THE SHERIDAN PHOENIX COMPANY LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
SC195859 · ltd · incorporated 1999-05-03
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
£16.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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 (75/100)

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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
65 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
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)
Positive net assets
Net assets £16,710
Net assets shrinking
Down £6,098 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£17k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Assets
£20k
↓ 34% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£6k£12k£18k£24k£31kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£17.3k£26.5k
Current assets£20.2k£30.6k
Net assets£16.7k£22.8k

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
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 (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2025-02-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-02-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-07-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2021-07-20
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2021-05-05
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2020-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2019-01-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-01-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-11-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 1999-05-04
    ➖
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  17. 1999-05-04
    ➖
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  18. 1999-05-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As THE SHERIDAN PHOENIX COMPANY LIMITED
  19. 1999-05-03
    ➕
    MCARDLE, Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  20. 1999-05-03
    ➕
    MAXWELL, Douglas James, Dr appointed
    director
  21. 1999-05-03
    ➕
    FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 1999-05-03
    ➕
    FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Dr Douglas James Maxwell
Individual · British · DOB 05/1967 · age 59
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016
Dr Elizabeth Mary Mcardle
Individual · British · DOB 07/1971 · age 55
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated1999-05-03
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

C/O Burgoyne & Carey Pavilion 2
Dava Street
Glasgow
G51 2JA
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-17
Last: 2026-05-03

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MCARDLE, Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 1999-05-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MAXWELL, Douglas James, Dr→
director · ~59y · appointed 1999-05-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-05-03 · resigned 1999-05-04
Resigned
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-05-03 · resigned 1999-05-04
Resigned

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

Recent filings (65 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-19
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-07-20
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-07-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-05
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-05-05