AOTEA DESIGN LTD
💤Zombieactive
07928981 · ltd · incorporated 2012-01-30
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
£13.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Architectural activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (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: Deleverage or restructure. Leverage at 100% of assets — consider sale of non-core assets or equity injection. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
33 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £13,912
High leverage
Liabilities are 100% of total assets
Net assets shrinking
Down £6,515 YoY
Leverage
100%
Liabilities / Total assets
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£14k
↓ 32% YoY
Current Assets
£20k
↓ 58% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £21.7k | £49.2k |
| Current assets | £19.5k | £46.0k |
| Net assets | £13.9k | £20.4k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
1 signal 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 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-01-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-11📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2015-10-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-11-06📄legacycapital · SH20
- 2012-01-30🏢Company incorporatedAs AOTEA DESIGN LTD
- 2012-01-30➕WALTERS, Peter appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
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 64. 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 14 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Peter Walters Individual · New Zealander · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | 50–75% | 50–75% | 50-75% shares · 50-75% voting | 01/07/2016 |
Mrs Deborah Walters Individual · British · DOB 02/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 01/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A.R.M. HERITAGE RAILWAY SERVICES LES LTD→ 15921377 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A.SHERWOOD CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16043218 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMT DESIGN CONSULTANTS LTD→ 11462234 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AMWIN LIMITED→ 10367761 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ANGLEMARINE LIMITED→ 10713240 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ANNS CRANE HIRE LIMITED→ 15895379 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ANSELLTON LIMITED→ 11895664 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ANTELOPE FINANCIAL LIMITED→ 12801440 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AO ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES LIMITED→ 15463031 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AOM SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 10440724 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AOS CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16707119 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| APEX DESIGN AND LIFTING LTD→ 15954235 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-01-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities
Registered office
4 Myrtle Grove
Sketty
Swansea
Abertawe
SA2 0SH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-24
Last: 2026-01-10
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
WALTERS, Peter→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2012-01-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-23