ARC FABRICATIONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05519920 · ltd · incorporated 2005-07-27
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 Jul 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 25990
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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 (75/100)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 (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
52 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.
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 | 2024-07-31 | 2023-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 400 | 300 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-28📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-05📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-05📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-05-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-08-08➕GIBBS, Sylvia appointedsecretary
- 2008-08-08➖CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-07-27🏢Company incorporatedAs ARC FABRICATIONS LIMITED
- 2005-07-27➕GIBBS, Stephen appointeddirector
- 2005-07-27➕CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2005-07-27➕CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2005-07-27➖CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Stephen Gibbs Individual · British · DOB 03/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Manufacturing · W postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANGUS FABRICATION LTD→ 15963913 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ANIMAL LEVERS LTD→ 12077603 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ANKHA GLOBAL LTD→ 14438641 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANT SAFETY LTD→ 15953007 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AP TECHNOLOGY LIMITED→ 05158605 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| APEX LONDON GROUP (MAINTENANCE) LTD→ 14615626 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| APRES MIDI LIMITED→ 13972333 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AQUINN FENCING AND PROPERTY SERVICES LTD→ 15226896 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ARAHARA LTD→ 16519437 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ARBOUR STUDIO LIMITED→ 15945774 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ARC TECHNICAL SERVICES LTD→ 02472199 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 36y | — | — |
| ARCCOS CADDIE LTD→ 13830062 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-07-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC25990 — SIC 25990
Registered office
1st Floor Arthur Stanley House
40-50 Tottenham Street
London
W1T 4RN
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-11
Last: 2026-06-27
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
GIBBS, Stephen→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2005-07-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-07-27 · resigned 2008-08-08
CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-07-27 · resigned 2005-07-27
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-10-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-27