HILL AND COUNTRY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06859754 · ltd · incorporated 2009-03-26
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: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 77-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 77). 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 (71/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
37 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
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 |
|---|
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
3
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2026-05-07📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-05-06📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-21📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2009-03-26🏢Company incorporatedAs HILL AND COUNTRY LIMITED
- 2009-03-26➕PHILLIPS, Marion appointedsecretary
- 2009-03-26➕PHILLIPS, Barry John 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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
98/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Barry John Phillips Individual · British · DOB 05/1949 · age 77 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 07/05/2026 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Barry Phillipsceased 06/05/2026· 75-100% shares
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 · Retail · SS postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADESUYI VENTURES LTD→ 15484555 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AGGLO UK LTD→ 11456127 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AGORIUM LTD→ 11127716 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AI ZEUM LIMITED→ 15924231 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AILA ILANA & CO LIMITED→ 16498400 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AL BARKA TRADING LTD→ 16606876 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALAIVI LTD→ 15882395 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALL YOUR NEEDS LIMITED→ 05591551 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ALLNUTT PARKER FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD→ 04926504 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ALLYNESS LTD→ 12724170 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALPHABET PHOTOGRAPHY SHOWS UK LIMITED→ 07001998 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ALPHAMERCE LIMITED→ 10536394 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-03-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Registered office
57a Broadway
Leigh On Sea
Essex
SS9 1PE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-12-31
Last made up to: 2026-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-09
Last: 2026-03-26
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
PHILLIPS, Barry John→
Activedirector · ~77y · appointed 2009-03-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (37 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-06-02
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-05-07
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-12-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-02-15