Mining Remediation Authority: Experian Commercial Delphi Score
Commercial credit rating tool to predict business failure risk of companies that work with the Mining Remediation Authority.
Tier 1 Information
Name
Experian Commercial Delphi Score
Description
The tool assesses the creditworthiness and financial stability of businesses. It helps Mining Remediation Authority (MRA) make informed decisions about providing credit to companies for its products by predicting the likelihood of a company facing financial difficulties or failure within the next 12 months.
Website URL
https://www.experian.co.uk/blogs/latest-thinking/guide/delphi-score/
Contact email
CustomerService@MiningRemediation.gov.uk
Tier 2 - Owner and Responsibility
1.1 - Organisation or department
Mining Remediation Authority
1.2 - Team
Finance team
1.3 - Senior responsible owner
Head of Finance
1.4 - Third party involvement
Yes
1.4.1 - Third party
Experian
1.4.2 - Companies House Number
No. 653331
1.4.3 - Third party role
Solely developed by Experian and sold as an off-the-shelf solution.
1.4.4 - Procurement procedure type
Procurement Framework (G-Cloud 13)
1.4.5 - Third party data access terms
N/A
Tier 2 - Description and Rationale
2.1 - Detailed description
The Experian Delphi Score is an off-the-shelf commercial credit scoring system used in the UK to assess the financial health and creditworthiness of businesses. It gauges the risk of a company facing financial troubles or failure in the next 12 months by analysing its performance and credit history. This score is on a scale from 0 to 100, where a lower score means a higher risk. Zero means the business has failed or been dissolved. It is used by the MRA Finance team to understand a business’s creditworthiness, helping us to predict defaults and set credit limits.
2.2 - Benefits
By MRA using the Experience Commercial Delphi score it reduces MRA’s exposure to financial loss by enabling MRA to know what organisations are at risk of not paying for its product and services.
2.3 - Previous process
MRA have always used some form of credit assessment to manage its financial risk and its current credit assessment provider is Experian Commercial Delphi Score.
2.4 - Alternatives considered
Other credit scoring services are available on the market such as Dun & Bradstreet (D&B), Equifax, Creditsafe, Graydon. However, Experian was selected as MRA’s service provider.
Tier 2 - Decision making Process
3.1 - Integration into broader operational process
A credit report is undertaken by MRA before extending credit, signing a contract, or entering a partnership. This is to ensure the other party is financially stable and likely to meet their obligations (including future payments). An example being a company who wishes to take our data to develop and sell mining reports to homebuyers. They take the data upfront (at no cost) and only return royalties (payments) to us when their reports are sold. We want to ensure that they are financially creditworthy, reliable and will return payments as per their contract with us (the results from the credit report allows us to understand the risk of non-payment for services).
3.2 - Human review
A human always reviews the outputted scores and makes the final decision on provding credit to the company. The credit report provided by Experian has much of the needed detail to assist in the overall risk rating, further information is used within the report to help make the final decision on setting credit limits.
3.3 - Frequency and scale of usage
Weekly (use varies depending on demand/activity)
3.4 - Required training
The finance team are they only team that access the Delphi service. They follow instructions and advice given but will ultimately defer to the Head of Finance for further guidance. A guidance sheet is provided to understand the scoring mechanism - https://www.uk.experian.com/bi/sp_ltd_commdelphi_info.html
3.5 - Appeals and review
No formal appeal/review process with the MRA although we would run an updated score/report should we become aware that a company’s situation had changed or a new request for credit was made. A company would need to speak Experian should they wish to challenge their credit score within Delphi.
Tier 2 - Tool Specification
4.1.1 - System architecture
Experian’s Commercial Delphi Score doesn’t have full public architecture diagrams. Experian’s Commercial Delphi Score is expected to be made up of the following layers.
Data Collection Layer Commercial Bureau Data: Includes company registry info, financial accounts, public filings, CCJs, bankruptcies, etc. Payment Performance Data: Tracks how businesses pay trade suppliers, aggregated via Commercial CAIS and other payment-sharing programs Commercial Credit Data Sharing (CCDS): Mandated data sharing from UK banks, delivering current account turnover and credit payment information. Director Consumer Data: Residential and credit data of company directors, linked to business identity to enhance scoring accuracy.
Data Ingestion & Processing Automated Data Pipelines: Daily ingestion from multiple sources (bureau, banks, trade, consumer) to ensure scores are up_to_date ETL/Normalisation Framework: Cleans, standardizes, and merges data into a coherent, consistent dataset. Likely leverages scalable data platforms (e.g., data lakes, messaging queues, and stream processing frameworks).
Scoring Engine & Analytics Statistical Model (Scorecard): Predicts probability of business failure within 12 months. Score range: 0–100 with defined risk bands and a star-rating interpretation system . Gen_6 leverages machine learning or advanced statistical techniques across hundreds of variables (e.g., market segmentation, business age/size, payment trends) . Segmentation Engine: Different model parameters for micro, small, medium, and large businesses ensuring tailored risk assessments .
