AFRICA TRAVEL CENTRE LIMITED

🌳Matureactive

03226628 · ltd · incorporated 1996-07-18

Investment thesis

Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.

Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.

Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and tidy — no seller pressure yet. Approach only if an angle opens.

Opportunity decay

hardening · 12-months

Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.

· Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Jul 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Travel agency activities

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 72-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 72). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (81/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

11 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

91 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

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	2025-07-31	2024-07-31

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 confirmation-statement

Last 180 days

filings

• 3 officers
• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand

2026-04-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-04-21
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-04-14
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2026-03-12
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-04-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-09-11
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-09-11
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-04-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-03-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-03-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2017-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2011-07-21
➖
CORNHILL SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-07-03
➖
BAYOL, Gerard Jean Marie resigned
secretary
2001-07-03
➕
CORNHILL SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1996-12-11
➕
GEOGHEGAN, Frances Patricia appointed
director
1996-12-11
➖
RACE, John Douglas resigned
director
1996-07-18
🏢
Company incorporated
As AFRICA TRAVEL CENTRE LIMITED
1996-07-18
➕
BAYOL, Gerard Jean Marie appointed
director
1996-07-18
➕
BAYOL, Gerard Jean Marie appointed
secretary
1996-07-18
➕
CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1996-07-18
➖
CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1996-07-18
➕
RACE, John Douglas appointed
director
1996-07-18
➕
CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1996-07-18
➖
CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

83/100

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

+Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 30 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 72 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

96/100

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 72 years old. Natural succession window is now.
secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 30 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 30 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Gerard Jean Marie Bayol Individual · French · DOB 09/1954 · age 72	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	18/07/2016

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

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Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ALTURAS PRODUCTIONS LTD→ 12536023 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
AMAZONIA MUSIC THEATRE COMPANY LIMITED→ 13046213 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
AMF COLLECTIVE LIMITED→ 14025023 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
AMS DESIGN STUDIO LIMITED→ 07630500 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
ANDREW KHATOULI LTD→ 13996687 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
ARDI CHA ENTERTAINMENT LIMITED→ 10644187 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
AS TALENT UK LTD→ 14854281 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AURORA FITNESS LIMITED→ 09319509 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
AVENUE ART ADVISORY LTD→ 16551515 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AVIATION HERITAGE U K LTD→ 10746575 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AVIATOR TRAVELS AND TOURS LTD→ 11965072 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
AZ SHIPPING LTD→ 16930295 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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

Incorporated1996-07-18

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC79110 — Travel agency activities

Registered office

36a Cavendish Road

London

NW6 7XP

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-08-01

Last: 2026-07-18

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

BAYOL, Gerard Jean Marie→

director · ~72y · appointed 1996-07-18

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

GEOGHEGAN, Frances Patricia→

director · ~61y · appointed 1996-12-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

BAYOL, Gerard Jean Marie→

secretary · appointed 1996-07-18 · resigned 2001-07-03

Resigned

CHALFEN SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1996-07-18 · resigned 1996-07-18

Resigned

CORNHILL SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-07-03 · resigned 2011-07-21

Resigned

RACE, John Douglas→

director · ~93y · appointed 1996-07-18 · resigned 1996-12-11

Resigned

CHALFEN NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1996-07-18 · resigned 1996-07-18

Resigned

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

Recent filings (91 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2026-07-23

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2026-04-30

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2026-04-21

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2026-04-14

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2026-03-12

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-07-30

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2025-03-24

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-08-01

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2024-04-24

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address

address · AD01

2023-09-11

change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address

address · AD01

2023-09-11

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-07-19

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2023-03-28

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-07-18

accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant

accounts · AA

2021-10-14