info@directaccess.group

E-Mail

UK: +44 1270 626222

Ireland: +353 (0)15079081

About

Us

Direct Access has led the accessibility and inclusion field since our inception in 2004. We are a DOBE™
certified Disability Owned and Operated Business Enterprise, providing our real lived experiences of disability.

We believe that our organisation’s strength lies in our diverse team’s combined talents and skills. Here, you’ll find the brilliant minds, creative spirits, and passionate hearts that drive Direct Access’ vision forward. Each member is unique, possessing a wealth of experience, knowledge, and inspiration. Together, we collaborate, innovate, and constantly strive to deliver excellence in all we do.

To delve into the professional profiles of our team members, simply click on the LinkedIn icon. This will take you directly to their LinkedIn pages, showcasing their accomplishments and experiences. Alternatively, if you want a more in-depth understanding of their roles, their career trajectories, and the distinctive expertise they contribute to our team, select the link icon.

Our

Team

Steven Mifsud holding his MBE on the grounds of Windsor Castle while smiling for a photo.

Steven Mifsud MBE

Chair - Board of Directors

A photograph of a Caucasian woman with long brown hair smiles and poses for a selfie.

Jude Mifsud

Director

Peter Brassington sitting at a wooden table in the Direct Access office.

Peter Brassington

Managing Director

A portrait photograph of Direct Access employee, Keir Welch.

Keir Welch

Production Director

A photograph of Education Access Consultant Sophie Malton posing for a selfie outside a school.

Sophie Malton

Projects Director

Safina Ahmad gesturing while giving a speech.

Safina Ahmad

Procurement and Marketing Director

A close-up photograph of Direct Access Consultant Tom Morgan smiling.

Tom Morgan

Senior Access Consultant

Raymond Okon - Direct Access Graphics and Website Lead

Raymond Okon

Graphics and Website Lead

A portrait photograph of Ailsa Flett, accessibility consultation manager at Direct Access.

Ailsa Flett

Consultation Manager

Nantwich Town Wolves VIFC captain Craig Acton holding a football.

Craig Acton

Accessible Media Consultant

Selfie of a bearded man by a river, with a modern bridge and buildings behind him.

Jamie Watson

Access Consultant

A smiling middle-aged man in a black polo shirt standing in a field.

Nicholas Holland

Access Consultant

A profile of Roger Thompson, a consultant at Direct Access smiling at the camera.

Roger Thompson

Access Consultant

Daniel Kollar in glasses, navy suit and burgundy tie, smiling against a light grey background.

Daniel Kollar

CAD Engineer

Watch Our

Video

Watch our short video to learn more about us, where Direct Access began, what we do, and how we can help businesses to create a more accessible environment.

From our humble beginnings in the bedroom of our current CEO, to now having offices in four different countries (and counting), the past twenty years has witnessed the company grow at an accelerated rate. 

But most importantly, it has seen us make a considerable difference to the lives of disabled people, who like us, deserved better than society could give us. 

Such was the dream of our founder, Steven Mifsud MBE, who first envisioned and registered the company in 2004. 

Steven Mifsud MBE with a Direct Access football and three Nantwich Town Wolves VIFC players.

Our

Community

At Direct Access, we strongly believe in the power of community and the empowerment it creates in people who might otherwise feel that they are different.

As a team of disabled people, we know how this feels all too well – so we have maintained a strong connection with and sponsorship of our local disability football team, Nantwich Town Disability FC, who remind us that we are capable of achieving anything, no matter who we are.

As well as sponsoring the Nantwich Town Disability FC team, which provides fresh kits, equipment, and facilities, Direct Access has also committed to sponsoring the clubs’ youth PAN disability football training sessions aimed at young disabled people under 16, and their Nantwich Cubs sessions for children.

As adopters of the Social Model of disability – we are enormously proud to support NTD F.C, increase awareness of inclusive sports, and give back to an inspiring community that thrives and achieves in spite of their differences.

Our team began sponsoring the club in 2019, and we expect to continue doing so far into the future. For information on club activity, charity events, and details about their PAN disability sessions, check out the Nantwich Town Disability FC Facebook page and drop them a like!

Latest

News

A group of people sit in a circle in a bright meeting room during a workshop or discussion session.
News

Focus groups: when they work, and when they build the next barrier

Focus groups have become a standard step in accessibility work, and the instinct behind them is sound. Bringing disabled people into the room early is better than designing in isolation and apologising afterwards.  The risk sits in what happens to the output. A room of opinions gets written up as

A young woman browsing a clothing rack in a shop, reaching for a pair of light-coloured trousers.
News

2026 Could be the Year Retail Finally Pays Attention to the Purple Pound

For twenty years, retail could afford to be inefficient. Growth hid the waste. There were always enough new customers entering the market that losing some never mattered. Open another store. Launch another range. Buy more advertising. Sign a bigger influencer. If one customer drifted away, another was usually waiting behind

A wheelchair user in a hi-vis vest operating a control panel in a manufacturing facility.
News

Why the Best Talent Chooses Accessible Employers

The employers winning the competition for talent are not always the ones offering the highest salaries. The winners are the organisations removing the barriers that keep skilled people out.  Nearly one in four working-age adults is disabled. An employer whose hiring doesn’t account for them is competing for a shrunken pool of candidates and

Accessible beach entrance with a wheelchair-accessible walkway leading onto sandy beach areas.
News

Why Reasonable Adjustments Are a Benefit to Businesses Not a Favour to Customers

What are “Reasonable Adjustments”? Reasonable adjustments are legal changes, adaptations, or accommodations made by employers, service providers, or educational institutions to ensure that disabled individuals are not substantially disadvantaged. They promote equal access to opportunities, employment, and services. Many business owners think that reasonable adjustments are purely about avoiding legal

Wide view of a clothing store entrance inside a shopping centre.
News

How Accessibility and Inclusion Became Convenience

When was the last time you chose the stairs over the lift or escalator? For most people, the answer is rarely. Recent research from the University of Peking in Beijing, replicating earlier findings from the University of Montreal, found that people overwhelmingly favour the path of least resistance when navigating

Bright shopping centre corridor lined with clothing shops and a seating area.
News

Accessibility: Retail’s Last and Largest Untapped Growth Lever

Accessibility problems in retail parks are not accidental; they are a byproduct of the original commercial logic behind retail park design, and increasingly, they are becoming a major drag on footfall, dwell time, and long-term profitability, Large retail parks were originally designed around a simple commercial model: high-volume visits on

A businessman in a grey suit using a tablet in a modern office.
News

The Hidden Value of Accessibility Policy That Businesses Ignore

Most accessibility policies aren’t worth the PDF they’re saved in. That sounds harsh. It isn’t. A policy that nobody implements is a policy in name only, and the gap between what an organisation says and what it actually does is where the trouble lives. Customers notice. Regulators notice. The press

Close-up image of a web browser address bar displayed on a computer screen.
News

The £17 Billion Opportunity Hidden in Website Accessibility

Most websites don’t work for one in five of their users. Most businesses don’t know it. Most agencies don’t tell them. That’s not an indictment of disabled users. It’s a description of an industry that has, for years, treated accessibility as someone else’s problem. The cost of that quiet decision

Direct Access
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