WARD & VENABLES LTD

⚰️Wound downdissolved
04537314 · ltd · incorporated 2002-09-17
Investment thesis
Company dissolved — not a live target.
Why interesting: Historical record only; useful for precedent research.
Why risky: Not transactable.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
not disclosed
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
63/100
Worth a look
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Other retail sale in non-specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
  • 55100Hotels and similar accommodation
  • 56101Licenced restaurants
  • 56302Public houses and bars
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed unclear — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 63/100 (worth a look), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (65/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Company dissolved. Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: low (47/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
42 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
63/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality
30
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Recent activity

Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (35 events)Click to expand
  1. 2014-07-08
    📄
    gazette-dissolved-voluntary
    gazette · GAZ2(A)
  2. 2014-07-08
    🏁
    Company dissolved
  3. 2014-03-25
    📄
    gazette-notice-voluntary
    gazette · GAZ1(A)
  4. 2014-03-17
    📄
    dissolution-application-strike-off-company
    dissolution · DS01
  5. 2013-11-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  6. 2013-09-17
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  7. 2013-09-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  8. 2013-09-17
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  9. 2013-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  10. 2012-09-25
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  11. 2012-03-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  12. 2011-09-22
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  13. 2011-03-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2011-02-23
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2011-02-23
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name
    officers · TM02
  16. 2010-10-08
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  17. 2010-10-08
    📄
    change-corporate-secretary-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH04
  18. 2010-10-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  19. 2010-10-08
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  20. 2010-09-30
    ➖
    QUEEN SQUARE SECRETARIES LTD resigned
    corporate-secretary
  21. 2009-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  22. 2009-10-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  23. 2008-11-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  24. 2008-09-17
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  25. 2007-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  26. 2007-10-02
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  27. 2006-12-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  28. 2002-12-05
    ➖
    DOLAN, Paul Vincent resigned
    secretary
  29. 2002-12-05
    ➕
    QUEEN SQUARE SECRETARIES LTD appointed
    corporate-secretary
  30. 2002-09-23
    ➕
    VENABLES, Alexander Guy appointed
    director
  31. 2002-09-23
    ➕
    WARD BAPTISTE, Alison Kay appointed
    director
  32. 2002-09-17
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WARD & VENABLES LTD
  33. 2002-09-17
    ➕
    DOLAN, Paul Vincent appointed
    secretary
  34. 2002-09-17
    ➕
    QUEEN SQUARE HOLDINGS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-director
  35. 2002-09-17
    ➖
    QUEEN SQUARE HOLDINGS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-director

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "VENABLES" — 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.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

86/100
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 63. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • 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 ·
Company dissolved
high

Company has been dissolved — it no longer legally exists. Any diligence here is historical only.

Evidence: Dissolved on 2014-07-08

🔒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

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

Statusdissolved
Typeltd
Incorporated2002-09-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47190 — Other retail sale in non-specialised stores

Registered office

11 Church Street
Melksham
Wiltshire
SN12 6LS
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: —
Last made up to: 2012-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: —
Last: —

Officers (0 active · 3 resigned)

VENABLES, Alexander Guy→
director · ~59y · appointed 2002-09-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WARD BAPTISTE, Alison Kay→
director · ~63y · appointed 2002-09-23
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOLAN, Paul Vincent→
secretary · appointed 2002-09-17 · resigned 2002-12-05
Resigned
QUEEN SQUARE SECRETARIES LTD→
corporate-secretary · appointed 2002-12-05 · resigned 2010-09-30
Resigned
QUEEN SQUARE HOLDINGS LIMITED→
corporate-director · appointed 2002-09-17 · resigned 2002-09-17
Resigned

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

Recent filings (42 total)

gazette-dissolved-voluntary
gazette · GAZ2(A)
2014-07-08
gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2014-03-25
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2014-03-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2013-11-13
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2013-09-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2013-09-17
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2013-09-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-05-30
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2012-09-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2012-03-20
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2011-09-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2011-03-10
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address
address · AD01
2011-02-23
termination-secretary-company-with-name
officers · TM02
2011-02-23
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2010-10-08