ACCELERATE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

03430365 · ltd · incorporated 1997-09-05

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

77/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45200

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 26.1y

45/100

under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

· Oldest live charge is 26.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

66 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

77/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-09-30	2024-09-30

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand

2026-06-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-06-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-06-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-06-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-06-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-06-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-06-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-07-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-09-14
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-09-08
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2005-10-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2000-05-15
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
1997-09-05
🏢
Company incorporated
As ACCELERATE LIMITED
1997-09-05
➕
BLUNT, Dianne Margaret appointed
secretary
1997-09-05
➕
HARDWICK, Gary Martin appointed
director
1997-09-05
➕
PARAMOUNT COMPANY SEARCHES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-09-05
➖
PARAMOUNT COMPANY SEARCHES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-09-05
➕
PARAMOUNT PROPERTIES (UK) LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1997-09-05
➖
PARAMOUNT PROPERTIES (UK) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100

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.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Gary Martin Hardwick Individual · British · DOB 07/1969 · age 57	75–100%	—	75-100% 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 · Automotive · HP postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A FOR ALFA LTD→ 17075880 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
A J DUNLOP CAR SERVICING LIMITED→ 06688199 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
A41 CAR SALES LTD→ 17050278 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ABAZA MOTORS LTD→ 14646078 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ABERCROMBY SERVICES LTD→ 16971036 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ABR ADVEN LTD→ 11506861 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ACAR 2 GO LTD→ 06423007 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
ACCIDENT INTELLIGENCE (DUNSTABLE) LIMITED→ 16960426 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ACCIDENT INTELLIGENCE (NEWCASTLE) LIMITED→ 16312300 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACE CAR RECOVERY SERVICES LTD→ 08840041 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
ACG GARAGE LTD→ 14861189 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ACORN TYRES (AYLESBURY) LTD→ 08696468 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—

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

Incorporated1997-09-05

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

42 Townsend Road

Chesham

Buckinghamshire

HP5 2AA

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-06-30

Last made up to: 2025-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-29

Last: 2025-10-15

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

BLUNT, Dianne Margaret→

secretary · appointed 1997-09-05

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HARDWICK, Gary Martin→

director · ~57y · appointed 1997-09-05

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

PARAMOUNT COMPANY SEARCHES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-09-05 · resigned 1997-09-05

Resigned

PARAMOUNT PROPERTIES (UK) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-09-05 · resigned 1997-09-05

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	satisfied	HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	15/05/2000	20/10/2005