ASCENT COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03317021 · ltd · incorporated 1997-02-12
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Other information technology service activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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 (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
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
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
84 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Sept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Average employees3300

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal 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 accounts
Last 180 days
4
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-02-12
    ➕
    LUMLEY, Diana appointed
    secretary
  3. 2026-02-12
    ➖
    LUMLEY, Harriet Louise resigned
    secretary
  4. 2026-02-12
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  5. 2026-02-12
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  6. 2025-06-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-03-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-01-31
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  9. 2024-01-31
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2023-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-07-23
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2021-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-02-24
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  15. 2020-03-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-02-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2018-01-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2014-02-11
    ➕
    LUMLEY, Harriet Louise appointed
    secretary
  20. 2014-02-11
    ➖
    LUMLEY, Karen Louise resigned
    secretary
  21. 2005-03-31
    ➕
    LUMLEY, Karen Louise appointed
    secretary
  22. 2005-03-31
    ➖
    LUMLEY, Robert David resigned
    secretary
  23. 2005-03-31
    ➖
    POSTLEWAITE, Christopher John resigned
    director
  24. 2002-10-31
    ➖
    DALTON, Julian Guy resigned
    director
  25. 2001-09-01
    ➕
    POSTLEWAITE, Christopher John appointed
    director
  26. 1997-02-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ASCENT COMPUTER SERVICES LIMITED
  27. 1997-02-12
    ➕
    LUMLEY, Robert David appointed
    director
  28. 1997-02-12
    ➕
    LUMLEY, Robert David appointed
    secretary
  29. 1997-02-12
    ➕
    DALTON, Julian Guy appointed
    director
  30. 1997-02-12
    ➕
    WHALLEY, Irving Melville appointed
    director
  31. 1997-02-12
    ➖
    WHALLEY, Irving Melville resigned
    director

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 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — 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
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert David Lumley
Individual · British · DOB 03/1962 · age 64
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 · Technology · HX postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
APPS BY MUM LIMITED→
07799135 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
ARAMIDIA LIMITED→
12519236 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
ARTBY MUSSE LTD→
13651081 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
ASSIDUOUS PRODUCTIONS LTD→
13161679 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
ASSISTIV CIC→
11150364 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————8y——
ASSURE24 LIMITED→
07427398 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y——
ATTABOY MEDIA LTD.→
06143976 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————19y——
ATTABOY TELEVISION LTD.→
04856120 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
AURORA BEAUTY LTD→
11679552 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
AUTOMICA LIMITED→
07243826 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y——
AVENTA TECHNOLOGIES LTD→
17074693 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
AWOWB LIMITED→
13182892 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
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
Incorporated1997-02-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62090 — Other information technology service activities

Registered office

West House
King Cross Road
Halifax
West Yorkshire
HX1 1EB
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-26
Last: 2026-02-12

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

LUMLEY, Diana→
secretary · appointed 2026-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LUMLEY, Robert David→
director · ~64y · appointed 1997-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LUMLEY, Harriet Louise→
secretary · appointed 2014-02-11 · resigned 2026-02-12
Resigned
LUMLEY, Karen Louise→
secretary · appointed 2005-03-31 · resigned 2014-02-11
Resigned
LUMLEY, Robert David→
secretary · appointed 1997-02-12 · resigned 2005-03-31
Resigned
DALTON, Julian Guy→
director · ~62y · appointed 1997-02-12 · resigned 2002-10-31
Resigned
POSTLEWAITE, Christopher John→
director · ~67y · appointed 2001-09-01 · resigned 2005-03-31
Resigned
WHALLEY, Irving Melville→
director · ~75y · appointed 1997-02-12 · resigned 1997-02-12
Resigned

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

Recent filings (84 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-12
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-02-12
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2026-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-01-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-14
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-07-23