Answers

Open your company on the Companies House register and read the latest confirmation statement, every share allotment filed since, and the people with significant control. Then compare them with your own cap table, line by line. An investor's adviser can read the same filings for free, so any difference is a question you'll be asked.

An investor becomes a person with significant control if they hold more than 25% of the shares or voting rights, or can appoint or remove a majority of the directors, or can influence or control the company. Companies House guidance says the company must record them and report the change within 14 days.

GOV.UK says statutory accounts hold a balance sheet, a profit and loss account and notes, and go to Companies House and HMRC. Start the model from the last signed balance sheet, say which year end it uses, and write down any difference. GOV.UK also says Corporation Tax profit differs from accounts profit, so label which one you mean.

Yes. GOV.UK says identity verification became a legal requirement on 18 November 2025 for directors and people with significant control. A director gives a personal code in the company's next confirmation statement. A PSC has a 14 day period to give theirs. Verifying through GOV.UK One Login is free.

HMRC says that once the shares are issued, the company submits a compliance statement, form SEIS1 or EIS1, even if it holds advance assurance. If HMRC is satisfied, it issues a unique investment reference, and the company gives each listed investor a SEIS3 or EIS3 certificate to claim relief. Your accountant confirms the timing.

GOV.UK says most companies limited by shares have one class of share, normally ordinary, and that different classes can carry different rights. HMRC's SEIS guidance says the shares must be full risk ordinary shares, not redeemable, with no special rights to the company's assets. Your solicitor and accountant confirm which applies.

A pending trade mark is an application the Intellectual Property Office is still examining. A registered one has been granted. GOV.UK says registration is what lets you use the registered symbol and take legal action against unauthorised users. Until then, say an application has been filed. Your IP attorney confirms the wording.

GOV.UK says a company must keep records about itself and its finances. The company records cover shareholders and votes, share transactions, debentures, indemnities and loans secured on its assets. The accounting records cover money in and out, assets, debts and stock. They are kept for 6 years from the end of the last relevant financial year, or longer.

Investors can read whatever you file at Companies House, which is free to search. GOV.UK says a micro-entity can send only a balance sheet with less information, and a small company can send abridged accounts. So the public record may show less than a forecast needs, and an investor asks you for the rest.

After a pitch, an investor or their adviser checks what you said against the records: the filed accounts and the model behind the forecast, the cap table, the contracts, who owns the intellectual property, and, for an SEIS or EIS round, whether HMRC has given advance assurance. Much of it is on public registers.

Due diligence is the investor's check that what you told them is true. GOV.UK shows what they can read for free: Companies House details, officers and mortgage charges, plus the trade mark register. HMRC also tells investors to do their own due diligence, because advance assurance is not an endorsement.

Not automatically. The Intellectual Property Office says an employer is usually the first owner of copyright in work an employee makes in the course of their job. A freelancer or agency usually keeps the copyright unless a written agreement says otherwise. Investors ask for the agreements that show the company owns what it sells.