AIRBOURNE COLOURS LTD

🌳Matureactive
07425727 · ltd · incorporated 2010-11-01
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£2.59M
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 33160
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 67/100. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 10.1y

35/100
too messy

Refinance path is blocked by complexity. Rethink structure or expect bespoke, expensive terms.

  • · Oldest live charge is 10.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (4 active, 8 linked, 6 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
63 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £2,587,648

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£545k
Net Worth
£2.6m
Current Assets
£3.3m
Current Liabilities
—
£0£658k£1.3m£2.0m£2.6m£3.3mMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£3.38M—
Current assets£3.29M—
Cash£544.6k—
Debtors£2.52M—
Net assets£2.59M—
Average employees—4800

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 signals 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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-11-20
    📄
    replacement-filing-of-director-appointment-with-name
    officers · RP01AP01
  3. 2025-08-28
    ➕
    PRINCE, Kevin appointed
    director
  4. 2025-08-28
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  5. 2024-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-07-11
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  7. 2024-07-11
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  8. 2024-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-04-01
    ➖
    DOUCE, Stephen Jeff resigned
    secretary
  11. 2022-04-01
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  12. 2021-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-02-25
    ➕
    CRACKNELL, Simon appointed
    director
  14. 2021-02-25
    ➕
    OSBORNE, Neil John appointed
    director
  15. 2021-02-25
    ➕
    DOUCE, Stephen Jeff appointed
    secretary
  16. 2021-02-25
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  17. 2021-02-25
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  18. 2021-02-25
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  19. 2021-02-18
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  20. 2021-02-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Marketfinance Limited
  21. 2020-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2020-04-22
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
    accounts · AA01
  23. 2020-04-21
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
  24. 2020-04-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  25. 2019-11-20
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  26. 2017-01-12
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  27. 2016-10-31
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  28. 2016-10-28
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  29. 2016-04-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
  30. 2016-04-08
    ➖
    MITCHELL, Gerald Martin resigned
    director
  31. 2013-06-21
    ➖
    STODDART, Steven resigned
    director
  32. 2011-09-19
    ➕
    DARBYSHIRE, Steven appointed
    director
  33. 2011-09-19
    ➖
    STODDART, Steven resigned
    secretary
  34. 2011-09-19
    ➕
    MITCHELL, Gerald Martin appointed
    director
  35. 2010-11-01
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AIRBOURNE COLOURS LTD
  36. 2010-11-01
    ➕
    STODDART, Steven appointed
    secretary
  37. 2010-11-01
    ➕
    STODDART, Steven appointed
    director

Owner dependency

48/100
Moderate — manageable with handover

Some founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

63/100
Strong succession signal

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
  • 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.)

Group structure

Airbourne Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Airbourne Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
⬇
AIRBOURNE COLOURS LTD
This company · 07425727

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Airbourne Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control08/04/2016
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
  • Mr Steven Darbyshireceased 08/04/2016· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
  • Mr Gerald Martin Mitchellceased 08/04/2016· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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

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
Incorporated2010-11-01
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC33160 — SIC 33160

Registered office

Hanger 35 Dakota Road
Castle Donington
Derby
Derbyshire
DE74 2SA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-29
Last: 2025-11-15

Officers (4 active · 4 resigned)

CRACKNELL, Simon→
director · ~55y · appointed 2021-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DARBYSHIRE, Steven→
director · ~52y · appointed 2011-09-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OSBORNE, Neil John→
director · ~63y · appointed 2021-02-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PRINCE, Kevin→
director · ~42y · appointed 2025-08-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOUCE, Stephen Jeff→
secretary · appointed 2021-02-25 · resigned 2022-04-01
Resigned
STODDART, Steven→
secretary · appointed 2010-11-01 · resigned 2011-09-19
Resigned
MITCHELL, Gerald Martin→
director · ~63y · appointed 2011-09-19 · resigned 2016-04-08
Resigned
STODDART, Steven→
director · ~47y · appointed 2010-11-01 · resigned 2013-06-21
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Marketfinance
Marketfinance Limited
A registered charge—18/02/202111/07/2024
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge1 property12/01/2017—
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
A registered charge—31/10/2016—
satisfied
NatWest Group
Rbs Invoice Finance Limited
A registered charge—25/04/201628/10/2016
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (63 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-20
replacement-filing-of-director-appointment-with-name
officers · RP01AP01
2025-11-20
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-08-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-25
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2024-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-06
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-04-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-03
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-02-25