We Checked 100 Cylex UK Listings Against Companies House. 18 Did Not Lead to an Active Company.

Last Updated on September 28, 2026

People search “Cylex UK Companies House” because they want to know one thing: is the firm on this listing a real, trading company? We checked 120 Cylex listings to find out how often the answer is no.

Cylex UK is one of the business directories that shows up in Google for almost any trade and town. Its listings look official. Many carry an “Official Data” box with a company number. Most carry a recent “Last updated” date.

So we did what a careful customer would do. On 28 September 2026 we took 100 limited-company trade listings from Cylex UK, walked down the results exactly as Cylex shows them, and looked every one up on Companies House. We also went back to the 20 Cylex listings from our July directory study to see what had changed.

The finding, in five lines

1. Of 100 limited-company trade listings on Cylex UK checked on 28 September 2026, 18 did not lead to an active company at Companies House: 10 dissolved, 3 in liquidation, 4 facing a proposal to strike off, and 1 with no confident match.
2. 56 listings print a company number in Cylex’s “Official Data” box. None of the boxes shows the company’s status. For 8 of the 56, that number belongs to a company that is dissolved, in liquidation or facing strike-off.
3. 4 listings for dissolved companies show a Cylex “Last updated” date that falls after the company was dissolved. One company was dissolved in May 2022. Its listing says “Last updated 20/04/2026”.
4. 7 listings show a “Managed by” line. All 7 led to an active company. None of the 18 failures had one.
5. All 20 listings from our July study are still live, 12 weeks later. 8 of the 20 still do not lead to an active company.

01

Nearly one in five listings do not lead to an active company

We took the first 10 listings with Ltd, Limited, LLP or PLC in the name from 10 trade and city pages, in the order Cylex displays them. Coventry locksmiths ran out at 6, so we added the first 4 from Nottingham locksmiths to reach 100.

Roofers had the most failures. Electricians had the fewest.

This is not buried in the back pages. 12 of the 18 were on the first results page for their trade and city.

02

“Last updated” does not mean the company still exists

78 of the 100 listings show a “Last updated” date, and every one of those dates is in 2026. It reads like a freshness stamp.

But 10 of the 18 failing listings also carry a 2026 date. For 4 dissolved companies, the date comes after the company was dissolved:

• Electroserv Ltd, dissolved 1 May 2022. Listing last updated 20/04/2026.
• Matt Webb Electrical Services Ltd, dissolved 8 February 2022. Listing last updated 20/04/2026.
• Oadby Builders Ltd, dissolved 31 October 2023. Listing last updated 20/04/2026.
• The Neighbourhood Locksmiths Ltd, dissolved 24 March 2026. Listing last updated 18/04/2026.

Cylex does not say on the page what was updated, or who updated it. What the date cannot tell you is whether the company behind the listing still exists.

03

The status-blind number

This is the part that answers the search. Cylex does show Companies House data. 59 of the 100 listings have an “Official Data” box, and 56 of those print a company number, next to the official name, registered office, SIC code and year of incorporation.

What the box never shows is the company’s status. We call this the status-blind number: a real company number, printed without the one field that says whether the company is still trading. A company number reassures a reader. On its own, it proves nothing about today.

The last two rows matter for the businesses as well as their customers. A company called Atom Electric Services Limited is active at the address on the Cylex listing. So is a company called Trusted Roofing Limited in the Glasgow area. But the number Cylex prints on each listing belongs to a different company that has been dissolved. Anyone who checks the printed number would reach the wrong conclusion about a firm that is still trading.

04

Twelve weeks later, the July listings are all still there

In July we checked 20 Cylex listings in four cities and found 8 that did not resolve to an active company. On 28 September we opened all 20 again.

• All 20 listings are still live.
• 7 of July’s 8 failures are unchanged. Foster Electrical Contractors Ltd, dissolved 22 June 2024, is still listed among Leeds electricians, now showing “Last updated 20/04/2026”.
• Three companies had a proposal to strike off in July and still have one now: AGA Plumbing & Heating, Irlam Heating & Plumbing Company and Dalton Construction (Solihull). Three more are still in liquidation: Gravitas Build, S S Builders (Euro) and Chris Ball & Son Roofing.
• One listing we could not match in July, EPG Services Ltd, now resolves through the company number Cylex prints: EPG Contracting Limited, active, at the listed postcode. We have moved it to a pass.
• One listing that passed in July, Emergency Repairs Limited in Manchester, now has an active proposal to strike off.

So 8 of the 20 still do not lead to an active company today. Twelve weeks is long enough for a directory to notice a dissolved or failing company. These listings were not removed.

05

Six listings use a name the company stopped using

Six listings lead to an active company, but under a name it no longer uses. The oldest: “S V Rutter Builder Ltd” in Newcastle. The company changed its name from S.V. Rutter (Builder) Limited on 1 May 1997. The others changed in 2018, 2019, 2019, 2024 and 2025.

These firms are real and trading. But a customer searching Companies House for the name on the listing would not find them without knowing to check previous names. We counted all six as passes.

The evidence, in screenshots

How to check a Cylex listing against Companies House in two minutes

1. Find the number. Scroll to the “Official Data” box on the Cylex listing. If there is a company number, copy it. If there is no box, copy the business name exactly as the listing shows it.
2. Search the register. Go to Find and update company information on GOV.UK. Search the number, or the name.
3. Read the status first. “Active” is what you want. “Dissolved”, “Liquidation” or “Active proposal to strike off” means stop and ask questions.
4. Check the name matches. The number on a listing can belong to a different company. Make sure the company name and area match the business you are talking to.
5. Check previous names. If the name finds nothing, search again and look under “Matching previous names”. The company may simply have been renamed.
6. Remember what the register covers. Sole traders and partnerships do not register there. A missing company is a question to ask, not proof of anything.

