ARDEN CORPORATION LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02192237 · ltd · incorporated 1987-11-11
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
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£25.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46140
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 37.9y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 37.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
97 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £25,549
Net assets shrinking
Down £9,603 YoY
Cash YoY
-29%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£21k
↓ 29% YoY
Net Worth
£26k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Assets
£35k
↓ 32% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £25.5k | £35.2k |
| Current assets | £34.5k | £50.9k |
| Cash | £20.9k | £29.6k |
| Debtors | £8.1k | £15.8k |
| Net assets | £25.5k | £35.2k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-10📄withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC09
- 2021-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-25📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-09-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-19📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 1995-09-18➕HEARD, Dionne Marie appointedsecretary
- 1995-09-18➖FARRER, Gordon Thomas resignedsecretary
- 1995-09-18➖FARRER, Gordon Thomas resigneddirector
- 1993-07-08🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 1988-09-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Ingersoll Rand Sales Company Limited
- 1987-11-11🏢Company incorporatedAs ARDEN CORPORATION LIMITED
Owner dependency
90/100
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
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 39 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Alan Lisle Individual · British · DOB 06/1958 · age 68 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · DE postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AMAZE ME FURNITURE LTD→ 16598109 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| APD 2012 LIMITED→ 07882772 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ARM FURNITURE NETWORK LIMITED→ 10737287 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ARRO GOC LTD→ 08231025 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ARTSER LTD→ 16873628 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ARVÉY PARIS LIMITED→ 16747788 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ASHBOURNE METALS LTD→ 10255393 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ATLAS JANITORIAL & CATERING SUPPLIES (UK) LIMITED→ 06300431 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| AUDION ELEKTRO LTD.→ 03856331 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| AUTOROOMS34 LTD→ 13076814 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AWS MAANS UK LTD→ 12715051 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AWUK LTD→ 15747195 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1987-11-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46140 — SIC 46140
Registered office
126 Springfield Road
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE11 0BU
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-15
Last: 2025-11-01
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
HEARD, Dionne Marie→
Activesecretary · appointed 1995-09-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FARRER, Gordon Thomas→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1995-09-18
FARRER, Gordon Thomas→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · resigned 1995-09-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 08/07/1993 | — | |
| outstanding | Ingersoll Rand Sales Company Ingersoll Rand Sales Company Limited | First fixed and floating charge | 1 property | 07/09/1988 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (97 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-23
withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
2022-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-27