AARDMAN TRUSTEES LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
03668244 · ltd · incorporated 1998-11-16
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (60/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (4 active, 9 linked, 7 with DOB)
86
Ownership & PSC
3 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
20 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
73 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
4
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
5
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-03-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-21📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-02-21📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-02-15➕CAVE, Joanna Louise appointeddirector
- 2024-02-15➖LOCK, Kerry Anthony resigneddirector
- 2023-08-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-09📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2019-12-30➖SPROXTON, David Alan resignedsecretary
- 2019-12-17➕CLARKE, Sean Michael appointeddirector
- 2019-12-17➕LOCK, Kerry Anthony appointeddirector
- 2019-12-17📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2019-12-17📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2019-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 1998-12-11➕LORD, Peter Duncan Fraser appointeddirector
- 1998-12-11➕SPROXTON, David Alan appointeddirector
- 1998-12-11➕SPROXTON, David Alan appointedsecretary
- 1998-12-11➖STAUNTON, Robin Mark resignednominee-secretary
- 1998-12-11➖PYPER, Timothy Edward resignednominee-director
- 1998-12-11➖STAUNTON, Robin Mark resignednominee-director
- 1998-11-16🏢Company incorporatedAs AARDMAN TRUSTEES LIMITED
- 1998-11-16➕STAUNTON, Robin Mark appointednominee-secretary
- 1998-11-16➕PYPER, Timothy Edward appointednominee-director
- 1998-11-16➕STAUNTON, Robin Mark appointednominee-director
Owner dependency
65/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 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.)
Group structure
Aardman Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Aardman Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
⬇
AARDMAN TRUSTEES LIMITED
This company · 03668244
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
3 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aardman Holdings Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Peter Duncan Fraser Lord Individual · British · DOB 11/1953 · age 73 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
Mr David Alan Sproxton Individual · British · DOB 01/1954 · age 72 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 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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| 360 MENTORING LIMITED→ 14464105 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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| ABBEYMOOR VETERINARY CENTRES LIMITED→ 08028440 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ABBOTSKERSWELL VETERINARY CENTRE LIMITED→ 10387254 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ABH ENERGY LLP→ OC353905 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ABITAL LP→ LP016654 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated1998-11-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999
Registered office
Gas Ferry Road
Bristol
BS1 6UN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-14
Last: 2025-12-31
Officers (4 active · 5 resigned)
CAVE, Joanna Louise→
Activedirector · ~50y · appointed 2024-02-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CLARKE, Sean Michael→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2019-12-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LORD, Peter Duncan Fraser→
Activedirector · ~73y · appointed 1998-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SPROXTON, David Alan→
Activedirector · ~72y · appointed 1998-12-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SPROXTON, David Alan→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1998-12-11 · resigned 2019-12-30
STAUNTON, Robin Mark→
Resignednominee-secretary · appointed 1998-11-16 · resigned 1998-12-11
LOCK, Kerry Anthony→
Resigneddirector · ~57y · appointed 2019-12-17 · resigned 2024-02-15
PYPER, Timothy Edward→
Resignednominee-director · ~82y · appointed 1998-11-16 · resigned 1998-12-11
STAUNTON, Robin Mark→
Resignednominee-director · ~69y · appointed 1998-11-16 · resigned 1998-12-11
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (73 total)
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-30
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-30
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-12
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-02-21
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-10-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-10