168 SECURITY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
07967784 · ltd · incorporated 2012-02-28
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
£166.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Private security activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 82990Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 7.3y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 7.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
47 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £166,491
Net assets shrinking
Down £9,846 YoY
Cash YoY
+934%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£249k
↑ 934% YoY
Net Worth
£166k
↓ 5.6% YoY
Current Assets
£485k
↓ 33% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £166.5k | £176.3k |
| Current assets | £484.9k | £719.5k |
| Cash | £248.9k | £24.1k |
| Debtors | £236.0k | £695.5k |
| Net assets | £166.5k | £176.3k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
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
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 address
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 address
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-03-16📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-29📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-07-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-17📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-03-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC05
- 2022-02-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-13📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2020-10-13📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2020-06-22📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-11-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-01-04🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Santander UK PLC
- 2015-10-31➖ILSLEY, Sally Jane resigneddirector
- 2014-05-02➕LARDNER, John Joseph appointeddirector
- 2014-05-01➕ILSLEY, Sally Jane appointeddirector
- 2014-05-01➖LARDNER, John Joseph resigneddirector
- 2012-02-28🏢Company incorporatedAs 168 SECURITY LIMITED
- 2012-02-28➕LARDNER, John Joseph appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
50/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 John Joseph Lardner Individual · British · DOB 09/1969 · age 57 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board controlsig. influence50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Sword Holdings Limitedceased 01/10/2024· 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 →Similar companies
Active · Trade services · CF postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 ELECTRONICS LTD→ 15320858 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 13 THEOBALD ROAD MANAGEMENT LTD→ 10389455 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 136 WARWICK WAY LIMITED→ 04218367 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| 136-138 LLANDAFF ROAD RMC LTD→ 10114236 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| 16 AND 18 HIGH STREET ABERTRIDWR LIMITED→ 06434984 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| 168 TRAINING LIMITED→ 11165680 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| 180 CLUB LTD→ 16208384 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 1922 LAW LIMITED→ 12669926 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 1975 HAIR TEAM LIMITED→ 16083477 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 1ST CLASS HYGIENE LIMITED→ 06277067 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| 1ST D'ZINE OFFICE SOLUTIONS LTD→ 12871075 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| 2020 PROPERTY SOLUTIONS LTD→ 11967985 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2012-02-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC80100 — Private security activities
Registered office
8 Brigantine Place
Cardiff
CF10 4BY
Wales
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-11
Last: 2025-10-28
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
LARDNER, John Joseph→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2014-05-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ILSLEY, Sally Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~45y · appointed 2014-05-01 · resigned 2015-10-31
LARDNER, John Joseph→
Resigneddirector · ~57y · appointed 2012-02-28 · resigned 2014-05-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Santander Santander UK PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 04/01/2019 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (47 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-03-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-29
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-07-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-09
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC05
2022-03-24