How to map a market with private company data
Define the operating-business population, resolve registry entities and document unknowns before using a private-company market map for corporate development.
To build a private-company market map, define the business population before collecting registry rows. Decide whether the output describes legal entities or currently operating businesses, then record the evidence needed to admit each candidate. A register can anchor legal identity; it does not establish current trading, operating location or acquisition interest. This workflow uses UK filings as a concrete example. Apply the same source-by-source test to each other jurisdiction rather than carrying UK filing rules across borders.
Set the unit and boundary
Write a short scope statement: the activity, geography, observation date, unit of analysis and exclusions. If the purpose is a corporate-development landscape of operating businesses, a holding company, trading subsidiary and brand should not become separate participants merely because their names appear in different sources. Keep an entity register and a distinct business map so unresolved relationships remain visible. The legal-name and group guide explains how to anchor those relationships to identifiers.
Decide what the map will support. A landscape map can retain uncertain candidates with an explicit review status; an acquisition longlist needs a narrower fit screen. Neither output establishes that owners wish to sell or receive an approach. The acquisition-screening guide covers that later decision.
Build the candidate pool, then check each signal
For UK entities, Companies House search provides status, registered office, SIC activity code, filing dates and document images. Capture the company number, jurisdiction, source URL and check date before making any inclusion decision. Use SIC codes to find candidates, including adjacent codes where the scope warrants it. A company can change its SIC code in a confirmation statement, so the filed code is a classification to check against the described activity, not a current operating description by itself.
Review legal status and the period covered by the latest relevant accounts. A dissolved status is incompatible with a screen for currently registered operating entities. A dormant account states dormancy for its accounting period; it is not a permanent label. An active status does not prove trading. For the remaining candidates, find dated evidence describing the business’s activity and match it to the legal entity. A company website is evidence of what the company says about itself, not independent confirmation that the site is current or that its brand belongs to the registry row. Keep an unresolved identity or activity link in review.
| Decision field | Source to retain | If the link is unresolved |
|---|---|---|
| Legal identity | Registry number, status and check date | Keep the candidate as an entity, not a confirmed operating business |
| Activity | Filed SIC code and dated business description | Mark activity fit for review |
| Group role | Filing or company source tying brand and entity together | Do not merge or count the business relationship as resolved |
| Trading geography | Dated source naming an operating site | Leave trading location blank; retain registered office separately |
| Financial measure | Actual disclosed document, entity and period | Leave revenue or headcount blank rather than substitute a proxy |
This is a decision record, not a claim that every source is independently verified. Companies House says its public service is not a complete source of company information and describes the checks it makes on submitted filings. Record who supplied each operating claim and when it was observed.
Keep location and size tied to their evidence
A UK registered office is an official address and may be an accountant’s or other service provider’s address. It cannot silently become the trading address or determine a territory. Seek a separate, attributable source for an operating site; if none is found, the trading-location field stays blank. The address guide gives the detailed check.
Read the actual accounts before adding a size measure. Companies House guidance explains that UK small and micro entities can currently omit the profit and loss account from public filings. A balance-sheet item is not revenue, and a filing category is not a measured headcount. Keep any disclosed measure under its own label, entity and period. If revenue or headcount is not publicly supported, leave it blank. Do not infer a number from a website, code or filing regime.
Publish the method with the map
Document the population definition, source dates, exclusions and review cases alongside any analysis. Make clear whether any participant total counts registry entities, resolved operating businesses or both. A company in a map is a research candidate; it is not a qualified lead, a confirmed acquisition target or evidence of sale interest.
Before selecting a pre-built file for this work, check whether its field definitions and evidence trail can support the same decisions. The database buyer checklist sets out that test. SeekCompanies’ coverage method describes the planned fields and markets under research; the file is not yet on sale. The licence and availability page provides a direct email route to ask about a market.
Frequently asked questions
What should a private-company market map count?
Define the unit before counting. A map of operating businesses needs legal entities matched to the businesses that trade, with unresolved group links flagged. A registry-row count answers a different question. State which population and exclusions the map uses; do not present an unchecked export as a count of operating companies.
Does an active company-register status mean the business is operating?
No. It records legal status at the check date. Review period-specific accounts and separate, dated evidence of business activity. Where the operating link remains unclear, mark the candidate for review rather than silently including or excluding it.
Can a registered office be used to map trading geography?
Only when separate evidence supports that location as a trading site. A UK registered office is an official address and can be a service provider's address. Keep the registered office and trading address in different fields; leave trading geography unresolved when its source is absent.
How should a market map handle missing revenue?
Record a reported figure only with its entity, source and accounting period. UK small and micro entities may omit the profit and loss account from public filings. Do not turn a balance sheet item, filing category or website claim into reported revenue; leave the revenue field blank when it is unsupported.
Sources
- Searching the Companies House register — UK Companies House; accessed October 16, 2026
- Filing your company's confirmation statement — UK Companies House; accessed October 16, 2026
- Preparing and filing Companies House accounts — UK Companies House; accessed October 16, 2026
- Check the rules for registered office addresses and email addresses — UK Government; accessed October 16, 2026
Tell us which market you need.
Research is under way. No market file, price or release date is available yet. Review the planned licence, then email the market you need to ask about its research status.