Prospecting
Prospecting is how you ask a question that watches the answer. You compose the question by filling four dimensions, save it with alerts, and allocate the hereditaments that matter to a portfolio. Where Search finds what's there now, Prospecting tells you when the answer changes.
What prospecting is
The wizard surfaces four dimensions: Where, What stayed the same, What changed, and Over what period. Fill them in any order; the Explorer composes the right kind of search from what you enter. Press ⌘↵ (Mac) or Ctrl+Enter (Windows / Linux) to run the search when the question is well-formed.
First-touch walkthrough
First-time researchers see an optional walk-through that opens with a worked example — Camden shops whose rateable values stand out from the peer median on the 2023 rating list. Dismissable; bring it back from Settings → Reset help.
Where
The geographic scope. Empty Where means national. Pick at the level that matches your question — Region, Combined authority, or Billing authority.
What stayed the same
The fields shared by every hereditament in the set. Pin a category, a scheme, a ratepayer name, a floor area. This dimension also defines the peer set when What changed is a deviation: the median or mean is taken across the group you have pinned here.
What changed
The field whose change, deviation, absence, or threshold-crossing is the question. Each row carries the field, the variation pattern, the value, and (for a numeric pattern) the direction, all on one line. + Add field below the dimension creates another row.
Over what period
The window. Pick Current state for the latest data, Specific period for a rating list or a specific date, or Compare two periods for a cross-list comparison. When What changed compares each hereditament against its peers, those peers are read at this period; you do not pick the snapshot separately.
Picking a geography
The picker is a hierarchical checkbox list. Region groups every billing authority in the region; combined authority groups the billing authorities in a combined or mayoral authority; billing authority is the leaf. Type-ahead at the top filters all three levels at once. Picking a parent selects every descendant.
Data coverage
Each billing authority shows a coverage hint inline — "Camden — ratepayer data through Sep 2025; account names available; quarterly updates", or "City of London — sparse; last ratepayer data Aug 2019". A thin-coverage authority returns fewer ratepayer matches.
Variation patterns
The variation-pattern picker is grouped by how many periods you compare. Compared with peers (one period) covers deviates from peer median, peer mean, peer percentile, and crossed a threshold. Compared with another period (two periods) covers changed by an absolute amount, changed by percent, value changed (text fields), and transitioned from X to Y (categorical). The two groups match your period choice; picking from the inactive group surfaces a short explanation.
Peer-group size
When What changed uses a peer-comparison variation pattern, the row exposes a peer group ≥ N input. Default is 5. The peer set is whoever shares the What stayed the same values.
Schemes are within a rating list
A scheme reference is per-revaluation — the 2023 list has its own schemes; the 2026 list has its own. When Over what period is paired, the scheme picker in What stayed the same scopes to the anchor rating list. A note inline explains that the bridge across lists is the UARN, checked against floor area, primary description, or postcode to confirm it is the same property.
Charges have no expiry date
Charge records in the rates data carry no end date. The only variation patterns for a charge field are is present and is absent; "crossed an end-date" is greyed out with an inline note.
Cross-list invariance
To compare like with like across rating lists, pin a field as unchanged across periods in What stayed the same. Floor area unchanged within ± 5 % is the canonical invariance probe. The pattern needs Over what period set to Compare two periods.
First-time loads
For a scheme you have not opened before, the first load may take a few seconds. Subsequent results are instant.
Fetch all results
The first batch returns quickly. If the question has more matches than the batch, the toolbar carries Fetch all N — clicking runs the rest as a background task. You keep working; you're notified in-app and by email when ready. Same pattern as Search.
Adjusting from the question row
The results table's Question row shows four colour-coded chips — one per dimension. Click a chip to edit one pick inline; the query re-runs and the table reloads in place. For a larger rebuild, click Edit composition to return to the wizard with the current state seeded.
Saving with alerts
Save prospecting (⌘S / Ctrl+S) names the question and configures alerts in one dialog. Re-opening a saved prospecting search runs the question against current data; the dialog reopens seeded with the saved values and the primary action becomes Update.
Trigger types
Three triggers. Added — a hereditament newly matches the question. Updated — a hereditament in the set has any tracked value changed since the last alert (generic, not per-field). Removed — a hereditament no longer matches. Three cadences — Weekly digest, Monthly digest, Quarterly digest. The cadences are aligned to the VOA update rhythm: the VOA publishes change updates twice weekly (Wednesdays) and full epoch refreshes every two months — sub-weekly digests would either repeat or be empty most days. Two channels — In-app and Email. Digests arrive shortly after VOA updates land, on your chosen cadence.
Allocate to a portfolio
Tick the rows you want and click Allocate selected in the results-table toolbar. The side panel opens with a source summary and a target picker — an existing portfolio or a new one. The action label carries the named target — for example "Allocate 2 to Camden retail watch".
Prospecting versus portfolio
A prospecting search is a question whose answer changes — the Explorer keeps running it and alerts you on the changes. A portfolio is a fixed list of hereditaments you chose, with its own alerts on the chosen members. Allocating from a prospecting search doesn't stop the question running; the prospecting search and the portfolio are independent.