AARDVARK PROMOTIONS LTD

💤Zombieactive
03947686 · ltd · incorporated 2000-03-14
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
£18.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does

Acting as a commercial agent in the wholesale and retail sector, this Bristol-based business most likely manages sales representation and promotional activities across a range of goods on behalf of third-party suppliers or manufacturers.

Primary activity: Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). 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 (78/100)

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
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
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
71 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 £18,217
Net assets shrinking
Down £291 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
£18k
↓ 1.6% YoY
Current Assets
£75k
↓ 6.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£16k£32k£48k£64k£80kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£19.1k£23.5k
Current assets£74.6k£79.7k
Net assets£18.2k£18.5k

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-04-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2022-04-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2022-03-29
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2021-11-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-02-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-12-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-03-29
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-12-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-03-31
    PETTINGER, Colleen Anne resigned
    secretary
  17. 2014-03-31
    PETTINGER, Colleen Anne resigned
    director
  18. 2002-03-17
    CRAWFORD, Alan Cameron Stewart resigned
    secretary
  19. 2002-03-17
    PETTINGER, Colleen Anne appointed
    secretary
  20. 2000-05-08
    PETTINGER, Richard Henry appointed
    director
  21. 2000-05-08
    CRAWFORD, Alan Cameron Stewart appointed
    secretary
  22. 2000-05-08
    SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2000-05-08
    PETTINGER, Colleen Anne appointed
    director
  24. 2000-05-08
    CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 2000-03-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AARDVARK PROMOTIONS LTD
  26. 2000-03-14
    SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2000-03-14
    CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
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 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Richard Henry Pettinger
Individual · British · DOB 05/1956 · age 70
sig. influencesignificant influence06/04/2016

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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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
Incorporated2000-03-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46190 — Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods

Registered office

Suite 1 Liberty House
South Liberty Lane
Bristol
BS3 2ST
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-28
Last: 2026-03-14

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

PETTINGER, Richard Henry
director · ~70y · appointed 2000-05-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CRAWFORD, Alan Cameron Stewart
secretary · appointed 2000-05-08 · resigned 2002-03-17
Resigned
PETTINGER, Colleen Anne
secretary · appointed 2002-03-17 · resigned 2014-03-31
Resigned
SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-03-14 · resigned 2000-05-08
Resigned
PETTINGER, Colleen Anne
director · ~74y · appointed 2000-05-08 · resigned 2014-03-31
Resigned
CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2000-03-14 · resigned 2000-05-08
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-14
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-04-06
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-04-06
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-02-03