ARGYLE METALS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01376236 · ltd · incorporated 1978-06-30
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
90 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
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
3
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 address
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 address
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-04-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2025-04-23
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  4. 2025-04-23
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  5. 2025-04-23
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  6. 2025-04-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2025-04-17
    ➖
    BUTLER, David James, Mes resigned
    secretary
  8. 2025-04-17
    ➖
    BUTLER, David James, Mes resigned
    director
  9. 2025-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2024-05-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2023-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-04-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-05-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 1993-11-30
    ➕
    BUTLER, Benjamin James appointed
    director
  18. 1993-11-30
    ➖
    LEBENTZ, Trevor resigned
    director
  19. 1978-06-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARGYLE METALS LIMITED

Owner dependency

85/100
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 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 48 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 Benjamin James Butler
Individual · British · DOB 09/1970 · age 56
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control17/04/2025
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mes David James Butlerceased 17/04/2025· significant influence

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1978-06-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990

Registered office

Clockhouse Clockhouse
Dogflud Way
Farnham
Surrey Gu9 7ud
GU9 7UD
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-23
Last: 2026-05-09

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

BUTLER, Benjamin James→
director · ~56y · appointed 1993-11-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BUTLER, David James, Mes→
secretary · resigned 2025-04-17
Resigned
BUTLER, David James, Mes→
director · ~81y · resigned 2025-04-17
Resigned
LEBENTZ, Trevor→
director · ~91y · resigned 1993-11-30
Resigned

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

Recent filings (90 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-08
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-04-23
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-04-23
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-04-23
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-29