ADL TRADING LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

04772206 · ltd · incorporated 2003-05-20

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

£204.4k

book net assets

Opportunity

72/100

Strong

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What this business does

Primary activity: Development of building projects

Sector: Construction

Investor take

Special-situation opportunity

Distressed construction with salvageable qualities — special-situations priority.

Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 80). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. 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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

6 officers (1 active, 6 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

73 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

72/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Some moderate concerns — review flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £204,418

Net assets shrinking

Down £1,254 YoY

Cash YoY

-13%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£7k

↓ 13% YoY

Net Worth

£204k

~ YoY

Current Assets

£8k

↓ 17% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-01-31	2024-01-31
Total assets	£209.4k	£210.7k
Current assets	£7.7k	£9.3k
Cash	£6.9k	£7.9k
Debtors	£862	£1.4k
Net assets	£204.4k	£205.7k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filings

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand

2025-10-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-09-24
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-14
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-10-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-10-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-07-05
📄
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2017-07-05
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2017-07-05
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2017-07-05
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2017-07-05
📄
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2017-06-16
➖
LAWRENCE, Andrew David resigned
director
2016-07-13
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-05-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2011-04-18
➕
LAWRENCE, Andrew David appointed
director
2008-09-21
➖
LAWRENCE, Veronica Allenby resigned
secretary
2008-09-21
➖
LAWRENCE, Veronica Allenby resigned
director
2003-05-20
🏢
Company incorporated
As ADL TRADING LIMITED
2003-05-20
➕
LAWRENCE, David Alan appointed
director
2003-05-20
➕
LAWRENCE, Veronica Allenby appointed
secretary
2003-05-20
➕
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-05-20
➖
SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED resigned
corporate-nominee-secretary
2003-05-20
➕
LAWRENCE, Veronica Allenby appointed
director
2003-05-20
➕
INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED appointed
corporate-nominee-director
2003-05-20
➖
INSTANT COMPANIES 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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 80 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100

Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 80 years old. Natural succession window is now.
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.

Red flags

1 high ·

Confirmation statement overdue

high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-07-07

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr David Alan Lawrence Individual · British · DOB 12/1946 · age 80	50–75%	50–75%	board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control	24/06/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

Similar companies

Active · Construction · SN postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A & D HAGUE DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED→ 13302683 · est 2021 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	5y	—	—
A&A BUILDING CONSTRUCTION LTD→ 11002822 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
A&K MOLLETT LTD→ 04252781 · est 2001 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	24y	—	—
AB LEADWORK LIMITED→ 10157472 · est 2016 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ABBEY SCAFFOLDING (SWINDON) LIMITED→ 03788384 · est 1999 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	26y	—	—
ACORN BUILDERS (PEWSEY) LIMITED→ 03695966 · est 1999 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	27y	—	—
ACURA PROJECT MANAGEMENT LTD→ 12071214 · est 2019 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	6y	—	—
ADEPT GROUNDWORKS LIMITED→ 10756488 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ADK CONTRACTORS LIMITED→ 10565866 · est 2017 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	9y	—	—
ADROIT BUILDERS (WILTSHIRE) LTD→ 08313132 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
ADVANCED BOILER SERVICES LIMITED→ 04506000 · est 2002 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	23y	—	—
AEC ELECTRICAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 06422139 · est 2007 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	18y	—	—

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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

Incorporated2003-05-20

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC41100 — Development of building projects

Registered office

1 Fritterswell Cottage

Brinkworth

Chippenham

Wiltshire

SN15 5AL

England

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2026-10-31

Last made up to: 2025-01-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-07OVERDUE

Last: 2025-06-23

Officers (1 active · 5 resigned)

LAWRENCE, David Alan→

director · ~80y · appointed 2003-05-20

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

LAWRENCE, Veronica Allenby→

secretary · appointed 2003-05-20 · resigned 2008-09-21

Resigned

SWIFT INCORPORATIONS LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-05-20 · resigned 2003-05-20

Resigned

LAWRENCE, Andrew David→

director · ~45y · appointed 2011-04-18 · resigned 2017-06-16

Resigned

LAWRENCE, Veronica Allenby→

director · ~82y · appointed 2003-05-20 · resigned 2008-09-21

Resigned

INSTANT COMPANIES LIMITED→

corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-05-20 · resigned 2003-05-20

Resigned

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