AUTOMATING THE 'AUTOMATION' LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
09000403 · ltd · incorporated 2014-04-16
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
£-4.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 78/100 (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).
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
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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
32 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £4,344
Net assets shrinking
Down £7,236 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£4k
↓ 250% YoY
Current Assets
£17k
↑ 117% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-3.4k | £3.5k |
| Current assets | £17.0k | £7.9k |
| Net assets | £-4.3k | £2.9k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-03-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-29📄administrative-restoration-companyrestoration · RT01
- 2022-02-01📄gazette-dissolved-compulsorygazette · GAZ2
- 2021-09-11📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2021-08-03📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2021-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-05-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2014-04-16🏢Company incorporatedAs AUTOMATING THE 'AUTOMATION' LIMITED
- 2014-04-16➕SHARP, Philip 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 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Philip Sharp Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63 | 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.
Similar companies
Active · Trade services · DL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMY SM LIMITED→ 13081718 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ANJALI BUSS DARLO LTD→ 12178870 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ANNEMARIES FUNERAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 15816498 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| APTUM CONSULTING LTD→ 15202581 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ARROW GLOBAL SOLUTIONS LTD→ 14882512 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ASHBOURNE FARMING→ 07451240 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AUCKLAND AMENITY GROUNDCARE LIMITED→ 09928975 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AUCKLAND SELF-STORAGE CONTAINERS LTD→ 04804097 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| AURUM KNIGHT RESTORATIONS LTD→ 12141606 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AUSTIN TRENT WATSON LTD→ 10002393 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AUTO SPA DARLINGTON LIMITED→ 13165997 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AVA BEAUTY & AESTHETICS LTD→ 16360700 · 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
Incorporated2014-04-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
43 Coniscliffe Road
Darlington
Co. Durham
DL3 7EH
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-24
Last: 2026-05-10
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
SHARP, Philip→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2014-04-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (32 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-11-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-29
administrative-restoration-company
restoration · RT01
2022-03-29
gazette-dissolved-compulsory
gazette · GAZ2
2022-02-01
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2021-09-11