A.D.C. HALFORD & COMPANY LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03680940 · ltd · incorporated 1998-12-09
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
£2
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 11010
Sector: Manufacturing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 74909Other professional, scientific and technical activities n.e.c.
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle 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: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)
74
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
71 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £2
Very low cash
Cash position: £2
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£2
~ YoY
Net Worth
£2
~ YoY
Current Assets
£2
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£1£1£2£2Sept 2023Sept 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-09-302023-09-30
Total assets£2£2
Current assets£2£2
Cash£2£2
Net assets£2£2

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 (25 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-03-31
    ➖
    PURDIE, Caroline resigned
    secretary
  3. 2025-03-31
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  4. 2024-12-09
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  5. 2024-12-09
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  6. 2024-06-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2023-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-05-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-06-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2017-10-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-06-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-02-15
    ➖
    BLAIR, Alan resigned
    secretary
  17. 2016-02-15
    ➕
    PURDIE, Caroline appointed
    secretary
  18. 2016-02-15
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  19. 1998-12-09
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A.D.C. HALFORD & COMPANY LIMITED
  20. 1998-12-09
    ➕
    BARCLAY, Colin Shields appointed
    director
  21. 1998-12-09
    ➕
    BLAIR, Alan appointed
    secretary
  22. 1998-12-09
    ➕
    THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 1998-12-09
    ➖
    THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 1998-12-09
    ➕
    THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  25. 1998-12-09
    ➖
    THEYDON NOMINEES 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 68 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
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.
  • 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.)

Group structure

John Maclaren And Sons Ltd is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
John Maclaren And Sons Ltd
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
⬇
A.D.C. HALFORD & COMPANY LIMITED
This company · 03680940

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
John Maclaren And Sons Ltd
Corporate entity
75–100%
—75-100% shares30/11/2024
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Jg Distillers Ltdceased 30/11/2024· 75-100% shares

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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CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
MOGUNTIA FOOD INGREDIENTS UK LIMITED→
02363812 · est 1989
£3.40M
£2.51M–£4.30M
——11837y9368y
MONTROSE SCOTCH WHISKY LTD.→
01110907 · est 1973
——£2.5k—53y8268y
ISTANBUL MEATS LIMITED→
04252645 · est 2001
——£2.93M—24y8168y
MEAT ZONE UK LIMITED→
04418539 · est 2002
———724y8172y
DURHAM FOODS LIMITED→
04795412 · est 2003
——£666.4k—23y8062y
HART BROTHERS LIMITED→
02700955 · est 1992
——£0—34y7968y
LANCHESTER DAIRIES LIMITED→
02937458 · est 1994 · no financials extracted
————32y7973y
DENTS BAKERY LTD→
09473844 · est 2015
——£148.5k—11y7866y
G TURNBULL LIMITED→
00557933 · est 1955
——£128.2k—70y7757y
JASMINE PATISSERIE LTD→
14945088 · est 2023
——£117.1k—3y7668y
DIPWOOD STORAGE & DISTRIBUTION LIMITED→
14549185 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
————3y7574y
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16681116 · 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
Incorporated1998-12-09
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC11010 — SIC 11010

Registered office

4 Millfield Close
Millfield Close
Chester Le Street
County Durham
DH2 3HZ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-06-30
Last made up to: 2024-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-23
Last: 2025-12-09

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

BARCLAY, Colin Shields→
director · ~68y · appointed 1998-12-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLAIR, Alan→
secretary · appointed 1998-12-09 · resigned 2016-02-15
Resigned
PURDIE, Caroline→
secretary · appointed 2016-02-15 · resigned 2025-03-31
Resigned
THEYDON SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1998-12-09 · resigned 1998-12-09
Resigned
THEYDON NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1998-12-09 · resigned 1998-12-09
Resigned

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

Recent filings (71 total)

confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2025-03-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-20
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
2024-12-09
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-12-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-06-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-06-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-05-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-06-30