A.J. GROOM & SON LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
04915209 · ltd · incorporated 2003-09-29
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
£11.5k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 01621
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 47220Retail sale of meat and meat products in specialised stores
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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, 2 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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
58 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 · FRS 105 (micro)Positive net assets
Net assets £11,459
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£11k
↑ 85% YoY
Current Assets
£42k
↑ 27% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £13.1k | £7.9k |
| Current assets | £42.2k | £33.3k |
| Net assets | £11.5k | £6.2k |
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 (24 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-19📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-27📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2021-11-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-30📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-09-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-11➖GROOM, John Brian resigneddirector
- 2018-05-11📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2017-07-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-06-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-09📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2003-10-14➕GROOM, Karen Diane appointedsecretary
- 2003-10-14➕GROOM, Karen Diane appointeddirector
- 2003-10-14➕GROOM, John Brian appointeddirector
- 2003-10-03➖BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-10-03➖BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD resignedcorporate-nominee-director
- 2003-09-29🏢Company incorporatedAs A.J. GROOM & SON LIMITED
- 2003-09-29➕BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-secretary
- 2003-09-29➕BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD appointedcorporate-nominee-director
Owner dependency
100/100
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.
- +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "GROOM" — 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.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.
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 66. 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Ms Karen Diane Groom Individual · British · DOB 10/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 30/06/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Agriculture · HP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4TH HORIZON LTD→ 12536210 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A.J. WALKER (FARM) LIMITED→ 01737394 · est 1983 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 42y | — | — |
| A1 BLOODSTOCK LIMITED→ 05783282 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| AGRICULTURAL HEATING SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 09202624 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ALBION ESTATES LIMITED→ 11409430 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ALLEN FARMS LIMITED→ 00660092 · est 1960 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 65y | — | — |
| AMINCO LIMITED→ 04002055 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
| APICALARB TREE SERVICES LTD→ 14089633 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| BEACON HILL NATURE RESERVE→ 07793743 · est 2011 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| BOXMOOR TROUT FISHERY LIMITED→ 01252772 · est 1976 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 50y | — | — |
| BROUGHTON STUD LIMITED→ 09373278 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| BRYANTS NURSERIES LIMITED→ 00640145 · est 1959 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 66y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2003-09-29
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC01621 — SIC 01621
Registered office
The Counting House
9 High Street
Tring
Herts
HP23 5TE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-13
Last: 2025-09-29
Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)
GROOM, Karen Diane→
Activesecretary · appointed 2003-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
GROOM, Karen Diane→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2003-10-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BRIGHTON SECRETARY LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-09-29 · resigned 2003-10-03
GROOM, John Brian→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 2003-10-14 · resigned 2018-05-11
BRIGHTON DIRECTOR LTD→
Resignedcorporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-09-29 · resigned 2003-10-03
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (58 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-09-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-20
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-02-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-27
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-04-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-11-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-22
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-09-21