Companies House is the statutory register for companies incorporated in England and Wales. It holds the filed record of directors, shareholders, persons with significant control, and annual accounts. The question of who controls a company — and what a shareholder can enforce — begins here.
The register is public. Access to filed documents carries a fee set by Companies House and published in its official tariff. What an analyst adds is the extraction path: the correct company number, the document selection, the interpretation of filed versus current data, and the cross-reference against other sources.
What it showsDirectors, shareholders, persons with significant control (PSC), filed accounts, and the registered address. Source: Companies House · verified 2026-09-15 Access conditionPublic register; no registration required to search. Per-document download carries a fee published in the Companies House tariff. PSC disclosureEngland and Wales operates a statutory PSC register under the Companies Act 2006 as amended. Beneficial ownership is disclosed at the entity level for most company types. Source: Companies House · verified 2026-09-15 What it does not showNominee arrangements, trust beneficiaries, undisclosed side agreements, and the economic substance behind a registered address.Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
What Companies House records on directors and shareholders
Every company incorporated in England and Wales must file a confirmation statement at least once every twelve months. That statement records the current directors, the current registered shareholders, and the share capital structure. The filing is timestamped and publicly accessible.
The shareholder register shows legal ownership. A person holding shares through a nominee appears as the nominee, not as the underlying principal. The filed document does not distinguish between a beneficial owner and a bare nominee. That distinction requires a separate instrument — typically a declaration of trust or a nominee agreement — which is not filed at Companies House.
Directors are named individually. Their service address is on the public record; their residential address is protected and not disclosed to the public. A director may resign and be replaced without any change to the shareholder register. The two records are maintained separately and must be read together.
Accounts are filed annually. The level of detail depends on the company size classification: micro-entity, small, medium, or large. A micro-entity files a balance sheet only. A large company files full statutory accounts including a directors' report and, where applicable, a strategic report. The filing deadline runs from the company's accounting reference date, not from the calendar year.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Persons with significant control: the PSC register
The PSC register was introduced under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015 and became mandatory for most UK companies from April 2016. A person with significant control is defined by one or more of five conditions: holding more than 25% of shares, holding more than 25% of voting rights, holding the right to appoint or remove the majority of directors, having the right to exercise or actually exercising significant influence or control, or exercising significant influence or control over a trust or firm that itself meets one of the first four conditions.
The PSC entry names the individual or registrable relevant legal entity. It states which conditions are met and the date on which control was acquired. It does not state the precise percentage above 25% unless the filer chooses to disclose it; the statutory categories are banded.
A company may file "no PSC" if it is satisfied that no individual or entity meets the conditions. It may also file a PSC statement of "PSC not yet confirmed" during a transitional period. Both entries are visible on the public register and are themselves informative: they indicate the state of the company's own assessment, not an independent verification.
Where a PSC is a legal entity rather than an individual, the chain continues upward. Companies House does not automatically resolve that chain. Each link must be followed separately, potentially into a foreign jurisdiction where the equivalent register may operate under different disclosure rules.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Filed accounts and what they establish
| Account type | Filed content | What it establishes |
|---|---|---|
| Micro-entity | Balance sheet only | Asset and liability position at year-end |
| Small company (abridged) | Balance sheet, limited notes | Equity structure, creditor exposure |
| Small company (full) | Balance sheet, P&L, notes | Revenue, cost base, net position |
| Medium company | Full accounts, directors' report | Operational detail, related-party transactions |
| Large company | Full statutory accounts, strategic report | Group structure, audit opinion, material risks |
The accounts are filed in PDF or iXBRL format. Companies House stores them as filed; it does not restate or adjust them. An error in the filed accounts is corrected only by a subsequent filing. The gap between the accounting reference date and the filing deadline means the most recent filed accounts may be up to nine months old at the point of extraction.
Group accounts consolidate subsidiaries. A subsidiary may not file its own full accounts if it qualifies for the group accounts exemption. In that case, the subsidiary's standalone position is not visible at Companies House; only the consolidated group figures are filed.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
What the confirmation statement does and does not confirm
The confirmation statement replaced the annual return in June 2016. It requires the company to confirm that the information held at Companies House is accurate as of a specific date. It does not require the company to file updated information if nothing has changed.
A director change must be notified within 14 days of the change. A PSC change must be notified within 14 days of the company becoming aware of it. A shareholder change is recorded in the confirmation statement, not in a separate real-time filing. The practical result: the shareholder register at Companies House may be up to twelve months behind the current position.
The confirmation statement is signed by a director or company secretary. Companies House does not independently verify the accuracy of the information filed. The register records what was filed, not what is true.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Charges, mortgages, and the register of charges
A charge over company assets — a mortgage, a debenture, a fixed or floating charge — must be registered at Companies House within 21 days of creation. The register of charges is part of the company's public record. It shows the date of creation, the type of charge, and the chargeholder.
