3D FOILS LTD
🌳Matureactive
03851645 · ltd · incorporated 1999-10-01
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
£34.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46760
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle 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. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
65 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £34,562
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£35k
↑ 133% YoY
Current Assets
£60k
↑ 79% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £36.5k | £16.7k |
| Current assets | £59.5k | £33.2k |
| Net assets | £34.6k | £14.9k |
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 (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-11-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-12📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-05-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-10-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2007-12-31➕MERRICK, Phillippa Sharon appointeddirector
- 1999-10-01🏢Company incorporatedAs 3D FOILS LTD
- 1999-10-01➕MERRICK, Phillippa Sharon appointedsecretary
- 1999-10-01➕MERRICK, Paul Jeffrey appointeddirector
Owner dependency
84/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong 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.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 27 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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
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 Paul Jeffrey Merrick Individual · British · DOB 07/1965 · age 61 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 01/10/2016 |
Mrs Phillippa Sharon Merrick Individual · British · DOB 05/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 01/10/2016 |
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
Active · Wholesale & distribution · SY postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1505 LUXURY LIMITED→ 16257985 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A & H SWEETS & SOFT DRINKS LTD→ 04954721 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| A & N FEED LTD→ 06532745 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| A & N GRAIN TRADING LTD→ 06772299 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| A P SOURCING LIMITED→ 07891269 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| A.T. WILDE AND SON LIMITED→ 01842765 · est 1984 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| ABERYSTWYTH COFFEE COMPANY LTD→ 13706027 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABERYSTWYTH SOFT DRINKS LTD→ 10459362 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACT AGRI LTD→ 16680542 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AFFILIATED APPAREL LTD→ 13007856 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AG SPIRITS LTD→ 15786066 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AGRI-DROID UK LTD→ 13675258 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1999-10-01
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46760 — SIC 46760
Registered office
Unit 2, Farmore Mill
Shrewsbury Road
Craven Arms
SY7 9QQ
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-15
Last: 2025-10-01
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
MERRICK, Phillippa Sharon→
Activesecretary · appointed 1999-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MERRICK, Paul Jeffrey→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 1999-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MERRICK, Phillippa Sharon→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2007-12-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (65 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-11-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-30