ADVOCATION LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03445353 · ltd · incorporated 1997-10-06
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£41.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 62020Information technology consultancy activities
  • 62090Other information technology service activities
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 80-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 80). 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 (68/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 3 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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
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 £41,255
Net assets shrinking
Down £3,825 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£41k
↓ 8.5% YoY
Current Assets
£38k
↓ 8.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£9k£18k£27k£36k£45kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£41.3k£45.1k
Current assets£37.9k£41.5k
Net assets£41.3k£45.1k

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 (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-06-16
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  3. 2025-06-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2025-06-05
    ➕
    REID, Robert William appointed
    director
  5. 2025-06-05
    ➖
    GOWER, Victor resigned
    director
  6. 2024-09-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-09-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-08-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-10-14
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2014-10-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2009-03-16
    ➖
    REID, Robert William resigned
    director
  19. 2009-03-09
    ➕
    GOWER, Victor appointed
    director
  20. 1997-10-22
    ➕
    PEAKE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  21. 1997-10-22
    ➖
    CO FORM (SECRETARIES) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1997-10-22
    ➕
    REID, Robert William appointed
    director
  23. 1997-10-22
    ➖
    CO FORM (NOMINEES) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 1997-10-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ADVOCATION LIMITED
  25. 1997-10-06
    ➕
    CO FORM (SECRETARIES) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 1997-10-06
    ➕
    CO FORM (NOMINEES) LIMITED appointed
    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 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
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 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Similar companies

Active · Technology · SN postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
2040 INNOVATIONS LTD→
16672601 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ACCESS TO CLIMB CIC→
16036944 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ACCOUNTING & LICENCE SOLUTIONS LIMITED→
06221901 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y——
ACTIV EDUCATE LTD→
06343657 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
————18y——
ACTIVATE MAYS MEDIA LTD→
15190088 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
ACTIVE INSIGHT LIMITED→
14237338 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
ADDITUS LIMITED→
16070848 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ADRIAN AI TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED→
15513278 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
ADVTEC LTD→
05955458 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
————19y——
AEGIS ROSE LTD→
15741879 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AER STUDIOS LTD→
05382212 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————21y——
AEROPRO LIMITED→
06741901 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
————17y——
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
Incorporated1997-10-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

Hardwick House
Prospect Place Old Town
Swindon
Wiltshire
SN1 3LJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-20
Last: 2025-10-06

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

PEAKE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1997-10-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
REID, Robert William→
director · ~80y · appointed 2025-06-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CO FORM (SECRETARIES) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-10-06 · resigned 1997-10-22
Resigned
GOWER, Victor→
director · ~80y · appointed 2009-03-09 · resigned 2025-06-05
Resigned
REID, Robert William→
director · ~80y · appointed 1997-10-22 · resigned 2009-03-16
Resigned
CO FORM (NOMINEES) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-10-06 · resigned 1997-10-22
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-08
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-06-16
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-17