AR GARDINER & CO. LTD
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).
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £68.5k | — |
| Current assets | £132.3k | — |
| Cash | £97.4k | — |
| Debtors | £34.9k | — |
| Net assets | £51.0k | — |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
2 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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-26📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-12📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2021-01-11📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-08-27📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-08-27📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-08-27📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-08-27📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2020-08-27📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2020-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-04📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AAMD
- 2019-10-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2011-03-21🏢Company incorporatedAs AR GARDINER & CO. LTD
- 2011-03-21➕GARDINER, Sylvester Robert appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GARDINER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Sylvester Robert Gardiner Individual · British · DOB 04/1989 · age 37 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 08/01/2021 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Sylvester Robert Gardinerceased 08/01/2021· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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 · BR postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANDRICH LIMITED→ 06676737 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AOCA (UK) LIMITED→ 10618822 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AOS ACCOUNTANTS LTD→ 15503830 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| APERTURE LIVE LIMITED→ 16208323 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| APJM CONSULTING LTD→ 11011431 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ARBORATE LIMITED→ 05836633 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ARC ACCOUNTANTS LTD→ 16201464 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ARCHITECT ZONE LIMITED→ 06914061 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ARCHITECTURE MADE IN LIMITED→ 13034452 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ARDENLEA ADVISORY LIMITED→ 15081772 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ARE YOU BEING SERVED LIMITED→ 13796925 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ARETE LEISURE LTD→ 08780631 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.