A. & M. BARLEY LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
00492404 · ltd · incorporated 1951-03-08
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 68). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 32.0y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 32.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 4 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
104 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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2026-01-31 | 2025-01-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 600 | 600 |
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-07-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-06-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-22📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-12-15📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2020-12-08➖BARLEY, Michael Lester resigneddirector
- 2020-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-30📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2019-07-17➖BARLEY, Lester Alfred William resignedsecretary
- 2018-06-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-21📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2017-09-21🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2017-09-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2012-05-03➖BARLEY, Jonathan Ian resignedsecretary
- 2012-05-03➕BARLEY, Lester Alfred William appointedsecretary
- 2011-06-21➕BARLEY, Jonathan Ian appointedsecretary
- 2011-06-21➖BARLEY, Lester Alfred William resignedsecretary
- 2011-06-21➖BARLEY, Lester Alfred William resigneddirector
- 2007-04-06➖BARLEY, Pamela Mary resigneddirector
- 1994-08-05🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1951-03-08🏢Company incorporatedAs A. & M. BARLEY 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 "BARLEY" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
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 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 75 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Jonathan Ian Barley Individual · British · DOB 02/1958 · age 68 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
Michael Lester Barley Individual · British · DOB 08/1955 · age 71 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Lester Alfred William Barleyceased 09/06/2020· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Retail · PO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A. M. SHEPPARD LIMITED→ 07487950 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| A&M HABERDASHERY&FABRICS LIMITED→ 14109265 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALBERT & ARTHUR LIMITED→ 10800340 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALEXANDRA SPORTS LIMITED→ 02842522 · est 1993 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| ALFRETON VISIONPLUS LIMITED→ 06318427 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| ALL THE GEAR EQUESTRIAN LTD→ 16213082 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALL THINGZ LIMITED→ 12630353 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALLESTREE SPECSAVERS LIMITED→ 15208659 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALLIANCE REMEDIAL SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 07814823 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| ALLOA SPECSAVERS LIMITED→ 04678175 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| ALLSOP & FRANCIS LTD→ 02589906 · est 1991 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| ALLSORTS ANTIQUES LIMITED→ 13518084 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1951-03-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47520 — Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores
Registered office
161 Middleton Road
Middleton-On-Sea
Bognor Regis
West Sussex
PO22 6DE
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-07
Last: 2026-06-23
Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)
Active
BARLEY, Jonathan Ian→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2011-06-21 · resigned 2012-05-03
BARLEY, Lester Alfred William→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2012-05-03 · resigned 2019-07-17
BARLEY, Lester Alfred William→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2011-06-21
BARLEY, Lester Alfred William→
Resigneddirector · ~97y · resigned 2011-06-21
BARLEY, Michael Lester→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · resigned 2020-12-08
BARLEY, Pamela Mary→
Resigneddirector · ~96y · resigned 2007-04-06
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 | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Charge | 2 properties | 05/08/1994 | 21/09/2017 |
Recent filings (104 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-05-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-11
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-07-03
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-23
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-06-22