18 EIGHT LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05488739 · ltd · incorporated 2005-06-23
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
—
year to May 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company 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: 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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
60 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-05-31 | 2023-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 300 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-04-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-28📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-01-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-12📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-09-12📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2018-09-11📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2018-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-05📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2016-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-31📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-12-02➖BUTLER, David Alexander resignedsecretary
- 2005-06-24➕BELL, Paul Edward appointeddirector
- 2005-06-24➖BUTLER, Alexander Lowe resignedsecretary
- 2005-06-24➕BUTLER, David Alexander appointedsecretary
- 2005-06-24➖BUTLER, David Alexander resigneddirector
- 2005-06-23🏢Company incorporatedAs 18 EIGHT LIMITED
- 2005-06-23➕BUTLER, Alexander Lowe appointedsecretary
- 2005-06-23➕BUTLER, David Alexander appointeddirector
Owner dependency
85/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 21 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 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- 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
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 Paul Edward Bell Individual · British · DOB 03/1982 · age 44 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 23/06/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 55NORTH BOAT BUILDING LIMITED→ 13532833 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 714 INSULATION LIMITED→ 17115875 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A J & D CHAPELHOW (CLIBURN) LIMITED→ 10314645 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A M JONES CARPENTRY LTD→ 15958952 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A.J. JOHNSON LIMITED→ 04693127 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A.R.B BLADE SERVICES LTD→ 14599521 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AB ENERGY CENTRE LTD→ 11665763 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AB GROUP (ALBION) LIMITED→ 00328818 · est 1937 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 88y | — | — |
| ABBEY ELECTRICAL (CUMBRIA) LIMITED→ 04499675 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ACCESSORIES WAREHOUSE LIMITED→ 04831491 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ACORN CURTAINS AND BLINDS LTD→ 11368962 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACOUSTIC DOOR LTD→ 08781306 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-06-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25110 — Manufacture of metal structures and parts of structures
Registered office
Corner View
Boltongate
Wigton
CA7 1DH
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-07
Last: 2025-06-23
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
BELL, Paul Edward→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2005-06-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BUTLER, Alexander Lowe→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-06-23 · resigned 2005-06-24
BUTLER, David Alexander→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-06-24 · resigned 2008-12-02
BUTLER, David Alexander→
Resigneddirector · ~53y · appointed 2005-06-23 · resigned 2005-06-24
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (60 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-12
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-01-24