AIR COURIER WORLDWIDE EXPRESS LIMITED
🌳Matureactive
04556685 · ltd · incorporated 2002-10-08
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
- · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Dec 2024
Net worth
£139.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
81/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Unlicenced Carrier
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 81/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -46% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
3 officers (3 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
64 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
81/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
85
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102Positive net assets
Net assets £139,375
Net assets shrinking
Down £16,034 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 46% YoY
Cash YoY
-46%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£111k
↓ 46% YoY
Net Worth
£139k
↓ 10% YoY
Current Assets
£286k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £165.7k | £188.3k |
| Current assets | £285.7k | £370.1k |
| Cash | £110.8k | £204.5k |
| Debtors | £174.9k | £165.6k |
| Net assets | £139.4k | £155.4k |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
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 (20 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-20📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2021-10-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-10-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2021-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-06-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-06-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-06-10📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2019-06-10📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-02-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2002-10-08🏢Company incorporatedAs AIR COURIER WORLDWIDE EXPRESS LIMITED
- 2002-10-08➕BARKER, Jaine appointedsecretary
- 2002-10-08➕BARKER, Jaine appointeddirector
- 2002-10-08➕WINTER, Darren Paul appointeddirector
Owner dependency
76/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +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 candidateStrong 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
cleanNo red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Darren Paul Winter Individual · British · DOB 01/1970 · age 56 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
Miss Jaine Barker Individual · British · DOB 11/1963 · age 63 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 06/04/2016 |
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 →Similar companies
Active · Transport & logistics · TW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A K EXECUTIVE CHAUFFEURS LTD→ 16751725 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| A K EXPRESS ENTERPRISE LIMITED→ 16200212 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A.J.WORLDWIDE SERVICES LIMITED→ 03899578 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| ADY VAL LTD→ 16575583 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AIR MARINE LIMITED→ 02883838 · est 1993 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| AIR X UK LTD→ 15362957 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AIRCARE FREIGHT SERVICES LIMITED→ 01417916 · est 1979 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 46y | — | — |
| AIRLINES BAGGAGE LIMITED→ 16275122 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AIRLINK EXP SERVICES LIMITED→ 16667301 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AIRPORT AND CITY CHAUFFEURS LTD→ 11169344 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AIRPORT CARGO CARE INTERNATIONAL LTD→ 12713231 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AIRPORT CARGO LIMITED→ 04266594 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions
6 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
Incorporated2002-10-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC53202 — Unlicenced Carrier
Registered office
Units 12/13 Littleton House Littleton Road
Ashford
Middlesex
TW15 1UU
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-22
Last: 2025-10-08
Officers (3 active · 0 resigned)
Active
BARKER, Jaine→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2002-10-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
WINTER, Darren Paul→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2002-10-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (64 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-09-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-18
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2021-10-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-10-20
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-09-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-12-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-17