Hackford has launched a software platform to help compliance and regtech professionals search all Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)-regulated financial services firms in the UK.
The London-based startup’s platform uses machine learning and human input to sort more than 70,000 regulated firms into categories such as credit and insurance, with subsegments including investment managers, hedge funds, wealth managers and holistic financial planners.
Hackford’s platform lets users search businesses by categories, regulatory permissions and key individuals.
Users can also save groups of companies and people to watchlists and receive weekly alerts about any changes.
Dan Robinson (pictured), founder and CEO at Hackford, said: “The FCA Register is a haystack and Hackford is a metal detector. The register is broken for search.
“The compliance and regtech professionals I talk to share the painful experience of spending hours trawling the register to find firms that need their help.
“While the FCA has put a lot of time and money into optimising the register to protect consumers, less attention has been given to creating a data asset that serves the UK’s financial services industry.”
Robinson added: “At Hackford, we’ve classified all firms into searchable categories, so professionals can rapidly find exactly the firms they can assist and visit profiles enriched with key firm information.
“Plugging the data gap isn’t just about convenience. It helps the whole UK compliance ecosystem function better, enabling firms to spot risk, drive best practice, and respond to regulatory change faster.”
Nick Bayley, former FCA regulator and adviser to Hackford, said: “When I was in regulatory consulting, we’d have jumped at a tool like Hackford.
“Having seen the FCA Register from the inside, I know just how much untapped value it holds for consultants and compliance teams—if only you can unlock it.
“Hackford does exactly that. It turns a static public record into real intelligence, finally making the Register work for the people who find it most useful.”
