ACCOUNTS AND TAX RETURNS LTD

💤Zombieactive
04540502 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-19
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
£2.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
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 74/100 (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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (1 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £2,941
Net assets shrinking
Down £11,489 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£3k
↓ 80% YoY
Current Assets
£10k
↓ 35% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£3k£6k£9k£12k£16kSept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30
Total assets£4.0k£15.8k
Current assets£10.2k£15.6k
Net assets£2.9k£14.4k

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

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 (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-14
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2023-06-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-10-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2022-06-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-11-02
    ➖
    DUGDALE, Susan Lea resigned
    secretary
  8. 2021-11-02
    ➖
    DUGDALE, Roy resigned
    director
  9. 2021-11-02
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2021-11-02
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  11. 2021-11-02
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  12. 2021-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-09-20
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2018-03-22
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2017-10-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2016-10-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2016-04-06
    ➕
    DUGDALE, Philip Noel appointed
    director
  20. 2003-03-31
    ➖
    DUGDALE, Kelly Louise resigned
    director
  21. 2003-03-31
    ➖
    DUGDALE, Philip Noel resigned
    director
  22. 2002-11-30
    ➖
    DUGDALE, Roy resigned
    secretary
  23. 2002-11-30
    ➕
    DUGDALE, Susan Lea appointed
    secretary
  24. 2002-11-30
    ➖
    DUGDALE, Susan Lea resigned
    director
  25. 2002-09-29
    ➕
    DUGDALE, Philip Noel appointed
    director
  26. 2002-09-23
    ➕
    DUGDALE, Roy appointed
    secretary
  27. 2002-09-23
    ➖
    @UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2002-09-23
    ➕
    DUGDALE, Kelly Louise appointed
    director
  29. 2002-09-23
    ➕
    DUGDALE, Roy appointed
    director
  30. 2002-09-23
    ➕
    DUGDALE, Susan Lea appointed
    director
  31. 2002-09-23
    ➖
    @UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 2002-09-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCOUNTS AND TAX RETURNS LTD
  33. 2002-09-19
    ➕
    @UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  34. 2002-09-19
    ➕
    @UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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 Philip Noel Dugdale
Individual · British · DOB 02/1982 · age 44
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/09/2018
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Roy Dugdaleceased 01/09/2021· 50-75% shares

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

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68 COMMUNICATIONS LTD→
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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
Incorporated2002-09-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

Cotton Court
Church Street
Preston
Lancashire
PR1 3BY
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-03
Last: 2025-09-19

Officers (1 active · 8 resigned)

DUGDALE, Philip Noel→
director · ~44y · appointed 2016-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUGDALE, Roy→
secretary · appointed 2002-09-23 · resigned 2002-11-30
Resigned
DUGDALE, Susan Lea→
secretary · appointed 2002-11-30 · resigned 2021-11-02
Resigned
@UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-09-19 · resigned 2002-09-23
Resigned
DUGDALE, Kelly Louise→
director · ~45y · appointed 2002-09-23 · resigned 2003-03-31
Resigned
DUGDALE, Philip Noel→
director · ~44y · appointed 2002-09-29 · resigned 2003-03-31
Resigned
DUGDALE, Roy→
director · ~78y · appointed 2002-09-23 · resigned 2021-11-02
Resigned
DUGDALE, Susan Lea→
director · ~74y · appointed 2002-09-23 · resigned 2002-11-30
Resigned
@UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-09-19 · resigned 2002-09-23
Resigned

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

Recent filings (67 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-16
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-11-02
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-11-02
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-11-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-21