Reach a business before it decides where its vans and staff charge
A haulier applies to license its depot weeks before it's granted, a new occupier decides where its vans and its staff charge in its first weeks, and a site that changes hands has whatever chargers the last owner put in. We tell you which premises are at that point, with the vehicle count where a licence gives one.
Why timing matters
A business that runs lorries needs an operator licence for its depot, and the Traffic Commissioners publish the application weeks before the grant. One that carries waste registers with the Environment Agency before it starts. Both registers are public and dated, so a new fleet shows the week it begins. Trades that run vans, dealers, hotels, pubs and leisure sites taking on premises come through too, with the floor area and rateable value where the rates list gives them. The Workplace Charging Scheme pays up to 75% of the cost of workplace chargers, capped at £500 a socket and 40 sockets an applicant, until 31 March 2027 (gov.uk, checked 21 October 2026), and a new non-residential building in England with more than 10 parking spaces must have a charge point and cable routes for a fifth of the other spaces (Building Regulations Part S, since 15 June 2022).
What we tell you
The moments that matter for you:
| Coming | A business is about to open: a licence applied for, a unit being fitted out, a new company set up to trade from the address. |
| Just moved in | A business has started at premises that had nobody in them: a new ratepayer, a new food business, a newly registered care home, nursery, surgery or garage. |
| Changed hands | A new operator at premises that were already trading: a pub, shop or care home under new ownership, often keeping the old name on the door. |
How to use it
Ring the depots licensed or applied for first, then the trades that run vans moving into a unit or a yard, then the hotels, pubs and leisure sites. The job column says what you'd offer before you ring; the reason column says why now.
Coverage
The national registers cover every council in Great Britain. On top of those, 35 councils publish a business rates list we can use and 10 a licensing register (as of 25 September 2026), and we add councils as they give permission. Northern Ireland isn't in the file yet. Where the data comes from.
Built for selling within the rules: businesses not people, every row with its source and date, and nothing your team can't explain to someone who asks. How it's done.
Had your free fortnight? Subscribe here and the files carry on: a region for £250 a month, and you can stop at any month's end. You choose the region and what you sell at the checkout.
Questions
Do you know whether the site has parking, or chargers already?
No. Neither is on a register we read. The row carries the floor area and rateable value where the rates list gives them, the vehicle count where an operator licence gives one, and the trade, so a depot, a hotel and a corner shop get the right call.
How is this different from buying a list?
A list is a snapshot of businesses that exist. This is what changed yesterday: who moved in, who took over, who left. A bought list can't tell you any of that, and it's out of date the day it arrives.
How do you find them?
From public registers, read every day and kept, so we can see when something changes at an address. The sources are on the sources page. How we put them together is ours, and we don't publish it.
Is there personal data in it?
Almost none. The file is about businesses and premises: no director names, no home addresses. Where a business publishes only a named address on its own website, the daily file carries it in a marked column, as the privacy notice says; a sample never does. Where a phone number or a mailbox is public, we say where it came from.
Can we email or ring them?
Limited companies and LLPs can be emailed without prior consent under PECR, if you say who you are and give a way to opt out. Phone numbers are yours to screen against the TPS and CTPS before you ring.
What does it cost?
£250 a month for a region, or £1,000 a month for the whole of Great Britain, monthly, and you can stop at any month's end. The first two weeks are free, so your team can try it on real rows before paying anything.
Is the file exclusive?
Not the whole file, but you can have a head start. First look sends your trade's new rows for your region to you each morning, a working day before anyone else in your trade gets them, for one firm per trade and region: £375 a month for a region, or £1,500 a month for Great Britain, on the same terms.
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