The government has tasked Companies House with using its new powers to take action against 150,000 companies on the register over the coming year, alongside a minimum pledge that digital services are available 99.5% of the time, and an 82% customer satisfaction level.

In a statement, Justin Madders, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets, laid out a series of measures for the year 2025 to 2026. They also include a waiting cap of five minutes for incoming calls to the Companies House contact centre.

The second progress report on the implementation of the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 (ECCTA), published on 16 June, says that Companies House has removed more than 10,000 companies from the official register as part of a sweeping crackdown on fraud, corporate abuse and organised crime.

At the same time, investigations have uncovered a network of just 30 entities responsible for incorporating up to 50,000 businesses suspected of being involved in illicit activities.

Restoring integrity 

The purge, conducted in collaboration with the Insolvency Service, is part of a broader effort to restore integrity to the UK’s business registry and close longstanding loopholes that have allowed criminals to exploit shell companies for money laundering, property fraud and tax evasion.

Investigators have so far identified around £50m in UK property assets linked to organised crime, which are now the subject of ongoing asset recovery investigations.

The two agencies are also examining more than 100,000 shell companies formed over the past two decades that it says are “known to be involved in a number of illicit activities”, many of which are now being targeted for dissolution as part of an unprecedented enforcement drive.

Identity verification

Meanwhile, Companies House has in the past few weeks been in touch with directors urging them to verify their identity voluntarily ahead of the mandatory identity verification from autumn 2025.

All company directors and people with significant control need to verify their identity to prove who they are. This is a new legal requirement under the ECCTA to help prevent people using companies for illegal purposes.

In April, Companies House launched a service to allow individuals to verify their identity directly with Companies House through GOV.UK One Login or through an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP). 

Welcome step forward

Mike Miller, Economic Crime Manager at ICAEW, says: “ICAEW has long campaigned to strengthen controls at Companies House and this is a welcome step forward. There continues to be an excess of companies on the Register that can be used to facilitate economic crime and we encourage Companies House to continue with its campaign to remove these as soon as possible. ICAEW will be issuing more detailed help for firms wishing to register and work as ACSPs in the near future.”

The draft statutory instruments laid before Parliament on 3 July 2025 amend various aspects relating to Companies House. An article outlining the key changes and what they mean will be published in due course.