ADAPTYLE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
10047381 · ltd · incorporated 2016-03-07
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 2025
Net worth
£82.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
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: strategic trade sale (65/100).
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
28 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 £82,404
Net assets shrinking
Down £12,556 YoY
Cash YoY
-13%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£32k
↓ 13% YoY
Net Worth
£82k
↓ 13% YoY
Current Assets
£119k
↓ 4.3% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £82.4k | £95.0k |
| Current assets | £119.3k | £124.6k |
| Cash | £31.8k | £36.7k |
| Debtors | £87.5k | £87.9k |
| Net assets | £82.4k | £95.0k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-10-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-10-31📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-10-31📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-05-27📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-05-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-05-27📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-07🏢Company incorporatedAs ADAPTYLE LIMITED
- 2016-03-07➕HOULSTON, Stephen Francis 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 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
50/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- 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
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 Stephen Francis Houlston Individual · British · DOB 12/1982 · age 44 | 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.
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| ACADEMICHECK LTD→ 16680850 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCOMPLYST LTD→ 16794454 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACDC PRODUCTIONS LIMITED→ 09793627 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ACTIVITY CLOUD LTD→ 08277142 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ADA-REBORN LIMITED→ 17083158 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADAMS DIGITAL NETWORK LTD→ 13345695 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADAPT PROGRAMME SERVICES LTD→ 15716069 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADECH GLOBAL ENTERPRISES LIMITED→ 16181567 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADIXION MEDIA LTD→ 16866021 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADJACENT POSSIBLE LIMITED→ 16708015 · 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
Incorporated2016-03-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development
Registered office
29 Royal Albert Road
Bristol
BS6 7NX
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-14
Last: 2026-02-28
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
HOULSTON, Stephen Francis→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2016-03-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (28 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-10-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-10-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-10-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-10-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-05-27