COTAX LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04983605 · ltd · incorporated 2003-12-03

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

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 99999

Sector: Extraterritorial bodies

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

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

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

61 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-09-30	2024-09-30

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2026-06-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-07-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-12-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-02-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-03-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2017-05-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-03-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-01-19
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2014-12-10
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2013-12-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2004-12-01
➕
ATHANASOU, Nicholas Anthony, Dr appointed
secretary
2004-11-30
➖
MARSON, Richard Benjamin resigned
secretary
2004-11-30
➖
MARSON, Richard Benjamin resigned
director
2003-12-09
➕
HULLS, Linda Joan appointed
director
2003-12-09
➕
MARSON, Richard Benjamin appointed
secretary
2003-12-09
➕
MARSON, Richard Benjamin appointed
director
2003-12-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As COTAX LIMITED
2003-12-03
➕
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-12-03
➖
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-12-03
➕
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2003-12-03
➖
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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 23 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 candidate

Strong 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 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

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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Linda Joan Hulls Individual · British · DOB 03/1954 · age 72	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	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 →

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COULSON COURT FREEHOLD LIMITED→ 09116191 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
CREATIVE INDUSTRIES PROPERTY SUMMIT LIMITED→ 15862228 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CUTLERS CLOSE MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 02725662 · est 1992 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	33y	—	—
CYR DATA LTD→ 13321961 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
DAM SAFETY LTD→ 13158903 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
DANIEL SHAER SHEPHERD LTD→ 14538076 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
DAS MANUFACTURING SERVICES LTD→ 12286524 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
DASHWOODS LIMITED→ 12876998 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
DAVERN PARTNERS LLP→ OC378604 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—

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

Incorporated2003-12-03

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

Lawn House Lawn House Lane

Edgcott

Aylesbury

Buckinghamshire

HP18 0TX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-06-30

Last made up to: 2025-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-09

Last: 2025-09-25

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

ATHANASOU, Nicholas Anthony, Dr→

secretary · appointed 2004-12-01

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HULLS, Linda Joan→

director · ~72y · appointed 2003-12-09

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MARSON, Richard Benjamin→

secretary · appointed 2003-12-09 · resigned 2004-11-30

Resigned

TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-12-03 · resigned 2003-12-03

Resigned

MARSON, Richard Benjamin→

director · ~89y · appointed 2003-12-09 · resigned 2004-11-30

Resigned

COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-12-03 · resigned 2003-12-03

Resigned

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