London, United Kingdom Jul 3, 2025 (Issuewire.com) - London-based startup Hackford today launches its searchable platform for FCA-regulated financial services firms. Combining human expertise with machine learning, Hackford has sorted the UK’s 70,000+ regulated firms into market segments, such as Credit and Insurance, and subsegments, including investment managers, hedge funds, wealth managers, and holistic financial planners.
While the FCA Register is a rich data source, it remains fragmented, with the website only allowing users to check firms one at a time. There is no search function or classification of firms, leaving compliance and regtech professionals flying blind when trying to find firms that need regulatory or compliance support.
Hackford’s software platform enables compliance consultants and regtech sales teams to search all regulated financial services businesses by commonsense categories, regulatory permissions, and key individuals. Users can save groups of companies and people to watchlists and receive weekly email alerts, meaning no key personnel or permission changes are missed.
Comment from Hackford founder and CEO Dan Robinson
“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.
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.”
Comment from Nick Bayley, Former FCA regulator and adviser to Hackford
“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.”
Nick Bayley is the former Head of UK Regulatory Consulting at Kroll and previously led key market policy initiatives at the FCA, including MiFID II and MAR. He now serves as the independent Non-Executive Chair of the International Stock Exchange Authority and is an adviser to regtech firm Mettis and intelligence platform Hackford.
About Hackford
Hackford is a London-based intelligence platform for understanding the firms and people powering the UK’s financial services industry. Launched in June 2025, Hackford’s platform enables compliance consultants and regtech teams to search, segment, and monitor all FCA-regulated businesses and professionals. The platform combines regulatory data from the FCA Register and other public sources, offering real-time search by firm type, regulatory permissions, and key individuals. With features like watchlists, weekly alerts, and detailed compliance contact data, Hackford turns a fragmented public record into actionable intelligence for the professionals who need it most. For more information on Hackford or FCA Register data, visit hackforddata.com.
Founder and CEO Dan Robinson previously held consulting and operational roles at Beauhurst—the UK’s leading private company intelligence platform, trusted by investors, banks, and the public sector. Before that, he was an analyst at The Sunday Times Fast Track, which ranked and celebrated the country’s fastest-growing private businesses. Dan brings expertise in data-led research and market analysis to Hackford’s mission: making regulatory intelligence accessible and actionable for professionals across financial services.
Notes to editors
- Availability: Subscription plans live today. 7-day free trial with credit card. Then prices start from £50+VAT per month per person or £600+VAT per year.
- Press kit: Download our press kit containing logos, product screenshots, and headshots at https://hackforddata.com/press
- Hackford’s dataset: Incorporates FCA Register data and data from public sources, including company websites. For more information, see https://hackforddata.com/data
Media Contact
Hackford dan.robinson@hackforddata.com 07759 274 041 https://hackforddata.com
