Five Red Flags to Look for Before Signing With a New Supplier

A new supplier relationship usually starts with a pitch, a few references, and a contract to sign. What it rarely starts with is a proper look at who you're actually dealing with — until something goes wrong.

Here are five things worth checking before you commit:

BOLD: 1. A registered address that doesn't match the business.

A UK-registered company with no discernible presence at its registered office — no staff, no premises, nothing — isn't automatically a problem, but it's worth understanding why.

BOLD: 2. Directors with a pattern of dissolved companies.

One dissolved company isn't unusual. Several, in quick succession, often in a similar sector, is worth a closer look.

BOLD: 3. Ownership structures that are hard to untangle.

Layers of holding companies, particularly across multiple jurisdictions, aren't illegal — but they do make it harder to know who you're really contracting with, and why that structure exists matters.

BOLD: 4. No verifiable trading history.

A company with big claims but no public trace of prior work, reviews, or media mentions should prompt more questions, not fewer.

BOLD: 5. Sanctions or watchlist exposure — even indirect.

It's not just about checking the company itself. Related entities, subsidiaries, and named directors all need the same scrutiny, since exposure can sit one step removed from the name on the contract.

None of these findings, on their own, mean you shouldn't proceed. But knowing them before you sign — rather than after something's gone wrong — is the whole point.