What is a Company Search

Company search – a redundant term?
The term ‘Company Search’ was traditionally used to refer to request information on a Company from Companies House. A Company Search usually included the latest annual return, accounts, the incorporation documents and other recent events (such as change of name or directors).

Today ‘Company 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 Search.

The free Company Search
A quick search on the internet will reveal many websites offering free company 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.

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 Search?
If you think you need a Company 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 Search, which are mainly required by solicitors and accountants are also available.