J.S.SMITH(HIGH WYCOMBE)LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
00415764 · ltd · incorporated 1946-07-24
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
not disclosed
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
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: Non-trading company
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pursue
Dormant / non-trading with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 75). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

1 live charge · oldest 77.2y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 77.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (59/100)

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
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
98 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-03-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-07-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-07-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-06-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2019-12-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-30
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
    address · AD02
  8. 2019-01-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-01-09
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2016-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-06-30
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2016-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-07-10
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-04-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  16. 2014-07-10
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2012-12-21
    HANSON, John resigned
    secretary
  18. 2002-07-16
    HANSON, John appointed
    secretary
  19. 2002-07-16
    HEAD, Peter Douglas resigned
    secretary
  20. 2002-07-16
    HEAD, Douglas Henry resigned
    director
  21. 1949-03-11
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Barclays Bank LTD
  22. 1946-07-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As J.S.SMITH(HIGH WYCOMBE)LIMITED

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 age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 80 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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

Howlands (Furniture) Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Howlands (Furniture) Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares · board control
ultimate parent
J.S.SMITH(HIGH WYCOMBE)LIMITED
This company · 00415764

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
Howlands (Furniture) Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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 · Holding company · HP postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
3 WEST STREET MANAGEMENT CO LTD
06590489 · est 2008 · no financials extracted
17y
3-4 BARLEY COURT RTM COMPANY LIMITED
11042715 · est 2017 · no financials extracted
8y
30 REDCLIFFE GARDENS MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED
04099547 · est 2000 · no financials extracted
25y
30 THE MALL RTM COMPANY LIMITED
07288272 · est 2010 · no financials extracted
15y
30-32 CRANLEY GARDENS LIMITED
05184222 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
21y
31 LONDON ROAD MANAGEMENT COMPANY LTD
05798574 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
19y
31-35B NEW ROAD MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED
06361940 · est 2007 · no financials extracted
18y
34 TITE STREET LIMITED
03821029 · est 1999 · no financials extracted
26y
35 NIGHTINGALE ROAD SOUTHSEA (1994) LIMITED
02961347 · est 1994 · no financials extracted
31y
353 WEST WYCOMBE ROAD MANAGEMENT COMPANY LTD
11744690 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
7y
360 EVOLUTION LIMITED
13759391 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
4y
37 ELVASTON PLACE LIMITED
05155587 · est 2004 · no financials extracted
21y
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
Incorporated1946-07-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC74990 — Non-trading company

Registered office

36 Dashwood Avenue
High Wycombe
Bucks
HP12 3DU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-26
Last: 2025-06-12

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

HEAD, Peter Douglas
director · ~75y
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HANSON, John
secretary · appointed 2002-07-16 · resigned 2012-12-21
Resigned
HEAD, Peter Douglas
secretary · resigned 2002-07-16
Resigned
HEAD, Douglas Henry
director · ~106y · resigned 2002-07-16
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank LTD
Debenture1 property11/03/1949
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (98 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-03-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-07-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-06-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-12-17
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2019-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-01-21