APPLEBUSH LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03168970 · ltd · incorporated 1996-03-07
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
£121.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Risk and damage evaluation
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -96% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 27.3y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 27.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
89 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £121,779
Net assets shrinking
Down £21,609 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 96% YoY
Cash YoY
-96%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£2k
↓ 96% YoY
Net Worth
£122k
↓ 15% YoY
Current Assets
£158k
↓ 28% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£44k£88k£132k£175k£219kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£122.0k£143.7k
Current assets£157.8k£219.4k
Cash£2.1k£47.9k
Debtors£155.7k£171.4k
Net assets£121.8k£143.4k

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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2023-03-01
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2022-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-08-30
    📄
    administrative-restoration-company
    restoration · RT01
  8. 2022-08-09
    📄
    gazette-dissolved-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ2
  9. 2022-05-24
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  10. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-02-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-06-01
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  14. 2019-05-28
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  15. 2018-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 1999-01-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  18. 1996-04-15
    ➕
    DUNSCOMBE, Anna Pelham appointed
    secretary
  19. 1996-04-15
    ➕
    DUNSCOMBE, Mark William appointed
    director
  20. 1996-04-02
    ➖
    SEMKEN LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 1996-04-02
    ➖
    LUFMER LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 1996-03-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As APPLEBUSH LIMITED
  23. 1996-03-07
    ➕
    SEMKEN LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 1996-03-07
    ➕
    LUFMER LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Mark William Dunscombe
Individual · British · DOB 08/1962 · age 64
75–100%
—75-100% shares17/08/2016

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

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
Incorporated1996-03-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC66210 — Risk and damage evaluation

Registered office

Pitley Farm House
Pitley Hill
Ashburton
Devon
TQ13 7JY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-21
Last: 2026-03-07

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

DUNSCOMBE, Anna Pelham→
secretary · appointed 1996-04-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNSCOMBE, Mark William→
director · ~64y · appointed 1996-04-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SEMKEN LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-03-07 · resigned 1996-04-02
Resigned
LUFMER LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-03-07 · resigned 1996-04-02
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
Debenture deed1 property20/01/1999—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (89 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-31
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-30
administrative-restoration-company
restoration · RT01
2022-08-30
gazette-dissolved-compulsory
gazette · GAZ2
2022-08-09
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-30