How We Source Investment Data & Calculate Valuations
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One of the unique features of the Beauhurst platform is that we track the 70% of equity investments that are completed silently, alongside those funding rounds that are publicly announced in the media. Data on these unannounced deals is (unsurprisingly) tricky to gather, so we’ve devised a system that combines technology with human input to source and verify deal information. Our focus on the UK market allows us to spend more time and attention on each investment, so we remain the only data provider to track all relevant transactions, not just those that happen to make the headlines.
So if you’ve ever wondered how we gather and verify data on transactions, then you’re in the right place. Here’s a rundown of our process.
It all starts with an SH01 form
In a nutshell, we source investment data by reviewing SH01 forms filed to Companies House. As anyone who’s had the misfortune of needing to dig through these records will know, SH01 forms are reports filled in by companies when new shares are allotted. These forms include basic company information, such as registration number, name, and date of allotment, as well as the number of shares issued, and their price at the time of issue.
Because these forms are in a PDF format, however, it’s virtually impossible to search over their text, or to copy and paste into your own spreadsheets. Most companies resort to manually inputting this information into their workflows, which (apart from being tedious and time-consuming) is also not scalable. With over 8,000 SH01 forms filed every month, it’s no wonder that most companies only have capacity to go through a small number of transactions.
Using technology and people to source information
Here at Beauhurst, we’ve developed AI-driven technology to sift through all SH01 files and pick up on the relevant deals for the high-growth space (because not every filing contains a genuine investment). But our efforts don’t end there. Our dedicated team manually reviews all deals before they’re uploaded to the Beauhurst platform. This means you can rest assured that our transaction data is as accurate as possible.
Validating data (and doing it fast)
Although most of our information on deals is found in SH01 forms, we also keep our eyes and ears open to scoops from reliable sources, such as news outlets or other parties with inside industry knowledge.
As you may already know, SH01 files need to be filed within 30 days of a transaction. We make sure to cover all our bases by keeping an eye on press releases, in case someone’s a bit late on filing. This way, we have the quickest access to relevant deal information.
Showing fundraising data on the Beauhurst platform
Once we’ve carefully reviewed new deal data, this information is uploaded to company profiles on the Beauhurst platform, in an easily-digestible format.
Our data is not only verified, but also intuitively structured and searchable. With our Advanced Search tool, you can have information on thousands of company transactions in seconds. You can filter these by hundreds of criteria, such as industry, date of the transaction, and amount raised, depending on use case.
Beauhurst’s user-friendly interface ensures that all information is both comprehensive and easy to report on, saving you hours of tedious research on Companies House.
Calculating company valuations
Whilst public company valuations are quite straightforward, calculating a private company valuation is somewhat trickier. Luckily for Beauhurst subscribers, our Data team put all the legwork in to calculate valuations (where possible) with the available information, and offer a valuation ‘confidence’ category alongside each.
So the good news is that, whilst private company valuations are still far from an exact science, you can comfortably rely on our High-confidence calculations for your next project.
Want to know more?
Intrigued by our process for sourcing deal information? Book a demo with one of our Sales Associates to see the Beauhurst platform in action.
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