AFRICAN EXPLORATIONS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
02977687 · ltd · incorporated 1994-10-11
Investment thesis
Established operating company — standard diligence applies, no dominant angle.
Why interesting: Live, filing, normal profile.
Why risky: No standout signals in either direction.
Opportunity decay
approaching window · 12-months
Approaching a transaction window — refinance or sale event plausible in the next 12 months.
- · Oldest live charge 12.5y old — refinance window within 12 months
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Apr 2025
Net worth
£147.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
74/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Tour operator activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 74/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 12.5y
85/100
ready
Refinance conversation should be productive — structure clean and timing right.
- · Oldest live charge is 12.5 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Legal-friction score 15/100 — clean.
Data confidence
Overall: high (80/100)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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
10 officers (2 active, 10 linked, 5 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
0 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
94 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
74/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £147,209
Net assets shrinking
Down £95,629 YoY
Cash YoY
+4%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£1.0m
↑ 4.3% YoY
Net Worth
£147k
↓ 39% YoY
Current Assets
£1.8m
↓ 9.4% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £168.0k | £313.7k |
| Current assets | £1.81M | £2.00M |
| Cash | £1.00M | £961.1k |
| Debtors | £811.6k | £1.04M |
| Net assets | £147.2k | £242.8k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-05-27📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-18📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-11-28➖SHEPHERD, Nicola resigneddirector
- 2023-04-12📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2023-01-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-11📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statementpersons-with-significant-control · PSC08
- 2022-02-11📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-01-27➕CORKHILL, Oliver Richard Theodore appointeddirector
- 2022-01-27➕VAN ZYL, Christiaan Auret appointeddirector
- 2022-01-27➖DREW, Jonathan Mark resignedsecretary
- 2022-01-27➖DREW, Jonathan Mark resigneddirector
- 2022-01-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-01-27📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2022-01-27📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2022-01-27📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-01-27📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-07-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-02➕DREW, Jonathan Mark appointeddirector
- 2013-11-29🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2013-09-30➖ANDERSON, Julie resigneddirector
- 2002-11-27➖GUTTERIDGE, Rupert resignedsecretary
- 2002-11-22➕DREW, Jonathan Mark appointedsecretary
- 1996-07-20➕GUTTERIDGE, Rupert appointedsecretary
- 1996-07-20➖SMITH, Nicolas Treharne resignedsecretary
- 1995-05-12➕SHEPHERD, Nicola appointeddirector
- 1994-10-11🏢Company incorporatedAs AFRICAN EXPLORATIONS LIMITED
- 1994-10-11➕SMITH, Nicolas Treharne appointedsecretary
- 1994-10-11➕ALPHA SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1994-10-11➖ALPHA SECRETARIAL LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1994-10-11➕ANDERSON, Julie appointeddirector
- 1994-10-11➕ALPHA DIRECT LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1994-10-11➖ALPHA DIRECT LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
58/100
Moderate — manageable with handoverSome founder dependency, but not acute. A structured handover period should cover most risk.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
Succession & seller-readiness
46/100
Moderate signalSome succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.
SIGNALS
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 32 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
Red flags
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
🔒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
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2401 VISUALS LTD→ 14657130 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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| A40 FITNESS LIMITED→ 13614774 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
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| ALEXIS STONE LTD→ 13210090 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AMPNEY CRUCIS CRICKET CLUB LTD→ 17000299 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ANNIE JOY LTD→ 14973519 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated1994-10-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC79120 — Tour operator activities
Registered office
10b Priory Court Poulton
Cirencester
Gloucestershire
GL7 5JB
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-04-27
Last: 2026-04-13
Officers (2 active · 8 resigned)
CORKHILL, Oliver Richard Theodore→
Activedirector · ~37y · appointed 2022-01-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
VAN ZYL, Christiaan Auret→
Activedirector · ~53y · appointed 2022-01-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
DREW, Jonathan Mark→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-11-22 · resigned 2022-01-27
GUTTERIDGE, Rupert→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1996-07-20 · resigned 2002-11-27
SMITH, Nicolas Treharne→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 1994-10-11 · resigned 1996-07-20
ALPHA SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1994-10-11 · resigned 1994-10-11
ANDERSON, Julie→
Resigneddirector · ~65y · appointed 1994-10-11 · resigned 2013-09-30
DREW, Jonathan Mark→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2016-06-02 · resigned 2022-01-27
SHEPHERD, Nicola→
Resigneddirector · ~61y · appointed 1995-05-12 · resigned 2023-11-28
ALPHA DIRECT LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1994-10-11 · resigned 1994-10-11
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 29/11/2013 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (94 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-15
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-04-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-19
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-01-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-13
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-04-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-13
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
persons-with-significant-control · PSC08
2022-02-11
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-02-11
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-01-27