ACADEMY OF ENGLISH STUDIES FOLKESTONE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04439758 · ltd · incorporated 2002-05-15
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 May 2025
Net worth
£-136
book net assets
Opportunity
67/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other education n.e.c.
Sector: Education
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 67/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

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
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)
75
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
68 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
67/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £136

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
-£136
~ YoY
Current Assets
£4k
~ YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£136£679£1k£2k£3k£4kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£-136£-136
Current assets£3.9k£3.9k
Debtors£3.9k£3.9k
Net assets£-136£-136

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
1
filing
  • • 1 dissolution
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • • 1 dissolution
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-28
    📄
    dissolution-application-strike-off-company
    dissolution · DS01
  2. 2026-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2025-02-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-06-22
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  6. 2023-06-22
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  7. 2023-06-22
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  8. 2023-02-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-04-18
    ➖
    TOUAH, Karen Sophia resigned
    secretary
  10. 2022-02-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2021-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2020-02-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  13. 2019-02-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-03-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2017-01-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2016-06-03
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2016-02-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  18. 2002-06-24
    ➕
    TOUAH, Riad appointed
    director
  19. 2002-06-24
    ➕
    TOUAH, Karen Sophia appointed
    secretary
  20. 2002-05-15
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACADEMY OF ENGLISH STUDIES FOLKESTONE LIMITED
  21. 2002-05-15
    ➕
    M W DOUGLAS & COMPANY LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2002-05-15
    ➖
    M W DOUGLAS & COMPANY LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2002-05-15
    ➕
    DOUGLAS NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2002-05-15
    ➖
    DOUGLAS NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100
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.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
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.
  • 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.

Red flags

1 high ·
Confirmation statement overdue
high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-05-01

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Riad Touah
Individual · British · DOB 07/1974 · age 52
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Karen Sophia Touahceased 18/04/2022· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting

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
Incorporated2002-05-15
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC85590 — Other education n.e.c.

Registered office

86 Coolinge Road
Folkestone
Kent
CT20 1EP

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-01OVERDUE
Last: 2025-04-17

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

TOUAH, Riad→
director · ~52y · appointed 2002-06-24
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TOUAH, Karen Sophia→
secretary · appointed 2002-06-24 · resigned 2022-04-18
Resigned
M W DOUGLAS & COMPANY LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-05-15 · resigned 2002-05-15
Resigned
DOUGLAS NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-05-15 · resigned 2002-05-15
Resigned

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

Recent filings (68 total)

dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-05-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-02-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-23
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-06-22
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-06-22
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-02-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-03-31