Find who owns a UK company

Three different things people mean by owner

These three groups overlap in a small owner-managed company and diverge sharply in larger structures. Being clear about which one you actually need saves a great deal of time.

• Directors: the people responsible for managing the company day to day
• Shareholders: the members holding shares, listed in confirmation statements
• Persons with significant control: people or entities with significant ownership or control, recorded in a dedicated PSC register

Why PSC information usually answers the question

The persons with significant control register was introduced specifically to show who ultimately owns or controls a company. It captures people holding more than 25% of shares or voting rights, people who can appoint or remove a majority of the board, and people who otherwise exercise significant influence or control.

Where a company is owned by another company, the register can record a relevant legal entity instead of an individual. Following that chain sometimes takes several searches: look up the parent by its own company number, read its PSC entry, and repeat until you reach an individual or an overseas entity that is not on the UK register.

What shareholder information adds

Confirmation statements include a statement of capital and, for most companies, a list of shareholders and their holdings. This is more granular than the PSC register, because it can show holdings below the 25% PSC threshold and how share classes are divided.

The trade-off is timing. Shareholder lists are filed periodically rather than continuously, so they can be up to a year out of date, and shares transferred between filings will not appear until the next statement.

A practical order of checks

• Confirm the company by registration number, not by name alone
• Check the company status, because ownership of a dissolved company is rarely the question you actually need answered
• Read the PSC entries for individuals or relevant legal entities
• Where a parent company appears, search that company and repeat
• Compare the officer list, since directors and owners are often, but not always, the same people

Limits of the public record

Ownership data is filed by the company itself and is not independently verified. Some entries are incomplete, some companies record that no PSC has been identified, and structures involving overseas entities can be difficult to follow. Trusts, nominee arrangements and foreign holding companies can all obscure the ultimate beneficial owner.

Treat the register as a starting point rather than a definitive answer, and remember that nothing here is legal, financial or credit advice, or a due diligence or anti-money-laundering check.

Where ownership information appears on this site

Searching and viewing the company summary is free. Persons with significant control and officer information are included in the optional PDF report, which brings ownership, control, filings and charges into one dated document. The sample company report shows exactly how those sections are laid out.

Free website search compared with the paid PDF report

Searching this site and viewing a company summary is free. The optional PDF report is paid, and what you are paying for is convenience: retrieval, formatting, a dated snapshot and a document you can download and keep. The underlying information is public and is also available directly from Companies House at no charge.

Frequently asked questions

Related pages

• Check Company PSCWhat persons with significant control means, which conditions make someone a PSC, and how to check the PSC information recorded for a UK company.
• Find Company DirectorsHow to find the directors and secretaries of a UK company, what officer information the public register holds, and how to read appointment and resignation dates.
• UK Company Information ReportSee exactly what the UK Company Information Report contains, how it compares with the free company summary, and when a dated downloadable PDF of register information is worth ordering.
• Sample Company ReportSee the structure of the UK Company Information Report PDF section by section, page by page, so you know exactly what you receive before you order one.
• UK Company SearchFree UK company search by name or company number. View company status, registered office, incorporation date, company type and SIC codes from the Companies House public register.
• Company reportsThe optional downloadable PDF report and what it costs.
• Director SearchFind the directors of a UK company recorded at Companies House. Understand what officer records show, appointment and resignation dates, and how to obtain them in a PDF report.