ANTHROPOLOGY APPLIED LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02440458 · ltd · incorporated 1989-11-06
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Research and experimental development on social sciences and humanities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
91 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|
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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-06-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-02-17📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2009-11-01➕SCHWANDNER, Nicola Dominique appointedsecretary
- 2009-11-01➖MARVIN, Leonard John resignedsecretary
- 2002-04-15➕SCHWANDNER SIEVERS, Stephanie, Dr appointeddirector
- 1994-06-08➖COBOS, Carmen Dominguez resignedsecretary
- 1994-06-08➕MARVIN, Leonard John appointedsecretary
- 1989-11-06🏢Company incorporatedAs ANTHROPOLOGY APPLIED LIMITED
Owner dependency
83/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
96/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 37 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.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dr Stephanie Schwandner-Sievers Individual · German · DOB 04/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · NR postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A P WEST LTD→ 15511675 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AJB EVENTS AND ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED→ 16818030 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALCIDAE CONSULTING LTD→ 15895465 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMN ENGINEERING LTD→ 15458662 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ANDREW BLOY LTD→ 09419444 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ANGLIAN PIPEWORK LTD→ 14157624 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANGLIAN PLANNING SERVICES LIMITED→ 06632713 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ANGLIAN RECRUITMENT LIMITED→ 16241885 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ANJU DESIGN LIMITED→ 03663223 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ANN REID LTD→ 13287417 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ANTHONY MARETT CONSULTANTS LTD→ 11725833 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ANVALD TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LTD→ 14816731 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 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
Incorporated1989-11-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC72200 — Research and experimental development on social sciences and humanities
Registered office
124 Thorpe Road
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 1RS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-25
Last: 2026-01-11
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
SCHWANDNER, Nicola Dominique→
Activesecretary · appointed 2009-11-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SCHWANDNER SIEVERS, Stephanie, Dr→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2002-04-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COBOS, Carmen Dominguez→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1994-06-08
MARVIN, Leonard John→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1994-06-08 · resigned 2009-11-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (91 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-01-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-14