BALANCE FOR BUSINESS LTD

💤Zombieactive

07401203 · ltd · incorporated 2010-10-08

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 2026

Net worth

£56.4k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding

Sector: Financial & insurance

Investor take

Pursue

Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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 (78/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

45 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £56,364

Cash YoY

-5%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£73k

↓ 5.1% YoY

Net Worth

£56k

↑ 3.1% YoY

Current Assets

£77k

↓ 4.1% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2026-03-31	2025-03-31
Total assets	£56.4k	£54.7k
Current assets	£77.2k	£80.6k
Cash	£72.6k	£76.5k
Debtors	£4.6k	£4.0k
Net assets	£56.4k	£54.7k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand

2026-05-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-06-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-05-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-07-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-06-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-04-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-21
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2019-10-21
📄
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2019-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2018-05-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2017-05-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2016-05-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-02-26
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-08-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-07-03
➖
OTTLEY, Karen resigned
director
2011-03-11
➕
OTTLEY, Karen appointed
director
2010-10-08
🏢
Company incorporated
As BALANCE FOR BUSINESS LTD
2010-10-08
➕
OTTLEY, David appointed
director

Owner dependency

93/100

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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David Ottley Individual · British · DOB 09/1967 · age 59	50–75%	50–75%	board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control	06/04/2016
Mrs Karen Ottley Individual · British · DOB 04/1971 · age 55	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Financial services · PL postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ACCOLADE EDUCATION FINANCIAL INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 15187606 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ASCOUGH MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ 01402655 · est 1978 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	47y	—	—
BOND FUTURES LTD→ 13302931 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
BREAKWATER FINANCIAL PLANNING LIMITED→ 10118057 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
CC FINANCIAL LIMITED→ 15592302 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
CHRIS NEWTON MORTGAGE SERVICES LIMITED→ 08891809 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
CJ HOLDINGS PLYMOUTH LTD→ 16305540 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
CJ PROPLAN LTD→ 09314749 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
CJF WEALTH PLANNING LTD→ 09201301 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
CLAN FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 06554246 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
CLIVE RIBBONS LIMITED→ 06728668 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
CMB MORTGAGE CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ 06038104 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—

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

Incorporated2010-10-08

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC66190 — Other activities auxiliary to financial services, except insurance and pension funding

Registered office

7 Sandy Court

Ashleigh Way Langage Business Park

Plymouth

Devon

PL7 5JX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-12-31

Last made up to: 2026-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-05

Last: 2026-02-19

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

OTTLEY, David→

director · ~59y · appointed 2010-10-08

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

OTTLEY, Karen→

director · ~55y · appointed 2011-03-11 · resigned 2014-07-03

Resigned

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