Bolton Birch
Bolton Birch is a Chester-based RICS-regulated commercial property consultancy offering sales, lettings, management, valuation, and lease advisory services across Cheshire, North Wales, and the Wirral. Founded in 1981, it manages 400+ occupiers across 100+ sites through three principals.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1981
- HeadquartersChester-le-street, United Kingdom
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Bolton Birch does
Bolton Birch is a Chester-based RICS-regulated commercial property consultancy established in 1981, originally founded as Simon Bolton & Co and renamed in 1989. Operating as the longest-established specialist commercial property firm in Chester, the company serves clients across Chester, Cheshire, North Wales, and the Wirral. The firm is privately held under its registered legal entity Bolton Birch (Chester) Limited, with no disclosed external investors, parent company, or funding rounds, and a headcount of 1–10 employees consisting of three principals and an office manager.
The firm offers six core service lines: Sales & Lettings, Commercial Property Management, Acquisition, Development & Investment Services, Rent Review & Lease Renewal, and Valuation. Its property management mandate covers over 400 occupiers across more than 100 sites, with instructions sourced from pension funds, SIPPs, developers, property companies, charities, and private individuals. Professional services include RICS Red Book-compliant formal valuations for secured lending, probate, accounts, and litigation purposes, as well as expert negotiation on rent reviews and lease renewals. Service delivery is led by three principals (Jonty Goodchild, Martin Dodd, Jon Swain) with combined local market experience of more than 80 years, supported by office manager Linda Middleton.
Bolton Birch generates revenue through transaction commissions on sales and lettings, recurring management fees on a portfolio exceeding 400 occupiers, professional fees for valuations, and negotiation fees on rent reviews and lease renewals. Quoted service charges for managed office stock range from £4.65 to £5.69 per sq ft per annum (inclusive of heating), while individual sale listings are marketed at unit pricing. The firm operates without any proprietary technology platform, mobile application, or API; distribution relies on its own website, syndicated listings to Rightmove and Zoopla, email property alerts, and direct principal-led client engagement. No AI, machine learning, or data-analytics capabilities are disclosed in any source material.
Bolton Birch firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Bolton Birch
- Legal name
- Bolton Birch (Chester) Limited
- Website
- https://boltonbirch.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1981
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- Bolton Birch is a Chester-based RICS-regulated commercial property consultancy offering sales, lettings, management, valuation, and lease advisory services across Cheshire, North Wales, and the Wirral. Founded in 1981, it manages 400+ occupiers across 100+ sites through three principals.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Bolton Birch industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Commercial Property Services
- NAICS
- Offices of Real Estate Agents and Brokers (531210), Real Estate Property Managers (53131), Nonresidential Property Managers (531312)
- SIC
- Real Estate Agents & Managers (For Others) (6531), Operators Of Nonresidential Buildings (6512)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Property Management Advisory & Leasing Administration (FSAEAJAN)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Real Estate Advisory & Consulting (Strategy, Portfolio & Location) (FSAEAJAH), Real Estate Investment Advisory (Acquisitions/Dispositions, Capital Allocation) (BPAJANAA)
Keywords
Where Bolton Birch is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Chester-le-street
- HQ country
- United Kingdom
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
Bolton Birch business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Commercial Property Sales & Lettings: Commission-based revenue from facilitating commercial property sales and lettings for clients. Extensive and tailor-made marketing campaigns to maximise sale and rental values.
- Commercial Property Management: Ongoing property management fees for managing commercial property portfolios on behalf of clients including pension funds, SIPPs, developers, property companies, charities and private individuals. They manage over 400 occupiers across 100+ sites.
- Professional Services (Valuations): Formal valuation reports in accordance with RICS Valuation Professional Standards for secured lending, pension fund purposes, probate, accounts, acquisition or disposal, matrimonial/litigation purposes.
- Rent Review & Lease Renewal Services: Negotiation services representing landlords and tenants in rent review processes and lease renewal terms negotiations.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Office space rental at Maple House, Park West |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Office suites at Elder House, Park West |
| Unit Pricing | Annual | Grade II listed office suites at Linenhall House |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | 6 St John Street, Chester - Freehold office building |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels7 records
Bolton Birch product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Bolton Birch is a RICS-regulated commercial property consultancy providing sales, lettings, property management, acquisition, development & investment advisory, rent review & lease renewal, and formal valuation services. The firm operates across Chester, Cheshire, North Wales and the Wirral, primarily serving commercial property owners, occupiers, investors, and institutional clients with a relationship-driven, personal service model.
Product overview
Bolton Birch is a niche commercial property consultancy providing a unified suite of services rather than a modular software platform. The firm's offerings center on six core service lines: Sales & Lettings (marketing campaigns for property sales and rentals), Commercial Property Management (portfolio management across sectors), Acquisition (market search and negotiation), Development & Investment Services (development advisory and investment transactions), Rent Review & Lease Renewal (negotiation and arbitration), and Valuation (RICS-regulated formal valuations). These services are delivered by a team of three principals with over 80 years combined experience, serving clients ranging from private individuals to larger organisations across Cheshire, Chester, North Wales, and the Wirral.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Sales & Lettings Extensive and tailor-made marketing campaigns to maximise sale and rental values for commercial properties, including offices, retail, industrial, and development/investment assets across Chester, Cheshire, North Wales and the Wirral.
