An ownership structure report answers one question: who controls the company and what can a shareholder enforce. The answer comes from official registers, filed documents and cross-referenced public sources. The ceiling of what those sources allow is stated before payment — not after delivery.
Control is rarely visible at the first layer. A registered shareholder may be a nominee. A director may hold no equity. A beneficial owner may sit three jurisdictions away from the operating entity. This report traces the chain as far as the sources permit and names the point where the chain stops.
What the report establishesRegistered shareholders with percentage holdings, directors and their appointment dates, filing history, and — where the register permits — the identity of the person exercising ultimate control. Sources vary by jurisdiction. Coverage35 jurisdictions across the EU, UK, CIS, Caucasus, and selected offshore centres. Source availability mapped per jurisdiction before work begins. TurnaroundSignal tier: 3 business days. Standard tier: 5 business days. Extended tier: 10 business days. Timelines run from confirmed instruction. PriceFixed at three tiers: €890 / €1,900 / €4,200. Scope of each tier is defined below. No variable fees are added after instruction. LimitWhere a register does not disclose beneficial ownership, the report names the layer at which disclosure stops and the legal basis for that restriction.The report works from the registered layer outward. At the registered layer: shareholders named in the company register, their percentage holdings, and the dates those holdings were recorded. At the director layer: current and former directors, their appointment and resignation dates, and any concurrent directorships in related entities.
Where the jurisdiction maintains a beneficial ownership register — and where that register is accessible to a declared legitimate interest — the report extends to the ultimate beneficial owner. Where it does not, the report identifies the last visible layer and the reason the chain terminates there.
Filed financial statements, where available, are cross-referenced against the ownership record. A shareholder holding 30 percent of equity but appearing in no management document is a different risk profile from one holding 30 percent and signing every material contract. The report records both facts.
Insolvency and enforcement records are checked in parallel. A clean ownership register does not confirm the absence of a filed insolvency petition. The report covers both the register and the insolvency index as separate sources.
Jurisdictions differ in three dimensions: what they require companies to file, what they make public, and what they make accessible to a foreign requester without a national identifier or electronic signature.
In common-law jurisdictions with open registers — the United Kingdom being the clearest example — the full shareholder list, director history and filed accounts are available without registration. The report extracts and cross-references them directly.
In civil-law jurisdictions with gated registers, access requires a declared purpose, a national identifier, or a fee paid through a local portal. The report covers the extraction path: registration where required, language, format conversion, and verification of the document's legal standing.
In jurisdictions where beneficial ownership is not publicly disclosed — the majority of EU member states following the 2022 CJEU ruling — the report reaches the last publicly visible layer and states the legal basis for the restriction. It does not speculate beyond what the source shows.
In offshore and low-disclosure jurisdictions, the report maps what is and is not filed, identifies the registered agent where that information is public, and cross-references any available economic substance filings.
| Jurisdiction category | Registered shareholders | Directors | Beneficial owner | Filed accounts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open register (e.g. UK, Ireland) | Yes | Yes | Varies by entity type | Yes |
| Gated register (e.g. Germany, France) | Yes | Yes | Restricted post-2022 | Yes |
| CIS / Caucasus | Yes | Yes | Limited | Partial |
| Offshore / low-disclosure | Registered agent only | Varies | Not disclosed | Not filed |
The table reflects the general access pattern. The specific position for each target company is confirmed at the source-mapping stage before work begins.
Every fact in the report carries a source reference and an extraction date. No fact is stated without a record in the source log.
Company registers are the primary layer. They hold the filed shareholder list, the director register, and — in jurisdictions that require it — the beneficial ownership declaration. The report extracts the current version and, where the register retains history, the prior versions.
Filed financial statements are the secondary layer. They confirm or contradict the ownership record. A shareholder not named in the accounts but named in the register is a discrepancy the report flags explicitly.
Insolvency indexes are checked as a separate source. A negative result in the insolvency index is recorded as a negative result, not as a confirmation of solvency. The distinction matters: a petition may have been filed and not yet indexed, or indexed under a variant name.
Trade and VAT registers confirm the entity's active status and registered address. In jurisdictions where VAT registration is public, the report cross-references the VAT number against the company register entry.
Where sources disagree — for example, where the company register shows one director and the filed accounts show another — the report records both facts and identifies the document date of each. The discrepancy is the finding, not an error to be resolved editorially.
Official registers show what has been filed. They do not show what has been withheld, misfiled, or filed under a different entity name. The report states this limit explicitly for each jurisdiction covered.