Real-Time Scoring & Delivery Layer API Access / Batch Integration: Businesses access scores via real-time API, integrated into decisioning systems like Credit Decisions, Autoscore, or DCM. Also integrates via batch feeds or bureau portal tools. Score Refresh Logic: Automatic rescore triggered when new data arrives (e.g., a director’s credit rating changes, new financial filings, or payment behaviour updates).
Reporting & Insights Dashboard Performance Metrics: Tracks discriminatory power improvements over time (e.g., Gen_6 boosted by ~17–19 percentage points vs. prior versions). Trend Reporting: Visualises score evolution, failure odds, credit rating, and limit history. Interpretative Tools: Provides failure odds and human-readable Credit Opinions for high-risk businesses .
4.1.2 - System-level input
- Company name and registration number
- Registered address
4.1.3 - System-level output
The Commercial Delphi Score is a single numerical value between 0 and 100 that predicts the likelihood of a business experiencing financial distress or failure within the next 12 months. 0 = Business has failed or been dissolved. 100 = Very low risk of failure.
Other supplementary information is also included in the associated report, including (1) A risk band and star rating; (2) Credit Rating: An estimate of the average credit a business might need over a 30-day period, and (3) Credit Limit: A scalable value based on the credit rating, adjusted for risk.
4.1.4 - Maintenance
Experian’s Commercial Delphi Score is designed to be maintained and updated daily, ensuring lenders have the most current risk insights: According to Experian, “certain key elements used in the scoring process feed into the database as often as daily” to ensure up_to_date risk profiles. The system ingests data from multiple sources -such as bureau records, Commercial Credit Data Sharing, director consumer data, and payment performance - on a daily basis. When any of these data points change, the affected business scores are automatically refreshed within that same update cycle
4.1.5 - Models
Segmented statistical scorecard model, which uses advanced logistic regression, supplemented by machine learning techniques in development and validation.
4.4.1 - Data sources
Experian uses a combination of data sources to generate the score, including: - Company accounts (e.g., turnover, profit, liabilities) - Payment performance (e.g., how promptly the business pays suppliers) - Director information (e.g., history of directorships, disqualifications) - Consumer credit data (if applicable) - Legal filings (e.g., County Court Judgments, insolvency notices) These inputs are processed using statistical models to estimate the probability of default.
4.4.2 - Sensitive attributes
The Experian Delphi Score can involve personal information, but only in specific cases: - For Sole Traders and Partnerships: Since these business types are not legally separate from their owners, personal credit data (such as individual credit scores, payment history, and financial behaviour) may be included in the Delphi Score calculation. - For Limited Companies: Personal data is generally not used in the score itself. However, director information—such as past directorships, links to failed companies, or disqualifications—is included. This is considered public business-related data, not private personal financial data. Experian operates under strict data protection laws, including the UK GDPR and Data Protection Act 2018, and offer data subject access request (DSAR) for anyone wanting to know how their data is used.
4.4.3 - Data processing methods
While Experian doesn’t publicly share detailed specifics about data pre-processing for the Commercial Delphi Score (Gen_6), we can infer several steps based on general credit-scoring best practice and the broader descriptions of their approach. Likely Pre_Processing Steps; Data Standardisation & Cleansing Normalize formats (addresses, SIC codes, names), remove duplicates, and validate key attributes using authority files (e.g. postcode lookups). Entity Linkage (Business–Director Matching) Map director residential credit records to corporate entities via usual residential address (URA) matching .
Aggregation & Feature Engineering Calculate metrics like: Payment trends (e.g. days beyond terms, % late). Banking metrics (turnover, missed payments). Financial ratios (where accounts data are available).
Segmentation Assignment Place each business into an appropriate segment (nano, micro, small, medium, large) before applying a segment-specific model.
Missing Data Handling & Imputation Likely uses imputation or default values when certain data (e.g. micro-enterprise accounts) are unavailable.
4.4.4 - Data access and storage
No MRA data is shared with the tool/service.
4.4.5 - Data sharing agreements
Tier 2 - Risks, Mitigations and Impact Assessments
5.1 - Impact assessments
Experian has not publicly disclosed a specific Data Protection Impact Assessment (DPIA) dedicated solely to the Delphi Score service. However, as a major credit reference agency operating in the UK, Experian is required to comply with the UK GDPR and the Data Protection Act 2018, which mandate DPIAs for any processing that is likely to result in high risk to individuals’ rights and freedoms. The tool was procured through a compliant procurement framework and all assessments that applied at the time were considered.
5.2 - Risks and mitigations
There are no identified risks for using the tool. The worst case scenario is that we fail to extend credit to a company who are instead requested to pay upfront for access to our services. There are however significant financial and reputation risks should we NOT use this tool. The tool helps us to manage and mitigate these risks. There is the risk of over reliance on the Experian Delphi score, this is mitigated by MRA training its staff on the use of the tool as well as using further information when a MRA staff member makes the final decision to extend credit or not.