METADATA RESEARCH LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07510090 · ltd · incorporated 2011-01-31
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
£44.3k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 23310
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 62020Information technology consultancy activities
- 74100Specialised design activities
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). 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 (70/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
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 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
55 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £44,265
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£44k
Current Assets
£109k
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £14.3k |
| Current assets | £109.2k |
| Net assets | £44.3k |
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
5
filings
- • 3 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-01-31📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-29📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-01-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-01-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-12📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-08-01➖MILWARD, Iris Miriam resigneddirector
- 2025-03-13✏️certificate-change-of-name-companychange-of-name · CERTNM
- 2024-08-29📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-07-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2023-04-12📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-04-12📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-04-12📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-12-31➖MILWARD, Adam Rowan resigneddirector
- 2022-12-31➕MILWARD, Iris Miriam appointeddirector
- 2022-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-02-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-18📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2013-07-15➕MILWARD, Adam Rowan appointeddirector
- 2011-01-31🏢Company incorporatedAs METADATA RESEARCH LIMITED
- 2011-01-31➕MILWARD, David Michael 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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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
1 med ·Name changed recently
mediumName changes can be benign (rebrand) but can also precede distress, phoenix activity, or buyer concealment.
Evidence: 2025-03-13: certificate-change-of-name-company
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Michael Milward Individual · British · DOB 05/1958 · age 68 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
3 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Iris Miriam Milwardceased 10/09/2025· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
- Mr David Michael Milwardceased 01/01/2017· 75-100% shares
- Adam Rowan Milwardceased 31/12/2022· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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
Typeltd
Incorporated2011-01-31
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC23310 — SIC 23310
Registered office
30 Fore Street
Totnes
TQ9 5RP
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-14
Last: 2026-01-31
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
MILWARD, David Michael→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2011-01-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MILWARD, Adam Rowan→
Resigneddirector · ~39y · appointed 2013-07-15 · resigned 2022-12-31
MILWARD, Iris Miriam→
Resigneddirector · ~70y · appointed 2022-12-31 · resigned 2025-08-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (55 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-31
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-01-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-13
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-09-12
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2025-03-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-07
change-account-reference-date-company-current-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-14
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-04-12
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-12