4D VISAGE LTD

💤Zombieactive
09891574 · ltd · incorporated 2015-11-26
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 May 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: Cultural education
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). 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 (70/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
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
23 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

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-05-31
Average employees0

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
0
filings
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 (14 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-02-27
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  2. 2025-02-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-11-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-01-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-08-28
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  9. 2018-08-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-08-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-02-08
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  12. 2015-11-26
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 4D VISAGE LTD
  13. 2015-11-26
    MASON, Clive William Gillespie appointed
    director
  14. 2015-11-26
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

95/100
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.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

80/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

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
Mr Clive William Gillespie Mason
Individual · British · DOB 07/1954 · age 72
75100%
75-100% shares · firm interest16/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Education & training · RH postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
121BJJ LTD
16994050 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
1ST SWIM SCHOOL LIMITED
07338493 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
15y
4 THE YOUTH LTD
07699716 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
14y
4CFC LTD
13958228 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
4y
A320READY LTD
16980389 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
ABOUT FACE ACADEMY LTD
12325771 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
6y
AC ELITE GYMNASTICS LTD
15963108 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
ACE READY ACADEMY LTD
16432788 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
ACORN CAREER CONSULTING LIMITED
13308961 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
5y
ACTIVE FUNCTIONS LTD
12497275 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
6y
ACTIVEEDGE SPORTS GROUP (COMMUNITY) LTD
15918646 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
ACTIVEEDGE SPORTS GROUP (SERVICES) LTD
15701914 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
1y
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

8 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
Incorporated2015-11-26
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85520 — Cultural education

Registered office

67 Sycamore Drive
Burgess Hill
West Sussex
RH15 0GG
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-10
Last: 2025-11-26

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

MASON, Clive William Gillespie
director · ~72y · appointed 2015-11-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (23 total)

change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2026-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-11-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-06
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2019-08-28