ACCOUNTS AND TAX (HARROGATE) LTD

💤Zombieactive
05178635 · ltd · incorporated 2004-07-13
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
£642.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 69202Bookkeeping activities
  • 69203Tax consultancy
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 9.9y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 9.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
70 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £642,169

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£642k
↑ 3.9% YoY
Current Assets
£475k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£128k£257k£385k£514k£642kJul 2024Jul 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-07-312024-07-31
Total assets£642.3k£620.3k
Current assets£474.8k£470.2k
Net assets£642.2k£617.9k

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 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-10-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-08-09
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  9. 2019-08-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2019-08-08
    ➖
    STAINTHORPE, Tracey Annette resigned
    secretary
  11. 2019-08-08
    ➖
    STAINTHORPE, Annette resigned
    director
  12. 2018-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-07-05
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  14. 2018-07-01
    ➕
    STAINTHORPE, Annette appointed
    director
  15. 2017-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-07-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  17. 2017-07-07
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  18. 2016-09-12
    ➕
    STAINTHORPE, Tracey Annette appointed
    secretary
  19. 2016-09-08
    ➖
    ROBINSON, John Raymond resigned
    secretary
  20. 2016-09-08
    ➖
    ROBINSON, John Raymond resigned
    director
  21. 2016-09-08
    ➖
    ROBINSON, Valerie Irene resigned
    director
  22. 2016-09-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Valerie Irene Robinson
  23. 2006-08-01
    ➕
    ROBINSON, John Raymond appointed
    secretary
  24. 2006-08-01
    ➖
    UNDERWOOD, Kathleen resigned
    secretary
  25. 2006-08-01
    ➕
    ROBINSON, John Raymond appointed
    director
  26. 2006-08-01
    ➕
    ROBINSON, Valerie Irene appointed
    director
  27. 2006-08-01
    ➖
    UNDERWOOD, Kathleen resigned
    director
  28. 2004-07-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCOUNTS AND TAX (HARROGATE) LTD
  29. 2004-07-13
    ➕
    UNDERWOOD, David Alfred appointed
    director
  30. 2004-07-13
    ➕
    UNDERWOOD, Kathleen appointed
    secretary
  31. 2004-07-13
    ➕
    UNDERWOOD, Kathleen appointed
    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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — 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 70 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 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Alfred Underwood
Individual · English · DOB 09/1956 · age 70
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting30/06/2016
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr John Raymond Robinsonceased 01/09/2016· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mrs Valerie Irene Robinsonceased 01/09/2016· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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

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
Incorporated2004-07-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

6 Mount Street
Harrogate
N Yorkshire
HG2 8DQ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-15
Last: 2026-07-01

Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)

UNDERWOOD, David Alfred→
director · ~70y · appointed 2004-07-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ROBINSON, John Raymond→
secretary · appointed 2006-08-01 · resigned 2016-09-08
Resigned
STAINTHORPE, Tracey Annette→
secretary · appointed 2016-09-12 · resigned 2019-08-08
Resigned
UNDERWOOD, Kathleen→
secretary · appointed 2004-07-13 · resigned 2006-08-01
Resigned
ROBINSON, John Raymond→
director · ~82y · appointed 2006-08-01 · resigned 2016-09-08
Resigned
ROBINSON, Valerie Irene→
director · ~80y · appointed 2006-08-01 · resigned 2016-09-08
Resigned
STAINTHORPE, Annette→
director · ~55y · appointed 2018-07-01 · resigned 2019-08-08
Resigned
UNDERWOOD, Kathleen→
director · ~68y · appointed 2004-07-13 · resigned 2006-08-01
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Valerie Irene Robinson / John Raymond Robinson
A registered charge1 property08/09/2016—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (70 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-18