HARVEY SMITH & CO. LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06287507 · ltd · incorporated 2007-06-20
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£-10.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Accounting and auditing activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (80/100, director aged 58). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 7.7y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 7.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
65 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £10,720
Cash YoY
-3%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£377
↓ 2.6% YoY
Net Worth
-£11k
↓ 8.8% YoY
Current Assets
£39k
↑ 34% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£11k-£787£9k£19k£29k£39kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£-10.7k£-9.9k
Current assets£38.9k£29.0k
Cash£377£387
Debtors£38.6k£28.6k
Net assets£-10.7k£-9.9k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2023-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-10-21
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  8. 2020-10-21
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  9. 2020-10-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  10. 2020-10-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  11. 2020-10-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-10-06
    📄
    mortgage-charge-whole-cease-with-charge-number
    mortgage · MR05
  13. 2020-10-06
    📄
    mortgage-charge-whole-cease-with-charge-number
    mortgage · MR05
  14. 2019-06-19
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  15. 2019-06-08
    📄
    capital-alter-shares-subdivision
    capital · SH02
  16. 2019-05-23
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2019-05-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2019-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2018-08-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Alan John Cowperthwaite
  20. 2018-08-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Gbf Capital Limited
  21. 2017-01-24
    ➖
    COWPERTHWAITE-PRICE, Karen Ann resigned
    director
  22. 2015-12-21
    ➖
    COHEN, Adam resigned
    director
  23. 2013-09-23
    ➕
    COHEN, Adam appointed
    director
  24. 2007-06-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As HARVEY SMITH & CO. LIMITED
  25. 2007-06-20
    ➕
    COWPERTHWAITE, Alan John appointed
    secretary
  26. 2007-06-20
    ➕
    COWPERTHWAITE, Alan John appointed
    director
  27. 2007-06-20
    ➕
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2007-06-20
    ➖
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 2007-06-20
    ➕
    COWPERTHWAITE-PRICE, Karen Ann appointed
    director
  30. 2007-06-20
    ➕
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  31. 2007-06-20
    ➖
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
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 58. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Alan John Cowperthwaite
Individual · British · DOB 12/1968 · age 58
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting26/06/2016

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

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
Incorporated2007-06-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69201 — Accounting and auditing activities

Registered office

2 High Street
Burnham On Crouch
Essex
CM0 8AA
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-05
Last: 2025-10-22

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

COWPERTHWAITE, Alan John→
secretary · appointed 2007-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COWPERTHWAITE, Alan John→
director · ~58y · appointed 2007-06-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-06-20 · resigned 2007-06-20
Resigned
COHEN, Adam→
director · ~47y · appointed 2013-09-23 · resigned 2015-12-21
Resigned
COWPERTHWAITE-PRICE, Karen Ann→
director · ~59y · appointed 2007-06-20 · resigned 2017-01-24
Resigned
DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-06-20 · resigned 2007-06-20
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Alan John Cowperthwaite
A registered charge3 properties24/08/201821/10/2020
satisfied
Gbf Capital
Gbf Capital Limited
A registered charge2 properties24/08/201821/10/2020

Recent filings (65 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-10-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-21
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-10-21
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-10-21