BABB DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03592032 · ltd · incorporated 1998-07-03
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
—
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Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
£2.57M
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Construction of domestic buildings
Sector: Construction
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 78). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 3 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · oldest 18.7y

45/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 18.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (77/100)

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
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
Directors & officers
9 officers (2 active, 9 linked, 5 with DOB)
81
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
93 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £2,570,670

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£2.6m
↑ 3.3% YoY
Current Assets
£1.4m
↓ 47% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£514k£1.0m£1.5m£2.1m£2.6mAug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31
Total assets£2.57M£2.49M
Current assets£1.37M£2.56M
Net assets£2.57M£2.49M

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-05-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-05-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-04-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2020-04-14
    ➖
    BABB, David John resigned
    director
  8. 2020-03-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-08-07
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  10. 2019-04-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-02-06
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2018-05-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-04-25
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  14. 2018-04-17
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2017-07-18
    📄
    withdrawal-of-a-person-with-significant-control-statement
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC09
  16. 2017-07-18
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  17. 2017-04-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-03-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  19. 2017-02-07
    ➕
    BABB, David John appointed
    director
  20. 2016-06-17
    ➖
    BABB, Peter Geoffrey resigned
    director
  21. 2010-07-14
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  22. 2007-11-07
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  23. 2007-08-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  24. 2006-08-31
    ➖
    BABB, Jonathan Alun resigned
    director
  25. 2005-09-19
    ➕
    BABB, Geoffrey Ernest appointed
    secretary
  26. 2005-09-19
    ➖
    BABB, Marlene Ann resigned
    secretary
  27. 2005-09-19
    ➖
    BABB, Marlene Ann resigned
    director
  28. 2002-03-15
    ➕
    BABB, Jonathan Alun appointed
    director
  29. 2002-03-15
    ➕
    BABB, Peter Geoffrey appointed
    director
  30. 1998-07-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As BABB DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
  31. 1998-07-03
    ➕
    BABB, Geoffrey Ernest appointed
    director
  32. 1998-07-03
    ➕
    BABB, Marlene Ann appointed
    secretary
  33. 1998-07-03
    ➕
    EXPRESS SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  34. 1998-07-03
    ➖
    EXPRESS SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  35. 1998-07-03
    ➕
    BABB, Marlene Ann appointed
    director
  36. 1998-07-03
    ➕
    EXPRESS DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  37. 1998-07-03
    ➖
    EXPRESS DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "BABB" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 28 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100
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 78 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 28 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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 Geoffrey Ernest Babb
Individual · British · DOB 06/1948 · age 78
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Geoffrey Ernest Babbceased 06/04/2016· 75-100% voting · board control

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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

9 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
Incorporated1998-07-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC41202 — Construction of domestic buildings

Registered office

22 Gorsey Leys
Overseal
Swadlincote
Derbyshire
DE12 6JE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-17
Last: 2025-07-03

Officers (2 active · 7 resigned)

BABB, Geoffrey Ernest→
secretary · appointed 2005-09-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BABB, Geoffrey Ernest→
director · ~78y · appointed 1998-07-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BABB, Marlene Ann→
secretary · appointed 1998-07-03 · resigned 2005-09-19
Resigned
EXPRESS SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-07-03 · resigned 1998-07-03
Resigned
BABB, David John→
director · ~58y · appointed 2017-02-07 · resigned 2020-04-14
Resigned
BABB, Jonathan Alun→
director · ~57y · appointed 2002-03-15 · resigned 2006-08-31
Resigned
BABB, Marlene Ann→
director · ~89y · appointed 1998-07-03 · resigned 2005-09-19
Resigned
BABB, Peter Geoffrey→
director · ~54y · appointed 2002-03-15 · resigned 2016-06-17
Resigned
EXPRESS DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-07-03 · resigned 1998-07-03
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
4
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
A registered charge—14/03/2017—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge2 properties14/07/2010—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property07/11/2007—
outstanding
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property23/08/2007—
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (93 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-05-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-04-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-04-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-15
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2020-04-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-03-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-08