939 DESIGN LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
05673513 · ltd · incorporated 2006-01-12
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
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other information technology service activities
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). 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 (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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 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
43 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 | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | 100 |
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 (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-02-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-02-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-11-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-02-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2013-11-14📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2006-01-12🏢Company incorporatedAs 939 DESIGN LIMITED
- 2006-01-12➕INNES, Kathleen Ruth appointedsecretary
- 2006-01-12➕ARCHIBALD, Michael Jon appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 20 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 20 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Michael Jon Archibald Individual · British · DOB 01/1967 · age 59 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 09/11/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Technology · HU postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10 OF HEARTS LTD→ 15095059 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 107FM LTD→ 13195326 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 21ST 100 NETWORK LTD.→ 16158263 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 3C3IMPACT LTD→ 16538692 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 42SID LTD→ 16550923 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 43 CLICKS NORTH LTD→ 11082557 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 4SIGHT SURVEYING LTD→ 13835642 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 7 3 SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 05175420 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| A2Z INTERACTIVE LTD→ 09119397 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ABILITY IT SERVICES LTD→ 06966482 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE PAYMENT SOLUTIONS LTD→ 11424003 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABT-CAD SERVICES LIMITED→ 09564606 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2006-01-12
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC62090 — Other information technology service activities
Registered office
10 The Circle
Hull
East Yorkshire
HU13 0QJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-24
Last: 2025-11-10
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
INNES, Kathleen Ruth→
Activesecretary · appointed 2006-01-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ARCHIBALD, Michael Jon→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2006-01-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (43 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-03-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-11-12