ARTHUR HEATH & CO.,LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

00181634 · ltd · incorporated 1922-05-09

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 Sept 2025

Net worth

£877.9k

book net assets

Opportunity

77/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 46730

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -97% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · oldest 47.5y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 47.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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

Lenders & charges

5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)

Directors & officers

7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

103 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

77/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £877,882

Net assets shrinking

Down £34,236 YoY

Cash draining

Cash down 97% YoY

Cash YoY

-97%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£2k

↓ 97% YoY

Net Worth

£878k

↓ 3.8% YoY

Current Assets

£764k

↓ 3.3% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-09-30	2024-09-30
Total assets	£877.9k	£912.1k
Current assets	£764.5k	£791.0k
Cash	£1.5k	£53.8k
Debtors	£184.8k	£160.5k
Net assets	£877.9k	£912.1k

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand

2026-03-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-12
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-14
➖
BISHOP, Timothy resigned
secretary
2020-10-14
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2020-10-02
📄
capital-return-purchase-own-shares
capital · SH03
2020-06-12
📄
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2020-05-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-25
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2020-03-20
➕
PENNINGTON, Samantha appointed
secretary
2019-09-16
➕
BISHOP, Timothy appointed
secretary
2019-09-16
➖
WEBB, John Charles resigned
secretary
2019-09-16
➖
WEBB, John Charles resigned
director
2019-09-16
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2019-09-16
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2019-09-16
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2019-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-04-30
📄
mortgage-charge-whole-cease-with-charge-number
mortgage · MR05
2018-10-30
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2006-09-13
➖
HEATH, John Ashton resigned
director
2004-09-13
➖
HEATH, Eva Jean resigned
director
2003-11-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2003-11-20
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2003-07-14
🔒
Charge registered #5
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1990-05-20
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1985-11-20
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1985-10-22
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1978-11-13
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
1922-05-09
🏢
Company incorporated
As ARTHUR HEATH & CO.,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 74 — 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 74 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 104 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 med ·

Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern

medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Timothy Bishop Individual · British · DOB 11/1952 · age 74	75–100%	75–100%	board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest	01/01/2017

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · CB postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
4ACTIVE LTD→ 11574444 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
A.J.N. STEELSTOCK LTD.→ 00689647 · est 1961 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	65y	—	—
AFRICAN TREASURES LTD→ 09093624 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
AMANAH ENTERPRISE LTD→ 13045071 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AMEORA LTD→ 15959051 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AMG FOODS LIMITED→ 06331357 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
AMOER TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD→ 14094343 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AMZ CAMBRIDGE LIMITED→ 12357467 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ANGLIA INSTRUMENTS LIMITED→ 03526515 · est 1998 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	28y	—	—
ARK COLOUR DESIGN LIMITED→ 09443415 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ARTISTS PROOF LIMITED→ 13745147 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
ARTWORLD WORLDWIDE LTD→ 16752879 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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

Incorporated1922-05-09

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46730 — SIC 46730

Registered office

Unit 1 Civic Industrial Estate

Homefield Road

Haverhill

CB9 8QP

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-06-30

Last made up to: 2025-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-22

Last: 2026-05-08

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

PENNINGTON, Samantha→

secretary · appointed 2020-03-20

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BISHOP, Timothy→

director · ~74y

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BISHOP, Timothy→

secretary · appointed 2019-09-16 · resigned 2020-10-14

Resigned

WEBB, John Charles→

secretary · resigned 2019-09-16

Resigned

HEATH, Eva Jean→

director · ~107y · resigned 2004-09-13

Resigned

HEATH, John Ashton→

director · ~108y · resigned 2006-09-13

Resigned

WEBB, John Charles→

director · ~87y · resigned 2019-09-16

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown

		Type	Properties
outstanding	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	14/07/2003	—
satisfied	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Guarantee & debenture	1 property	20/05/1990	20/11/2003
outstanding	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	20/11/1985	—
satisfied	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Guarantee & debenture	1 property	22/10/1985	20/11/2003
outstanding	Barclays Barclays Bank PLC	Legal charge	1 property	13/11/1978	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.