Check who really owns a company
Enter a company name or number. See declared PSCs, director networks, connected companies, and ownership patterns that the register alone cannot reveal.
What is beneficial ownership?
Beneficial ownership means the real human being who ultimately owns or controls a company. Not the nominee. Not the corporate shareholder. Not the intermediary trust. The actual person making the decisions and receiving the profits.
UK law requires every company to identify its persons with significant control (PSCs) and report them to Companies House. A PSC is anyone who holds more than 25% of shares or voting rights, can appoint or remove the majority of directors, or otherwise exercises significant influence or control.
What the PSC register shows (and what it misses)
What you CAN see
- Declared PSC names and nationalities
- Date of birth (month and year only)
- Nature of control (shares, voting, appointment rights)
- Date PSC was notified and registered
- Country of residence
What is HIDDEN
- Whether the declared PSC is a nominee
- Ownership below the 25% threshold (split across entities)
- Corporate chains through offshore jurisdictions
- Trust structures holding shares
- Informal influence not captured by legal tests
- Whether the declaration is actually accurate
ECCTA 2024: what changed
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2024 gave Companies House real teeth for the first time. Key changes for beneficial ownership:
Identity verification required
All directors and PSCs must now verify their identity with Companies House. No more anonymous filings.
Power to query and reject
Companies House can now question filings, request evidence, annotate entries it considers unreliable, and refuse to register information that appears false.
Information sharing
Companies House can now share data proactively with law enforcement, HMRC, and other agencies without needing a formal request.
These changes improve the register over time, but existing inaccurate entries will take years to clean up. Verification is being phased in, not applied retrospectively to all existing PSC records.
How to find the real beneficial owner
The PSC register is a starting point, not the answer. To find who really controls a company:
- Check the PSC register. Note who is declared and what type of control they claim.
- Trace corporate PSCs. If a company (not a person) is listed as the PSC, follow the chain. Who controls that company?
- Cross-reference directors. Are the same individuals directors of connected companies? Do they share addresses or co-directorships?
- Check for nominees. Corporate service providers, formation agents, and accountancy firms often appear as directors or shareholders when acting as nominees.
- Look at the wider network. Director appointment patterns, shared registered offices, similar company names, and common SIC codes reveal connections the PSC register alone cannot show.
Warning signs of hidden ownership
Corporate PSC in a secrecy jurisdiction
If the PSC is a company registered in a jurisdiction without a public register (BVI, Cayman, Panama), the real owner may be impossible to trace through public records alone.
PSC recently changed
A sudden change in declared PSC, especially around the time of financial difficulty or before a major transaction, may indicate restructuring to obscure ownership.
Nominee director patterns
If the directors are associated with a formation agent or corporate service provider, and the same names appear across dozens of unrelated companies, they are likely nominees.
25% threshold splitting
If ownership is split exactly at 24.9% across multiple entities (all controlled by related parties), this may be structured specifically to avoid PSC disclosure requirements.
Who needs beneficial ownership checks
Compliance officers
Verifying corporate client ownership chains for AML/KYC obligations under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
Investors
Checking who really controls a target company before committing capital. Identifying undisclosed related parties.
Property buyers
Verifying the beneficial ownership of corporate vendors in property transactions (required under ECCTA for the new Register of Overseas Entities).
Creditors
Checking whether a debtor company is controlled by the same person as a related entity (asset shifting, phoenix structures, connected party transactions).
The PSC register tells you what was declared. RecoupIQ shows you what is real.
Cross-reference director networks, dissolved company histories, and 72 ML risk signals across 12 data sources. Spot nominees, trace corporate chains, and identify hidden controllers. One search, £29, instant results.
Check beneficial ownership nowMonitor ownership changes
Beneficial ownership can change without warning. RecoupIQ monitoring (from £19.99/mo) alerts you within 24 hours of any PSC change, director appointment, share transfer, or confirmation statement update on companies you watch. Meet ongoing monitoring obligations automatically. Available via the web dashboard or the Microsoft 365 Trust Check app (per-seat for teams). RecoupIQ is a Microsoft partner.
See monitoring plansRelated guides
- Who owns this company? Find UK company owners
- Company director search: check any UK director
- AML company check: anti money laundering due diligence
- Company due diligence: the 10-point checklist
Last reviewed: July 2026. General information for UK businesses. Not legal advice. RecoupIQ Ltd, Company No. 16947526, ICO ZC077511. Microsoft Partner.