ACTIVE RESEARCH LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
03295909 · ltd · incorporated 1996-12-23
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£483.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 27900
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), 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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -85% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 10.4y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 10.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
7 officers (4 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
91 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £483,170
Net assets shrinking
Down £468,808 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 85% YoY
Cash YoY
-85%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£13k
↓ 85% YoY
Net Worth
£483k
↓ 49% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | £12.9k | £85.0k |
| Net assets | £483.2k | £952.0k |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-22📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-09-01➕COHEN, Justin Marc appointeddirector
- 2025-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-01➖KEETS, Lesley Ann resigneddirector
- 2023-02-01📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-02📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-10-26➕KEETS, Lesley Ann appointeddirector
- 2020-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-12-10➕WHITEHURST, Michele Ann appointeddirector
- 2018-12-10📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2018-05-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2017-12-18📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-11-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2016-01-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1996-12-23🏢Company incorporatedAs ACTIVE RESEARCH LIMITED
- 1996-12-23➕WHITEHURST, Michele Ann appointedsecretary
- 1996-12-23➕WHITEHURST, Philip David appointeddirector
- 1996-12-23➕TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1996-12-23➖TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1996-12-23➕COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1996-12-23➖COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
60/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Philip David Whitehurst Individual · British · DOB 08/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Michele Ann Whitehurst Individual · British · DOB 04/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-D PRINT CENTRE LTD→ 13550596 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 5659 LIMITED→ 11322325 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 9VOLT LTD→ 16806143 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A-B MARINE SERVICES UK LIMITED→ 06899910 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| A.D. METAL SPINNERS LIMITED→ 01146698 · est 1973 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 52y | — | — |
| A.D.D. FILTRATION LTD→ 07328406 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| A&G MARINE CARPENTRY LTD→ 13853784 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AAA MARINE SERVICES LTD→ 11197067 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ABES MARINE LIMITED→ 14517340 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACCUJET LIMITED→ 06923704 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ACE MACHINERY LIMITED→ 15963053 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACTIVE SENSORS LIMITED→ 02783461 · est 1993 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 33y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1996-12-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC27900 — SIC 27900
Registered office
21 Harwell Road
Poole
Dorset
BH17 0GE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-01
Last: 2025-11-17
Officers (4 active · 3 resigned)
WHITEHURST, Michele Ann→
Activesecretary · appointed 1996-12-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
COHEN, Justin Marc→
Activedirector · ~45y · appointed 2025-09-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WHITEHURST, Michele Ann→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 2018-12-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WHITEHURST, Philip David→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 1996-12-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-12-23 · resigned 1996-12-23
KEETS, Lesley Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2020-10-26 · resigned 2023-02-01
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-12-23 · resigned 1996-12-23
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 07/01/2016 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (91 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-07
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-02-01
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-24
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2020-11-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-12