H & L ACCOUNTING LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04936635 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-17
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 21.3y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Feb 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 21.3y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 21.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 600 | 600 |
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
3
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-04-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-21📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-10-20➕BARKER, Kathryn Julia appointeddirector
- 2025-09-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-03📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-06-21🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2014-06-21🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2008-12-31➖SHAW, Kathryn resignedsecretary
- 2005-02-16🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Abbey National PLC
- 2005-02-16🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Abbey National PLC
- 2003-11-05➖HORRIDGE, Catherine Mary resignedsecretary
- 2003-11-05➕SHAW, Kathryn appointedsecretary
- 2003-11-05➖SHAW, Kathryn resigneddirector
- 2003-10-17🏢Company incorporatedAs H & L ACCOUNTING LIMITED
- 2003-10-17➕HORRIDGE, Catherine Mary appointeddirector
- 2003-10-17➕HORRIDGE, Catherine Mary appointedsecretary
- 2003-10-17➕SHAW, Kathryn appointeddirector
Owner dependency
83/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +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
86/100
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.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Kathryn Julia Barker Individual · British · DOB 11/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 01/11/2025 |
Ms Catherine Mary Horridge Individual · British · DOB 07/1953 · age 73 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Professional services · BL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 RECRUITMENT LIMITED→ 16007695 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 247 REWARDS LTD→ 16105573 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 3 THINGS CONSULTING LTD→ 11341642 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 4 SEASON EVENTS LTD→ 16136864 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 4X4&MORE LTD→ 15241934 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 52 DEGREES NORTHWEST LIMITED→ 15173949 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A C MOAT LTD→ 15468621 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A&A2 ENGINEERING LTD→ 16393179 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AA CONSULTANTS (NW) LTD→ 12056563 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AARON B SERVICES LTD→ 16701884 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABBEYGATE SEARCH LTD→ 16944142 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABLE STUDIOS LIMITED→ 11690781 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-10-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities
Registered office
Mornington House
142 Chorley New Road
Bolton
Lancs
BL1 4NX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-29
Last: 2026-04-15
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
BARKER, Kathryn Julia→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2025-10-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HORRIDGE, Catherine Mary→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 2003-10-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HORRIDGE, Catherine Mary→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-10-17 · resigned 2003-11-05
SHAW, Kathryn→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-11-05 · resigned 2008-12-31
SHAW, Kathryn→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2003-10-17 · resigned 2003-11-05
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Santander Abbey National PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 16/02/2005 | 21/06/2014 | |
| satisfied | Santander Abbey National PLC | Legal and general charge | 1 property | 16/02/2005 | 21/06/2014 |
Recent filings (61 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-04-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-21
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-18
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2021-01-03