ACCOUNT BOOKS SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03716627 · ltd · incorporated 1999-02-22
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 May 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 83-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 83). 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 (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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (2 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
70 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0May 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Average employees200200

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
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-10-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-11-16
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  11. 2017-11-16
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  12. 2017-11-16
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2017-11-16
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2017-11-15
    ➕
    ATKINS, Bernard appointed
    director
  15. 2017-11-15
    ➖
    ATKINS, Christine Gillian resigned
    director
  16. 2017-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-02-25
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2008-11-01
    ➕
    ATKINS, Bernard appointed
    secretary
  19. 2008-11-01
    ➖
    ATKINS, Christine Gillian resigned
    secretary
  20. 2008-11-01
    ➖
    ATKINS, Bernard resigned
    director
  21. 2008-11-01
    ➕
    ATKINS, Christine Gillian appointed
    director
  22. 2005-02-01
    ➕
    ATKINS, Christine Gillian appointed
    secretary
  23. 2005-02-01
    ➖
    ATKINS, Morgwn Duncan resigned
    secretary
  24. 2005-02-01
    ➖
    ATKINS, Morgwn Duncan resigned
    director
  25. 2001-08-12
    ➖
    ATKINS, Gareth David Meredith resigned
    director
  26. 1999-02-26
    ➕
    ATKINS, Gareth David Meredith appointed
    director
  27. 1999-02-22
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCOUNT BOOKS SERVICES LIMITED
  28. 1999-02-22
    ➕
    ATKINS, Morgwn Duncan appointed
    secretary
  29. 1999-02-22
    ➕
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 1999-02-22
    ➖
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 1999-02-22
    ➕
    ATKINS, Bernard appointed
    director
  32. 1999-02-22
    ➕
    ATKINS, Morgwn Duncan appointed
    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 83 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 83 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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 Bernard Atkins
Individual · British · DOB 08/1943 · age 83
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting15/11/2017
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Christone Gillian Atkinsceased 15/11/2017· 75-100% shares

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

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
Incorporated1999-02-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

205 Wells Road
Knowle
Bristol
BS4 2DF

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-08
Last: 2026-02-22

Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)

ATKINS, Bernard→
secretary · appointed 2008-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ATKINS, Bernard→
director · ~83y · appointed 2017-11-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ATKINS, Christine Gillian→
secretary · appointed 2005-02-01 · resigned 2008-11-01
Resigned
ATKINS, Morgwn Duncan→
secretary · appointed 1999-02-22 · resigned 2005-02-01
Resigned
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-02-22 · resigned 1999-02-22
Resigned
ATKINS, Bernard→
director · ~83y · appointed 1999-02-22 · resigned 2008-11-01
Resigned
ATKINS, Christine Gillian→
director · ~84y · appointed 2008-11-01 · resigned 2017-11-15
Resigned
ATKINS, Gareth David Meredith→
director · ~46y · appointed 1999-02-26 · resigned 2001-08-12
Resigned
ATKINS, Morgwn Duncan→
director · ~51y · appointed 1999-02-22 · resigned 2005-02-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (70 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-02-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-02-27