Kubr · Markets · Last reviewed 3 November 2026

Private company due diligence in the United Kingdom

Diligence on a UK private company starts at Companies House. Small companies file abridged accounts, which show little of sales or profit, so the numbers have to be tested another way.

We read Companies House, The Gazette, the Insolvency Service, HM Land Registry, court judgments and the FCA register.

Where Kubr stands in the United Kingdom

Stage: Scoping. The launch plan reads public registers: Companies House (the company registry), The Gazette, the Insolvency Service, HM Land Registry, the courts and the FCA register. Bank, ledger and payroll checks start once the company consents. The route is being confirmed with local counsel.

Clients here: professional and business clients.

For professional and business clients. Kubr does not give investment advice, and this site is aimed at professional and business clients only.

The UK is a scoped market where public registers give strong company and ownership facts and open banking can supply the missing sales evidence.

Registers and records we read in the United Kingdom

Source	What it holds	How we get it
Companies House	Company profile, registered office, status, filing history, accounts as filed, confirmation statements, name history	Read by Kubr
Companies House officers and disqualification records	Directors and secretaries, appointments and resignations, other appointments, disqualified directors	Read by Kubr
Companies House register of people with significant control (PSC)	People and entities with significant control, nature of control, notified dates	Read by Kubr
Companies House register of charges	Registered charges over company property (security held by a lender), chargee, status, dates, assets covered	Read by Kubr
The Gazette	Insolvency notices, winding-up petitions, administrations, liquidations, strike-off notices (moves to remove a company from the register), deceased estates	Read by Kubr
Insolvency Service	Company insolvency and director disqualification records, individual insolvency register including bankruptcies, for England and Wales. Scotland is held by the Accountant in Bankruptcy, and Northern Ireland separately	Read by Kubr
HM Land Registry	Title register and plan for land in England and Wales that the company owns or has charged, proprietor, charges and restrictions. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate land registers, to be confirmed with local counsel	Read by Kubr
Register of Overseas Entities (Companies House)	Overseas entities holding UK land and their beneficial owners	Read by Kubr
Court and tribunal judgments (Find Case Law, BAILII)	Published judgments of the higher courts and tribunals. County court money judgments and many first-instance matters are not in these sources	Read by Kubr
Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines	County court judgments (CCJs, orders to pay a debt) against companies and individuals in England and Wales. Route for bulk access is to be confirmed with local counsel	Supplied by the company
FCA Financial Services Register	Authorised and registered firms, permissions, individuals in controlled functions, warnings	Read by Kubr
HMRC records supplied by the company or its agent	VAT registration status, submitted VAT returns, filing confirmations	Supplied by the company
UK sanctions lists (OFSI consolidated list)	Persons and entities subject to UK financial sanctions	Read by Kubr
UK Intellectual Property Office	Registered trade marks, patents and designs, owner and status	Read by Kubr

Rules that shape the work

Company law and registry: Companies Act 2006. Companies House holds the company profile, officers, persons with significant control (PSC), charges, insolvency notices, filing history and disqualifications, and offers a free public data API. Under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023, directors and PSCs must verify their identity, and filing changes for accounts are phasing in. From 1 April 2027 abridged accounts end, small companies must file a profit and loss account, and accounts must be filed through software. Until then small company filings often show no sales figure. The exact scope is to be confirmed with local counsel.
Data protection: UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. Most of the Act, including recognised legitimate interests and the new automated-decision rules, took effect on 5 February 2026, and the complaints-handling duty on 19 June 2026. The regulator is the Information Commissioner's Office.
Financial data: Open banking through an account information service provider registered or authorised by the FCA, with the company's consent. Consent to a business account is given by a person with authority over it and is reconfirmed periodically. The exact re-consent cycle is to be confirmed with local counsel.
Securities regulator: The FCA. Advising on investments, arranging deals and credit broking are regulated activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 and its Regulated Activities Order. Kubr is not authorised and gives no advice.
Speed: Companies House and Gazette records in minutes. Court and land title searches within the same working day. Open-banking data in minutes once consent is given. Standard packs inside 2 to 5 days of complete inputs.
Reliability: Company filings are consistent. Small and micro companies file abridged or filleted accounts (cut-down accounts), often without a profit and loss account, so sales and margin are not visible in the register. A confirmation statement, the annual filing that confirms company details, is not a check of accuracy. We say so in the report and test the numbers against bank and ledger data.

