Communications: WA Communications is a UK public affairs and PR consultancy serving housing associations, charities, and public sector bodies. It is a direct peer in mission, vertical focus (housing and social sector), and service mix of strategic counsel, campaigns, and media relations.
• Cicero Group: Cicero Group is a UK public affairs and strategic communications consultancy working with corporate, public sector, and not-for-profit clients. It is a directly comparable peer in service offering and target verticals.

Broad incumbents

• Grayling UK: Grayling is a global communications agency with a UK public sector and consumer practice. It competes for the same charity, housing, and public sector mandates but operates as part of a much broader portfolio rather than specialising in the social housing niche.
• Ketchum UK: Ketchum is a global PR network with a UK office serving consumer, corporate, and public affairs clients. It offers overlapping campaign, media relations, and crisis services but as part of a wider portfolio.
• APCO Worldwide: APCO is a global public affairs and strategic communications consultancy with a UK presence. It serves corporate, government, and NGO clients and is a broader incumbent competing for the same institutional communications mandates.
• FleishmanHillard UK: FleishmanHillard is a large global PR network with a UK office serving public affairs, healthcare, and consumer clients. It is comparable in service mix but is a broader incumbent rather than a social housing specialist.
• BCW (Burson Cohn & Wolfe): BCW is a global communications agency offering public affairs, crisis, and campaign services. Its UK practice overlaps with Hough Bellis in serving public sector and charity clients but as part of a much larger, multi-region network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HoughBellis
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/houghbellis
• Instagraminstagram.com/houghbellis
• Facebookfacebook.com/HoughBellis

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 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 Hough Bellis Communications