ADVENT CORPORATE FINANCE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

05052253 · ltd · incorporated 2004-02-23

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Mar 2025

Net worth

£6.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Sector: Financial & insurance

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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 (75/100)

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

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

57 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £6,853

Net assets shrinking

Down £2,067 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£7k

↓ 23% YoY

Current Assets

£12k

↓ 68% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Total assets	£6.9k	£8.9k
Current assets	£12.0k	£37.0k
Cash	—	£34.1k
Debtors	—	£2.9k
Net assets	£6.9k	£8.9k

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 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2025-12-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-12-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-02-24
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-02-23
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2005-10-28
➕
SOUTHERN, Elizabeth Ann appointed
secretary
2005-10-27
➖
BYRNE, Martin resigned
secretary
2004-02-26
➕
EDWARDS, Jill Elizabeth appointed
director
2004-02-26
➕
BYRNE, Martin appointed
secretary
2004-02-23
🏢
Company incorporated
As ADVENT CORPORATE FINANCE LIMITED
2004-02-23
➕
NOMINEE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2004-02-23
➖
NOMINEE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2004-02-23
➕
NOMINEE COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-director
2004-02-23
➖
NOMINEE COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-director

Owner dependency

93/100

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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Miss Jill Elizabeth Edwards Individual · British · DOB 07/1963 · age 63	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.

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CARAVAN GUARD LIMITED→ 04036555 · est 2000	£23.28M £16.93M–£29.62M	£14.98M	—	11400	25y	94	77y
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IFT WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD→ 07325816 · est 2010	—	—	—	7	15y	82	71y
BOLSOVER RENDER FINANCIAL PLANNING LTD→ 07625126 · est 2011	—	—	—	200	15y	80	58y
HOMES TO OWN MORTGAGES LTD→ 10807525 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
JOY X CAPITAL LTD→ 15871400 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
MOKOSZ LTD→ 16636480 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
MSDAA INNOVATIONS LIMITED→ 15174789 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
REVIVE CRYPTO LIMITED→ 14871738 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
SHIELD FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LTD→ 11545031 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
SMOKED INCORPORATED LTD→ 10998811 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
STONEYHURST INVESTMENTS→ 11705744 · 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.

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Company details

Statusactive

Typeltd

Incorporated2004-02-23

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Registered office

52 Halifax Road

Kebroyd

Halifax

HX6 3HW

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-10

Last: 2026-04-26

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

SOUTHERN, Elizabeth Ann→

secretary · appointed 2005-10-28

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

EDWARDS, Jill Elizabeth→

director · ~63y · appointed 2004-02-26

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BYRNE, Martin→

secretary · appointed 2004-02-26 · resigned 2005-10-27

Resigned

NOMINEE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2004-02-23 · resigned 2004-02-23

Resigned

NOMINEE COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-director · appointed 2004-02-23 · resigned 2004-02-23

Resigned

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