Citizens Advice Esher & District

What Citizens Advice Esher & District does

Citizens Advice Esher & District is an independent UK registered charity (operating name of The Esher and District Citizens Advice Bureau, charity number 1012732, company number 02719456) that provides free, confidential and impartial advice to residents and workers in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey. Founded in May 1973 as the Esher & Molesey Citizens Advice Bureau and renamed in 1995, it has been part of the wider Citizens Advice network since inception. The charity operates from the Elmbridge Civic Centre in Esher, where it relocated in April 2022, and delivers services through phone, email, in-person visits, online self-help resources, and a weekly outreach session at the Cobham Centre for the Community.

The service portfolio consists of generalist advice on money, benefits, housing, employment and crisis issues, augmented by three specialist streams: a Help With Debt service, a Help With Disability Benefits team covering Personal Independence Payment (PIP), Disability Living Allowance (DLA) and Attendance Allowance claims and appeals, and the Macmillan Welfare Benefits Service for people affected by cancer (the latter transferring to other local Citizens Advice from June 2026). Underlying technology is limited to online information resources and case recording systems rather than any proprietary platform. In 2024/2025 the charity helped 3,575 people, handled 13,179 issues and secured £902,779 in income for clients.

The business model is charitable funding rather than commercial revenue: services are free to end users and the organisation is funded by grants and donations from Elmbridge Borough Council, Cost of Living Support Fund, Walton Charity, Trussell, CFS, Shanly Foundation, Your Fund Surrey and community supporters such as the 200 Club, GAYL and Sandown Park. The charity is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN: 617603) for certain financial advice activities. It employs 5 paid staff and is supported by over 40 trained volunteer advisers whose time is valued at more than £328,000 annually. Leadership comprises CEO Elaine Bissell, Chair Mark Reason and Vice Chair Sally Williams, supported by a Board of Trustees.

Name

Citizens Advice Esher & District

Legal name

The Esher and District Citizens Advice Bureau

Website

https://eshercab.org.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1973

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Citizens Advice Esher & District is a UK registered charity providing free, confidential and impartial advice on money, benefits, housing, employment and crisis issues to residents of the Elmbridge borough in Surrey, operating from Elmbridge Civic Centre with 5 paid staff and over 40 volunteer advisers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Esher

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable funding and donations: As a registered charity, the organization is funded through various funders and partners including Elmbridge Borough Council, Cost of Living Support Fund, Walton Charity, Trussell, CFS, Shanly Foundation, Your Fund Surrey, and community supporters like the 200 Club, GAYL, and Sandown Park. The service is provided free to clients.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Citizens Advice Esher & District is a registered charity providing free, confidential, and impartial advice to residents and workers in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey. The service covers money, benefits, housing, employment, and crisis-related issues, and is delivered through telephone, email, in-person visits, online resources, and community outreach by trained volunteer advisers and a small paid staff team.

Product overview

Citizens Advice Esher & District operates as a single-service charity offering free, confidential, and impartial advice to residents of Elmbridge. The organization provides a unified advice service through multiple access channels (telephone, email, in-person, and online), with specialized support streams for debt management, disability benefits, and cancer-affected individuals via the Macmillan partnership. The portfolio consists of core general advice services augmented by targeted specialist services addressing specific client needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Advice Services

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Citizens Advice NetworkcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCitizens Advice Esher & District is part of the Citizens Advice network, which provides advice in 2,500 locations across England & Wales. All local Citizens Advice are independent charities and are part of the Citizens Advice network. The network provides brand, standards, and support.
• Elmbridge Borough CouncilcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor funder and partner providing housing options team referrals and crisis contacts for homelessness services.
• TrussellminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFoodbank network partner supporting clients facing cash crises.
• Cobham Centre for the CommunityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerWeekly outreach session location providing community access to advice services in Cobham area.
• Macmillan Cancer SupportminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFormer partnership delivering welfare benefits advice to cancer patients. As of June 2026, the Macmillan Advice Service has transferred to other local Citizens Advice services.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Age UK: National charity offering advice on benefits, housing and money to older people, overlapping with a key segment of the Elmbridge advice user base.
• Citizens Advice (national): National umbrella body that Citizens Advice Esher & District is part of; sets brand, standards, and provides the online advice infrastructure across 2,500 locations in England and Wales, making it the broadest incumbent in the same advice category.
• Shelter: Major UK charity specializing in housing advice and homelessness prevention, overlapping directly with the housing problem stream that Citizens Advice Esher & District handles.

Direct peers

• Citizens Advice Wandsworth: Another independent local Citizens Advice charity delivering the same free, confidential advice on money, benefits, housing and employment to a defined borough catchment, with a comparable volunteer-driven operating model.
• StepChange Debt Charity: National specialist debt advice charity; competes for the same client cohort seeking free help with debt, mirroring the Help With Debt service offered by Citizens Advice Esher & District.
• Christians Against Poverty (CAP): UK charity providing free debt advice and money coaching through local centres, directly competing for clients with the Help With Debt service.

Regional players

• Trussell Trust: UK foodbank network and listed partner funder; addresses related client needs (cash crisis, food insecurity) that Citizens Advice Esher & District refers clients into and is funded alongside.

Others

• Money Advice Trust: Charity that runs National Debtline and Business Debtline and supports the UK free debt advice sector, an enabling/peer-body organization in the same advice ecosystem.
• Macmillan Cancer Support: Former strategic partner delivering welfare benefits advice to cancer patients in the region; provides the brand and funding for a service line that has now transferred out of the Esher charity.

Emerging players

• Disability Rights UK: National disabled people's organization providing information and advocacy on disability benefits, partially overlapping with the charity's Help With Disability Benefits service for PIP/DLA/AA.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/citizensadviceesher
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/the-esher-and-district-citizens-advice-bureau

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 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 Citizens Advice Esher & District