BLACK 68 LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02553573 · ltd · incorporated 1990-10-30
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
£6.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (80/100, director aged 58). 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 32.0y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 32.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
8 officers (1 active, 8 linked, 7 with DOB)
88
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
6 connected companies via shared directors
63
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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £6,195

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£6k
↑ 161% YoY
Current Assets
£10k
↑ 32% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£10k-£6k-£2k£2k£6k£10kOct 2023Oct 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-10-302023-10-30
Total assets£50.7k£34.7k
Current assets£10.2k£7.7k
Cash—£343
Debtors—£7.4k
Net assets£6.2k£-10.2k

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 (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-07-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2025-05-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  4. 2025-05-29
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2025-05-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2025-05-28
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  7. 2025-05-28
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2024-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-07-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-07-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-07-27
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  13. 2020-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2019-11-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2019-11-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  16. 2019-10-10
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  17. 2019-10-10
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  18. 2019-10-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  19. 2019-10-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  20. 2019-07-30
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  21. 2019-04-14
    ➖
    BLACK, Alan George resigned
    secretary
  22. 2019-04-14
    ➖
    BLACK, Alan George resigned
    director
  23. 2018-11-20
    ➖
    BOWMAN, Catherine resigned
    director
  24. 2008-05-20
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
  25. 2007-07-27
    ➕
    BOWMAN, Catherine appointed
    director
  26. 2001-12-31
    ➖
    KNOCKER, Richard resigned
    director
  27. 1998-11-27
    ➖
    KERSHAW, Alwyn resigned
    director
  28. 1996-09-09
    ➖
    WELSMAN, Stuart James resigned
    director
  29. 1995-11-09
    ➕
    KNOCKER, Richard appointed
    director
  30. 1994-06-29
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  31. 1993-11-08
    ➕
    KERSHAW, Alwyn appointed
    director
  32. 1992-12-20
    ➕
    BLACK, Alan George appointed
    director
  33. 1992-04-13
    ➕
    BLACK, David William George appointed
    director
  34. 1992-04-13
    ➖
    BLACK, Charles Michael Andrew resigned
    director
  35. 1992-04-13
    ➕
    WELSMAN, Stuart James appointed
    director
  36. 1990-10-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BLACK 68 LIMITED

Owner dependency

100/100
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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BLACK" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 58 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
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 58. 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 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 36 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

2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr David William George Black
Individual · British · DOB 04/1968 · age 58
75–100%
25–50%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
Mrs Joanne Black
Individual · British · DOB 01/1973 · age 53
—25–50%board control25-50% voting · board control06/04/2016

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
Incorporated1990-10-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96090 — Other service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Unit 2 Greystones Court Towthorpe Moor Lane
Towthorpe
York
YO32 9ST
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-30
Last made up to: 2024-10-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-13
Last: 2025-10-30

Officers (1 active · 7 resigned)

BLACK, David William George→
director · ~58y · appointed 1992-04-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLACK, Alan George→
secretary · resigned 2019-04-14
Resigned
BLACK, Alan George→
director · ~83y · appointed 1992-12-20 · resigned 2019-04-14
Resigned
BLACK, Charles Michael Andrew→
director · ~55y · resigned 1992-04-13
Resigned
BOWMAN, Catherine→
director · ~66y · appointed 2007-07-27 · resigned 2018-11-20
Resigned
KERSHAW, Alwyn→
director · ~90y · appointed 1993-11-08 · resigned 1998-11-27
Resigned
KNOCKER, Richard→
director · ~62y · appointed 1995-11-09 · resigned 2001-12-31
Resigned
WELSMAN, Stuart James→
director · ~58y · appointed 1992-04-13 · resigned 1996-09-09
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
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
Mortgage1 property20/05/200810/10/2019
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
Single debenture1 property29/06/199410/10/2019

Recent filings (117 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-07-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-07-10
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-28
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-05-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-05-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-07-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-12-01