KARLA BLACK LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC415841 · ltd · incorporated 2012-01-31
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 Jun 2024
Net worth
£-4.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Artistic creation
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)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
2 officers (1 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
33 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £4,151
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£4k
↑ 71% YoY
Current Assets
£7k
↑ 44675% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-06-30 | 2023-06-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-4.2k | £-14.4k |
| Current assets | £7.2k | £16 |
| Net assets | £-4.2k | £-14.4k |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-24📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-03-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-10📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-13📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-03-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-04-28📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AAMD
- 2015-03-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2012-01-31🏢Company incorporatedAs KARLA BLACK LIMITED
- 2012-01-31➕BLACK, Karla Alice appointeddirector
- 2012-01-31➕MABBOTT, Stephen George appointeddirector
- 2012-01-31➖MABBOTT, Stephen George resigneddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
Critical — business is the founderThe business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BLACK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.
- supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Karla Alice Black Individual · British · DOB 12/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 31/01/2017 |
Mr Tony Swain Individual · British · DOB 01/1967 · age 59 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 31/01/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Leisure & entertainment · ML postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GLD PROMOTIONS LTD→ SC878478 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| GLOBAL WORLD TRAVEL LIMITED→ SC811212 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| HAMILTON PILATES STUDIO LTD→ SC771414 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| MAD STREET DANCE SCHOOL LTD→ SC446409 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| MCCLYMONT & HIGGINSON RACING LTD→ SC845045 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MONEY TREE COMPETITIONS LIMITED→ SC684496 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| MOTHERWELL FOOTBALL AND ATHLETIC CLUB LIMITED (THE)→ SC005702 · est 1904 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 121y | — | — |
| MOTHERWELL FOOTBALL CLUB COMMUNITY TRUST→ SC406352 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| MR INFLATABLEZ LTD→ SC866075 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| MS FITNESS CENTRE LIMITED→ SC833979 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| MT ATTRACTIONS LTD→ SC755699 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| MTA ASSET HOLDINGS LIMITED→ SC844402 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-01-31
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC90030 — Artistic creation
Registered office
1 Campbell Lane
Hamilton
ML3 6DB
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-14
Last: 2026-01-31
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
BLACK, Karla Alice→
Activedirector · ~54y · appointed 2012-01-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MABBOTT, Stephen George→
Resigneddirector · ~76y · appointed 2012-01-31 · resigned 2012-01-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-05-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-20