AARLO DESIGNS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07208723 · ltd · incorporated 2010-03-30
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised design activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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: high (82/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
45 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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-27➖BROOKING, Constance Amelia resigneddirector
- 2021-03-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-03-27📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-03-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-30📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-11-30✏️change-of-name-noticechange-of-name · CONNOT
- 2020-11-23📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-11-21📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2020-10-12📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2020-10-01➕BROOKING, Constance Amelia appointeddirector
- 2020-02-18📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-12-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2010-03-30🏢Company incorporatedAs AARLO DESIGNS LIMITED
- 2010-03-30➕BROOKING, Justin Alexander Spice appointeddirector
- 2010-03-30➕HURWORTH, Aderyn appointeddirector
- 2010-03-30➖HURWORTH, Aderyn resigneddirector
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 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — 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 60. 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 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 Justin Alexander Spice Brooking Individual · British · DOB 05/1966 · age 60 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence · firm interest | 21/11/2020 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- The Brooking Group Ltdceased 26/03/2021· 75-100% shares
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 · Professional services · SO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALPHA CONSULTANCY MS LIMITED→ 14708999 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALSOP & CO. LIMITED→ 09788592 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AM MARINE UK HOLDINGS LTD→ 16926671 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMAKHALA (WINCHESTER) LIMITED→ 13207225 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AMBASSADOR PLANT HIRE LIMITED→ 04483372 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| AMD PROGRAMME MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 10336981 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AMRITZING SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16549916 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMSTED GLOBAL LIMITED→ 07560404 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AMY BROCKLEBANK CONSULTING LIMITED→ 15610407 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ANARAA CONSULTING LTD→ 14161744 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANARAA STRATEGY LTD→ 15149930 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ANCHOR DESIGN LIMITED→ 11148229 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-03-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities
Registered office
10 Clifton Terrace
Winchester
Hampshire
SO22 5BJ
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-28
Last: 2026-03-14
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
BROOKING, Justin Alexander Spice→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2010-03-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BROOKING, Constance Amelia→
Resigneddirector · ~25y · appointed 2020-10-01 · resigned 2021-03-27
HURWORTH, Aderyn→
Resigneddirector · ~52y · appointed 2010-03-30 · resigned 2010-03-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (45 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-29
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-03-27
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-25
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-25
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2020-11-30