A.J.PURKISS LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
00428423 · ltd · incorporated 1947-01-27
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Freight transport by road
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 78). 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 (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 48.8y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 48.8 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (77/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (3 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
93 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.
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 200 | 200 |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-29📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2021-10-29🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2020-10-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-27📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-05-19📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2000-01-07➕GOWLETT, Jennifer Mary appointedsecretary
- 2000-01-07➖PURKISS, George Stanley resigneddirector
- 1992-11-15➖PURKISS, Frank Albert resignedsecretary
- 1992-11-15➖PURKISS, Frank Albert resigneddirector
- 1977-08-08🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank Limited
- 1947-01-27🏢Company incorporatedAs A.J.PURKISS LIMITED
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "PURKISS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 78 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 79 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Jennifer Mary Gowlett Individual · British · DOB 09/1947 · age 79 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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| A J STEPHENSON REMOVALS LIMITED→ 07890533 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
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| ACE TAXIS (BASILDON) LIMITED→ 10505340 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ADC COURIERS LTD→ 11263961 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADONKIA LTD→ 08885582 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AEL CONNECTION LTD→ 16109605 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AERIAL-UK LTD→ 15397557 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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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
Incorporated1947-01-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC49410 — Freight transport by road
Registered office
Horseshoe Farm
Latton
Near Harlow
Essex
CM17 9LH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-01
Last: 2026-05-18
Officers (3 active · 3 resigned)
GOWLETT, Jennifer Mary→
Activesecretary · appointed 2000-01-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
Active
PURKISS, Frank Albert→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1992-11-15
PURKISS, Frank Albert→
Resigneddirector · ~117y · resigned 1992-11-15
PURKISS, George Stanley→
Resigneddirector · ~121y · resigned 2000-01-07
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Barclays Barclays Bank Limited | Legal charge | 1 property | 08/08/1977 | 29/10/2021 |
Recent filings (93 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-11-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-24
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-27