5 LAMPS MEDIA LTD

🌳Matureactive
01543526 · ltd · incorporated 1981-02-05
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
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£365.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Video production activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 62012Business and domestic software development
  • 74100Specialised design activities
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. 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: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

3 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 41.4y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 41.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

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, 3 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
10 officers (4 active, 10 linked, 8 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
145 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £365,832
Net assets shrinking
Down £105,658 YoY
Cash YoY
+7%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£404k
↑ 7.0% YoY
Net Worth
£366k
↓ 22% YoY
Current Assets
£756k
↓ 11% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£169k£339k£508k£678k£847kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£372.3k£479.2k
Current assets£756.3k£847.3k
Cash£403.9k£377.5k
Debtors£352.4k£469.8k
Net assets£365.8k£471.5k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-03-30
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  8. 2020-03-30
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  9. 2019-06-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-06-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-05-02
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2018-05-02
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  13. 2017-06-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-06-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2016-06-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 2016-06-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  17. 2016-05-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2009-06-08
    ➖
    HARPHAM, Kirsty resigned
    secretary
  19. 2008-10-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  20. 2008-10-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  21. 2008-05-22
    ➖
    HARPHAM, Kirsty resigned
    director
  22. 2008-01-01
    ➕
    PLAYER, Katy Emma appointed
    director
  23. 2008-01-01
    ➕
    REECE, Christopher John appointed
    director
  24. 2008-01-01
    ➕
    WARING, Nicholas Daniel appointed
    director
  25. 2005-08-31
    ➕
    HARPHAM, Kirsty appointed
    secretary
  26. 2005-08-31
    ➖
    KIRKLAND, Mollie resigned
    secretary
  27. 2005-08-31
    ➕
    HARPHAM, Kirsty appointed
    director
  28. 2005-08-31
    ➖
    KIRKLAND, Mollie resigned
    director
  29. 2005-08-31
    ➖
    REGAN, David resigned
    director
  30. 2005-05-09
    ➕
    HARPHAM, James Anthony appointed
    director
  31. 1999-04-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  32. 1996-11-29
    ➖
    HARVEY, Philippa resigned
    director
  33. 1985-01-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: M.A. Kirkland
  34. 1981-02-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 5 LAMPS MEDIA LTD

Owner dependency

50/100
Moderate — manageable with handover

Some founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

60/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 45 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr James Harpham
Individual · British · DOB 01/1975 · age 51
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
Mr Nicholas Waring
Individual · British · DOB 06/1972 · age 54
25–50%
—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

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
Typeltd
Incorporated1981-02-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC59112 — Video production activities

Registered office

3 Woburn House
Vernon Gate
Derby
DE1 1UL

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-02
Last: 2025-06-18

Officers (4 active · 6 resigned)

HARPHAM, James Anthony→
director · ~51y · appointed 2005-05-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PLAYER, Katy Emma→
director · ~45y · appointed 2008-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
REECE, Christopher John→
director · ~47y · appointed 2008-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WARING, Nicholas Daniel→
director · ~54y · appointed 2008-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARPHAM, Kirsty→
secretary · appointed 2005-08-31 · resigned 2009-06-08
Resigned
KIRKLAND, Mollie→
secretary · resigned 2005-08-31
Resigned
HARPHAM, Kirsty→
director · ~52y · appointed 2005-08-31 · resigned 2008-05-22
Resigned
HARVEY, Philippa→
director · ~71y · resigned 1996-11-29
Resigned
KIRKLAND, Mollie→
director · ~77y · resigned 2005-08-31
Resigned
REGAN, David→
director · ~78y · resigned 2005-08-31
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

3
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
Debenture1 property23/10/200830/03/2020
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property30/04/199915/10/2008
outstanding
M.A. Kirkland
Debenture1 property03/01/1985—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (145 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-23
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-11