BARNINGHAM CREATIVE ELECTRONICS LTD
💤Zombieactive
07910755 · ltd · incorporated 2012-01-16
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 74). 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 (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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 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
30 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
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-12-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-03-01📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-07-31➖BARNINGHAM, Alexander Stephen resigneddirector
- 2013-02-12➕BARNINGHAM, Stephen Arthur appointeddirector
- 2012-01-16🏢Company incorporatedAs BARNINGHAM CREATIVE ELECTRONICS LTD
- 2012-01-16➕BARNINGHAM, Alexander Stephen 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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BARNINGHAM" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — 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 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 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 13 years.
- 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 Stephen Arthur Barningham Individual · British · DOB 05/1952 · age 74 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 16/01/2017 |
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 · CO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ACTION VIDEO SERVICES LTD→ 03301932 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| ANGLOPLAS LIMITED→ 01723780 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 42y | — | — |
| ATELIER TEXTURE LTD→ 14566695 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AUDRIUS GUDAS LTD→ 17001842 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AVID FIRE & SAFETY LTD→ 15121739 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BABOOCO LIMITED→ 03404842 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BAROS ABYSS LTD→ 16700428 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BARTECH MARINE ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 03538011 · est 1998 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BATHFORD INVESTMENTS 1 LIMITED PARTNERSHIP→ LP023688 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BEAGRIE HOMES LIMITED→ 15522051 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BEECH HOUSE RTM COMPANY LIMITED→ 07654065 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BELROY LTD→ 06708988 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-01-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999
Registered office
44 Northfield Gardens
Colchester
Essex
CO4 9SS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-30
Last: 2026-01-16
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
BARNINGHAM, Stephen Arthur→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 2013-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BARNINGHAM, Alexander Stephen→
Resigneddirector · ~39y · appointed 2012-01-16 · resigned 2013-07-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (30 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-03-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-06-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-20