AUTHENTICS (TRADING) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02735974 · ltd · incorporated 1992-07-30
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£-17.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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 (78/100)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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
86 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £17,388
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£17k
↓ 36% YoY
Current Assets
£7k
↓ 63% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £-17.4k | £-12.8k |
| Current assets | £6.7k | £18.1k |
| Net assets | £-17.4k | £-12.8k |
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-22📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2021-12-21📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-09-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-31📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2017-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-02-23➖LUBKOWSKA-JONAS, Monika Ewa resignedsecretary
- 1992-07-30🏢Company incorporatedAs AUTHENTICS (TRADING) LIMITED
- 1992-07-30➕JONAS, Mark appointeddirector
- 1992-07-30➕ARMOUR, Douglas William appointedsecretary
- 1992-07-30➖ARMOUR, Douglas William resignedsecretary
- 1992-07-30➕LUBKOWSKA-JONAS, Monika Ewa appointedsecretary
- 1992-07-30➕VENUS, David Anthony appointednominee-director
- 1992-07-30➖VENUS, David Anthony resignednominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 34 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Mark Jonas Individual · British · DOB 09/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Ms Monika Ewa Lubkowska-Jonasceased 20/12/2021· 25-50% shares
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 →Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · CR postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ARROWSHARPE LIMITED→ 06684894 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ARS INTERNATIONAL LTD→ 12951621 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ARTISAN ITALIAN LTD→ 13240157 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ARTS NATION LIMITED→ 16900639 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ASTRONO INTERNATIONAL LIMITED→ 14829122 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ATELIER DEL VINO UK LTD→ 15921627 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ATHLOS SPORT UK LIMITED→ 16884762 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ATLAS COMPUTERS LTD→ 13282210 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ATP WORLD LIMITED→ 10466482 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ATYPICAL STUFF LTD→ 11379101 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AURUM PRIME GATEWAY LTD→ 17047389 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AV FRUIT & VEG LTD→ 16802783 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated1992-07-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade
Registered office
Suffolk House
George Street
Croydon
Surrey
CR0 0YN
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-03
Last: 2025-12-20
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
Active
ARMOUR, Douglas William→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1992-07-30 · resigned 1992-07-30
LUBKOWSKA-JONAS, Monika Ewa→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1992-07-30 · resigned 2010-02-23
VENUS, David Anthony→
Resignednominee-director · ~75y · appointed 1992-07-30 · resigned 1992-07-30
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (86 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-22
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2021-12-22
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2021-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-30