ACTIVE PLAY LTD
🌱Startupactive
16232633 · ltd · incorporated 2025-02-05
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 71122Engineering related scientific and technical consulting activities
- 71129Other engineering activities
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: low (54/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
9 filings
60
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
75
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
7
filings
- • 2 capital
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 incorporation
Last 90 days
7
filings
- • 2 capital
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 incorporation
Last 180 days
8
filings
- • 2 capital
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 incorporation
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (11 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-18📄capital-alter-shares-subdivisioncapital · SH02
- 2026-05-18📄memorandum-articlesincorporation · MA
- 2026-05-18📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2026-05-18📄capital-name-of-class-of-sharescapital · SH08
- 2026-05-06📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2026-04-29📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-04-29📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-04-24➕HARPER, Ian appointeddirector
- 2025-02-05🏢Company incorporatedAs ACTIVE PLAY LTD
- 2025-02-05➕SMALLMAN, Laurence appointeddirector
- 2025-02-05📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
71/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
- +Young company: Only 1.3 years old — management layer unlikely to be developed.
Succession & seller-readiness
56/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Laurence Smallman Individual · British,American · DOB 09/1963 · age 63 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 05/02/2025 |
Mr Ian Harper Individual · British · DOB 07/1974 · age 52 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 24/04/2026 |
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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See pricing →Company details
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2025-02-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71121 — Engineering design activities for industrial process and production
Registered office
Raymond Carter & Co
34 Victoria Road
Dartmouth
Devon
TQ6 9SA
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-05
Last made up to: —
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-18
Last: 2026-02-04
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
SMALLMAN, Laurence→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2025-02-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (9 total)
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2026-05-18
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2026-05-18
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2026-05-18
capital-name-of-class-of-shares
capital · SH08
2026-05-18
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2026-05-06
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-29
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-06
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2025-02-05