A4DESIGN CONSULTING LTD
💤Zombieactive
07995101 · ltd · incorporated 2012-03-19
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
£31.6k
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: 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 (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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
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
28 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 £31,595
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£32k
↑ 72% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £31.6k | £18.4k |
| Net assets | £31.6k | £18.4k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-03-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-10-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-03-28📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-03-19🏢Company incorporatedAs A4DESIGN CONSULTING LTD
- 2012-03-19➕BARRETT, Erzsebet appointedsecretary
- 2012-03-19➕BARRETT, Timothy 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 59 — 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
68/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Timothy Barrett Individual · British · DOB 10/1967 · age 59 | 50–75% | — | 50-75% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Professional services · KT postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 10TH DIMENSION CONSULTING LTD→ 14776425 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 199 TANKS LIMITED→ 13949741 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 272 CONSULTING LIMITED→ 13843050 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 4C GROWTH LIMITED→ 15672578 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 8PERCENTANDROID LIMITED→ 09603896 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A AND J ACCOUNTANTS LIMITED→ 15942397 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A.B.C. ROYALTIES CONSULTANTS LIMITED→ 03012577 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 31y | — | — |
| A1 TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED→ 10861080 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| A1RAF LIMITED→ 11402703 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A2Z SALES AND MARKETING SOLUTION LTD→ 15864379 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AADEVA LIMITED→ 04409763 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
| AARIZ & CO. LTD→ 11830288 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-03-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71111 — Architectural activities
Registered office
1 Fortescue Road
Weybridge
Surrey
KT13 8XF
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-02
Last: 2026-03-19
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
BARRETT, Timothy→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2012-03-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (28 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-08-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-03-29