ACADEMY OF CREATIVE TRAINING LTD

💤Zombieactive
05537813 · ltd · incorporated 2005-08-16
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 2024
Net worth
£-12.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Performing arts
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
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 66). 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 (70/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
68 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 · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £12,708

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£16k
Net Worth
-£13k
Current Assets
£81k
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-04-24
Total assets£67.0k
Current assets£81.0k
Cash£16.3k
Debtors£64.7k
Net assets£-12.7k

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 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-22
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  2. 2025-07-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-04-23
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2025-02-27
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2024-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-04-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-04-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-04-26
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  10. 2020-03-12
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2020-03-12
    📄
    change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH03
  12. 2020-03-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  13. 2020-03-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  14. 2020-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-10-29
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2019-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2014-11-03
    ➖
    FINLAY, Daniel Joseph Laurence resigned
    director
  19. 2005-08-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACADEMY OF CREATIVE TRAINING LTD
  20. 2005-08-16
    ➕
    FINLAY, Daniel Joseph Laurence appointed
    secretary
  21. 2005-08-16
    ➕
    EDDISFORD, Janette Mary appointed
    director
  22. 2005-08-16
    ➕
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2005-08-16
    ➖
    WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2005-08-16
    ➕
    FINLAY, Daniel Joseph Laurence appointed
    director
  25. 2005-08-16
    ➕
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2005-08-16
    ➖
    WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — 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 66. 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

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 Daniel Joseph Laurence Finlay
Individual · British · DOB 07/1965 · age 61
25–50%
25–50%25-50% shares · 25-50% voting06/04/2016
Ms Janette Mary Eddisford
Individual · British · DOB 03/1960 · age 66
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.

🔒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

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
Incorporated2005-08-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC90010 — Performing arts

Registered office

C/O Galloways Accounting The Mill Building
31-35 Chatsworth Road
Worthing
BN11 1LY
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-22
Last made up to: 2024-04-24
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-19
Last: 2025-09-05

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

FINLAY, Daniel Joseph Laurence→
secretary · appointed 2005-08-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
EDDISFORD, Janette Mary→
director · ~66y · appointed 2005-08-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-08-16 · resigned 2005-08-16
Resigned
FINLAY, Daniel Joseph Laurence→
director · ~61y · appointed 2005-08-16 · resigned 2014-11-03
Resigned
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-08-16 · resigned 2005-08-16
Resigned

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

Recent filings (68 total)

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2026-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-23
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-04-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-26
change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortened
accounts · AA01
2021-04-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-09