— Funding & independence
Who pays for the file — and what their money can’t reach.
Work built on documents is slow and expensive, and the people most willing to pay for it are often the people we must refuse. This page sets out where the money comes from, where it goes, and the things it will never buy.
- Policy ref
- FUN-01
- Advertising
- None
- Money from subjects
- Refused
- Disclosure
- Annual, itemised
Before any money is accepted
Nothing from anyone in the file — or anyone acting for them.
Nor from anyone whose interest in a subject we would be uncomfortable disclosing. The check happens before a payment is accepted, not after it has cleared.
No. 01Four things money never buys
The terms every supporter accepts.
- I.
No adverts
No banner slots, no sponsored articles, no paid placements in emails. Space on this site is not for sale.
- II.
Nothing from subjects
We take no money from anyone named in the file, or from their owners, directors, solicitors, PR firms or reputation agents — directly or indirectly.
- III.
No paid take-downs
An entry is never removed, hidden, toned down or buried in exchange for payment. Offers of that kind are logged, and the total is reported.
- IV.
No editorial say
Supporters do not pick subjects, read drafts, get advance warning of publication or object to findings afterwards.
No. 02Ways to support the work
Four ways in. None of them opens the newsroom door.
The first three are open to anyone. Grants go through extra checks, because the sums are bigger and the reputational risk runs both ways.
Reader membership
No editorial accessFor readers who want the file kept open and up to date, with the research tools that come with membership.
Disclosed: Reported as a total; individual members are never named.
Single contribution
No editorial accessFor readers who would rather give once than join.
Disclosed: Reported as a total, unless one gift exceeds 5% of annual revenue.
Institutional subscription
No editorial accessFor compliance teams, law firms, universities, newsrooms and public bodies that need several users.
Disclosed: The institution is named in the annual report.
Investigation grant
No editorial accessFor trusts and foundations that want to back a whole field of reporting.
Disclosed: Funder, amount, term and any conditions are published in full.
No. 03Where the money goes
The unseen costs behind each entry.
Most of what an investigation costs never appears on the finished page. It is worth listing, because it explains why a single dossier can take months.
Obtaining records
Court copies, Companies House and Land Registry searches, insolvency filings, and the fees public bodies charge anyone who asks.
Reading across borders
When a matter runs overseas, reading the foreign filings properly — with someone who knows the legal system behind them, not a machine translation alone.
Checking the checking
A second editor who argues the other side, the late review that removes weak claims, and the re-checks that stop older entries going stale.
Legal review
Pre-publication review of contentious entries, and the means to stand behind an accurate one when the response is a solicitor’s letter rather than a reply.
Looking after sources
Careful handling of what people send, separate equipment for opening untrusted files, and protective work nobody notices until it matters.
Keeping the file open
Hosting, version history and preservation, so entries still load and can still be cited years after the events they describe.
No. 04Funding we refuse
What we turn away — and report.
Money we refused is reported next to money we accepted. Listing only what you took tells half the story.
We refuse money from anyone in the file and from anyone acting on their behalf. We refuse funding that comes with conditions about which subjects we cover, early sight of material, how findings are worded, or how a correction request is decided.
We also refuse money when we cannot establish where it really comes from, when accepting it would create a conflict we could not disclose, or when the funder is likely to become the subject of reporting. Where a refused offer is material, it appears in the annual report with the reason.
If a conflict surfaces after money has been accepted — a donor becomes a subject, or a subscriber turns out to be connected to one — it goes on the public conflict register, the coverage is reassigned, and the money is returned where that is the only clean answer.
Research tools for people whose job is checking.
Membership helps keep the file going and, once your application is approved, gives access to Tracer and the professional research that comes with it.