A. BALL & SON LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01043912 · ltd · incorporated 1972-02-25
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
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 72). 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: low (54/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 3 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
98 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.
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 (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-06-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-06-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-06-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2024-03-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-03-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-10-15📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-05-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2007-02-28➖BALL, Kenneth resignedsecretary
- 2007-01-01➕BALL, Wendy appointedsecretary
- 2007-01-01➖BALL, Kenneth resigneddirector
- 2007-01-01➖GOUGH, Christine resigneddirector
- 1972-02-25🏢Company incorporatedAs A. BALL & SON 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 "BALL" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — 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 72 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 54 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 Michael Ball Individual · British · DOB 05/1954 · age 72 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 14/10/2016 |
Mrs Wendy Ball Individual · British · DOB 03/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | — | board control25-50% shares · board control | 01/01/2024 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · S postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1600 LIMITED→ 13957050 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 2YD LTD→ 11892359 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 3AM BUILD LTD→ 15051747 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 5 STAAR UK LTD→ 16525771 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 7 HILL BLINDS UK LTD→ 16378717 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 7TH MAGPIE LTD→ 16949414 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 8BROS LTD→ 15540817 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A & A DEXTER FLOORING LTD→ 05782685 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| A AND A GLOBAL FOODS LTD→ 11804387 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A ARC INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ 13314786 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| A&A GROWTH LTD→ 14521491 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A1 ENGINEERING SURPLUS LIMITED→ 14079274 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1972-02-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Registered office
76-78 Laughton Road
Dinnington
Sheffield
S25 2PS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-28
Last: 2025-10-14
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
Active
BALL, Kenneth→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2007-02-28
BALL, Kenneth→
Resigneddirector · ~96y · resigned 2007-01-01
GOUGH, Christine→
Resigneddirector · ~70y · resigned 2007-01-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (98 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-15
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-06-27
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-06-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-06-30