ARTISTIC LICENCE ENGINEERING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02235770 · ltd · incorporated 1988-03-25
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
£290.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 26120
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 70). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -33% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 20.6y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 20.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
10 officers (1 active, 10 linked, 9 with DOB)
88
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
115 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £290,092
Net assets shrinking
Down £187,156 YoY
Cash YoY
-33%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£27k
↓ 33% YoY
Net Worth
£290k
↓ 39% YoY
Current Assets
£568k
↓ 2.6% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£117k£233k£350k£466k£583kDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£290.1k£477.2k
Current assets£567.6k£582.9k
Cash£26.8k£40.1k
Debtors£201.2k£231.0k
Net assets£290.1k£477.2k

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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (38 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-08-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-10-21
    ➖
    HOWELL, Wayne David resigned
    director
  4. 2023-10-21
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  5. 2023-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-06-12
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  7. 2023-03-08
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2023-03-08
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  9. 2023-03-07
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2023-03-07
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  11. 2022-10-21
    ➕
    HANNAFORD, Michael appointed
    director
  12. 2022-10-21
    ➖
    HOWELL, Karen Anne, Dr resigned
    director
  13. 2022-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2022-07-21
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  15. 2022-07-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  16. 2022-07-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  17. 2021-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2020-11-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2020-07-20
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  20. 2019-08-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  21. 2019-07-30
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  22. 2019-01-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2018-07-11
    ➖
    HOUSE, Allison Elizabeth resigned
    director
  24. 2017-05-24
    ➕
    HOUSE, Allison Elizabeth appointed
    director
  25. 2017-05-24
    ➕
    HOWELL, Karen Anne, Dr appointed
    director
  26. 2013-04-16
    ➖
    HOBDAY, Simon resigned
    director
  27. 2012-12-31
    ➖
    GELLATLY, Murray Hutton resigned
    director
  28. 2012-01-24
    ➖
    FRASER, Simon resigned
    director
  29. 2010-05-27
    ➖
    GRANT, Diane resigned
    director
  30. 2009-12-01
    ➕
    FRASER, Simon appointed
    director
  31. 2009-11-30
    ➖
    ARNOLD, Julie resigned
    secretary
  32. 2009-11-30
    ➖
    ARNOLD, Julie resigned
    director
  33. 2009-10-01
    ➕
    GRANT, Diane appointed
    director
  34. 2008-04-01
    ➕
    GELLATLY, Murray Hutton appointed
    director
  35. 2007-11-13
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  36. 2007-04-13
    ➕
    HOBDAY, Simon appointed
    director
  37. 2005-12-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Caviapen Trustees Limited
  38. 1988-03-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARTISTIC LICENCE ENGINEERING LIMITED

Owner dependency

90/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 38 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Robe Uk Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Robe Uk Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
ARTISTIC LICENCE ENGINEERING LIMITED
This company · 02235770

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Robe Uk Ltd
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control21/10/2022
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Singularity Uk Holdings Limitedceased 21/10/2022· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting
  • Mr Wayne David Howellceased 19/07/2018· 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · 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

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
Incorporated1988-03-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC26120 — SIC 26120

Registered office

The Mould Making Workshop Soby Mews
Bovey Tracey
Newton Abbot
TQ13 9JG
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last: 2025-07-17

Officers (1 active · 9 resigned)

HANNAFORD, Michael→
director · ~70y · appointed 2022-10-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ARNOLD, Julie→
secretary · resigned 2009-11-30
Resigned
ARNOLD, Julie→
director · ~64y · resigned 2009-11-30
Resigned
FRASER, Simon→
director · ~47y · appointed 2009-12-01 · resigned 2012-01-24
Resigned
GELLATLY, Murray Hutton→
director · ~73y · appointed 2008-04-01 · resigned 2012-12-31
Resigned
GRANT, Diane→
director · ~63y · appointed 2009-10-01 · resigned 2010-05-27
Resigned
HOBDAY, Simon→
director · ~51y · appointed 2007-04-13 · resigned 2013-04-16
Resigned
HOUSE, Allison Elizabeth→
director · ~59y · appointed 2017-05-24 · resigned 2018-07-11
Resigned
HOWELL, Karen Anne, Dr→
director · ~54y · appointed 2017-05-24 · resigned 2022-10-21
Resigned
HOWELL, Wayne David→
director · ~63y · resigned 2023-10-21
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Charge of deposit1 property13/11/2007—
satisfied
Caviapen Trustees
Caviapen Trustees Limited
Legal charge of rent deposit1 property12/12/200521/07/2022
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (115 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2025-08-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2024-06-24
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2023-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-02
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-06-12
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-03-08
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2023-03-08
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-03-07
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-21
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2022-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-20