ACTIVE INVESTMENTS (READING) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03063014 · ltd · incorporated 1995-05-31
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
£190.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified
Sector: Financial & insurance
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: asset-holding vehicle with exceptional profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 59). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -65% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. 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
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
74 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 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £189,956
Net assets shrinking
Down £11,527 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 65% YoY
Cash YoY
-65%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£72k
↓ 65% YoY
Net Worth
£190k
↓ 5.7% YoY
Current Assets
£220k
↓ 7.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£48k£95k£143k£190k£238kApr 2024Apr 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-04-302024-04-30
Total assets£203.9k£225.2k
Current assets£219.8k£238.1k
Cash£72.4k£206.6k
Debtors£147.3k£31.5k
Net assets£190.0k£201.5k

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 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-11-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-01-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-02-20
    📄
    capital-allotment-shares
    capital · SH01
  8. 2019-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-11-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2016-08-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-07-12
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  13. 2016-07-11
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2014-01-31
    ➖
    HERSHAW, Melanie Marie resigned
    secretary
  15. 2014-01-31
    ➖
    HERSHAW, Melanie Marie resigned
    director
  16. 1995-05-31
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACTIVE INVESTMENTS (READING) LIMITED
  17. 1995-05-31
    ➕
    HERSHAW, Robert Jose appointed
    director
  18. 1995-05-31
    ➕
    HERSHAW, Melanie Marie appointed
    secretary
  19. 1995-05-31
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  20. 1995-05-31
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 1995-05-31
    ➕
    HERSHAW, Melanie Marie appointed
    director
  22. 1995-05-31
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  23. 1995-05-31
    ➖
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 59 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

85/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 59. Early succession window.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 31 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 Robert Jose Hershaw
Individual · British · DOB 04/1967 · age 59
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

7 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
Incorporated1995-05-31
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC64999 — Financial intermediation not elsewhere classified

Registered office

6 Orpheus House Calleva Park
Aldermaston
Reading
RG7 8TA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-08
Last: 2026-04-24

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

HERSHAW, Robert Jose→
director · ~59y · appointed 1995-05-31
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HERSHAW, Melanie Marie→
secretary · appointed 1995-05-31 · resigned 2014-01-31
Resigned
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-05-31 · resigned 1995-05-31
Resigned
HERSHAW, Melanie Marie→
director · ~56y · appointed 1995-05-31 · resigned 2014-01-31
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-05-31 · resigned 1995-05-31
Resigned

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

Recent filings (74 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-03
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-11-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-25