What this means if your business is on Cylex

You do not need a budget to fix this. You need ten minutes.

• Search for your own listing. It may be there even if you never added it. Only 7 of the 100 listings we checked showed a “Managed by” line.
• Check the company number in the Official Data box. If it is not yours, the listing is sending careful customers to someone else’s record. Ask Cylex to correct it.
• Update your name. If you renamed the company, the old name on a directory makes you harder to verify, not easier.
• Take control of the listing. In our sample, all 7 listings with a “Managed by” line led to an active company. Seven is a small number, but none of the 18 failures had one.

Then check how AI search sees you. Directories like Cylex are part of what engines read. Our free Visibility Check shows what a customer sees when they look you up.

Method in brief

• Sample. Ten Cylex UK trade and city pages not used in our July study: electricians in Bristol and Sheffield, plumbers in Liverpool and Nottingham, builders in Newcastle and Leicester, roofers in Glasgow and Cardiff, locksmiths in Southampton and Coventry. On each we walked the results in displayed order, across pages, and took every listing whose name contained Ltd, Limited, LLP or PLC until we had 10. No skipping. Coventry locksmiths had only 6 across 48 listings, so we added the first 4 from Nottingham locksmiths. 100 listings in all. Collected 28 September 2026.
• Listing data. For each listing we recorded the name, address and postcode from the page, the “Last updated” date if shown, whether a “Managed by” line appeared, and the contents of any “Official Data” box.
• Companies House. We searched each name on the register. A listing counts as resolved when a same-name company (ignoring punctuation, spacing, Ltd/Limited and “&”/”and”) is on the register. Where several same-name companies existed, we took the one whose registered postcode matched the listing’s. Where the name matched nothing, we checked previous company names and the number Cylex prints. Every judgement call is written into the data file.
• Headline rule. A listing passes if it leads to a company with status Active and no proposal to strike off. Dissolved, liquidation, strike-off proposals and no confident match count as not leading to an active company. The name match decides. Cylex’s printed number decides only where the name match could not.
• The one no-match. PT Consultancy Ltd, listed among Cardiff roofers, has two same-name companies on the register: one dissolved, and one a Nottingham holiday-accommodation company with a proposal to strike off. Neither could be accepted as a Cardiff roofer, and the listing prints no number.
• July re-check. The 20 Cylex listings from our July 2026 study (collected 4 to 5 July, published 5 July) were reopened on Cylex and their company numbers re-read on Companies House on 28 September 2026.
• Screenshots. Captured on 28 September 2026 after the counts were made.

Limits

• This is a check of limited-company listings only. Sole traders and partnerships were excluded because Companies House does not cover them. The rate for all Cylex listings could be higher or lower.
• 100 is a sample, not a census. Ten trade and city pages, one day. Treat the percentages as a measured snapshot.
• A failed check is not a finding against a person. A dissolved company can have a successor business trading under the same name. We have not assessed anyone’s work, prices or conduct. The finding is about what the listing shows and what the register shows.
• A name match can be wrong. A same-name company may not be the business on the listing. The data file notes every case where we used the postcode, a previous name or Cylex’s printed number to decide.
• We do not know what “Last updated” or “Managed by” mean to Cylex. We report what the page shows. Cylex does not define either on the listing.

Corrections and right of reply

If you run one of the businesses named here, or you work for Cylex, and something is wrong, email hello@whito.co.uk. We will check it and correct the record. Our corrections policy is at https://whito.co.uk/corrections/.

The file behind this study

The row-level file (120 listings, every register check, the Cylex fields and our notes on each judgement) is available to organisations through Whito Data. The findings on this page stay free.

Cite this research

Whito Research (2026). Cylex UK and Companies House: 100 listings checked. Whito, 28 September 2026. https://whito.co.uk/research/cylex-uk-companies-house-check/. Key finding: of 100 limited-company trade listings on Cylex UK checked on 28 September 2026, 18 did not lead to an active company at Companies House.

Common questions

Does Cylex UK check listings against Companies House?

Cylex shows an “Official Data” box with a company number on many listings, 56 of the 100 we checked. None of those boxes showed the company’s status, and 8 of the 56 numbers belonged to a company that was dissolved, in liquidation or facing strike-off on 28 September 2026.

How many Cylex UK listings lead to a dissolved company?

In our sample of 100 limited-company trade listings, 10 led to a dissolved company, 3 to a company in liquidation and 4 to a company with a proposal to strike off. One had no confident match. That is 18 of 100.

Is a Cylex listing proof that a business is real?

No. A listing, a company number and a recent “Last updated” date are not proof that a company is still trading. Check the company’s status on Companies House yourself. It takes two minutes and is free.

Does this mean the businesses are unsafe?

No. Whito has not assessed anyone’s work. A dissolved company may have a successor, and sole traders are not on the register at all. The finding is that the listing gave no sign of the problem.

Can I quote these numbers?

Yes, free, with a link to this page and the collection date, 28 September 2026.

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Jacob Whitmore Founder and Lead Analyst

Jacob Whitmore founded Whito. He works on what UK businesses are actually charged for marketing, and on getting those numbers published with the date they were checked.

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