ACTUA BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04244081 · ltd · incorporated 2001-07-02

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 Sept 2025

Net worth

£14.5k

book net assets

Opportunity

75/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle 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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

67 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

75/100Strong

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

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Positive net assets

Net assets £14,496

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£14k

↑ 97% YoY

Current Assets

£37k

↑ 19% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)

Metric	2025-09-30	2024-09-30
Total assets	£14.5k	£9.3k
Current assets	£36.9k	£31.2k
Net assets	£14.5k	£7.4k

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal 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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand

2025-12-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-04-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-02-27
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2018-06-30
➖
TRUSLOVE, Christine resigned
secretary
2018-04-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-18
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2016-05-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-12
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2015-07-06
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2004-06-01
➕
TRUSLOVE, Christine appointed
secretary
2004-05-31
➖
DEVINE, Paula Alexandra resigned
secretary
2004-05-31
➖
DEVINE, Paula Alexandra resigned
director
2001-07-04
➖
HCS SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-07-04
➖
HANOVER DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2001-07-02
🏢
Company incorporated
As ACTUA BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED
2001-07-02
➕
ELLISON, Johanna Moray appointed
director
2001-07-02
➕
DEVINE, Paula Alexandra appointed
secretary
2001-07-02
➕
HCS SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-07-02
➕
DEVINE, Paula Alexandra appointed
director
2001-07-02
➕
HANOVER DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-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 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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Johanna Moray Ellison Individual · British · DOB 01/1972 · age 54	25–50%	25–50%	board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence	01/07/2016
Mr Shaun Wynne Ellison Individual · British · DOB 10/1966 · age 60	25–50%	25–50%	board controlsig. influence25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control · significant influence	01/07/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Professional services · BL postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A D HUMPHREY SERVICES LTD→ 14410717 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
A E 2 LIMITED→ 14143761 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ABOTT STRUCTURAL ENGINEERING LTD→ 12150082 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ACCELERATE CONSULTING (UK) LIMITED→ 08927939 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
ACCOUNTANCY MATTERS LIMITED→ 04150449 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	—	—
ACCUPART CNC LIMITED→ 11724907 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ACCURA RESOURCING LIMITED→ 12330565 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ACED ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 16230092 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ACORN CARE & EDUCATION (OPS) LTD→ 06924424 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ACORN CARE AND EDUCATION LIMITED→ 05019430 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
ACTFASTRESOURCES LIMITED→ 15332926 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ACUITY COACHING LIMITED→ 04726068 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—

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

Incorporated2001-07-02

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

1 Ash Cottages

Bury

Lancashire

BL8 1EZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-06-30

Last made up to: 2025-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-16

Last: 2025-07-02

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

ELLISON, Johanna Moray→

director · ~54y · appointed 2001-07-02

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DEVINE, Paula Alexandra→

secretary · appointed 2001-07-02 · resigned 2004-05-31

Resigned

TRUSLOVE, Christine→

secretary · appointed 2004-06-01 · resigned 2018-06-30

Resigned

HCS SECRETARIAL LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-07-02 · resigned 2001-07-04

Resigned

DEVINE, Paula Alexandra→

director · ~59y · appointed 2001-07-02 · resigned 2004-05-31

Resigned

HANOVER DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-07-02 · resigned 2001-07-04

Resigned

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