How we check sales and cash here

The UK has no sales-tax return feed that a third party can read. HMRC does not release VAT returns to us without the company or its agent supplying them. Small company accounts are often abridged. So we cross-check bank data, a consented ledger connection, filed accounts and public registers, and we mark each layer as verified or company-supplied.

Where your data is held

Design commitment before launch: data is sourced from providers licensed in the United Kingdom and handled inside the United Kingdom. Nothing about a client or a target is sent outside UK borders by design.

Sourced from: Government registers and public bodies, FCA-registered account information service providers for open banking, licensed UK registry-data providers, and UK-hosted accounting software connections made with the company's consent.

Stored and processed in UK data centre regions. Nothing crosses borders by design. Any exception would need a lawful transfer route under UK GDPR and is to be confirmed with local counsel.

Reports available in the United Kingdom

Verified SnapshotFull
Company profile, officers, PSC, charges, filing history, Gazette and Insolvency Service notices, FCA register status and sanctions screen, all from public registers. Limits: Numbers depend on what the company has filed. Small companies may show no profit and loss account. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
Financial diligenceFull
Filed accounts, then open banking, the accounting ledger and VAT returns with the company's consent, compared against each other. Limits: Without company consent only filed accounts are read, and small company accounts are thin. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
Legal diligence supportPartial
Registered charges, Land Registry titles, Gazette notices, published judgments and disqualification records, organised for a lawyer to read. Limits: County court and many first-instance matters are not in public judgment sources, and contracts and title defects need a solicitor. We give no legal opinion. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
Promoter profilesFull
Directors and PSCs, other appointments and their filing and insolvency history, disqualifications, sanctions screen and adverse media. Limits: Identity verification status at Companies House is not a check we can rely on beyond what is shown on the register. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
IC notePartial
A note for an investment or credit committee that sets out register findings and consented-data findings. Limits: Facts and flags only. No recommendation, rating or opinion on the deal. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
Portfolio monitorFull
Watches Companies House filings, charges, officer changes, PSC changes and Gazette notices across a list of companies. Limits: Filing timing depends on the company. Alerts can lag events that are not yet filed. Typical turnaround: Baseline in 2 to 5 working days, then each update in 2 to 5.
Model checkPartial
The company's financial model is compared with filed accounts and, with consent, bank and ledger actuals. Limits: Forward assumptions are the client's judgment. We check arithmetic and consistency with history, not the forecast itself. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
Valuation contextPartial
Listed-peer multiples from RNS filings, Takeover Code offer documents, and Companies House accounts of private peers. Limits: Small private companies file abridged accounts. SIC codes are broad. Typical turnaround: 2 to 5 working days from a complete data set.
Borrower monitorPartial
Public alerts for all borrowers, plus bank and ledger movements where the borrower has consented to open banking. Limits: Open-banking consent needs periodic renewal by the borrower, and coverage differs by bank. Typical turnaround: Baseline in 2 to 5 working days, then each update in 2 to 5.
Proceeds tracerPartial
Traces loan or investment receipts to outgoing payments using consented bank data and counterparty checks at Companies House. Limits: Only accounts the borrower connects are visible. Payments through other accounts are not traced. Typical turnaround: Baseline in 2 to 5 working days, then each update in 2 to 5.

Not yet available here: Rating history (not offered). See all eleven reports or read the sample report.

Work that needs a licensed professional

Investment advice or arranging deals: A firm authorised by the FCA, engaged separately.
Statutory audit and assurance: A registered statutory auditor, for example a chartered accountancy firm.
Legal opinions and title advice: A solicitor or barrister regulated by the SRA or Bar Standards Board.
Credit broking or lending: A firm with FCA permissions for the credit activity.
Insolvency work: A licensed insolvency practitioner.

Kubr is not authorised or registered by the Financial Conduct Authority and does not carry on regulated activities under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. It provides information from public and consented sources and does not advise on investments, broker credit, audit, or give legal opinions. It does not issue ratings or scores. Whether any part of the service falls within the regulatory perimeter is to be confirmed with local counsel before launch.

Kubr processes personal data of directors and other individuals under UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025. It relies on documented lawful bases, gives notice to individuals where required, and supports data subject requests and complaints. The Information Commissioner's Office is the regulator.

Other markets

All markets

Kubr is a technology platform, not an adviser, law firm, auditor, rating agency or credit bureau. Reports are for the named client only and are not investment advice, an audit or a legal opinion. Full disclosures. Source data for this page: the Kubr market pack for United Kingdom, reviewed 3 November 2026.