Companies House filings provide a valuable opportunity to gain insights into the financial performance of established competitors. By examining the income statements (P&L) filed by companies in the UK, you can uncover valuable information about their revenue, expenses, and overall financial health. This exercise is designed to help you identify which competitors may have filed their P&L statements and guide you in accessing this financial data.
Goal
The goal of this exercise is to enable you to identify competitors who have filed their income statements (P&L) with Companies House and guide you in accessing this financial information. By understanding the financial performance of your competitors, you can gain valuable insights into their revenue streams, cost structure, profitability, and overall financial position.
Instructions
Determine Competitor Eligibility:
Competitors that are registered in the UK need to file their directors’ report and a profit and loss account unless any 2 of the following apply:
- their turnover is less than £10.2 million
- their balance sheet is less than £5.1 million
- they have fewer than 50 employees
Identify Potential Competitors:
Create a list of established competitors within your industry or market segment. Focus on competitors who might meet the eligibility criteria for filing income statements based on the determined threshold. This requires a bit of guessing if the competitor is still relatively small.
Access Companies House Database:
Visit the Companies House website (**https://www.gov.uk/government/organisations/companies-house**) to access their comprehensive database of filed company documents. Familiarise yourself with the search functionalities and available resources provided by Companies House. Utilise the search filters to narrow down your results and identify relevant company filings.
Search for Confirmation Statements and Companies’ Accounts:
Use the search or filter function to find:
- Confirmation Statements with updates: this includes the shareholders and share distribution
- Companies Accounts: this includes the P&L and Balance Sheet
Here is an example for mutliverse.io
Analyse and Extract Financial Insights:
- Carefully analyse the income statements (P&L) of the selected competitors, focusing on key financial metrics, revenue sources, cost breakdowns, and profitability.
- Extract and document relevant financial insights that provide a comprehensive understanding of the competitors' financial performance.
- Compare the financial data with your own company's financials to identify areas of strength, weaknesses, and potential opportunities for improvement.