ACCOUNTING BY DESIGN (UK) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05042588 · ltd · incorporated 2004-02-12
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
£78.0k
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
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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £77,977

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£78k
↑ 2.7% YoY
Current Assets
£225k
↑ 38% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£45k£90k£135k£180k£225kFeb 2024Feb 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-02-282024-02-29
Total assets£121.3k£93.3k
Current assets£225.1k£163.7k
Net assets£78.0k£75.9k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 officers
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 officers
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 officers
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-22
    ➖
    NAYLOR, Duncan resigned
    director
  2. 2026-04-22
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2025-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-02-14
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2021-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-02-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-11-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-11-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-04-12
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2016-04-12
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  16. 2015-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2012-07-01
    ➕
    NAYLOR, Claire appointed
    director
  18. 2004-02-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCOUNTING BY DESIGN (UK) LIMITED
  19. 2004-02-12
    ➕
    NAYLOR, Claire Rebecca appointed
    secretary
  20. 2004-02-12
    ➕
    NAYLOR, Duncan appointed
    secretary
  21. 2004-02-12
    ➖
    NAYLOR, Duncan resigned
    secretary
  22. 2004-02-12
    ➕
    HENRY, John Michael appointed
    director
  23. 2004-02-12
    ➖
    HENRY, John Michael resigned
    director
  24. 2004-02-12
    ➕
    NAYLOR, Duncan appointed
    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

68/100
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.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Michael Henry
Individual · British · DOB 10/1961 · age 65
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr Duncan Naylor
Individual · British · DOB 07/1973 · age 53
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

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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
Incorporated2004-02-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

302 Cirencester Business Park, Love Lane
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 1XD

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-25
Last: 2026-02-11

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

NAYLOR, Claire Rebecca→
secretary · appointed 2004-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NAYLOR, Claire→
director · ~51y · appointed 2012-07-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NAYLOR, Duncan→
secretary · appointed 2004-02-12 · resigned 2004-02-12
Resigned
HENRY, John Michael→
director · ~65y · appointed 2004-02-12 · resigned 2004-02-12
Resigned
NAYLOR, Duncan→
director · ~53y · appointed 2004-02-12 · resigned 2026-04-22
Resigned

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

Recent filings (56 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-18