ALEC FRENCH ARCHITECTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05480768 · ltd · incorporated 2005-06-14
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
78/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 78/100 (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: 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 (79/100)

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
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 6 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
54 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
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

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-17
    ➖
    OSBORNE, Mark Lewis Ashley resigned
    director
  3. 2025-07-17
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2024-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-08-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2023-07-31
    ➖
    DYKE, Nigel Healey resigned
    director
  8. 2022-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-03-16
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2022-02-28
    ➖
    VAUGHAN, Nicholas resigned
    director
  11. 2021-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-06-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  14. 2019-06-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  15. 2019-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2018-09-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-06-27
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  19. 2017-02-13
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  20. 2017-02-06
    ➕
    VAUGHAN, Nicholas appointed
    director
  21. 2012-10-11
    ➕
    GRAY, Robin King appointed
    director
  22. 2010-12-31
    ➖
    MELLOR, David Tom resigned
    secretary
  23. 2010-12-31
    ➖
    MELLOR, David Tom resigned
    director
  24. 2007-05-01
    ➖
    LEE, Richard Alan resigned
    director
  25. 2005-06-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALEC FRENCH ARCHITECTS LIMITED
  26. 2005-06-14
    ➕
    MELLOR, David Tom appointed
    secretary
  27. 2005-06-14
    ➕
    DYKE, Nigel Healey appointed
    director
  28. 2005-06-14
    ➕
    LEE, Richard Alan appointed
    director
  29. 2005-06-14
    ➕
    MELLOR, David Tom appointed
    director
  30. 2005-06-14
    ➕
    OSBORNE, Mark Lewis Ashley appointed
    director

Owner dependency

83/100
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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — 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 62. 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 14 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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.)

Group structure

Alec French Partnership Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Alec French Partnership Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
ALEC FRENCH ARCHITECTS LIMITED
This company · 05480768

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Alec French Partnership Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Other · BS postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
AFON HEALTHCARE LTD→
14603906 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
AFTER MOTION LIMITED→
16573447 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
AHON LTD→
15149814 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
AIR HIRE LTD→
07340180 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
————15y——
AIRBUS SPARROW LIMITED→
16507025 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ALADICO LTD→
14252174 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y——
ALBION-ROOFING (SW) LTD→
16542467 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ALL AUDI LTD→
12577159 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
ALLEN ASSURED LTD→
12715589 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
ALMA CAPITAL LTD→
08952194 · est 2014 · no financials extracted
————12y——
ALP SOUTH EAST (ASSOCIATION OF LEARNING PROVIDERS S.E.)→
05471534 · est 2005 · no financials extracted
————20y——
ALPHA PORTFOLIO MANAGEMENT LTD→
10606443 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
————9y——
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
Incorporated2005-06-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

27 Trenchard Street
Bristol
BS1 5AN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-28
Last: 2025-06-14

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

GRAY, Robin King→
director · ~62y · appointed 2012-10-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MELLOR, David Tom→
secretary · appointed 2005-06-14 · resigned 2010-12-31
Resigned
DYKE, Nigel Healey→
director · ~63y · appointed 2005-06-14 · resigned 2023-07-31
Resigned
LEE, Richard Alan→
director · ~83y · appointed 2005-06-14 · resigned 2007-05-01
Resigned
MELLOR, David Tom→
director · ~82y · appointed 2005-06-14 · resigned 2010-12-31
Resigned
OSBORNE, Mark Lewis Ashley→
director · ~67y · appointed 2005-06-14 · resigned 2025-07-17
Resigned
VAUGHAN, Nicholas→
director · ~53y · appointed 2017-02-06 · resigned 2022-02-28
Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-18
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-14
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-09-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-29