ALPHA ELECTRICAL (READING) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02167647 · ltd · incorporated 1987-09-21
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46520
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
95 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
-£6k-£3k-£803£2k£4k£7kFeb 2024Feb 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-02-282024-02-29
Total assets—£-3.9k
Current assets—£6.8k
Cash—£2.2k
Debtors—£2.1k
Net assets—£-5.8k
Average employees100—

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-11-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-05-23
    ➕
    BARNES, John appointed
    secretary
  6. 2022-05-23
    ➖
    BARNES, Emma Ann resigned
    secretary
  7. 2022-05-23
    ➖
    BARNES, Emma Ann resigned
    director
  8. 2022-05-23
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  9. 2022-05-23
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2022-05-23
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  11. 2022-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-11-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-11-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-02-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2016-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2007-02-07
    ➕
    BARNES, John Marcus appointed
    director
  19. 2007-02-07
    ➕
    BARNES, Emma Ann appointed
    secretary
  20. 2007-02-07
    ➖
    WELLS, Richard John resigned
    secretary
  21. 2007-02-07
    ➕
    BARNES, Emma Ann appointed
    director
  22. 2007-02-07
    ➖
    WELLS, Nicholas Mark resigned
    director
  23. 2001-07-15
    ➖
    WELLS, Sharman Elizabeth resigned
    director
  24. 1999-05-01
    ➕
    WELLS, Richard John appointed
    secretary
  25. 1999-05-01
    ➖
    WELLS, Sharman Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  26. 1987-09-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ALPHA ELECTRICAL (READING) LIMITED

Owner dependency

85/100
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 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 39 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 John Marcus Barnes
Individual · British · DOB 09/1970 · age 56
50–75%
—50-75% shares06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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15398633 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
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01254437 · est 1976 · no financials extracted
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04882493 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
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ALLTIP LIMITED→
10314032 · est 2016 · no financials extracted
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ALNAJI LIMITED→
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ALPHA LIMA TRADING LTD→
12916886 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
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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
Incorporated1987-09-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46520 — SIC 46520

Registered office

33 Fenhurst Road
Calcot
Reading
Berkshire
RG1 7EA

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-06
Last: 2025-05-23

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

BARNES, John→
secretary · appointed 2022-05-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARNES, John Marcus→
director · ~56y · appointed 2007-02-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BARNES, Emma Ann→
secretary · appointed 2007-02-07 · resigned 2022-05-23
Resigned
WELLS, Richard John→
secretary · appointed 1999-05-01 · resigned 2007-02-07
Resigned
WELLS, Sharman Elizabeth→
secretary · resigned 1999-05-01
Resigned
BARNES, Emma Ann→
director · ~47y · appointed 2007-02-07 · resigned 2022-05-23
Resigned
WELLS, Nicholas Mark→
director · ~73y · resigned 2007-02-07
Resigned
WELLS, Sharman Elizabeth→
director · ~76y · resigned 2001-07-15
Resigned

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

Recent filings (95 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-14
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-23
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-05-23
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-18