PAUL COSTELLO ACCOUNTANCY LTD

💤Zombieactive
06518440 · ltd · incorporated 2008-02-29
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
£223.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 78/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
60 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £223,183

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£86k
Net Worth
£223k
Current Assets
£93k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-31
Total assets£245.3k
Current assets£93.0k
Cash£85.9k
Debtors£7.1k
Net assets£223.2k

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
0
filings
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 (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-22
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2025-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-12-24
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  5. 2024-03-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-12-10
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  7. 2023-03-31
    ➕
    COSTELLO, Judith Margaret appointed
    secretary
  8. 2023-03-31
    ➖
    COSTELLO, Judith Margaret resigned
    director
  9. 2023-03-31
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2023-03-31
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  11. 2023-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-12-23
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  13. 2022-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-12-20
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  15. 2021-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-12-20
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  18. 2019-03-19
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  19. 2019-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  20. 2019-03-02
    ➕
    COSTELLO, Paul Francis appointed
    director
  21. 2010-12-10
    ➖
    COSTELLO, Paul Francis resigned
    secretary
  22. 2010-12-10
    ➖
    COSTELLO, Paul Francis resigned
    director
  23. 2008-02-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As PAUL COSTELLO ACCOUNTANCY LTD
  24. 2008-02-29
    ➕
    COSTELLO, Paul Francis appointed
    secretary
  25. 2008-02-29
    ➕
    Incorporate Secretariat Limited appointed
    corporate-secretary
  26. 2008-02-29
    ➖
    Incorporate Secretariat Limited resigned
    corporate-secretary
  27. 2008-02-29
    ➕
    COSTELLO, Judith Margaret appointed
    director
  28. 2008-02-29
    ➕
    COSTELLO, Paul Francis appointed
    director

Owner dependency

98/100
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 "COSTELLO" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

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.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Paul Francis Costello
Individual · British · DOB 09/1966 · age 60
25–50%
—25-50% shares31/03/2018
Mrs Judith Margaret Costello
Individual · British · DOB 08/1976 · age 50
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2008-02-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

Penycastell Farm
Bryn
Port Talbot
West Glamorgan
SA13 2PY
Wales

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-14
Last: 2026-02-28

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

COSTELLO, Judith Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2023-03-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COSTELLO, Paul Francis→
director · ~60y · appointed 2019-03-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COSTELLO, Paul Francis→
secretary · appointed 2008-02-29 · resigned 2010-12-10
Resigned
Incorporate Secretariat Limited→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2008-02-29 · resigned 2008-02-29
Resigned
COSTELLO, Judith Margaret→
director · ~50y · appointed 2008-02-29 · resigned 2023-03-31
Resigned
COSTELLO, Paul Francis→
director · ~60y · appointed 2008-02-29 · resigned 2010-12-10
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
2026-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-31
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2025-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-05
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-12-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-08
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-12-10
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-03-31
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2023-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-21
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2022-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-18