ADVANCED PAYROLL SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04294744 · ltd · incorporated 2001-09-27
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 2024
Net worth
£167
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 72). 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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
64 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £167
Net assets shrinking
Down £157 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£167
↓ 48% YoY
Current Assets
£5k
↓ 13% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £167 | £324 |
| Current assets | £4.8k | £5.5k |
| Net assets | £167 | £324 |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-05-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-03➖WISEMAN, Donna resigneddirector
- 2019-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-03📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2017-10-03📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-10-03📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2004-09-01➖KING, Ian Wesley resigneddirector
- 2004-09-01➕WISEMAN, Donna appointeddirector
- 2001-09-27🏢Company incorporatedAs ADVANCED PAYROLL SERVICES LIMITED
- 2001-09-27➕PUGH, William John appointedsecretary
- 2001-09-27➕PUGH, William John appointeddirector
- 2001-09-27➕PARAMOUNT COMPANY SEARCHES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-09-27➖PARAMOUNT COMPANY SEARCHES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-09-27➕KING, Ian Wesley appointeddirector
- 2001-09-27➕PARAMOUNT PROPERTIES (UK) LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2001-09-27➖PARAMOUNT PROPERTIES (UK) LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
Cambridgeshire Care Agency Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Cambridgeshire Care Agency Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
⬇
ADVANCED PAYROLL SERVICES LIMITED
This company · 04294744
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Cambridgeshire Care Agency Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 31/03/2017 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr William John Pughceased 31/03/2017· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control
- Miss Donna Wisemanceased 31/03/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 →Similar companies
Active · Trade services · PE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A&G HAND CAR WASH LTD→ 13843556 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADAM FROST DESIGN LIMITED→ 05619089 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ADENIE LTD→ 10593391 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ADMIN ACE LIMITED→ 13266413 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ADP HOMECARE PROPERTY MAINTENANCE LTD→ 16446896 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADSTOCK ESTATES LIMITED→ 02729953 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
| ADVANCE MARKETER LTD→ 10750994 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY VENTURES (UK) LTD→ 06465051 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ADVI SERVICES LIMITED→ 16614787 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADYY BARBERS LIMITED→ 15676845 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AE TECHNICAL PRODUCTION LIMITED→ 12389031 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AEGIS PARAMOUNT LTD→ 14009136 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2001-09-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
5 Manorgrove Vicarage Farm Road
Peterborough
Cambridgeshire
PE1 5UH
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-13
Last: 2025-09-29
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
PUGH, William John→
Activesecretary · appointed 2001-09-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PUGH, William John→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 2001-09-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PARAMOUNT COMPANY SEARCHES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-09-27 · resigned 2001-09-27
KING, Ian Wesley→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · appointed 2001-09-27 · resigned 2004-09-01
WISEMAN, Donna→
Resigneddirector · ~62y · appointed 2004-09-01 · resigned 2019-07-03
PARAMOUNT PROPERTIES (UK) LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-09-27 · resigned 2001-09-27
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (64 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-04-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-05-29