Under UK law the first question about a B2B contact is not "did this person consent." It is "is this a corporate subscriber or an individual one." The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, known as PECR and enforced by the ICO, let you cold email a corporate subscriber, a limited
Under UK law the first question about a B2B contact is not "did this person consent." It is "is this a corporate subscriber or an individual one." The Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations, known as PECR and enforced by the ICO, let you cold email a corporate subscriber, a limited company or an LLP, without prior consent as long as you identify your organisation and offer an opt-out. Email a sole trader or an ordinary partnership the same way and you have broken the rules, because they count as individual subscribers. A UK data provider is only useful if it tells you which category each contact falls into. This guide covers the main providers for UK outreach, Cognism, Kaspr, Lusha, Apollo, ZoomInfo, and InboundLabs, and scores each first on whether it supports that distinction and screens phone numbers against TPS and CTPS. All details were checked September 2026 and move often, so re-verify before you buy.
A UK B2B data provider sells access to business contact and company data intended for use under the UK GDPR and PECR. The distinctive requirements are identifying corporate subscribers (limited companies and LLPs) versus individual subscribers (sole traders and ordinary partnerships), screening telephone numbers against the TPS and CTPS registers, and providing a working opt-out and data subject request process.
PECR sits on top of the UK GDPR and governs electronic marketing. For email, it draws a line between corporate subscribers and individual subscribers. Corporate subscribers are limited companies, LLPs, and most public bodies; you may send them unsolicited B2B email if the message identifies your organisation and every message carries an unsubscribe route. Individual subscribers are sole traders and non-LLP partnerships, plus any personal or generic inbox; they get the same protection as consumers, meaning you generally need consent or a genuine soft opt-in. The UK GDPR still applies underneath, so you also need a lawful basis for holding the personal data, usually legitimate interest with an assessment on file. This is the legal spine of GDPR-compliant cold outreach in the UK.
Figures below were checked September 2026 from public sources and current reviews. They are a starting point, not a substitute for a sample test on your own accounts.
The most frequently cited provider for UK outreach. Its phone verification process ("Diamond Data") is manually checked, and TPS and CTPS scrubbing is built into the platform, with screening against a set of global do-not-call lists reported around 13 registers (Cognism, checked September 2026). Compliance framing includes a documented legitimate interest basis and notification practice. Pricing is an annual custom quote. Strongest fit for teams doing phone-heavy UK outbound at volume.
Owned by Cognism, headquartered in Paris, and kept as a separate lower-cost product for LinkedIn-first prospecting. It has a strong reputation for phone-verified data across UK, French, and German contacts and runs at roughly $49 per user per month with a free tier (checked September 2026). It draws on the parent company's European data foundation. A fit for individual reps who want a direct dial without leaving the browser.
Per-seat pricing from roughly $22 to $49 per user per month depending on plan and billing (checked September 2026). Publishes UK GDPR and PECR-relevant documentation and offers a self-serve trial. UK coverage is solid for common commercial titles; sample your niche before committing.
Large database, per-seat pricing from around $49 per user per month, combining data with sequencing (checked September 2026). Provides GDPR tooling and data subject request handling. Its explicit TPS and CTPS screening is less prominent than the UK-focused providers, so confirm the process in writing before dialling. Good value for mixed UK and international motions.
Enterprise provider, annual custom quote, strongest in North America but with usable UK coverage for larger enterprises (checked September 2026). For UK SME contacts and direct dials, coverage thins. Best where UK is one region within a global buying programme.
A B2B contact database with a database of 280M verified B2B contacts and 98% email deliverability on verified contacts, plus verified direct dials, not switchboard numbers. You can filter by industry, headcount, region, and title, with buyer intent signals layered on firmographic data. Monthly plans, no annual lock-in, and free to start, no credit card required. As with any provider, ask for the written process on corporate-subscriber classification and TPS and CTPS screening before relying on it for UK outreach.
The Corporate-Subscriber Test: before buying a UK data provider, confirm it can tell you, per contact, whether the target is a corporate subscriber (limited company or LLP) or an individual subscriber (sole trader or ordinary partnership). Under PECR you can cold email the first group with sender identification and an opt-out; you generally cannot cold email the second without consent. A provider that cannot make that distinction leaves you guessing on the single question that decides legality.
