ADAMS FOTHERGILL LTD

💤Zombieactive
09653916 · ltd · incorporated 2015-06-24
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Pre-primary education
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 68). 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 (71/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
37 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.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-08-31
Average employees21

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-01-27
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2025-01-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-03-25
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2024-03-22
    ➖
    FOTHERGILL, Graeme resigned
    director
  6. 2024-03-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2024-03-22
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2024-02-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2024-02-05
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2024-02-05
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2024-02-05
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2023-04-30
    ➕
    FOTHERGILL, Graeme appointed
    director
  13. 2023-01-31
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2023-01-31
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  15. 2023-01-31
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  16. 2022-12-31
    ➖
    ADAMS, Louise Margaret resigned
    secretary
  17. 2022-12-31
    ➖
    ADAMS, Louise Margaret resigned
    director
  18. 2022-11-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2021-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  20. 2020-11-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  21. 2015-06-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ADAMS FOTHERGILL LTD
  22. 2015-06-24
    ➕
    FOTHERGILL, Karen Susan appointed
    director
  23. 2015-06-24
    ➕
    ADAMS, Louise Margaret appointed
    secretary
  24. 2015-06-24
    ➕
    ADAMS, Louise Margaret appointed
    director

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "FOTHERGILL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Karen Susan Fothergill
Individual · British · DOB 05/1958 · age 68
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control21/06/2016
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Graeme Fothergillceased 22/03/2024· 25-50% shares
  • Mrs Louise Margaret Adamsceased 31/12/2022· significant influence

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 →

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15914923 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2015-06-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85100 — Pre-primary education

Registered office

21 Tudor Close
Hove
East Sussex
BN3 7NR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-08
Last: 2026-03-25

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

FOTHERGILL, Karen Susan→
director · ~68y · appointed 2015-06-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ADAMS, Louise Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2015-06-24 · resigned 2022-12-31
Resigned
ADAMS, Louise Margaret→
director · ~50y · appointed 2015-06-24 · resigned 2022-12-31
Resigned
FOTHERGILL, Graeme→
director · ~68y · appointed 2023-04-30 · resigned 2024-03-22
Resigned

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

Recent filings (37 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-28
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2026-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-25
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-03-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-03-22
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-02-05
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-05
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-02-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-31