Corporate Investigations & Due Diligence

Updated 1 August 2026 by K3K Investigations

Before you sign, invest, appoint or acquire — know exactly who you are dealing with. K3K runs discreet corporate investigations for UK businesses: executive-level due diligence, counterparty evaluation, internal fraud and corporate intelligence, delivered as evidence your board and your lawyers can rely on.

Most corporate instructions reach us at a decision point. A senior hire whose CV does not quite reconcile. A supplier or distributor about to receive significant credit. An acquisition target whose numbers look better than its reputation. A joint-venture partner in a jurisdiction you cannot read. In each case the question is the same: what is actually true here, and what does the paperwork not say?

Call 020 3343 7007 for a confidential conversation with a senior investigator — 24 hours, no obligation.

Executive and pre-appointment due diligence

Boards increasingly want more than a reference check before a senior appointment or investment. We build a documented picture of an individual: verified career and qualification history, directorships and shareholdings across Companies House and overseas registers, insolvency and disqualification records, litigation history, adverse media, regulatory findings, sanctions and PEP exposure, and open-source reputational research.

The most valuable output is usually the discrepancy — the directorship not mentioned, the dissolved company, the tribunal finding, the overlapping role at a competitor. We report what is evidenced and separate it clearly from what is merely alleged, because a corporate report that blurs the two is worse than no report.

Counterparty, supplier and company evaluation

Before extending credit, entering a distribution agreement or committing to a contract, we evaluate the business itself: is it what it presents as? Trading history and filing behaviour, group structure and ultimate beneficial ownership, the substance behind the registered address, county court judgments and enforcement history, the real relationship between the people running it, and whether the same officers have left a trail of dissolved companies behind them.

For acquisitions, this runs alongside your financial and legal due diligence and answers the questions those workstreams are not designed to ask — the ones about people, conduct and reputation.

Internal fraud and corporate investigations

When the problem is inside the organisation, an external investigator gives you two things your own team cannot: independence and lawful investigative reach. We investigate procurement and invoice fraud, kickbacks and undisclosed conflicts, theft of stock or data, misuse of company assets, and leaks to competitors. Where an employee is suspected, our workplace investigations capability handles the evidence to a standard employment tribunals expect; where money has moved, our fraud investigation team traces it.

Corporate intelligence and asset tracing

Pre-litigation intelligence on an opponent's realistic ability to pay. Asset tracing before you commit to enforcement. Market and competitor intelligence gathered lawfully from open sources. Discreet enquiries where a name needs context that no database holds.

Bug sweeping and information security

If you believe boardroom conversations are reaching people who were not in the room, we conduct technical surveillance countermeasures (TSCM) sweeps of offices, meeting rooms and vehicles — see bespoke investigations & TSCM.

How we work with businesses

1. Confidential scoping call. You describe the decision you are facing; we tell you what is realistically knowable, what it will cost, and how long it takes. If the answer is that your existing advisers can handle it, we say so.
2. Fixed quote in writing before any work begins.
3. Lawful investigation. Everything is conducted within UK GDPR and the law — K3K Investigations Ltd is an ICO-registered data controller (ZB535305) and processes each corporate instruction on a documented lawful basis, normally legitimate interests.
4. Board-ready reporting. A written report that distinguishes evidence from inference, is legally defensible, and is delivered only to the people you nominate.

Why businesses instruct K3K

We are a London-based agency working UK-wide and internationally, with our own in-house intelligence platform — K3K Intelligence — rather than rented tooling and outsourced research. Corporate cases are run by senior investigators, need-to-know internally, and nothing about your instruction is subcontracted to third parties. Companies House: K3K Investigations Ltd, company 14781961.

Frequently asked questions

What does a corporate investigator actually do?

Establishes verified fact where public records and self-declaration are not enough: who really owns and controls a business, whether an individual's history is as presented, where money or assets have gone, and whether a fraud is occurring inside an organisation. The work combines licensed data sources, open-source intelligence, financial and corporate record analysis and — where justified — lawful surveillance.

Is corporate due diligence on an individual legal under UK GDPR?

Yes, when done properly. Businesses have a recognised legitimate interest in verifying senior appointments, investments and counterparties. What matters is proportionality, accuracy, using lawful sources, and holding the data securely for no longer than needed. We document the lawful basis for every corporate instruction, which is exactly what your DPO or legal counsel will ask about.

How long does a corporate investigation take?

A focused executive due diligence report typically takes a few working days. Counterparty and company evaluation is similar. Internal fraud investigations and international matters run longer — often two to six weeks — because they depend on evidence gathering rather than research alone. We give you a realistic timeline before you commit.

What does a corporate investigation cost?

Corporate work is quoted per project after scoping, not by the hour, so the price is fixed before we start. Due diligence reports sit at the lower end; multi-strand internal fraud investigations with surveillance are quoted against the operational days required. Set against the value of the decision or the loss being investigated, the maths is usually short.

Will the subject know they are being investigated?

No. Corporate due diligence and intelligence work is conducted discreetly from records, open sources and lawful enquiry. Where a case requires an approach that could become visible, we tell you in advance and you decide.

Facing a decision that needs facts? Speak to a senior investigator in confidence — free, no obligation, and we will tell you honestly what is knowable. Call 020 3343 7007 (24 hours) or book a call.

Related reading: Due diligence on a business partner · What is executive due diligence? · How to check if a company is legitimate · How investigators trace hidden assets