How can a UK insurance broker find companies that have just taken new premises?

A UK insurance broker can find companies that have just taken new premises by watching two public sources: planning registers, which record new sites and operating centres, and the Companies House charges register, which records security a lender takes over a company's assets. Neither is a perfect proxy, so the best approach combines both with the company's own website and a short call.

Lockley recorded 2,421 new premises or operating centres across 2,069 UK companies in September 2026. That is roughly 2,000 companies a month with a visible change of premises, a good-sized pool for a broker to work with.

Why new premises matter to a broker

A company moving into or opening a site usually has to review its property, liability and employer cover around the same time. That is reasoning rather than a statistic: the timing is a sensible reason to call, and it is the broker's job to confirm the need. The point of the signal is to reach the business at the moment its arrangements are likely to be reviewed, rather than at a random renewal.

Source one: planning registers

Local planning authorities publish applications and decisions. A change of use, a new unit or a new operating centre appears with a date and an address. This is the cleanest sign of a new site because it comes from the authority itself. The weakness is coverage: there are many authorities, each with its own format, and reading them one by one is slow. In the seven days to 7 October 2026 the index recorded 39 new sites, against 77 the week before, so the flow is modest and uneven.

Source two: the charges register

When a company borrows against property or other assets, the lender registers a charge at Companies House. The entry names the lender and the date, and often describes what is secured. A new charge can follow a purchase of premises, but it can equally be working capital or vehicle finance, so read the description before assuming. The index counted 1,958 new charges registered in the seven days to 7 October 2026, against 9,301 the week before. That swing is large, which is why a single week should not be taken as a trend.

A simple weekly routine

Start by choosing the sectors you place most business in, such as hospitality, retail, motor trade or manufacturing. Pull the new sites and new charges for those sectors. Open each record and note the date, address and what the filing says. Check the company's website for the new location. Then call with one specific line: that you noticed the new site and wanted to ask how its cover is being reviewed.

Do the check the same day. A site that opened three months ago has probably already been covered by someone else.

Doing it by hand or with Lockley

Both registers are free to search, and the by-hand route costs only time. Lockley reads them nightly and puts companies with a new site or charge on a short morning list, each with a link to the record. It does not sell contact lists, so you will still find the right person yourself.

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