ANDREW F. WATSON (HEREFORD) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

02706400 · ltd · incorporated 1992-04-13

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 Jul 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45112

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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).

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

88 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-07-31	2024-07-31
Average employees	1	100

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

1 signal 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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand

2026-03-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-07-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-02-22
📄
accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AAMD
2021-02-16
📄
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2021-02-04
➖
ALEXANDER, Ruth Susan resigned
secretary
2020-11-16
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2020-11-16
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-11-16
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-07-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-04-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-04-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2004-04-01
➕
ALEXANDER, Ruth Susan appointed
secretary
2004-04-01
➖
WILSON, Larry resigned
secretary
1997-09-09
➖
WATSON, Sharon Jane resigned
secretary
1997-09-09
➕
WILSON, Larry appointed
secretary
1995-07-14
➖
WATSON, Sharon Jane resigned
director
1992-04-13
🏢
Company incorporated
As ANDREW F. WATSON (HEREFORD) LIMITED
1992-04-13
➕
WATSON, Andrew Forbes appointed
director
1992-04-13
➕
WATSON, Sharon Jane appointed
secretary
1992-04-13
➕
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1992-04-13
➖
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1992-04-13
➕
WATSON, Sharon Jane appointed
director

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 "WATSON" — 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.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong 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.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 34 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 34 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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Andrew Forbes Watson Individual · British · DOB 01/1960 · age 66	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	14/04/2016

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

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AHK BRAND LIMITED→ 16454190 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AHMAD OUTLET LIMITED→ 16540605 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AMBER OUTLET LIMITED→ 16550089 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AQUA-SITIONS LIMITED→ 06810897 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
AUDI UPGRADES LTD→ 12507435 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
AUTO CORRECT GARAGE SERVICES LTD→ 12586676 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AUTO PR LTD→ 15238868 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AUTO ZONE CHAMPIONS LTD→ 15311951 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AUTOAPHA LTD→ 12533597 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
AUTOBARN LTD→ 16061052 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AUTOERA LTD→ 12362764 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
AUTOSELECT (PRESTIGE & PERFORMANCE) LTD→ 09616522 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	10y	—	—

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

Incorporated1992-04-13

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC45112 — SIC 45112

Registered office

Arrow Cottage

Huntington

Kington

Herefordshire

HR5 3QA

United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-04-27

Last: 2026-04-13

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

WATSON, Andrew Forbes→

director · ~66y · appointed 1992-04-13

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

ALEXANDER, Ruth Susan→

secretary · appointed 2004-04-01 · resigned 2021-02-04

Resigned

WATSON, Sharon Jane→

secretary · appointed 1992-04-13 · resigned 1997-09-09

Resigned

WILSON, Larry→

secretary · appointed 1997-09-09 · resigned 2004-04-01

Resigned

SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1992-04-13 · resigned 1992-04-13

Resigned

WATSON, Sharon Jane→

director · ~59y · appointed 1992-04-13 · resigned 1995-07-14

Resigned

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