AFAR EXHIBITION SERVICES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01544811 · ltd · incorporated 1981-02-11
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Activities of exhibition and fair organisers
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 34.2y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 34.2 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 (2 active, 6 linked, 4 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
120 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
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 | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 1700 | 1700 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-10📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2026-03-10📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2026-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-24📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-09-24📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-09-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2024-04-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-05-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-05-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-12-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2006-02-19➕DOLAN, Linda appointedsecretary
- 2006-02-19➖PHELAN, Joseph Shaun resignedsecretary
- 2004-07-31➖BARRACLOUGH, George Frederick resigneddirector
- 2003-04-30➖PHELAN, Joseph Shaun resigneddirector
- 1997-04-06➕DOLAN, James Andrew appointeddirector
- 1997-04-06➕BARRACLOUGH, George Frederick appointeddirector
- 1997-04-04➖GRAY, Anthony Michael resigneddirector
- 1992-03-18🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Midland Bank PLC
- 1981-02-11🏢Company incorporatedAs AFAR EXHIBITION SERVICES LIMITED
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 29 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 29 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 45 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
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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr James Andrew Dolan Individual · Scottish · DOB 03/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 10/03/2026 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr James Andrew Dolanceased 10/03/2026· 75-100% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFTERGLOW SUN THERAPY LTD→ 14171623 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AGH LANDSCAPES LIMITED→ 16760194 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGL RAPID CCTV SOLUTIONS LTD→ 14529852 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AGNAR GROUP LTD→ 15723497 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AGRATECH NW LTD→ 07227291 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AGRISOIL LIMITED→ 11259899 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AH ELITECLEAN SERVICES LTD→ 16886424 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AHKB LTD→ 16179361 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AIREDALE CLEANING SERVICES LIMITED→ 14677246 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AIS PLUS LIMITED→ 07244123 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| AISER SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16608256 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AJ BRETHERTON GROUNDWORKS & PLANT LTD→ 10111429 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1981-02-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82301 — Activities of exhibition and fair organisers
Registered office
Croft House
Station Road
Barnoldswick
Lancashire
BB18 5NA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-04
Last: 2025-09-20
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
Active
DOLAN, James Andrew→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 1997-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PHELAN, Joseph Shaun→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2006-02-19
BARRACLOUGH, George Frederick→
Resigneddirector · ~89y · appointed 1997-04-06 · resigned 2004-07-31
GRAY, Anthony Michael→
Resigneddirector · ~87y · resigned 1997-04-04
PHELAN, Joseph Shaun→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · resigned 2003-04-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Midland Bank Midland Bank PLC | Fixed and floating charge | 1 property | 18/03/1992 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (120 total)
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2026-03-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-03-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-24
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-09-24
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-09-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-09-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-20