Our History

We began with simple directory services. We’ve built a global technology and data business by building trust in a digital world.

We have more than 30 years’ experience in identity verification, location intelligence and fraud management technology. Today, our customers trust us to connect to consumers without compromising compliance. We bring global breadth and local depth of data to bear on the 210 million digital transactions we process every day.

Cloudcheck comes onboard

Verifi Identity Services, aka ‘Cloudcheck’, joins GBG – adding New Zealand’s leading digital identity verification and anti-money laundering solution to our global portfolio of trust-building tech.

2022

Building trust together

Acuant, the leading US specialist in AI-powered digital identity verification joins GBG, combining our powerful identity and fraud prevention technologies to create a safer digital world.

2021

20,000+ customers worldwide

From start-ups to many of the world’s biggest and fastest growing brands, we reach a major milestone in customers served across 70+ countries in Europe, North America and Asia Pacific.

2021

Company of the Year

We win Company of the Year at the AIM Awards, the annual celebration of outstanding achievement on the world’s most successful growth market.

2020

1,000+ team milestone

We reach a milestone 1,000 team members, simultaneously celebrating three decades in business as our talent tally tops four figures for the first time.

2019

£1 billion valuation

Our business joins some of the world’s best-known companies in the top tier of UK-quoted stocks, with a market capitalisation of more than £1 billion.

2019

Joining forces with IDology

We acquire IDology, an Atlanta-based business with a strong identity and fraud proposition, adding global identity verification and fraud prevention capability in a key growth market.

2019

Teaming up with VVG

We’re growing again with the acquisition of VIX Verify Group (VVG), scaling up our identity verification and location intelligence solutions in Australia and New Zealand.

2018

£100 million revenue milestone

We celebrate another financial first for the business as we reach the £100 million revenue mark, a major performance milestone for the company.

2018

Coming together with PCA Predict

The acquisition of UK/US-based PCA Predict brings together PCA’s SaaS technology with GBG’s global address repository, creating the world’s leading location intelligence platform.

2017

Chris Clark joins as CEO

Chris joins the company bringing his extensive experience and expertise in steering and growing international technology businesses, both large and small.

2017

IDscan Biometrics comes onboard

We acquire IDscan Biometrics, adding automated identity verification and data capture capabilities to complement our global Know Your Customer expertise.

2016

Joining forces with Loqate

Loqate, based in Silicon Valley, brings its global location intelligence data and technology to our business helping us reach new markets and customers across the globe.

2015

We are GBG

We take aim at global growth as our GB Group business is re-branded to 'GBG' for ease of international recognition.

2015

Going international with DecTech

GB Group’s first international acquisition delivers expansion into Asia and a joint Identity and Fraud solution enabling our customers to operate securely on a global scale.

2014

Hello ID3global

We launch the next generation of identity verification with ID3global, a smarter, faster web service with more country coverage than any other identity verification provider.

2012

AIM and growth

We take our growth ambitions up a gear, moving onto the AIM register for the London Stock Exchange, the world’s most successful growth market.

2010

£1 million first for GB Group

GB Group supplies HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) with our e-Trace technology, identity management tools to help trace UK residents, in our first ever £1 million deal.

2009

Our global journey begins

We set out on a path to global identity verification with the launch of ID3 Check, our first international identity verification product, covering a total of 21 countries.

2006

We are GB Group

We become GB Group, a change that signals a shift in strategic trajectory for the business away from our previous travel interests, towards the future of identity verification.

2002

Richard Law joins as CEO

So begins a fifteen-year success story for the company as Richard Law joins as CEO and the business transformation toward the contemporary GBG gets started.

2002

Coming together on customer information

Phonelink acquires GB Mailing systems and Seaforths Travel to focus on customer information and database management, online business services and corporate travel.

1998

Phonelink and GB Mailing Systems

Starting out in the same year, Phonelink is founded as a phone number directory service in Birkenhead, just as GB Mailing Systems launches in Chester as an address look-up service

1989