A.D.S. DIGITAL PRINT SOLUTIONS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06694689 · ltd · incorporated 2008-09-10
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 18129
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 1 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
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 | 2025-09-30 | 2024-09-30 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-02-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-24📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-09-24📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-07-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-05📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2008-09-10🏢Company incorporatedAs A.D.S. DIGITAL PRINT SOLUTIONS LIMITED
- 2008-09-10➕PATTERSON, David Hugh appointeddirector
- 2008-09-10➕KEY LEGAL SERVICES (SECRETARIAL) LTD appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2008-09-10➖KEY LEGAL SERVICES (SECRETARIAL) LTD resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2008-09-10➕KEY LEGAL SERVICES (NOMINEES) LTD appointedcorporate-director
- 2008-09-10➖KEY LEGAL SERVICES (NOMINEES) LTD resignedcorporate-director
Owner dependency
93/100
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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
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 61. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Hugh Patterson Individual · British · DOB 09/1965 · age 61 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 08/04/2020 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Rudolph David Pattersonceased 08/04/2020· 50-75% shares · firm interest
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 · CH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALAVIA LIMITED→ 10757340 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALEX SQUARED DAIRY TRADING & AVIATION SERVICES LTD→ 12154236 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALEXANDER CHRISTIAN LTD→ 07292975 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ALEXANDER FORD FURNISHINGS LIMITED→ 12479409 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALJISIR TECHNOLOGY LTD→ 06717025 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ALL FOR STONE LIMITED→ 08163918 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ALUDOOR LTD→ 05991789 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ALUSERV LIMITED→ 08155311 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AMI METALS UK LIMITED→ 07977969 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AMJCOATINGS LTD→ 11901592 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AMK AUTOMOTIVE LIMITED→ 06088284 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| AMPHIBIA BASE LTD→ 10294477 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-09-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC18129 — SIC 18129
Registered office
3-4 Apex Court
Bassendale Road
Wirral
Merseyside
CH62 3RE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-24
Last: 2025-09-10
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
PATTERSON, David Hugh→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2008-09-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KEY LEGAL SERVICES (SECRETARIAL) LTD→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2008-09-10 · resigned 2008-09-10
KEY LEGAL SERVICES (NOMINEES) LTD→
Resignedcorporate-director · appointed 2008-09-10 · resigned 2008-09-10
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (43 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-02-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-24
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2020-09-24
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-07-09