Can a UK seller use Companies House data for cold outreach?

The short answer

Yes, you can use Companies House records to decide which UK companies to approach, but being public does not make every use free of rules. Two regimes apply. The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR) govern how you make live marketing calls and send marketing emails. UK GDPR governs how you handle personal data, such as the name of a director. This page is a plain-English guide, not legal advice; check the ICO's current guidance or take advice before building a campaign.

Researching a company is different from contacting a person

Reading a company's filings to decide whether to call is research. Rules bite when you contact someone or store their personal data. A company's registered name, number and filing history are company information. A director's name on an officer record is personal data, so you need a lawful basis, normally legitimate interests, and you should tell people how you use it and respect objections.

Live calls to businesses

The ICO's business-to-business guidance says PECR's marketing rules apply to companies, LLPs, Scottish partnerships and some government bodies, and that an employee's work number takes its employer's status. For live calls, the ICO says you may rely on legitimate interests for a number that is not on the TPS or CTPS, provided the person has not previously objected. An objection to direct marketing is absolute, so keep a suppression list. Sole traders and some partnerships are treated as individuals, so the stricter consumer protections apply. Screen numbers against the TPS and CTPS before live marketing calls.

Marketing emails

Email follows different rules from calls. The ICO's guidance distinguishes corporate subscribers from individual subscribers, and the sender must identify themselves and offer a way to opt out. Read the ICO page below for the exact conditions before sending.

Where a signal-led approach helps

Starting from a dated public record, such as a charge registered or a contract ending, means you contact fewer companies and can explain why you are calling, which supports a legitimate-interests assessment and makes the opening more relevant. It does not remove your obligations. Lockley reads public registers and postings and links each finding to its source record; it does not sell contact lists or bulk email data and does not send email on the customer's behalf, so the calling and its compliance stay with you.

A practical checklist

Check the company type, because sole traders and partnerships differ. Screen telephone numbers against the TPS and CTPS. Keep a suppression list and honour objections at once. Record why you chose each company. Say who you are and how you got the details when asked.

What to keep on record

Keep a short note of why each company was chosen and which public record prompted the call. That note is useful if someone asks how you obtained their details, and it forces the discipline of calling only where there is a reason. Because every Lockley finding links to the record it came from, the evidence for that note is already attached, though the decision to call and how you do so remain yours.

Review your suppression list before every campaign, and do not rely on a purchased list being clean. Rules and guidance change, so check the ICO pages linked below on the day you plan the work, and take legal advice for anything unusual such as calling sole traders at scale.

Questions