A. ARDRON LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04872697 · ltd · incorporated 2003-08-20
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
£212.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -49% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
56 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £212,346
Net assets shrinking
Down £12,803 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 49% YoY
Cash YoY
-49%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£107k
↓ 49% YoY
Net Worth
£212k
↓ 5.7% YoY
Current Assets
£216k
↓ 8.0% 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 | £212.7k | £225.4k |
| Current assets | £216.2k | £234.9k |
| Cash | £106.5k | £209.4k |
| Net assets | £212.3k | £225.1k |
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 (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-02📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-01-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-08-12📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2005-10-18➕ARDON, Shirley appointedsecretary
- 2005-10-18➖ARDRON, Donna Marie resignedsecretary
- 2003-08-20🏢Company incorporatedAs A. ARDRON LIMITED
- 2003-08-20➕ARDRON, Andrew appointeddirector
- 2003-08-20➕ARDRON, Donna Marie appointedsecretary
- 2003-08-20➕QA REGISTRARS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-08-20➖QA REGISTRARS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-08-20➕QA NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-08-20➖QA NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "ARDRON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- 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
cleanNo 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 Ardron Individual · British · DOB 02/1969 · age 57 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. COWLEY & SONS LIMITED→ 03023799 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
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| ABYSSINIAN FRIENDS ASSOCIATION (AFA)→ 11811332 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACADEMY CLEANING SERVICES (UK) LIMITED→ 07273925 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ACADEMY SALON WITH EMMA WARD LTD→ 16812461 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACAHM&CO LIMITED→ 14597619 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACCESS HORIZONS LTD→ 11204497 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACCIDENT LIABILITY INVESTIGATIONS LIMITED→ 08108639 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ACE DRAINS (YORKSHIRE) LIMITED→ 14241200 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2003-08-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
6 Butterleys
Dodworth
Barnsley
South Yorkshire
S75 3TD
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-16
Last: 2025-08-02
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
ARDRON, Andrew→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2003-08-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ARDRON, Donna Marie→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2003-08-20 · resigned 2005-10-18
QA REGISTRARS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-08-20 · resigned 2003-08-20
QA NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-08-20 · resigned 2003-08-20
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (56 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-19