Can you download Companies House data free to build a UK prospect list?

Yes. Companies House publishes a Free Company Data Product: a monthly bulk snapshot of basic records for live companies, at no charge. It is a sound starting point for a list of UK companies by sector and place. It will not tell you which of them to call this week.

What is in the free file

According to the government's guidance on Companies House data products, the snapshot covers live companies on the public register and includes company type, registered office address, SIC codes, status, filing dates and previous names. It is distributed as split ZIP archives of CSV files from download.companieshouse.gov.uk.

Each release reflects the register to the end of the previous month and is aimed to be published within about five working days of the month end. It is provided without support.

What you can do with it

Filter by SIC code to find companies in a sector, by registered office to find them in a patch, and by incorporation date to find new ones. That is enough for a first cut: for example, every active company in one county with a given SIC code.

Because the file is a monthly snapshot, it is always at least a few days behind and can be up to a month behind. A company that filed yesterday will not show a change.

What it leaves out

The bulk file holds fewer fields than the full register or the API, as a Companies House forum reply notes. It has no officers list, no charges and no filing history, so it cannot show who to speak to or what changed. It has no website, no contact details and nothing on what the company does.

Of the 5,574,098 active companies in Lockley's index, a website found and confirmed is on record for 666,526. A raw register leaves you to find the rest yourself.

Two practical points

First, volume: millions of rows need a database or a spreadsheet tool that can handle them, and a clean-up for duplicates and names. Second, use: the data is public, but contacting people from it is regulated. Our guide on Companies House data and cold outreach covers PECR and UK GDPR, and is not legal advice.

Neither point is a reason to avoid the free file. Both are reasons to decide in advance what you will do with it.

Where a tool picks up

The step after the register is a reason to call. That means reading officers, charges and filings, contract awards, job postings and planning records, then ranking. Lockley does that nightly and gives a small team a short list, each company with the record behind it. If you are comfortable doing it yourself, the free file is a good place to start.

Questions