SONYA WINNER STUDIO LTD

💤Zombieactive

03166803 · ltd · incorporated 1996-03-01

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 Mar 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Retail sale of carpets, rugs, wall and floor coverings in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

98 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-03-31	2024-03-31
Average employees	300	300

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (31 events)Click to expand

2025-11-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-12-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-07-05
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2018-07-05
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2018-07-05
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2018-07-05
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2018-06-15
➖
WINNER, Sonya resigned
secretary
2017-11-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-03-29
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2017-03-29
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2008-01-03
➖
FANNING, Michael resigned
secretary
2007-11-23
➕
WINNER, Sonya appointed
secretary
2006-07-06
➕
FANNING, Michael appointed
secretary
2006-07-06
➖
VAN-DAM, Lex resigned
secretary
1996-04-24
➖
BHARDWAJ, Ashok resigned
nominee-secretary
1996-04-24
➖
BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1996-04-22
➕
WINNER, Sonya appointed
director
1996-04-22
➕
VAN-DAM, Lex appointed
secretary
1996-04-22
➖
UNICORN COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
1996-04-22
➖
HASELDEN, Mary Elizabeth resigned
director
1996-04-19
➕
UNICORN COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
1996-04-19
➕
HASELDEN, Mary Elizabeth appointed
director
1996-03-01
🏢
Company incorporated
As SONYA WINNER STUDIO LTD
1996-03-01
➕
BHARDWAJ, Ashok appointed
nominee-secretary
1996-03-01
➕
BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "WINNER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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

clean

No 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
Ms Sonya Ruth Winner Individual · British · DOB 03/1966 · age 60	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.

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37 ALL IN ONE BAZAAR LTD→ 16338068 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
43 HARBOUR NEWS LTD→ 14301837 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
7 DAY WEEK LTD→ 16911383 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
8848 GROCERS LTD→ 16813989 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
A A & G M ENTERPRISES LTD→ 13724188 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
A AND D AMIN LTD→ 15400925 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
A&C ONLINE SHOP LTD→ 14708214 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AA CLIFTON SUPER STORE LTD→ 15790176 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AA SERVICE STATION LTD→ 13163925 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AAVR SOLUTIONS LTD→ 13105737 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ABDULKARIM KRD LTD→ 16661809 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ABILITY MERCHANDISING LTD→ 16721399 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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

Incorporated1996-03-01

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC47530 — Retail sale of carpets, rugs, wall and floor coverings in specialised stores

Registered office

Camburgh House

27 New Dover Road

Canterbury

Kent

CT1 3DN

United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-12-31

Last made up to: 2025-03-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-03-15

Last: 2026-03-01

Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)

WINNER, Sonya→

director · ~60y · appointed 1996-04-22

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BHARDWAJ, Ashok→

nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-03-01 · resigned 1996-04-24

Resigned

FANNING, Michael→

secretary · appointed 2006-07-06 · resigned 2008-01-03

Resigned

VAN-DAM, Lex→

secretary · appointed 1996-04-22 · resigned 2006-07-06

Resigned

WINNER, Sonya→

secretary · appointed 2007-11-23 · resigned 2018-06-15

Resigned

UNICORN COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 1996-04-19 · resigned 1996-04-22

Resigned

HASELDEN, Mary Elizabeth→

director · ~79y · appointed 1996-04-19 · resigned 1996-04-22

Resigned

BHARDWAJ CORPORATE SERVICES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-03-01 · resigned 1996-04-24

Resigned

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