JAMES THORNBER LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
11958520 · ltd · incorporated 2019-04-23
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
£288.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 76/100 (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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
22 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £288,228
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£59k
~ YoY
Net Worth
£288k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£1.0m
~ 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 | £288.2k | £288.2k |
| Current assets | £1.05M | £1.05M |
| Cash | £59.4k | £59.4k |
| Debtors | £987.3k | £987.3k |
| Net assets | £288.2k | £288.2k |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-23📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-08-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-06-07📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2022-05-10📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-05-10📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-05-10📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-01-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-12📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2022-01-07➖THORNBER, James Andrew resigneddirector
- 2022-01-05📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-01-01➕THORNBER, Helen Elizabeth appointeddirector
- 2020-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-23🏢Company incorporatedAs JAMES THORNBER LIMITED
- 2019-04-23➕THORNBER, James Andrew appointeddirector
- 2019-04-23📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
98/100
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "THORNBER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
55/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 58. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Helen Elizabeth Thornber Individual · British · DOB 06/1968 · age 58 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 07/01/2022 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr James Andrew Thornberceased 07/01/2022· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BURNLEY SAVINGS AND LOANS LIMITED→ 07640762 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| DARWEN TERRACOTTA TRUSTEE LIMITED→ 16963308 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ESSAYMEDICAL LIMITED→ 12716171 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| HAYDOCK ASSET FINANCE LIMITED→ 03697027 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| HD VISIONUK LTD→ 08808287 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| HH&P PROPERTY LIMITED→ 16986606 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HTS ASSET HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 16281080 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ISHERWOOD FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 11489145 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| JAMES TRICKETT & SON (INDEPENDENT CONSULTANCY) LIMITED→ 02954417 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| JAMES TRICKETT & SON (INSURANCES) LIMITED→ 00587444 · est 1957 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 68y | — | — |
| JOHN H JARMANY WEALTH LIMITED→ 14783765 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| K & M FINANCIAL ADVISORS LIMITED→ 05009923 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2019-04-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Registered office
Charter House
Stansfield Street
Nelson
Lancashire
BB9 9XY
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-29
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-25
Last: 2025-08-11
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
THORNBER, Helen Elizabeth→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2022-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
THORNBER, James Andrew→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2019-04-23 · resigned 2022-01-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (22 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-27
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-08-11
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-06-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-10
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-05-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-05-10
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-05-10