What Citizens Advice Manchester does

Citizens Advice Manchester is a registered charity (Charity Number 1010167) and company limited by guarantee (Registered number 2697257), founded in 1939 and headquartered at Barlow House, Minshull Street, Manchester. It is one of the largest and most diversely funded Local Citizens Advice within the national Citizens Advice network and employs approximately 220 staff. The organisation provides free, confidential, independent, and impartial advice on welfare benefits, debt, energy, housing, employment, consumer rights, and pensions to Manchester residents and, through the Warm Homes Network collaboration, to households across the Midlands, North, East of England, and London north of the Thames.

The service portfolio is organised around an Adviceline gateway and specialist advice streams covering Income Maximisation and Energy, Welfare Benefits, Consumer, FCA-regulated Debt, Housing, and Pension Wise (delivered in partnership with MoneyHelper). Advice is delivered through multiple channels including face-to-face community hubs across Manchester, video advice hubs via the SQOD platform, a Mobile Advice Van, telephone, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp Debt Service, and digital self-serve. All case data flows into the national Citizens Advice Casebook system, of which CAM operates as a joint data controller alongside national Citizens Advice. Productivity tooling includes G Suite, with Refernet handling partner referrals and TextAnywhere managing SMS communications. Supplementary programmes include CAM Presents, CAMmunity Connectors community-leader training, and Early Extra Help and Support referrals into partner organisations such as Shelter, Caritas, Home Start Manchester, Coffee4Craig, Booth Centre, Ethnic Health Forum, Wai Yin, and Centrepoint.

The business model is that of a registered charity with all services provided free to clients. Funding flows from charitable sources including government contracts, local authority funding, the national Citizens Advice charity, and corporate/utility grants, notably Cadent and Northern Gas Networks funding for the Warm Homes Network. The organisation is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN:617659) for debt advice, holds Greater Manchester Good Employment Charter membership, and is a UK Government Disability Confident Employer. Go-to-market is community-led and partner-driven: face-to-face hubs, the Mobile Advice Van, video advice, and a structured partner referral portal are the primary client acquisition mechanisms, with no commercial pricing and no direct revenue dependency on individual end users.

Name

Citizens Advice Manchester

Legal name

Citizens Advice Manchester

Website

https://citizensadvicemanchester.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1939

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Citizens Advice Manchester is a registered charity providing free, FCA-regulated advice on welfare benefits, debt, energy, housing, employment, and consumer rights to Manchester residents, delivered through community hubs, mobile units, video, and partner referrals as part of the national Citizens Advice network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Advice Services

NAICS

Individual and Family Services (6241), Community Housing Services (62422), Emergency and Other Relief Services (624230)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Financial Assistance & Benefits Navigation Services (BPAGAEAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Legal Aid & Client Advocacy Services (BPAGAEAM), Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB), Income Support & Cash Assistance Programs (BPAIAKAE)

Keywords

• Free legal advice
• Debt counselling services
• Welfare benefits advice
• Housing advice services
• Consumer rights advice

Headquarters

HQ city

Manchester

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Charitable funding: As a registered charity (number 1010167), Citizens Advice Manchester is funded through charitable sources including government contracts, local authority funding, and donations. Services are provided free to clients.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Citizens Advice Manchester delivers free, confidential, independent, and impartial advice to Manchester residents across a wide range of issues including benefits, debt, housing, employment, consumer rights, and energy. The charity operates as part of the national Citizens Advice network and supplements advice with practical support such as food bank referrals, fuel bank vouchers, and hardship grants through its Helping Manchester fund.

Product overview

Citizens Advice Manchester provides a portfolio of free advice services organised around a central Adviceline gateway and specialist advice streams (Energy and Income, Welfare Benefits, Consumer, Debt, Housing, and Pension Wise). Advice is delivered through multiple channels including face-to-face community hubs, video advice via SQOD, and a Mobile Advice Van. The organisation also runs community engagement programmes (CAM Presents, CAMmunity Connectors, Bespoke Events) and specialist initiatives like the Warm Homes Network and Early Extra Help and Support referral programme. All services connect to the national Citizens Advice Casebook system for case management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Warm Homes Network: A collaboration between Turn2us, Citizens Advice, and YES Energy Solutions, funded by Cadent and Northern Gas Networks, helping people claim support, make homes more energy efficient, and access advice on benefits, household costs and debt. Available to anyone living in the Midlands, North, and East of England, as well as London north of the Thames.
• Mobile Advice Van

