1ST IMPRESSION CREATIVE LTD

💤Zombieactive
08867938 · ltd · incorporated 2014-01-29
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Specialised design activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company 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
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
Network not yet resolved
30
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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jan 2025Jan 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · IFRS
Metric2026-01-312025-01-31
Average employees100100

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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-05-11
    📄
    legacy
    miscellaneous · RPCH01
  6. 2022-07-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-02-02
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2020-09-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-07-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-08-02
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2016-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-02-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2014-01-29
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST IMPRESSION CREATIVE LTD
  17. 2014-01-29
    WELBY, Christine appointed
    director

Owner dependency

88/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 61 — approaching natural succession window.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. 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 12 years.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Miss Christine Welby
Individual · British · DOB 05/1965 · age 61
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting01/07/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2014-01-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74100 — Specialised design activities

Registered office

154 East Barnet Road
Barnet
Hertfordshire
EN4 8RD
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-12
Last: 2026-01-29

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

WELBY, Christine
director · ~61y · appointed 2014-01-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (28 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-11
legacy
miscellaneous · RPCH01
2023-05-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-02