42IQ LTD
💤Zombieactive
08546849 · ltd · incorporated 2013-05-28
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 May 2025
Net worth
£7.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 73/100 (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: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
38 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £7,640
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£8k
↑ 92% YoY
Current Assets
£20k
↑ 184% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-05-25 | 2024-05-25 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £8.5k | £4.8k |
| Current assets | £20.0k | £7.1k |
| Net assets | £7.6k | £4.0k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-27📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-04-23📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-19📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2019-11-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-11-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2019-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-25📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-06-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-06-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2013-05-28🏢Company incorporatedAs 42IQ LTD
- 2013-05-28➕ALLEN, Martin appointeddirector
Owner dependency
80/100
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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
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 13 years.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Martin Allen Individual · British · DOB 05/1978 · age 48 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Trade services · W postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3D PARKING LTD→ 07252246 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| 3KC (CORPORATE SERVICES) LIMITED→ 17069746 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3LA.COM LIMITED→ 07073473 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| 3PAY GROUP LTD→ 15660178 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 3PI FINANCIAL SERVICES LTD→ 10201158 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 3QH DRY CLEAN LTD→ 15600081 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 3S SERVICES LIMITED→ 09674705 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| 4 DIGITAL MEDIA LTD→ 06045874 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| 4 MW LTD→ 10536965 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 42 WESTBOURNE GARDENS RESIDENTS LIMITED→ 03618301 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| 43 THE AVENUE EALING LIMITED→ 05937901 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| 432 SOCIAL WELLBEING UK LTD→ 16650291 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-05-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
130 Shaftesbury Avenue
2nd Floor
London
W1D 5EU
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-25
Last made up to: 2025-05-25
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-11
Last: 2025-05-28
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
ALLEN, Martin→
Activedirector · ~48y · appointed 2013-05-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (38 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-22
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-04-27
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-30
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-05-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-03
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2021-05-24