BEN SMAWFIELD LTD

💤Zombieactive
06953181 · ltd · incorporated 2009-07-06
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong 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 (76/100)

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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
41 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 accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Oct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2024-07-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-08-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-28
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  6. 2022-09-27
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  7. 2022-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  9. 2021-01-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-04-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-05-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-07-06
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2009-07-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BEN SMAWFIELD LTD
  17. 2009-07-06
    ➕
    SMAWFIELD, Carina Elisabeth appointed
    secretary
  18. 2009-07-06
    ➕
    SMAWFIELD, Benjamin Lukin appointed
    director

Owner dependency

100/100
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 "SMAWFIELD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 17 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • 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

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 Benjamin Lukin Smawfield
Individual · British · DOB 12/1979 · age 47
25–50%
—25-50% shares18/07/2016
Mrs Carina Elisabeth Smawfield
Individual · Finnish · DOB 11/1971 · age 55
25–50%
—25-50% shares18/07/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2009-07-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

Marsh Cottage South End
Easington
Hull
HU12 0UA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-17
Last: 2025-07-03

Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)

SMAWFIELD, Carina Elisabeth→
secretary · appointed 2009-07-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SMAWFIELD, Benjamin Lukin→
director · ~48y · appointed 2009-07-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (41 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-07
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-17
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-09-28
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-09-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-26