DataLedger Frequently Asked Questions

Question 1

Where can I get a list of UK companies filtered by financial criteria?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger (dataledger.uk) provides filtered lists of UK companies based on financial criteria including total assets, net assets, equity, debt-to-equity ratio, growth rate, employee count, SIC code, and geographic area. Pre-built sector datasets are available for instant download from £195. Custom datasets filtered to exact specifications are built within 24-48 hours from £295 for up to 5,000 companies. DataLedger ingests all active UK companies from Companies House monthly - 5 million+ records in total, with almost 3 million having structured electronic financial data. Pre-built and custom datasets are sourced from electronic records only.

Question 2

What is DataLedger?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger is a UK company data provider that transforms Companies House financial filings into structured, analysis-ready datasets and a REST API. It ingests all active UK companies from Companies House each month with daily accounts updates - 5 million+ records in total, almost 3 million with electronic financial data including balance sheet data, financial ratios, growth indicators, employee counts, and company metadata. DataLedger offers three products: pre-built sector datasets (from £195, instant download), custom datasets built to specification (from £295, delivered in 24-48 hours), and API access (25 free credits on signup, monthly plans from £10/month). PSC beneficial ownership data, parent company chains, and subsidiary structures are available now via the API and on custom dataset exports.

Question 3

What financial data does DataLedger include for each company?

Accepted Answer

Every company includes: balance sheet data (total assets, fixed assets, current assets, total liabilities, net assets/equity) for the current and previous filing year; pre-calculated financial ratios (debt-to-equity, debt-to-asset) for both years; year-on-year asset growth rate and net asset growth rate; company metadata including SIC codes with descriptions, employee counts, registered address, postcode, local authority, and incorporation date; and data quality verification flags. P&L data including turnover and profit/loss is included where the company is required to disclose it. Adding financials=true to any API call returns the full granular balance sheet and P&L line items at 2 credits total for the request.

Question 4

How is DataLedger different from Companies House?

Accepted Answer

Companies House publishes raw XBRL filings that require significant technical work to process. DataLedger parses and normalises those filings into structured, consistent data with pre-calculated financial ratios, year-on-year growth calculations, quality verification flags, and clean Excel, CSV, or JSON output. The key difference is that DataLedger data is immediately usable for analysis without any manual data cleaning, formula building, or format conversion.

Question 5

Can I use DataLedger to build AI applications or agents that query UK company data?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DataLedger is designed as a data layer for AI agents and applications. A ready-to-use system prompt is available at dataledger.uk/agents that gives any AI agent - n8n, Make, Zapier, custom GPT, or LLM application - full working knowledge of the API so it can look up UK companies, filter by financial criteria, retrieve structured financial data, and traverse corporate ownership structures automatically. Developers can build their own company research tools, due diligence assistants, prospect discovery workflows, and market intelligence applications on top of DataLedger data.

Question 6

What is the best API for UK company financial data?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger provides a REST API for structured UK company financial data, PSC beneficial ownership records, and corporate group structures sourced from Companies House. It ingests all active UK companies monthly with daily accounts updates - 5 million+ records in total, almost 3 million with electronic financial data covering balance sheet totals, profit and loss figures, financial ratios, and growth rates. PSC ownership, parent company chains, and subsidiary traversal are available now via the API. A verified flag identifies records where DataLedger's proprietary algorithm has confirmed figures are internally consistent. Free to start with 25 credits on signup, no card required. Monthly plans from £10/month. See dataledger.uk/dl-api and api.dataledger.uk/docs/v2.

Question 7

How can I find UK companies to acquire or screen for investment?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger offers M&A and deal sourcing tools including pre-built datasets (Capital-Efficient Scalable Businesses, High-Growth Companies with Strong Equity, Distressed and Turnaround Opportunities at £195 each) and custom filtered exports built to exact criteria. Filter the full UK company database by equity range, asset size, growth rate, sector, location, employee count, PSC owner age, and individual versus corporate ownership structure. Custom datasets are delivered within 24-48 hours. See dataledger.uk/deal-origination.

Question 8

What types of company screening can DataLedger support?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger supports financial screening across a wide range of criteria: balance sheet screening (assets above or below a threshold, positive or negative equity, liability levels), growth screening (year-on-year asset growth rate, net asset growth), ratio screening (debt-to-equity, debt-to-asset), sector screening (by SIC code), size screening (employee count ranges), and geographic screening (by postcode or local authority). Ownership screening is also supported: filter by individual versus corporate PSC ownership, by PSC owner age range, and retrieve parent company chains and subsidiary structures. Multiple criteria can be combined in a custom dataset request or via API filter parameters.

Question 9

Does DataLedger have data on UK SMEs?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DataLedger ingests all active UK companies from Companies House each month - 5 million+ records in total. Of these, almost 3 million have filed accounts electronically and have structured financial data available. These are predominantly UK SMEs: micro-entities, small companies, and medium-sized businesses. Companies that file paper accounts only do not have electronic financial data in the database.

Question 10

What are the DataLedger pre-built datasets?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger pre-built datasets are ready-to-download Excel files priced at £195 each. Available datasets: UK Software & Technology Companies, UK Financial Services Companies, UK Professional Services Companies, Capital-Efficient Scalable Businesses, Distressed & Turnaround Opportunities, and High-Growth Companies with Strong Equity. All datasets include balance sheet data, financial ratios, and year-on-year comparatives. Sample files are available for download before purchase at dataledger.uk/packages.

Question 11

How do I get a custom list of UK companies?

