CHARLES MUDDLE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
01646981 · ltd · incorporated 1982-06-28
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 36.1y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
£12.88M
year to Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 38320
Sector: Water supply & waste
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 46140SIC 46140
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (73/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

6 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 36.1y

60/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Oldest live charge is 36.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
  • · Not currently profitable — coverage conversation is a harder sell.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (4 active, 9 linked, 6 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
136 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
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
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Loss-making
Loss before tax £433,131

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-07-31
Turnover£12.88M
Gross profit£2.15M
Operating profit£-635.2k
Profit before tax£-433.1k
Average employees3000

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

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

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  4. 2024-05-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2024-05-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-04-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-05-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2019-03-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-01-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-10-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2016-09-23
    📄
    auditors-resignation-company
    auditors · AUD
  16. 2016-03-03
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  17. 2015-12-08
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #5
  18. 2014-04-14
    ➕
    BLACKLOCK, Mark Stewart appointed
    director
  19. 2014-04-14
    ➕
    MUDDLE, James John Charles appointed
    director
  20. 2014-04-14
    ➖
    MUDDLE, Charles John Edward resigned
    director
  21. 2012-09-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  22. 2012-09-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  23. 2012-09-04
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  24. 2008-08-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  25. 2008-08-05
    ➖
    DONNINGTON SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  26. 2006-09-14
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  27. 2005-08-25
    ➕
    DONNINGTON SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  28. 2005-08-25
    ➖
    STEVENSDRAKE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  29. 2005-08-15
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  30. 2005-08-03
    ➕
    STEVENSDRAKE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  31. 2003-07-14
    ➖
    LAMBERT, Justin Philip resigned
    director
  32. 2001-10-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  33. 1999-10-18
    ➕
    LAMBERT, Justin Philip appointed
    director
  34. 1999-01-11
    ➖
    LEE, Graham Richard resigned
    director
  35. 1997-09-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  36. 1990-06-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Nissan Finance UK Limited
  37. 1982-06-28
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CHARLES MUDDLE LIMITED

Owner dependency

88/100
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
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MUDDLE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

73/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 12 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 44 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stuart John Muddle
Individual · British · DOB 10/1958 · age 68
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated1982-06-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC38320 — SIC 38320

Registered office

Adversane Lane
Adversane
Billingshurst
West Sussex
RH14 9EG
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last: 2026-05-17

Officers (4 active · 5 resigned)

MUDDLE, Marion Jane→
secretary
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLACKLOCK, Mark Stewart→
director · ~44y · appointed 2014-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MUDDLE, James John Charles→
director · ~43y · appointed 2014-04-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MUDDLE, Stuart John→
director · ~68y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DONNINGTON SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2005-08-25 · resigned 2008-08-05
Resigned
STEVENSDRAKE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2005-08-03 · resigned 2005-08-25
Resigned
LAMBERT, Justin Philip→
director · ~60y · appointed 1999-10-18 · resigned 2003-07-14
Resigned
LEE, Graham Richard→
director · ~69y · resigned 1999-01-11
Resigned
MUDDLE, Charles John Edward→
director · ~91y · resigned 2014-04-14
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

6
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge—03/03/2016—
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Guarantee & debenture1 property18/08/200808/12/2015
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Guarantee & debenture1 property15/08/200504/09/2012
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Guarantee & debenture1 property16/10/200104/09/2012
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property08/09/199704/09/2012
satisfied
Nissan Finance UK
Nissan Finance UK Limited
Legal charge1 property29/06/199014/09/2006
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (136 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-05-29
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-19