APPLETON SIGNS UNLIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01429579 · private-unlimited · incorporated 1979-06-14
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 42.2y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 77/100. Strong seller-intent signal (80/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 42.2y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 42.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (57/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
66 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.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2025-05-20📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-07-26📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2016-06-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2015-06-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-06-17📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-06-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-07-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2011-06-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-07-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2010-07-21📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2010-07-20📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2009-07-21📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2008-11-11📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2004-06-03🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2004-06-03🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2000-06-30➕APPLETON, Luke appointeddirector
- 2000-06-30➖APPLETON, Brian William resigneddirector
- 1993-04-23➖APPLETON, Denis Walter resignedsecretary
- 1993-04-23➖APPLETON, Denis Walter resigneddirector
- 1993-04-22➕APPLETON, Julie Anne appointedsecretary
- 1993-04-22➕APPLETON, Julie Anne appointeddirector
- 1985-11-21🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Altbarn Properties Limited
- 1984-05-10🔒Charge registered #1Lender: D. W. Appleton
- 1979-06-14🏢Company incorporatedAs APPLETON SIGNS UNLIMITED
Owner dependency
99/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "APPLETON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 33 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 33 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 47 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
Appleton Signs Manufacturing Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Appleton Signs Manufacturing Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
APPLETON SIGNS UNLIMITED
This company · 01429579
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Appleton Signs Manufacturing Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 01/06/2017 |
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 · Other · SO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.W. FREEMAN LIMITED→ 00585321 · est 1957 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 68y | — | — |
| ADEON HOSPITALITY LIMITED→ 12578547 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AHPROCESS LTD→ 14649885 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANP PROPERTIES (SOUTHAMPTON) LIMITED→ 10712204 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| APPINTEGRO LTD→ 14832711 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AQUATEC PLUMBING & HEATING SERVICES LIMITED→ 04076669 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| ARRIVAL LOGISTICS LTD→ 09136629 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ATHENIAN PROPERTY DEVELOPMENTS LTD→ 12667727 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AUREUS AGENCY LTD→ 14481279 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AV SUPPORT LIMITED→ 15987399 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AVIOR CARE LTD→ 10590480 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AVON COURT (NETLEY) LIMITED→ 00941541 · est 1968 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 57y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Typeprivate-unlimited
Incorporated1979-06-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999
Registered office
Unit 7 East Horton Business Park
Knowle Lane, Fair Oak
Eastleigh
Hampshire
SO50 7DZ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: —
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-04
Last: 2026-04-20
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
APPLETON, Julie Anne→
Activesecretary · appointed 1993-04-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
APPLETON, Julie Anne→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 1993-04-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
APPLETON, Luke→
Activedirector · ~49y · appointed 2000-06-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
APPLETON, Denis Walter→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1993-04-23
APPLETON, Brian William→
Resigneddirector · ~84y · resigned 2000-06-30
APPLETON, Denis Walter→
Resigneddirector · ~82y · resigned 1993-04-23
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Altbarn Properties / Markham Development Altbarn Properties Limited / Markham Development Limited | Deed of indemnity | 1 property | 21/11/1985 | 03/06/2004 | |
| satisfied | D. W. Appleton | Debenture | 1 property | 10/05/1984 | 03/06/2004 |
Recent filings (66 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2025-05-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-05-31
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2017-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-07-11
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-06-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2016-01-25