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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Jun 2024

Net worth

£-4.2k

book net assets

Opportunity

73/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

33 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

73/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

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 accounts

Cash

—

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

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-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-24
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-01-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-03-10
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2017-02-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-04-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-03-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-04-28
📄
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AAMD
2015-03-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2012-01-31
🏢
Company incorporated
As KARLA BLACK LIMITED
2012-01-31
➕
BLACK, Karla Alice appointed
director
2012-01-31
➕
MABBOTT, Stephen George appointed
director
2012-01-31
➖
MABBOTT, Stephen George resigned
director

Owner dependency

90/100

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 name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BLACK" — strong identity link between founder and business.

Succession & seller-readiness

58/100

Strong succession signal

Multiple 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

clean

No 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
BIGGAR MUSEUM TRUST→ SC398044 · est 2011	—	—	£2.14M	—	15y	83	77y
THE BIGGAR ALBION FOUNDATION LIMITED→ SC214838 · est 2001	—	—	£462.7k	—	25y	83	70y
CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FOOTBALL LIMITED→ SC167752 · est 1996	—	—	£234.5k	—	29y	82	71y
ON SITE AUDIO VISUAL SERVICES LIMITED→ SC269886 · est 2004	—	—	£346.2k	—	21y	82	67y
PHOTOFLASH TRAVEL LTD.→ SC386666 · est 2010	—	—	£431.8k	—	15y	82	63y
R. & F. WILMOT LTD.→ SC262419 · est 2004	—	—	—	700	22y	82	60y
BIGGAR & DISTRICT COMMUNITY HERITAGE LIMITED→ SC281826 · est 2005	—	—	£12.3k	—	21y	81	80y
LOTHIAN CAR CLUB (EDINBURGH) LIMITED (THE)→ SC026550 · est 1948	—	—	£39.0k	—	77y	81	71y
A L BEAUTY CLINIC LTD→ SC387141 · est 2010	—	—	£31.5k	—	15y	80	60y
ALBA TOURS LIMITED→ SC233633 · est 2002	—	—	£206.2k	—	23y	80	65y
BARR LEISURE LIMITED→ SC154882 · est 1994 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	31y	80	65y
ELITE SPORTS ANALYSIS LIMITED→ SC207793 · est 2000	—	—	£325.4k	—	25y	80	62y

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→

director · ~54y · appointed 2012-01-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MABBOTT, Stephen George→

director · ~76y · appointed 2012-01-31 · resigned 2012-01-31

Resigned

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