ARCANE RESTAURANTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03809981 · ltd · incorporated 1999-07-20
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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 (73/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
9 officers (1 active, 9 linked, 4 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
88 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-31
Average employees0

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-31
    📍
    move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
    address · AD03
  3. 2024-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-10-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-11-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  10. 2018-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-08-29
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  13. 2017-08-07
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  14. 2017-07-31
    ➖
    KELLY, James Cameron resigned
    director
  15. 2017-07-20
    ➖
    KELLY, James Cameron resigned
    secretary
  16. 2016-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2012-11-07
    ➖
    BROWNE, Simon Hugo resigned
    director
  18. 2010-11-12
    ➕
    HIRST, Damien Steven appointed
    director
  19. 2010-11-12
    ➕
    KELLY, James Cameron appointed
    secretary
  20. 2010-11-12
    ➖
    WILSON, Alice resigned
    secretary
  21. 2010-11-12
    ➕
    KELLY, James Cameron appointed
    director
  22. 2003-08-01
    ➖
    DUNPHY, Erskine Francis resigned
    secretary
  23. 2003-08-01
    ➕
    WILSON, Alice appointed
    secretary
  24. 1999-12-16
    ➕
    BROWNE, Simon Hugo appointed
    director
  25. 1999-12-16
    ➖
    HIRST, Damien Steven resigned
    director
  26. 1999-07-20
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARCANE RESTAURANTS LIMITED
  27. 1999-07-20
    ➕
    DUNPHY, Erskine Francis appointed
    secretary
  28. 1999-07-20
    ➕
    EDEN SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  29. 1999-07-20
    ➖
    EDEN SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 1999-07-20
    ➕
    HIRST, Damien Steven appointed
    director
  31. 1999-07-20
    ➕
    GLASSMILL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  32. 1999-07-20
    ➖
    GLASSMILL LIMITED resigned
    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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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 Damien Steven Hirst
Individual · British · DOB 06/1965 · age 61
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 →

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ARKELSO LIMITED→
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————11y——
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
Incorporated1999-07-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Eighth Floor 6 New Street Square
New Fetter Lane
London
EC4A 3AQ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-08-03
Last: 2026-07-20

Officers (1 active · 8 resigned)

HIRST, Damien Steven→
director · ~61y · appointed 2010-11-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DUNPHY, Erskine Francis→
secretary · appointed 1999-07-20 · resigned 2003-08-01
Resigned
KELLY, James Cameron→
secretary · appointed 2010-11-12 · resigned 2017-07-20
Resigned
WILSON, Alice→
secretary · appointed 2003-08-01 · resigned 2010-11-12
Resigned
EDEN SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-07-20 · resigned 1999-07-20
Resigned
BROWNE, Simon Hugo→
director · ~70y · appointed 1999-12-16 · resigned 2012-11-07
Resigned
HIRST, Damien Steven→
director · ~61y · appointed 1999-07-20 · resigned 1999-12-16
Resigned
KELLY, James Cameron→
director · ~69y · appointed 2010-11-12 · resigned 2017-07-31
Resigned
GLASSMILL LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-07-20 · resigned 1999-07-20
Resigned

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

Recent filings (88 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-31
move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
address · AD03
2025-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2019-10-09