VERTICAL SYSTEMS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

01741340 · ltd · incorporated 1983-07-21

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Opportunity decay

approaching window · 12-months

Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.

· Oldest live charge 41.6y old — refinance window within 12 months

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Apr 2025

Net worth

£612.8k

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development

Sector: Information & communication

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

62012Business and domestic software development

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 79). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 41.6y

70/100

ready

Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.

· Oldest live charge is 41.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
· Legal-friction score 20/100 — clean.

Data confidence

Overall: high (83/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)

Directors & officers

22 officers (3 active, 22 linked, 19 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 6 total, 6 with control declared

Director network

13 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

179 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

78/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

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 £612,822

Cash YoY

-13%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£51k

↓ 13% YoY

Net Worth

£613k

↑ 1.4% YoY

Current Assets

£1.3m

↓ 3.8% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-04-30	2024-04-30
Total assets	£668.2k	£721.1k
Current assets	£1.30M	£1.35M
Cash	£51.3k	£58.7k
Debtors	£1.25M	£1.29M
Net assets	£612.8k	£604.5k

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (65 events)Click to expand

2026-01-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-09-01
➕
RODGER, Benjamin appointed
director
2025-09-01
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-01-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-10-26
➖
DILWORTH, Nicola resigned
director
2023-10-26
➖
NORTH, Christopher John resigned
director
2023-10-26
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-10-26
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-08-15
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-08-15
📄
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-08-15
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2023-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-01-31
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-01-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2022-01-18
➕
GARDNER, Dennis appointed
director
2021-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2021-02-26
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-02-25
➖
BENTLEY, Peter Stuart resigned
director
2020-10-07
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-10-07
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-09-30
➖
GARDNER, Dennis resigned
director
2020-09-30
➖
TUCKER, Gordon resigned
director
2020-03-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-02-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2018-03-31
➖
BARKER, Robert Charles resigned
director
2018-03-01
➕
NORTH, Christopher John appointed
director
2016-07-15
➕
BENTLEY, Peter Stuart appointed
director
2014-05-31
➖
RUSSELL, Michael resigned
director
2014-04-01
➕
BARKER, Robert Charles appointed
director
2012-02-06
➕
DILWORTH, Nicola appointed
director
2012-02-06
➕
TUCKER, Gordon appointed
director
2011-11-04
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
2011-11-04
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
2011-11-01
➕
RUSSELL, Michael appointed
director
2010-10-13
➖
FOODY, Carl John resigned
director
2010-10-04
➖
HANSON, Larry resigned
secretary
2010-10-04
➖
HANSON, Larry resigned
director
2009-10-10
➖
HOUSLEY, Tracy Jayne resigned
director
2008-10-14
➕
HOUSLEY, Tracy Jayne appointed
director
2008-08-01
➕
FOODY, Carl John appointed
director
2004-07-16
➕
GARDNER, Dennis appointed
director
2004-07-16
➖
GREENACRE, Michael David resigned
director
2004-07-16
➖
THOMPSON, Christopher Howard Gould resigned
director
2004-07-16
➖
WATES, Martyn James resigned
director
2004-06-30
🔓
Charge satisfied #3
2004-06-30
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2004-06-30
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2003-02-08
➕
HANSON, Larry appointed
secretary
2003-02-08
➖
RUSSELL, Michael resigned
secretary

Showing most recent 50 of 65 events

Owner dependency

65/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS

+Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.

Red flags

1 med ·

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Group structure

Notsallow 134 Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️

Notsallow 134 Limited

Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control

ultimate parent

⬇

VERTICAL SYSTEMS LIMITED

This company · 01741340

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Notsallow 134 Limited Corporate entity	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	14/08/2023

5 historic (ceased) PSCs

Mr Christopher John Northceased 14/08/2023· significant influence
Mr Peter Leslie Healeyceased 14/08/2023· significant influence
Mrs Nicola Dilworthceased 31/10/2018· significant influence
Mrs Stephanie Anita Crossceased 31/10/2018· significant influence
Mr Robert Barkerceased 31/03/2018· significant influence

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

🔒Co-director network graph

Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 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

Incorporated1983-07-21

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC62011 — Ready-made interactive leisure and entertainment software development

Registered office

14 Hemmells Laindon

Basildon

Essex

SS15 6ED

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-08-26

Last: 2025-08-12

Officers (3 active · 19 resigned)

GARDNER, Dennis→

director · ~79y · appointed 2022-01-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HEALEY, Peter Leslie→

director · ~75y

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RODGER, Benjamin→

director · ~45y · appointed 2025-09-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HANSON, Larry→

secretary · appointed 2003-02-08 · resigned 2010-10-04

Resigned

HEALEY, Pamela→

secretary · resigned 2002-08-01

Resigned

RUSSELL, Michael→

secretary · appointed 2002-08-01 · resigned 2003-02-08

Resigned

BARKER, Robert Charles→

director · ~48y · appointed 2014-04-01 · resigned 2018-03-31

Resigned

BENTLEY, Peter Stuart→

director · ~44y · appointed 2016-07-15 · resigned 2021-02-25

Resigned

DILWORTH, Nicola→

director · ~55y · appointed 2012-02-06 · resigned 2023-10-26

Resigned

FOODY, Carl John→

director · ~63y · appointed 2008-08-01 · resigned 2010-10-13

Resigned

GARDNER, Dennis→

director · ~79y · appointed 2004-07-16 · resigned 2020-09-30

Resigned

GIBSON, Roger John→

director · ~82y · resigned 2002-08-01

Resigned

GREENACRE, Michael David→

director · ~78y · appointed 2002-08-01 · resigned 2004-07-16

Resigned

HANSON, Larry→

director · ~73y · appointed 2003-02-08 · resigned 2010-10-04

Resigned

HOUSLEY, Tracy Jayne→

director · ~58y · appointed 2008-10-14 · resigned 2009-10-10

Resigned

KEW, Philip Anthony→

director · ~76y · appointed 2002-08-01 · resigned 2002-09-06

Resigned

NORTH, Christopher John→

director · ~46y · appointed 2018-03-01 · resigned 2023-10-26

Resigned

RUSSELL, Michael→

director · ~60y · appointed 2011-11-01 · resigned 2014-05-31

Resigned

RUSSELL, Michael→

director · ~60y · appointed 2002-08-01 · resigned 2003-02-08

Resigned

THOMPSON, Christopher Howard Gould→

director · ~71y · appointed 2002-09-08 · resigned 2004-07-16

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown

		Type	Properties
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC	Deposit agreement to secure own liabilities	1 property	04/11/2011	—
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	04/11/2011	—
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC	Mortgage	1 property	08/04/1998	30/06/2004
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	14/03/1989	30/06/2004
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC	Mortgage	1 property	09/10/1984	30/06/2004

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (179 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2026-01-02

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2025-09-01

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-08-13

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2025-01-30

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-08-12

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2024-01-30

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-10-26

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-10-26

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-08-15

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC07

2023-08-15

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC07

2023-08-15

notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control

persons-with-significant-control · PSC02

2023-08-15

accounts-with-accounts-type-small

accounts · AA

2023-04-27

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-09-20

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2022-01-31