ARDIESS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04607188 · ltd · incorporated 2002-12-03

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 Jan 2026

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 16290

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

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

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

59 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2026-01-31	2025-01-31
Average employees	600	-500

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-07-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-09-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-06-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-07-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-12-21
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-01-05
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-05-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2002-12-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As ARDIESS LIMITED
2002-12-03
➕
SHEPPARD, April Jane appointed
secretary
2002-12-03
➕
SHEPPARD, Robert David appointed
director
2002-12-03
➕
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-12-03
➖
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2002-12-03
➕
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2002-12-03
➖
WATERLOW NOMINEES 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

2 active beneficial owners

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Robert David Sheppard Individual · British · DOB 05/1962 · age 64	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016
Mrs April Jane Sheppard Individual · British · DOB 06/1963 · age 63	25–50%	25–50%	25-50% shares · 25-50% voting	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Manufacturing · NG postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A & S FABRICATIONS (NOTTINGHAM) LIMITED→ 01806998 · est 1984 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	42y	—	—
A S DOUGHTY LIMITED→ 03435478 · est 1997 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	28y	—	—
ALIGHT INK LTD→ 11851580 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	7y	—	—
ALPHA INTERIOR DESIGNS LTD→ 13326248 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AMS SANDERSON LIMITED→ 06887562 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
ANGUS LIFT TRUCKS LIMITED→ 03700201 · est 1999 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	27y	—	—
APPLIED APPAREL LIMITED→ 06038613 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
ARETON LIMITED→ 09397231 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ARIEL COMPONENT PARTS LIMITED→ 12955259 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ARLO ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 08814046 · est 2013 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	12y	—	—
ARMFIELD CONTROL SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 04718256 · est 2003 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
ARMOURED MARTIAL ARTS LTD→ 15217227 · 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

Incorporated2002-12-03

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC16290 — SIC 16290

Registered office

Unit 1 Cressyholme Farm

Bullpit Road Balderton

Newark

Nottinghamshire

NG24 3LZ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-10-31

Last made up to: 2026-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-17

Last: 2025-12-03

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

SHEPPARD, April Jane→

secretary · appointed 2002-12-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SHEPPARD, Robert David→

director · ~64y · appointed 2002-12-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-12-03 · resigned 2002-12-03

Resigned

WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-12-03 · resigned 2002-12-03

Resigned

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