OVAL (1229) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

03425971 · ltd · incorporated 1997-08-28

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 Aug 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: SIC 99999

Sector: Extraterritorial bodies

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 68-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

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

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

68 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	2025-08-31	2024-08-31

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand

2026-05-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-04-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-05-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-05-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2017-05-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-05-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2015-08-25
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-05-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2014-08-28
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-05-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2009-07-14
➕
WEST, Alison Rosemary appointed
director
2009-07-14
➖
SYKES, Nicholas Peter resigned
director
2009-05-20
➕
WEST, Alison Rosemary appointed
secretary
2009-05-20
➖
SYKES, Fiona Margaret resigned
secretary
1997-10-29
➖
OVALSEC LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-09-29
➕
SYKES, Nicholas Peter appointed
director
1997-09-29
➖
OVAL NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1997-09-29
➖
OVALSEC LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
1997-09-27
➕
SYKES, Fiona Margaret appointed
secretary
1997-08-28
🏢
Company incorporated
As OVAL (1229) LIMITED
1997-08-28
➕
OVALSEC LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1997-08-28
➕
OVAL NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1997-08-28
➕
OVALSEC LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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 17 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100

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 68. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 17 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 29 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
Ms Alison Rosemary West Individual · British · DOB 05/1958 · age 68	75–100%	75–100%	sig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · significant influence	08/04/2016

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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CYNERGY3 COMPONENTS FAB LIMITED→ 04464544 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
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DEVIZES CRANES LIMITED→ 02920711 · est 1994 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	31y	—	—
DISPAK (MIDLANDS) LIMITED→ 01207392 · est 1975 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	51y	—	—
DISPAK (NORTHERN) LIMITED→ 12278337 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
DISTILLER PUBLISHING LLP→ OC345154 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
DISTILLER RECORDS LLP→ OC336537 · est 2008 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—

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

Incorporated1997-08-28

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

21 Bath Road

Colerne

Chippenham

Wiltshire

SN14 8EQ

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-05-31

Last made up to: 2025-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-09-08

Last: 2025-08-25

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

WEST, Alison Rosemary→

secretary · appointed 2009-05-20

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

WEST, Alison Rosemary→

director · ~68y · appointed 2009-07-14

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

SYKES, Fiona Margaret→

secretary · appointed 1997-09-27 · resigned 2009-05-20

Resigned

OVALSEC LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-08-28 · resigned 1997-10-29

Resigned

SYKES, Nicholas Peter→

director · ~77y · appointed 1997-09-29 · resigned 2009-07-14

Resigned

OVAL NOMINEES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-08-28 · resigned 1997-09-29

Resigned

OVALSEC LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-08-28 · resigned 1997-09-29

Resigned

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