ARTISAN CHOCOLATERIE LTD
💤Zombieactive
08271007 · ltd · incorporated 2012-10-29
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
£14.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other food services
Sector: Accommodation & food service
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: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
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 £14,495
Net assets shrinking
Down £14 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£14k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£103k
↑ 13% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £97.5k | £10.7k |
| Current assets | £103.0k | £91.3k |
| Net assets | £14.5k | £14.5k |
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 (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-06-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-25📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-24📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-21📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2019-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-24📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2018-07-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-06-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-10-29🏢Company incorporatedAs ARTISAN CHOCOLATERIE LTD
- 2012-10-29➕CRISTESCU, Desdemona Ribana 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 58 — 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 58. 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Desdemona Ribana Cristescu Individual · Romanian · DOB 06/1968 · age 58 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% 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 · Hospitality · AL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2ONE29 HOLDINGS PVT. LTD→ 16861599 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 3ALFA GROUP LTD→ 13360596 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 71STALBANS LTD→ 16262137 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AIRAH ENTERPRISE LTD→ 15457702 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALFARID (ST. ALBANS) LTD→ 12952227 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALKASBAHH LTD→ 16025132 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ARDMORE HOUSE HOTEL LIMITED→ 04123325 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| ARIBA STREET LTD→ 16448911 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AROMA CURRY LTD→ 16960977 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AROMA LOUNGE HATFIELD LTD→ 16721915 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ARTOPLASIA LTD→ 13936605 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ASGEDA HOLIDAY LETS LTD→ 14190126 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-10-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC56290 — Other food services
Registered office
Unit 1 Fiddlebridge Industrial Estate
Lemsford Road
Hatfield
Hertfordshire
AL10 0DE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-12
Last: 2025-10-29
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
CRISTESCU, Desdemona Ribana→
Activedirector · ~58y · appointed 2012-10-29
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-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-06-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-11-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-09-25
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-09-25