How to Find a Person with Significant Control (PSC) at Companies House

What is a Person with Significant Control?

A Person with Significant Control (PSC) is an individual or entity that holds significant influence over a UK limited company. Under UK law, companies must declare anyone who meets at least one of the following conditions:

• Owns more than 25% of the company's shares
• Holds more than 25% of the voting rights
• Has the right to appoint or remove a majority of directors
• Has the right to exercise, or actually exercises, significant influence or control over the company

PSC data has been mandatory on the Companies House register since April 2016 under the Small Business, Enterprise and Employment Act 2015. Every UK limited company must file a PSC statement, and this information is publicly available free of charge.

Why is PSC information useful?

PSC data reveals the real people behind a company. This is valuable in several situations:

• Due diligence: Before entering a contract, you can identify the ultimate beneficial owner of a counterparty
• Sales prospecting: Find the decision-maker rather than cold-contacting a generic email address
• Fraud prevention: Identify shell companies where beneficial ownership is obscured through nominee arrangements
• Anti-money laundering (AML) checks: Required by solicitors, accountants, and financial institutions before onboarding a client

How to find PSC information on Companies House

You can access PSC data directly from the Companies House register:

1. Go to find.companieshouse.gov.uk and search for the company by name or number
2. Click through to the company profile page
3. Select the "People" tab to view directors, secretaries, and PSC entries
4. PSC filings are listed under "Persons with significant control"

Each PSC entry shows the individual's name, the nature and extent of control (e.g. "Owns 75% or more of shares"), and the date they registered as a PSC. Residential addresses are protected and not shown publicly, but a correspondence address is listed.

Using NewcoHunter's PSC lookup tool

NewcoHunter's PSC lookup tool lets you search PSC records directly by company number and returns the full list of persons with significant control for that company, including their nature of control and the date they became a PSC. This is useful when you need to quickly identify ownership without navigating the full Companies House interface.

Common issues with PSC data

PSC filings are not always straightforward. Common situations that complicate PSC lookups include:

• Exempt from disclosure: Some individuals with a legitimate reason (such as a credible threat of violence) can apply for their PSC information to be protected
• Corporate PSC: Another company, rather than an individual, can be registered as the PSC - requiring you to trace through the corporate chain
• "Statement" instead of a person: Some companies file a statement such as "the company knows or has reasonable cause to believe that there is no registrable person" which may indicate a complex ownership structure
• Outdated filings: PSC information must be updated when ownership changes, but delays in filing are common

PSC data and newly registered companies

For newly incorporated companies, PSC information is typically filed at or shortly after registration. If you are prospecting new companies using NewcoHunter's new company monitoring tool, PSC data is one of the first pieces of information available - giving you the name of the founder or controlling shareholder from day one.