BELL SIMPSON LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

05217924 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-31

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 Oct 2025

Net worth

—

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

Active trading company with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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

4 officers (2 active, 4 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

52 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	2025-10-31	2024-10-31
Average employees	4	400

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2025-12-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-12-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-12-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-12-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-01-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-09-07
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-09-04
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-06-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2004-08-31
🏢
Company incorporated
As BELL SIMPSON LIMITED
2004-08-31
➕
SIMPSON, Hilary appointed
secretary
2004-08-31
➕
SIMPSON, Paul James appointed
director
2004-08-31
➕
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-31
➖
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2004-08-31
➕
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2004-08-31
➖
WATERLOW NOMINEES 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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "SIMPSON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

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 67. 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
Mr Paul James Simpson Individual · British · DOB 08/1959 · age 67	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

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

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BOARDMATTER ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ 02775330 · est 1993 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	33y	—	—
BOSECO LIMITED→ 06449999 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
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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

Incorporated2004-08-31

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Registered office

4 Alderdale Avenue

Northway

Sedgley

West Midlands

DY3 3TX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-07-31

Last made up to: 2025-10-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-09-14

Last: 2025-08-31

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

SIMPSON, Hilary→

secretary · appointed 2004-08-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SIMPSON, Paul James→

director · ~67y · appointed 2004-08-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-08-31 · resigned 2004-08-31

Resigned

WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-08-31 · resigned 2004-08-31

Resigned

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