Written by Companies House, the United Kingdom's registrar of companies

Did you know that the Companies House register is accessed over 6 billion times a year? Businesses and individuals use the data to find out about other companies and suppliers, to check on existing and prospective clients, and carry out financial due diligence.

A new report estimates the value of Companies House data at up to £3 billion per year. The findings are published in a report commissioned by Companies House and BEIS, and set out how the data benefits businesses, consumers and wider society.

There are currently more than 4 million companies on the register and more than 600,000 new companies are incorporated each year. Accessing Companies House information is a fairly frequent exercise for most users, with half accessing data either every day or several times a week, while the other half accessed it a few times a month.

Most often, users are usually looking to find information about a single company, although there are a handful of users who sometimes seek information about several companies at the same time, as well as for a single company.

How the information is used

When asked what information they were looking for when accessing the data, what they used it for and why, a range of responses were provided, but especially around looking at information on both current and potential clients. Responses included:

• “To find out about other companies and suppliers.”
• “To check on existing and prospective clients, and that accounts have been filed as planned.”
• “To get information on companies that we’re involved with, and carrying out financial due diligence on them.”
• “Tracking other companies who we may do business with.”

Two key benefits emerged as the main benefits for accessing company information:

• making better decisions about suppliers and/or customers
• time savings to an organisation from the information being readily available

What’s available?

You can get free details about a company using the Companies House Service (CHS), including:

• company information, for example registered address and date of incorporation
• current and resigned officers
• document images
• mortgage charge data
• previous company names
• insolvency information

Making changes to your details

Changes to your registered office, directors and company secretaries, people with significant control (PSC) information, and personal details can all be made quickly and easily online.

Follow a company

‘Follow’ is a part of CHS which lets you receive free email alerts of company transactions. The alert tells you instantly what’s been filed with us, as soon as it’s been accepted.

The email alert includes a link to the filing history of the company, where you can download a copy of the document for free. Simply:

1. Sign in, once you’ve registered an email address and password.
2. Search for a company to follow.
3. Select the company.
4. Click on ‘Follow this company’.

With company data being accessed on a regular basis, it’s vitally important that you keep your company records up to date.

You never know who’s checking.