AVANT GARDE PHOTOGRAPHY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC557032 · ltd · incorporated 2017-02-09
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 Feb 2026
Net worth
£-14.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Portrait photographic activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 74202Other specialist photography
- 74909Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 65). 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.
Company profile
address, 3 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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
24 filings on record
85
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
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredNegative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £14,151
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£14k
↓ 16% YoY
Current Assets
£90
↓ 20% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2026-02-28 | 2025-02-28 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-13.3k | £-11.4k |
| Current assets | £90 | £113 |
| Net assets | £-14.2k | £-12.2k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
1
filing
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Last 90 days
3
filings
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-23📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-03-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-25📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2020-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-07📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-01-28📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2018-01-28📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-02-09🏢Company incorporatedAs AVANT GARDE PHOTOGRAPHY LIMITED
- 2017-02-09➕THOMSON, Andrew appointeddirector
- 2017-02-09📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
95/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
65/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Andrew Thomson Individual · British · DOB 02/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 09/02/2017 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Andrew Thomsonceased 28/01/2018· significant influence
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DA CAPITAL HOLDINGS LTD→ SC511125 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| DANIEL MP LTD→ SC432421 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| DARWIN STRATEGIC SEARCH LIMITED→ SC884143 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DASBO LIMITED→ SC347934 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| DAVID WALLACE CONTRACTS LTD→ SC630344 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| DBK ONE LIMITED→ SC712147 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| DEBRIK ENGINEERING CONSULTANT LIMITED→ SC735995 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| DEEPWIND VENTURES LTD→ SC666705 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| DEESIDE INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ SC388863 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| DEMPTOS LIMITED→ SC338655 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| DENTAL IMPLANTS SCOTLAND LTD.→ SC858750 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| DEOT CONSULTING LTD→ SC714041 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
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 →🔒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
Incorporated2017-02-09
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC74201 — Portrait photographic activities
Registered office
53 High Street
Laurencekirk
AB30 1BH
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-11-30
Last made up to: 2026-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-04
Last: 2026-01-21
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
THOMSON, Andrew→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2017-02-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (24 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-07
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-08-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-26