ARDEN STRATEGIES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
SC517100 · ltd · incorporated 2015-10-02
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
£4.49M
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (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: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (76/100)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
2 officers (2 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
29 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £4,494,251
Cash YoY
+21%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£2.9m
↑ 21% YoY
Net Worth
£4.5m
↑ 60% YoY
Current Assets
£4.5m
↑ 36% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £4.50M | £2.80M |
| Current assets | £4.51M | £3.31M |
| Cash | £2.95M | £2.44M |
| Debtors | £1.57M | £868.9k |
| Net assets | £4.49M | £2.80M |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 2 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-17📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-11-17📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-11-17📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-04-14📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-04-05📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2023-04-05📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2022-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-06📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2021-10-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-02🏢Company incorporatedAs ARDEN STRATEGIES LIMITED
- 2015-10-02➕MURPHY, James appointedsecretary
- 2015-10-02➕MURPHY, James appointeddirector
Owner dependency
88/100
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.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
60/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Murphy Individual · British · DOB 08/1967 · age 59 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest | 01/10/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Jim Murphyceased 14/04/2023· 75-100% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| BELL SOLICITORS LIMITED→ SC335085 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| BENSON WOOD & CO (SCOTLAND) LTD→ SC646565 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BENZ MANUFACTURING CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ SC462944 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| BERBER ACCOUNTS AND TAX LTD→ SC844556 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BLUE RABBIT RECRUITMENT LTD→ SC833303 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BM ACCOUNTANCY SERVICES LIMITED→ SC819318 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| BMG BUSINESS SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ SC480077 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| BMS & ENERGY MONITORING LTD→ SC864018 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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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
Incorporated2015-10-02
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC70229 — Management consultancy activities other than financial management
Registered office
Stanley House
69/71 Hamilton Road
Motherwell
ML1 3DG
Scotland
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-15
Last: 2025-10-01
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
MURPHY, James→
Activedirector · ~59y · appointed 2015-10-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-11-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-11-17
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-11-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-04-14
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-04-14
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2023-04-05
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-04-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-10