4 SHORE DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04120197 · ltd · incorporated 2000-12-06
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£751.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 55300SIC 55300
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 73-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 73). 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

4 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 24.1y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 24.1 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (72/100)

Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.

Company profile
address, 2 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)
90
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
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
79 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · IFRS
Positive net assets
Net assets £751,607

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£423k
Net Worth
£752k
Current Assets
£1.7m
Current Liabilities

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · IFRS
Metric2025-03-31
Total assets£757.2k
Current assets£1.74M
Cash£422.9k
Debtors£1.18M
Net assets£751.6k

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 confirmation-statement
  • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-14
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2024-07-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-10-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  7. 2021-10-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  8. 2021-10-15
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  9. 2021-10-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #4
  10. 2021-10-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #3
  11. 2021-10-15
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  12. 2021-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2021-02-18
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  14. 2021-02-18
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  15. 2020-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2019-04-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2018-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2017-03-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  19. 2016-03-11
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  20. 2009-01-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  21. 2009-01-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  22. 2008-12-22
    RICHARDSON, Alexander resigned
    director
  23. 2008-12-22
    RICHARDSON, Patricia Ann resigned
    director
  24. 2008-12-16
    MCDONNELL, Jennifer Jayne appointed
    secretary
  25. 2008-12-16
    RICHARDSON, Patricia Ann resigned
    secretary
  26. 2008-12-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  27. 2006-09-21
    MCDONNELL, Michael Anthony appointed
    director
  28. 2002-04-24
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  29. 2000-12-06
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 4 SHORE DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
  30. 2000-12-06
    RICHARDSON, Patricia Ann appointed
    secretary
  31. 2000-12-06
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 2000-12-06
    SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  33. 2000-12-06
    RICHARDSON, Alexander appointed
    director
  34. 2000-12-06
    RICHARDSON, Patricia Ann appointed
    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 20 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
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 73 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 20 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 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

1 med ·
Charge satisfaction-then-recreation pattern
medium

Multiple instances where a charge was satisfied and a new charge created within 6 months. Suggests active refinancing cycle.

Group structure

Mcdonnell Leisure Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Mcdonnell Leisure Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
4 SHORE DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED
This company · 04120197

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
Mcdonnell Leisure Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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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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
Incorporated2000-12-06
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47990 — Other retail sale not in stores, stalls or markets

Registered office

22-26 King Street
Kings Lynn
Norfolk
PE30 1HJ

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-11
Last: 2026-01-28

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

MCDONNELL, Jennifer Jayne
secretary · appointed 2008-12-16
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
MCDONNELL, Michael Anthony
director · ~73y · appointed 2006-09-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
RICHARDSON, Patricia Ann
secretary · appointed 2000-12-06 · resigned 2008-12-16
Resigned
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2000-12-06 · resigned 2000-12-06
Resigned
RICHARDSON, Alexander
director · ~85y · appointed 2000-12-06 · resigned 2008-12-22
Resigned
RICHARDSON, Patricia Ann
director · ~74y · appointed 2000-12-06 · resigned 2008-12-22
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

4
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property05/01/200915/10/2021
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Legal charge1 property05/01/200915/10/2021
satisfied
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Guarantee & debenture1 property16/12/200815/10/2021
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Debenture1 property24/04/200218/02/2021

Recent filings (79 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-18
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2025-09-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-30
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-10-15
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-10-15
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-31
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-02-18