BABEL SCHOOL OF DANCE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

04552610 · ltd · incorporated 2002-10-03

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

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Aug 2025

Net worth

£9.6k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c.

Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (3 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

1 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

58 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £9,622

Net assets shrinking

Down £1,741 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

£10k

↓ 15% YoY

Current Assets

£6k

↑ 18% 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	£9.6k	£11.4k
Current assets	£6.4k	£5.5k
Net assets	£9.6k	£11.4k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2026-05-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-06
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accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-22
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accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-14
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accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-05-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-10-31
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-10-29
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-06-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2002-10-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As BABEL SCHOOL OF DANCE LIMITED
2002-10-03
➕
HALDER, Simon John appointed
secretary
2002-10-03
➕
RIDLEY, Paul appointed
director
2002-10-03
➕
RIDLEY, Sara Tracy appointed
director
2002-10-03
➕
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-10-03
➖
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-10-03
➕
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-10-03
➖
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

91/100

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

+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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
+Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. 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

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

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mrs Sara Tracy Ridley Individual · British · DOB 05/1960 · age 66	25–50%	—	25-50% shares	03/09/2016

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.

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Similar companies

Active · Leisure & entertainment · AL postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ALEX CAMACHO GRAPHICS LIMITED→ 08698886 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
AMA LOUISE LTD→ 15687446 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ANNOUNCEMENT PRODUCTIONS LTD→ 07598825 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	—	—
APF OPERATIONS LTD→ 16925623 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ARTSEEN CIC→ 16315856 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ASPIRE FITNESS ESSEX LIMITED→ 10232690 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
AUDIOBOOK NARRATION UK LIMITED→ 17053910 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AURIEL HOLIDAYS LIMITED→ 12590018 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
BARN THEATRE CLUB LIMITED→ 00759007 · est 1963 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	62y	—	—
BARNET ELIZABETHANS RUGBY FOOTBALL CLUB LIMITED→ 07144459 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
BATTLEKART ST ALBANS LTD→ 15338144 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
BEATBIKE STUDIOS LTD→ 08068664 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—

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.

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🔒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

Incorporated2002-10-03

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC93290 — Other amusement and recreation activities n.e.c.

Registered office

43 De Tany Court

St. Albans

Hertfordshire

AL1 1TX

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-05-31

Last made up to: 2025-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-17

Last: 2025-10-03

Officers (3 active · 2 resigned)

HALDER, Simon John→

secretary · appointed 2002-10-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RIDLEY, Paul→

director · ~66y · appointed 2002-10-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

RIDLEY, Sara Tracy→

director · ~66y · appointed 2002-10-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-10-03 · resigned 2002-10-03

Resigned

INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-10-03 · resigned 2002-10-03

Resigned

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