BOB SOPEL TRAVEL LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02397383 · ltd · incorporated 1989-06-21
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
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Travel agency activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (80/100, director aged 61). 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).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 34.4y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 34.4 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (57/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
117 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.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-09-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-11-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-02-10
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2019-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-07-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-07-25
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2016-07-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2015-08-18
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-01-27
    ➖
    LORTON, Derek resigned
    secretary
  16. 2014-10-29
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  17. 2009-03-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Alliance & Leicester PLC
  18. 2008-11-14
    ➕
    BYRNE, Stephen appointed
    director
  19. 2008-11-14
    ➕
    LORTON, Derek appointed
    secretary
  20. 2008-11-14
    ➖
    SOPEL, Brenda Jane resigned
    secretary
  21. 2008-11-14
    ➖
    SOPEL, Robert Bohdan resigned
    director
  22. 2001-06-21
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  23. 1992-02-18
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  24. 1991-11-01
    ➕
    SOPEL, Brenda Jane appointed
    secretary
  25. 1991-11-01
    ➖
    SOPEL, Robert Bohdan resigned
    secretary
  26. 1991-11-01
    ➖
    SOPEL, Brenda Jane resigned
    director
  27. 1989-06-21
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BOB SOPEL TRAVEL 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 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 61 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 61. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 37 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.)

Group structure

Travel Counsellors Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Travel Counsellors Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
BOB SOPEL TRAVEL LIMITED
This company · 02397383

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Travel Counsellors Limited
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares01/07/2016

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
Incorporated1989-06-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC79110 — Travel agency activities

Registered office

Venus Building Old Park Lane
Urmston
Manchester
M41 7HA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-26
Last: 2026-07-12

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

BYRNE, Stephen→
director · ~61y · appointed 2008-11-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
LORTON, Derek→
secretary · appointed 2008-11-14 · resigned 2015-01-27
Resigned
SOPEL, Brenda Jane→
secretary · appointed 1991-11-01 · resigned 2008-11-14
Resigned
SOPEL, Robert Bohdan→
secretary · resigned 1991-11-01
Resigned
SOPEL, Brenda Jane→
director · ~73y · resigned 1991-11-01
Resigned
SOPEL, Robert Bohdan→
director · ~77y · resigned 2008-11-14
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Alliance & Leicester
Alliance & Leicester PLC
Debenture1 property30/03/200929/10/2014
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Mortgage debenture1 property18/02/199221/06/2001

Recent filings (117 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-07-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-02-10