ALLIED OFFICE MACHINES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04593189 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-18
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 Oct 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
82/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46660
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 63-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 63). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Discharge stale live charges. 1 live charge(s) created 15+ years ago — likely paid but undischarged. Clean register. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 20.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 20.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
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
65 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
82/100Exceptional
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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-10-31 | 2023-10-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 800 | 800 |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (25 events)Click to expand
- 2025-06-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-20📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-11-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-11-19📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2018-11-19📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-11-19📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2018-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-26📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2008-08-15➖GREEN, Stephen Robert resigneddirector
- 2006-12-01➕GREEN, Stephen Robert appointeddirector
- 2005-10-31🔒Charge registered #1Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2003-06-01➕DRAYSON, Grace appointedsecretary
- 2003-06-01➕DRAYSON, Stephen John appointeddirector
- 2002-11-21➖FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-11-21➖FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2002-11-18🏢Company incorporatedAs ALLIED OFFICE MACHINES LIMITED
- 2002-11-18➕FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2002-11-18➕FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
93/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 63 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
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.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 23 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Grace Drayson Individual · British · DOB 07/1959 · age 67 | 25–50% | — | 25-50% shares | 19/11/2018 |
Mr Stephen John Drayson Individual · British · DOB 12/1963 · 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 · Wholesale & distribution · SO postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A T H MACHINERY LTD→ 12142572 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ABSOLUTE BOARD CO. LIMITED→ 08130948 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| AFRO HEIGHTS LTD→ 15904460 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALEPEN LIMITED→ 10872155 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALEXANDER COMMERCE LIMITED→ 16925661 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALL THE LITTLE NEEDS LTD→ 14497020 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALLKA LTD→ 16374881 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALPHA COOP AFRICAN GROCERIES LTD→ 15911228 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AMBA GROUP LTD→ 11176601 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AMBIKA TRADING LIMITED→ 16522053 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMEDICA GROUP LTD→ 12292956 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AMELA INTERNATIONAL LTD→ 14303721 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2002-11-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46660 — SIC 46660
Registered office
Partnership House
84 Lodge Road
Southampton
Hampshire
SO14 6RG
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-07-31
Last made up to: 2024-10-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-14
Last: 2025-10-31
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
Active
DRAYSON, Stephen John→
Activedirector · ~63y · appointed 2003-06-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORM 10 SECRETARIES FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2002-11-18 · resigned 2002-11-21
GREEN, Stephen Robert→
Resigneddirector · ~50y · appointed 2006-12-01 · resigned 2008-08-15
FORM 10 DIRECTORS FD LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2002-11-18 · resigned 2002-11-21
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | Debenture | 1 property | 31/10/2005 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (65 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-06-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-07-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-07-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-07-31
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2018-11-20