MARTINS THE PRINTERS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
02731178 · ltd · incorporated 1992-07-09
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
£641.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 18129
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 18140SIC 18140
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 71). Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 5 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

7 live charges · 5 lenders · oldest 33.8y

35/100
too messy

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 33.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 5 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 35/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
7 charges (7/7 with lender, 7/7 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (4 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
9 connected companies via shared directors
72
Filing history
93 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
74
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 £641,305
Net assets shrinking
Down £182,210 YoY
Cash YoY
+112%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£122k
↑ 112% YoY
Net Worth
£641k
↓ 22% YoY
Current Assets
£563k
↓ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£165k£329k£494k£659k£824kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£713.0k£916.2k
Current assets£563.0k£769.1k
Cash£122.4k£57.8k
Debtors£340.3k£587.9k
Net assets£641.3k£823.5k

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 mortgage
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 mortgage
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-16
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  2. 2026-04-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #6
  3. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-04-08
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  6. 2024-04-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #7
    Lender: Hsbc UK Bank PLC
  7. 2023-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-06-10
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2022-06-10
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  11. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-07-09
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2020-07-09
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  15. 2019-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2016-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2015-09-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #6
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  20. 2014-09-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD
  21. 2014-09-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD
  22. 2014-09-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
  23. 2014-02-19
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: City Business Finance LTD T/a Print Finance
  24. 1997-06-18
    ➕
    HARDIE, Elizabeth Marjorie Anne, Mrs. appointed
    director
  25. 1997-06-01
    ➕
    MARTIN, Robert David appointed
    director
  26. 1992-08-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
  27. 1992-07-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As MARTINS THE PRINTERS LIMITED
  28. 1992-07-09
    ➕
    HARDIE, William appointed
    secretary
  29. 1992-07-09
    ➕
    HARDIE, Christopher appointed
    director
  30. 1992-07-09
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 1992-07-09
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 1992-07-09
    ➕
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  33. 1992-07-09
    ➖
    COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  34. 1992-07-09
    ➕
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  35. 1992-07-09
    ➖
    COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

98/100
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 "MARTIN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.
  • +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

90/100
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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 34 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 · 1 low
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.

5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

Shareholders & ownership

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Christopher Hardie
Individual · British, · DOB 10/1955 · age 71
50–75%
50–75%board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control01/07/2016
Mrs. Elizabeth Marjorie Anne Hardie
Individual · British · DOB 03/1958 · age 68
25–50%
25–50%board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control01/07/2016

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
Incorporated1992-07-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC18129 — SIC 18129

Registered office

18 Castle Terrace
Berwick Upon Tweed
Northumberland
TD15 1NP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-20
Last: 2025-07-06

Officers (4 active · 3 resigned)

HARDIE, William→
secretary · appointed 1992-07-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARDIE, Christopher→
director · ~71y · appointed 1992-07-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HARDIE, Elizabeth Marjorie Anne, Mrs.→
director · ~68y · appointed 1997-06-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MARTIN, Robert David→
director · ~66y · appointed 1997-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1992-07-09 · resigned 1992-07-09
Resigned
COMBINED NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1992-07-09 · resigned 1992-07-09
Resigned
COMBINED SECRETARIAL SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1992-07-09 · resigned 1992-07-09
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

7
Total charges
5
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:7 of 7 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc UK Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property05/04/2024—
satisfied
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property23/09/201516/04/2026
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD
A registered charge—17/09/2014—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Invoice Finance (UK) LTD
A registered charge—17/09/2014—
outstanding
HSBC
Hsbc Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property11/09/2014—
satisfied
City Business Finance T/a Print Finance
City Business Finance LTD T/a Print Finance
A registered charge2 properties19/02/201409/07/2020
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
Debenture1 property12/08/1992—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (93 total)

mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2026-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-23
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-04-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-06-10
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-06-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-22