Start With the Company Number
Every UK limited company, LLP, and most other registered bodies has a Companies House company number — typically 8 digits (with a two-letter prefix for Scottish, Northern Irish, and some other registrations). This number is the key to everything else: it links the registered office, officers, filings, charges and accounts into one record.
Do not rely on the name alone. Companies can trade under names different from their registered name, and similar-sounding names are common. A check that starts from the company number is a check that is looking at the right entity.
What the Public Record Contains
Companies House publishes, for every registered company:
- Registered office and status — active, dissolved, in liquidation, or struck off; the registered office address (often the accountant's, which is normal).
- Officers — current and former directors and secretaries, with appointment and resignation dates and date of birth (month and year).
- Confirmation statements (CS01) — the annual statement that the register is accurate; late or missing statements are a discipline signal.
- Accounts — annual accounts by company type: micro-entity, small, full, or audit-exempt. Which type a company files tells you about its size and obligations.
- Charges — mortgages and other secured charges against the company's assets, filed with Companies House.
- Persons with significant control (PSCs) — the individuals who own or control the company, and their ownership bands.
The First-Pass Check
- Status is everything. If the company is dissolved or in the process of being struck off, the trading counterparty you think you have may not be a live company at all.
- Filing history rhythm. Companies that file confirmation statements and accounts on time, year after year, are running a normal administrative cycle. Late filing, extensions and gaps are the first smell.
- Match the officers. Is the person you are dealing with actually an officer of the company they claim to represent? If not, ask why.
- Read the accounts, not just the existence. A company that exists on paper can still be insolvent in practice. Accounts filed late are often accounts that had nothing good to say.
- Look at charges. A debenture or fixed charge is not automatically bad — it is normal for financed businesses — but a growing pattern of charges against a thin asset base is a risk signal.
Reading the Accounts
| Account type | Who files it | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | Turnover ≤ £632k | Minimal detail — treat as a small business |
| Small (abridged/full) | Turnover ≤ £10.2m, small balance sheet | Still limited disclosure, but includes key ratios |
| Full / audit-exempt with audit report | Larger or opted-in companies | Real balance sheet and P&L detail |
The single most useful number is net liabilities (negative shareholder funds): a company with net liabilities is, absent other support, trading while insolvent — exactly the situation that ends in a liquidation where unsecured suppliers get little or nothing. Cross-check the accounts date: accounts filed today for a period ending 18 months ago describe a company that may no longer exist in that form.
Beyond Companies House
Companies House records corporate existence; it does not record every debt. The complementary records are:
- Registry Trust — the public register of CCJs (county court judgments) against individuals and businesses in England & Wales.
- The Gazette — official notices of insolvency, appointments of administrators and liquidators, and striking-off notices.
- Company announcements — a company's own communications, which often disclose late payment issues, disputes, or restructuring.
These sources are free to consult and answer a question Companies House cannot: is this company paying its debts?
Warning Signs Worth Acting On
- Status that is not "Active", or frequent status changes.
- Confirmation statements filed late or missing entirely.
- Accounts overdue, late-filed, or switched repeatedly to longer filing windows.
- Net liabilities on the last filed accounts.
- Unsatisfied CCJs recorded against the company or its directors.
- Gazette notices for winding-up petitions, striking off, or administration.
- A brand-new company with a large order book and no filing history at all.
None of these is conclusive on its own — every business misses a filing deadline occasionally. Taken together, they describe the risk profile of the counterparty you are about to sign with.