Know Your Business (KYB)
Know Your Business
Map who owns the company buyer and get one list of persons who need to provide ID
How it works
When the buyer is a company, you need a clear view of its ownership and the individuals who must be verified—the core of Know Your Business (KYB). Proofenance gives you that: look up the company buyer, see its related organisations and all relevant persons in one place, adjust the structure as needed, and then collect identity and bank information from a single, deduplicated list.
Step 1
Search for the company buyer
Look up the company via Companies House or your own records. Proofenance pulls in the organisation profile and its reported officers and persons with significant control (PSCs).
Step 2
Review the generated structure
View the primary organisation and any related organisations in a clear hierarchy. Proofenance surfaces a single, deduplicated list of all persons who need to be verified for the sale.
Step 3
Refine the list as required
Add or remove related organisations, change relationship types, or adjust the list of persons. Proofenance keeps the structure in sync so you always have an accurate view of who must provide information.
Step 4
Collect verification and bank data
Request identity and supporting information from each person on the list. Where needed, you can also capture bank account details for the main organisation or its related entities.
Working with HMRC data
HMRC data
We work with HMRC's published data, including persons with significant control (PSCs) and officers reported to Companies House. This feeds into the company-buyer PSC list so you have an accurate, up-to-date view of who controls the company buyer and related entities.
Coming soon: HMRC identity verification
We are working on the ability to validate whether a director has already provided their verified identity to HMRC. Where that is the case, we will be able to use it to verify the PSC's identity for the purchase instead of requiring them to provide documents again. This is in progress and no timelines are set yet.
Further reading
For more on Know Your Business (KYB), beneficial ownership, PSCs, and how they fit into regulation and due diligence:
- Articles and guides— KYC, KYB, AML, ownership evidence, and compliance.
- Resources— legislation, training, and documentation.
What you see
A quick overview of how we present the information to you. It's designed to be fast to understand and illustrate the complexity of the company structure.
Acme Holdings Ltd
Registered Office Address
1 High Street
London, SW1A 1AA
United Kingdom
Directors / PSCs
- Alice(1990-01-15)Director
- Bob(1982-07-08)Director
Related organisations
Acme Trustee Ltd
Company number: 87654321
Directors / PSCs
- Charlie(1985-03-20)Director
Delta Investments Ltd
Company number: 11223344
Directors / PSCs
- Diana(1978-11-05)Director
- Alice(1990-01-15)DirectorAlready on main organisation
People & Significant Control
Persons with significant control over the organization
Alice
from Acme Holdings LtdBob
from Acme Holdings LtdCharlie
from Acme Trustee LtdDiana
from Delta Investments LtdNote: This list is deduplicated—Alice appears in both Acme Holdings Ltd and Delta Investments Ltd but is listed once for ID verification.
Part of the Proofenance compliance platform.
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