ARCSTRADING DIRECT LTD
Opportunity 75/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | 200 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
2 signals 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
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (16 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-11-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-11-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-11-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-09-30📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-09-30📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-07-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-12-20📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-12-20📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2024-12-03📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2024-11-29➖SHEPPARD, Robert resigneddirector
- 2023-07-26🏢Company incorporatedAs ARCSTRADING DIRECT LTD
- 2023-07-26➕CRANMER, Andrew appointeddirector
- 2023-07-26➕SHEPPARD, Robert appointeddirector
- 2023-07-26📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Young company: Only 2.8 years old — management layer unlikely to be developed.
Succession & seller-readiness
Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Cranmer Individual · British · DOB 10/1962 · age 64 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 26/07/2023 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Robert Sheppardceased 20/12/2024· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting · board control
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
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