ASIA BUSINESS (UK) LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04427486 · ltd · incorporated 2002-04-30
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
£-124.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 27400
Sector: Manufacturing
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: 1 insolvency-related filing on record. Filings relating to insolvency, liquidation, or administration exist in the company's history. Review before proceeding. 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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
6 officers (2 active, 6 linked, 1 with DOB)
73
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
75 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £124,049

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£124k
~ YoY
Current Assets
£5k
↓ 5.9% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£124k-£98k-£72k-£47k-£21k£5kMar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Total assets£2.7k£3.0k
Current assets£4.6k£4.9k
Net assets£-124.0k£-123.7k

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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-02-24
    📄
    capital-statement-capital-company-with-date-currency-figure
    capital · SH19
  6. 2022-02-24
    📄
    legacy
    capital · SH20
  7. 2022-02-24
    ⚠️
    legacy
    insolvency · CAP-SS
  8. 2022-02-23
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  9. 2022-02-11
    📄
    resolution
    resolution · RESOLUTIONS
  10. 2021-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-12-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  12. 2020-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2020-08-18
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  14. 2019-12-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2018-12-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  16. 2017-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2009-11-01
    ➖
    WB COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-secretary
  18. 2007-02-12
    ➕
    ZHANG, Xiuping, Mrs. appointed
    secretary
  19. 2002-05-23
    ➕
    ZHU, Guorong, Mr. appointed
    director
  20. 2002-05-23
    ➖
    WB COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director
  21. 2002-05-03
    ➖
    JL NOMINEES TWO LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2002-05-03
    ➕
    WB COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-secretary
  23. 2002-05-03
    ➖
    JL NOMINEES ONE LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2002-05-03
    ➕
    WB COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director
  25. 2002-04-30
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ASIA BUSINESS (UK) LIMITED
  26. 2002-04-30
    ➕
    JL NOMINEES TWO LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  27. 2002-04-30
    ➕
    JL NOMINEES ONE LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 64. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • 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

1 high ·
1 insolvency-related filing on record
high

Filings relating to insolvency, liquidation, or administration exist in the company's history. Review before proceeding.

Evidence: 2022-02-24: legacy

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Guorong Zhu
Individual · Chinese · DOB 03/1962 · age 64
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016

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

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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
Incorporated2002-04-30
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC27400 — SIC 27400

Registered office

Upper Mainsonette
197 West Barnes Lane
New Malden
KT3 6HY
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-23
Last: 2026-01-09

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

ZHANG, Xiuping, Mrs.→
secretary · appointed 2007-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ZHU, Guorong, Mr.→
director · ~64y · appointed 2002-05-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JL NOMINEES TWO LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-04-30 · resigned 2002-05-03
Resigned
WB COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-05-03 · resigned 2009-11-01
Resigned
JL NOMINEES ONE LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-04-30 · resigned 2002-05-03
Resigned
WB COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2002-05-03 · resigned 2002-05-23
Resigned

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

Recent filings (75 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-08
capital-statement-capital-company-with-date-currency-figure
capital · SH19
2022-02-24
legacy
capital · SH20
2022-02-24
legacy
insolvency · CAP-SS
2022-02-24
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-02-23
resolution
resolution · RESOLUTIONS
2022-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-30