FOCUS SIGNS (LINCOLNSHIRE) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04600149 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-25

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 2024

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 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

1 live charge · oldest 23.3y

45/100

under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

· Oldest live charge is 23.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (70/100)

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

1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)

Directors & officers

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

76 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

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

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-09-30
Average employees	200

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2026-06-29
📄
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-06-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-06-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-12-07
📍
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2018-06-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-06-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-06-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-12-09
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-12-09
📍
move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
address · AD03
2015-12-09
📍
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2009-03-16
➕
THORNDIKE, Serena appointed
secretary
2008-10-21
➖
JOHNSON HUNT (UK) LIMITED resigned
corporate-secretary
2003-04-20
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
2002-11-25
🏢
Company incorporated
As FOCUS SIGNS (LINCOLNSHIRE) LIMITED
2002-11-25
➕
THORNDIKE, Andrew Max appointed
director
2002-11-25
➕
JOHNSON HUNT (UK) LIMITED appointed
corporate-secretary
2002-11-25
➕
SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-11-25
➖
SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-11-25
➕
CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-11-25
➖
CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED 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 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Andrew Max Thorndike Individual · British · DOB 12/1962 · age 64	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	01/11/2016

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 · LN postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
EVOLUTION EXHIBITION PRODUCTION LIMITED→ 03778918 · est 1999 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	26y	—	—
FABRIFORM ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 04453376 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
FAWCETT AGGREGATES LIMITED→ 13493162 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
FENLAND ELEVATOR SERVICES LIMITED→ 13490389 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
FILTAPAC LIMITED→ 07903596 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
FINE ARTLINCS LIMITED→ 01382285 · est 1978 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	47y	—	—
FIRST CLASS PRINTERS LIMITED→ 12812491 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
FIZZCO LIMITED→ 06254152 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
FLAIR HORSEBOXES LTD→ 08284133 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
FORTEX ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 08804584 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
FOX EARTHWORKS LIMITED→ 16093715 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
FRAGRANCES UK LIMITED→ 07453248 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	—	—

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

Incorporated2002-11-25

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC32990 — Other manufacturing n.e.c.

Registered office

Wellbeck Barn

Well

Alford

Lincolnshire

LN13 9LT

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-29

Last made up to: 2024-09-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-09

Last: 2025-11-25

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

THORNDIKE, Serena→

secretary · appointed 2009-03-16

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

THORNDIKE, Andrew Max→

director · ~64y · appointed 2002-11-25

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

JOHNSON HUNT (UK) LIMITED→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2008-10-21

Resigned

SECRETARIAL APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2002-11-25

Resigned

CORPORATE APPOINTMENTS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-25 · resigned 2002-11-25

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown

			Type	Properties
	outstanding	HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC	Debenture	1 property	20/04/2003	—

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (76 total)

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened

accounts · AA01

2026-06-29

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-12-03