OCTOPUS PRINT SOLUTIONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05616473 · ltd · incorporated 2005-11-08
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£10.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Photocopying, document preparation and other specialised office support activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (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 (78/100)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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
54 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
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
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £10,085
Net assets shrinking
Down £57,175 YoY
Cash YoY
+448%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1k
↑ 448% YoY
Net Worth
£10k
↓ 85% YoY
Current Assets
£80k
↓ 49% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £10.1k | £67.3k |
| Current assets | £80.2k | £156.4k |
| Cash | £1.4k | £255 |
| Debtors | £52.8k | £141.1k |
| Net assets | £10.1k | £67.3k |
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 (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-02-11📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-12-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-11➕DARBON, Justin appointedsecretary
- 2018-01-11➖DANDRIDGE, David Paul resignedsecretary
- 2018-01-11📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2018-01-11📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2017-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-13📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-01-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2008-01-09➕DANDRIDGE, David Paul appointedsecretary
- 2008-01-09➖DARBON, Justin resignedsecretary
- 2008-01-09➖HARDING, Samantha Irene resigneddirector
- 2005-11-08🏢Company incorporatedAs OCTOPUS PRINT SOLUTIONS LIMITED
- 2005-11-08➕DARBON, Justin appointeddirector
- 2005-11-08➕DARBON, Justin appointedsecretary
- 2005-11-08➕HARDING, Samantha Irene 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
1 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Justin Darbon Individual · British · DOB 11/1971 · age 55 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 08/11/2016 |
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 · Trade services · LU postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABOU BAKER SECURITY LTD→ 13757211 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ABRAHAMS (PROPERTY & CIVIL ENGINEERING CONSULTANTS) LIMITED→ 09691281 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ABS COLLECTORS LTD→ 16599975 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE MOCO LTD→ 10735707 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ACCUGRIT LIMITED→ 12127671 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ACE CUTZ BARBERS LTD→ 17019621 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACEKO LTD→ 10225427 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ACORN INVESTMENTS LTD→ 09495853 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ACTION RECRUITERS LIMITED→ 13978572 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACTIVE ENVIRONMENTAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 03859563 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ACTIVE8 COMMUNITIES LTD→ 15264051 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADAM CAR KEYS LTD→ 16732489 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2005-11-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82190 — Photocopying, document preparation and other specialised office support activities
Registered office
34 Sandpiper Way
Leighton Buzzard
LU7 4SS
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-22
Last: 2025-11-08
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
DARBON, Justin→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2005-11-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DANDRIDGE, David Paul→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2008-01-09 · resigned 2018-01-11
DARBON, Justin→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2005-11-08 · resigned 2008-01-09
HARDING, Samantha Irene→
Resigneddirector · ~51y · appointed 2005-11-08 · resigned 2008-01-09
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (54 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-08-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-02-11
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-12-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-11