BACKSLASH LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05508285 · ltd · incorporated 2005-07-14
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Information technology consultancy activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (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: strategic trade sale (65/100).
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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-03-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2005-08-03➕HARROW, Sarah Louise appointedsecretary
- 2005-08-03➕HARROW, Ewan Robert Cameron appointeddirector
- 2005-08-03➖QA REGISTRARS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-08-03➖QA NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-07-14🏢Company incorporatedAs BACKSLASH LIMITED
- 2005-07-14➕QA REGISTRARS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-07-14➕QA NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
85/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- 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 21 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
cleanNo 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 Ewan Robert Cameron Harrow Individual · British · DOB 11/1970 · age 56 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence | 14/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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Active · Technology · AL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ATOTA NETWORKS LTD→ 04390493 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| ATWISE LTD→ 14851159 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AUSTIN CREATIVE CONSULTANCY LTD→ 15931049 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AUTO SCRIPTS INTEGRATION LIMITED→ 13454656 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AWAKE AT THREE LTD→ 07423775 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| BAAAD KITTY LIMITED→ 11809951 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| BAACK SOFTWARE LTD→ 16237743 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BACON BYTES LTD→ 10819078 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BAHU LTD→ 09980544 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BAILEY GENERAL CONTRACTING LTD→ 07910669 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BARE KNUCKLE EFFECTS LIMITED→ 11114965 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BARKWELL VENTURES LIMITED→ 16537553 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-07-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62020 — Information technology consultancy activities
Registered office
7 Cowper Road
Harpenden
Hertfordshire
AL5 5NF
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-29
Last: 2026-07-15
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
HARROW, Sarah Louise→
Activesecretary · appointed 2005-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARROW, Ewan Robert Cameron→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2005-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
QA REGISTRARS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-07-14 · resigned 2005-08-03
QA NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-07-14 · resigned 2005-08-03
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-09