THE ACADEMY OF CPD LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01550341 · ltd · incorporated 1981-03-12
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Technical and vocational secondary education
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 85-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 85). 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 (82/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
14 officers (1 active, 14 linked, 13 with DOB)
89
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
143 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
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2024Aug 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-08-312024-08-31
Average employees1100

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
2
filings
  • 2 change-of-name
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • 2 change-of-name
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (42 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-05
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  2. 2026-02-05
    ✏️
    change-of-name-notice
    change-of-name · CONNOT
  3. 2025-11-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-06-27
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  6. 2024-06-26
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2024-06-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2024-06-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2024-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2023-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-02-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2022-04-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  13. 2022-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2021-08-10
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2021-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-08-03
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  19. 2018-06-29
    TOPPER, Alan resigned
    secretary
  20. 2012-03-01
    CHASE, Graham Frank resigned
    director
  21. 2012-03-01
    GRINFELD, Monica Liliana resigned
    director
  22. 2012-03-01
    PRESTON, Duncan James resigned
    director
  23. 2012-03-01
    YOUENS, Andrew resigned
    director
  24. 2011-11-01
    HULL, Benjamin John Frederick resigned
    director
  25. 2011-11-01
    WALES, Stuart James resigned
    director
  26. 2011-02-03
    GRINFELD, Monica Liliana appointed
    director
  27. 2011-02-03
    YOUENS, Andrew appointed
    director
  28. 2010-06-25
    HULL, Benjamin John Frederick appointed
    director
  29. 2010-06-25
    WALES, Stuart James appointed
    director
  30. 2003-12-11
    CHASE, Graham Frank appointed
    director
  31. 2003-12-11
    PRESTON, Duncan James appointed
    director
  32. 2002-04-30
    JENNINGS, David Anthony, Mr. resigned
    director
  33. 2001-03-14
    JIGGENS, Martin resigned
    director
  34. 2000-09-29
    JACOBS, Nicholas Harry resigned
    director
  35. 1998-09-09
    MORGAN, Peter Leonard Wilton resigned
    director
  36. 1998-06-10
    JACOBS, Nicholas Harry appointed
    director
  37. 1997-04-13
    MOSS, Alexander resigned
    director
  38. 1997-03-12
    JENNINGS, David Anthony, Mr. appointed
    director
  39. 1995-04-09
    DARLOW, Clive resigned
    director
  40. 1993-07-14
    MORGAN, Peter Leonard Wilton appointed
    director
  41. 1993-07-14
    MOSS, Alexander appointed
    director
  42. 1981-03-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As THE ACADEMY OF CPD LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 85 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 85 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 45 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 med ·
Name changed 2 times
medium

Name changes can be benign (rebrand) but can also precede distress, phoenix activity, or buyer concealment.

Evidence: 2026-02-05: certificate-change-of-name-company; 2026-02-05: change-of-name-notice

Group structure

The Harris Foundation For Lifelong Learning is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
The Harris Foundation For Lifelong Learning
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
THE ACADEMY OF CPD LIMITED
This company · 01550341

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
The Harris Foundation For Lifelong Learning
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated1981-03-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85320 — Technical and vocational secondary education

Registered office

Level 5a Maple House
149 Tottenham Court Road
London
W1T 7NF
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-27
Last: 2025-06-13

Officers (1 active · 13 resigned)

HARRIS, Jonathan David
director · ~85y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TOPPER, Alan
secretary · resigned 2018-06-29
Resigned
CHASE, Graham Frank
director · ~72y · appointed 2003-12-11 · resigned 2012-03-01
Resigned
DARLOW, Clive
director · ~91y · resigned 1995-04-09
Resigned
GRINFELD, Monica Liliana
director · ~76y · appointed 2011-02-03 · resigned 2012-03-01
Resigned
HULL, Benjamin John Frederick
director · ~55y · appointed 2010-06-25 · resigned 2011-11-01
Resigned
JACOBS, Nicholas Harry
director · ~65y · appointed 1998-06-10 · resigned 2000-09-29
Resigned
JENNINGS, David Anthony, Mr.
director · ~77y · appointed 1997-03-12 · resigned 2002-04-30
Resigned
JIGGENS, Martin
director · ~80y · resigned 2001-03-14
Resigned
MORGAN, Peter Leonard Wilton
director · ~80y · appointed 1993-07-14 · resigned 1998-09-09
Resigned
MOSS, Alexander
director · ~89y · appointed 1993-07-14 · resigned 1997-04-13
Resigned
PRESTON, Duncan James
director · ~69y · appointed 2003-12-11 · resigned 2012-03-01
Resigned
WALES, Stuart James
director · ~52y · appointed 2010-06-25 · resigned 2011-11-01
Resigned
YOUENS, Andrew
director · ~71y · appointed 2011-02-03 · resigned 2012-03-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (143 total)

certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2026-02-05
change-of-name-notice
change-of-name · CONNOT
2026-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2024-06-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-06-26
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-06-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-02-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-13