AVALON FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

03635583 · ltd · incorporated 1998-09-21

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 Dec 2024

Net worth

£21.6k

book net assets

Opportunity

78/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Activities of insurance agents and brokers

Sector: Financial & insurance

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 65). 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 (76/100)

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 (1 active, 7 linked, 4 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

78/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £21,579

Net assets shrinking

Down £6,098 YoY

Cash YoY

-7%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£32k

↓ 7.2% YoY

Net Worth

£22k

↓ 22% YoY

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2024-12-31	2023-12-31
Total assets	£21.6k	£27.7k
Cash	£32.1k	£34.5k
Net assets	£21.6k	£27.7k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand

2025-08-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-04-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-03-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-12
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2018-04-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-03-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2016-04-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-09-21
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-09-22
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-09-22
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2013-12-23
➖
WARREN, Vanessa resigned
secretary
2013-12-23
➖
WARREN, Vanessa resigned
director
2012-04-27
➕
DALEY, John Paul appointed
director
2012-04-27
➖
LUCAS, Edward Frederick John resigned
director
2002-09-02
➕
WARREN, Vanessa appointed
secretary
2002-08-20
➖
DALEY, John Paul resigned
secretary
2002-08-20
➖
DALEY, John Paul resigned
director
1998-09-21
🏢
Company incorporated
As AVALON FINANCIAL SERVICES LIMITED
1998-09-21
➕
DALEY, John Paul appointed
secretary
1998-09-21
➕
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
1998-09-21
➖
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
1998-09-21
➕
DALEY, John Paul appointed
director
1998-09-21
➕
LUCAS, Edward Frederick John appointed
director
1998-09-21
➕
WARREN, Vanessa appointed
director

Owner dependency

90/100

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 age: Director aged approximately 65 — 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 65. 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 14 years.
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 John Paul Daley Individual · British · DOB 10/1961 · age 65	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	21/09/2016

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

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AIP MORTGAGES LTD→ 13057640 · est 2020 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ALCHEMY FINANCIAL LIMITED→ 05448810 · est 2005 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	20y	—	—
ALL INSURE SERVICES LIMITED→ 06840240 · est 2009 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	17y	—	—
ALSTON LTD→ 13210330 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
ANGELS FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 11009490 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
AORP INVESTMENTS LTD→ 12357415 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
APPLEBY MORTGAGES LTD→ 10635079 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ARENA 4 FINANCE LTD.→ 05064311 · est 2004 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	22y	—	—
BARNES-WARD LIMITED→ 04174303 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	—	—
BAUNTON HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 00447465 · est 1948 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	78y	—	—
BEACON FINANCIAL SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 04315537 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	—	—
BEN HOWELL FINANCIAL LIMITED→ 09379676 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—

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

Incorporated1998-09-21

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC66220 — Activities of insurance agents and brokers

Registered office

18 High West Street

Dorchester

Dorset

DT1 1UW

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-09-30

Last made up to: 2024-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-10-05

Last: 2025-09-21

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

DALEY, John Paul→

director · ~65y · appointed 2012-04-27

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

DALEY, John Paul→

secretary · appointed 1998-09-21 · resigned 2002-08-20

Resigned

WARREN, Vanessa→

secretary · appointed 2002-09-02 · resigned 2013-12-23

Resigned

SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-09-21 · resigned 1998-09-21

Resigned

DALEY, John Paul→

director · ~65y · appointed 1998-09-21 · resigned 2002-08-20

Resigned

LUCAS, Edward Frederick John→

director · ~66y · appointed 1998-09-21 · resigned 2012-04-27

Resigned

WARREN, Vanessa→

director · ~74y · appointed 1998-09-21 · resigned 2013-12-23

Resigned

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