SPHERE RESEARCH LTD

🏛️Establishedactive
SC552214 · ltd · incorporated 2016-12-08
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.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
  • · Oldest live charge 4.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£-1.17M
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Business and domestic software development
Sector: Information & communication
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: strategic trade sale (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 4.6y

60/100
clean up first

Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.

  • · Charge age ~4.6 years — mid-life; refi window approaching.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · 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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
8 officers (5 active, 8 linked, 5 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
14 connected companies via shared directors
87
Filing history
70 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £1,167,683
Net assets shrinking
Down £2,179,813 YoY
Cash YoY
-8%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£261k
↓ 8.0% YoY
Net Worth
-£1.2m
↓ 215% YoY
Current Assets
£520k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
-£1.2m-£732k-£296k£140k£576k£1.0mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£1.62M£1.01M
Current assets£519.6k£517.5k
Cash£260.5k£283.3k
Debtors£259.1k£234.1k
Net assets£-1.17M£1.01M

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 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

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • 1 officers
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 officers
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 officers
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  2. 2026-03-26
    TREADWAY, Olly resigned
    director
  3. 2025-05-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-07-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2023-04-03
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  7. 2023-04-03
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2023-01-12
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  9. 2023-01-06
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  10. 2022-12-19
    📄
    memorandum-articles
    incorporation · MA
  11. 2022-12-19
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  12. 2022-12-14
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  13. 2022-12-13
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  14. 2022-11-04
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  15. 2022-10-26
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Sigma Software Llc
  16. 2022-05-20
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  17. 2022-03-29
    📄
    appoint-corporate-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP02
  18. 2022-03-29
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  19. 2022-03-23
    BOLIVAR ROJAS, Alvaro Leonardo appointed
    director
  20. 2022-03-01
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  21. 2022-02-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2022-01-06
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  23. 2021-12-16
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  24. 2021-10-25
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Keith Miller
  25. 2021-09-30
    MILLER, Keith appointed
    director
  26. 2021-09-30
    DA SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director
  27. 2020-10-16
    DA SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  28. 2020-10-16
    RAPOZO, Wayne James resigned
    secretary
  29. 2019-08-23
    RAPOZO, Wayne James appointed
    secretary
  30. 2019-08-22
    CAZALET, David Benedict appointed
    director
  31. 2019-08-21
    MACKENZIE, Euan Richard Happer resigned
    director
  32. 2018-10-23
    MACKENZIE, Euan Richard Happer appointed
    director
  33. 2016-12-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As SPHERE RESEARCH LTD
  34. 2016-12-08
    TREADWAY, Olly appointed
    director

Owner dependency

55/100
Moderate — manageable with handover

Some founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.

FACTORS
  • -4 active directors: Broader management team in place — suggests transferable governance.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

50/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.

Red flags

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Group structure

Sphere Research Holdings Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Sphere Research Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
SPHERE RESEARCH LTD
This company · SC552214

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Sphere Research Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting31/03/2023
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Olly Treadwayceased 31/03/2023· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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 →

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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
Incorporated2016-12-08
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC62012 — Business and domestic software development

Registered office

C/O Factotum
63 Dublin Street
Edinburgh
EH3 6NS
Scotland

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-21
Last: 2025-12-07

Officers (5 active · 3 resigned)

DA SECRETARIAL LIMITED
corporate-secretary · appointed 2020-10-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BOLIVAR ROJAS, Alvaro Leonardo
director · ~48y · appointed 2022-03-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CAZALET, David Benedict
director · ~59y · appointed 2019-08-22
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MILLER, Keith
director · ~69y · appointed 2021-09-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DA SECRETARIAL LIMITED
corporate-director · appointed 2021-09-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RAPOZO, Wayne James
secretary · appointed 2019-08-23 · resigned 2020-10-16
Resigned
MACKENZIE, Euan Richard Happer
director · ~65y · appointed 2018-10-23 · resigned 2019-08-21
Resigned
TREADWAY, Olly
director · ~55y · appointed 2016-12-08 · resigned 2026-03-26
Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
2
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Sigma Software
Sigma Software Llc
A registered charge1 property26/10/2022
outstanding
Keith Miller
A registered charge1 property25/10/2021
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (70 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-04-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-12
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2023-04-03
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-03
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2023-01-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-09
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2023-01-06
memorandum-articles
incorporation · MA
2022-12-19
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-12-19
capital-allotment-shares
capital · SH01
2022-12-14