032 DESIGN CONSULTANTS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07247717 · ltd · incorporated 2010-05-10
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£437.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised design activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company 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: 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 11.6y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
50 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
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £437,439
Cash YoY
+54%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£285k
↑ 54% YoY
Net Worth
£437k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£562k
↓ 5.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £454.9k | £481.3k |
| Current assets | £562.1k | £594.2k |
| Cash | £285.3k | £185.6k |
| Debtors | £266.7k | £408.5k |
| Net assets | £437.4k | £433.8k |
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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-10📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-06-10📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-06-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-03-26📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-11-01📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-10-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-10-25📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-20📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2020-07-14🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Security Trustee Limited
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-01➕WRIGHT, William appointedsecretary
- 2016-06-01➖LEDGER, Mark resignedsecretary
- 2014-09-30➕BAILEY, Shaun Robert appointeddirector
- 2014-09-30➕LEDGER, Mark appointedsecretary
- 2014-09-30➖RUMSEY, Angela Ann resigneddirector
- 2014-09-30➖RUMSEY, Peter Clifford resigneddirector
- 2014-09-30🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Fe Loan Management Limited
- 2010-05-10🏢Company incorporatedAs 032 DESIGN CONSULTANTS LIMITED
- 2010-05-10➕RUMSEY, Angela Ann appointeddirector
- 2010-05-10➕RUMSEY, Peter Clifford appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
60/100
Strong succession signalMultiple 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.
- 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 Shaun Robert Bailey Individual · British · DOB 01/1969 · age 57 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 30/06/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Professional services · IP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3PTI LIMITED→ 16520660 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 4 - 7 CREED LIMITED→ 15784857 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 888 SERVICE GROUP LTD→ 15886341 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABERY BUSINESS CONSULTING LTD→ 13120859 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ABUCON LIMITED→ 03655616 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ABUKU LTD→ 09612419 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ACADDS (EAST ANGLIA) LTD→ 08313095 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| ACCELEREAST LTD→ 16799443 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCESSIBLE DESIGNS LIMITED→ 05198703 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ACCOUNT-WRYTE LIMITED→ 04716888 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ACCOUNTANCY ACCELERATOR LIMITED→ 16601069 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACCOUNTS HERO LTD→ 13105603 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-05-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities
Registered office
1 Woodbridge Road
Ipswich
Suffolk
IP4 2EA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-24
Last: 2025-05-10
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
BAILEY, Shaun Robert→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2014-09-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LEDGER, Mark→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2014-09-30 · resigned 2016-06-01
RUMSEY, Angela Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 2010-05-10 · resigned 2014-09-30
RUMSEY, Peter Clifford→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2010-05-10 · resigned 2014-09-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Security Trustee Limited | A registered charge | — | 14/07/2020 | — | |
| outstanding | Fe Loan Management Fe Loan Management Limited | A registered charge | 2 properties | 30/09/2014 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (50 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-11
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-06-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-06-10
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-06-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-15
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-26
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-11-01
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-10-25
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-10-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-08-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-17