A.E. DISTRIBUTION LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03100218 · ltd · incorporated 1995-09-08
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
£-14.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
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 (70/100, director aged 64). 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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
101 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
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £13,959
Cash YoY
+88%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£82k
↑ 88% YoY
Net Worth
-£14k
↓ 3.6% YoY
Current Assets
£102k
↓ 19% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£14k£14k£42k£70k£98k£126kApr 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£22.7k£37.7k
Current assets£101.7k£126.0k
Cash£82.0k£43.5k
Debtors£11.8k£80.8k
Net assets£-14.0k£-13.5k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-04
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  3. 2025-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-08-18
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  5. 2024-08-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2024-08-18
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  7. 2024-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-10-12
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  10. 2022-10-12
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  11. 2022-10-12
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2022-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2020-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2020-01-31
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  16. 2019-06-06
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  17. 2019-06-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  18. 2019-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  19. 2002-09-10
    ➕
    OLDFIELD, Gary appointed
    director
  20. 2002-09-10
    ➖
    OLDFIELD, Kenneth John resigned
    director
  21. 1995-09-11
    ➕
    RAPID BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  22. 1995-09-11
    ➖
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1995-09-11
    ➕
    OLDFIELD, Kenneth John appointed
    director
  24. 1995-09-11
    ➖
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 1995-09-08
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.E. DISTRIBUTION LIMITED
  26. 1995-09-08
    ➕
    BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 1995-09-08
    ➕
    DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED appointed
    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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. 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 24 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 Gary Oldfield
Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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
Incorporated1995-09-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets

Registered office

Suite 1e, Widford Business Centre
33 Robjohns Road
Chelmsford
CM1 3AG
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-29
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-09-22
Last: 2025-09-08

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

RAPID BUSINESS SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 1995-09-11
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OLDFIELD, Gary→
director · ~64y · appointed 2002-09-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BRITANNIA COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1995-09-08 · resigned 1995-09-11
Resigned
OLDFIELD, Kenneth John→
director · ~74y · appointed 1995-09-11 · resigned 2002-09-10
Resigned
DEANSGATE COMPANY FORMATIONS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1995-09-08 · resigned 1995-09-11
Resigned

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

Recent filings (101 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-30
change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH04
2025-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-08-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-18
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2024-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-29
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-10-12
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2022-10-12
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2022-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-09-15