ACCOLADE PUBLISHING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05228102 · ltd · incorporated 2004-09-10
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other publishing activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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 (58/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-07-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2019-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-07-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-12-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2015-10-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-09-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-09-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2012-11-30
    ➖
    GOLDTHORPE, Nigel Simon resigned
    director
  17. 2011-04-15
    ➖
    RUCK, Wendy Elaine resigned
    secretary
  18. 2005-02-01
    ➕
    GOLDTHORPE, Nigel Simon appointed
    director
  19. 2005-01-31
    ➕
    WILLIAMS, Adrian John appointed
    director
  20. 2005-01-31
    ➕
    RUCK, Wendy Elaine appointed
    secretary
  21. 2004-09-13
    ➖
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2004-09-13
    ➖
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2004-09-10
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCOLADE PUBLISHING LIMITED
  24. 2004-09-10
    ➕
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2004-09-10
    ➕
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — 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 69. 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 21 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.)

Group structure

Database Holdings Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Database Holdings Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
ACCOLADE PUBLISHING LIMITED
This company · 05228102

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Database Holdings Ltd
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence06/04/2016

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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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
Incorporated2004-09-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC58190 — Other publishing activities

Registered office

Green Heys Green Heys
Walford Road
Ross On Wye
Herefordshire
HR9 5DB
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-24
Last: 2025-09-10

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

WILLIAMS, Adrian John→
director · ~69y · appointed 2005-01-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RUCK, Wendy Elaine→
secretary · appointed 2005-01-31 · resigned 2011-04-15
Resigned
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-09-10 · resigned 2004-09-13
Resigned
GOLDTHORPE, Nigel Simon→
director · ~53y · appointed 2005-02-01 · resigned 2012-11-30
Resigned
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-09-10 · resigned 2004-09-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (60 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2020-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-14
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-10-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-09-11