Base Information

Where does the base information come from?

The majority of the information comes directly from Companies House, which in turn comes directly from the company itself (companies are legally required to file this information on an annual basis via their annual return). However, the telephone number and trading addresses are sourced separately from a variety of business directories.

Credit Rating

What is a credit rating?

A credit rating assesses the credit worthiness of a company. That is, the likelihood of a company being able to pay back a loan. A company is given a rating between 0 and 100 which is a measure of their credit worthiness. The higher the rating the more credit worthy the company and the more likely the company will be able to pay back the loan.

Rating key for a company where Accounts have been filed

Rating key for a new company where no Accounts have been filed

How is a credit rating calculated?

The rating is based on a company's overall credit history and is calculated using a complex algorithm which takes into account a huge number of variables including:

Financial history, current assets (cash, inventory, short term investments etc.), liabilities (wages, taxes, purchases, loans, mortgages etc.), auditors information, payment history, director history, age of company, CCJ information, to name a few...

The credit rating is not universal, but rather, specific to each individual credit rating agency. While credit ratings from different agencies will most likely be very similar, they will not be exactly the same, as each agency will calculate their own internal algorithm.

Your report is out of date, the latest credit rating is not very recent.

Report information is updated daily, however, if the latest credit rating is dated a while ago this means the credit rating has not changed since then.

Why does the credit rating go down as the accounts due date gets closer but has not yet gone overdue?

The scorecard works dynamically in that, as the due date for accounts approaches, the lower the score will be (usually this only happens during the last few weeks before the due date). However, as soon as new accounts are submitted to Companies House the rating will go back up (as long as the financials haven't got any worse). The reason for this is that it is statistically proven that when a company files their accounts late (or leaves it up until the very last minute) these companies are nearly 3 times as likely to fail.

What's the difference between a credit rating and credit score?

Nothing, they are both interchangeable for each other. Some agencies prefer to use the term score others prefer rating.

Do the insolvency figures for my industry sector affect the credit score of my company?

Yes, each quarter we assess the Insolvency figures by industry. We then apply the results to the credit rating depending on if the industry was worse/better than the previous quarter.

What does "Analysed - Non balancing" mean?

"Analysed - Non balancing" means that the company's Balance Sheet does not balance properly and as a result we are unable to give a rating/limit.

Limit

What is a credit limit?

A credit limit is the amount advanced to a company in one calendar month which the company could be expected to pay back.

How is it calculated?

The credit limit is calculated based on the credit rating, financial history, age of company and many other variables.

Your report is out of date, the latest credit limit is not very recent.

Report information is updated daily, however, if the latest credit limit is dated a while ago this means the credit limit has not changed since then.

CCJs

Where is this information sourced from?

All CCJ information comes directly from the Registry Trust which operates the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines for England and Wales on behalf of the Ministry of Justice, as well as similar registers for Scotland, Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man and Jersey.

What do the CCJ statuses mean?

SS: The CCJ has been satisfied (paid). JG: The CCJ is still an active judgement (not paid).

Do the reports show Scottish Decrees from the Sheriff Courts?

Yes, Scottish Decrees will be displayed in the CCJ section as per usual CCJs.

What are possible CCJs?

Possible CCJs are matched by either name or address, but not both (if they are matched by both they are an exact match and would display in the 'List of CCJs').

Event History

What does event history show?

The event history displays any significant events that occur within the company and the date therefore event occurred. Events include: New board members, new accounts filed, resignations, changes in the registered office address and filing of annual returns.

Status History

What are winding up petitions?

A winding up petition is a court action which is heard in a court and is usually placed against a company by a creditor who is owed money. The winding up petitions are only issued to Companies House if the outcome of the petition is that the company is to be wound up and then dissolved.

The petitions are usually published in the gazette however they can be unadvertised which means the information is not published to the public. However the unadvertised petitions are displayed on the HMCS website in the daily court hearings list (this is public information) and this is where we can gather this information from.

NB. Even if a petition has been dismissed, there will still be a history of the petition and it will still show on the report.

Accounts

Why are the accounts so out of date?

Annual Accounts are filed many months in arrears to the period they cover. For this reason they may appear to be out of date, however, they are in fact as up to date as is possible. Please check the date the last accounts were made up to which can be found on the Base Info tab under Statutory Dates. In addition, it may be that a company has simply not yet filed their next set of Annual Accounts.

Mortgages

What are mortgages?

Mortgages are loans secured on property, on the condition that they shall be paid back over a specific period.

Shareholders

Where is this information sourced?

All shareholder information is sourced via the company's annual return, when filed each year with Companies House.

Why are there no shareholder details shown?

Until the Company files their first set of Annual Returns, we will not supply the Shareholders Information. This Information is available in the Incorporation Documents, however, this information is not analysed until the first years returns are submitted.

Directors

Where is this information sourced?

All director information is sourced from Companies House. Initial details are via the company's incorporation documents; updates are sourced via the annual return and via appointments/edits and resignations, all direct through Companies House.

Group Structure

What is group structure?

Defines the structure and ownership of a group of companies when they own shares in one another.

Turnover

Why is Turnover showing '0' when I know the company is definitely turning money over?

There is a Disclosure Threshold for small companies which means they do not have to file their turnover or their detailed profit and loss account at Companies House.

NB. A company is deemed a small company if it meets at least 2 of the following conditions:

• annual turnover must be not more than £6.5 million;
• the balance sheet total must be not more than £3.26 million;
• the average number of employees must be not more than 50.

Directorships

Why does total directorships show '0' when I know the person has directorships?

In some cases duplicate reports are created for the same person whereby one report will show '0' details and the other will display the correct details. If you have found a report where you deem this to be the case please contact us. We will gladly add credit to your account so you may access the correct report.