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The PSC register explained: who controls a company
A company can be owned and controlled by people whose names do not appear as directors. The PSC register — the register of people with significant control — exists to surface those people, so that the real human beings behind a company are a matter of public record. For a director it is a filing obligation; for a lender, a supplier or anyone doing due diligence, it is one of the first places to look. This piece explains what a person with significant control is, why counterparties check the register, and how to keep yours accurate. It is general information, not advice; check your own position and take professional advice where the ownership is complex.
What “significant control” means
Most UK companies must identify and record their persons with significant control. Broadly, a PSC is an individual who meets one or more set conditions over the company. The familiar ones are holding, directly or indirectly, more than 25% of the shares; holding more than 25% of the voting rights; or holding the right to appoint or remove a majority of the board. There are further tests for someone who otherwise exercises significant influence or control, including over a trust or firm that itself meets one of the conditions.
The thresholds are bands, not a single line. The register records which condition a person meets and, for shareholdings and voting rights, which band they fall into — more than 25% up to 50%, more than 50% up to 75%, or 75% and above. The aim is not to publish a precise percentage but to show the level of control, so a reader can see at a glance whether one person controls the company or control is shared.
Why this exists
The PSC regime is part of a wider push for corporate transparency: making it harder to hide the real ownership of a company behind layers of nominees or other companies. By putting beneficial owners on a public register at Companies House, the rules let anyone — counterparties, regulators, journalists, the public — see who ultimately stands behind a business. It sits alongside the confirmation statement and the directors’ register as part of the company’s public identity.
Why lenders and counterparties check it
When a lender, supplier or buyer assesses a company, they want to know who they are really dealing with — not just who signs, but who controls. The PSC register answers that. It supports know-your-customer and anti-money-laundering checks, it shows whether control sits with one person or is widely held, and it lets a reader cross-check what a company says about itself against the public record. A mismatch — a company that talks about one owner while the register names another, or a register that is blank or out of date — is a flag worth pausing on.
This is exactly the kind of verifiability that comes with an incorporated borrower. A UK company carries a public record — company number, directors, accounts and PSCs — that a sole trader simply does not. That is one of the reasons Credicorp lends to incorporated businesses only: the borrower’s identity and control are checkable on a public register. Our five-minute verification routine uses the same public sources in the other direction — to check a lender — and the PSC register is part of the toolkit either way.
How to keep yours accurate
Keeping the register right is an ongoing duty, not a once-a-year task. A company must take reasonable steps to find out who its PSCs are, keep its own PSC register up to date, and notify Companies House of changes — someone becoming or ceasing to be a PSC, or a change in the nature of their control — within the time limits. The annual confirmation statement is then the moment to confirm the position is still correct, but it does not replace the duty to update changes as they happen.
Practical discipline helps. When shares move, when voting arrangements change, or when a new shareholder crosses 25%, update the register at that point rather than waiting. Where a company is owned by another company or through a trust, the chain of control can be involved, and that is a sensible point to take advice so the register reflects the substance, not just the surface.
The honest summary
The PSC register names the individuals who ultimately own or control a company, recorded against set conditions and control bands at Companies House. It exists for transparency, and lenders and counterparties read it to know who they are really dealing with. Keeping it accurate is a continuing duty: find your PSCs, record them, and notify changes promptly, then confirm the position each year. A clear, current PSC register is part of what makes an incorporated company a verifiable counterparty — and verifiability is exactly what a lender values. For complex ownership, take your own professional advice.