CAROBYN PRODUCTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
01517596 · ltd · incorporated 1980-09-16
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
—
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Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). 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: medium (55/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
99 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-10-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-08-14
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2023-10-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-06-05
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
    address · AD02
  6. 2022-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-09-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  8. 2021-10-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-10-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-07-04
    📍
    move-registers-to-registered-office-company-with-new-address
    address · AD04
  14. 2017-07-04
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
    address · AD02
  15. 2016-10-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2007-05-30
    ➕
    WOOLARD, Rachel Clare appointed
    secretary
  17. 2007-05-30
    ➖
    HILLYAR, Carolyn Mary resigned
    secretary
  18. 2007-05-30
    ➖
    HILLYAR, Robin Charles resigned
    director
  19. 2000-02-01
    ➕
    WOOLARD, Richard Bruce appointed
    director
  20. 1980-09-16
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CAROBYN PRODUCTS LIMITED

Owner dependency

93/100
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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 46 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

clean
No 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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Richard Bruce Woolard
Individual · British · DOB 08/1963 · age 63
——sig. influencesignificant influence05/07/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 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
Incorporated1980-09-16
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade

Registered office

College Farm
Saleby
Alford
LN13 0HZ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-06-19
Last: 2026-06-05

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

WOOLARD, Rachel Clare→
secretary · appointed 2007-05-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WOOLARD, Richard Bruce→
director · ~63y · appointed 2000-02-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HILLYAR, Carolyn Mary→
secretary · resigned 2007-05-30
Resigned
HILLYAR, Robin Charles→
director · ~84y · resigned 2007-05-30
Resigned

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

Recent filings (99 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-05
change-sail-address-company-with-old-address-new-address
address · AD02
2023-06-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-06