Carter & Coley

What Carter & Coley does

Carter & Coley Limited is a privately held chartered accountancy firm headquartered at 3 Durrant Road, Bournemouth, operating continuously for over 100 years since its founding circa 1914. The firm serves small and medium businesses and individuals primarily across the Hampshire and Dorset regions, with documented specialist sector expertise in construction, academy schools, flat management (currently administering service charge and statutory accounts for over 500 residential blocks), hotels and leisure, nursing and care homes, and retail. The firm's product surface is organised into two service streams: Business Services (audit, bookkeeping and accounting, business planning, business startup, company secretarial, corporate finance, corporate tax planning, payroll, and VAT) and Personal Services (estate planning, investment and financial advisory, personal tax planning, retirement strategies, self assessment, and trusts and executorships). Delivery relies on standard chartered accounting practice supported by third-party platforms including Xero, Sage, and IRIS OpenSpace for cloud bookkeeping and secure client document exchange; no proprietary technology platform is operated.

The business is structured as an owner-operated private limited company registered in England & Wales, with no external institutional investment, parent entity, subsidiaries, or funding rounds on record. Per management-team the firm operates with two directors overseeing approximately 15 staff members (the firmographics source lists 8 employees, indicating a source conflict that the more granular staff-breakdown figure resolves). Director Andrew Clark joined the firm in 1987 after qualifying with a national firm in 1986, and serves as audit compliance partner with a focus on corporate clients with turnover exceeding £1 million. The firm holds ICAEW membership and statutory audit registration under the Companies Act 2006, and maintains professional indemnity coverage through W.R. Berkley Syndicate 1967 at Lloyd's.

Revenue is generated entirely through time-based professional service fees, with charges determined by time spent, skill level, responsibility, and value of advice; fixed-fee estimates are provided for specific services, and invoices are due within 30 days with interest charged on late payment. The go-to-market motion is sales-led and relationship-driven, with client acquisition reliant on referrals, professional reputation, and direct engagement rather than digital or product-led acquisition; marketing activity is limited to a website, LinkedIn, and Facebook presence. Geographic reach is confined to Hampshire and Dorset in southern England, with no disclosed international operations or remote service model.

Name

Carter & Coley

Legal name

Carter & Coley Limited

Website

https://carterandcoley.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1914

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Carter & Coley Limited is a UK chartered accountancy firm founded circa 1914 in Bournemouth, providing audit, tax, bookkeeping, payroll, corporate finance, and advisory services to small and medium businesses and individuals across Hampshire and Dorset, with specialist expertise in six verticals including flat management, construction, and academy schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Chartered Accountancy Services

NAICS

Offices of Certified Public Accountants (541211), Accounting, Tax Preparation, Bookkeeping, and Payroll Services (54121)

akta.pro primary industry

Outsourced Finance & CFO Services (BPAHABAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Financial Planning & Analysis Support (Budgeting, Forecasting, Management Reporting) (BPAAAGAJ), Tax Operations Support (Indirect Tax, Withholding, Compliance Admin) (BPAAAGAI)

Keywords

• Chartered accountancy services
• Tax planning services
• Bookkeeping and accounting
• Audit compliance services
• Payroll and VAT services

Headquarters

HQ city

Bournemouth

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Business Services: Professional services revenue from accounting, audit, bookkeeping, business planning, company secretarial, corporate finance, tax planning, payroll, and VAT services for businesses including sole traders, partnerships, and limited liability companies.
2. Personal Services: Revenue from estate planning, investment and financial advisory, personal tax planning, retirement strategies, self assessment, and trusts and executorships for individual clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Carter & Coley is a chartered accountancy firm providing professional accounting, audit, tax, payroll, bookkeeping, corporate finance, and personal financial advisory services. It operates two distinct service lines — Business Services (audit, bookkeeping and accounting, business planning, business startup, company secretarial, corporate finance, corporate tax planning, payroll, VAT) and Personal Services (estate planning, investment and financial, personal tax planning, retirement strategies, self assessment, trusts and executorships) — primarily to small and medium-sized businesses and individuals in Dorset and Hampshire.

Product overview

Carter & Coley is a chartered accountancy firm offering a unified portfolio of professional services rather than a software platform. The firm provides two main service categories: Business Services (Audit, Bookkeeping and Accounting, Business Planning, Business Startup, Company Secretarial, Corporate Finance, Corporate Tax Planning, Payroll, and VAT) and Personal Services (Estate Planning, Investment and Financial, Personal Tax Planning, Retirement Strategies, Self Assessment, and Trusts and Executorships). These services are delivered through traditional professional engagements, not a software product, with support from accounting software partners including Xero, Sage, and IRIS OpenSpace.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Audit Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Prepares service charge and statutory accounts for over 500 flat management blocks

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles8 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCarter & Coley is a member firm of ICAEW and subject to their bye-laws, regulations and code of ethics. The firm is registered to carry on audit work in the UK and Ireland by ICAEW. They are Statutory Auditors eligible to conduct audits under the Companies Act 2006.
• W.R. Berkley Syndicate 1967 at Lloyd'scoreOthersProfessional indemnity insurer for Carter & Coley, providing worldwide coverage excluding professional business carried out from offices in the USA or Canada.
• IRIScoreTechnology or IntegrationIRIS OpenSpace client portal provider, enabling secure document exchange with clients.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Francis Clark: South West England-based chartered accountancy firm serving SMBs with comparable audit, tax, and advisory services. Strong direct peer due to overlapping regional footprint (Dorset/Devon/Somerset), similar client mix, and ICAEW audit registration.
• Bishop Fleming: Regional chartered accountants with offices across the South West and Wales, serving owner-managed businesses and individuals. Directly comparable in scale, regional focus, sector specialisation, and full-service offering (audit, tax, advisory, wealth).
• Kreston Reeves: South East England-based chartered accountancy firm offering audit, tax, payroll, and advisory services to SMBs and not-for-profits. Similar service mix and SMB-focused model, with somewhat broader geographic reach.
• PKF Smith Cooper: Mid-tier UK chartered accountancy firm with multiple regional offices serving owner-managed businesses. Comparable in full-service SMB focus, ICAEW audit capability, and sector specialisations.
• Haines Watts: UK-wide chartered accountancy network focused on owner-managed businesses, SMEs, and not-for-profits. Highly comparable SMB-focused service model and sector specialisations (construction, hospitality, care, retail).

Broad incumbents

• MHA (UK): Top-15 UK chartered accountancy and advisory firm operating through a regional network. Larger incumbent offering the same audit, tax, and advisory services but with broader geographic coverage and additional specialist capabilities.
• Crowe UK: Mid-tier UK chartered accountancy firm (Top 10) serving SMBs through regional offices. Larger incumbent with overlapping sector coverage and the same full-service offering for owner-managed businesses.
• Mazars UK: International mid-tier audit and advisory firm with substantial UK regional presence. Broad incumbent competing for the same SMB audit, tax, and advisory mandates at a larger scale.

Others

• Xero: Cloud accounting software platform and Carter & Coley's technology partner (Xero partner badge). Relevant as both an enabling tool for the firm and a competitive threat as SMBs self-serve compliance work through the platform.
• IRIS Software Group: UK accountancy practice software provider (owner of IRIS OpenSpace used by Carter & Coley for client document exchange). Adjacent ecosystem enabler serving the same SMB-accountancy market with practice management and client portal solutions.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Carter-Coley-169760036451213
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/carter-&-coley

Compliance2 records

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 Carter & Coley