What is a company credit search (or a Company Search)
Company credit search – a redundant term?
The term ‘company credit search’ was traditionally used
to refer to request information on a Company from Companies House. A company
credit search usually included the latest annual return, accounts, the incorporation
documents and other recent events (such as change of name or directors).
Today ‘company credit search’ no longer carries the same meaning. With online suppliers able to supply quickly and cheaply any combination of Companies House documents, to meet the customer’s individual requirements, there is no need for the traditional company credit search.
The free company credit search
A quick search on the internet will reveal many websites offering
free company credit searches. Not surprisingly these free searches are not
for the traditional package of Companies House documents. Instead they allow
you to enter a name and find basic details about matching companies. Matches
are usually displayed with the registered office address. You can do this here
by entering the business name in the box on the top left of this page.
Most of these websites then allow you to go on and buy business credit reports or Companies House documents on the companies displayed. However these free searches are also useful if you want to check on the existence of a company name before you form your own company or if you only require the registered office address of a company.
What if you need a company credit search?
If you think you need a company credit search, then you can now choose to buy only what you need or instead reports which may be better suited to your needs than any collection of Companies House documents.
For example if you want information on the trading history of a business then business credit reports provide a summary of a number of years of accounts, some financial and industry analysis and also credit risk scores. These are usually the most useful source of information if you are looking to establish a trading relationship with a business.
If you want to check on the directors of a company then a Company Directors report will give you the names and addresses of the current directors. Individual director reports provide the names of all businesses an individual is a director of.
Packages of statutory documents similar to the traditional company credit search, which are mainly required by solicitors and accountants are also available.
To find out what information is available on a business, start by searching on the company name in the search field box in the top left hand corner of the page.