Beneficial ownership is the most common limit. Following the CJEU judgment of November 2022, EU member states are not required to provide public access to beneficial ownership registers. Access in most EU jurisdictions now requires a demonstrated legitimate interest, assessed by the registrar. Where access is refused or unavailable to a foreign requester, the report names the last visible layer — typically the immediate corporate shareholder — and the legal basis for the restriction.
Nominee structures are visible only where the register requires disclosure of the nominator. In jurisdictions that do not require this, the report identifies the nominee by name and flags the structure. It does not identify the nominator from the register alone.
Historical records vary by jurisdiction. Some registers retain full filing history; others retain only the current version. Where history is unavailable, the report states the retention policy of the register.
Offshore entities in the chain interrupt the trace at the point where the offshore register does not disclose shareholders. The report names the offshore entity, its jurisdiction, and the disclosure level of that jurisdiction's register.
Insolvency is a parallel check, not a guarantee. A negative result means no record was found at the time of extraction. It does not mean no proceeding exists.
The ceiling of what the sources allow is stated before payment. If the target jurisdiction's register does not disclose the information the instruction requires, that is confirmed at the source-mapping stage and the instruction is adjusted or declined before fees are committed.
When two official sources return conflicting information about the same fact, the report records both. It does not resolve the conflict editorially.
Common disagreements:
Each discrepancy is dated to the source document. The report identifies which source is more recent and which carries greater legal weight in the jurisdiction. It does not advise on what the discrepancy means for a transaction — that is a matter for legal counsel.
| Tier | Price | What is included | Not included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €890 | Current registered shareholders with percentage holdings; current directors with appointment dates; registered address and entity status; insolvency index check; source log with extraction dates | Historical shareholder changes; filed financial statements; beneficial ownership layer; offshore chain tracing; discrepancy analysis |
| Standard | €1,900 | Everything in Signal; filed financial statements for the most recent two years; historical shareholder and director changes where the register retains history; cross-reference of accounts against register; discrepancy flagging | Beneficial ownership layer where register access requires demonstrated legitimate interest; offshore chain tracing beyond the first layer; legal qualification of findings |
| Extended | €4,200 | Everything in Standard; beneficial ownership layer where access is available; offshore chain tracing to the extent the source permits; multi-entity coverage for group structures up to five entities; full discrepancy analysis with source dating; jurisdiction-specific access notes | Legal advice on findings; representation before registrars; guarantee of beneficial owner identification where the register does not disclose it |
Prices are fixed. No variable fees are added after instruction. The scope of each tier is defined above; if the instruction requires something outside the defined scope, that is confirmed before work begins.
What does the report establish that a company register search does not? A direct register search returns the current filed record in the language of the jurisdiction, without cross-referencing, without historical comparison, and without an insolvency check. The report extracts the same source data, cross-references it against filed accounts and the insolvency index, flags discrepancies, and states the limit of what the sources show — in English, with a source log.
Does the report identify the ultimate beneficial owner? Where the register discloses beneficial ownership and access is available to a foreign requester, yes. Where it does not — which is the position in most EU jurisdictions following the 2022 CJEU ruling — the report reaches the last publicly visible layer and states the legal basis for the restriction. The limit is confirmed before work begins.
How is the turnaround calculated? Turnaround runs from confirmed instruction. For Signal, three business days. For Standard, five business days. For Extended, ten business days. Where a jurisdiction's register requires a waiting period for document release, that is noted in the source log and does not extend the stated turnaround unless it exceeds it.
What happens if the target company is in a jurisdiction not covered? Coverage is confirmed at the source-mapping stage. If the target jurisdiction is outside the 35-jurisdiction scope, that is stated before instruction is confirmed. The scope is not extended without a separate agreement.
Is the report a legal opinion? No. The report is a factual compilation from official registers and public sources. It does not contain legal advice, legal qualification of the facts established, or a recommendation on any transaction or decision. For legal advice on the findings, contact a qualified lawyer in the relevant jurisdiction.
Can the report be used in court or regulatory proceedings? The report is prepared for informational purposes. Whether it is admissible or useful in a specific proceeding depends on the rules of that proceeding and the jurisdiction. VLO Law Firm does not certify the report for any specific use.
Sources: Official company registers, insolvency indexes, trade registers and VAT registers in each covered jurisdiction — accessed directly via their official portals. No third-party data aggregators are used as primary sources. Extraction dates are recorded in the source log delivered with each report.
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