AQUILA SPORTHORSES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
08032855 · ltd · incorporated 2012-04-17
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01430
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). 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 (75/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
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
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
43 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
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-10-31
Average employees100

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 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 2 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-24
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2025-07-25
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  4. 2025-01-29
    📄
    gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
    gazette · DISS40
  5. 2025-01-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-01-08
    📄
    dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
    dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
  7. 2024-12-31
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  8. 2024-07-30
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  9. 2023-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-07-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-06-23
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  13. 2020-06-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-03-25
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  15. 2019-11-01
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  16. 2019-11-01
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  17. 2019-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2019-06-18
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  19. 2012-04-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AQUILA SPORTHORSES LIMITED
  20. 2012-04-17
    WARD, Graham appointed
    director

Owner dependency

95/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 72 — succession pressure is live.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

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

Group structure

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

🏛️
Azzure Holdings Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
AQUILA SPORTHORSES LIMITED
This company · 08032855

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
Azzure Holdings Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control29/10/2019
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Graham Wardceased 29/10/2019· significant influence · trust interest · firm interest

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 →

Similar companies

Active · Agriculture · WF postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
5 STAR FISHERIES MANAGEMENT LTD
13610941 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
4y
A J HUDDLESTONE LIMITED
07746915 · est 2011 · no financials extracted
14y
ADDISON AGRICULTURAL LTD
16597401 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
AGILE HR SOLUTIONS LIMITED
06881655 · est 2009 · no financials extracted
16y
ALPACA TRAIL ADVENTURES CROWLE LTD
17036755 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
AQUA BRIDGE FARMS LTD
14608379 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
3y
AQUAPAWS CANINE HYDROTHERAPY LTD
14986920 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
2y
ARMITAGE (UK) LIMITED
04365681 · est 2002 · no financials extracted
24y
ASHWOOD PREMIER HOUSE LIMITED
08576521 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
12y
BARKSIDE LODGE LTD
16795446 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
BARRYS POULTRY HANDLING LIMITED
16836576 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
BATLEY HALL FARM RIDING CENTRE LIMITED
08592117 · est 2013 · no financials extracted
12y
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
Incorporated2012-04-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01430 — SIC 01430

Registered office

The Crescent
Ropergate
Pontefract
West Yorkshire
WF8 1LY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-28
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-01
Last: 2025-04-17

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

WARD, Graham
director · ~72y · appointed 2012-04-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

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

Recent filings (43 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-23
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-10-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-21
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-28
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2025-01-08
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-12-31
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-31