Guides

What to check before you meet a company

Five things: who owns it, who runs it, what it has filed lately, any court matters, and what the press says. Together they tell you what to ask.

1. Who owns it: its shareholders, and who stands behind them.
2. Who runs it: its directors and officers, and their other companies.
3. What it has filed: recent accounts, changes of directors, charges over assets.
4. Court matters: cases by or against it and its people.
5. Press: what has been reported in the last few years.

The questions follow from what you find: a new owner, a director who left, a filing that came late.