AVEBELL LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04647339 · ltd · incorporated 2003-01-24
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
£32.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Broaden director team. Sole director creates succession risk and reduces buyer comfort. Appoint a second director or strong #2. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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, 2 with DOB)
77
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
66 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £32,368

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£32k
↑ 11% YoY
Current Assets
£56k
↑ 30% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£11k£22k£33k£45k£56kJan 2024Jan 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-01-312024-01-31
Total assets£32.7k£29.5k
Current assets£55.7k£42.9k
Net assets£32.4k£29.2k

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
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-08
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  3. 2025-05-04
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  4. 2024-10-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-10-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-04-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-04-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-09-13
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2016-05-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-02-03
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-06-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2005-02-10
    ➖
    HIRST, Elaine Margaret resigned
    director
  17. 2005-02-09
    ➕
    HIRST, Elaine Margaret appointed
    secretary
  18. 2005-02-09
    ➖
    HIRST, Stuart Alan resigned
    secretary
  19. 2004-04-21
    ➕
    HIRST, Stuart Alan appointed
    director
  20. 2003-02-19
    ➕
    HIRST, Stuart Alan appointed
    secretary
  21. 2003-02-19
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2003-02-19
    ➕
    HIRST, Elaine Margaret appointed
    director
  23. 2003-02-19
    ➖
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2003-01-24
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AVEBELL LIMITED
  25. 2003-01-24
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2003-01-24
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

100/100
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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

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 69. 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 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 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 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Stuart Alan Hirst
Individual · United Kingdom · DOB 06/1957 · age 69
75–100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2003-01-24
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46190 — Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods

Registered office

2 Bowland View
Church Raike
Chipping
Lancashire
PR3 2HH
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-07
Last: 2026-01-24

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

HIRST, Elaine Margaret→
secretary · appointed 2005-02-09
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HIRST, Stuart Alan→
director · ~69y · appointed 2004-04-21
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HIRST, Stuart Alan→
secretary · appointed 2003-02-19 · resigned 2005-02-09
Resigned
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-01-24 · resigned 2003-02-19
Resigned
HIRST, Elaine Margaret→
director · ~64y · appointed 2003-02-19 · resigned 2005-02-10
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-01-24 · resigned 2003-02-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (66 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-26
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-09-08
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-05-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-10-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-31
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-28