Data sources and methodology: where our UK company data come from

As of 4 November 2026: 2,676,396 records from Overture Maps, with email addresses also from the businesses’ own websites. Reading websites is still running and the matching with Companies House is in progress; neither is finished, and the register is not yet included in the figures. The current figures are on the database status page.

Sources for the United Kingdom

• Overture Maps

  Open map data with locations, business names and often phone, website and email address, merged from several contributors. The places dataset is licensed under CDLA Permissive 2.0. We use release 2026-10-21.0.

  Processed: basis of all 2,676,396 records (as at 4 November 2026) · overturemaps.org · CDLA Permissive 2.0

• Company websites

  Email addresses that businesses publish on their own websites, typically on the home page, the contact page or the legal and privacy pages. Many UK company websites also show the company number and VAT number in the footer.

  In progress: 910,010 domains visited (the websites listed in the UK map data, including places below our confidence threshold), 603,041 live websites, 369,412 with an email address of the business itself or a freemail address (as at 4 November 2026)

• Companies House

  Companies House’s Free Company Data Product: a monthly snapshot of all live companies with company number, registered office, company type, status, incorporation date and up to four SIC codes. No phone numbers, email addresses or websites. The download page states no licence; Companies House said on its forum (4 November 2021) that it “imposes no rules or requirements on how the information on the public register is used”.

  Matching in progress: 5,711,779 live companies in the snapshot of 1 November 2026, 293,744 company numbers matched so far to Overture places (including places below our 0.77 threshold); the overlap with the records counted below has not been measured yet, and the register is not included in the figures

• Official statistics

  Aggregate figures without names from the ONS (businesses by industry, region and size, business births and deaths), used to put the market size into context and to check coverage by region.

  Used on this website for context · ONS UK business 2026

We do not use the Companies House API, which needs a registered user account and key; the free snapshot covers all live companies. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships are not on the Companies House register; for them, the map data and their own websites are the only sources.

How we count

The figures on this website were counted on 4 November 2026, not extrapolated. These rules apply:

• Record. A place from the UK extract of Overture Maps with a name and a confidence score of at least 0.77; natural features such as mountains, lakes and beaches are left out. Of 4,320,514 places, 1,632,537 fell below the score and 11,581 were natural features. A business with several locations can appear more than once; the records have not been matched to the statistical definition of a business. In total: 2,676,396.
• Active. The source does not mark the place as permanently closed: 2,661,125 records.
• Phone. A phone number from Overture Maps that is not shared by three or more records with different names: 2,287,177 records. Phone numbers found on websites are not counted until they have been checked.
• Own email address. An address from Overture Maps or from the business’s own website that is not shared by three or more records with different names; at least 23,229 shared addresses are excluded. Data protection, newsletter and technical mailboxes such as dpo@, privacy@, newsletter@, noreply@ or webmaster@ never count as a business’s own address, whichever source they come from. This leaves 745,988 records with their own address (204,882 of them only from the website), out of 929,740 records with any email address.
• Website. A website listed for the place in Overture Maps: 2,185,581 records. Links to social networks such as Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn and to large booking, review and map platforms on their international domains (booking.com, tripadvisor.com, yelp.com, google.com) are not counted as websites. Country versions such as tripadvisor.co.uk or google.co.uk are not yet filtered out and still count.
• With contact. At least one of the fields phone, website or own email address is present: 2,566,320 records (95.9%).
• Nation. Follows from the postcode (postcode area; for postcode districts that cross a border, the country most of the district lies in), without a postcode from the region code in the map data; 41,006 records have no valid UK postcode or region and are not assigned, for example places in the Crown Dependencies.
• Industry. Not yet assigned to any record. The industry pages therefore show the official ONS figure for the industry as the market size.

Collection is still running, so the figures are a snapshot; we update them as it progresses. The number in the quote is what you receive. The database status page documents every published version.

Market figures and their sources

For context we give the market size according to official statistics next to the figures of our own dataset. United Kingdom – ONS, UK business: activity, size and location 2026: 2,786,985 businesses registered for VAT and/or PAYE in March 2026 (published 24 September 2026); the figures per industry come from the tables of the same publication by UK SIC 2007 division and class (workbook, downloaded on 4 November 2026). The ONS rounds every value to the nearest 5; ONS datasets are published under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Company register – Companies House, Free Company Data Product: 5,711,779 live companies in the snapshot of 1 November 2026, counted by us. EU – Eurostat, Structural Business Statistics (sbs_ovw_act): 33,978,235 businesses in the EU-27 in 2024 (NACE sections B to S excluding O and S94, data as at 30 September 2026, retrieved on 4 November 2026; Eurostat copyright policy). These figures describe the market, not our dataset.

How a record is created

This is how a record in the UK company database is created. We compile data from other countries on request (EU and other markets).

