H. M. BATEMAN DESIGNS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03632769 · ltd · incorporated 1998-09-17
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Artistic creation
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 73). 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 (69/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
69 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Sept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30

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 (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-11-17
    ➖
    WILLIS, Edward Richard resigned
    director
  3. 2025-11-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2025-11-12
    ➕
    WILLIS, Henry appointed
    director
  5. 2025-11-12
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  6. 2024-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-01-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-11-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-11-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2018-11-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-11-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-12-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-10-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2015-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2011-10-26
    ➖
    ANDERSON, Lucy Anne resigned
    director
  19. 2011-10-26
    ➕
    WILLIS, Edward Richard appointed
    director
  20. 2011-02-08
    ➖
    JOHNSON, Timothy Howard resigned
    secretary
  21. 2011-02-08
    ➖
    JOHNSON, Timothy Howard resigned
    director
  22. 2011-01-14
    ➕
    ANDERSON, Lucy Anne appointed
    director
  23. 2010-06-11
    ➖
    WILLIS, Diana Katharine resigned
    director
  24. 1999-10-29
    ➖
    NICHOLS, Edward John resigned
    director
  25. 1999-10-13
    ➕
    WILLIS, Diana Katharine appointed
    director
  26. 1998-09-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As H. M. BATEMAN DESIGNS LIMITED
  27. 1998-09-17
    ➕
    JOHNSON, Timothy Howard appointed
    secretary
  28. 1998-09-17
    ➕
    JOHNSON, Timothy Howard appointed
    director
  29. 1998-09-17
    ➕
    NICHOLS, Edward John appointed
    director

Owner dependency

90/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

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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
Incorporated1998-09-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC90030 — Artistic creation

Registered office

Moorland House
Burrowbridge
Bridgwater
Somerset
TA7 0RG

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-01
Last: 2025-09-17

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

WILLIS, Henry→
director · ~73y · appointed 2025-11-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSON, Timothy Howard→
secretary · appointed 1998-09-17 · resigned 2011-02-08
Resigned
ANDERSON, Lucy Anne→
director · ~72y · appointed 2011-01-14 · resigned 2011-10-26
Resigned
JOHNSON, Timothy Howard→
director · ~76y · appointed 1998-09-17 · resigned 2011-02-08
Resigned
NICHOLS, Edward John→
director · ~80y · appointed 1998-09-17 · resigned 1999-10-29
Resigned
WILLIS, Diana Katharine→
director · ~99y · appointed 1999-10-13 · resigned 2010-06-11
Resigned
WILLIS, Edward Richard→
director · ~66y · appointed 2011-10-26 · resigned 2025-11-17
Resigned

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

Recent filings (69 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-24
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-17
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-11-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-11-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-11-26