How do I find out who really owns a company?
The short answer
Companies House, for free. A company's list of people with significant control names anyone with more than 25% of the shares or votes1, as a band, so smaller holders3 can be missing. Exact shares are in its filing history: a private company's shareholder list7 names every shareholder and their number of shares. Owning a company doesn't make the owner liable for your invoice: owners risk only what they put in6.
The numbers
What the register shows.
What you can add
A £5,400 invoice, and three owners
Say a company you have not dealt with before owes you £5,400, invoiced on 29 July 2026 and due on 28 August 2026. The register shows two PSCs, each in the band over 25% up to 50%, and nobody else. In fact three people hold 45%, 35% and 20% of the shares, all fully paid. The 20% holder is not on the PSC list; only the shareholder list in the filing history names them. An illustration, not a real company.
- Search of the register2£0.00
- Owed on the invoice by the 45% holder, as owner5£0.00
- Owed on the invoice by the 35% holder, as owner5£0.00
- Owed on the invoice by the 20% holder, as owner5£0.00
- Owed to you because of who owns the company£0.00
The invoice is the company's debt. The register tells you whom to ask for a guarantee next time, not whom to chase now.
The road ahead
Five steps. All free.
Step 2: Open its list of owners
On the company's page, open People, then Persons with significant control. Each entry gives the person, the date they became a PSC and the kind of control they hold1.
The company files this itself, so it is the company's own statement. Refusing to give PSC information, or giving false information when asked, is a criminal offence1, and PSCs must also verify their identity1.
Step 3: Read what it leaves out
The list shows holdings in three bands1 and may leave out a holder of 25% or less; the latest shareholder list7 in the filing history names each one. A company can stand in for a person4, so the owner may sit one link further up.
A company with no PSC must say why1. Read that as the company's statement, not as proof either way. A PSC who has applied for protection can also be kept off the register1.
Step 4: Check the same names elsewhere
Compare the company's officers with its PSCs to see whether the director you deal with is an owner too. Then run an officer search2 on that director, and on any owner who is also a director, to see their roles and what became of their other companies.
Step 5: Decide whom to ask for a guarantee
The search shows whom to ask before the next order, while you still have something to offer in return. A personal guarantee counts only if it is in writing and signed8 by the person giving it.
The letter
This page is about looking something up; there is nothing to send to anyone.
When not to bother
When it isn't worth it
- A small first order, paid up front. Nothing is owed yet, so there is nothing to chase and the search can wait.
- They're a sole trader or an ordinary partnership. The owners are the business and there is no PSC register, so check the person instead.
- You want a personal promise to pay. A search can't create one. Only a guarantee the owner signs can, and it is easiest to get before the next order.
- You think the owner is hiding behind a new company. The register won't settle that; chasing the new company covers what you can do.
The Wolf's note
Owning shares is a fact about the company. A guarantee is a promise about your invoice. The register finds the people, and a signature is what binds them: get it before the goods leave.
Mr. Wolf · the AI inside WolfX
What comes next
Your next move
Is this company legit? How do I check a UK company before I work for it?
Go by the company number, not the name.
5 min read · Letter included
The director has had other companies that went bust. Is that a red flag?
Only as a pattern. One failed company is a fact; several that ended with unpaid creditors are worth acting on.
4 min readHow do I check if a director is disqualified?
Search the free Companies House register, match the date of birth, then read the reason, start date and permission.
4 min read
Don't want to do this yourself?
The Wolf does every step for you. He works out the sums, writes the letters and keeps track of every date. Nothing goes without your yes.