Companies House - Leading the way
Since June 2015, Companies House (the United Kingdom's registrar of companies) has made the public information it holds free, and easily available to all. Previously, certain company data including annual accounts, annual returns and other filed company documents, was available for download but for a relatively small fee (often £1), and after a short waiting time for download. However, I believe now having this information instantly available without charge is a game changer, and Companies House should be lauded for its disruptive pro-activity within the international market.
Both before the data became free to access and since, business data providers such as DueDil, CompanyCheck and Endole provided company and director data, analysis and credit information. Not all of these services are provided by Companies House, which merely makes available the data provided by registered entities, but some of the data providers' (previously free) services have since seen improvements and increased costs as their business models are inevitably affected by the free provision at source.
Accessing company information can be useful when performing credit checks on potential or existing trade partners (including customers, suppliers and competitors), and also their directors and shareholders. For businesses with nothing to hide, it gives them increased opportunity of everything to learn.
For some of us the data becoming free will result in some small savings (either providing an alternative to paying for data services or the numerous £1s which stacked up), but more than that - it provides access for all and with it improved transparency (which we endorse)! Development of open data portals (like Bournemouth's) and open API's (read more here) are providing access and opportunities for collaboration and a reduced barrier to entry in creating disruptive digital solutions.
In the international scene, few nations' registrar of companies or bodies corporate have made the investment and risk that Companies House have, and for that we applaud them!
Further reading:
https://companieshouse.blog.gov.uk/2015/06/22/free...
https://gds.blog.gov.uk/2015/06/22/congratulations...
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