- Commercial Property Management Focused and personal approach to managing clients' commercial properties across office, retail, and industrial sectors, covering over 400 occupiers across 100+ sites for clients including pension funds, SIPPs, developers, property companies, charities, and private individuals.
- Acquisition Property acquisition services including comprehensive market searches and negotiations on behalf of clients seeking commercial premises, demonstrated by the firm's work on 5,000 sq ft healthcare office acquisition at Merchants House, Chester.
- Development & Investment Services Advisory on developments ranging from greenfield sites to complex brownfield city centre schemes, including commercial property investment advice for sale and acquisition of let and income producing property.
- Rent Review & Lease Renewal Negotiation services for rent reviews and lease renewals on behalf of landlords or tenants, including liaison with solicitors and involvement in arbitration and court proceedings when required.
- Valuation RICS regulated formal valuation reports in accordance with RICS Valuation Professional Standards for purposes including secured lending, pension funds, probate, accounts, acquisition or disposal, and matrimonial/litigation purposes.
Quantifiable outcome
- Managed property portfolio with over 400 occupiers across 100+ sites
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Bolton Birch
Customer profileNamed customers8 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Bolton Birch technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Bolton Birch partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- Mason PartnersminorJoint agents with Mason Partners for marketing properties such as Pioneer House in Ellesmere Port, collaborating on commercial property listings and transactions.
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights4 records
Bolton Birch competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Lambert Smith Hampton: UK-headquartered commercial property consultancy offering sales, lettings, property management, valuation and advisory services across regional markets. Directly comparable in service mix and target client base, with a broader geographic footprint than Bolton Birch.
- Brasier Freeth: Long-established UK commercial property consultancy with offices across the Midlands and South, offering sales, lettings, management, valuation and professional services. Directly comparable in full-service, relationship-led regional model.
- Eddisons: UK commercial property firm providing sales, lettings, property management, valuation and building surveying across regional markets. Closely comparable offering to Bolton Birch with similar mix of transactional and recurring management mandates.
- Mason Partners: UK commercial property firm operating in the Northwest/Cheshire region, partnered with Bolton Birch as joint agents on listings such as Pioneer House. Closely comparable regional player with overlapping service lines.
- Barker Proudlove: UK commercial property specialist focused on retail and leisure agency, investment, and property management. Comparable niche regional model and client base, though with a retail sector tilt similar to Bolton Birch's heritage.
- Harris Lamb: Mid-sized UK commercial property consultancy offering agency, property management, valuation and building consultancy across the Midlands and Northwest regions. Similar scale and service breadth to Bolton Birch, with comparable target clients including occupiers, investors and developers.
Broad incumbents
- Avison Young: Global commercial real estate services firm with a substantial UK regional office network providing agency, property management, valuation and capital markets services. Overlaps with Bolton Birch in the same regional client segments but offers much broader capabilities.
- Savills: Global real estate services firm with extensive UK commercial agency, investment, management and valuation capabilities. Competes with Bolton Birch for institutional and developer clients in Northwest England.
- Knight Frank: Global real estate consultancy with strong UK commercial property presence, offering agency, property management, valuation and investment advisory. Overlaps with Bolton Birch on institutional mandates but operates at much greater scale and geographic reach.
Regional players
- Fiander Tovell: South Coast UK commercial property consultancy offering sales, lettings, property management and professional services in a defined regional market. Comparable niche regional full-service model to Bolton Birch though operating in a different UK geography.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Bolton Birch social profiles
Digital presenceBolton Birch compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Bolton Birch financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Bolton Birch leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles4 records
Bolton Birch funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Bolton Birch M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Bolton Birch
What does Bolton Birch do?
Bolton Birch is a RICS-regulated commercial property consultancy providing sales, lettings, property management, acquisition, development & investment advisory, rent review & lease renewal, and formal valuation services. The firm operates across Chester, Cheshire, North Wales and the Wirral, primarily serving commercial property owners, occupiers, investors, and institutional clients with a relationship-driven, personal service model.
Is Bolton Birch a public or private company?
Bolton Birch is a private company. It is classified as management employee owned and is currently operating.
When was Bolton Birch founded?
Bolton Birch was founded in 1981. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Bolton Birch based?
Bolton Birch is headquartered in Chester-le-street, United Kingdom, in the Europe region.
How does Bolton Birch make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Commercial Property Sales & Lettings are the primary driver. The others are commercial Property Management, professional Services (Valuations) and rent Review & Lease Renewal Services.
Who are Bolton Birch's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Lambert Smith Hampton, Brasier Freeth, Eddisons, Mason Partners, Barker Proudlove and Harris Lamb. Broad incumbents are Avison Young, Savills and Knight Frank. Fiander Tovell is listed as a regional player.
Does Bolton Birch have an API?
No public API is recorded for Bolton Birch.
What industry is Bolton Birch in?
Bolton Birch's product category is Commercial Property Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAEAJAN, Property Management Advisory & Leasing Administration, with a secondary code of FSAEAJAH, Real Estate Advisory & Consulting (Strategy, Portfolio & Location). Its NAICS code is 531210 and its SIC code is 6531.