Answer

Check your cap table against Companies House

How do I check my cap table against Companies House?

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.

Last reviewed 7 October 2026. Written by HAM Agency.

Your cap table is a spreadsheet you keep. The Companies House register is the version a stranger reads. Before a raise, the two have to say the same thing.

What the register shows

Companies House makes the public data it holds on companies free to search. Nobody needs an account to read it, and the filing history comes with images of the documents themselves.

Three kinds of filing say who owns the company.

The confirmation statement. Every company must file at least one every 12 months. It has a section for changes to the statement of capital and to shareholder information.
Share allotments. Form SH01 is the notice a company gives when it allots shares after incorporation. GOV.UK says you must tell Companies House within a month if you issue more shares.
People with significant control. Someone with more than 25% of the shares or voting rights is usually a person with significant control. The company registers them in one of three bands, and must report a change within 14 days.

What only you hold

GOV.UK says a company must keep details of its shareholders, the results of shareholder votes and resolutions, and the transactions when someone buys shares. The guidance on people with significant control points you to the register of members for who holds shares and voting rights.

If the company has more than one class of share, the rights that go with each class belong in the same check. Shareholders get different rights depending on the class they hold.

The filings above record shares that have been allotted. Anything promised and not yet allotted, such as options or a convertible loan, sits in your own paperwork. Your solicitor confirms what those documents commit the company to.

How to run the check

Put the register on one side and your records on the other.

On the register	In your records	They should agree on
The latest confirmation statement	The cap table and the register of members	Who holds shares, how many, and in which class
Every SH01 since incorporation	Board minutes and the record of each share transaction	Each allotment: the date, the number and the class
People with significant control	The percentages on the cap table	Who is over 25%, and which band they're in

When they don't match

A difference doesn't have to mean a dispute. It can be a form nobody sent. A reader outside the company can't tell which, so they ask, and the round waits while you find out.

Find it first. Your accountant or company secretary files what's outstanding. If the paperwork behind an allotment is missing or unclear, that's a legal question and your solicitor answers it.

The confirmation statement has its own deadline. Companies House can issue a financial penalty, and can strike the company off the register, if it isn't filed.

Raising under SEIS or EIS

HAM's library covers the advance assurance application for each scheme: the SEIS checklist and EIS explained. Your accountant confirms whether the company and the shares qualify.

What to do with this

Search your company on Companies House and open the filing history.
Put the latest confirmation statement and every SH01 beside the cap table.
Write down every difference, however small.
Take the list to your accountant or your solicitor before an investor sees either version.

Checking the pack against the record is what Raise Ready does with you.

Questions

Can an investor see my shareholders on Companies House?

They can read what the company has filed. Companies House makes the public data it holds free to search, including the filing history and images of the documents. The confirmation statement has a section for shareholder information, and people with significant control are on the register.

How quickly do I have to tell Companies House about new shares?

GOV.UK says a company must tell Companies House within a month if it issues more shares. The form is the SH01, the return of allotment of shares. Your accountant or company secretary can file it for you.

Does Raise Ready fix my cap table?

Raise Ready checks the cap table against the filings and the documents behind it, and lists what doesn't agree. It doesn't give legal, tax or investment advice. Your solicitor confirms who holds what, and your accountant confirms the tax position.