A charge that is not registered within the 21-day window is void against a liquidator and any creditor. Registration does not validate the charge; it is a condition of enforceability against third parties.
The register of charges does not show the amount secured. It does not show whether the charge has been partially discharged or whether the underlying obligation has been varied. A memorandum of satisfaction must be filed separately to record full discharge.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Insolvency and dissolution records
Companies House holds records of winding-up orders, voluntary liquidations, administrations, and company voluntary arrangements filed with the register. These appear on the company's public record and are also searchable through the Insolvency Service's Individual Insolvency Register for directors personally.
A compulsory winding-up order is made by the court and notified to Companies House. The record shows the date of the order and the appointed liquidator. It does not show the creditor list, the asset schedule, or the outcome of the liquidation.
A company struck off the register for failure to file is not the same as a company that has been formally wound up. The distinction matters for the enforceability of pre-dissolution obligations and for the possibility of restoration to the register.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
The limit of what the sources allow
Companies House discloses the legal structure as filed. It does not disclose the economic reality behind that structure.
Four specific limits apply in every analysis of a Companies House record:
Nominee shareholders. The register shows the legal holder of shares. Where shares are held by a nominee, the beneficial owner does not appear. A nominee arrangement is a private contract. It is not filed at Companies House and is not visible from the public record.
Trust structures. Where a PSC is a trustee acting in that capacity, the beneficiaries of the trust are not named on the public register. The PSC entry identifies the trustee; it does not identify who benefits from the trust.
Foreign holding companies. Where the PSC is a non-UK entity, the chain of control continues into the jurisdiction of that entity. Companies House records the entity name and jurisdiction. It does not resolve the ownership of that entity. Resolution requires a separate search in the relevant foreign register, which may operate under materially different disclosure rules.
Filing lag. The confirmation statement is filed annually. A shareholder change occurring the day after the last confirmation statement will not appear on the public record for up to twelve months. The register reflects the position as of the last filed confirmation date, not the current date.
These limits are not defects in the register. They are the defined scope of what a statutory filing system discloses. An analysis that does not name these limits is incomplete.
Where the sources disagree
Two categories of discrepancy arise regularly in Companies House records.
PSC register versus shareholder register. A person may hold more than 25% of shares and therefore appear on the PSC register. The same person may also appear on the shareholder register. Where the two records give different figures — for example, where shares have been transferred but the PSC entry has not been updated — the discrepancy is itself a finding. It indicates either a filing delay or an unreported change in control.
Filed accounts versus confirmation statement. The confirmation statement records the share capital structure. The filed accounts record equity. Where these figures do not reconcile, the reason may be a bonus issue, a share buyback, or a reduction of capital that has been filed in one document but not yet reflected in the other. Each discrepancy requires a document-by-document trace through the filing history.
A discrepancy between sources is not resolved by choosing one source over the other. It is recorded as a discrepancy and flagged for further investigation.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
FAQ
Does Companies House show the ultimate beneficial owner of a company? It shows the person with significant control as filed by the company. Where the PSC is an individual, that individual is named. Where the PSC is a corporate entity, the chain continues into that entity's own jurisdiction. Companies House does not resolve chains that pass through foreign holding companies.
How current is the shareholder register at Companies House? The shareholder register is updated through the annual confirmation statement. A change in shareholders occurring after the last confirmation date will not appear on the public record until the next confirmation statement is filed — up to twelve months later. For a current-position analysis, the confirmation statement date must be checked against the date of the search.
Can a company file incorrect information at Companies House? Companies House records what is filed. It does not independently verify the accuracy of filings. A director or PSC entry that is incorrect as a matter of fact remains on the register until a correcting filing is made. The register is a record of what was filed, not a certification of accuracy.
What does a dissolved company record show? A dissolved company's filing history remains on the public record. The record shows the date of dissolution, the reason (strike-off or formal winding-up), and any insolvency appointments made before dissolution. It does not show the outcome of any liquidation or the distribution of assets.
Is the PSC register the same as a beneficial ownership register? The PSC register is a statutory disclosure of persons meeting defined control thresholds. It is not a comprehensive beneficial ownership register. Beneficial ownership in the economic sense — who ultimately receives the economic benefit of the shares — may differ from the PSC entry where nominee or trust arrangements are in place.
Sources
Companies House — https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — extracted 2026-09-15
Companies Act 2006 (as amended by the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015) — statutory basis for PSC register and confirmation statement requirements
Insolvency Service — Individual Insolvency Register — https://www.insolvencydirect.bis.gov.uk/eiir/ — extracted 2026-09-15
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Disclaimer: This report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It is provided for informational purposes only, does not constitute legal advice, and contains no legal qualification of the facts established. VLO Law Firm assumes no liability for actions taken or not taken based on this material. For advice regarding your particular situation, please contact info@vlolawfirm.com.
Author: James Whitfield — Partner, UK & Common Law, VLO Law Firm
