A UK company you deal with is failing right now.
Vigil watches every Companies House filing, every director change, every Gazette dissolution notice — and tells you the same day. One alert can save a five-figure bad debt.
Join the waitlist for early access
Average bad debt written off by UK SMEs in 2024
UK companies dissolved in 2024–25
Window for creditors to object before a company disappears
Owed to UK SMBs in unpaid invoices right now
Sources: Bibby Financial Services SME Confidence Tracker Q3 2024 • Companies House Annual Report 2024–25 • Companies Act 2006, s.1003 • Hiscox Late Payments Report 2026
Every failing UK company files the warning signs first
The data is public. The window to act is short. Most creditors miss it.
Real cases from UK businesses
Three UK businesses lost £250,000 between them.
Every warning sign was already on Companies House.
These are the situations why we built Vigil. Every one of them came up in conversations with credit controllers, accountants and finance directors.
"We'd supplied them for three years. When the final invoice bounced I checked Companies House. They'd been in dissolution for two months. There was a Gazette notice. I could have objected. The window had closed four days earlier."
"Our main contact at our biggest account resigned as director. Nobody told us. By the time we found out, the relationship had gone cold, the new person didn't know us, and the renewal had already been put to tender."
"We agreed 60-day payment terms with a new supplier. I should have checked them first. Their director had two previously dissolved companies on record. Two months after we started, they entered administration. We were an unsecured creditor."
The data that would have changed each of those outcomes was publicly available on Companies House. The Gazette notice. The director resignation. The dissolved companies in the director's history.
Every one of those filings was public and free to access. Missed only because nobody was watching.
Vigil watches, so you don't have to.
Start UK company checks & monitoringHow it works
How Companies House monitoring works in Vigil
Add your watchlist. After that, Vigil does the work.
-
Build your watchlist
Add companies by name or number — customers, suppliers, counterparties. Monitoring starts immediately.
Apex Construction LtdMidlands Haulage LtdGreenfield Retail Ltd+ 28 more companies -
We watch every change, every day
Vigil monitors Companies House and the London Gazette. Every event type, every company on your list.
Companies House LiveLondon Gazette LiveDirector appointments · charges · insolvency
-
You find out the same day
Plain English. What changed, what it means, what to do. Delivered by email and Slack the day it happens.
Gazette notice — Urgent just nowMidlands Haulage Ltd
Applied to be struck off. Objection deadline: 12 May 2026.
Object to dissolution →
There's a two-month window most creditors never know about.
When a UK limited company applies to be voluntarily dissolved, a notice is published in the London Gazette. For two months after that notice, any creditor owed money can legally object to the dissolution and preserve their right to pursue the debt.
After two months, the window closes. The company is struck off. Your debt becomes significantly harder to recover, and often impossible.
The notice is public. It's free to access.
But unless you're monitoring it, you'll never see it in time. In 2024–25, over 726,000 UK companies were dissolved. The majority of creditors who missed their window didn't know the window existed.
Vigil monitors the Gazette alongside Companies House. If a company you're owed money by begins dissolving, you'll know the same day, with the deadline to object, the process explained in plain English, and a direct link to file it. One alert can save you a five-figure bad debt.
Get Gazette alerts — join the waitlistEverything the official tools don't tell you
Real-time UK Companies House monitoring that covers accounts filings, director changes, PSC (ownership) updates, charges, insolvency filings, phoenix detection and Gazette dissolution notices, all on a single watchlist.
Director change alerts
Companies House tells you a filing was made. We tell you a director has resigned, with their name, their role, and whether this is the first change or the third in 18 months.
Know when the person you're relying on at a customer account has left. Know before the relationship goes cold.
Financial distress signals
New charge registrations. Late accounts. Overdue confirmation statements. Insolvency proceedings.
We surface these with context: whether it's the company's first charge or fourth, and what that pattern typically means.
Gazette dissolution alerts
Pays for itselfIf a company on your watchlist begins voluntary dissolution, you'll know the same day, with the deadline to object, the process explained in plain English, and a direct link to file.
One alert can save a five-figure bad debt. No competitor sends this at SMB pricing.
Phoenix company detection
A company dissolves. Within months, the same directors incorporate a new one with a similar name, the same address and the same sector, and walk away from their debts.
Vigil detects this pattern automatically. When a director you're monitoring incorporates a new company, you'll know within hours.
People monitoring
The Companies House data tracks directors, not just organisations. Add key contacts or counterparties to your watchlist.
When they join a new company, resign from a board, or have disqualification proceedings filed against them, you'll know.
PSC & ownership changes
Forms PSC01 to PSC09 record who really owns and controls a UK limited company. A change can signal restructuring, acquisition, or a cleanup before sale.
Vigil classifies PSC filings as PSC filings — not as generic "document filed" noise. You see who was added, who was removed, and when.
Plain English, always
Every alert reads like this: "Acme Ltd has registered a second charge in 8 months, secured against all business assets. Companies in this position are significantly more likely to face insolvency proceedings within 18 months."
