BAKER & CO LTD.
💤Zombieactive
05723169 · ltd · incorporated 2006-02-27
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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 (79/100)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 (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
62 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.
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 600 | 600 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-01📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-10-31➖FREESTONE, Ruth Mary Monica resigneddirector
- 2024-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-09📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2024-01-09📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2024-01-09📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2024-01-09📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2024-01-09📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2024-01-09📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2024-01-05📄statement-of-companys-objectschange-of-constitution · CC04
- 2023-12-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-17➕FREESTONE, Ruth Mary Monica appointeddirector
- 2022-02-17📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2009-04-05➖BAKER, Stephen John resignedsecretary
- 2009-04-05➖BAKER, Catherine Lucy resigneddirector
- 2006-02-27🏢Company incorporatedAs BAKER & CO LTD.
- 2006-02-27➕BAKER, Stephen John appointeddirector
- 2006-02-27➕BAKER, Stephen John appointedsecretary
- 2006-02-27➕BAKER, Catherine Lucy appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BAKER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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 Stephen Baker Individual · British · DOB 03/1966 · age 60 | 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.
🔒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 →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · LS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AVONDALE BS LTD→ 15890303 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AXZEL SEARCH LIMITED→ 16088220 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AYK3R STUDIO LTD→ 16316364 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AZANDA LIMITED→ 11568695 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| B A CHAMBERS LIMITED→ 11039238 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| BA1 CONSULTANTS LTD→ 16232997 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BAGNA MARKETING LIMITED→ 15584825 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BAILEY HUNTER LTD.→ 06615335 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| BAILORAN LIMITED→ 07916921 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BAKER BROWN LIMITED→ 06900508 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| BALANCE PRO LTD→ 16298110 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BALANCED CONSULT LTD.→ 11127724 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2006-02-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities
Registered office
Sanderson House Station Road
Horsforth
Leeds
LS18 5NT
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-13
Last: 2026-02-27
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
BAKER, Stephen John→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2006-02-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BAKER, Stephen John→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2006-02-27 · resigned 2009-04-05
BAKER, Catherine Lucy→
Resigneddirector · ~55y · appointed 2006-02-27 · resigned 2009-04-05
FREESTONE, Ruth Mary Monica→
Resigneddirector · ~40y · appointed 2022-02-17 · resigned 2025-10-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (62 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-27
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-01-09
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2024-01-09
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2024-01-09
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2024-01-09
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2024-01-09
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2024-01-09
statement-of-companys-objects
change-of-constitution · CC04
2024-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-11