Scenario
How to find UK companies with active charges
Every secured loan a UK company takes leaves a public footprint: the charge a lender registers at Companies House. Filter the register down to companies with active charges and you have a list of proven borrowers, the exact audience for refinancing, asset finance and facility reviews.
The recipe, step by step
- 1
Switch on the active-charges filter
In the search builder, enable the active-charges filter. A charge is security a lender registers at Companies House over a company's assets (property, equipment, book debts) when it lends, so every match is a company with borrowing secured against it, published on the public record.
- 2
Target asset-heavy sectors
Combine the flag with SIC codes where secured borrowing is routine: construction and development (41100), road haulage (49410), property (68100), manufacturing and hospitality. These sectors buy vehicles, premises and plant on finance as a matter of course, so a charge signals normal growth rather than distress.
- 3
Qualify by age and region
Add a postcode area if you work a local book, and use the incorporation-date window to focus on established companies: a firm trading five years with active charges has a borrowing history a broker can work with. The live preview shows the match count before you commit any leads.
- 4
Deliver decision-maker contacts
Tick director name, business email and LinkedIn. Refinancing conversations happen with directors, and every delivered email was published by the company itself, often the named director's. Where nothing verifiable exists the record auto-refunds in under 60 seconds, so uncontactable companies never eat your allowance.
- 5
Open with the fact, not the pitch
A company with registered charges already understands secured finance, so skip the education and lead with value: a review of existing facilities, a better rate at renewal, headroom for the next purchase. From the Growth plan you can run the sequence inside Leadistry; on any plan, export or push to your CRM.
Why this works
A registered charge is proof of borrowing, published by law on the public register. It tells you the company has assets worth securing, passed a lender's underwriting at least once, and holds facilities that will one day be renewed, extended or refinanced. That is a far stronger qualifier than turnover guesses from bought data: you are contacting proven borrowers, not hoping a cold list contains some.
Frequently asked questions
What exactly is a registered charge?
When a lender takes security over a company's assets (a mortgage on premises, a debenture over the whole business, a charge over equipment or book debts) it must register that charge at Companies House within 21 days. The register shows which charges are still outstanding, and Leadistry's filter surfaces companies with at least one active charge.
Does an active charge mean the company is in trouble?
No. Most charges are routine: a commercial mortgage, an asset finance agreement on vehicles or plant, or an invoice finance facility. For brokers that is the point, these are companies that use finance as a normal tool, which makes them far more receptive to a refinancing or additional-facility conversation than businesses that have never borrowed.
Can I combine the charges filter with other filters?
Yes, and you should. Active charges plus a SIC code plus a region turns a national register into a broker-ready shortlist, and adding an incorporation-date window filters for trading history. Save the combination as a weekly recurring search and each run delivers only charged companies you have never seen before.
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