ARMATANK LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04527755 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-05
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25290
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 88-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 88). 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 (79/100)

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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
69 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Sept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Average employees00

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 (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-07-23
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  4. 2024-07-17
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  5. 2024-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-03-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-02-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-01-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-09-05
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  12. 2018-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-09-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  14. 2017-09-01
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  15. 2017-05-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-07-28
    ➖
    FIDLER, John Gary resigned
    director
  17. 2004-09-30
    ➖
    CASSIDY, Patrick resigned
    director
  18. 2004-09-30
    ➖
    EDWARDS, Gerard resigned
    director
  19. 2003-06-26
    ➕
    FIDLER, John Barrie appointed
    director
  20. 2003-06-26
    ➕
    CASSIDY, Patrick appointed
    director
  21. 2003-06-26
    ➕
    EDWARDS, Gerard appointed
    director
  22. 2003-02-01
    ➕
    MCHUGH, Sean Farrell appointed
    secretary
  23. 2003-02-01
    ➖
    CORPORATE SECRETARIES UK LTD resigned
    corporate-secretary
  24. 2003-02-01
    ➕
    FIDLER, John Gary appointed
    director
  25. 2003-02-01
    ➖
    CORPORATE DIRECTORS UK LTD resigned
    corporate-director
  26. 2002-09-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARMATANK LIMITED
  27. 2002-09-05
    ➕
    CORPORATE SECRETARIES UK LTD appointed
    corporate-secretary
  28. 2002-09-05
    ➕
    CORPORATE DIRECTORS UK LTD appointed
    corporate-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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 88 — 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 88 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 23 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Gary Fidler
Individual · English · DOB 08/1964 · age 62
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting30/06/2016
Mr John Barrie Fidler
Individual · British · DOB 09/1938 · age 88
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting30/06/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · FY postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
A&S FABRICATION SERVICES LIMITED→
10838212 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
AFD FRENCH POLISHING LIMITED→
15003700 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
AI REHAB LTD→
11896710 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————7y——
ALLPLAY KINETICS LTD→
14472174 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
APEX ACCESS-ELECTRICAL SOLUTIONS LTD→
10307899 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
————9y——
APEX MOBILE LOCKSMITHS LTD→
10781310 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
ARTISTS R US LTD→
16844769 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ASTRAL SHEET METAL LIMITED→
06831363 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
————17y——
ATKINSONS TRADITIONAL JOINERY LTD→
11069254 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
AUTO MOTOR LTD→
08269047 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————13y——
AVC SYSTEMS LTD→
12220012 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
B2 HELI-SERVICES LTD→
13412711 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————4y——
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
Incorporated2002-09-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25290 — SIC 25290

Registered office

Unit 2 Olympic Court
Whitehills Business Park
Blackpool
Lancashire
FY4 5GU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-07
Last: 2025-08-24

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

MCHUGH, Sean Farrell→
secretary · appointed 2003-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FIDLER, John Barrie→
director · ~88y · appointed 2003-06-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CORPORATE SECRETARIES UK LTD→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-09-05 · resigned 2003-02-01
Resigned
CASSIDY, Patrick→
director · ~61y · appointed 2003-06-26 · resigned 2004-09-30
Resigned
EDWARDS, Gerard→
director · ~65y · appointed 2003-06-26 · resigned 2004-09-30
Resigned
FIDLER, John Gary→
director · ~62y · appointed 2003-02-01 · resigned 2015-07-28
Resigned
CORPORATE DIRECTORS UK LTD→
corporate-director · appointed 2002-09-05 · resigned 2003-02-01
Resigned

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

Recent filings (69 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-06-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-29
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2024-07-23
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2024-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-04-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-02-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-01-08