WATERMELON CREATIVE LTD

💤Zombieactive
05104643 · ltd · incorporated 2004-04-19
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Jun 2025
Net worth
£56.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised design activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 8.6y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 8.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 2 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
73 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £56,160

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£56k
↑ 10148% YoY
Current Assets
£127k
↑ 63% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£25k£51k£76k£102k£127kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£56.2k£2.8k
Current assets£127.0k£78.0k
Net assets£56.2k£548

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (32 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-04-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-03-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-11-07
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  11. 2017-11-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  12. 2017-09-15
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  13. 2017-09-06
    ➖
    SIEFF, Jonathan David resigned
    director
  14. 2017-09-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2017-09-06
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  16. 2017-09-06
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  17. 2017-09-06
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  18. 2017-03-31
    ➖
    WISHART, Alice resigned
    secretary
  19. 2009-05-01
    ➕
    SWINDELL, Sarah Louise appointed
    director
  20. 2008-01-02
    ➖
    GORDON, Lucy resigned
    secretary
  21. 2008-01-02
    ➕
    WISHART, Alice appointed
    secretary
  22. 2007-02-01
    ➖
    CUTTING, Laura Francis resigned
    secretary
  23. 2007-02-01
    ➕
    GORDON, Lucy appointed
    secretary
  24. 2006-02-10
    ➕
    CUTTING, Laura Francis appointed
    secretary
  25. 2006-02-10
    ➖
    WISHART, Alice Jane resigned
    secretary
  26. 2005-07-15
    ➕
    WISHART, Alice Jane appointed
    secretary
  27. 2005-07-15
    ➖
    PINSENT MASONS SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  28. 2004-05-27
    ➕
    SIEFF, Jonathan David appointed
    director
  29. 2004-05-27
    ➖
    PINSENT MASONS DIRECTOR LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  30. 2004-04-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WATERMELON CREATIVE LTD
  31. 2004-04-19
    ➕
    PINSENT MASONS SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  32. 2004-04-19
    ➕
    PINSENT MASONS DIRECTOR LIMITED appointed
    corporate-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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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
Mrs Sarah Louise Swindell
Individual · British · DOB 07/1965 · age 61
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/09/2017
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Jonathan Sieffceased 06/09/2017· 50-75% shares

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 →

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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
Incorporated2004-04-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities

Registered office

Lockington Hall Main Street
Lockington
Derby
DE74 2RH
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-03
Last: 2026-04-19

Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)

SWINDELL, Sarah Louise→
director · ~61y · appointed 2009-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CUTTING, Laura Francis→
secretary · appointed 2006-02-10 · resigned 2007-02-01
Resigned
GORDON, Lucy→
secretary · appointed 2007-02-01 · resigned 2008-01-02
Resigned
WISHART, Alice→
secretary · appointed 2008-01-02 · resigned 2017-03-31
Resigned
WISHART, Alice Jane→
secretary · appointed 2005-07-15 · resigned 2006-02-10
Resigned
PINSENT MASONS SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2004-04-19 · resigned 2005-07-15
Resigned
SIEFF, Jonathan David→
director · ~60y · appointed 2004-05-27 · resigned 2017-09-06
Resigned
PINSENT MASONS DIRECTOR LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2004-04-19 · resigned 2004-05-27
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 Bank PLC
A registered charge—07/11/2017—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (73 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-29