EXPERT VAT SERVICES LTD

💤Zombieactive
SC670646 · ltd · incorporated 2020-08-13
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
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Turnover
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
£25.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Tax consultancy
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 71/100 (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 (58/100).

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
14 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
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 declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £25,662

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£26k
↑ 40% YoY
Current Assets
£36k
↑ 16% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£7k£15k£22k£29k£36kAug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Total assets£25.7k£19.0k
Current assets£36.3k£31.3k
Net assets£25.7k£18.3k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
3
filings
  • 1 address
  • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • 1 officers
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • 1 address
  • 1 persons-with-significant-control
  • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (11 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2026-02-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  3. 2026-02-28
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2025-09-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-09-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-02-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-08-13
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As EXPERT VAT SERVICES LTD
  10. 2020-08-13
    JOHNSTON, Iain appointed
    director
  11. 2020-08-13
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

80/100
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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 6 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

Some 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.

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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Iain Johnston
Individual · British · DOB 07/1985 · age 41
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control13/08/2020

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 →
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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2020-08-13
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC69203 — Tax consultancy

Registered office

5 South Charlotte Street
Edinburgh
EH2 4AN
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-26
Last: 2025-08-12

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

JOHNSTON, Iain
director · ~41y · appointed 2020-08-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (14 total)

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-02-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-14
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2020-08-13