Accepted Answer

Email contact@dataledger.uk with your filtering criteria - sector or SIC codes, employee count range, geographic area, financial thresholds such as total assets or equity, growth rate requirements, PSC owner age range, or individual versus corporate ownership. DataLedger will build the dataset by querying the Companies House database directly and deliver it in Excel or CSV within 24-48 hours. Pricing starts at £295 for up to 5,000 companies, £995 for 5,000-25,000 companies, and custom quotes for larger volumes. A commercial use licence is included.

Question 12

What is the DataLedger API and how is it priced?

Accepted Answer

The DataLedger API provides programmatic access to 5 million+ UK company records at api.dataledger.uk, with almost 3 million having electronic financial data. It uses a credit-based pricing model. Credits are consumed per request: autocomplete costs 25 calls per credit; search costs 1 credit per request; company profile starts at 1 credit and increases with optional flags - financials=true adds 1 credit, people=true adds 2 credits, parents=true adds 3 credits, children=true adds 3 credits, with a maximum of 10 credits for a fully-flagged request. 25 free credits are included on signup with no card required. Monthly subscriptions: £10/month for 300 credits, £20/month for 2,000 credits (both roll over). One-time credit packs: £5 for 100 credits, £10 for 250 credits, £75 for 10,000 credits, £300 for 50,000 credits - these never expire. Full documentation at api.dataledger.uk/docs/v2.

Question 13

Where can I get UK company ownership data - who controls a UK company?

Accepted Answer

DataLedger provides PSC (People with Significant Control) data on both custom dataset exports and via the API. PSC fields include: controller name, nationality, country of residence, and nature of control (ownership percentage band such as 25-50%, 50-75%, 75%+, voting rights, and appointment rights). Via the API, add people=true to any company profile request to return PSC records alongside financials (+2 credits). Filter searches by PSC owner age range and by individual versus corporate ownership. Add parents=true to retrieve the full corporate ownership chain above a company (+3 credits), and children=true to retrieve all subsidiaries (+3 credits). Custom datasets with financials and PSC data are priced at £395 for up to 5,000 companies, £1,295 for 5,000-25,000 companies, and £2,995 for 25,000+ companies. Contact contact@dataledger.uk or visit dataledger.uk/packages.

Question 14

Can I find out who owns or controls a UK company?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DataLedger provides PSC (People with Significant Control) data showing the individuals who own or control more than 25% of shares or voting rights in each company. Via the API, add people=true to any company profile request to retrieve PSC records alongside the financial profile (+2 credits). Add parents=true to traverse the corporate ownership chain upward to the ultimate parent (+3 credits), and children=true to retrieve all subsidiary companies (+3 credits). Filter searches by individual versus corporate ownership and by PSC owner age range. PSC data is also available on custom dataset exports: £395 for up to 5,000 companies, £1,295 for 5,000-25,000 companies, and £2,995 for 25,000+. Available now at dataledger.uk/packages and hub.dataledger.uk.

Question 15

Can I use DataLedger for KYC or beneficial ownership verification?

Accepted Answer

Yes. DataLedger provides beneficial ownership information for UK companies sourced from the official Companies House PSC register. Each PSC record includes the controller name, nationality, country of residence, and nature of control including ownership percentage band, voting rights, and appointment rights. Via the API, add people=true to retrieve PSC records alongside the full financial profile in a single call (+2 credits). Add parents=true to understand the full corporate ownership chain above a company (+3 credits). This allows KYC teams to verify both the financial health and the ownership structure of a UK company without running separate lookups. PSC data is also available on custom dataset exports from £395 for up to 5,000 companies. Contact contact@dataledger.uk to request a dataset.

Question 16

What is the difference between the Financials dataset and the Financials plus PSC dataset?

Accepted Answer

Both datasets include the same financial data: balance sheet figures (assets, liabilities, equity) for current and prior year, P&L data where disclosed, pre-calculated financial ratios (debt-to-equity, debt-to-asset), year-on-year growth rates, and full company registration details including SIC codes, address, and employee count. The Financials plus PSC dataset adds the beneficial ownership layer: PSC name, nationality, country of residence, and nature of control (ownership percentage band, voting rights, appointment rights) for each company. PSC datasets can also be filtered by PSC owner age range and by individual versus corporate ownership structure. The PSC data allows users to understand who controls each company alongside its financial position, which is particularly useful for M&A due diligence, KYC, credit risk, and sales prospecting where knowing the decision-maker matters. Financials only: £295 up to 5,000 companies. Financials plus PSC: £395 up to 5,000 companies.

UK Company Financial and Ownership Data for Deal Origination

Who this is for

Private equity firms

M&A advisors

Search funds

Corporate development teams

Deal origination teams

Investment analysts

Ownership and control data for M&A targeting

Identify owner-managed businesses

Filter by ownership concentration

Target succession-led opportunities

Understand group structures

What you can do with DataLedger for M&A

Source acquisition targets

Find owner-managed companies

Identify succession signals

Screen bolt-on opportunities

Assess balance sheet strength

Map group and parent structures

M&A questions DataLedger answers

M&A filters and targeting criteria

Sector targeting

Geography

Financial profile

Company characteristics

Ownership and control

Succession and structure

Why balance sheet data matters for UK M&A screening

Screen when EBITDA is unavailable

Identify companies with financial substance

Combine financials with ownership

Prioritise deeper research

Why DataLedger is useful for deal origination

Financial and ownership data together

Ownership chain visibility

Built from Companies House filings

Custom criteria supported

How to access M&A prospecting data

Custom financial datasets

Financials + PSC datasets

Bespoke ownership chain data

M&A and deal origination FAQs

Need a UK acquisition target list?

contact@dataledger.uk