AMBERTRACE LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
03702340 · ltd · incorporated 1999-01-27
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Sector: Construction
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 79-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 79). 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 100 | 100 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
2
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
4
filings
- • 1 gazette
- • 1 dissolution
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
- 2026-07-14📄gazette-notice-voluntarygazette · GAZ1(A)
- 2026-07-07📄dissolution-application-strike-off-companydissolution · DS01
- 2026-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-02-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-01📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-01-20➖CONNOLLY, Sara Jane resigneddirector
- 2022-01-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-16📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2021-05-16📄appoint-person-director-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP01
- 2021-05-14➖CONNOLLY, Rita Mary resigneddirector
- 2021-05-14➕CONNOLLY, Sara Jane appointeddirector
- 2021-02-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2003-02-26➕CONNOLLY, Stephen appointeddirector
- 1999-02-11➕CONNOLLY, Stephen appointedsecretary
- 1999-02-11➖SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-02-11➕CONNOLLY, Rita Mary appointeddirector
- 1999-02-11➖INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 1999-01-27🏢Company incorporatedAs AMBERTRACE LIMITED
- 1999-01-27➕SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 1999-01-27➕INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
100/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 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 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 27 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
cleanNo 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Stephen Connolly Individual · British · DOB 03/1947 · age 79 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Construction · CH postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & N ELECTRICAL ENGINEERING LIMITED→ 09319514 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ALLTECH LTD→ 13278628 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALPHA AIRSOURCE LTD→ 15068018 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALPHA PROPERTY MAINTENANCE & SECURITY LTD→ 13170009 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALPHASTOR LIMITED→ 12818325 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALTECH NORTH WEST LIMITED→ 04864700 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| ALTITUDE ROOFING SERVICES LIMITED→ 07557573 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ALTURA PROPERTY GROUP LIMITED→ 16544688 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AM MIDLANDS BUILDERS LTD→ 15978988 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMBER PROPERTIES NORTHWEST LIMITED→ 13290613 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AMBIENT COMFORT SOLUTIONS LTD→ 12962161 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AMCALISE LIMITED→ 12292568 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
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
Incorporated1999-01-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC43220 — Plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation
Registered office
14 Hillside Road
Heswall
Wirral
Merseyside
CH60 0BH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-10
Last: 2026-01-27
Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)
Active
CONNOLLY, Stephen→
Activedirector · ~79y · appointed 2003-02-26
View their other companies + combined net worth →
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1999-01-27 · resigned 1999-02-11
CONNOLLY, Rita Mary→
Resigneddirector · ~80y · appointed 1999-02-11 · resigned 2021-05-14
CONNOLLY, Sara Jane→
Resigneddirector · ~53y · appointed 2021-05-14 · resigned 2022-01-20
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 1999-01-27 · resigned 1999-02-11
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (71 total)
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-07-14
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-01
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-03-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-01-20
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-05-16
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-05-16