Data services

Tender description

The Office for National Statistics is looking for a data source that can provide timely and detailed information on the financial balance sheets of all United Kingdom registered companies, alongside corporate structure and ownership information, encompassing control and minority relationships, and information on the global parent, associate and subsidiary businesses to which they are affiliated. This information is of interest to improve ONS’s financial, business and international surveys, including foreign direct investment and construction statistics. Full balance sheet information is required to enable the calculation of asset and liability variables: tangible fixed assets; intangible fixed assets; current assets; financial assets; long-term liabilities; current liabilities; and shareholders’ funds. We also require: the description of principal activity from the directors’/strategic report; standard industrial classification of the business; trading address; turnover; operating profits; and number of employees. In all cases, unconsolidated accounts information is preferred, but consolidated data can be accepted if nothing else is available and there is a “consolidated” marker. In addition, we require data that will allow us to understand detailed business relationship and ownership information for these companies, to enable the identification of businesses which are involved in either the delivery or receipt of foreign direct investment. This shareholder and subsidiary information must cover “UK to UK” relationships and “UK to non-UK” relationships — but also the “non-UK to non-UK” relationships of companies which are associated with a UK business (more than 10 % ownership in common). During this procurement process, we will require detailed descriptions of the information which can be provided, the quality and coverage of the data, and will be requesting the provision of a demonstrative data set. Full balance sheet information is required to enable the calculation of asset and liability variables: tangible fixed assets; intangible fixed assets; current assets; financial assets; long-term liabilities; current liabilities; and shareholders’ funds. We also require: the description of principal activity from the directors’/strategic report; standard industrial classification of the business; trading address; turnover; operating profits; and number of employees. In all cases, unconsolidated accounts information is preferred, but consolidated data can be accepted if nothing else is available and there is a “consolidated” marker. In addition, we require data that will allow us to understand detailed business relationship and ownership information for these companies, to enable the identification of businesses which are involved in either the delivery or receipt of foreign direct investment. This shareholder and subsidiary information must cover “UK to UK” relationships and “UK to non-UK” relationships — but also the “non-UK to non-UK” relationships of companies which are associated with a UK business (more than 10 % ownership in common). During this procurement process, we will require detailed descriptions of the information which can be provided, the quality and coverage of the data, and will be requesting the provision of a demonstrative data set.