Issuer due diligence & KYC
Why due diligence matters
Due diligence runs alongside your Deal page build and your financial promotion review. It covers you as the issuer and the raise itself: your ownership, your management, the investment terms and the evidence behind what you say.
As an FCA-authorised firm, Floww is required to carry it out. It also surfaces risks early so they can be explained properly or reduced. The earlier you start, the less likely your launch is to slip.
All requests come from duediligence@floww.io, and we will tell you exactly what we need.
Who we verify
The Company (KYB). We identify the issuer and everyone who controls it: directors, beneficial owners and persons with significant control holding 10% or more, directly or indirectly. If your ownership runs through other companies, we check every level up to the ultimate beneficial owner.
The people (KYC). We then verify specific individuals, which we will name in our request:
- Normally at least two directors and all beneficial owners.
- If there are fewer than two beneficial owners, we verify the two largest shareholders instead.
- If the directors and owners are the same people, we only need KYC on two individuals.
Get ahead. Have these ready at the start of onboarding:
- Certificate of incorporation and constitutional documents
- Current ownership structure
- Register of directors and register of shareholders
Prepare your KYC documents
Each person provides one proof of identity and one proof of address, plus a quick liveness check. These must be two separate documents.
| Accepted | Not accepted | |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of identity | Passport, national ID card, full driving licence | Provisional driving licence |
| Proof of address | Bank statement, utility bill, council tax statement, current-year insurance policy, current-year HMRC tax statement, current signed lease, full driving licence | Bank letters, mobile phone bills, invoices, receipts |
A driving licence can prove identity or address, but not both.
How to capture them. Take a photo of the original, or upload the original digital file. Documents must be:
- In colour and fully legible
- Uncropped, showing the whole page
- Dated and in your own name, on official letterhead where relevant
- Unedited (no scans, black-and-white copies or altered files)
Screening and source of funds
Screening. Once someone completes KYC, we automatically check them against sanctions lists, regulatory warnings, fitness and probity records, politically exposed person (PEP) lists and adverse media. You don’t need to do anything extra.
Source of funds and wealth. Before the raise, we confirm where the Company’s current funds and wealth come from. Material contracts that confirm your pipeline can help evidence this.
Share your legal, financial and material information
| Area | What to provide | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Legal and structure | Current cap table, investment instrument, transaction documents, board or shareholder approvals and prior-round information | Confirms the raise is properly authorised and the Deal page terms match the legal documents |
| Financial and commercial | Current accounts or management information, forecasts with their assumptions and evidence of key customer, supplier or partner relationships | Supports the figures and claims in your promotion |
| Material matters | Debt or funding arrangements, key contracts, IP ownership or dependencies, licences, disputes or litigation and any insolvency concerns | Feeds your Material Disclosure, so investors see what matters |
One source of truth. Your Deal page, deck, financials, Material Disclosure, term sheet, cap table and data room should all say the same thing. Use current, dated documents, label drafts clearly and explain any differences rather than leaving us to reconcile them.
Keep it current
Due diligence is not a one-off. A change to ownership, directors, finances, key contracts, litigation, regulatory status, deal terms or who is in the round may trigger further checks or a fresh promotion review. Tell us as soon as a material change is likely, so it doesn’t hold up your raise.
Checklist
- Corporate and ownership documents ready at the start of onboarding
- KYC documents ready for each director and beneficial owner
- Final or execution-ready transaction documents in the data room, with drafts clearly labelled
- Cap table and deal terms kept current throughout the raise
- Due diligence queries answered promptly, with the evidence behind material claims
Need a hand?
Email duediligence@floww.io with questions about a request, or support@floww.io for anything else. For building the page itself, read the Building your deal page guide.
Floww’s due diligence does not transfer responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of your information. Exact requirements depend on the deal, jurisdiction and the services agreed with Floww.