Last Updated on July 10, 2026
We searched for a tradesperson the way anyone would, then checked the businesses against the official register.
If you needed an electrician, a plumber, a roofer or a builder today, you would search, click a few websites, and pick one. We did exactly that across eight UK cities, then looked each business up on Companies House, the official register. Of the 64 businesses we checked, 45 were a registered company you could verify. The other 19, nearly a third, were not.
Most of that gap is not a scandal. Plenty of good tradespeople are sole traders, which is completely legal and needs no company at all. But it does mean that for almost one business in three, there was no official record to check them against, and a small number were presenting themselves as a limited company that had been dissolved or did not exist. This is the quiet problem underneath every “find a trusted trader” search, and it is why Whito verifies businesses before it calls them Verified.
What we did
We searched for four trades, electricians, plumbers, roofers and builders, across eight cities: London, Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Leeds, Bristol, Liverpool and Cardiff. For each search we took the individual businesses that came up, 64 in total, and looked each one up on the Companies House register by its trading name, by any limited-company name shown on its website, and by any company number it published.
We then sorted each business into one of three groups: a clearly matching company with an “Active” status, a matching company that had been dissolved or wound up, or no clearly matching active company at all. This is a small, illustrative sample, not a national census. It is meant to show what an ordinary customer runs into, not to grade any single business.
What we found
| Result | Businesses |
|---|---|
| A matching active registered company | 45 |
| No matching company on the register | 17 |
| Trading under a dissolved or wound-up company | 2 |
| Total checked | 64 |
So 70 percent could be verified as an active company, and 30 percent could not. Among the 45 active companies, three had overdue accounts on the register, which is a small warning flag rather than proof of any problem.
There is an honest point to make about the 17 with no matching company. Many will be sole traders. A sole trader is a real, legal, often excellent business that simply is not registered at Companies House, so there is nothing on the register to find. Their absence is not a red flag on its own. What it does mean is that you have no official record to lean on, so any checking falls back on reviews, word of mouth and gut feeling.
The businesses hiding behind a dead company
The cases that should give you pause are different. In our sample, a handful of businesses were actively presenting themselves as a limited company, with “Ltd” in the name or footer, when the matching company had been dissolved, wound up after insolvency, or did not appear on the register at all. The website was live and taking enquiries; the company behind the name was not.
We are not naming individual businesses, because a dissolved company can have an innocent explanation and this is a small sample. But the pattern matters. A limited company that has been struck off no longer offers you the protection you might assume you are getting, and a business still trading under that name is, at best, out of date and, at worst, hoping you will not check.
Why this is harder than it should be
Here is the part that surprised us. Even confirming the businesses that were genuine often took real work. Fewer than half published their company number on their own website. For the rest we had to match a trading name to a registered name, cross-check the address, and rule out similarly named companies, including dissolved ones, in other towns. More than one trade had two or three near-identical company names on the register, only one of them active.
No normal customer is going to do that before booking a boiler repair. The information is public and free, but it is not laid out for you, and the businesses that most want you to check are rarely the ones making it easy.
How to check a business in two minutes
You can do a quick version yourself before you hand over a deposit.
- Search the business on the free Companies House register at find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk.
- Check the company status reads “Active”, not “Dissolved”, “Liquidation” or “Proposal to strike off”.
- Match the registered office or a director to the business you think you are dealing with, not just the name. Similar names in different towns are common.
- Glance at the accounts and confirmation statement dates. A red “overdue” note is not proof of trouble, but it is worth a question.
- If the website shows a company number, check it resolves to that exact business. A number that does not match is the clearest warning sign of all.
If the business is a sole trader with no company, none of this will find them, and that is fine. Judge them on references and reviews instead, and be a little more careful with deposits and written terms.
The takeaway
When you search for a tradesperson, roughly one business in three cannot be quickly verified as an active registered company. Most are honest sole traders, but the register is also where you spot the ones trading under a company that has quietly been dissolved. The checks are free and public, they just take effort most people do not have time for. Whito does that check first: a business only gets a Verified badge once we have confirmed its identity against Companies House, so the record you are relying on is one that has actually been looked at.
Common questions
Does “no company on the register” mean a business is dodgy?
No. Many tradespeople are sole traders, which is legal and needs no Companies House registration, so there is simply nothing on the register to find. It is not a red flag on its own. It only means there is no official record to verify them against, so you should weigh reviews, references and written terms more heavily.
What is the real warning sign?
A business presenting itself as a limited company, with “Ltd” in its name or a company number on its site, where the matching company is dissolved, in liquidation, or does not exist on the register. That mismatch between what is claimed and what is registered is worth pausing over.
How big was the sample?
We checked 64 businesses across four trades and eight UK cities. It is a small, illustrative sample designed to show what an ordinary customer encounters, not a statistically representative survey.
How can I check a business myself?
Search the free Companies House register, confirm the status reads “Active”, match the registered office or a director to the business you are dealing with, and if the site shows a company number, check it resolves to that exact company. It takes a couple of minutes.
What does Whito do differently?
Whito confirms a business against Companies House before showing a Verified badge, so the identity has actually been checked rather than assumed. Listings are built from public information, and the register is part of that check.
Method and sources
Method: we searched each of four trades (electricians, plumbers, roofers, builders) across eight UK cities and took the individual businesses that appeared, 64 in total. Each was looked up on the Companies House register by trading name, by any limited-company name on its website, and by any company number it published, and classified as an active matching company, a dissolved or wound-up company, or no matching active company. Company statuses and dates were read from the live register. This is a small illustrative sample, not a representative census, and no individual business is identified.
- Companies House register (GOV.UK): find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk
This report describes aggregate findings from a small sample and does not make any claim about any named business. A company being absent from the register is consistent with lawful sole-trader operation. Company records change; always check the live register before relying on it. Whito is not a party to any engagement between you and a tradesperson.
