ACCESSIBLE DESIGNS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05198703 · ltd · incorporated 2004-08-05
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£-8.8k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Architectural activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 67). 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 (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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
57 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £8,814
Cash YoY
+50%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£4k
↑ 50% YoY
Net Worth
-£9k
↓ 48% YoY
Current Assets
£4k
↑ 50% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£9k-£6k-£4k-£853£2k£4kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-052024-04-05
Total assets£-8.5k£-5.6k
Current assets£4.5k£3.0k
Cash£4.2k£2.8k
Debtors£252£166
Net assets£-8.8k£-6.0k

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 (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-09
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2024-12-31
    ➖
    ASHTON, Michael David resigned
    director
  4. 2024-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2024-01-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-01-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-03-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2020-03-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2020-03-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2020-01-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-01-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-01-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2012-09-12
    ➕
    ASHTON, Michael David appointed
    director
  18. 2011-08-05
    ➖
    WATERS, Sue resigned
    secretary
  19. 2011-08-05
    ➖
    WATERS, Sue resigned
    director
  20. 2004-08-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACCESSIBLE DESIGNS LIMITED
  21. 2004-08-05
    ➕
    BAXTER, David Michael appointed
    director
  22. 2004-08-05
    ➕
    WATERS, Sue appointed
    secretary
  23. 2004-08-05
    ➕
    WATERS, Sue appointed
    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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.

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 67. 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 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • 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

2 active beneficial owners
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David Michael Baxter
Individual · British · DOB 02/1959 · age 67
50–75%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting06/04/2016
Mr Michael David Ashton
Individual · British · DOB 10/1972 · age 54
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016

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

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
Incorporated2004-08-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities

Registered office

Unit D, Devon Suite, Dencora Business Centre
36 Whitehouse Road
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP1 5LT
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-05
Last made up to: 2025-04-05
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-19
Last: 2025-08-05

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

BAXTER, David Michael→
director · ~67y · appointed 2004-08-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATERS, Sue→
secretary · appointed 2004-08-05 · resigned 2011-08-05
Resigned
ASHTON, Michael David→
director · ~54y · appointed 2012-09-12 · resigned 2024-12-31
Resigned
WATERS, Sue→
director · ~66y · appointed 2004-08-05 · resigned 2011-08-05
Resigned

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

Recent filings (57 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-05
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-02
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-03-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-03-25