APPLIED PERSONNEL SOLUTIONS LTD

💤Zombieactive
04941482 · ltd · incorporated 2003-10-23
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 30300
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 84220SIC 84220
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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: low (54/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
63 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.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-11
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  2. 2025-11-14
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  3. 2025-04-06
    ➖
    MATTHEWS, Paula Anne resigned
    secretary
  4. 2025-02-08
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2025-02-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-01-14
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  7. 2024-10-05
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  8. 2024-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2024-10-01
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  10. 2023-10-25
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  11. 2023-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2023-09-26
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  13. 2022-09-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2022-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2022-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2021-11-18
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  17. 2021-02-06
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  18. 2020-12-29
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  19. 2019-08-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  20. 2003-10-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As APPLIED PERSONNEL SOLUTIONS LTD
  21. 2003-10-23
    ➕
    MATTHEWS, Stuart Leslie appointed
    director
  22. 2003-10-23
    ➕
    MATTHEWS, Paula Anne appointed
    secretary

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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — 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 63. 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 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stuart Leslie Matthews
Individual · British · DOB 03/1963 · age 63
25–50%
—25-50% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Paula Anne Matthewsceased 01/01/2025· 25-50% shares

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

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2003-10-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC30300 — SIC 30300

Registered office

27 Lancaster Close
Great Eccleston
Preston
PR3 0UT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-06
Last: 2025-10-23

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

MATTHEWS, Stuart Leslie→
director · ~63y · appointed 2003-10-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MATTHEWS, Paula Anne→
secretary · appointed 2003-10-23 · resigned 2025-04-06
Resigned

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

Recent filings (63 total)

cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-01-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-14
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-16
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-02-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-05
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-01-14
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-04
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-10-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-14
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2023-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-24
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-19