032 DESIGN LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04172945 · ltd · incorporated 2001-03-06
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
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 21.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Advertising agencies
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 21.4y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 21.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (55/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
61 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
65
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
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 (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-08📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-11-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2015-07-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-03-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2005-01-10🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
- 2003-03-31➕CROSS, Jim appointeddirector
- 2001-03-06🏢Company incorporatedAs 032 DESIGN LIMITED
- 2001-03-06➕BROOKS, Joanne Marie appointedsecretary
- 2001-03-06➕BARNES, Colin Bruce appointeddirector
Owner dependency
68/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
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 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
66/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 25 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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 Colin Bruce Barnes Individual · British · DOB 09/1970 · age 56 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Mr Jim Cross Individual · British · DOB 10/1973 · age 53 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| 2ND TIME AROUND LIMITED→ 05286834 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2001-03-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC73110 — Advertising agencies
Registered office
Bridge House, Orchard Lane
Great Glen
Leicestershire
LE8 9GJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-20
Last: 2026-03-06
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
BROOKS, Joanne Marie→
Activesecretary · appointed 2001-03-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARNES, Colin Bruce→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2001-03-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 10/01/2005 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (61 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-08
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-11-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-10