SOUTHERN COUNTIES LIMITED
⚰️Wound downdissolved
01197548 · ltd · incorporated 1975-01-23
Investment thesis
Company dissolved — not a live target.
Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.
Why risky: Not transactable.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 41.6y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
62/100
Worth a look
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 5010
Sector: Transportation & storage
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 5050SIC 5050
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 62/100 (worth a look), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (63/100, director aged 77). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
3 live charges · oldest 41.6y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 41.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 25/100 — workable, but lender will want more DD.
Data confidence
Overall: low (53/100)Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.
Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
3 charges (3/3 with lender, 3/3 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
17 connected companies via shared directors
90
Filing history
87 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
62/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.
Business quality
30
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review 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 (31 events)Click to expand
- 2011-06-21📄gazette-dissolved-voluntarygazette · GAZ2(A)
- 2011-06-21🏁Company dissolved
- 2011-03-08📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2011-02-24📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2010-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-03-02📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-03-02📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2010-02-12📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2010-02-12📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2009-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2009-03-31📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2009-03-30📍legacyaddress · 287
- 2009-03-30📍legacyaddress · 190
- 2009-03-30📍legacyaddress · 353
- 2008-10-22📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 2008-02-12📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2008-01-30📄legacyofficers · 288c
- 2008-01-30📄legacyofficers · 288c
- 2007-11-16📄legacyofficers · 288c
- 2007-11-16📄legacyofficers · 288c
- 2007-10-25📄accounts-with-made-up-dateaccounts · AA
- 2007-02-20📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2006-11-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-smallaccounts · AA
- 2006-04-26📄legacyannual-return · 363a
- 2005-09-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-fullaccounts · AA
- 2005-09-01📄legacyaccounts · 225
- 2004-12-31➖DONALD, Walter Scott resigneddirector
- 1988-09-08🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Esso Petroleum Company Limited
- 1988-02-18🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Esso Petroleum Company Limited
- 1984-11-02🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Esso Petroleum Company Limited
- 1975-01-23🏢Company incorporatedAs SOUTHERN COUNTIES LIMITED
Owner dependency
81/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 77 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
76/100
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 77 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 51 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
1 high ·Company dissolved
highCompany has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.
Evidence: Dissolved on 2011-06-21
🔒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 · Transport & logistics · RH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24/7 EXPRESS DELIVERY LTD→ 11573946 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 4-WHEELS EXPRESS DELIVERY LTD→ 11463223 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A & C EXHIBITIONS LTD→ 03266624 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| A1A LOGISTICS LTD→ 14067378 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A21 EXECUTIVE LTD→ 16931967 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A247 GATWICK CARS LTD→ 14596350 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AA QUALITY SHIPPING LTD→ 14100639 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ABILIS INTERNATIONAL MOVERS & SHIPPERS LTD→ 09981459 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AC CARS GATWICK LIMITED→ 14786644 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ACE PARKING LIMITED→ 14026000 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ACORN CARS GATWICK LTD→ 15811774 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ACR TRANS SERVICES LTD→ 11994334 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
9 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
Statusdissolved
Typeltd
Incorporated1975-01-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC5010 — SIC 5010
Registered office
C/O Scg Limited
1 Foundry Close
Horsham
West Sussex
RH13 5TX
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2009-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: —
Last: —
Officers (0 active · 1 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
3
Total charges
3
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:3 of 3 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Esso Petroleum Company Esso Petroleum Company Limited | Consolidating charge | 1 property | 08/09/1988 | — | |
| outstanding | Esso Petroleum Company Esso Petroleum Company Limited | Charge | 1 property | 18/02/1988 | — | |
| outstanding | Esso Petroleum Company Esso Petroleum Company Limited | Legal charge | 2 properties | 02/11/1984 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (87 total)
gazette-dissolved-voluntary
gazette · GAZ2(A)
2011-06-21
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2011-03-08
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2011-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-small
accounts · AA
2010-10-08
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2010-03-02
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2010-03-02
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2010-02-12
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2010-02-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2009-10-23
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2009-03-31
legacy
address · 287
2009-03-30
legacy
address · 190
2009-03-30
legacy
address · 353
2009-03-30
accounts-with-made-up-date
accounts · AA
2008-10-22
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2008-02-12