ANCIENT CRAFTS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07313372 · private-limited-guarant-nsc · incorporated 2010-07-13
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). 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 (57/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 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
33 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.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-06-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-07-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-no-member-listannual-return · AR01
- 2014-11-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-07-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-no-member-listannual-return · AR01
- 2010-07-13🏢Company incorporatedAs ANCIENT CRAFTS LIMITED
- 2010-07-13➕HARPER, Hugo Clive appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
98/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 70 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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 Hugo Clive Harper Individual · British · DOB 02/1956 · age 70 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 01/07/2016 |
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 · Other · HP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANDIKA LIMITED→ 14883778 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ANDIKA.COM LIMITED→ 14891687 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ANGLEDORE LIMITED→ 10018645 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ANGLERS NEWS LTD→ 10004379 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ANGLICAN METHODIST ASSOCIATION (BERKHAMSTED) LIMITED→ 01493109 · est 1980 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 45y | — | — |
| ANIA SAGAJLLO LTD→ 14236833 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANNA ZOFIA LTD→ 14150754 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| APMG-INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 07902782 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| APMG-UK LIMITED→ 06274579 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| APS NOMINEES LIMITED→ 07648641 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AQUEOUS (FITTED BATHROOMS) II LIMITED→ 03696959 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| ARGYLL-BRENT CONTRACTS LTD→ 06013939 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
8 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
Typeprivate-limited-guarant-nsc
Incorporated2010-07-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999
Registered office
16 Hampden Road
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP13 6SX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-27
Last: 2025-07-13
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
HARPER, Hugo Clive→
Activedirector · ~70y · appointed 2010-07-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-05-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-06-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-08-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-08-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-25