How do I find UK companies that have just satisfied a charge?

To find UK companies that have just satisfied a charge, open the charges page of a company on Companies House and look for entries marked as satisfied, with the date. A satisfied charge means the debt secured by the charge has been repaid, in full or in part, and the lender's security has been released. For a seller of finance, insurance, advice or equipment, a fresh satisfaction is a dated, checkable reason to call: the company has just changed its borrowing.

What a charge and a satisfaction are

A charge, often called a mortgage on the register, is security a company gives to a lender over its assets. When the company registers one, it appears on the public register. Companies House handles mortgages and charges identically for registration and searching, even though the terms are defined differently.

When the debt is repaid, the company files a statement of satisfaction, form MR04, in full or in part. Charges created before 6 April 2013 use older archived forms. Limited liability partnerships use a different form, LL MR04. Each charge on the register then shows its status: outstanding, part satisfied or satisfied, with the date of satisfaction.

How to find them

Companies House does not offer a single list of the charges satisfied this week. There are three practical routes.

First, check a named company. Open its charges page, which groups entries by status and shows counts of outstanding, part satisfied and satisfied charges. This is the right route when you already have a short list.

Second, use the free bulk data and the Companies House API if you have a developer, and filter charge records by status and date. This takes work but costs nothing.

Third, use a service that reads the register nightly and gives you the day's changes. Lockley reads Companies House charges and filings each night and links each finding to the record it came from, so you can check it before calling.

What a satisfaction does and does not tell you

A satisfaction tells you that a loan was repaid or secured debt was released. It does not tell you why. The company may have refinanced with another lender, sold the asset, paid from cash or closed a facility it no longer needed. Read the register for a newly registered charge from a different lender at about the same time, which suggests a refinance. Read the company's filed accounts for the context.

Treat it as a prompt for a question, not a conclusion. Do not tell the buyer you know they are refinancing. Say you saw that a charge was satisfied on a stated date and ask how they now plan to fund the next stage.

Who should use this signal

Asset finance brokers, commercial lenders, insurers, accountants and equipment suppliers all have a reason to speak to a company that has just cleared a lender. A recruitment or software seller has a weaker case, and should combine it with a hiring or director signal.

Freshness matters. A satisfaction filed this month is a conversation; one from three years ago is history. Lockley's own guidance on freshness is in how fresh a UK buying signal should be.

A short call opener

Name the record, the date and one question. For example: I saw a charge in favour of a lender was marked satisfied on the register on a given date. Is financing something you are looking at again this year? It is specific, honest and easy to verify.

Questions