Library Guides: Financial and company information: Private companies

Private companies

If a company is not listed on a stock exchange (i.e. a private company), it can be more difficult to find information about it because it is not legally required to disclose as much financial information as publicly listed companies are.

That said, Library Services provides access to several databases with good coverage of private companies.

CityLibrary Search

Citing & referencing

FAQs

Key databases with private company information

Eikon (Refinitiv)
Eikon contains news, analytics and financial content. It also includes a range of prices for multiple assets, fundamentals, estimates and charts. Includes data from Worldscope, I/B/E/S, Lipper and Asset 4. Use the Excel Add-In to download data and access Datastream.

Limitation - A limited number of Eikon usernames are available for off-site access and are issued Monday to Friday 09:00- 17:00 UK time.

Accessibility information for Eikon(Refinitiv)
Available on 5 bookable PCs in the Financial Resources Zone, Business Library, 8 bookable PCs in the Refinitiv Trading Room (Business School) and 3 bookable PCs in the Financial Resources Suite, Northampton Square Library. A limited number of Eikon usernames are available for off-site access. These will be issued on a first come, first served basis (Monday to Friday 09:00- 17:00 UK time) and will expire at 08:00 UK time the following day, if issued on a Friday the username will expire at 08:00 UK time Monday. Complete our request form to request a username and password. Alternatively, email businesslibrary@city.ac.uk.
Filings Expert
International database of original company documents. Includes Annual Reports, Accounts and Interims, Circulars (IPOs, M&A documents, etc.), RIS news, Investor Presentations and transcripts, SEC Filings, and Bond prospectuses. Private company accounts for top 500 companies from 17 jurisdictions.

Accessibility information for Filings Expert
CB Insights
Is a global private company database that covers daily real-time information about venture capital, angel investor-backed private start-ups. It also contains M&A and IPO news, private equity and industry analysis. Please note that there is a limit of 4000 profile views and 4000 downloads per user per year.

Limitation - Students and staff should email the Business Library to request instructions for creating an account. Your City email address is only used for log-in, CB Information Services do not use this information for any other purpose.
Expert Intelligence reports are not available as part of our subscription.
Accessibility information for CB insights

For access to CB Insights, contact the Business Library at businesslibrary@city.ac.uk

Mergent Online
Company financials, stock prices, descriptions, history, property, subsidiaries officers and directors, long - term debt and capital stock.

Accessibility information for Mergent Online
User Guide available in Business Library Moodle 2022-2023. Non-Business School students and staff should email businesslibrary@city.ac.uk.
Fame
Provides profit and loss, balance sheet, ratios and trends, stock prices, credit score and rating information (where available) for major public and private British companies. Lists of companies can be created using any combination of 300 search items.

Accessibility information for Fame
Please note that Bureau van Dijk resources may be used for educational research only, and may not be used for institutional business purposes.
Capital IQ
WRDS dataset listed under Compustat. Provides extensive debt capital structure for over 60,000 global public and private companies and equity capital structure data on over 80,000 active and inactive companies worldwide.

Accessibility information for Capital IQ
To access WRDS datasets, click 'Register' on the WRDS homepage. Register using your City email address. Under 'Affiliation Type', postgraduate and undergraduate students should select 'Masters/Undergrad'.

You will receive an email within two working days asking you to agree to the Terms & Conditions. Once you have replied, your account will be approved and when you login to WRDS, you will have to sign up to their 2 Factor Authentication system.

 As part of the registration process, Duo collects WRDS usernames, phone numbers, and email addresses in order to verify information during login.  Duo (owned by Cisco) retains anonymized information post login for statistical and performance purposes. Duo privacy policies can be found here.

Accessing private company information

Most resources use your usual City username and password. Some resources need different login details. These are listed in Business Library Moodle 2022-2023. If you cannot access this page, please businesslibrary@city.ac.uk for details. Some financial resources are only available on specific bookable PCs.

You can use this information for:

Coursework
Projects
Interview prep

Information gathered from City Library databases must not be used for commercial purposes, including for placements.