M CANAVAN ASSOCIATES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04724632 · ltd · incorporated 2003-04-07
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
£7.9k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01629
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 64-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 64). 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 (77/100)

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 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
67 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
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
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Positive net assets
Net assets £7,895

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
£8k
↑ 81% YoY
Current Assets
£19k
↑ 39% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
£0£4k£7k£11k£15k£19kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£9.6k£5.2k
Current assets£18.6k£13.4k
Net assets£7.9k£4.4k

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 (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-01-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-12-21
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  5. 2023-12-21
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  6. 2023-02-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-12-21
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2022-08-16
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  9. 2022-08-16
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  10. 2022-08-16
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  11. 2022-08-03
    ➕
    CANAVAN, Miles appointed
    secretary
  12. 2022-08-03
    ➖
    CANAVAN, Sandra Ann resigned
    secretary
  13. 2022-08-03
    ➖
    CANAVAN, Sandra Ann resigned
    director
  14. 2021-12-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-02-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2020-02-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  17. 2019-02-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  18. 2018-03-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  19. 2003-04-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As M CANAVAN ASSOCIATES LIMITED
  20. 2003-04-07
    ➕
    CANAVAN, Miles appointed
    director
  21. 2003-04-07
    ➕
    CANAVAN, Sandra Ann appointed
    secretary
  22. 2003-04-07
    ➕
    YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2003-04-07
    ➖
    YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-04-07
    ➕
    CANAVAN, Sandra Ann appointed
    director
  25. 2003-04-07
    ➕
    YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2003-04-07
    ➖
    YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED resigned
    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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "CANAVAN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 64 — approaching natural succession window.

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 64. 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 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

clean
No red flags detected from available public data. (This is not a clean bill of health — detailed accounts review still recommended.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Miles Canavan
Individual · British · DOB 08/1962 · age 64
75–100%
—75-100% shares06/04/2016
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mrs Sandra Ann Canavanceased 21/12/2022· 75-100% shares

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 →

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05740687 · est 2006 · no financials extracted
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13184517 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
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03324590 · est 1997 · no financials extracted
————29y——
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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

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2003-04-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01629 — SIC 01629

Registered office

11 Steven Way
Ripon
HG4 2TQ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-04
Last: 2025-12-21

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

CANAVAN, Miles→
secretary · appointed 2022-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CANAVAN, Miles→
director · ~64y · appointed 2003-04-07
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CANAVAN, Sandra Ann→
secretary · appointed 2003-04-07 · resigned 2022-08-03
Resigned
YORK PLACE COMPANY SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-04-07 · resigned 2003-04-07
Resigned
CANAVAN, Sandra Ann→
director · ~63y · appointed 2003-04-07 · resigned 2022-08-03
Resigned
YORK PLACE COMPANY NOMINEES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-04-07 · resigned 2003-04-07
Resigned

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

Recent filings (67 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-01-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-02-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-01-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-21
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2023-12-21
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-12-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-02-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-21
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2022-12-21
appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
officers · AP03
2022-08-16
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2022-08-16
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2022-08-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-20