ASPIRE DIRECT LIMITED
⚰️Wound downdissolved
08895529 · ltd · incorporated 2014-02-14
Investment thesis
Company dissolved — not a live target.
Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.
Why risky: Not transactable.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Stable recent picture — watch for any upcoming trigger event.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 12.4y old — refinance window within 12 months
What changed my view
Last 30 days
No material changes in the last 30 days.
Last 90 days
No material changes in the last 90 days.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
62/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 62/100 (worth a look), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 12.4y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 12.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (57/100)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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
23 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
62/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
30
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
- 2019-05-28📄gazette-dissolved-voluntarygazette · GAZ2(A)
- 2019-05-28🏁Company dissolved
- 2019-03-12📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2019-02-27📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2019-02-21📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-11-30📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-04-22📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2017-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-28📄mortgage-charge-whole-release-with-charge-numbermortgage · MR05
- 2017-03-19📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-03-19📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-03-19📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2017-03-16➖VENABLE, Paul resignedsecretary
- 2017-03-16➖VENABLE, Paul St John Lloyd resigneddirector
- 2017-03-16➖YEUNG, Mark Benjamin resigneddirector
- 2016-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-10-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-16📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-04-01📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2014-04-01📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2014-04-01📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2014-03-26📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-numbermortgage · MR01
- 2014-03-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Duraweld Limited
- 2014-02-14🏢Company incorporatedAs ASPIRE DIRECT LIMITED
- 2014-02-14➕ABBOTT, David Ian appointeddirector
- 2014-02-14➕VENABLE, Paul appointedsecretary
- 2014-02-14➕VENABLE, Paul St John Lloyd appointeddirector
- 2014-02-14➕YEUNG, Mark Benjamin appointeddirector
- 2014-02-14📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
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 68. 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 12 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
1 high ·Company dissolved
highCompany has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.
Evidence: Dissolved on 2019-05-28
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr David Ian Abbott Individual · British · DOB 07/1958 · age 68 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Mark Benjamin Yeungceased 15/03/2017· 25-50% shares
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 · Retail · YO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOX LEATHER LTD→ 15151810 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BROCK & BRIAR LTD→ 16024133 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BROMWICH FAMILY BUTCHERS LTD→ 13907169 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BRUNSWICK OF YORK CIC→ 07582220 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| BUBCOMMERCIAL LTD→ 14132415 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BUCKET LIST IMPORTS LIMITED→ 12282064 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BUDDOG LTD→ 13495549 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BUGWEED'S FABRICS LIMITED→ 09755915 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BUGWEED'S RETAIL LIMITED→ 09755835 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BUGWEED'S SEWING MACHINES LIMITED→ 09755906 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BUGWEED'S SEWING SCHOOL LIMITED→ 09755843 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BUGWEED'S STUDIO LIMITED→ 09755892 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
9 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
Statusdissolved
Typeltd
Incorporated2014-02-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47910 — Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
Registered office
Salter Road
Scarborough
North Yorkshire
YO11 3UP
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2017-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: —
Last: —
Officers (0 active · 3 resigned)
ABBOTT, David Ian→
Activedirector · ~68y · appointed 2014-02-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
VENABLE, Paul→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2014-02-14 · resigned 2017-03-16
VENABLE, Paul St John Lloyd→
Resigneddirector · ~63y · appointed 2014-02-14 · resigned 2017-03-16
YEUNG, Mark Benjamin→
Resigneddirector · ~50y · appointed 2014-02-14 · resigned 2017-03-16
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 | Duraweld Duraweld Limited | A registered charge | 1 property | 21/03/2014 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (23 total)
gazette-dissolved-voluntary
gazette · GAZ2(A)
2019-05-28
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2019-03-12
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2019-02-27
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2019-02-21
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2018-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-11-30
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2018-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-08-23
mortgage-charge-whole-release-with-charge-number
mortgage · MR05
2017-03-28
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-03-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-03-19
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2017-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2017-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-10-31