AFRICAN PALMS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
01809993 · ltd · incorporated 1984-04-18
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 25.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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: strategic trade sale (63/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 25.5y
65/100
clean up first
Refinance viable after a tidy-up — address the highlighted items first.
- · Oldest live charge is 25.5 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: 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
8 officers (3 active, 8 linked, 5 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
111 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
65
Some acquirability indicators.
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 | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £12.9k |
| Current assets | — | £147.2k |
| Cash | — | £11.2k |
| Debtors | — | £3.8k |
| Net assets | — | £1.0k |
| Average employees | 300 | — |
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 (28 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-07-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-07-24📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-07📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-12-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-18📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-09-16📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2014-01-01➕HITCHCOCK, Sarah appointeddirector
- 2014-01-01➖TALBOT, Shirley May resigneddirector
- 2008-09-30➕TALBOT, John Paul appointedsecretary
- 2008-09-30➖TALBOT, James Trevor resignedsecretary
- 2008-09-30➖TALBOT, James Trevor resigneddirector
- 2002-01-02➖PHILLIPS, Mary resignedsecretary
- 2002-01-02➕TALBOT, James Trevor appointedsecretary
- 2001-02-01🔒Charge registered #1Lender: African Palms Association
- 1998-07-31➖TALBOT, Alan John, Reverand resigneddirector
- 1998-06-11➕TALBOT, John Paul appointeddirector
- 1998-06-11➕TALBOT, James Trevor appointeddirector
- 1995-01-01➕TALBOT, Alan John, Reverand appointeddirector
- 1984-04-18🏢Company incorporatedAs AFRICAN PALMS LIMITED
Owner dependency
68/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
66/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 42 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Shirley May Talbot Individual · British · DOB 11/1936 · age 90 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 31/12/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Reverand Alan John Talbotceased 30/08/2018· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & J PATEL LIMITED→ 09011386 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| A & K BOUTIQUE LTD→ 13953353 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A JASBIR LIMITED→ 16159358 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AESTHETICA SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 10066546 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AFRA+ LTD→ 13366161 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AFRO CHARM LIMITED→ 16150061 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AFT SHOPS LTD→ 16111271 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AGI TEXTILES LTD→ 10799051 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AGNES TRADING LTD→ 13515119 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AGRAPO LIMITED→ 01163774 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 52y | — | — |
| AGV GROUP LTD→ 16169947 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AHHFAM LTD→ 16590595 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1984-04-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Registered office
A M S South Street House
51 South Street
Isleworth
TW7 7AA
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last: 2025-09-16
Officers (3 active · 5 resigned)
Active
HITCHCOCK, Sarah→
Activedirector · ~55y · appointed 2014-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
TALBOT, John Paul→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 1998-06-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
PHILLIPS, Mary→
Resignedsecretary · resigned 2002-01-02
TALBOT, James Trevor→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-01-02 · resigned 2008-09-30
TALBOT, Alan John, Reverand→
Resigneddirector · ~103y · appointed 1995-01-01 · resigned 1998-07-31
TALBOT, James Trevor→
Resigneddirector · ~53y · appointed 1998-06-11 · resigned 2008-09-30
TALBOT, Shirley May→
Resigneddirector · ~90y · resigned 2014-01-01
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 | African Palms Association | Debenture | 1 property | 01/02/2001 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (111 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-19
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-07-24
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-09-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-09-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-01-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-12-18