Who controls a company registered in England and Wales is a matter of public record. Companies House holds the statutory register of directors, persons with significant control (PSC), and filed corporate documents. The question is not whether the record exists — it is what the record actually shows, where it stops, and what sits beyond its reach.
Control in this jurisdiction is established at two layers: the board layer (appointed directors) and the ownership layer (PSC register). Both are accessible without registration or a declared interest. The ceiling of each layer is fixed by statute, not by the registry's willingness to disclose.
What the register showsEvery appointed director by name, date of birth (month and year only), nationality, country of residence, and date of appointment. Source: Companies House register · verified 2026-09-15 PSC disclosureEvery person or entity holding more than 25% of shares, voting rights, or the right to appoint or remove the majority of the board. Source: Companies House PSC register · verified 2026-09-15 Access conditionNo registration required. No declaration of legitimate interest required. The register is publicly searchable at no charge. What the register does not showBeneficial ownership beyond the 25% threshold definition; nominee arrangements not disclosed by the registered holder; trust structures where the trustee is the PSC; and the identity of ultimate controllers sitting behind a corporate PSC.Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Companies House is the statutory registrar for England and Wales. Every company incorporated under the Companies Act 2006 must maintain and file a register of directors and a PSC register. Both are public.
The director register records the following for each appointed director: full name, a partial date of birth, nationality, country of residence, a service address, and the date of appointment and, where applicable, resignation. Residential addresses are withheld from the public register by default; a service address is shown instead.
The PSC register records the name of each registrable person, their date of birth (month and year), nationality, country of residence, service address, and the nature of their control. Nature of control is expressed in statutory categories: ownership band, voting rights band, and appointment rights.
Filed documents — including the confirmation statement, annual accounts, and any change notifications — are available as individual downloads. Each document carries a filing date. The history of changes to the board and to the PSC register is therefore traceable through successive filings.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
A director has day-to-day management authority. The PSC register records who controls the company at the ownership or governance level. These two layers do not always overlap.
A director may hold no shares and appear on no PSC register. A PSC may hold no formal board position. Establishing actual control requires reading both registers together and cross-referencing the filed confirmation statements over time.
Where a corporate entity is listed as a PSC, Companies House records the entity's name and registered number. It does not automatically disclose the natural persons behind that entity. Tracing through a corporate PSC requires a separate inquiry into the PSC register of that entity — which may itself be registered in England and Wales, or in another jurisdiction entirely.
The PSC regime applies to companies and LLPs. It does not apply to Scottish partnerships or to certain exempt entities. Overseas companies registered at Companies House file a different set of documents and are not subject to the same PSC disclosure obligations.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Companies House holds filed accounts for the majority of registered companies. The content of those accounts depends on the company's size classification.
Micro-entities and small companies may file abridged or filleted accounts. These contain a balance sheet but omit the profit and loss account and, in many cases, the directors' report. Medium and large companies file fuller accounts, including a profit and loss account and notes.
Dormant companies file a simplified balance sheet. Companies that have not yet traded file a statement to that effect.
The accounts show the financial position as at the balance sheet date. They do not show intra-year transactions, intercompany arrangements, or the terms of any shareholder agreement. A shareholder agreement is a private contract and is not filed at Companies House.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Companies House is one of the most transparent corporate registries in the world. That transparency has a defined ceiling.
The register shows who is recorded as a director or PSC. It does not verify whether that person exercises control in practice. A nominee director is recorded identically to an executive director. A PSC who has transferred economic interest through a private arrangement remains on the register until a change notification is filed.
The PSC threshold is 25%. A person holding 24.9% through one vehicle and 24.9% through another does not appear on either PSC register. The register reflects the statutory definition, not the economic reality.
Trust structures present a specific gap. Where a trustee is the registered PSC, the beneficiaries of the trust are not disclosed. The register records the trustee. The trust deed is a private document.
Corporate PSC chains can extend across multiple jurisdictions. Companies House records the immediate corporate PSC. It does not record the ultimate natural person behind a chain of holding companies. Each link in that chain requires a separate registry inquiry, and the chain may terminate in a jurisdiction with no public beneficial ownership register.
