4VCO LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03379451 · ltd · incorporated 1997-06-02
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 Jun 2024
Net worth
£4.34M
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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 (70/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
91 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £4,341,570

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£904k
Net Worth
£4.3m
Current Assets
£1.8m
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-06-30
Total assets£4.35M
Current assets£1.85M
Cash£904.5k
Debtors£943.6k
Net assets£4.34M

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-11
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  2. 2025-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-06-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2024-06-03
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2024-03-17
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-05-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-06-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-09-17
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2018-08-22
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  14. 2018-08-21
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  15. 2018-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2002-09-09
    ➕
    FULLER, Sarah Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  18. 2002-09-09
    ➖
    PIPER, Joanne resigned
    secretary
  19. 1998-05-29
    ➖
    BANNER AND ASSOCIATES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  20. 1998-05-29
    ➖
    BANNER NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  21. 1997-07-02
    ➕
    PIPER, Tony Graham appointed
    director
  22. 1997-07-02
    ➕
    PIPER, Joanne appointed
    secretary
  23. 1997-06-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 4VCO LIMITED
  24. 1997-06-02
    ➕
    BANNER AND ASSOCIATES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  25. 1997-06-02
    ➕
    BANNER NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-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 62 — 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 62. 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 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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 · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Tony Graham Piper
Individual · British · DOB 09/1964 · age 62
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated1997-06-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities

Registered office

8 Oldencraig Mews
Lingfield
RH7 6GU
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-16
Last: 2025-06-02

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

FULLER, Sarah Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 2002-09-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PIPER, Tony Graham→
director · ~62y · appointed 1997-07-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PIPER, Joanne→
secretary · appointed 1997-07-02 · resigned 2002-09-09
Resigned
BANNER AND ASSOCIATES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1997-06-02 · resigned 1998-05-29
Resigned
BANNER NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 1997-06-02 · resigned 1998-05-29
Resigned

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

Recent filings (91 total)

accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2025-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-06-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-03
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-19