1. Basis from map data. The open map data of Overture Maps produce one record per place with name, address, category and the available contact details.
2. Email addresses from websites. We read the websites listed in the map data and keep the email addresses the business publishes there; addresses of web designers and role mailboxes such as dpo@ are not kept.
3. Shared addresses removed. An address used by three or more records with different names (for example a directory, an agency or a franchise head office) does not count as a business’s own address.
4. Matching with Companies House (in progress). A company number is only assigned in two cases: the full name matches a single company with the same postcode and is confirmed by the same street address or by a website domain containing a key word of the company name; or a distinctive word of the name matches the only such company at the same street address. Where more than one candidate fits, no number is assigned.
5. Region. The nation and the postcode area follow from the postcode of the address.
6. Format check. Email addresses are checked for formal validity. Phone numbers are kept as listed in the map data and are not yet converted to a single format.

Matching is automated and cannot be error-free. With identical or very similar names and no company number, the risk of a wrong match is higher.

Legal framework for use

• Marketing emails to companies. The consent rule for unsolicited marketing by electronic mail in regulation 22 of the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) applies to individual subscribers. Limited companies, LLPs, Scottish partnerships and other bodies corporate are corporate subscribers (regulation 2): you may email them without prior consent, but you must identify yourself and give a valid address for opting out in every message.
• Sole traders and partnerships. Sole traders and partnerships in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are individual subscribers: marketing emails and texts need prior consent or a soft opt-in for your own customers (regulation 22(3)). Separate them using the legal form before emailing.
• Live marketing calls. Not allowed to a number registered with the Telephone Preference Service or the Corporate TPS, which also covers corporate subscribers (regulation 26), or to a subscriber who has told you not to call (regulation 21). Screening against TPS and CTPS is the caller’s duty; our exports are not screened.
• Automated calls. Calls with recorded marketing messages need prior consent, also towards businesses (regulation 19).
• Changes in 2026. The Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 amended PECR, among other things with a soft opt-in for charities and enforcement under the Data Protection Act 2018 from 5 February 2026; the rules for B2B emails described above did not change.
• Direct mail by post is not covered by PECR. For sole traders, partners and named contacts the UK GDPR applies.
• Personal data. Details of sole traders, partners and named contacts are personal data. We process them on the basis of legitimate interests (Art. 6(1)(f) UK GDPR); the information under Art. 14 UK GDPR is on the your rights page, the right to object under Art. 21 UK GDPR on the opt-out page.
• Buyer’s own responsibility. Anyone who acquires data from us is the controller for their own use and needs their own legal basis. We do not provide legal advice.

In detail: PECR rules for B2B email and calls.

Known limits

• Contacts go out of date. Businesses change phone numbers, email addresses and websites; time passes between a change and the update of the source.
• No delivery check. The number of email addresses is not a number of verified mailboxes; a phone number does not confirm that the line can be reached.
• Generic addresses. Addresses such as info@ or office@ are not personal contacts of decision-makers.
• Uneven coverage. Industries where websites are common have far more contact details than industries whose businesses are rarely online.
• Region by address. The nation follows the address of the place, not the area of operation or the registered office.

Industry registers: meant for look-ups

Several industries have official or professional registers, for example for pharmacies, opticians, financial firms, care providers or gas engineers. They serve to check whether an individual business is registered or licensed; each register sets its own rules on how the data may be used. What exists in which industry is described on the industry pages:

• Professional and business servicesProfessional registers: good for checks, not for building lists
• Construction and building tradesGas Safe and competent person schemes: checks per firm
• ManufacturingCompanies House and website disclosures: identity is usually easy to check
• Real estate and property managementAgent rules differ between the four nations
• Energy, water and wasteLicences and registrations: one public register per regulator
• Hospitality and tourismFood registration, hygiene ratings, licences and ATOL
• Agriculture and food productionFood establishments are approved and registered; farms are found differently
• Transport and logisticsOperator licences: searchable by name, address or licence number
• IT and softwareDisclosure rules instead of a sector register
• Architects and engineering consultanciesArchitects and engineers: registers of people, not practices
• Health, social care and wellbeingCare regulators and professional registers
• Finance and insuranceFCA Financial Services Register: one firm at a time
• Councils and public sector bodiesCouncils by postcode, tenders on Find a Tender
• Motor trade and garagesMOT test stations listed by DVSA, motor finance by the FCA
• Retail and online retailNo list of shops, but online sellers must say who they are
• Wholesale and trade agentsCompany number, VAT number, EORI: how wholesalers identify themselves
• Pharmacies, opticians and hearing careThree regulators: pharmacies, opticians, hearing aid dispensers
• Education and trainingOfficial school lists in all four nations
• Associations, sport and cultureCharities and sports clubs: official lists with their own rules
• Cleaning, facilities and landscapingWaste carriers on a public register, companies at Companies House
• Recruitment and staffing agenciesEmployment agency or employment business: one Act, a few licences

Background: Companies House: what the free data shows and UK SIC 2007: industry codes for target lists.

Report an error

If you find incorrect information in your own record, write to us and we will correct it.

• Contact formState the company, address and the incorrect detail.
• Opt out of processingFor sole traders and other data subjects who want to exercise their rights under the UK GDPR.
• info@firmdat.co.ukDirect email to the operator.

Details in public registers are kept by the respective registry. We correct our record; a lasting correction also requires a change in the register or the source.