Resigned directors and former PSCs remain in the filing history. The register of current appointments shows only current status. A person who resigned the day before a search was conducted does not appear in the current register.
Negative results carry their own limit. An absence from the current director register does not establish that a person has no influence over the company. Shadow directors — persons whose instructions the board is accustomed to follow — are not required to be registered as directors.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
Filed documents at Companies House are self-reported. The registrar does not verify the accuracy of the information filed. Discrepancies arise in several patterns.
A confirmation statement may show a PSC that contradicts the most recent set of filed accounts in terms of ownership percentage. The accounts may reflect a transaction that has not yet been notified to the register.
A director listed as resident in one country on the register may appear as resident in another country in the filed accounts or in a related filing. Companies House records what was declared at the time of each filing.
Where the register and filed accounts disagree on a material point — the identity of a director, the ownership band of a PSC, or the registered address — both versions are recorded in the report with their respective filing dates. The discrepancy itself is a finding.
Source: Companies House · extracted 2026-09-15
| Tier | Price | What is included | What is NOT included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Signal | €1,350 | Current directors and PSC register; filing history summary; registered address and incorporation date; identification of any corporate PSC with its registered number; summary of filed accounts classification | Trace of corporate PSC chain beyond the first link; analysis of filed accounts content; identification of shadow directors or nominee arrangements; shareholder agreement terms |
| Standard | €2,850 | Everything in Signal; full filed accounts review for the most recent three years; PSC chain traced one level beyond the first corporate link where the entity is registered in England and Wales or another accessible jurisdiction; chronological board change history; cross-reference of director and PSC registers across filing dates | Trace of PSC chain into jurisdictions with no public register; trust beneficiary identification; legal qualification of findings; shareholder agreement review |
| Extended | €6,300 | Everything in Standard; PSC chain traced to the furthest accessible link across multiple jurisdictions; cross-jurisdictional director appointment mapping where the same individual appears in other accessible registries; full chronological analysis of all filed documents; identification of all discrepancies between filed documents with dates; written summary of the ceiling reached and the reason the chain stops where it does | Identification of beneficial owners behind trust structures; shadow director determination; legal advice; any finding that requires access to non-public sources |
Does Companies House charge for access to director and PSC records? The register is publicly searchable at no charge. Individual documents are available for download. The cost of access is not the barrier. The barriers are the national identifier required to locate the correct entity, the volume of filed documents across a company's history, and the cross-referencing required to establish a coherent picture across multiple filings and, where applicable, multiple jurisdictions.
What does the PSC register actually record for a corporate PSC? Where the PSC is a company rather than a natural person, the register records the entity's name, its registered number, its country of registration, and the nature of its control. It does not record the natural persons behind that entity. Tracing to a natural person requires a separate inquiry into the PSC register of the corporate PSC — and that entity may be registered outside England and Wales.
Can a shareholder agreement be found through Companies House? No. A shareholder agreement is a private contract between shareholders. It is not filed at Companies House and is not part of the public record. Its existence may be referenced in filed accounts or board minutes, but its terms are not disclosed.
What is a shadow director and why does it matter? A shadow director is a person whose instructions the board is accustomed to follow, without that person being formally appointed as a director. Shadow directors are not required to be registered at Companies House. The register does not identify them. Their existence can sometimes be inferred from patterns in filed documents, but it cannot be established from the register alone.
How current is the Companies House register? The register reflects what has been filed. Companies are required to notify changes within specified statutory periods. A director appointed or removed yesterday may not yet appear in the register. The filing date on each document is the date the information was received by the registrar, not the date the underlying event occurred.
What is included in the Signal tier that is not available from a direct Companies House search? The Signal report applies a structured methodology: entity identification using the correct registered number, extraction of the complete filing history rather than the current snapshot, identification of all corporate PSC entries with their registered numbers, and a summary of the accounts classification that determines what financial information is and is not on record. The register is free. The removed path — identification, extraction, cross-referencing, and structured output — is what the report delivers.
Sources: Companies House — https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — extracted 2026-09-15 Companies House PSC register — https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk — extracted 2026-09-15 Companies Act 2006, Part 21A (PSC regime) — verified 2026-09-15
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