BARNES-WARD LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04174303 · ltd · incorporated 2001-03-07
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
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: Security dealing on own account
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
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£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees100100

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-12-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-05-31
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2016-04-01
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-04-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2001-03-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BARNES-WARD LIMITED
  17. 2001-03-07
    ➕
    WARD, Rose Margaret appointed
    secretary
  18. 2001-03-07
    ➕
    WARD, Robert William Barnes appointed
    director
  19. 2001-03-07
    ➕
    IGP CORPORATE NOMINEES LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 2001-03-07
    ➖
    IGP CORPORATE NOMINEES LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary

Owner dependency

100/100
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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "WARD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 25 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 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert William Barnes Ward
Individual · British · DOB 03/1978 · age 48
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Financial services · DT postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
AIP MORTGAGES LTD→
13057640 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
ALCHEMY FINANCIAL LIMITED→
05448810 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————20y——
ALL INSURE SERVICES LIMITED→
06840240 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
————17y——
ALSTON LTD→
13210330 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
ANGELS FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→
11009490 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
AORP INVESTMENTS LTD→
12357415 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
APPLEBY MORTGAGES LTD→
10635079 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
ARENA 4 FINANCE LTD.→
05064311 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
————22y——
BAUNTON HOLDINGS LIMITED→
00447465 · est 1948 · no financials extracted
————78y——
BEN HOWELL FINANCIAL LIMITED→
09379676 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————11y——
BIZKIT-TIN LTD→
14572993 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
BLUE DOLPHIN CAPITAL LTD→
16440698 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
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
Incorporated2001-03-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64991 — Security dealing on own account

Registered office

11 St. Davids Road
Wyke Regis
Weymouth
Dorset
DT4 9LR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-21
Last: 2026-03-07

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

WARD, Rose Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2001-03-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WARD, Robert William Barnes→
director · ~48y · appointed 2001-03-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
IGP CORPORATE NOMINEES LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-03-07 · resigned 2001-03-07
Resigned

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

Recent filings (56 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-14