26 CASTLE LTD
💤Zombieactive
11554401 · ltd · incorporated 2018-09-05
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.
Why now
Window closing · high confidence
Getting harder to buy cheaply — 4 signals strengthening over the last 30 days.
- · Hygiene score: 65 → 85
- · Opportunity score: 64 → 72
- · Bankability: 65 → 75
- · Distress / opportunity: speculative → avoid
Opportunity decay
hardening · 6-months
Hardening — profile is tightening. If you want to act, do it before the window closes further.
- · 4 recent signals strengthening vs 0 weakening
What changed my view
Last 30 days
Picture improved over the last 30 days — 4 positive signals vs 0 negative.
- ↑Opportunity score: 64 → 72
- ↑Hygiene score: 65 → 85
- ↑Bankability: 65 → 75
- ↑PSC count: 2 → 3
- ·Distress / opportunity: speculative → avoid
Last 90 days
No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.
Last 180 days
No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale of cosmetic and toilet articles in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 96020Hairdressing and other beauty treatment
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 72/100 (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 (85/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
3 years of iXBRL accounts extracted + narrative notes parsed
95
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
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
35 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
72/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
3 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-09-30 | 2024-09-30 | 2023-09-30 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 700 | 100 | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
6
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 officers
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
7
filings
- • 2 confirmation-statement
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 officers
Last 180 days
7
filings
- • 2 confirmation-statement
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 2 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
- 2026-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2026-06-29📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-06-29📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2026-06-29📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2026-06-29📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-06-16➕QIU, Feng appointeddirector
- 2026-06-16➖WANG, Xiaoyu resigneddirector
- 2025-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-06-04➖QIU, Feng resigneddirector
- 2025-06-04➕WANG, Xiaoyu appointeddirector
- 2025-06-04📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-06-04📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2025-06-04📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-06-04📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2024-12-04📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-11-26📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2024-06-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-11-24📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-11-22📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2022-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-01-18📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2018-09-05🏢Company incorporatedAs 26 CASTLE LTD
- 2018-09-05➕QIU, Feng 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
45/100
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.
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 Feng Qiu Individual · Chinese · DOB 02/1971 · age 55 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 16/06/2026 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Miss Xiaoyu Wangceased 16/06/2026· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Mr Feng Qiuceased 04/06/2025· 75-100% 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 · SW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A K YOUSAF LTD→ 13218572 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A.J. FAIRLEE LIMITED→ 02071416 · est 1986 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 39y | — | — |
| AJ PHONE CENTER LTD→ 16621453 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AK GROCERY STORE LIMITED→ 16793266 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AL-HAYY STORE LTD→ 14887213 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALCHEMISTA SUSTAINABLE HOMEWARE LTD→ 13632957 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ALCHEMY LONDON LTD→ 13784328 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ALCO VENTURES LIMITED→ 10718929 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALCOFORCE LABORATORIES UK LTD→ 12262499 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALDYAR LTD→ 09728911 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ALEC DREW PICTURE FRAMES LIMITED→ 01244952 · est 1976 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 50y | — | — |
| ALEENA GIFTS LIMITED→ 15599258 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2018-09-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47750 — Retail sale of cosmetic and toilet articles in specialised stores
Registered office
4 Upper Tachbrook Street
4
Westminster
SW1V 1SH
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-14
Last: 2026-06-30
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
Active
QIU, Feng→
Resigneddirector · ~55y · appointed 2018-09-05 · resigned 2025-06-04
WANG, Xiaoyu→
Resigneddirector · ~49y · appointed 2025-06-04 · resigned 2026-06-16
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (35 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-06-30
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-06-29
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-06-29
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-06-29
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-06-26
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-06-04
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2025-06-04
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-06-04
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-06-04
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-15
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03