graydon corporate brochure

Accuracy made easy

As a commercial credit reference agency, Graydon is the number one choice for any business needing accurate, relevant credit information.

That way, we can help ensure you make reliable and robust risk-management decisions, anywhere in the world.We strive to get closer to achieving this aim every day, through the quality, scope and scale of our work.

Graydon. We’re open in business.

And our starting point is always the same

That’s how we can help you tame the uncertainties of a volatile and complex business world.

to see the world through our clients’ eyes and understand what they need from us.

0208 515 [email protected]

So the implications of transparency are substantial and far-reaching, on both sides of the credit equation. On one hand, the accuracy of a business decision depends almost entirely on the quality of knowledge held by those who have to make it. So the more knowledge a business has, the lower the risk of making the wrong trade-credit, supplier or lending decision.

On the other hand, organisations about which little is known will struggle to attract customers, suppliers, partners or investors. Their long-term success depends on others being able to see and confirm that they are solvent and trustworthy.

There’s a reason why Graydon’s catchphrase is ‘Open in business’: open access to information is vital for suppliers and customers to recognise and do business with those who are credit-worthy.

Without it, business dries up – companies fail and economies suffer.

Question:

Answer:

Data makes the world go around...

Who would lend money to someone they know nothing about?

Nobody with a particularly developed instinct for survival…

“Knowledge is power….”

So being open in business is a powerful source of competitive advantage and corporate protection for all parties – except those with something to hide. And that’s where a commercial credit reference agency like Graydon comes in.

We not only find the information you need on prospective customers, we validate and monitor it as well. And with a global network of hand-picked partners with the best local market knowledge and understanding, we can open up business for you in more than 190 countries across the world.

The Graydon advantage:

Unlike our competitors, we don’t own a businessdirectory brand. So we can access information from right across the market, not just a single source.


Reducing risk through insight and understanding

Trade credit is the world’s single biggest source of business finance – bigger even than bank lending, government support or corporate investment.

Every day, millions of businesses make decisions about the organisations and individuals they’re happy to work with, often providing them with goods and services trusting that they will be paid – in full and on time.

Such decisions should never be taken lightly. Each is laden with risk – not just the risk of late payment or business failure, but increasingly of financial fraud and identity theft as well. This is why, in a burgeoning global market place where face-to-face relationships are often close to impossible, ‘Know Your Customer’ (KYC) policies are rocketing up companies’ priority lists.

Tracking changes over time

But KYC policies should extend much more widely than to new prospects alone. Every organisation’s circumstances are constantly changing, so you should also regularly check on even those customers you’ve been working with for years to make sure there’s been no material shift in their ability to meet your terms.

Just as important is the potential impact on your business of failure or fraud somewhere in the supply chain. This can be every bit as devastating as issues with key customers, seriously jeopardising a company’s ability to meet its obligations to others and causing immense damage to production schedules, cashflows, reputation and competitive advantage.

These are just some of the reasons why the services of a reputable commercial credit reference agency like Graydon have never been more crucial.

We’re here to help you understand and minimise the risks of dealing with individual customers and suppliers in countries across the globe. And, with our teams’ in-depth regional and vertical-market expertise, our reporting brings you the all-important insight you need to make accurate, educated decision-making anywhere in the world.

Know your customer

“We’re here to help you understand and minimise the risks of dealing with individual customers and suppliers in countries across the globe.”


Our global network of expert credit-reference partners contains only the very best, hand-picked firms from every market – from multi-national market leaders to small niche partners. With every office fulfilling our stringent quality criteria, you get only the best on-the-ground support in every region, keeping your finger on the pulse of the local business culture.

International Intelligence:

With services ranging from instant online reporting on 140 countries to bespoke, interview-based investigations anywhere on the planet, we provide the reassurance you need no matter where you’re doing business.


Won’t get fooled again…?

Taming the perfect storm of corporate fraud

Accelerating globalisation, free-flowing data and streamlined electronic communications are the three great drivers of the modern business world. But they’ve also come together to create a perfect storm of risk. That’s the unrelenting rise of corporate fraud as criminals seek to steal from businesses that are too trusting or careless to protect themselves sufficiently.

The problem is huge – it’s been estimated that £52 billion was lost to the UK economy through fraud alone in 2012, up from £6 billion just some 20 years before. What’s more, over 70% of European businesses were affected by fraud in the 12 months to October 2013 – and those are only the ones that admit to it.

Spotting the fakes

Identity theft – stealing and falsifying another company’s brand and payment record to extract credit under false pretences – is one of the toughest frauds to spot. Even the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority, the official regulator of financial firms and advisers, has found fake versions of its own website and Register that include fraudulent contact details instead of those of a genuine authorised firm.

Graydon, too, has uncovered countless instances of fraudsters falsifying records held at the UK’s Companies House to create a bogus background.