Data without interpretation is just noise.
Who uses UK company checks & monitoring
Credit controllers, commercial solicitors, accountants, account managers. The people who rely on UK limited companies and can't afford to find out too late.
Credit controller
Get early warning of financial distress before an invoice becomes a write-off.
Accountant or bookkeeper
Monitor your clients' key counterparties and warn them before something goes wrong.
Commercial solicitor
Watch counterparties in live transactions, from heads of terms to completion.
B2B account manager
Know within hours when a key contact leaves one of your accounts.
Sole trader or freelancer
Vet new clients before you start work and monitor ongoing engagements.
Property professional
Track developer SPVs, counterparties and individuals across all their directorships.
Executive recruiter
Know before anyone else when a senior director becomes available.
Insurance broker
Monitor clients' risk profiles continuously, not just at renewal.
Vigil vs Companies House free alerts vs Creditsafe
Three ways UK businesses run company checks and monitoring today. Here's where each one fits and where each one breaks down. For a full seven-tool breakdown, see best UK Companies House monitoring tools.
| Capability | Vigil | Companies House free alerts | Creditsafe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitors Companies House filings | Real-time | Any filing, no context | On demand |
| Plain-English interpretation | Every alert | No | Partial |
| London Gazette dissolution alerts | Included | Not covered | Not covered |
| Phoenix company detection | Automatic | No | No |
| Director & people watchlist | Yes, from Pro | Company-level only | Not standard |
| Classified PSC change alerts | Classified in alert | Generic "filing" only | Daily refresh |
| Slack & email delivery | Both | Email only | Email only |
| Contract | Monthly, cancel in two clicks | Free | 12-month minimum, sales call |
| Starting price | £27/mo | £0 | Quote-based, typically £100+/mo |
Comparison based on public pricing and documentation as of 2026. Creditsafe pricing quoted after sales enquiry; individual contracts vary.
UK company checks & monitoring plans. Monthly, no contract.
Pay monthly, cancel in two clicks, keep your data. Creditsafe locks you in for a year and puts the cheapest plan behind a sales call. Vigil doesn't.
Starter
- Monitor up to 20 companies
- Instant alerts by email
- All event types
- Plain English interpretation
- Gazette dissolution alerts
Pro
Most popular- Monitor up to 100 companies
- Instant alerts + Slack integration
- Director / people watchlist
- Phoenix company detection
- Credit decision PDF reports
- Everything in Starter
Business
- Unlimited companies
- Everything in Pro
- Team sharing
- Shared watchlists
- Scheduled PDF reports
Monthly billing only. Cancel in two clicks. No annual lock-in. First 200 users get lifetime founder pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Why not just use the free Companies House email alerts?
The free alerts don't tell you what was filed or whether it matters. Companies House sends an email saying "A document has been filed for [Company Name]", meaning a routine confirmation statement and a compulsory strike-off notice trigger exactly the same notification. Most people who set them up stop reading within weeks. Vigil tells you what changed, what it means, and what to do. It also monitors the London Gazette, which Companies House alerts don't cover at all.
How is this different from Creditsafe?
Creditsafe provides credit scores and reports. It's primarily a lookup tool: you check a company when you need to. Vigil is a monitoring and alerting tool that watches continuously and tells you when something changes. It also costs a fraction of what Creditsafe charges, doesn't require a sales call to buy, and doesn't lock you into a 12-month contract. More on what Vigil actually does.
| Feature | Vigil | Companies House free alerts | Creditsafe |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monitoring type | Continuous, automatic | Automatic email on any filing | Manual lookup |
| Alert speed | Same day (minutes for CH) | Same day, no context | On demand only |
| Plain English explanation | Yes | No | Partial |
| Gazette coverage | Yes | No | No |
| Pricing model | From £27/mo, monthly | Free | Annual contract, sales call required |
How quickly do alerts arrive?
Most Companies House alerts arrive within minutes of a filing being accepted. Vigil connects to the real-time data stream rather than polling daily. Gazette notices are checked daily, so dissolution notices typically appear in your inbox within 24 hours of the notice going live.
Does this cover sole traders and partnerships?
Companies House covers limited companies (Ltd and PLC) registered in the UK. Sole traders and partnerships are not registered with Companies House, so they're not in scope. The vast majority of UK B2B credit risk sits within limited companies.
What is the London Gazette?
The London Gazette is the UK's official public record. All voluntary company dissolution applications must be published there. It's not well-known outside legal and insolvency circles, which is why most creditors miss the two-month objection window. You can file an objection on GOV.UK, but only if you know the notice exists. Vigil monitors the Gazette as part of every company watchlist.
Can I monitor companies I don't currently deal with?
Yes. Many users monitor competitor companies, potential acquisition targets, new prospects, or any companies in their sector they want to track. There's no requirement for a direct business relationship.
Coming soon
Start watching before
the next one costs you
This week, UK companies you deal with will file director changes, new charges and strike-off notices you won't see. Join the waitlist for free early access, or book a UK company monitoring walkthrough on the companies you already watch.