3ECRUIT LTD

💤Zombieactive
06644921 · ltd · incorporated 2008-07-14
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£1.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities of employment placement agencies
Sector: Administrative & support services
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 78200Temporary employment agency activities
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -43% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · oldest 8.9y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 8.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (83/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 6 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
67 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
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £1,667
Cash draining
Cash down 43% YoY
Cash YoY
-43%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£54k
↓ 43% YoY
Net Worth
£2k
↑ 121% YoY
Current Assets
£122k
↓ 30% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£8k£29k£65k£101k£138k£174kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£4.4k£4.8k
Current assets£122.1k£174.2k
Cash£54.5k£95.4k
Debtors£67.6k£78.7k
Net assets£1.7k£-7.8k

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
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 address
Last 180 days
5
filings
  • • 2 gazette
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-19
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-12-03
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  3. 2025-12-02
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  4. 2025-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2025-10-13
    ➕
    DEWHURST, Gary Peter appointed
    director
  6. 2025-10-13
    ➖
    VANDEWALLE, Jan Ben resigned
    director
  7. 2025-10-13
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  8. 2025-10-13
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  9. 2025-10-13
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2025-06-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2025-03-18
    ➖
    CEBALLOS, Emma Jane resigned
    director
  12. 2025-03-18
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2024-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2023-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2022-10-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2022-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2022-03-15
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  18. 2022-01-04
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  19. 2021-12-22
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Close Brothers Limited (The “Security Trustee”)
  20. 2021-12-14
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  21. 2021-12-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  22. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2021-04-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  24. 2021-03-02
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  25. 2021-02-11
    ➕
    CEBALLOS, Emma Jane appointed
    director
  26. 2021-02-11
    ➖
    DEWHURST, Gary Peter resigned
    director
  27. 2017-06-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Close Brothers Limited (The “Security Trustee”)
  28. 2016-11-28
    ➕
    VANDEWALLE, Jan Ben appointed
    director
  29. 2015-04-29
    ➖
    BARRETT, Neil resigned
    director
  30. 2011-10-27
    ➕
    DEWHURST, Gary Peter appointed
    director
  31. 2010-02-26
    ➖
    ROBERTS, David Simon Mark resigned
    director
  32. 2008-07-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 3ECRUIT LTD
  33. 2008-07-14
    ➕
    BARRETT, Neil appointed
    director
  34. 2008-07-14
    ➕
    ROBERTS, David Simon Mark appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — 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
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

1 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Gary Peter Dewhurst
Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting15/11/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Jan Ben Vandewalleceased 13/10/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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
Incorporated2008-07-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC78109 — Other activities of employment placement agencies

Registered office

Suite 6, Unit 1, Meadows View, Rhosddu Ind Est, Rhosddu Industrial Estate
Rhosrobin
Wrexham
LL11 4YL
Wales

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-25
Last: 2026-03-11

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

DEWHURST, Gary Peter→
director · ~64y · appointed 2025-10-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARRETT, Neil→
director · ~47y · appointed 2008-07-14 · resigned 2015-04-29
Resigned
CEBALLOS, Emma Jane→
director · ~52y · appointed 2021-02-11 · resigned 2025-03-18
Resigned
DEWHURST, Gary Peter→
director · ~64y · appointed 2011-10-27 · resigned 2021-02-11
Resigned
ROBERTS, David Simon Mark→
director · ~51y · appointed 2008-07-14 · resigned 2010-02-26
Resigned
VANDEWALLE, Jan Ben→
director · ~44y · appointed 2016-11-28 · resigned 2025-10-13
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Close Brothers
Close Brothers Limited (The “Security Trustee”)
A registered charge—22/12/2021—
satisfied
Close Brothers
Close Brothers Limited (The “Security Trustee”)
A registered charge—14/06/201714/12/2021
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (67 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-02-19
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-12-03
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-12-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-26
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-10-13
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-10-13
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-10-13
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-06-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-21