3 FFF LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

06236589 · ltd · incorporated 2007-05-03

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

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 20590

Sector: Manufacturing

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). 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 (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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

3 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

51 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	1	100

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

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2025-09-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-08-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-14
📄
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2018-08-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-08-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-09-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-16
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-09-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-05-18
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-09-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2007-05-03
🏢
Company incorporated
As 3 FFF LIMITED
2007-05-03
➕
MCDOWALL, Becky Lou appointed
secretary
2007-05-03
➕
MCDOWALL, James Gary appointed
director
2007-05-03
➕
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2007-05-03
➖
WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2007-05-03
➕
WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2007-05-03
➖
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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr James Gary Mcdowall Individual · British · DOB 11/1955 · age 71	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	01/07/2016

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 · Manufacturing · NN postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
12906787 LTD→ 12906787 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
21ST CENTURY PRINT LIMITED→ 10321122 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
A AND M PLANTERS LIMITED→ 14163255 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
A J BOAT CANOPIES LTD→ 08244862 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
AAK TRADERS AND MANUFACTURERS LTD→ 11957152 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ABB FABS LTD→ 12387570 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ABI EQUIPMENT LIMITED→ 06373361 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—
ACCUMA PLASTICS LIMITED→ 01365374 · est 1978 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	47y	—	—
ACM WELDING SERVICES LIMITED→ 09683138 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—
ACORN SEATING LTD→ 12125709 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ACRO AIRCRAFT SEATING LIMITED→ 05859680 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
ACRYLIC FABRICATIONS LIMITED→ 05719142 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—

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

Incorporated2007-05-03

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC20590 — SIC 20590

Registered office

Unit B 18 Brunel Road

Earlstree Industrial Estate

Corby

Northamptonshire

NN17 4JW

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-05-17

Last: 2026-05-03

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

MCDOWALL, Becky Lou→

secretary · appointed 2007-05-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MCDOWALL, James Gary→

director · ~71y · appointed 2007-05-03

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WATERLOW SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-05-03 · resigned 2007-05-03

Resigned

WATERLOW NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-05-03 · resigned 2007-05-03

Resigned

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