In today’s regulatory landscape, partnering with the wrong company can cost your business far more than a failed deal—it can damage your reputation, trigger regulatory scrutiny, and expose you to significant compliance risks. Yet many businesses remain unaware of a critical intelligence source that could protect them: the UK’s tax avoidance public register.

The £2.1 Billion Problem You Can’t Ignore

Tax avoidance schemes have cost the UK Treasury billions in lost revenue, prompting increasingly aggressive enforcement action. Since 2022, HMRC has been publicly naming companies and individuals involved in tax avoidance schemes—creating a permanent digital record that smart businesses are using to protect themselves.

The numbers are staggering:

• 150 public enforcement actions since August 2022
• 140 unique companies publicly named
• New cases published as recently as August 2025
• 78% of cases fall under the Finance Act 2022’s enhanced powers

Real Business Impact: Recent Cases That Made Headlines

Our analysis of the latest tax avoidance intelligence reveals concerning trends:

Umbrella Company Crackdown: Multiple umbrella companies have been targeted, including several now in liquidation or administration. These companies often sit at the heart of complex supply chains, meaning their exposure can ripple through entire business networks.

Director-Level Accountability: Recent publications specifically name company directors alongside their businesses, showing HMRC’s willingness to pursue individual accountability—a trend that should concern any business leader.

Cross-Border Complexity: Cases involving Isle of Man and Seychelles entities highlight the international nature of modern tax avoidance schemes and the challenges of traditional due diligence.

The Three-Tier Risk Framework Every Business Should Know

Tier 1: Direct Exposure Risk: Companies directly named under the Finance Act 2022 represent the highest risk category. These businesses have been publicly identified as involved in tax avoidance schemes and face ongoing regulatory scrutiny.

Tier 2: Promoter Risk: Entities caught under POTAS (Promoters of Tax Avoidance Schemes) regulations pose significant reputational risk. Associating with known scheme promoters can trigger enhanced due diligence from regulators and financial institutions.

Tier 3: Disclosure Risk: DOTAS (Disclosure of Tax Avoidance Schemes) cases, while fewer in number, often indicate sophisticated avoidance structures that may attract future enforcement action.

Why Traditional Due Diligence Isn’t Enough

Standard company searches and credit checks won’t reveal tax avoidance exposure. This intelligence exists in specialised regulatory databases that most businesses don’t know how to access or interpret effectively.

The gap is costly:

• Reputational damage from association with named entities
• Regulatory scrutiny of your own tax affairs
• Potential exclusion from public sector contracts
• Enhanced compliance requirements from financial partners

The Competitive Advantage of Tax Avoidance Intelligence

Forward-thinking businesses are already using this intelligence to:

• Screen potential partners and suppliers before entering agreements
• Monitor existing business relationships for emerging risks
• Enhance their compliance frameworks with real-time regulatory intelligence
• Demonstrate due diligence to regulators and stakeholders
• Identify market opportunities where competitors may be exposed

Case Study: The Umbrella Company Supply Chain

Consider a recruitment agency working with umbrella companies to manage contractor payments. Without access to tax avoidance intelligence, they might unknowingly partner with companies like:

• Umbrella Contracts Limited (now in administration)
• Ernest Umbrella Limited (in liquidation)
• Imagine Umbrella Limited (in liquidation)

All three were publicly named in August 2025 enforcement actions. A recruitment agency partnering with these entities could face:

• Contractor payment disruption
• Regulatory investigation
• Reputational damage
• Client contract termination

The Technology Solution: Automated Risk Monitoring

Manual monitoring of regulatory publications is impractical for most businesses. The solution lies in automated intelligence platforms that:

• Continuously monitor regulatory publications
• Match entities against your business network
• Provide real-time alerts when risks emerge
• Integrate seamlessly with existing compliance workflows

Don’t Wait for the Next Publication

With new tax avoidance cases being published regularly, the question isn’t whether your business network includes exposed entities—it’s whether you’ll discover the risk before or after it impacts your business.

Take Action Today

Immediate Steps:

1. Audit your current supplier and partner network against known tax avoidance entities
2. Implement ongoing monitoring for new regulatory publications
3. Enhance your due diligence procedures to include tax avoidance screening
4. Train your compliance team on emerging tax avoidance risks

Ready to protect your business? Our tax avoidance intelligence dataset provides real-time access to regulatory enforcement data, automated risk monitoring, and seamless integration with your existing compliance workflows. This can be linked to various other datasets such as ‘Tax Defaulters’ to further enhance your compliance checks.

See the difference for yourself. Book a quick demo with our team today and discover how Doorda AI can help you uncover opportunities, manage risk, and make better decisions with confidence.

About the Data: This analysis is based on the UK’s official tax avoidance enforcement publications, covering 150 enforcement actions against 140 unique entities from August 2022 to August 2025. Data is continuously updated as new publications are released.