Whether you're hiring a new supplier, signing a contract with a client, or considering a partnership — checking the company on the other side of the deal isn't optional. It's due diligence. And it's free.
Companies House holds public records on every limited company in the UK — over 5 million of them. The problem isn't access. It's knowing what to look for and how to spot the warning signs.
Is the company active, dissolved, or in liquidation? An active company can still be a risk, but a dissolved or liquidated company cannot legally trade. If someone's trading under a dissolved company name, that's worth understanding before you proceed.
What to check: The company status badge on their Companies House profile. "Active" is the minimum. "Active — proposal to strike off" means the company is being removed from the register — typically for failing to file accounts.
Directors are the people behind the company. A company with one director who's been involved in 15 dissolved companies tells a different story to a company with three directors who've run stable businesses for a decade.
What to check:
A charge is security for a debt — typically a mortgage or secured loan against company assets. Outstanding charges aren't necessarily bad (many companies use them for legitimate borrowing), but they tell you the company owes money to a lender who has a legal claim on its assets.
What to check: How many outstanding charges? Who's the lender? A high number of charges relative to the company's size could indicate cash flow pressure.
If a company has been through insolvency proceedings — administration, liquidation, or a Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) — it's public record. Past insolvency doesn't always predict future problems, but it's information worth having before you commit.
A single address hosting dozens or hundreds of companies is common — these are formation agent addresses or virtual offices. That's not inherently suspicious. But if you're dealing with a business that claims to have a physical presence and you find 40 other companies at the same address, it's worth understanding why.
What to check: Use ScoutCompany's "Companies at this Address" feature to see everyone registered there. A virtual office address combined with no other trading presence (no website, no reviews, no LinkedIn) is worth investigating further.
Every company must file documents with Companies House. The filing history tells a story: late accounts, changes to the registered office, new charges being taken out, directors resigning in quick succession. These are breadcrumbs.
A single data point rarely tells the full story — every company has one. But several data points together form a pattern worth noting. A dissolved director running a company with outstanding charges at a virtual office address? That's not a coincidence.
The good news: all of this information is public and free. You don't need a credit reference agency account or a paid subscription. You just need to know what you're looking at — and a tool that surfaces the information for you.