Guides for investors and corporate finance

Plain-English guides to UK company rules and checks: what a company's status means, what it has to file and when, and what to check before you trade with it, lend to it or take it on as a client.

• How to find acquisition targets in the UK using public dataHow-to

  Start from the Companies House register: filter by SIC code, location and accounts type to set a size band, then rank by several years of balance sheet strength, employee numbers and charges. Add ownership from the PSC register and directors' ages and tenure to find owner-managed firms facing succession. Director details are personal data, so UK GDPR applies.

• Micro, small and medium company thresholds from April 2025Guide

  For financial years starting on or after 6 April 2025, a company must stay within at least two of three limits. Micro-entity: turnover £1 million, balance sheet total £500,000, 10 employees. Small: £15 million, £7.5 million, 50. Medium: £54 million, £27 million, 250. Size usually changes only after two consecutive years over or under the limits.

• Group accounts or company accounts: which figures to rely onComparison

  Rely on the accounts of the company you contract with. Group accounts consolidate the parent and its subsidiaries for the parent's members, but a creditor can claim only against the legal entity it trades with unless another group company has guaranteed the debt. Use group figures for context and the guarantor's own figures for any guarantee.

• How to find a competitor's turnover in the UKHow-to

  Find the competitor's legal entity on Companies House and open its latest accounts. Medium-sized and large companies must file a profit and loss account, so turnover is there. Most small and micro companies leave it out, so estimate it from employee numbers, trade debtors and any parent's group accounts, and check modern slavery statements and public contract awards.

• How to find and read a UK company's accountsHow-to

  Search the company on Companies House's free Find and update company information service, open the Filing history tab, tick the Accounts filter and click View PDF on the latest set. Electronic filings also offer Download iXBRL. Most small companies file only a balance sheet and notes, so turnover and profit are often missing.

• How to find UK companies by turnover (and why most do not publish it)How-to

  You can only filter UK companies on turnover they have actually filed. Medium-sized and large companies must file a profit and loss account, but small and micro companies may leave it out, so only 1.8% of recent company accounts disclose turnover (CompanyStack, 3 October 2026). For everyone else, screen on accounts type, employees and balance sheet figures instead.

• How to find who owns a UK company (the PSC register explained)Guide

  Search the company on the Companies House register and open its People tab. Its persons with significant control (PSCs) are whoever holds more than 25% of the shares or votes, can appoint or remove most of the board, or has significant influence or control. Where another company is named, repeat the search on that company until you reach individuals.

• How to get UK company financial data through an APIHow-to

  The Companies House REST API does not return financial figures: the company profile gives only accounts dates and the accounts type. The figures are in the filed accounts. Fetch them through the Document API (iXBRL for electronic filings, PDF for paper), download the free Accounts Data Product in bulk, or use an API that has already parsed them.

• How to read a UK company balance sheet in ten minutesGuide

  Read it top to bottom in the statutory order: fixed assets, current assets, creditors due within a year, net current assets, longer-term creditors and provisions, then capital and reserves, which equal net assets. Compare each line with last year, then read the creditors and security notes. Small companies rarely publish turnover, so most judgements rest on this page.

• Net current liabilities and net liabilities: what they meanDefinition

  Net current liabilities means a company's creditors due within one year exceed its current assets such as stock, debtors and cash. Net liabilities means its total liabilities exceed its total assets, so capital and reserves are negative. The first is a short-term liquidity signal, the second a solvency signal; neither alone proves insolvency.

• Which UK sectors have the most companies with net liabilities? Filing and solvency by sector, 2026Data study

  Hospitality has the highest share of companies with net liabilities: 27.8% of active UK hospitality companies with accounts dated in the 24 months to 3 October 2026, against 18.3% of all active companies with recent accounts, CompanyStack's analysis of the Companies House register shows. Real estate is next at 25.2%; health and social work is lowest, at 13.4%.

• New UK companies in 2026: what is being set up, by sector and nationData study

  761,595 companies incorporated in the 12 months to 3 October 2026 were still active on that date, CompanyStack's analysis of the Companies House register shows. Online and mail-order retail (SIC 47910) was the most common activity, with 55,718 new companies. Information and communication rose most of the main sectors, up 29.0% on our count; real estate fell 8.6%.

• What lenders look at when they assess a small businessGuide

  Lenders ask whether the business can repay from its cash flow, how much capital the owners have at risk, what security or guarantees back the loan, and whether the company and its directors can be trusted on the record. They test this with filed and management accounts, bank data, credit files, charges and director history.

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