1 BLACK DOG DESIGN LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
10734436 · ltd · incorporated 2017-04-21
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 42220
Sector: Construction
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 62020Information technology consultancy activities
  • 71122Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
  • 74100Specialised design activities
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 71/100 (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: medium (78/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 4 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
20 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
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£0Apr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Average employees100100

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
3
filings
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (14 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2026-01-24
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  3. 2025-08-07
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  4. 2025-07-08
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  5. 2025-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-01-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-12-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-04-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1 BLACK DOG DESIGN LIMITED
  13. 2017-04-21
    STUART, Matthew James, Mr. appointed
    director
  14. 2017-04-21
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

80/100
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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

45/100
Moderate signal

Some 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.

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. Matthew James Stuart
Individual · English · DOB 12/1982 · age 44
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control21/04/2017

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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2017-04-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC42220 — SIC 42220

Registered office

9 Row Brow Park
Dearham
Maryport
Cumbria
CA15 7JU
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-04
Last: 2025-04-20

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

STUART, Matthew James, Mr.
director · ~44y · appointed 2017-04-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (20 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-28
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2026-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-21
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2025-08-07
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-29