PSC / Beneficial Ownership Lookup

Look up Persons with Significant Control for any UK company - who owns it, their nationality, and the nature of their control.

What Is a Person with Significant Control?

A Person with Significant Control (PSC) is someone who owns or controls a UK company. Since 2016, most UK companies must identify and report their PSCs to Companies House as part of the PSC register. This information is publicly available and helps prevent money laundering, tax evasion, and terrorist financing.

Who Qualifies as a PSC?

A person is a PSC if they meet one or more of these conditions:

• Hold more than 25% of the company's shares
• Hold more than 25% of the company's voting rights
• Have the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board of directors
• Have the right to exercise, or actually exercise, significant influence or control
• Have the right to exercise, or actually exercise, significant influence or control over a trust or firm that meets any of the above conditions

PSC Exemptions

Some types of company are exempt from PSC requirements, including companies with shares traded on a regulated market (e.g. the London Stock Exchange main market) and companies with shares on certain prescribed markets (e.g. AIM, NEX Exchange). These companies already have transparency requirements under different regulations.

Why Check PSC Information?

• Due diligence - verify who really controls a company before doing business with them
• AML compliance - identify beneficial owners as part of anti-money laundering checks
• Investor research - understand ownership structures before investing
• Credit decisions - assess the people behind a company when extending credit

Related Tools

• Company Director Search - search for UK company directors and officers
• Free Company Search - search over 5.7 million UK companies
• Registered Office Checker - look up a company's registered address

Researching new business contacts? NewcoHunter monitors Companies House for newly registered companies matching your target sector and location.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a PSC?

A PSC is a Person with Significant Control - someone who owns or controls a UK company. Since 2016, most UK companies have had to identify their PSCs and report them to Companies House, and this information is publicly available. It exists to make company ownership more transparent.

Who counts as a person with significant control?

Broadly, someone is a PSC if they hold more than 25% of a company's shares or voting rights, can appoint or remove a majority of the board, or otherwise exercise significant influence or control. Control held through a trust or firm can also make someone a PSC.

Is PSC information public?

Yes. The PSC register is part of the public Companies House record, and you can look up a company's people with significant control for free. It typically shows their name, nationality, country of residence, and the nature of their control.

What is the difference between a PSC and a director?

A director is appointed to run the company day to day, whereas a PSC is someone who ultimately owns or controls it. A person can be both, but they can also be one without being the other - for example, a majority shareholder who is not a director is still a PSC.

Are any companies exempt from the PSC rules?

Some are. Companies whose shares are traded on certain regulated markets are generally exempt because they already meet other transparency requirements. Most private companies, however, must keep and report a PSC register.