Find the empty units and the occupiers on the move before the board goes up
A council's business rates list names the company liable for an empty unit's rates, usually the landlord or the leaseholder, and a premises licence transfer is published when a pub or restaurant changes hands. We tell you which units are at that point, on both sides: the landlord to ring for the instruction, and the occupier to know before its next move.
Why timing matters
Many councils publish their business rates lists, and a unit that empties shows there with the company liable for its rates, which when it's a company we match to its number, its website and its line. Premises licence applications, transfers and grants are published by the licensing authorities, food businesses register with their council before they open, and the Traffic Commissioners publish operator licences for yards and depots. Each is a dated public record of a unit empty, taken or changed hands, and we read them every day, grade each row for a commercial property desk and tag it with the instruction it points to. We don't see leases, rents, who acted, or who owns the building, and we don't read the Land Registry: this is the unit, the business and the moment.
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. |
| Leaving | A business has gone or is going: a unit emptied, a registration cancelled, a licence surrendered. |
How to use it
Work the empty units first: the company liable is named, so the call is to the landlord or leaseholder. Then the licensed premises and businesses that changed hands, then the shops, kitchens and workshops just taken, which are tenants to keep. The job column says which side each row is on; 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 who the agent was, or what the rent is?
No. Neither is public in a form we read. We tell you the unit, the business, what happened there and when, and which side it points to. Who owns the building isn't in the file either: the Land Registry's data can't be used to contact owners about services, so we don't.
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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