Four routes
How to find off market businesses for sale in the UK
Updated
Off-market deals come from four places. Each starts with the same thing: a written brief of what you want to buy.
Send my brief Sector, area, price range and timing. Joseph Ellul reads it himself and replies directly. Free, no obligation.
The routes
1. The register
Every UK company's directors and registered office are on the Companies House register, searchable by sector code and place.
Source: Companies House advanced search
2. A direct letter
Write to the director by name. An email to a limited company is outside PECR's consent rule; a sole trader needs consent first.
Source: ICO: business-to-business marketing
3. Advisers
Accountants and brokers who act for owners hear of a sale before it is listed. Send them your brief.
4. Insolvency
1,882 companies entered insolvency in England and Wales in September 2026; an administrator often sells the business or its assets quickly and without a listing.