DEPARTMENT 83 LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04265144 · ltd · incorporated 2001-08-06
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 22.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2025
Net worth
£-347.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 03120
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 03220SIC 03220
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 22.6y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 22.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £347,801
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£348k
↓ 32% YoY
Current Assets
£544k
↑ 147% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £262.7k | £170.7k |
| Current assets | £543.8k | £220.0k |
| Net assets | £-347.8k | £-262.9k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-29📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2025-08-28🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Nucleus Cash Flow FINANCE2 Limited
- 2025-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-29📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-08-23📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-08-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-04-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2003-11-20🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
- 2001-08-06🏢Company incorporatedAs DEPARTMENT 83 LIMITED
- 2001-08-06➕HANDLEY, Jonathan Paul appointedsecretary
- 2001-08-06➕HANDLEY, Jonathan Paul appointeddirector
- 2001-08-06➕HANDLEY, Lucy Jane appointeddirector
- 2001-08-06➕SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-08-06➖SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2001-08-06➕WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2001-08-06➖WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
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 25 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
86/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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 Jonathan Paul Handley Individual · British · DOB 08/1962 · age 64 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 08/03/2024 |
Mrs Lucy Jane Handley Individual · British · DOB 09/1964 · age 62 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| D.W. PICKFORD & SON LIMITED→ 04665620 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
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| F.J. SNOOK & SONS LIMITED→ 00627291 · est 1959 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 66y | — | — |
| F.N.HUES AND SONS LIMITED→ 00567267 · est 1956 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 69y | — | — |
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| FERN FARM CANINE COUNTRY CLUB LIMITED→ 15351431 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| FERNHAM FARM LTD→ 03865939 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| FIELD & FOREST LIMITED→ 03666963 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2001-08-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC03120 — SIC 03120
Registered office
Studio N Wagon Yard
London Road
Marlborough
Wiltshire
SN8 1LH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-30
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-20
Last: 2025-08-06
Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)
HANDLEY, Jonathan Paul→
Activesecretary · appointed 2001-08-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HANDLEY, Jonathan Paul→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2001-08-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HANDLEY, Lucy Jane→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2001-08-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SAME-DAY COMPANY SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-08-06 · resigned 2001-08-06
WILDMAN & BATTELL LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-08-06 · resigned 2001-08-06
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Nucleus Cash Flow FINANCE2 Nucleus Cash Flow FINANCE2 Limited | A registered charge | — | 28/08/2025 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 20/11/2003 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (64 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-28
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2025-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-11
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-05-29
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-08-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-26