CODE GROUP LTD
💤Zombieactive
12909059 · ltd · incorporated 2020-09-28
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
£-416.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Sector: Financial & insurance
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
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: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 2 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 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
19 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 declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £416,662
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£417k
↓ 100% YoY
Current Assets
£3k
↓ 99% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-09-30 | 2024-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-408.0k | £-186.8k |
| Current assets | £2.7k | £226.0k |
| Net assets | £-416.7k | £-208.2k |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-10✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2021-11-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-11-09📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-11-09📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-11-09📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-11-09📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-11-04➖SMITH, Ian resigneddirector
- 2021-10-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-28🏢Company incorporatedAs CODE GROUP LTD
- 2020-09-28➕MATSON, Michael Brian appointeddirector
- 2020-09-28➕SMITH, Ian appointeddirector
- 2020-09-28📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-09-28📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
83/100
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 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Fabian Sebastian Thorpe Individual · British · DOB 08/1980 · age 46 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 04/11/2021 |
3 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Ian Smithceased 04/11/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Mr Michael Brian Matsonceased 04/11/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · firm interest
- Arc Investment Services Limitedceased 28/09/2020· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 →Similar companies
Active · Financial services · NE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BRIDGE THE GAP FINANCE LTD→ 15931799 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CAPINC LIMITED→ 13130826 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CFI 001 LIMITED→ 14995781 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CHARLES & CO. (CONSULTANTS) LIMITED→ 10334090 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| CLAIRE ERRINGTON LIMITED→ 00607864 · est 1958 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 67y | — | — |
| CLAS CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 13710816 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| CLIFFORD JAMES LIMITED→ 10562366 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| COHDA PROPERTIES LTD→ 16492659 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| COLLINGWOOD BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 03238598 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| COMMERCIAL PROPERTY FINANCE CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 03772879 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| COMPLETE CORPORATE FINANCE LIMITED→ 08152419 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| COMPLETE MONEY CARE LTD→ 07623694 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2020-09-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Registered office
12-13 Lansdowne Terrace
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE3 1HN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-26
Last: 2026-06-12
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
MATSON, Michael Brian→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2020-09-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SMITH, Ian→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2020-09-28 · resigned 2021-11-04
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (19 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-12
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2021-11-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-11-10
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2021-11-09
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-11-09
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-11-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-11-09