Products and services

• Benefits and Welfare Rights Advice Free advice to Manchester residents on navigating the welfare benefits system, completing claims, and challenging adverse decisions.
• Debt and Money Advice Confidential debt counselling covering budgeting, creditor negotiation, and statutory debt solutions for individuals facing financial difficulty.
• Housing Advice Advice on tenancy issues, homelessness prevention, disrepair, deposits, possession proceedings, and landlord disputes.
• Employment Advice Guidance on workplace rights, pay, contracts, redundancy, discrimination, and tribunal preparation.
• Consumer Rights Advice Support with faulty goods, refunds, contracts, scams, and consumer disputes, including FCA-regulated claims management on mis-sold PPI and packaged bank accounts.
• Energy Advice Advice on energy bills, switching supplier, fuel poverty, prepayment meters, and supplier disputes.
• Immigration and Discrimination Advice Signposting and casework on immigration status, asylum, nationality, and discrimination issues.
• Helping Manchester Fund Hardship grant programme providing small cash grants, fuel bank vouchers, and food bank referrals to Manchester residents in crisis.
• Video and Telephone Advice Service Remote advice delivery via video appointments and a dedicated Manchester advice line for residents who cannot attend in person.

Quantifiable outcome

• Helped over 50,000 people move forward with problems
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Turn2uscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Warm Homes Network collaboration. Turn2us provides free benefits calculators, grants search, and PIP Helper tools to help clients check entitlements and access support.
• YES Energy SolutionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPart of the Warm Homes Network collaboration. Provides financial support including fuel vouchers, access to funding for energy efficiency improvements, and personalised energy bill management advice.
• National Citizens AdvicecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitizens Advice Manchester is an independent local charity and member of the national Citizens Advice charity. Shares Casebook system, privacy policies, and operational standards. Each local Citizens Advice is a joint data controller with the national body.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Manchester Law Centre: Local legal aid provider in Greater Manchester delivering housing, welfare benefits and immigration legal advice. Comparable on legal aid–adjacent social welfare advice in the same geography and overlapping client base.
• Turn2us: National welfare benefits and grants charity, partner in the Warm Homes Network with Citizens Advice Manchester. Directly comparable on benefits navigation, income maximisation and grants access — overlapping core services and shared clients.
• StepChange Debt Charity: UK's largest specialist debt advice charity, FCA-regulated and providing free debt advice across the country. Directly comparable to Citizens Advice Manchester's FCA-regulated Debt Advice service in terms of client profile, regulated activity and impact metrics.
• Centrepoint: UK charity supporting young people experiencing homelessness, listed as a referral partner in Citizens Advice Manchester's Early Extra Help and Support programme. Comparable in homelessness prevention, housing advice and vulnerable client support.
• Caritas Diocese of Salford: Greater Manchester social services charity listed as a referral partner in Citizens Advice Manchester's Early Extra Help and Support programme. Comparable in delivering community-based support for vulnerable clients in the same geography.
• Shelter: National housing and homelessness charity providing specialist housing advice, legal representation and homelessness prevention — directly overlapping with Citizens Advice Manchester's Housing Advice service including disrepair, eviction and homelessness work.
• Citizens Advice Liverpool: Another large local Citizens Advice within the same national network, offering the same advice streams (benefits, debt, housing, energy) under the shared Citizens Advice brand. Most directly comparable peer in terms of services, channels and funding structure.

Broad incumbents

• Citizens Advice (national body): The national charity of which Citizens Advice Manchester is an independent member. Operates the shared Casebook system, brand and policy function, and provides the umbrella network that Citizens Advice Manchester operates within. Directly comparable operating model but at national scope.
• MoneyHelper (formerly Money Advice Service / Pensions Wise): Government-backed money guidance service and the body under which Citizens Advice Manchester delivers Pension Wise. Comparable in scope across debt, benefits, pensions and consumer advice but operates at national scale via digital channels.

Regional players

• Age UK Manchester: Local Age UK providing advice and support for older residents in Greater Manchester, including benefits and pensions guidance. Comparable on welfare benefits advice for over-50s — directly overlapping with Citizens Advice Manchester's Pension Wise service and elderly client segment.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/manchester-citizens-advice-bureau

Compliance1 record

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 Citizens Advice Manchester