ALWAYS DISTINCTIVE LTD
💤Zombieactive
09183400 · ltd · incorporated 2014-08-20
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
£91.1k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 20420
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 47750Retail sale of cosmetic and toilet articles in specialised stores
- 47910Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (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 (58/100).
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 3 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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
7 connected companies via shared directors
66
Filing history
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £91,142
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£91k
↑ 201% YoY
Current Assets
£19
↓ 100% YoY
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 | £2.2k | £1.6k |
| Current assets | £19 | £3.9k |
| Net assets | £91.1k | £-89.9k |
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 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-05📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-06-18📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-06-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-06-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-06-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-06-09📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-06-04➖DOWNING, Adrian resigneddirector
- 2019-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-23📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-03-23✏️change-of-name-noticechange-of-name · CONNOT
- 2017-09-18➕DOWNING, Adrian appointeddirector
- 2017-09-18➖DOWNING, Kenneth resigneddirector
- 2014-08-20🏢Company incorporatedAs ALWAYS DISTINCTIVE LTD
- 2014-08-20➕RICHARDS, Dean appointeddirector
- 2014-08-20➕DOWNING, Kenneth 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Dean Richards Individual · British · DOB 12/1969 · age 57 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Adrian Downingceased 01/06/2020· 25-50% shares
- Mr Kenneth Downingceased 18/09/2017· 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 · Manufacturing · WV postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALBION PRESSINGS LTD→ 14895489 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALL HEATING SERVICES LIMITED→ 05808014 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ALLEY KATZ LTD→ 07838365 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ALLFAB LTD→ 15784122 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALLFORMS CO UK LTD→ 05507816 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ALLTIMESEMBROIDER LTD→ 17001128 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALLTIMESEMBROIDERY LTD→ 16650803 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALLUMER SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 14866177 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALPHA DESIGNS UPHOLSTERY LIMITED→ 06770930 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AMKBESPOKEJOINERY LTD→ 13037081 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ANDERSONS BEDS LIMITED→ 11101924 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ANDRA MUNRO DESIGN LTD→ 11164343 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-08-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC20420 — SIC 20420
Registered office
59 Cartway
Bridgnorth
WV16 4BG
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-03
Last: 2025-08-20
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
RICHARDS, Dean→
Activedirector · ~57y · appointed 2014-08-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DOWNING, Adrian→
Resigneddirector · ~58y · appointed 2017-09-18 · resigned 2020-06-04
DOWNING, Kenneth→
Resigneddirector · ~75y · appointed 2014-08-20 · resigned 2017-09-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (42 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-21
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2024-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-05
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-09-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-06-18