Ask the vendor directly: does your data flag company type, and how do you classify sole traders and partnerships. Then spot-check a sample against Companies House. If a chunk of your target market is sole traders (common in trades, consulting, creative services, agriculture), this test can rule a provider out on its own, regardless of database size.
"Under UK law the first question about a B2B contact is not did this person consent. It is is this a corporate subscriber or an individual one."
For calls, PECR requires screening against two registers: the Telephone Preference Service (TPS) for individuals and sole traders, and the Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) for corporate numbers. Calling a registered number without the recipient's prior consent breaches PECR and the ICO can fine for it.
A UK-serious provider screens numbers against TPS and CTPS before delivering them and states how often that screening refreshes. Cognism reports building this in; others vary. Put the screening cadence in the contract, because a number screened at import and never re-checked drifts back into non-compliance as registrations change. This is the same diligence behind lawful cold calling practice.
Score each provider on these five, the same sample-first method that applies to any data purchase, and compare totals.
For UK outreach, InboundLabs is straightforward to pilot because the trial is free: free to start, no credit card required, and monthly plans, no annual lock-in, so a poor fit costs a month rather than a year.
It provides a database of 280M verified B2B contacts, 98% email deliverability on verified contacts, and verified direct dials, not switchboard numbers, with industry, headcount, region, and title filters and buyer intent signals layered on firmographic data. Run the five-step UK test above, confirm the corporate-subscriber classification and TPS and CTPS screening in writing, and compare it against the broader provider field, the European view, and ZoomInfo alternatives.
Test InboundLabs on your UK sample free → inboundlabs.app
The best UK B2B data provider is the one that answers the PECR question for you: corporate subscriber or individual subscriber, per contact. Cognism leads on UK phone verification and built-in TPS and CTPS screening; Kaspr fits LinkedIn-first reps on a budget; Lusha and Apollo suit mixed motions if the UK sample holds up; ZoomInfo fits UK-as-one-region programmes. Run the Corporate-Subscriber Test, confirm phone screening cadence in the contract, then run a five-step sample test on your own accounts. Start your free UK sample at inboundlabs.app.
Yes, if the recipient is a corporate subscriber (a limited company or LLP) and the message identifies your organisation and includes an opt-out. Sole traders and ordinary partnerships are individual subscribers under PECR and generally require consent or a genuine soft opt-in. You also need a lawful basis under the UK GDPR, usually legitimate interest.
A corporate subscriber is an incorporated body: a limited company, an LLP, or most public bodies. An individual subscriber is a sole trader, a non-LLP partnership, or any person at a personal or generic address. PECR allows unsolicited B2B email to corporate subscribers with identification and opt-out; individual subscribers get consumer-level protection.
The Telephone Preference Service (TPS) is the UK register on which individuals and sole traders opt out of unsolicited sales calls. The Corporate Telephone Preference Service (CTPS) is the equivalent for corporate numbers. Calling a registered number without prior consent breaches PECR, so a data provider should screen numbers against both before delivering them.
For phone-heavy UK outbound, Cognism is the most cited, with manual phone verification and built-in TPS and CTPS screening. Kaspr, owned by Cognism, fits LinkedIn-first reps at a lower price. Lusha and Apollo work for mixed UK and international motions. The right choice still depends on a sample test on your own accounts. All figures checked September 2026.
Yes. The UK retained the GDPR as the "UK GDPR," sitting alongside the Data Protection Act 2018 and PECR, and enforced by the ICO. Holding personal data for outreach still needs a lawful basis, usually legitimate interest with a documented assessment, and data subjects keep their access, objection, and erasure rights.
Pull a 60-account sample matching your real company-type mix. Verify 20 company-type flags against Companies House, measure email bounce rate on a corporate-subscriber test send, dial the direct numbers and log connect rate while confirming TPS and CTPS screening, and submit a test data subject request to time removal. Score each provider and compare.
LSI keywords: b2b data providers uk, PECR, corporate subscriber, individual subscriber, TPS, CTPS, ICO, UK GDPR, Companies House, legitimate interest, Cognism, Kaspr, direct dials, soft opt-in
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