ACADEMIC CHOICE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06971501 · ltd · incorporated 2009-07-24
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Temporary employment agency activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong 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: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
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 (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 400 | 400 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-08-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-26📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-06-26📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-03-23📄capital-return-purchase-own-sharescapital · SH03
- 2022-03-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-02📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2021-08-31➖WITTS-HEWINSON, Nicholas John resignedsecretary
- 2021-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2009-07-24🏢Company incorporatedAs ACADEMIC CHOICE LIMITED
- 2009-07-24➕THOMAS, Richard Lewis appointeddirector
- 2009-07-24➕WITTS-HEWINSON, Nicholas John appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
85/100
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.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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
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 Richard Lewis Thomas Individual · British · DOB 01/1970 · age 56 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 30/06/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Nicholas John Witts-Hewinsonceased 31/08/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · DY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABP ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES LIMITED→ 07235533 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ACCOUNT DEVELOPMENT & MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ 16386227 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTANCY & BOOK-KEEPING SERVICES (MIDLANDS) LTD→ 11401548 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTANCY WITH LSB LTD→ 16238146 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCSB INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 16347031 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACCUMILL LTD→ 07141884 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ACCUNEA LTD.→ 10661414 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACM BOOKKEEPING SERVICES LTD→ 11793753 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACORN SUPPORT LIMITED→ 06958004 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ACTIVE BUSINESS LTD→ 09525002 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ACTIVE HEATING AND GAS LIMITED→ 11207517 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACUBOOKS LTD→ 15772732 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2009-07-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC78200 — Temporary employment agency activities
Registered office
The First Floor The White House
Station Road, Hagley
Stourbridge
West Midlands
DY9 0NU
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-30
Last: 2026-05-16
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
THOMAS, Richard Lewis→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2009-07-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WITTS-HEWINSON, Nicholas John→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2009-07-24 · resigned 2021-08-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-08-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-06-26
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-06-26
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2022-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-11