UK Company and Property Records: list of UK-focused websites
And - Overseas companies that own property in England and Wales
Initial List
Violations Tracker UK: https://violationtrackeruk.goodjobsfirst.org/
A Tool for Researching Corporate Regulatory Infringements in the United Kingdom
UK Company Records
UK Companies House (the Corporate Register):
https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-companySearch the bankruptcy and insolvency register:
https://www.gov.uk/search-bankruptcy-insolvency-registerSearch for disqualified company directors
https://www.gov.uk/search-the-register-of-disqualified-company-directorsUK Property Records
The UK also has property records available to search via the official government database and several private phone directories:
https://propertyregistry.uk/search/
https://www.192.com/
https://www.ukphonebook.com/
https://search.savills.com/com/en/property-detail/
Registry of Overseas Companies That Own Property in UK
How Investigators Can Take Advantage of the new registry
Investigators now have an unprecedented opportunity to uncover hidden assets that have long been parked in UK real estate under the name of an anonymous shell company, but now has the real owner listed. Here’s how it works:
1. Start with the property register: Look up the ownership of a property in the UK’s public register. If a foreign company owns the property, you’re on the right track.
2. Head to Companies House: The UK Companies Register (Companies House) holds the key. Look up the foreign company’s registration, and you’ll find a specific section for Beneficial Owners. Click on the “People” tab and then “Beneficial Owners” to reveal the true identity of the individual behind the company. It’s that simple.
3. Cross-check the data: Use the various resources at your disposal, such as the Overseas Companies Registered in England and Wales dataset, or search through the OCCRP Aleph platform for further details.
Resources for Investigators:
1. UK Companies House (the Corporate Register):
https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company
The easiest way to access this data is by just looking up the relevant companies in the typical UK Companies Register search.
Steps to look up companies registered in the UK and find their beneficial owners by following these steps:
• Search for the company.
• Click on the “People” tab.
• Then, navigate to “Beneficial Owners” to uncover the true individuals behind the company.
https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/
2. OCCRP Aleph Search Datasets
Use the OCCRP Aleph platform to explore datasets that include UK companies and foreign ownership details:
https://aleph.occrp.org/datasets/2248 – Information obtained from the UK Government’s “Overseas companies that own property in England and Wales” dataset access via aleph.occrp.org
3. Overseas Companies Registered in England and Wales
You can also just do a simple search in UK
Find overseas entities that own property in England and Wales using this dataset:
https://use-land-property-data.service.gov.uk/datasets/ocod
4. UK Property Ownership private registry
Use this registry to check who owns specific properties in the UK: https://propertyregistry.uk/
HM Land Registry (sign up for free account)
https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry
HM Land Registry
HM Land Registry (sign up for free account) - https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/land-registry
A. Start by logging in then go to the aforementioned link
B. select to search property ownership - https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry
Note that if you wanted property in Scotland or Ireland:
C. Scroll down to “Search for a property” and hit “Start now
The following page will give you options to search by:
postcode but if you scroll down there are links for other ways to search
Search by street and town
Search by map
Search by title number
Search by INSPIRE ID
What the Register of Overseas Entities is
(straight from - https://www.gov.uk/guidance/register-an-overseas-entity)
The Register of Overseas Entities came into force in the UK on 1 August 2022 through the new Economic Crime (Transparency and Enforcement) Act 2022.
Overseas entities who want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK, must register with Companies House and tell us who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are.
This also applies retrospectively to overseas entities who bought property or land on or after:
1 January 1999 in England and Wales
8 December 2014 in Scotland
These overseas entities had to register with Companies House and tell us who their registrable beneficial owners or managing officers are by 31 January 2023.
Overseas entities only need to register property or land bought in Northern Ireland on or after 5 September 2022.
Entities that disposed of property or land after 28 February 2022 will also need to register and give details of that disposal. If you disposed of your UK property but have recently been contacted by Companies House, you may need to check your records.
After registering, the overseas entity will get a unique Overseas Entity ID to give to the land registry when it buys, sells, transfers, leases or charges UK property or land.