AKQ DESIGN LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
06584060 · ltd · incorporated 2008-05-02
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£-1.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
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 (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
66 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 · FRS 102Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £1,327
Cash YoY
-2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£327
↓ 2.1% YoY
Net Worth
-£1k
↑ 82% YoY
Current Assets
£59k
↑ 21% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-255 | £6.9k |
| Current assets | £58.6k | £48.5k |
| Cash | £327 | £334 |
| Debtors | £58.2k | £48.1k |
| Net assets | £-1.3k | £-7.2k |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
7
filings
- • 3 persons-with-significant-control
- • 3 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
8
filings
- • 3 persons-with-significant-control
- • 3 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-05-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-05-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-05-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-05-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-05-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2026-03-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-01📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-05-11📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-05-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-05-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-05-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-05-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-03-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-11-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-11-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-11-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2015-06-01➕QUINN, Gavin appointeddirector
- 2008-05-02🏢Company incorporatedAs AKQ DESIGN LIMITED
- 2008-05-02➕QUINN, Anne Margareta appointeddirector
Owner dependency
89/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
- +No director turnover: Company is 18 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
79/100
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 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gavin Quinn Individual · Irish · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Ms Anne Margareta Quinn Individual · Finnish · DOB 09/1965 · age 61 | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Trade services · BN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. K. T. INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 06933000 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| AHENNY LIMITED→ 10171338 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AIDEN'S GARDEN SERVICES LTD→ 14268891 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AJS EVENTS SERVICES LTD→ 16326312 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AJT SHOWERS LTD.→ 11451703 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ALAN HADDOW LIMITED→ 06515113 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ALAN RHODES ASSOCIATES LTD→ 03952037 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ALANDDAR LIMITED→ 15006357 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALBION COMMERCIAL CLEANING LTD→ 11202962 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALBION SECURITY LTD→ 15029260 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALBION SHIPS AGENTS LIMITED→ 02993082 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| ALBION WINDOW CLEANING LTD→ 11202247 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2008-05-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
100 Church Street
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 1UJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-16
Last: 2026-05-02
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
QUINN, Anne Margareta→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2008-05-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
QUINN, Gavin→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2015-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (66 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-05-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-05-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-05-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-05-11