CompanyIQ Insights: what our platform data shows about UK companies

Every analysis CompanyIQ runs adds to an aggregate picture of UK company health. Score distributions, sector averages, director risk patterns, filing compliance rates. Until now that picture has only existed in the background. Today we are making it public.

The CompanyIQ Insights page at company-iq.co.uk/insights shows aggregate intelligence drawn from every company the platform has analysed. No individual company names or data. Just the patterns that emerge from looking at a growing dataset of UK businesses through the same consistent lens.

Why make it public?

The data belongs to Companies House. CompanyIQ adds the analysis layer. Making the aggregate picture public is the right thing to do: it shows what the platform actually sees, it holds us accountable for the quality of our scoring, and it gives anyone curious about UK company health a reference point that does not require a subscription to access.

It also serves as an honest measure of how much the platform has done. The insights page updates daily. As more companies get analysed, the picture becomes more representative and the patterns become more reliable.

The current dataset

The companies currently in the dataset are predominantly drawn from two SME recognition lists: the 2026 Best 100 SME list and The Times Top 202 Best Small Companies. These are not a random sample of UK business. They skew toward growth-oriented, founder-led companies that have sought external recognition. That context matters when reading the numbers.

With that in mind, the charts below pull from live platform data. Every figure reflects the current state of the dataset at the time you are reading this, not a snapshot taken when the post was published.

How the scores distribute

The score distribution is where the full picture becomes visible. The average sits in the Fair band. For companies that have been publicly recognised for their performance, that number tells a familiar story: public recognition and financial health are not the same thing. And within that average, the spread is wide.

The Governance category represents companies whose accounts were too large or too abbreviated for full financial analysis. These receive a governance-only report covering filing compliance, director quality and market position, but no CIQ Score. No credit is charged for these reports.

The sector picture

Scores vary significantly by sector. Technology tends to be the most represented sector in the dataset given the composition of the awards lists we have analysed, but representation alone does not translate to higher scores. Sectors with fewer than three companies are excluded from the view to avoid thin data producing misleading averages.

Filing compliance and director risk

Two non-financial dimensions are worth highlighting. Filing compliance is generally strong across the dataset. Companies that seek recognition tend to keep their administrative obligations in order. Director risk tells a different story. A meaningful proportion of companies have at least one active director linked to a previously dissolved company. This is not automatically a red flag: directors who have run multiple ventures over many years will have some dissolution history. But it is the kind of detail that a standard company search surfaces slowly, if at all.

What the page does not show

The insights page does not name individual companies, highlight best or worst performers, or make editorial judgements about any business in the dataset. It is an objective aggregate view. The patterns it surfaces are a function of the data, not a commentary on any particular company.

It also does not yet tell the full story of UK business. The current dataset is small and skewed toward recognised SMEs. A random sample of all UK limited companies would produce a different distribution. The page is honest about this: every metric reflects the companies analysed to date, not a claim about UK business at large.

How it evolves

The insights page refreshes every 24 hours. Every new company added to the platform contributes to the aggregate. The charts in this post update alongside it. Over time, as the dataset grows beyond a single awards list, the sector averages will stabilise, the geographic distribution will broaden, and the patterns that emerge will carry more statistical weight.

The most interesting version of this page is the one that exists in six months, when the dataset is several times larger and drawn from a broader range of sources. The current version is a starting point. The direction is toward something genuinely useful as a reference point for UK company health.

The page is live now at company-iq.co.uk/insights. It requires no account and no subscription to view.