JAMES MERCER LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04324335 · ltd · incorporated 2001-11-16

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 Dec 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: SIC 45200

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Active trading company with a 70-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 70). 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 (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

71 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-12-31	2024-12-31
Average employees	100	100

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand

2026-03-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-03-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-03-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-03-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-04-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-03-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-03-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-04-18
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2019-04-18
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2019-03-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-11-27
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2018-11-27
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2018-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-11-30
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2017-11-29
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2017-11-23
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2003-10-31
➕
MERCER, Alexander appointed
secretary
2003-10-31
➖
MERCER, Margaret Ann resigned
secretary
2001-12-07
➕
MERCER, James appointed
director
2001-12-07
➕
MERCER, Margaret Ann appointed
secretary
2001-12-07
➖
PF & S (SECRETARIES) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-12-07
➖
PF & S (DIRECTORS) LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-director
2001-11-16
🏢
Company incorporated
As JAMES MERCER LIMITED
2001-11-16
➕
PF & S (SECRETARIES) LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2001-11-16
➕
PF & S (DIRECTORS) LIMITED appointed
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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MERCER" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100

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 70 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 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
James Mercer Individual · British · DOB 02/1956 · age 70	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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A K W TYRE SERVICES LTD→ 08062832 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
A R DIESELS LIMITED→ 06140657 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
A.E. FINCH GARAGES LIMITED→ 01393849 · est 1978 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	47y	—	—
A&E LAND ROVER SERVICES LTD→ 14719288 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AA AUTO SPECIALIST LIMITED→ 16742043 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AAC AUTOMOTIVE LTD→ 14983847 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ABLEFIT TYRES & EXHAUSTS LIMITED→ 07401809 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	15y	—	—

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

Incorporated2001-11-16

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Unit 11 Lodge Hill Ind Estate

Westbury Sub Mendip

Wells

Somerset

BA5 1EY

United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-09-30

Last made up to: 2025-12-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-11-30

Last: 2025-11-16

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

MERCER, Alexander→

secretary · appointed 2003-10-31

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MERCER, James→

director · ~70y · appointed 2001-12-07

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MERCER, Margaret Ann→

secretary · appointed 2001-12-07 · resigned 2003-10-31

Resigned

PF & S (SECRETARIES) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2001-11-16 · resigned 2001-12-07

Resigned

PF & S (DIRECTORS) LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2001-11-16 · resigned 2001-12-07

Resigned

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