AINSCOUGH CONTEMPORARY ART LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03052231 · ltd · incorporated 1995-05-02
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47781
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 30.9y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 30.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · 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
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 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
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
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £964.4k |
| Current assets | — | £300.6k |
| Cash | — | £54.8k |
| Debtors | — | £13.0k |
| Net assets | — | £881.7k |
| Average employees | 1 | — |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-09📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2024-04-09📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-03-14➖AINSCOUGH, Peter resignedsecretary
- 2024-03-14➖AINSCOUGH, Peter resigneddirector
- 2023-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-03-15📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-06📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2020-05-06📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2005-04-29🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
- 1996-10-01➕AINSCOUGH, Peter appointedsecretary
- 1996-10-01➕AINSCOUGH, Peter appointeddirector
- 1996-09-27➖YARROW, David Eric resignedsecretary
- 1996-09-27➖YARROW, David Eric resigneddirector
- 1995-07-17🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company
- 1995-05-02🏢Company incorporatedAs AINSCOUGH CONTEMPORARY ART LIMITED
- 1995-05-02➕FORD, Catherine Anne appointeddirector
- 1995-05-02➕YARROW, David Eric appointedsecretary
- 1995-05-02➕C & M SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1995-05-02➖C & M SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1995-05-02➕YARROW, David Eric appointeddirector
- 1995-05-02➕C & M REGISTRARS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1995-05-02➖C & M REGISTRARS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
85/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Catherine Anne Ford Individual · British · DOB 09/1970 · age 56 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Frederick Mortimer George Ford Individual · British · DOB 05/2002 · age 24 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 30/04/2021 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Martha Ainscough Settlementceased 30/04/2021· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Freddie Ford Settlementceased 06/04/2016· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · TQ postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABBEY 24X7 LIMITED→ 14562543 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ABBEY REFRESHMENTS LTD→ 11024040 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADAMS AND MACK LIMITED→ 13863331 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADAMS BRONZE LIMITED→ 11308004 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADNIL'S DESIGN LIMITED→ 15775848 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADVANTEC MARITIME LIMITED→ 14936545 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AEM SPARES LTD→ 13230025 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AJH COMMUNICATIONS LTD→ 13013577 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALB REPAIRS LTD→ 11059888 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALDERKEY LIMITED→ 02910829 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| ALL UNDER ONE WOOF LTD→ 09261667 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ALLER VALE GARAGE (COX BROS.) LIMITED→ 01604227 · est 1981 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 44y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1995-05-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47781 — SIC 47781
Registered office
Lower Stadbury Manor
Aveton Gifford
Devon
TQ7 4PD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-29
Last: 2026-03-15
Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)
FORD, Catherine Anne→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 1995-05-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
AINSCOUGH, Peter→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-10-01 · resigned 2024-03-14
YARROW, David Eric→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1995-05-02 · resigned 1996-09-27
C & M SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-05-02 · resigned 1995-05-02
AINSCOUGH, Peter→
Resigneddirector · ~92y · appointed 1996-10-01 · resigned 2024-03-14
YARROW, David Eric→
Resigneddirector · ~60y · appointed 1995-05-02 · resigned 1996-09-27
C & M REGISTRARS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-05-02 · resigned 1995-05-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company | Legal mortgage | 2 properties | 29/04/2005 | — | |
| outstanding | Virgin Money Clydesdale Bank Public Limited Company | Debenture | 1 property | 17/07/1995 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (91 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-09
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2024-04-09
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2022-03-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-15
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-25