ACCOUNTING & TAX SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
03386844 · ltd · incorporated 1997-06-13
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£140
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 74909Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 73). 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, 2 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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
71 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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £140
Net assets shrinking
Down £100 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£140
↓ 42% YoY
Current Assets
£2k
↓ 80% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£2k£5k£7k£10k£12kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£140£240
Current assets£2.3k£11.9k
Net assets£140£240

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-03
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2022-11-15
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  6. 2022-07-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-07-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-12-17
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  9. 2020-12-15
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  10. 2020-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-07-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-07-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-09-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2012-12-31
    ➕
    GARRARD, Ian appointed
    director
  17. 2012-12-31
    ➖
    HANNAWAY, Ivano resigned
    director
  18. 1997-06-20
    ➕
    GARRARD, Ian Malcolm appointed
    secretary
  19. 1997-06-20
    ➕
    HANNAWAY, Ivano appointed
    director
  20. 1997-06-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCOUNTING & TAX SERVICES LTD
  21. 1997-06-13
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1997-06-13
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1997-06-13
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 1997-06-13
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 years.
  • 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 Ian Garrard
Individual · British · DOB 05/1953 · age 73
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

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15766442 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
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05302695 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
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16798398 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
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10890383 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
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15711632 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
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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
Incorporated1997-06-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

Trios House
Reform Road
Maidenhead
Berkshire
SL6 8DA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-11
Last: 2025-08-28

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

GARRARD, Ian Malcolm→
secretary · appointed 1997-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GARRARD, Ian→
director · ~73y · appointed 2012-12-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-06-13 · resigned 1997-06-13
Resigned
HANNAWAY, Ivano→
director · ~67y · appointed 1997-06-20 · resigned 2012-12-31
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-06-13 · resigned 1997-06-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-28
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-02
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-19
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2020-12-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-16
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2020-12-15