AFRICA & ASIA VENTURE LTD

💤Zombieactive
02862313 · ltd · incorporated 1993-10-14
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 Jun 2025
Net worth
£33.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 85520Cultural education
  • 88990Other social work activities without accommodation n.e.c.
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 71). 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

1 live charge · oldest 29.9y

45/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 29.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
11 officers (2 active, 11 linked, 6 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
98 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 · FRS 105 (micro)
Positive net assets
Net assets £33,658

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£34k
Current Assets
£92k
Current Liabilities
—
£0£18k£37k£55k£73k£92kJun 2024Jun 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-06-302024-06-30
Total assets£86.9k—
Current assets£91.8k—
Net assets£33.7k—
Average employees—200

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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 accounts
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (38 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-03-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-12-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-11-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-03-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-11-10
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  12. 2016-11-10
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  13. 2016-10-14
    📄
    mortgage-charge-whole-release-with-charge-number
    mortgage · MR05
  14. 2016-03-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-02-04
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2015-03-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2011-09-30
    ➖
    BELL, Peter Richmond resigned
    director
  18. 2011-09-30
    ➖
    GRAHAM, David Rowley resigned
    director
  19. 2011-09-30
    ➖
    WARREN, Nigel Richard St John resigned
    director
  20. 2008-02-29
    ➕
    MACKENZIE, Andrew Tarleton appointed
    secretary
  21. 2008-02-29
    ➕
    MACKENZIE, Andrew Tarleton appointed
    director
  22. 2008-02-29
    ➖
    BELL, Caroline Jane resigned
    secretary
  23. 2008-02-29
    ➖
    BELL, Peter Richmond resigned
    secretary
  24. 2008-02-29
    ➕
    GRAHAM, David Rowley appointed
    director
  25. 1998-08-10
    ➕
    BELL, Peter Richmond appointed
    secretary
  26. 1998-08-10
    ➖
    WARREN, Nigel Richard St John resigned
    secretary
  27. 1998-08-10
    ➕
    BELL, Peter Richmond appointed
    director
  28. 1996-06-28
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  29. 1996-04-19
    ➕
    BELL, Caroline Jane appointed
    secretary
  30. 1994-01-14
    ➖
    BAXTER, Richard Alistair resigned
    nominee-secretary
  31. 1994-01-14
    ➕
    WARREN, Nigel Richard St John appointed
    secretary
  32. 1994-01-14
    ➖
    ALEXANDER, Alun Tudor resigned
    nominee-director
  33. 1994-01-14
    ➖
    BAXTER, Richard Alistair resigned
    nominee-director
  34. 1994-01-14
    ➕
    WARREN, Nigel Richard St John appointed
    director
  35. 1993-10-14
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AFRICA & ASIA VENTURE LTD
  36. 1993-10-14
    ➕
    BAXTER, Richard Alistair appointed
    nominee-secretary
  37. 1993-10-14
    ➕
    ALEXANDER, Alun Tudor appointed
    nominee-director
  38. 1993-10-14
    ➕
    BAXTER, Richard Alistair appointed
    nominee-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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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 33 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Andrew Tarleton Mackenzie
Individual · British · DOB 10/1955 · age 71
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

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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
Incorporated1993-10-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets

Registered office

13 Petworth Road
Haslemere
Surrey
GU27 2JB

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-03-31
Last made up to: 2025-06-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-18
Last: 2026-02-04

Officers (2 active · 9 resigned)

MACKENZIE, Andrew Tarleton→
secretary · appointed 2008-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MACKENZIE, Andrew Tarleton→
director · ~71y · appointed 2008-02-29
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BAXTER, Richard Alistair→
nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-10-14 · resigned 1994-01-14
Resigned
BELL, Caroline Jane→
secretary · appointed 1996-04-19 · resigned 2008-02-29
Resigned
BELL, Peter Richmond→
secretary · appointed 1998-08-10 · resigned 2008-02-29
Resigned
WARREN, Nigel Richard St John→
secretary · appointed 1994-01-14 · resigned 1998-08-10
Resigned
ALEXANDER, Alun Tudor→
nominee-director · ~74y · appointed 1993-10-14 · resigned 1994-01-14
Resigned
BAXTER, Richard Alistair→
nominee-director · ~64y · appointed 1993-10-14 · resigned 1994-01-14
Resigned
BELL, Peter Richmond→
director · ~82y · appointed 1998-08-10 · resigned 2011-09-30
Resigned
GRAHAM, David Rowley→
director · ~71y · appointed 2008-02-29 · resigned 2011-09-30
Resigned
WARREN, Nigel Richard St John→
director · ~82y · appointed 1994-01-14 · resigned 2011-09-30
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
Deposit agreement to secure own liabilities1 property28/06/199610/11/2016

Recent filings (98 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-03-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-03-22