---
title: "Asset Tracing in the UK: A Public Record Checklist"
description: "A 10-step asset tracing checklist for UK restructuring and investigations teams: charges, CCJs, property, overseas entities, directors and ID checks."
image: https://www.probedigital.co.uk/hubfs/Technology_User_Working_With_Ar_Tech__App_Icons_Visualization__Close_Up_original_2447209.jpg
---
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# Asset Tracing in the UK: A Public Record Checklist
[By \- James Sharpe,](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/author/james-sharpe) Oct 29, 2026
***Before you spend on investigators, freezing orders or litigation, ten checks of the UK public record will tell you what a company owns, what it owes and where value may have gone.***
Asset tracing starts with a simple question: if we win, or if we enforce, what is there to recover? For restructuring advisers, forensic accountants, investigators and litigation teams, much of the first answer sits on public registers: Companies House, HM Land Registry, the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines and the insolvency registers. This checklist sets out the ten checks we would run on any UK company before deciding whether, and how, to pursue it.
## What the public record can and cannot tell you
The public record is strong on structure and security. It shows who controls a company, who its directors are and what else they run, who holds charges over its assets, which judgments are unpaid and which companies own registered land. It is weak on cash, stock, receivables and anything held by a private individual. Treat it as the map that tells you where to dig, not as the finished valuation.
It also moves. Filings arrive late, companies change names and PSC statements are not always accurate. Every finding should carry its source and the date you saw it.
## Stage 1: Fix the entity and who controls it
### 1. Confirm the entity and its history
**Start with the company number, not the name.** Record the current name, previous names, status, registered office and filing history. A recent change of name, registered office or accounting reference date can be the first sign that a business is being reorganised ahead of a claim.
### 2. Map ownership and control
**Follow the PSC chain to the top.** Where a corporate entity is the registered PSC, open its own record and keep going until you reach individuals, an overseas entity or a dead end. Note any PSC changes in the last two years, especially around the time the debt arose.
### 3. Map the directors' other companies
**Value rarely disappears; it moves.** List every current and former appointment for each director and PSC, then look for companies incorporated around the time trading problems began, shared addresses and overlapping officers. Our guide to [mapping connected companies in a UK fraud investigation](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/how-to-map-connected-companies-in-a-uk-fraud-investigation) covers this step in detail.
## Stage 2: Security, debts and judgments
### 4. Read the charges register
**Find out who ranks ahead of you.** Companies must register charges with Companies House within 21 days of their creation; after that, a charge can only be registered late with a court order. Read each charge for the lender, the date, the assets covered and whether it has been satisfied. A fresh charge granted to a connected party shortly before a collapse deserves close attention.
### 5. Check judgments
**Unpaid judgments show who else is chasing.** County Court Judgments and High Court judgments in England and Wales are recorded on the Register of Judgments, Orders and Fines, where CCJs stay for six years unless set aside or cancelled. Several unsatisfied judgments in a short period tell you the company is not paying, and tell you which other creditors you may be competing with.
## Stage 3: Property and overseas holdings
### 6. Find property owned by the company and its connections
**Land is the asset most likely to still be there.** HM Land Registry publishes datasets of UK companies, and of overseas companies, that own property in England and Wales. Search them for the target and for each connected company from step 3, then order the title registers for anything relevant to confirm the proprietor and any registered charges. Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own land registers.
### 7. Check the Register of Overseas Entities
**Look offshore, but through a UK lens.** Since 1 August 2022, overseas entities that want to buy, sell or transfer property or land in the UK must register with Companies House and name the individuals who effectively own or control them. If a director or PSC from your map appears behind an overseas entity that holds UK land, you have a lead the company's own filings would never show.
## Stage 4: Status checks and red flags
### 8. Search the insolvency and disqualification registers
**Check the people as well as the company.** The Individual Insolvency Register covers bankruptcies and debt arrangements in England and Wales, the disqualified directors register is held by Companies House and official insolvency notices appear in The Gazette. A disqualification can last up to 15 years, and a disqualified person cannot act as a director or be involved in forming or running a company. Finding one in the background of your target changes the conversation.
### 9. Check identity verification status
**ECCTA has added a new signal.** Identity verification under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 has been a legal requirement since 18 November 2025, and the 12-month transition for existing directors and PSCs ends on 17 November 2026. GOV.UK guidance says failing to verify on time may be an offence, Companies House plans to publish a note against the person's name on the register, and a company cannot file its confirmation statement unless all its directors are verified. See our [director ID verification guide](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/director-id-verification-check-a-guide-for-uk-advisers) for how to check status.
### 10. Look for value moving out
**Transfers to connected companies are the classic pattern.** Two Insolvency Service cases show it clearly. In one, a waste firm director moved £2,979,383 of equipment and other assets to two companies run by him and his wife as NHS contracts were lost, without the consent of the bank that held a charge over the assets; he received a nine-year ban. In another, a construction company director sold assets worth at least £1.5 million for just over £465,000 to another company he ran, including seven historic cars valued at £101,500 that went for £1; he received a six-year ban.
Also watch for a strike-off application against the target. From 1 December 2026, objections to a company being struck off must be made through Companies House's online service, as it will no longer accept them by email. Our [phoenix company red flags checklist](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/phoenix-company-red-flags-an-investigators-checklist) lists the other warning signs.
## Turning findings into an evidence file
A tracing exercise is only as useful as the file it produces. Keep it simple:
- Record the source, the document reference and the date and time of every search.
- Save copies of filings, title registers and judgment entries at the time you view them.
- Draw the structure: companies, people, charges and property on one page, with dates on every link.
- Separate fact from inference. "A connected company acquired the property" is a finding; "assets were moved to avoid creditors" is a conclusion for the lawyers.
- Re-run the checks before any application or hearing, because registers change.
## Where a corporate intelligence platform fits
Running these checks by hand across Companies House, HM Land Registry and the judgment and insolvency registers can take hours per company, and longer once the connected companies multiply. ProbeDigital brings company ownership, group structures, directors and PSCs, charges, CCJs and [UK and foreign property ownership](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/uk-companies-owned-by-uk-and-foreign-entities) into one view, and runs bulk CSV audits when you need to check a whole portfolio of debtors or counterparties at once. To compare [data platforms for asset and ownership research](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/blog/8-corporate-intelligence-platforms-for-pe-due-diligence), see our ranking.
## FAQ
### Is asset tracing from public records lawful?
Searching public registers is a standard first step for creditors, insolvency practitioners and investigators. How you store and use any personal data you find is still governed by data protection law, so keep your file proportionate to the purpose.
### Can I see property owned by an individual?
Not through the HM Land Registry company datasets, which cover titles owned by companies and other non-private owners. For an individual, you need to identify the property and order the title register.
### How far back do CCJs go?
CCJs stay on the statutory register for six years unless they are set aside or cancelled. When a judgment is paid in full, it is recorded as satisfied once the court notifies the register.
### What changes after 17 November 2026?
The ECCTA identity verification transition ends. From then, an unverified director or PSC is a compliance issue for the company and a useful due-diligence signal for anyone assessing it.
*Want to see these checks in one place? [Book a 40-minute demo](https://www.probedigital.co.uk/meetings/probe-meeting/40-minute-demo-call-demo) or [sign up free](https://app.probedigital.co.uk/auth?authType=signup) and check your first company today.*
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