When a UK company grants a mortgage, debenture, or other charge over its assets as security for a loan, it must be registered at Companies House within 21 days. This creates a public record of the charge, protecting the lender's priority and informing other creditors.
A charge can be fixed (over specific assets like property or equipment) or floating (over a class of assets that changes over time, such as stock or trade debtors). Most bank lending to companies involves registering one or both types. A floating charge 'crystallises' into a fixed charge on certain events, such as the company going into administration.
The charges register reveals a company's debt structure, lending relationships, and secured creditors. Companies with many outstanding charges may have limited borrowing capacity. Satisfied (repaid) charges remain on the register but are marked as satisfied.
BORSCH.AI integrates Companies House mortgage data covering 2.5 million charge records across 805,000 UK companies, providing insight into corporate debt patterns, secured lending relationships, and financial risk indicators.