ARBORSOLVE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04609364 · ltd · incorporated 2002-12-05
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 02400
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 73). 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 19.2y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 19.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
69 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
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£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Average employees1100

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-08-14
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  4. 2023-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-12-20
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AAMD
  11. 2017-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-02-08
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AAMD
  13. 2016-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-01-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2007-03-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
  17. 2007-01-01
    ➖
    HICKEY, Patricia resigned
    secretary
  18. 2007-01-01
    ➖
    HICKEY, Patricia resigned
    director
  19. 2005-12-22
    ➕
    HICKEY, Patricia appointed
    secretary
  20. 2005-12-22
    ➖
    HICKEY, Sean resigned
    secretary
  21. 2005-12-22
    ➕
    HICKEY, Patricia appointed
    director
  22. 2003-12-19
    ➖
    HICKEY, Shane Patrick resigned
    director
  23. 2002-12-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ARBORSOLVE LIMITED
  24. 2002-12-05
    ➕
    HICKEY, Sean appointed
    director
  25. 2002-12-05
    ➕
    HICKEY, Sean appointed
    secretary
  26. 2002-12-05
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2002-12-05
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2002-12-05
    ➕
    HICKEY, Shane Patrick appointed
    director
  29. 2002-12-05
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 2002-12-05
    ➖
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-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 73 — 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 73 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 23 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
Sean Hickey
Individual · British · DOB 11/1953 · age 73
75–100%
—75-100% shares30/06/2016

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

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999 PEST CONTROL LIMITED→
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ARC TREE SURGERY LIMITED→
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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
Incorporated2002-12-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC02400 — SIC 02400

Registered office

4b Church Street
Diss
Norfolk
IP22 4DD

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-01
Last: 2025-11-17

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

HICKEY, Sean→
director · ~73y · appointed 2002-12-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HICKEY, Patricia→
secretary · appointed 2005-12-22 · resigned 2007-01-01
Resigned
HICKEY, Sean→
secretary · appointed 2002-12-05 · resigned 2005-12-22
Resigned
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-12-05 · resigned 2002-12-05
Resigned
HICKEY, Patricia→
director · ~85y · appointed 2005-12-22 · resigned 2007-01-01
Resigned
HICKEY, Shane Patrick→
director · ~45y · appointed 2002-12-05 · resigned 2003-12-19
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-12-05 · resigned 2002-12-05
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Commercial Finance Limited
All assets debenture1 property29/03/2007—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (69 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-13
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2024-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-30