ANTONY G. WHARTON LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
01633539 · ltd · incorporated 1982-05-06
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 May 2025
Net worth
£537.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Landscape service activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 66). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -97% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · oldest 42.7y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 42.7 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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 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
105 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £537,933
Cash draining
Cash down 97% YoY
Cash YoY
-97%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£556
↓ 97% YoY
Net Worth
£538k
↑ 1.6% YoY
Current Assets
£601k
↑ 15% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-05-31 | 2024-05-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £599.7k | £603.3k |
| Current assets | £600.6k | £522.0k |
| Cash | £556 | £17.7k |
| Debtors | £575.1k | £500.8k |
| Net assets | £537.9k | £529.7k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-16📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-06-15📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2020-06-15📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2020-06-15📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-12-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2011-11-25➖WHARTON, George resigneddirector
- 2008-10-31➖WHARTON, Fred William resigneddirector
- 1995-10-06➕WHARTON, Antony Gary appointedsecretary
- 1995-10-06➖WHARTON, Cecilia resignedsecretary
- 1994-12-05➖WHARTON, Cecilia resigneddirector
- 1987-02-27🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1983-10-21🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 1982-05-06🏢Company incorporatedAs ANTONY G. WHARTON 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 "WHARTON" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — 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 66. 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 44 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
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Antony Gary Wharton Individual · British · DOB 02/1960 · age 66 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr George Whartonceased 03/06/2020· 50-75% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 360 TOTAL SECURITY PLANNING LIMITED→ 10064401 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A T LEISURE LIMITED→ 03712240 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| AARON BREEZE PEST CONTROL LIMITED→ 08114005 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AD RUSK LTD→ 07660906 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AGE CONCERN DURHAM COUNTY TRADING LIMITED→ 03247027 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| ALMASHGARI PROPERTIES LTD→ 10554717 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALNSOLUTIONS LTD→ 14067207 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALPRO BIDCO 1 LTD→ 16833807 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ANDREA CELLERINO STUDIO LIMITED→ 14272692 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANNFIELD BARBERS LIMITED→ 14706990 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| APL EVENT LIMITED→ 08273236 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| APM DELIVERIES LIMITED→ 04678927 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1982-05-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC81300 — Landscape service activities
Registered office
Light Industrial Estate
Esh Winning
Durham
DH7 9PT
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-09
Last: 2025-11-25
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
WHARTON, Antony Gary→
Activesecretary · appointed 1995-10-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WHARTON, Cecilia→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 1995-10-06
WHARTON, Cecilia→
Resigneddirector · ~87y · resigned 1994-12-05
WHARTON, Fred William→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · resigned 2008-10-31
WHARTON, George→
Resigneddirector · ~88y · resigned 2011-11-25
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
2
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Legal charge | 1 property | 27/02/1987 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 21/10/1983 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (105 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-09-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-02-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-11-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-06-16
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2020-06-15
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2020-06-15