Legal and trading names
Legal name from the register; a trading name only when a public source supports the link to that entity.
Coverage
Private company list coverage and evidence.
Use this page to check whether the markets and planned fields fit your research. Every listed market is still in research; no finished file is available. A registry entry identifies a legal entity, while separate evidence is needed to establish a trading business.
Why there are no numbers on this page yet. Research is under way and nothing has been sold. A company count published today would be a count of work in progress, and buyers would reasonably read it as a count of finished, checked records. When a market is finished, its exact count is published here, generated from the records themselves rather than typed in by hand. The database buyer checklist explains how to judge this evidence standard against other company lists.
The standard
What checked has to mean.
For a target or market list, a registry result is a starting point. These checks show how a legal entity could become a supported operating-company record, and where research may still leave a field blank.
- 01
Anchor the legal entity
Record the jurisdiction, identifier, legal name and dated registry status. The entry establishes what was registered; it does not establish current trading.
- 02
Check the operating business
Look for a recent, attributable signal of activity and connect it to the legal entity. A company website can describe the business, but its claims and date need checking alongside the registry record.
- 03
Resolve names, group role and activity
Keep legal, trading and group names distinct. Compare the filed activity code with the company’s own description; an activity code is a classification, not independent proof of current operations.
- 04
Separate location and contact evidence
Record the registered office apart from any supported trading address. Keep a working website and any public organisational email or switchboard route only where found; leave unsupported fields blank.
In the UK, Companies House lists the available register fields and allows an accountant or solicitor's address as a registered office. Those sources support the legal and address checks; the operating conclusion still needs separate evidence for the business in question.
By market
Where the companies are being researched.
Start with the official register for the market you need. The notes below show what that source can establish and the operating question that remains. They describe research inputs, not finished directory coverage.
| Market | Primary source | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Companies House | In research |
| Singapore | ACRA | In research |
| Hong Kong | Companies Registry | In research |
| Ireland | Companies Registration Office | In research |
| Australia | ASIC | In research |
| United States | State-level registries | In research |
United Kingdom
The free register shows legal status, registered office and filing history. Those records identify the entity; current trading still needs separate, dated evidence.
Check the official sourceSingapore
Bizfile search shows basic status and registered address without login. A Business Profile provides more entity detail as a paid information product; neither establishes a trading address.
Check the official sourceHong Kong
The e-Search service offers current company data and registered documents. The business registration number is the current search identifier; a register result still needs to be matched to the operating business.
Check the official sourceIreland
CORE provides company, business and document searches, with documents available to purchase. A statutory filing identifies the entity, not its current customer-facing activity.
Check the official sourceAustralia
ASIC offers free basic company details, including identifier, registration date and registered-office location. More detailed extracts and lodged documents are separate products; a registered office is not a trading address.
Check the official sourceUnited States
The SBA directs researchers to state or territory registration offices. Source fields and access need to be checked for the relevant jurisdiction before a business can be matched to a legal entity.
Check the official sourceFiling requirements differ by jurisdiction, so record depth differs with them. That is a property of the source, not something to be smoothed over — where a market discloses less, the records will hold less, and the fields will be blank rather than filled with an estimate.
The fields
What a planned record would distinguish.
These are intended field groups, not a sample of a finished file. A value is included only when its source supports it.
Registry identifier and status
Jurisdiction, identifier and dated legal status. Period-specific dormancy and insolvency evidence are separate checks.
Activity
Filed industry code and the company’s own description, labelled by source. Neither alone confirms current trading.
Registered office and trading address
Separate fields with separate sources. No trading address is inferred from the registered office.
Public contact route
Website, general company email or switchboard only where publicly supported; no private personal contacts.
Source and observation date
The source and date behind a material field, so a buyer can check what was observed and when.
Revenue, headcount and beneficial ownership remain blank where public evidence does not support them. For example, UK small-company filing guidance explains why a profit and loss account may be absent from the public register. A blank means not published or not established, never zero or none.
Is this the right kind of list for your task?
- Building a longlist: compare the markets above, the identity and operating checks, and which public fields you need.
- Planning outreach: allow for missing trading addresses and public contact routes; a company record is not a warm lead.
- Needing financial or deal intent data: do not treat blank financial fields as estimates or any record as evidence that a company is for sale.
No market file is available yet. See the planned licence and availability before sending a market-specific enquiry.
Coverage enquiry
Ask about your market.
Tell us the market, sector and intended use. We can discuss the research scope by email; no finished file, price or release date is available yet.