HORIZONS RESEARCH LTD
💤Zombieactive
SC394799 · ltd · incorporated 2011-03-04
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
£-55.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 75/100 (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: distressed disposal / insolvency (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 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
47 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £55,198
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£55k
↓ 590% YoY
Current Assets
£109k
↑ 28% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-14.5k | £9.4k |
| Current assets | £108.6k | £85.0k |
| Net assets | £-55.2k | £-8.0k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-20📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-03-18📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-03-13📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-01-03📄legacymiscellaneous · RPCH01
- 2023-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-06📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-10-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-23📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-11-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2011-03-04🏢Company incorporatedAs HORIZONS RESEARCH LTD
- 2011-03-04➕RAE, Robert appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Robert Rae Individual · British · DOB 08/1970 · age 56 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 18/03/2025 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Robert Raeceased 18/03/2025· 50-75% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · G postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HOTEL EMPLOYEES LIMITED→ SC383815 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| HPS ADMIN LTD→ SC812812 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HY-VO LTD→ SC856999 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HYNDLAND SOUTH SERVICES LTD→ SC388963 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| IAN CRICHTON (ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS) LIMITED→ SC068648 · est 1979 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 46y | — | — |
| IBP STRATEGY AND RESEARCH LTD.→ SC241515 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ICAFE LIMITED→ SC400929 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ICE AGE LIVING LTD→ SC650465 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| IDCP SCOTLAND LIMITED→ SC666120 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| IDP ARCHITECTS TEMPLETON LTD→ SC579792 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| IEC SERVICES LTD→ SC776765 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| IFO SAFETY CONSULTANCY LTD→ SC806629 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-03-04
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Registered office
22 Montrose Street
Glasgow
G1 1RE
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-19
Last: 2026-03-05
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Active
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (47 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-09
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-03-20
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-04-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-13
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-03-13
legacy
miscellaneous · RPCH01
2024-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-13