But recognising that identify theft, website cloning, falsified credit applications and more are realities of modern corporate life is the first step towards defeating the scammers. The next is to recognise how the right support can help.

At Graydon, we use a sophisticated algorithm to help us spot peculiar corporate behaviour such as those all-important changes to a business’s records – to its registered address and other contact details, its directors, its references or its auditors – that suggest caution is needed.

We recommend that it’s used regularly, not only to scan prospects, existing customers and suppliers but also to monitor your own business details.

It’s the most effective way of ensuring that the fraudsters aren’t using your business as a front.


With us, you can spot anomalies that set alarms ringing. For example, we recently found the records of 27 firms at Companies House that had identical financial details – all set up purely for the purpose of fraud.


Risk and compliance:

Our Risk service identifies with 93% accuracy the danger of not being paid due to business failure, along with the risks of late payment and fraud. And with our Compliance portfolio, we not only validate business information, we also verify it through further checks and gather everything you need to Know Your Customer.

1) We work hard to always see the world from the perspective of our clients – what do they need from us? How can we add value to their operations? What can we do to make our services even more attractive?

2) We provide only the highest quality of available information, from the UK, Europe and the rest of the world. While the scope and standards of available data differ significantly from country to country (for example, in the USA only publically-quoted companies are obliged to publish their accounts) we ensure our local partners all provide the best reports in their individual markets.

3) Our reports, whether accessed online or offline and from anywhere on the globe, enable you to very quickly learn how to extract the greatest possible value from them.

4) A single point of contact gives you direct and rapid access to the collective knowledge and experience of Graydon and our partners, right across the world.

5) The work of our researchers, analysts and subject matter experts is complemented by our Customer Services Team, whose role is straightforward – to help you find and implement the information you need as quickly as possible to reach accurate and productive business decisions.

6) Our special ordering system means you can not only request online or offline reports via our designated website, you can also track your report’s progress and access archived copies once it’s been sent.

Ensuring the right sense of perspective

For Graydon, what matters most is that we continue providing our clients with the insight and analysis they need in the format they want. That’s how we plan to meet our aim of being first choice for any business wanting accurate and relevant credit information. And it’s how we’ve set out the standards that we believe differentiate Graydon from the competition in our small and specialist market place:

What’s keeping you awake at night?Data solutions:

The quickest and simplest way we know of to access pure, comprehensive data on any subject, in any format for use on any device. Potential applications are limited only by your research requirements – from strategy development to pipeline prospecting, customer management to credit decision-making, financial planning to enhanced payment collection.


And what they have to say about us…

At Graydon, we have long-term, in-depth experience of working with small, large (and utterly huge) firms in many industries – wholesale and retail, construction and financial services, leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, distribution and more.

And here are just a few of the things that some of our clients have to say about us…

Who we work with

“No other provider comes close to Graydon on service or cost.”

Katherine Bailey Credit Manager, QMH Hotels

“Graydon’s number one goal seems to be keeping the client happy, not just satisfied.”

Curt HansonPrincipal, Trade Acceptance Group

“Graydon provides quality data that we can rely on.”

Robert DormanCredit Manager, BBC Worldwide

“Our bad debt losses since we have been using Graydon have been very low.”

Paul BowersGroup Credit Controller, Marriott Hotels

“The most valuable aspect of the credit reports is having the annual accounts for four years – it gives you the whole picture.”

Lyn BibbyCredit Manager, Fuel Card Services

“I would promote Graydon – they are by far the most communicative agency of their type.”

Steve HeywoodDeputy Group Credit Controller, E. H. Smith Builders Merchants

“Graydon provides quality data in a clear, actionable format so we can improve communication of customer risk profiles and agree strategies between our Credit Management team and sales locations.”

Bryony PettiforCredit Manager, Anixter Ltd


UK Credit Management

Reduce the risk of doing business with UK-based clients, suppliers and prospects through interactive reporting, instant alerts and comprehensive analysis of their financial position. It’s the best way of making informed decisions about credit and who you should work with.

Fraud and Compliance

Spot the anomalies in advance that provide an early warning of fraudulent behaviour. Share your experience with your industry to help one another beat the threat of fraud. And ensure your business isn’t ever being used as a front by criminals.

Our solutions in summary...

Data Solutions

Use our automated credit decisioning, global data integration and consultancy solutions to save time and reduce workload, bring information up to date and gather robust data and analysis needed to support and de-risk your most important business decisions.

International Credit Management

Use accurate global reporting to cut the risks of international business in over 190 countries worldwide. And by monitoring your clients and suppliers across the world, get the all-important early warnings that mean you can cut off problems before they strike.


Graydon UK Limited

2nd Floor, Hygeia Building66 College RoadHarrowMiddlesex HA1 1BE.

Email: [email protected]: 0208 515 1400

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