AARDMAN FEATURE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
06712047 · ltd · incorporated 2008-10-01
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 16.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Motion picture production activities
Sector: Information & communication
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 90030Artistic creation
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with exceptional profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 16.6y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 16.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (61/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 5 with DOB)
87
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
15 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
60 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
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduaryaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-20📄legacyaccounts · PARENT_ACC
- 2025-10-20📄legacyother · GUARANTEE2
- 2025-10-20📄legacyother · AGREEMENT2
- 2024-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduaryaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-29📄legacyaccounts · PARENT_ACC
- 2024-10-29📄legacyother · GUARANTEE2
- 2024-10-29📄legacyother · AGREEMENT2
- 2024-02-21📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-02-21📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-02-15➕CAVE, Joanna Louise appointeddirector
- 2024-02-15➖LOCK, Kerry Anthony resigneddirector
- 2024-01-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduaryaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-21📄legacyaccounts · PARENT_ACC
- 2024-01-21📄legacyother · GUARANTEE2
- 2024-01-21📄legacyother · AGREEMENT2
- 2024-01-12📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-01-01➖LORD, Peter Duncan Fraser resigneddirector
- 2023-01-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-30➖SPROXTON, David Alan resignedsecretary
- 2019-12-17➕CLARKE, Sean Michael appointeddirector
- 2019-12-17➕LOCK, Kerry Anthony appointeddirector
- 2019-12-17➖SPROXTON, David Alan resigneddirector
- 2009-10-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Aa Development UK Limited
- 2008-10-01🏢Company incorporatedAs AARDMAN FEATURE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
- 2008-10-01➕SPROXTON, David Alan appointedsecretary
- 2008-10-01➕LORD, Peter Duncan Fraser appointeddirector
- 2008-10-01➕SPROXTON, David Alan appointeddirector
Owner dependency
66/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
46/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
Aardman Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.
🏛️ultimate parent
Aardman Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
⬇
AARDMAN FEATURE DEVELOPMENT LIMITED
This company · 06712047
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Aardman Holdings Limited Corporate entity | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr David Alan Sproxtonceased 05/11/2018· significant influence
- Mr Peter Duncan Fraser Lordceased 05/11/2018· significant influence
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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 138 CONSULTING LTD→ 16819272 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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| 365 PROJECT MANAGEMENT LTD→ 16531016 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3VENTIZ LIMITED→ 16132869 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 44CLUB MOVEMENT LTD→ 16777333 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AAA INTERACTIVE LTD→ 15316315 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AARDMAN ANIMATIONS LIMITED→ 02050843 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
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| AARDMAN FREE RANGE LIMITED→ 10909377 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2008-10-01
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC59111 — Motion picture production activities
Registered office
Gas Ferry Road
Bristol
BS1 6UN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-14
Last: 2025-12-31
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
CAVE, Joanna Louise→
Activedirector · ~50y · appointed 2024-02-15
View their other companies + combined net worth →
CLARKE, Sean Michael→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2019-12-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SPROXTON, David Alan→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2008-10-01 · resigned 2019-12-30
LOCK, Kerry Anthony→
Resigneddirector · ~57y · appointed 2019-12-17 · resigned 2024-02-15
LORD, Peter Duncan Fraser→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 2008-10-01 · resigned 2024-01-01
SPROXTON, David Alan→
Resigneddirector · ~72y · appointed 2008-10-01 · resigned 2019-12-17
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Aa Development UK Aa Development UK Limited | Debenture | 1 property | 12/10/2009 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (60 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2025-10-20
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2025-10-20
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2025-10-20
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2025-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2024-10-29
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2024-10-29
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2024-10-29
legacy
other · AGREEMENT2
2024-10-29
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-02-21
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-audit-exemption-subsiduary
accounts · AA
2024-01-21
legacy
accounts · PARENT_ACC
2024-01-21
legacy
other · GUARANTEE2
2024-01-21