APPLE PIE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

03287465 · ltd · incorporated 1996-12-04

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 Apr 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Sector: Professional, scientific & technical

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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 (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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (2 active, 6 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

79 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 · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-04-30	2024-04-30

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand

2025-10-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-01-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-01-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-02-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-05-19
📄
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2018-05-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-05-12
📄
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2018-04-03
📄
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2017-01-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2016-07-08
📄
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2016-07-07
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2016-07-02
➕
HUGHES, Beverley Gaye appointed
secretary
2016-07-02
➖
NAYLOR, Stuart resigned
secretary
2016-07-02
➖
NAYLOR, Stuart resigned
director
1997-06-16
➕
HUGHES, Beverley Gaye appointed
director
1997-06-16
➕
NAYLOR, Stuart appointed
secretary
1997-06-16
➖
ST JAMES'S SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-06-16
➕
NAYLOR, Stuart appointed
director
1997-06-16
➖
ST JAMES'S DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1996-12-04
🏢
Company incorporated
As APPLE PIE LIMITED
1996-12-04
➕
ST JAMES'S SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1996-12-04
➕
ST JAMES'S DIRECTORS 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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.

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 65. 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 29 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
Mrs Beverley Gaye Hughes Individual · British · DOB 05/1961 · age 65	75–100%	—	board control75-100% shares · board control	28/11/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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APD GROUP LTD→ 07423847 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	—	—
APK ENGINEERING SERVICES LIMITED→ 13513727 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
APKM ACCOUNTANCY LTD→ 09759076 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
APPROCOURT LIMITED→ 02996133 · est 1994 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	31y	—	—
APTUS PROFESSIONAL LTD→ 06433911 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
ARAH PERRETT CONSULTANCY LTD→ 11350545 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ARBUTUS TECHNICAL CONSULTING LIMITED→ 06411168 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—

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

Incorporated1996-12-04

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management

Registered office

Sherston House 4 Beeches Lane

Dauntsey Lock

Chippenham

Wiltshire

SN15 4TL

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-01-31

Last made up to: 2025-04-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-22

Last: 2025-10-08

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

HUGHES, Beverley Gaye→

secretary · appointed 2016-07-02

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HUGHES, Beverley Gaye→

director · ~65y · appointed 1997-06-16

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

NAYLOR, Stuart→

secretary · appointed 1997-06-16 · resigned 2016-07-02

Resigned

ST JAMES'S SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-12-04 · resigned 1997-06-16

Resigned

NAYLOR, Stuart→

director · ~97y · appointed 1997-06-16 · resigned 2016-07-02

Resigned

ST JAMES'S DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-12-04 · resigned 1997-06-16

Resigned

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