ADVICE4BUSINESS NORTH EAST LTD
💤Zombieactive
08787330 · ltd · incorporated 2013-11-22
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£7
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 79/100 (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 (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 12.3y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 12.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
31 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £7
Net assets shrinking
Down £929 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£7
↓ 99% YoY
Current Assets
£55k
↓ 11% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £35.4k | £13.5k |
| Current assets | £54.9k | £61.8k |
| Net assets | £7 | £936 |
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 (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-18📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2025-06-17🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Nationwide Finance Limited
- 2025-06-16📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2025-06-01➕LOWTHER, Steven appointedsecretary
- 2024-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-15📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2017-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-12-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2014-03-03🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2013-11-22🏢Company incorporatedAs ADVICE4BUSINESS NORTH EAST LTD
- 2013-11-22➕LOWTHER, Linda Ann appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 13 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Linda Ann Lowther Individual · British · DOB 04/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 22/11/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Trade services · NE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A&G ELECTRICALS LTD→ 15556532 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ACTIVE LEISURE & ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED→ 15690775 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAMS MIND BODY STRENGTH LTD→ 16446202 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADAPT WITH ASHLEY LIMITED→ 16908022 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADC ADVISORY LTD→ 16324243 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADÉLIE STUDIOS LIMITED→ 15149393 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADEPTIO SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 08655538 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ADVANCE FINANCE NE LTD→ 14271043 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ADVANCED PACKAGING MATERIALS LIMITED→ 03221709 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| ADVANCED WALLSEND TEST CENTRE LTD→ 09141965 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AE EUROPE LIMITED→ 04964813 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AE RECRUITERS LTD→ 16181071 · est 2025 · 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
Incorporated2013-11-22
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Office 4a Sanderson Arcade
Morpeth
Northumberland
NE61 1NS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-04
Last: 2025-11-20
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
LOWTHER, Linda Ann→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2013-11-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Nationwide Finance Nationwide Finance Limited | A registered charge | 5 properties | 17/06/2025 | — | |
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 03/03/2014 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (31 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-21
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-06-18
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2025-06-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-01