ASPIRE 2 DESIGN LTD

💤Zombieactive
07042579 · ltd · incorporated 2009-10-14
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
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Turnover
year to Oct 2024
Net worth
£268
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -50% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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 (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
40 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £268
Net assets shrinking
Down £24,881 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 50% YoY
Cash YoY
-50%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£40k
↓ 50% YoY
Net Worth
£268
↓ 99% YoY
Current Assets
£41k
↓ 50% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£16k£33k£49k£65k£81kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-10-312023-10-31
Total assets£17.4k£44.9k
Current assets£40.9k£81.3k
Cash£39.9k£80.3k
Debtors£1.0k£1.0k
Net assets£268£25.1k

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 (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-10-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-10-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-08-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2016-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2015-10-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2015-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2014-11-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2014-08-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2012-03-31
    JOHNSON, Richard Leonard resigned
    director
  17. 2009-10-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ASPIRE 2 DESIGN LTD
  18. 2009-10-14
    JOHNSON, Nicola Sophie appointed
    director
  19. 2009-10-14
    JOHNSON, Richard Leonard appointed
    director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 17 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mrs Nicola Sophie Johnson
Individual · British · DOB 09/1975 · age 51
75100%
75-100% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2009-10-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

40 St. James Street
Taunton
Somerset
TA1 1JR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-28
Last: 2025-10-14

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

JOHNSON, Nicola Sophie
director · ~51y · appointed 2009-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JOHNSON, Richard Leonard
director · ~52y · appointed 2009-10-14 · resigned 2012-03-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (40 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-03-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-10-16