EXPLORE GRAPHICS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC239811 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-19
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Artistic creation
Sector: Arts, entertainment & recreation
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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, 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
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
52 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-17📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2026-03-11📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2025-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-30📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-11-30📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-11-09➖MCKAY NORWELL WS resignedcorporate-secretary
- 2002-12-02➕HOAD, Stephen Paul, Dr appointeddirector
- 2002-12-02➖HOOKE, Nicholas Thornton resigneddirector
- 2002-11-19🏢Company incorporatedAs EXPLORE GRAPHICS LIMITED
- 2002-11-19➕MCKAY NORWELL WS appointedcorporate-secretary
- 2002-11-19➕HOOKE, Nicholas Thornton appointeddirector
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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
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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Dr Stephen Paul Hoad Individual · British · DOB 01/1962 · age 64 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 01/10/2016 |
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 · Leisure & entertainment · EH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BOUNCE SPORT LTD→ SC678555 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BOWEN KOREAN TRAVEL LIMITED→ SC473111 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BOWLBY EQUESTRIAN LTD→ SC264494 · est 2004 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| BRAEBANK TRAVEL LTD→ SC822478 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BRAID HILLS SHOP LIMITED→ SC177390 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| BRAIDS TRYST LIMITED→ SC024141 · est 1946 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 79y | — | — |
| BRAVEHEART TOURS LTD→ SC878535 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BRICKS CLUB LTD→ SC734671 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BRIDGES: THE ACTORS' AGENCY LIMITED→ SC338677 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| BRIDGEWAY TRAVEL & CONSULTANCY LTD→ SC873830 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BRIGHTSIDE TRAVEL LTD→ SC707769 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BRIGHTWATER HOLIDAYS LIMITED→ SC137295 · est 1992 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 34y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-11-19
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC90030 — Artistic creation
Registered office
9 Morningside Court
Edinburgh
EH10 5NY
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-02
Last: 2025-08-19
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
HOAD, Stephen Paul, Dr→
Activedirector · ~64y · appointed 2002-12-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
MCKAY NORWELL WS→
Resignedcorporate-secretary · appointed 2002-11-19 · resigned 2010-11-09
HOOKE, Nicholas Thornton→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 2002-11-19 · resigned 2002-12-02
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (52 total)
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-03-17
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-03-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-08-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-09-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-01