WHITO GLOSSARY · MEASURED DEFINITIONS
Confirming a business resolves to an active company on the UK register. It fails more than you would think: 29 of 100 limited-company listings on five UK business directories could not be resolved to an active company.
The number: UK Directory Dead Listings Study.
What it means in practice
Trust badges are decoration; the register is the record. A Companies House check takes a minute and fails often enough to be worth the minute every time.
Check the exact name, the status, the filing history and whether the town matches. If a listing cannot be matched to an active company, that is your answer.
Whito stage: Any stage. Use it before you sign anything.
The numbers to hold onto
- 29 of 100 limited-company directory listings could not be resolved to an active company. UK Directory Dead Listings Study.
- Every listing on the Whito directory is checked against the register; nobody pays to appear. Whito Directory.
- The public registers, indexed in one place. UK Public Record Index.
Where to go next
Related: Dead listing, ICO registration, Companies House check