About

əˈkeɪti:z [Greek and Roman mythology]

A close friend and loyal advisor to Aeneas

Achates is a cultural consultancy company supporting commercial and contributed income generation; impact measurement, evaluation, business planning and strategy at an organisational and policy level; leadership development, change management and recruitment.

At Achates we take a purpose-led, audience-informed approach to our work enabling resilience with integrity.

We love culture and heritage, care about strong relationships with audiences, and know that good governance is essential. Our holistic approach brings these key elements together to optimise impact and income generation.

We start with the work and, by focusing on audiences and impact, we create innovative models informed by each organisation’s distinctiveness.

We work across fundraising: strategy and business planning at an organisational and policy level; recruitment and organisational change to support organisations across the breadth of the cultural sector to ensure resilience with integrity.

This work often comes at moments of transition – whether that be introducing and exploring new models, scaling up, capital projects, a change in senior leadership or governance – or as a way to support and bolster the skills and resources within your existing team.

We strive to ensure that our work provides excellent value for the investment that each organisation makes and we work with each client to develop a flexible package of support that best suits each organisation’s needs and objectives.

Our ethos is based on quality of service and that’s how we came by our name. In Virgil’s Aeneid, Achates was the close friend and loyal advisor of Trojan leader, Aeneas. We thought this described the exact relationship we offer our clients.