How to Check if a UK Business Is Actually Independent
You can check who owns any UK business for free in about five minutes. Search Companies House for the trading name, open the company record, read the Persons with Significant Control register to find who controls it, and follow that chain upward until you reach a person or an investment vehicle. No account and no payment required.
Step one: find the company
Go to find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk and search the trading name.
The trading name and the registered company name are often different. A pub called The Windmill may be registered as something else entirely, or may not have its own company at all because it is one site of a larger operator. If nothing comes up, search the address instead.
Step two: read the PSC register
On the company record, open Persons with significant control.
This names anyone holding more than 25 percent of shares or voting rights, or otherwise exercising significant control. Since 2016 it has been mandatory. Since November 2025, PSCs and directors have had to verify their identity under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023.
You are looking for one of three answers: a named person, another company, or a statement that there is no PSC.
Step three: follow the chain
If the PSC is a person, you are done. That is a genuinely independent business.
If the PSC is another company, open that company and repeat. Chains often run three or four levels deep, and the recognisable name usually only appears near the top.
If the chain ends at an investment fund or a limited partnership, the business is private equity owned, however local the shop feels.
Step four: check for a franchise
A business can pass every step above and still not be independent in any useful sense. A franchisee is often a genuinely local owner with their own company. But the brand, the supply chain and often the pricing are controlled centrally.
If the trading name matches a national brand, it is a franchise regardless of what the PSC register says.
Questions
Is Companies House free?
Yes. Search and basic company records including the PSC register are free and need no account. Some certified documents carry a fee.
What is the PSC register?
The Persons with Significant Control register, published by Companies House since 2016. It names anyone holding more than 25 percent of a company's shares or voting rights, or otherwise exercising significant control over it.
Does the PSC register always show the real owner?
Usually, but not always in one step. If the PSC is another company you have to follow the chain upward, sometimes through several levels. Some structures are deliberately hard to trace, and a small number of companies file a statement that no PSC has been identified.
Is a franchise an independent business?
Not in the sense most people mean. The franchisee is often a genuinely local owner, but brand, supply and frequently pricing are centrally controlled, so the business does not operate independently.
How long does this take?
About five minutes for a simple case. Longer where ownership runs through several holding companies, which is common for pub groups and hospitality.