APPLIED LABEL SOLUTIONS LTD

💤Zombieactive
04590157 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-14
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£996.8k
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 17230
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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 (75/100)

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
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
60 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £996,822

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£997k
↑ 29% YoY
Current Assets
£1.1m
↑ 39% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£222k£444k£666k£889k£1.1mMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£1.11M£774.3k
Current assets£1.11M£801.2k
Cash—£714.8k
Debtors—£70.4k
Net assets£996.8k£774.3k

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-08-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-10-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-10-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2015-11-23
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-05-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2014-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2014-11-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2013-12-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2010-07-07
    ➖
    SHARP, Cathy Rose resigned
    secretary
  17. 2002-11-15
    ➖
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  18. 2002-11-15
    ➖
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  19. 2002-11-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As APPLIED LABEL SOLUTIONS LTD
  20. 2002-11-14
    ➕
    SHARP, Darren Nigel appointed
    director
  21. 2002-11-14
    ➕
    SHARP, Cathy Rose appointed
    secretary
  22. 2002-11-14
    ➕
    BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2002-11-14
    ➕
    BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    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 59 — 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 59. 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 Darren Nigel Sharp
Individual · British · DOB 07/1967 · age 59
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · HU postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
A-TEC SERVICES (HUMBER) LIMITED→
09847093 · est 2015 · no financials extracted
————10y——
A.RUSSELL TECH SERVICES LTD→
16881827 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
AIR CORP GLOBAL LIMITED→
14583787 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
AIRDUCT LIMITED→
02625403 · est 1991 · no financials extracted
————34y——
ALLAM GENERATORS LIMITED→
05620647 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————20y——
ALLAM POWER LIMITED→
02708090 · est 1992 · no financials extracted
————33y——
ALS (HULL) LTD→
15593796 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————2y——
ANTI VANDAL CABINS HULL LIMITED→
15669357 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
APROLIS UK LIMITED→
02550150 · est 1990 · no financials extracted
————35y——
ARF IMPERIUM LIMITED→
16098395 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
ARH MODULAR HOMES LTD→
10902590 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————8y——
ARH PORTABLE BUILDINGS LIMITED→
15258123 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
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.

See pricing →

Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2002-11-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC17230 — SIC 17230

Registered office

3 Blucher Lane
Beverley
East Yorkshire
HU17 0PT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-27
Last: 2025-11-13

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

SHARP, Darren Nigel→
director · ~59y · appointed 2002-11-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHARP, Cathy Rose→
secretary · appointed 2002-11-14 · resigned 2010-07-07
Resigned
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-14 · resigned 2002-11-15
Resigned
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-14 · resigned 2002-11-15
Resigned

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

Recent filings (60 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-11-19