A1 EYEWEAR LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04256845 · ltd · incorporated 2001-07-23
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 Oct 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 47782
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 20.7y

30/100
under pressure

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

  • · Oldest live charge is 20.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (78/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
65 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Oct 2024Oct 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-10-312024-10-31
Average employees33

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-07-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-08-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-07-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-06-16
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  8. 2021-06-16
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #2
  9. 2020-07-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-02-28
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  12. 2019-02-28
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  13. 2019-02-28
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  14. 2019-02-28
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  15. 2018-11-22
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  16. 2018-11-07
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  17. 2018-11-05
    ➕
    OWENS, Huw Gareth appointed
    director
  18. 2018-11-05
    ➖
    PRINCE, Daniel Paul resigned
    secretary
  19. 2018-11-05
    ➖
    HODKINSON, Clare Marie resigned
    director
  20. 2018-11-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Dbw Investments (3) Limited
  21. 2018-03-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  22. 2006-07-27
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  23. 2005-09-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
  24. 2001-07-23
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A1 EYEWEAR LIMITED
  25. 2001-07-23
    ➕
    PRINCE, Daniel Paul appointed
    secretary
  26. 2001-07-23
    ➕
    KEY LEGAL SERVICES (SECRETARIAL) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2001-07-23
    ➖
    KEY LEGAL SERVICES (SECRETARIAL) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  28. 2001-07-23
    ➕
    HODKINSON, Clare Marie appointed
    director
  29. 2001-07-23
    ➕
    KEY LEGAL SERVICES (NOMINEES) LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  30. 2001-07-23
    ➖
    KEY LEGAL SERVICES (NOMINEES) LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

55/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 25 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Huw Gareth Owens
Individual · Welsh · DOB 10/1981 · age 45
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting05/11/2018
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Ms Clare Marie Hodkinsonceased 05/11/2018· 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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1220 LIMITED→
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11622388 · est 2018 · no financials extracted
————7y——
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16500457 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
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13728349 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
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ABERSOCH BOATYARD LIMITED→
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————53y——
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
Incorporated2001-07-23
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47782 — SIC 47782

Registered office

Unit 3 Town Mills
Charles Street
Wrexham
LL13 8BT

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-07-31
Last made up to: 2025-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-23
Last: 2025-07-09

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

OWENS, Huw Gareth→
director · ~45y · appointed 2018-11-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
PRINCE, Daniel Paul→
secretary · appointed 2001-07-23 · resigned 2018-11-05
Resigned
KEY LEGAL SERVICES (SECRETARIAL) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-07-23 · resigned 2001-07-23
Resigned
HODKINSON, Clare Marie→
director · ~51y · appointed 2001-07-23 · resigned 2018-11-05
Resigned
KEY LEGAL SERVICES (NOMINEES) LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-07-23 · resigned 2001-07-23
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
satisfied
Dbw Investments (3)
Dbw Investments (3) Limited
A registered charge2 properties05/11/201816/06/2021
satisfied
National Westminster Bank
National Westminster Bank PLC
Debenture1 property23/09/200527/07/2006

Recent filings (65 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-07-26
mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
mortgage · MR04
2021-06-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-07-09
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-25