Marketscan, specialists in data services for direct marketing purposes, is entering into a licensing agreement with Experian (LON:EXPN), the global information services company. The recently signed deal will provide Marketscan with monthly downloads from Experian’s National Business Database, which has 5.1 million limited and non-limited business records.

In order to fulfil its wide range of services including the supply of sales leads, customer profiling, database cleaning and analysis, and bespoke programmes, Marketscan determined that its customers needed constant access to a "master database of UK business": a requirement that led the Marketscan team to develop its 'UK Business Megabase' to provide incomparable quality, depth of information and market coverage.

Julie Knight, MD of Marketscan, comments: "The addition of Experian’s National Business Database, which is the one of the most comprehensive on the market, significantly boosts our existing 'UK Business Megabase'.

"Many rival databases were originally developed for purposes other than marketing, such as directory compilation or credit rating. Specifically built for marketers, Marketscan’s 'Megabase' has existed only as a marketing database and contains a unique business classification, based on market sectors, which gives greater accuracy than the conventional SIC system."