Whether you're considering an investment, evaluating a potential supplier, or assessing a business partner, thorough due diligence is essential. This comprehensive checklist covers everything you need to verify about a UK company.
1. Company Basics
- Verify company name and registration number
- Confirm company status is "Active"
- Check date of incorporation
- Verify company type (Limited, PLC, LLP, etc.)
- Confirm registered office address
- Check SIC codes match stated business activities
- Look for any name changes in company history
2. Directors and Officers
- List all current directors
- Review director appointment dates
- Check for recent director changes
- Research director backgrounds and experience
- Review other current directorships
- Check previous directorships and outcomes
- Verify no disqualifications
- Identify any connected party relationships
3. Ownership Structure
- Identify all shareholders
- Review shareholding percentages
- Check PSC (Persons with Significant Control) register
- Trace ultimate beneficial ownership
- Identify any corporate shareholders and research them
- Look for complex or unusual structures
- Check for recent ownership changes
4. Financial Analysis
- Review latest annual accounts
- Analyse 3-5 years of financial history
- Calculate key profitability ratios
- Assess liquidity position
- Review debt levels and leverage
- Check working capital management
- Identify any audit qualifications
- Compare to industry benchmarks
- Review any unusual or concerning items
5. Filing Compliance
- Check accounts are filed on time
- Verify confirmation statements are up to date
- Review filing history for any gaps
- Check for any late filing penalties
- Look for correction filings that might indicate issues
6. Charges and Security
- Review all registered charges
- Identify secured creditors
- Check for floating charges over assets
- Look for any charges being satisfied (paid off)
- Assess total secured debt position
7. Legal and Regulatory
- Check for any court judgments (CCJs)
- Search for insolvency history
- Review any regulatory licenses required
- Verify FCA registration if applicable
- Check sector-specific registrations
8. Group Structure
- Identify parent company if any
- List subsidiary companies
- Review associated companies
- Check for overseas entities
- Understand inter-company relationships
9. External Verification
- Verify website and online presence
- Check social media activity
- Search news for any coverage
- Review customer/client testimonials
- Check industry association memberships
- Verify physical premises if possible
10. Risk Indicators
- Look for patterns of director resignations
- Check for frequent address changes
- Identify any phoenix company patterns
- Watch for declining financial trends
- Note any unusual related party transactions
- Check for proposals to strike off
CorporaOne's AI automatically flags many of these risk indicators, making due diligence faster and more thorough.
Due Diligence Levels
Basic Due Diligence
For low-value or low-risk relationships:
- Verify company exists and is active
- Check basic financial health
- Confirm key people
Standard Due Diligence
For typical business relationships:
- Full company verification
- Financial analysis (3 years)
- Director background checks
- Ownership verification
Enhanced Due Diligence
For significant investments or high-risk situations:
- Everything in standard plus:
- Extended financial history (5+ years)
- Full director network analysis
- Complete ownership chain tracing
- Regulatory and legal checks
- External verification steps
- Ongoing monitoring setup
Documenting Your Due Diligence
Always maintain records of:
- Date due diligence was conducted
- Sources of information used
- Findings and analysis
- Risk assessment and conclusions
- Decision and rationale
- Any conditions or ongoing monitoring
Using CorporaOne for Due Diligence
CorporaOne streamlines due diligence with:
- Comprehensive company profiles - All key data in one place
- AI-powered analysis - Automatic risk identification
- Director networks - Full relationship mapping
- Financial history - 10+ years of data
- Ownership tracing - Beneficial owner identification
- Export capabilities - Document your findings
Start your due diligence with CorporaOne today.