APEL LIMITED
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Same-surname younger director in place — likely family handover, not open to sale. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Refinance opportunity
6 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 37.6y
Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.
- · Oldest live charge is 37.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 22 | 2000 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-15📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-02-25➖SHEEHY, Martin Andrew resigneddirector
- 2022-02-01➕BOWKER, Paul appointeddirector
- 2022-02-01➕FALLON, John appointeddirector
- 2022-02-01➕FALLON, Stephen appointeddirector
- 2022-02-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-02-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-02-01📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-10-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-21🔒Charge registered #6Lender: Hsbc Asset Finance (UK) LTD
- 2014-07-22🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2014-07-14🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD
- 2014-07-10🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2014-07-07➖GARNER, Pauline resignedsecretary
- 2014-07-07➖GARNER, Neville resigneddirector
- 2014-07-07➖GARNER, Pauline resigneddirector
- 2014-07-04🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Hsbc Equipment Finance (UK) LTD
- 2014-07-01🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 1999-05-01➕SHEEHY, Martin Andrew appointeddirector
- 1988-11-09🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 1965-06-09🏢Company incorporatedAs APEL LIMITED
Owner dependency
Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
- -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
Limited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
- primaryFamily succession underway: Not a takeover target — FALLON, John (same surname) appointed 2022-02-01. Pattern consistent with intra-family handover.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 61 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
1 lowHeavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.
Group structure
Apel Management Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Apel Management Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMBER COMPOUNDS UK LIMITED→ 06543800 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Asset Finance (UK) LTD / Hsbc Equipment Finance (UK) LTD | A registered charge | 1 property | 21/10/2014 | — | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 22/07/2014 | — | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD | A registered charge | — | 14/07/2014 | — | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Equipment Finance (UK) LTD / Hsbc Asset Finance (UK) LTD | A registered charge | — | 04/07/2014 | — | |
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 01/07/2014 | — | |
| satisfied | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Mortgage debenture | 1 property | 09/11/1988 | 10/07/2014 |