118 118 (UK)

118 118 is a UK directory enquiries provider delivered from call centres in the Philippines, with some administration in Cardiff, Wales and other management offices in London that provides telephone numbers, given subscriber name and address, and answers general questions on any subject. 118 118 started operation in December 2002. In September 2013 the company started 118118Money, a provider of unsecured personal loans.

118 118 is the brand name of The Number UK Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of US directory enquiries provider Knowledge Generation Bureau (formerly InfoNXX), whose company motto is "know more". It has sister services in Italy, utilising the number (amongst others) 892 892; in France, using 118 218; in Ireland, using 11850; and Switzerland, using 18 18.

In 2006, kgb, the parent company of 118 118 in the UK, purchased rival Directory Assistance provider Conduit to produce the largest company of its type in the UK.

Allocation of number

Numbers starting with "118" were designated for commercial directory enquiries when the fixed priced 40p British Telecom directory enquiries service on 192 and 142 was discontinued. The different 118 numbers were allocated by lottery. Originally Surrey-based Leaf Telecom was allocated the 118118 number; The Number UK Ltd paid a reported £2 million to acquire it.