APIS FILMS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03882944 · ltd · incorporated 1999-11-25
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£2.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Motion picture production activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 59112Video production activities
  • 59113Television programme production activities
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Deleverage or restructure. Leverage at 100% of assets — consider sale of non-core assets or equity injection. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 3 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
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
64 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 · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £2,235
High leverage
Liabilities are 100% of total assets
Net assets shrinking
Down £8,822 YoY
Leverage
100%
Liabilities / Total assets

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£2k
↓ 80% YoY
Current Assets
£2k
↓ 52% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£2k£4k£7k£9k£11kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£24.0k£11.1k
Current assets£1.9k£3.8k
Cash—£3.8k
Net assets£2.2k£11.1k

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 (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-11-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-12-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2015-12-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-11-29
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2014-12-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-12-24
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  15. 2014-12-24
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  16. 1999-11-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As APIS FILMS LIMITED
  17. 1999-11-25
    ➕
    HUGHES DUNANT, Caroline appointed
    secretary
  18. 1999-11-25
    ➕
    HUGHES, Ben appointed
    director
  19. 1999-11-25
    ➕
    JPCORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 1999-11-25
    ➖
    JPCORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 1999-11-25
    ➕
    JPCORD LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  22. 1999-11-25
    ➖
    JPCORD 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 27 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

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 Ben Hughes
Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63
75–100%
—75-100% shares25/11/2016

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 · Technology · NR postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ALEX SCOTTON WEB DEVELOPMENT LTD→
12221125 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
ALFARISI LTD→
16465959 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
AMSTERISK LIMITED→
07609785 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
————14y——
ANDRO IT LIMITED→
16931666 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ANGLIA COMPUTER SOLUTIONS BUSINESS LIMITED→
09865554 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
ANOKHI LIMITED→
03953611 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
————26y——
ANS LINE LTD→
16233962 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ANTICIPATORY HEALTH LIMITED→
08970066 · est 2014 · no financials extracted
————12y——
APPLIED STUDIOS LIMITED→
06927079 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
————16y——
AQUAVATE SAFETY SOLUTIONS LTD→
16548758 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
AR-RAZZAAKH LTD→
16272939 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ARASAKA CORPORATION LIMITED→
13114759 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
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
Incorporated1999-11-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC59111 — Motion picture production activities

Registered office

Hazeldene Farm Woodgate
Swanton Morley
Dereham
Norfolk
NR20 4NU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-06
Last: 2025-11-22

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

HUGHES DUNANT, Caroline→
secretary · appointed 1999-11-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HUGHES, Ben→
director · ~63y · appointed 1999-11-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JPCORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-11-25 · resigned 1999-11-25
Resigned
JPCORD LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-11-25 · resigned 1999-11-25
Resigned

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

Recent filings (64 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-12-03