3CL (UK) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01490563 · ltd · incorporated 1980-04-14
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 May 2025
Net worth
£10.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
113 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £10,418
Net assets shrinking
Down £773 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£10k
↓ 6.9% YoY
Current Assets
£46k
↑ 198% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £10.4k | £11.2k |
| Current assets | £46.5k | £15.6k |
| Net assets | £10.4k | £11.2k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-12-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-02-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-13📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-04-09📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-04-02➕DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh appointeddirector
- 2024-04-02➖LEOPARD, Adrian John resigneddirector
- 2024-02-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-17📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-02-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-18➕HOBSON, Graham appointedsecretary
- 2017-08-18➖DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh resignedsecretary
- 2017-08-18➖DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh resigneddirector
- 2017-08-18📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2017-08-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 1994-07-18➕DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh appointeddirector
- 1994-03-01➕DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh appointedsecretary
- 1994-03-01➖FRYER, Neil Martin resignedsecretary
- 1980-04-14🏢Company incorporatedAs 3CL (UK) LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanNo 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Adrian John Leopard Individual · British · DOB 09/1950 · age 76 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| ACTIVATE HUMAN CAPITAL LTD→ 16458506 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACTIVE SOLUTIONS HR AND TRAINING LIMITED→ 07268552 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ADEPT AVIATION SOLUTIONS LTD→ 13139215 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AF VENTURES LIMITED→ 11398594 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AFRATA CAPITAL LIMITED→ 12292186 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AIRIAL LTD→ 16739317 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AJL TESTING LIMITED→ 13341293 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated1980-04-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities
Registered office
One The Centre
High Street
Gillingham
Dorset
SP8 4AB
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-03
Last: 2025-12-20
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
Active
DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2024-04-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1994-03-01 · resigned 2017-08-18
FRYER, Neil Martin→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1994-03-01
DAVIS, Anthony David Hugh→
Resigneddirector · ~74y · appointed 1994-07-18 · resigned 2017-08-18
LEOPARD, Adrian John→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · resigned 2024-04-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (113 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-25
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-04-13
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-25