ARTHUR HOWSON & SONS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
00249354 · ltd · incorporated 1930-07-09
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
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Turnover
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
£623.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
Pursue
Property-backed borrower with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 4 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 87.2y

15/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 87.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · 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
75
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
100 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
🔒Estimated company valuation

Sector-multiple EBITDA, turnover, and NAV-proxy valuation range with confidence tier — derived from extracted iXBRL financials.

Available from the Pro tier upwards.

See pricing →
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
85
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 £623,526
Cash YoY
+60%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£320k
↑ 60% YoY
Net Worth
£624k
↑ 2.5% YoY
Current Assets
£352k
↑ 74% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£125k£249k£374k£499k£624kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£699.8k£700.3k
Current assets£351.7k£201.9k
Cash£319.5k£199.9k
Debtors£32.2k£2.0k
Net assets£623.5k£608.5k

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
3
filings
  • 2 officers
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-25
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-02-24
    📄
    termination-director-company
    officers · TM01
  3. 2026-02-08
    HOWSON, Iris Amy Margaret resigned
    director
  4. 2026-01-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2025-07-10
    HOWSON, Mark David appointed
    director
  6. 2025-07-10
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  7. 2025-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2025-01-03
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  9. 2025-01-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2023-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-01-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-12-22
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2020-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-03-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-01-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 1996-12-18
    HOWSON, Mark David appointed
    secretary
  19. 1996-12-18
    HOWSON, Iris Amy Margaret resigned
    secretary
  20. 1996-12-18
    HOWSON, Iris Amy Margaret appointed
    director
  21. 1996-12-17
    HOWSON, Peter Grenville resigned
    director
  22. 1959-06-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: National Provincial Bank LTD.
  23. 1957-03-21
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: O. Flowson
  24. 1939-05-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Provincial Bank
  25. 1930-07-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARTHUR HOWSON & SONS LIMITED

Owner dependency

100/100
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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "HOWSON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

65/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Iris Amy Margaret Howson
Individual · British · DOB 01/1932 · age 94
2550%
25-50% shares06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated1930-07-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate

Registered office

6 Tentercroft Street
Lincoln
LN5 7DB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-07
Last: 2025-12-24

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

HOWSON, Mark David
secretary · appointed 1996-12-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOWSON, Mark David
director · ~66y · appointed 2025-07-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOWSON, Iris Amy Margaret
secretary · resigned 1996-12-18
Resigned
HOWSON, Iris Amy Margaret
director · ~94y · appointed 1996-12-18 · resigned 2026-02-08
Resigned
HOWSON, Peter Grenville
director · ~95y · resigned 1996-12-17
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
National Provincial Bank .
National Provincial Bank LTD.
Mortgage3 properties23/06/1959
outstanding
O. Flowson / P.G. Flowson
Mortgage1 property21/03/1957
outstanding
National Provincial Bank
Mortgage1 property12/05/1939
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (100 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-02-25
termination-director-company
officers · TM01
2026-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-16
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-03
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-01-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-04