CENTREFINANCE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04931297 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-14
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£-8.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
51 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)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £8,170
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£8k
↓ 658% YoY
Current Assets
£18k
↓ 34% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-06-30 | 2024-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £567 | £9.9k |
| Current assets | £17.6k | £26.5k |
| Cash | — | £103 |
| Debtors | — | £26.4k |
| Net assets | £-8.2k | £-1.1k |
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-21📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-06-30➖MIDDLETON, Alan Edward resignedsecretary
- 2023-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-23📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-21📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2003-10-14🏢Company incorporatedAs CENTREFINANCE LIMITED
- 2003-10-14➕KNAPTON, Kenneth appointeddirector
- 2003-10-14➕MIDDLETON, Alan Edward appointedsecretary
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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — 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 73 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 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Kenneth Knapton Individual · British · DOB 07/1953 · age 73 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 18/10/2016 |
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 · Financial services · NE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRIDGE THE GAP FINANCE LTD→ 15931799 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CFI 001 LIMITED→ 14995781 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CHARLES & CO. (CONSULTANTS) LIMITED→ 10334090 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CLAIRE ERRINGTON LIMITED→ 00607864 · est 1958 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 67y | — | — |
| CLIFFORD JAMES LIMITED→ 10562366 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FINANCE CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 03772879 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| CRAIG GILES WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD→ 12594999 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CRICHTON WILLS TRUSTS & PROBATE LIMITED→ 07496602 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| CRUSADER CAPITAL LTD→ 16819298 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| CRUSADER GROUP LEASING LTD→ 14568040 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CULLINGFORD HENRY LIMITED→ 16608675 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| D A G FINANCIAL LTD→ 05839269 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-10-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC66190 — Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding
Registered office
133 Baltic Quay
Mill Road
Gateshead
Tyne & Wear
NE8 3QY
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-01
Last: 2025-10-18
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
KNAPTON, Kenneth→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 2003-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MIDDLETON, Alan Edward→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-10-14 · resigned 2023-06-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (51 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-09
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2022-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-10