ANIMALS ARE US LTD
🌳Matureactive
04452812 · ltd · incorporated 2002-05-31
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.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Nov 2024
Net worth
£-490.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
83/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Veterinary activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 83/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 2 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 21.3y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 21.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Cashflow trend is negative — lender view likely cautious.
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, 1 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
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
71 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
83/100Exceptional
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
85
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 £490,601
Cash YoY
-24%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£5k
↓ 24% YoY
Net Worth
-£491k
↓ 40% YoY
Current Assets
£65k
↓ 38% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-490.6k | £-350.5k |
| Current assets | £64.9k | £104.7k |
| Cash | £4.6k | £6.0k |
| Debtors | £38.9k | £77.4k |
| Net assets | £-490.6k | £-350.5k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
3 signals 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 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-08📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2023-11-21📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2023-10-31📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2022-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-12📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-03-09➕MWANGI, David appointeddirector
- 2021-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-31📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2020-01-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-01-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2012-07-01➖MUGE, Jacqueline resignedsecretary
- 2007-08-02🔒Charge registered #2Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2005-03-14🔒Charge registered #1Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
- 2003-01-01➕MUGE, Jacqueline appointedsecretary
- 2003-01-01➖GIBSON SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2002-06-10➖FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-06-10➖FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-05-31🏢Company incorporatedAs ANIMALS ARE US LTD
- 2002-05-31➕MUGE, David, Dr appointeddirector
- 2002-05-31➕FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-05-31➕GIBSON SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2002-05-31➕FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
76/100
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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
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 63. 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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.)
Group structure
Liberty May Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Liberty May Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
⬇
ANIMALS ARE US LTD
This company · 04452812
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberty May Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 24/01/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| ANEWLIFEUK LIMITED→ 11664496 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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| ANOJ ACCOUNTANCY LTD→ 11765805 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ANRA CONSULTANCY LTD→ 10205273 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ANSI (UK) LIMITED→ 06338296 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| AODESIGN LIMITED→ 09865609 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-05-31
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC75000 — Veterinary activities
Registered office
Petwell House
319 Station Road
Hayes
UB3 4JF
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-29
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-14
Last: 2026-05-31
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
MUGE, David, Dr→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2002-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MWANGI, David→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2022-03-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MUGE, Jacqueline→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-01-01 · resigned 2012-07-01
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-05-31 · resigned 2002-06-10
GIBSON SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2002-05-31 · resigned 2003-01-01
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-05-31 · resigned 2002-06-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 02/08/2007 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 14/03/2005 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (71 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-17
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-12-08
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2023-11-21
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-31
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2021-08-31