Methodology

Spark Intel research is built on a structured, repeatable methodology designed to produce outputs that are accurate, transparent, and useful for commercial decision-making. Every report follows a consistent process from data acquisition through to publication.

The research process begins with data extraction from publicly available registers, regulatory filings, and official government sources. Raw data is then validated and categorised using a combination of automated classification systems and manual quality checks. The research team applies interpretation and contextual analysis to transform structured data into meaningful commercial insight.

All reports are designed to present findings in a format that supports both direct human reading and machine-readable discoverability. This means structured headings, clear table formatting, consistent terminology, and explicit source attribution throughout.

The insolvency intelligence reports analyse insolvency practitioner appointments recorded at Companies House. Appointments are extracted from official filings and classified into three categories:

• Admin / CVA: Administrations and Company Voluntary Arrangements — formal insolvency proceedings where a licensed practitioner is appointed to manage the company's affairs.
• MVL (Members' Voluntary Liquidation): Solvent company wind-downs where the directors resolve to liquidate the company and distribute assets to shareholders.
• Other: Creditors' Voluntary Liquidations, compulsory liquidations, and other formal insolvency proceedings.

Each appointment is attributed to the insolvency firm and, where consent is given, the individual practitioner. Company-level metadata including sector classification, employee count, turnover, and registered region are used to enrich the analysis.

Sector classification follows SIC code groupings aligned with Companies House filing categories. Regional attribution uses the company's registered office postcode mapped to standard UK regions.

Monthly reports cover activity within a single calendar month. Cumulative figures aggregate from the start of the calendar year. Year-on-year comparisons reference the same month in the prior year.

Where a company group is involved in insolvency proceedings within the reporting period, the group is treated as a single event. Multiple appointments relating to the same company within the same period are not counted separately.

Invoice finance reports track new charge registrations at Companies House where a debenture or charge is filed by a recognised invoice finance or asset-based lending provider. This serves as a proxy for new invoice finance facility activity.

Charges are categorised by lender, sector, region, and company size (by employee count and last filed turnover). The research team maintains a curated list of lenders classified as invoice finance providers, which is reviewed and updated periodically.

Monthly reports show the number of new charges registered within the reporting period. Annual reports aggregate full-year data and include trend analysis, lender market share, debtor book estimates, and sector concentration. Where debtor book values are estimated, these are derived from the most recent publicly filed accounts at Companies House.

It is important to note that charge registrations do not represent the total invoice finance market. Not all facilities require a new charge registration, and some re-financing activity may appear as new registrations. The data therefore represents a structured proxy for market activity rather than a census.

Where a group of companies has a charge, this is counted as one event. Multiple charges registered by the same company within the reporting period are not counted separately.

UK lending reports analyse SME lending activity using a combination of public data sources including Companies House charge registrations, Bank of England statistics, and published lender data. The analysis focuses on understanding lending volumes, lender positioning, and market structure across business finance categories.

The research examines charge registrations by lender type and lending category, cross-referenced with available market data to provide context on relative activity levels. Commentary is informed by publicly available lender disclosures, regulatory filings, and market developments.

Annual reports present a comprehensive view of the year's lending landscape with comparative analysis against prior years. Where totals or market-wide figures are referenced, the methodology and any estimation approaches are disclosed within the relevant report.

In the general charges analysis, company group structures are not consolidated — each entity is treated independently. Multiple charges registered in the same period by the same company are counted individually and are not deduplicated. This differs from the invoice finance methodology, which applies group consolidation and deduplication.

The SPK Index is a proprietary algorithm managed by Spark that ranks insolvency practitioners and firms. It is designed to provide a more nuanced view of market activity than raw appointment counts alone.

The SPK Index incorporates a weighted combination of:

• Appointment volume: The number of appointments attributed to the firm or practitioner.
• Complexity weighting: Appointments involving larger companies (by employee count) carry higher weighting, reflecting greater case complexity.
• Appointment type: Administrations and CVAs are weighted more heavily than MVLs or other appointment types, reflecting the operational complexity of the engagement.

The SPK Index is calculated on both a monthly and cumulative year-to-date basis. Regional SPK Index rankings show firm performance within each UK region. National rankings aggregate across all regions.

The specific weighting formula is proprietary and not disclosed. However, the general principle is that the SPK Index rewards firms handling more complex, higher-value insolvency work rather than simply maximising appointment volume.

Every report undergoes quality checks before publication, including automated data validation, manual spot-checking of key figures, and editorial review of commentary. Where discrepancies between data sources are identified, they are resolved using the most authoritative source or flagged with appropriate caveats.

Key limitations to be aware of:

• Companies House data depends on timely filing by companies and practitioners. Late filings may cause figures for a given period to change after initial publication.
• Sector classifications are based on SIC codes, which may not always reflect the primary trading activity of every company.
• Regional attribution uses registered office addresses, which may differ from primary trading locations.
• Due to GDPR restrictions, individual insolvency practitioner names are not disclosed without consent.
• The SPK Index weighting formula is proprietary. Rankings should be interpreted as relative indicators rather than absolute measures of market position.

For questions about methodology, data, or interpretation, contact the Spark team through Spark Finance.