What is in the export

Each row is one company. The columns below are the same in CSV and Excel files, and in lists you buy once.

Always filled in

• Company Number, Company Name, Status, Type, Incorporation Date
• FAO: the name of a director, written the way you would address an envelope. It sits next to the address columns so the sheet reads like a mailing label.
• Address Line 1, Address Line 2, Locality, Region, Postcode, Country: the registered office address.
• SIC Codes and Nature of Business
• Directors: current directors' names.

Filled in when we have something

• Latest Event: the most recent change on record for the company.
• Lead Status and Lead Notes: your own status and notes from your pipeline.
• Likely Shell: TRUE or FALSE, so you can filter out companies that look set up to hold something rather than trade.

Often blank, on purpose

The website, contact email, contact phone and LinkedIn columns are only filled in where we have verified the detail belongs to the company. Otherwise they are left empty. We never guess. New companies rarely have any of these, so expect many blanks. See Contact details.

Using the file

• For letters, filter on a filled-in FAO and use the address columns for a mail merge. See Send a mailing.
• In a CRM import, map Company Number to a unique ID so you can spot duplicates later.
• Remember that using the data to contact people is covered by UK rules. See Can I contact new companies?

How you know it worked

The first row is a header, and every company has an address and, in nearly all cases, a director.