ACCESS COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01459431 · ltd · incorporated 1979-11-06
Investment thesis
Zombie company — trading but stalled; unlikely mover.
Why interesting: Quiet, steady; could be a succession or carve-out candidate with the right conversation.
Why risky: No growth signal; thin margin for error on price.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£59.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Publishing of computer games
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 58). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 44.7y

15/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 44.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
97 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £59,494
Cash draining
Cash down 74% YoY
Cash YoY
-74%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£972
↓ 74% YoY
Net Worth
£59k
↑ 2.5% YoY
Current Assets
£4k
↓ 38% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£12k£24k£36k£48k£59kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£67.0k£66.8k
Current assets£3.7k£6.0k
Cash£972£3.7k
Debtors£1.7k£1.3k
Net assets£59.5k£58.0k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals detected in this company's narrative notes — going-concern language, audit opinion, contingent liabilities, related-party transactions.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-11
    ➖
    WATSON, Vera Thornton resigned
    director
  2. 2026-02-11
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  3. 2026-02-11
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2025-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-12-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-01-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-01-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2009-04-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  18. 2007-01-31
    ➖
    WATSON, Edward resigned
    director
  19. 2000-09-01
    ➕
    WATSON, Edward James appointed
    director
  20. 1989-06-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Midland Bank PLC
  21. 1981-09-01
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Midland Bank LTD
  22. 1979-11-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCESS COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED

Owner dependency

93/100
Critical — business is the founder

The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 47 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Edward James Watson
Individual · British · DOB 02/1968 · age 58
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Vera Thornton Watsonceased 11/02/2026· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 specific questions generated from this company's actual signals — liquidity, leverage, director age, charge count, red flags, age-of-company.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
🔒Advanced scoring suite

Exit-route ranking, improvement thesis, quiet-distress detector, covenant-pressure proxy, extraction monitor, approaching triggers, ownership drift, local cluster, value trap, debt capacity, archetype classification — 48+ scoring modules.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1979-11-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58210 — Publishing of computer games

Registered office

85 Oldham Road
Rochdale
Lancashire
OL16 5QR

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-24
Last: 2026-01-10

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

WATSON, Vera Thornton→
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATSON, Edward James→
director · ~58y · appointed 2000-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATSON, Edward→
director · ~86y · resigned 2007-01-31
Resigned
WATSON, Vera Thornton→
director · ~97y · resigned 2026-02-11
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Legal mortgage1 property01/04/2009—
outstanding
Midland Bank
Midland Bank PLC
Charge1 property29/06/1989—
outstanding
Midland Bank
Midland Bank LTD
Legal charge1 property01/09/1981—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (97 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-12
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-02-11
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-06