ACIDTESTED LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03695119 · ltd · incorporated 1999-01-14
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueActive 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 (75/100)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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 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 accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|
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 (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-01-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-01-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-01-14➖WATSON, Patrick Martin resignedsecretary
- 1999-01-14🏢Company incorporatedAs ACIDTESTED LIMITED
- 1999-01-14➕WATSON, Martin Kenneth Sapte appointeddirector
- 1999-01-14➕WATSON, Patrick Martin appointedsecretary
- 1999-01-14➕NOMINEE SECRETARIES LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-01-14➖NOMINEE SECRETARIES LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-01-14➕NOMINEE DIRECTORS LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1999-01-14➖NOMINEE DIRECTORS LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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
cleanNo 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 Martin Kenneth Sapte Watson Individual · British · DOB 04/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 14/01/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Technology · WD postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 DAYS IN BED LTD→ 11418637 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 79 STORIES LIMITED→ 09922736 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| 9SS CYBER SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 15624146 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABBEYMORE CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 02983603 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| ABIT SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 06162520 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ABOVE ALL RIGGING LIMITED→ 07339557 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ABP IREG CONSULTING LTD→ 12819900 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE RESULTS SALES AND MARKETING LTD→ 10285552 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTSASSISTS PRO LIMITED→ 17001848 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACE TELEPROMPT & PRODUCTION LTD→ 16554084 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACKRYA IT SOLUTIONS LTD→ 10806054 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACS-APT COMPUTER SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 02447522 · est 1989 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1999-01-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
54 Stratford Road
Watford
Hertfordshire
WD17 4NZ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-30
Last: 2025-10-16
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
WATSON, Martin Kenneth Sapte→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 1999-01-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WATSON, Patrick Martin→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1999-01-14 · resigned 2010-01-14
NOMINEE SECRETARIES LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-01-14 · resigned 1999-01-14
NOMINEE DIRECTORS LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-01-14 · resigned 1999-01-14
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (61 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-10