AUSTENS DRIVE (SEVENOAKS) LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04037922 · ltd · incorporated 2000-07-20
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
£100
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Undifferentiated service-producing activities of private households for own use
Sector: Activities of households
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 25.9y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 25.9 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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 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
60 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 declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £100
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£100
~ YoY
Current Assets
£100
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £100 | £100 |
| Current assets | £100 | £100 |
| Net assets | £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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-03-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-02-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-10-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-08-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-08-01📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2013-08-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-05-20🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2008-05-13➖EDWARDS, Doris Nancy resignedsecretary
- 2000-09-04🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Doris Nancy Edwards
- 2000-07-20🏢Company incorporatedAs AUSTENS DRIVE (SEVENOAKS) LIMITED
- 2000-07-20➕EDWARDS, Nicholas David appointeddirector
- 2000-07-20➕EDWARDS, Doris Nancy appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
93/100
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 26 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
85/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 62. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 26 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 26 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 · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Nicholas David Edwards Individual · British · DOB 09/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · firm interest | 20/07/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ANORAK DIGITAL LTD→ 13213824 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ANTANO KANDROTO PARAMOS FONDAS→ 15392337 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ASHFORD CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP→ 09021910 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AUKER HUTTON LIMITED→ 11789454 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AUTOMATIC MIST & SPRINKLER COMPANY LTD→ 08583992 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| AVID GAMES LTD→ 14585918 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AWAMU→ 07818944 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AWORTH REALISATIONS→ 00751066 · est 1963 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 63y | — | — |
| AWSOM LTD→ 09805942 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| AXEN MANAGEMENT LLP→ OC379691 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AYLESFORD FIRE PROTECTION LIMITED→ 09188247 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AZADA CONSULTANCY LLP→ OC371922 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
7 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
Incorporated2000-07-20
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC98200 — Undifferentiated service-producing activities of private households for own use
Registered office
Austens
High Street
Sevenoaks
Kent
TN13 1JG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-03
Last: 2025-07-20
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
EDWARDS, Nicholas David→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2000-07-20
View their other companies + combined net worth →
EDWARDS, Doris Nancy→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2000-07-20 · resigned 2008-05-13
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Doris Nancy Edwards | Legal mortgage | 1 property | 04/09/2000 | 20/05/2008 |
Recent filings (60 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-10-16