AVANT-GARDE GUITARS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

03593682 · ltd · incorporated 1998-07-07

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 Jul 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 99999

Sector: Extraterritorial bodies

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 78). 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 (75/100)

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

4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

Network not yet resolved

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	2025-07-31	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

• 1 confirmation-statement
• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-03-16
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-03-11
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-02-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-03-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-03-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-04-06
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-03-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2018-04-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2017-03-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2016-03-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2015-07-16
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-03-09
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2014-07-11
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2008-07-17
➖
MEREDITH, Jennifer Mary resigned
secretary
1998-07-07
🏢
Company incorporated
As AVANT-GARDE GUITARS LIMITED
1998-07-07
➕
ELSE, Robert Frederick appointed
director
1998-07-07
➕
MEREDITH, Jennifer Mary appointed
secretary
1998-07-07
➕
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1998-07-07
➖
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1998-07-07
➕
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
1998-07-07
➖
COMPANY 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.
+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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Robert Frederick Else Individual · British · DOB 10/1948 · age 78	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	06/04/2016

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

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AMHP LTD→ 14324054 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
ARTEMIS TRAINING AND CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 05230531 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	21y	—	—
ASC TRAINING & CONSULTANCY LTD→ 16516316 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ASSET DEFENCE ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ 07738906 · est 2011 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
ASSOCIATION FOR FAMILIES OF INDEPENDENT SCHOOLING (AFIS) C.I.C.→ 16817786 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AT HOME SURVEYS LTD→ 15335414 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AVAP C.I.C.→ 17074579 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AVENUE HQ LEEDS LIMITED→ 10942956 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AVON PROPERTIES LIMITED→ OE008764 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AXE RECRUITMENT LIMITED→ 10547473 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
AXER HOLDINGS LIMITED→ OE020628 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AZTEC LIFESTYLE LTD→ 16928038 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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

Incorporated1998-07-07

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

28 Landport Terrace

Portsmouth

PO1 2RG

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-07-21

Last: 2026-07-07

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

ELSE, Robert Frederick→

director · ~78y · appointed 1998-07-07

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MEREDITH, Jennifer Mary→

secretary · appointed 1998-07-07 · resigned 2008-07-17

Resigned

TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-07-07 · resigned 1998-07-07

Resigned

COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-07-07 · resigned 1998-07-07

Resigned

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