Signal families: the five lenses on a company

A signal is a dated change at a UK company, taken from official public records. Signals are grouped into families, so you can look at one kind of change at a time.

The families

• New - businesses that have just started.
• Scaling - businesses getting bigger.
• Shrinking - businesses getting smaller.
• Failing - businesses in financial trouble.
• Changing - businesses changing owner, name, location or direction.

A sixth family, Winning, is on the way. See what's coming.

A company can be in more than one family

Families are lenses, not boxes. A company that takes on a new director and also issues new shares can show up under Scaling and under Changing at once.

Which family should I start with?

Start from what you sell. Accountants, banks and insurers often begin with New. Office, IT and telecoms suppliers often begin with Scaling and Changing. Recruiters look at Scaling and Shrinking. Insolvency, debt recovery and finance providers look at Failing and Shrinking. See Pick signals for what you sell.

One thing to remember

A signal is a fact, not a prediction. Read Does a signal mean they will buy? before you build outreach around one.