DEPARTMENT-E LTD
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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 (79/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £13.4k | £10.6k |
| Current assets | £24.9k | £18.1k |
| Net assets | £13.4k | £10.6k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-17➖COWTAN, Katherine Alexa resignedsecretary
- 2020-08-17📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2020-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-14📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-24📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-05-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2007-08-13🏢Company incorporatedAs DEPARTMENT-E LTD
- 2007-08-13➕COWTAN, Gordon Kerr appointeddirector
- 2007-08-13➕COWTAN, Katherine Alexa appointedsecretary
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
Red flags
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Gordon Kerr Cowtan Individual · British · DOB 09/1963 · age 63 | 75–100% | 75–100% | sig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · significant influence | 13/08/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Radial SVG graph showing every company connected via shared directors, colour-coded by status.
Available from the Pro tier upwards.
See pricing →Similar companies
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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 →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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