APPLETON FINN LIMITED
🌿Early-stageactive
13778369 · ltd · incorporated 2021-12-02
Investment thesis
Growth-phase business — story-led; valuation sensitive to momentum.
Why interesting: Trading is scaling; acquirers paying for trajectory get disproportionate leverage.
Why risky: Price often leads fundamentals; dependency on founder often high.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
72/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities of employment placement agencies
Sector: Administrative & support services
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. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (63/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 1.6y
50/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Newest facility, 1.6 years old — likely still in initial term.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: high (83/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 4 total, 4 with control declared
90
Director network
11 connected companies via shared directors
78
Filing history
27 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
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 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 | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £93.7k |
| Current assets | — | £215.8k |
| Cash | — | £65.9k |
| Debtors | — | £149.9k |
| Net assets | — | £93.7k |
| Average employees | 1100 | — |
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
2
filings
- • 1 capital
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 capital
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 capital
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-07-04📄capital-alter-shares-subdivisioncapital · SH02
- 2026-06-24📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-03-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-01-13📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2025-01-13📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2025-01-10📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-01-10📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-01-10📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC02
- 2025-01-10📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2025-01-09➕APPLETON, Daniel David James appointeddirector
- 2025-01-09➕FIRTH, Conor Reece appointeddirector
- 2024-12-12📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-12-11🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Cynergy Business Finance Limited
- 2024-11-14📄capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-sharescapital · SH10
- 2024-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-20📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2023-12-19📄capital-allotment-sharescapital · SH01
- 2023-12-19📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2023-12-12📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2023-11-30📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2023-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-08-17📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-12-02🏢Company incorporatedAs APPLETON FINN LIMITED
- 2021-12-02➕GOODALL, Richard David appointeddirector
Owner dependency
65/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "APPLETON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
Succession & seller-readiness
30/100
Weak signalLimited succession signal. Not a near-term off-market candidate.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Group structure
2 corporate shareholders identified. Group structure is distributed.
🏛️significant stake
Goodall Brazier Limited
Corporate parent · holds 25-50% shares · board control
🏛️majority
Goodall Brazier Executive Search Limited
Corporate parent · holds 50-75% shares · board control
⬇
APPLETON FINN LIMITED
This company · 13778369
Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Goodall Brazier Executive Search Limited Corporate entity | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 31/12/2022 |
Goodall Brazier Limited Corporate entity | 25–50% | 25–50% | board control25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control | 19/06/2026 |
2 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Richard David Goodallceased 31/12/2022· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Goodall Brazier Executive Search Limited (No. 12246636)ceased 17/08/2022· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
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 · Professional services · HG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALL THINGS HIRED LIMITED→ 15814413 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ANDERSON MAC LIMITED→ 06080328 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ANTIOPE MANAGEMENT LIMITED→ 12567269 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ARTEMIS EMPLOYMENT SOLUTIONS LTD→ 13944233 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ARTUS DIGITAL MARKETING LIMITED→ 13017174 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ASCEND CONSULTING SERVICES LTD→ 13730354 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ASCENT LIMITED→ 05082447 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ASHLEY ADVISORY LIMITED→ 07247677 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ASHTECH SCIENCE LTD→ 14982398 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ASHTON SMITH ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ 05154076 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 21y | — | — |
| ASISCOMETA LIMITED→ 09860129 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ASKWITH STRUCTURAL DETAILING LIMITED→ 07051088 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2021-12-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC78109 — Other activities of employment placement agencies
Registered office
3 Greengate Cardale Park
Harrogate
North Yorkshire
HG3 1GY
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-15
Last: 2025-12-01
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
APPLETON, Daniel David James→
Activedirector · ~45y · appointed 2025-01-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FIRTH, Conor Reece→
Activedirector · ~32y · appointed 2025-01-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GOODALL, Richard David→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2021-12-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Cynergy Business Finance Cynergy Business Finance Limited | A registered charge | 6 properties | 11/12/2024 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (27 total)
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2026-07-04
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2026-06-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-03-06
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2025-01-13
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2025-01-13
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-01-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2025-01-10
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2025-01-10
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-12
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-12-12
capital-variation-of-rights-attached-to-shares
capital · SH10
2024-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-17