MAXWELL STEPHENS LTD
💤Zombieactive
02660883 · ltd · incorporated 1991-11-06
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
£640.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities of employment placement agencies
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (2 active, 9 linked, 4 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
105 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
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 £640,294
Net assets shrinking
Down £94,803 YoY
Cash YoY
-30%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£456k
↓ 30% YoY
Net Worth
£640k
↓ 13% YoY
Current Assets
£814k
↓ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £651.3k | £757.1k |
| Current assets | £814.1k | £960.3k |
| Cash | £455.7k | £648.4k |
| Debtors | £355.3k | £311.9k |
| Net assets | £640.3k | £735.1k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 officers
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-07📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-09📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2023-11-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-11-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-04-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-03-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2008-04-07➕FORSHAW, Lynsie Emma appointedsecretary
- 2008-04-07➖STEPHENS, Gary resignedsecretary
- 2008-04-07➖STEPHENS, Gary resigneddirector
- 2008-04-07➖STEPHENS, Peter resigneddirector
- 2007-01-29➕FORSHAW, Peter Maxwell appointeddirector
- 2007-01-29➕STEPHENS, Gary appointeddirector
- 2002-11-22➖STEPHENS, Frances resignedsecretary
- 2002-11-22➕STEPHENS, Gary appointedsecretary
- 1992-03-17➖COWAN, Stanford Russell resignednominee-secretary
- 1992-03-17➕STEPHENS, Frances appointedsecretary
- 1992-02-26➖CHARLTON, Peggy Kathleen resignedsecretary
- 1992-02-26➕COWAN, Stanford Russell appointednominee-secretary
- 1992-02-26➖COWAN, Stanford Russell resignednominee-director
- 1992-02-26➕STEPHENS, Peter appointeddirector
- 1991-11-06🏢Company incorporatedAs MAXWELL STEPHENS LTD
- 1991-11-06➕CHARLTON, Peggy Kathleen appointedsecretary
- 1991-11-06➕COWAN, Stanford Russell appointednominee-director
Owner dependency
85/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 35 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
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Peter Maxwell Forshaw Individual · British · DOB 07/1977 · age 49 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · DL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A K MULTIVENT LTD→ 15477006 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A.J.L. SALES LTD→ 15871966 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACHIEVE COACHING AND MENTORING LIMITED→ 15503477 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACHIEVING CHANGE LIMITED→ 11302305 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACS LEGAL RECRUITING LTD→ 16322580 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACTIVATE SAFEGUARDING RESOLUTIONS LTD→ 11315753 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ADAMSON CONSULTING LIMITED→ 15694550 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADDDG LTD→ 14918315 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADDISON & CO (TEESDALE) LIMITED→ 04425102 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ADG ARCHITECTS LIMITED→ 08616088 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ADH SITE SURVEYS LIMITED→ 06158278 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ADMINISTRATION EVALUATION SERVICES LTD→ 16799751 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1991-11-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC78109 — Other activities of employment placement agencies
Registered office
43 Romanby Drive
Darlington
DL3 8EJ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-20
Last: 2025-11-06
Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)
FORSHAW, Lynsie Emma→
Activesecretary · appointed 2008-04-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORSHAW, Peter Maxwell→
Activedirector · ~49y · appointed 2007-01-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CHARLTON, Peggy Kathleen→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1991-11-06 · resigned 1992-02-26
COWAN, Stanford Russell→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1992-02-26 · resigned 1992-03-17
STEPHENS, Frances→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1992-03-17 · resigned 2002-11-22
STEPHENS, Gary→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-11-22 · resigned 2008-04-07
COWAN, Stanford Russell→
Resignednominee-director · ~90y · appointed 1991-11-06 · resigned 1992-02-26
STEPHENS, Gary→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2007-01-29 · resigned 2008-04-07
STEPHENS, Peter→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · appointed 1992-02-26 · resigned 2008-04-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (105 total)
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2026-04-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-09
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-11-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-11-09
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-11-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-04-02