ALPHA PACKAGING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
02876738 · ltd · incorporated 1993-12-01
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
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 74). 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 24.1y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 24.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
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
79 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
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 | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|
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 (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-08-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-01📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2020-09-01🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2019-08-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-30📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2018-01-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-01-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-01-29📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2017-08-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2002-04-12🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 1993-12-01🏢Company incorporatedAs ALPHA PACKAGING LIMITED
- 1993-12-01➕LESTER, Linda Margaret appointedsecretary
- 1993-12-01➕LESTER, Trevor John appointeddirector
- 1993-12-01➕LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1993-12-01➖LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1993-12-01➕LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1993-12-01➖LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-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 32 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 74 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 32 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 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 Trevor John Lester Individual · British · DOB 03/1952 · age 74 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 01/05/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · OX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ABINGDON WOOD YARD LTD→ 13530218 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ADIPRO UK & EUROPE LTD→ 15635827 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADVANCED MEDICAL SYSTEMS LTD.→ 03476650 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| AERO TRADING LTD→ 12189132 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALAN ASTON ROOFING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 02361854 · est 1989 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 37y | — | — |
| ALBARAKAH TRADE-LINK (UK) LIMITED→ 02559849 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| ALLSPORTS NUTRITION LIMITED→ 02164942 · est 1987 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 38y | — | — |
| ALVINA WHOLESALE LTD→ 11996850 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALWAYS EVERYTHING LTD→ 15164272 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AMARA ATTIRE LIMITED→ 15402622 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AMAROK TRADING LIMITED→ 13022010 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AMBROSDEN LEAF LIMITED→ 06705155 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1993-12-01
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade
Registered office
Unit 6 Gooch Drive
Southmead Industrial Estate
Didcot
Oxfordshire
OX11 7PR
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-11
Last: 2025-10-28
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
LESTER, Linda Margaret→
Activesecretary · appointed 1993-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LESTER, Trevor John→
Activedirector · ~74y · appointed 1993-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1993-12-01 · resigned 1993-12-01
LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1993-12-01 · resigned 1993-12-01
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
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 12/04/2002 | 01/09/2020 |
Recent filings (79 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-08-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-08-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-08-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-01
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2020-09-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-12-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-08-27