APL SECURITY GROUP LTD
💤Zombieactive
13735042 · ltd · incorporated 2021-11-10
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
£-16.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
70/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Security and commodity contracts dealing activities
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 70/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. 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: strategic trade sale (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
27 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
70/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £16,724
Net assets shrinking
Down £16,803 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£17k
↓ 21270% YoY
Current Assets
£33k
↑ 82% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £33.2k | £18.2k |
| Current assets | £33.2k | £18.2k |
| Net assets | £-16.7k | £79 |
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 address
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 1 address
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-12-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-12-20📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-08📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-11-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-11-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-11-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-10-27📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2024-10-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-10-14➕HESLOP, Laura Lucie Ann appointedsecretary
- 2024-10-14➖HESLOP, Laura Lucie Ann resigneddirector
- 2024-07-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-07-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2024-05-21📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-12📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-12-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-12-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-12-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-12-09📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-12-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-11-10🏢Company incorporatedAs APL SECURITY GROUP LTD
- 2021-11-10➕ATHERTON, Philip appointeddirector
- 2021-11-10➕HESLOP, Laura Lucie Ann 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
1 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Miss Laura Lucie Ann Heslop Individual · British · DOB 04/1984 · age 42 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 10/11/2021 |
Mr Philip Atherton Individual · British · DOB 10/1975 · age 51 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 10/11/2021 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Financial services · M postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABRIDGE FINANCE LTD→ 12399889 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ACHIEVERS25 COMMUNITY INTEREST COMPANY→ 17040426 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ACS PAYROLL LIMITED→ 15989873 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACTIVE FLEET MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 11313628 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AD WEALTH MANAGEMENT LTD→ 16044300 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADELPHI INVESTMENTS (NORTH WEST) LIMITED→ 17125218 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ADMINISTRATIVE SERVICES INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 09393496 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AEC CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 16221763 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AETHER VENTURES LTD→ 16813881 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AFFIRMATIVE FUNDING LIMITED→ 09351503 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AFRISUSU INITIATIVE FOUNDATION CIC→ 11060546 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AFTAB CURRENCY EXCHANGE LIMITED→ 09360990 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2021-11-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC66120 — Security and commodity contracts dealing activities
Registered office
20 Swan Street First Floor, Swan Buildings
20 Swan Street
Manchester
M4 5JW
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-23
Last: 2025-11-09
Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)
HESLOP, Laura Lucie Ann→
Activesecretary · appointed 2024-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
ATHERTON, Philip→
Activedirector · ~51y · appointed 2021-11-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HESLOP, Laura Lucie Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~42y · appointed 2021-11-10 · resigned 2024-10-14
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (27 total)
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2026-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-22
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-12-20
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-31
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-04-08
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-11-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-11-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-11-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-15
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2024-10-27
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-10-27
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-07-08
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-07-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-05-21