Trust indicator
Established Company
A company with years of public filings behind it has shown it can stay solvent and keep its obligations.
What it is
We look at how long the company behind the site has existed, from its incorporation date on Companies House. This is one of two longevity indicators. The other, Established Website, looks at how long the competition website itself has been running. We record both dates because they can be years apart: a company may trade in another line of business for a long time before it starts running competitions, and we score each on its own, so neither can stand in for the other.
Why we track it
A competition operator takes entrants' money before it hands over a prize, sometimes weeks before, and has to buy the cars, cash and tech it gives away. A company that has existed for years has a public history anyone can check: annual accounts, confirmation statements and its directors, all filed with Companies House. It has kept trading through good and lean periods, and it has a name and record it would lose by treating customers badly. A company formed a few months ago has no filing history yet, and most new businesses do not last: the Office for National Statistics found that only 38.4% of the UK businesses started in 2019 were still trading in 2024. Company age says nothing about how good the competitions are, which is why we look at how long the website has been running as well.
How to earn it
- This is earned over time; there is no shortcut beyond continuing to operate.
- Make sure the correct trading company and its Companies House number are on your site, so we attribute your full history.
- If we have the wrong company or incorporation date on file, request a re-evaluation with the correct Companies House details.
This is one of several weighted indicators behind a site's letter grade (A+ to F). We don't publish the exact points or thresholds, but earning more indicators — and avoiding hostile T&C clauses — moves a site up the scale. See the full method on our How We Rate page.
Our ratings are based on publicly observable criteria and data analysis. This is not a guarantee of legitimacy, prize fulfilment, or financial security. We are not affiliated with any competition site. Always do your own research before entering competitions or spending money.