Reach a business the week it needs vans, plant or a fit-out financed

A haulier applies for its operator licence weeks before it's granted, a contractor wins a public contract and does the work before the public body pays, and a café pays for its fit-out before it opens. We see each of those when the record is published, and say which kind of finance it points to.

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Why timing matters

A business that runs goods vehicles over 3.5 tonnes needs an operator licence from the Traffic Commissioners before it uses a depot, and the application is published weeks before it's decided, with the number of vehicles. A business that carries waste registers with the Environment Agency before it starts. Public bodies publish the contracts they award on Contracts Finder and Find a Tender. Councils' food registers and the premises licence applications show a fit-out weeks before the doors open. Each is a dated public record of the moment a business needs an asset, a contract or a unit paid for, and we read them every day. We don't see who lends to them, what they owe or any credit record: this is the premises and the moment, not the books.

What we tell you

The moments that matter for you:

How to use it

Work the depots, the contract winners and the yards first, then the kitchens, clinics and van trades moving into premises. The job column says what you'd offer before you ring: asset finance, invoice finance, a fit-out loan or a refinance.

Last week in numbers

In the daily files from 15 to 21 October 2026, businesses that took on premises, changed hands or were about to, graded A or B for a commercial finance desk: 197 across Great Britain, 82 of them opening or about to and 115 just moved in or under a new owner. 156 came with a landline to ring. 31% of them could not have been flagged by a service working from Companies House alone: the premises isn't the registered office, or nothing new was on the register.

Some of last week's rows for West Midlands, said in words (the file has the name, the address, the number and where each came from):

• A haulage or goods vehicle operator in Sandwell, not open yet, 19 October. A landline to ring.
• A restaurant or cafe in Birmingham, opening or just opened, 21 October. A landline to ring. A mailbox.
• A cafe in Birmingham, opening or just opened, 21 October. A line at the premises, which may be the last occupier’s.
• A care home in Bromsgrove, new owner, 19 October. A landline to ring.
• An electrical installation business in Nuneaton and Bedworth, moved in, 20 October. A landline to ring. A mailbox.

Counted from the daily files dated 15 to 21 October 2026, the seven days to the latest file, as they were read on 21 October 2026. Each event is counted once, on the first file it reached.

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.

Questions

Do you see who's lending to them now?

No. We don't read charges, loans or credit files for this file, and we don't guess. We tell you the business, the premises, what happened there and when, and the kind of finance it points to. Every row with a company number is a limited company or an LLP; whether a borrower is a regulated customer is your 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.

Other suppliers: Card terminals and tills · Business water retailers · Commercial waste · Business telecoms and broadband · Fuel cards, telematics and vehicle leasing · Security and fire installers · Security services: guarding, keyholding and patrols · Pest control and food safety · Signmakers and shopfitters · Commercial insurance brokers · IT support and managed service providers · Commercial cleaning and facilities · Payroll, HR and pensions providers · Staffing and recruitment agencies · Solar and energy efficiency installers · Health and safety and fire risk consultants · Catering equipment and commercial kitchens · Office removals and office furniture · Managed print and office equipment suppliers · Commercial property agents and surveyors · Commercial laundry and linen hire · EV charging installers