ADVANCE SOFTWARE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

03970355 · ltd · incorporated 2000-04-11

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 Apr 2025

Net worth

£-25.8k

book net assets

Opportunity

76/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 23.8y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 23.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (69/100)

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

1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

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

Directors & officers

7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

124 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

76/100Strong

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102

Negative net assets

Liabilities exceed assets by £25,796

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£349

Net Worth

-£26k

Current Assets

£349

Current Liabilities

—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-04-30
Total assets	£-6.7k
Current assets	£349
Cash	£349
Net assets	£-25.8k

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (33 events)Click to expand

2025-11-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-07-17
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-04-08
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-09-17
📄
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2024-07-12
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-07-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-26
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-04-26
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-04-25
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-04-25
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-05-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-02-17
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-02-17
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-02-17
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-10-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-11-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-31
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-12-31
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2020-12-31
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2007-06-19
➖
WILLIAMS, Michael Anthony resigned
director
2003-05-06
➕
WILLIAMS, Stephen John Henry appointed
secretary
2003-05-06
➖
WILLIAMS, Helen Jean resigned
secretary
2003-05-06
➖
WILLIAMS, Helen Jean resigned
director
2002-08-27
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
2000-05-23
➕
WILLIAMS, Stephen John Henry appointed
director
2000-04-27
➕
WILLIAMS, Helen Jean appointed
secretary
2000-04-27
➖
BIRKETTS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2000-04-27
➕
WILLIAMS, Helen Jean appointed
director
2000-04-27
➕
WILLIAMS, Michael Anthony appointed
director
2000-04-27
➖
BIRKETTS DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-director
2000-04-11
🏢
Company incorporated
As ADVANCE SOFTWARE LIMITED
2000-04-11
➕
BIRKETTS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2000-04-11
➕
BIRKETTS DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-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 26 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 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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

1 low

Multiple registered office changes

low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Stephen John Henry Williams Individual · British · DOB 09/1971 · age 55	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.

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · NE postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A G RUTHERFORD LIMITED→ 07695700 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
A H MECHANICAL SERVICES LTD→ 16742610 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
A HELPING HAND SOCIAL CARE LTD→ 15337870 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
A. HALL CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 16384856 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ADVANCED ELECTRIC MACHINES LIMITED→ 10480941 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ADVANCED ELECTRIC MACHINES RESEARCH LIMITED→ 10480982 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ADVANCED ENERGY PROTECTION LIMITED→ 17025041 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ADVANCING ENERGY LTD→ 14060152 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ADVENTURE 1 LTD→ 07108178 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ADVENTURE HIRES NE LTD→ 15593713 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ADVOCATE RECRUITMENT LTD→ 09903317 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
AELIUS BIOTECH LIMITED→ 11535653 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—

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

Incorporated2000-04-11

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC72190 — Other research and experimental development on natural sciences and engineering

Registered office

Office 1 Unit 123

6 Kingway North

Gateshead

NE11 0JH

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-25

Last: 2026-04-11

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

WILLIAMS, Stephen John Henry→

secretary · appointed 2003-05-06

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WILLIAMS, Stephen John Henry→

director · ~55y · appointed 2000-05-23

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WILLIAMS, Helen Jean→

secretary · appointed 2000-04-27 · resigned 2003-05-06

Resigned

BIRKETTS SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2000-04-11 · resigned 2000-04-27

Resigned

WILLIAMS, Helen Jean→

director · ~82y · appointed 2000-04-27 · resigned 2003-05-06

Resigned

WILLIAMS, Michael Anthony→

director · ~86y · appointed 2000-04-27 · resigned 2007-06-19

Resigned

BIRKETTS DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-director · appointed 2000-04-11 · resigned 2000-04-27

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
	outstanding	HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	27/08/2002	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (124 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-04-25

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged

accounts · AA

2025-11-23