2020SADDLEWORTH LTD

💤Zombieactive
04475689 · ltd · incorporated 2002-07-02
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other human health activities
Sector: Human health & social work
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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: low (53/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
63 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.

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  2. 2025-06-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-06-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-06-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-05-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-06-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-08-26
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-08-26
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2015-06-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-07-31
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2010-07-01
    ➖
    JOHNSTON, Christine resigned
    secretary
  17. 2002-07-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 2020SADDLEWORTH LTD
  18. 2002-07-02
    ➕
    JOHNSTON, Iain Douglas appointed
    director
  19. 2002-07-02
    ➕
    JOHNSTON, Christine appointed
    secretary
  20. 2002-07-02
    ➕
    @UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2002-07-02
    ➖
    @UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2002-07-02
    ➕
    @UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 2002-07-02
    ➖
    @UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD 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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • 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

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 Iain Douglas Johnston
Individual · British · DOB 07/1964 · age 62
75–100%
75–100%board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence02/07/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2002-07-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC86900 — Other human health activities

Registered office

61 High Street
Uppermill
Oldham
OL3 6AP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-13
Last: 2025-06-29

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

JOHNSTON, Iain Douglas→
director · ~62y · appointed 2002-07-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSTON, Christine→
secretary · appointed 2002-07-02 · resigned 2010-07-01
Resigned
@UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-07-02 · resigned 2002-07-02
Resigned
@UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-07-02 · resigned 2002-07-02
Resigned

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

Recent filings (63 total)

change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-06-17