Companies House ‘clean up’ is underway!
Companies House ‘clean up’ is underway!
It has been reported that Companies House and the Insolvency Service have worked collaboratively to shut down thousands of companies thought to be involved in ‘illicit activities’, such as using fraud to incorporate businesses in the UK.
By working together they have managed to catch up with 30 entities that had incorporated over 30,000 companies they considered to be involved in ‘illicit activities’ of which 10,000 are in the process of being removed from the register, this has also meant they have managed to identify around £50m in UK property related to organised criminals in which asset recovery investigations are taking place.
Along with this, over 100,000 shell companies that have been formed over the last 20 years are being analysed, for many of these The Insolvency Service is in the process of either winding them up or referring them to Companies House to be dissolved.
A number of case studies have been shared which has highlighted suspicious dormant companies, false subsidiary claims, and cloned companies, they also reported that 786 established restaurant companies were cloned between December 2023 and February 2024, which included one for celebrity chef Heston Blumenthal.
Companies House have advised that by the autumn of 2025, they ‘should be able to’ make ID verification compulsory, which will be extended to LLPs, overseas companies, companies authorised to register and unregistered companies.
Companies House has also been moving the registered addresses of some companies it considers have a possibility of fraud, which has meant changing the addresses of 82,600 companies since March 2024.
If after the addresses have been changed, the directors fail to prove their address is legitimate then the company faces being removed from the register completely. Additionally, companies registered at PO boxes have been receiving letters since March 2024 warning them that this would no longer be allowed, so far reducing the number of these to 700.
Trialled ‘intervention tactics’ have been used by Companies House to detect misuse on the register, leading to ‘10,200 suspicious applications’, being rejected.
Late filers of any documents are also being targeted with penalties, which has focussed so far on those that have failed to file their confirmation statements on time. 419 warning notices have been issued because of this since March 2024 that have led to 192 penalty notices, although there are plans to increase the number of these issued in the coming year.
Overseas entities will also have to abide by new rules as Companies House looks to make the register more transparent to identify beneficial owners of them. In March 2025 there were more than 30,000 registered overseas entities that have to disclose information on trust structures.
The Business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: ‘Economic growth is central to this government’s agenda. A transparent and accountable business environment is an essential foundation for growth, and action to tackle economic crime is as important as ever’.