CASWELL COMMERCIALS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
04960296 · ltd · incorporated 2003-11-11
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
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 45200
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Strong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.

Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 15.7y

30/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 15.7 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: medium (79/100)

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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
Directors & officers
7 officers (1 active, 7 linked, 5 with DOB)
84
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
77 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Jan 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
Average employees900700

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

3 signals 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 (34 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-01-13
    JAMES, Richard Douglas resigned
    director
  2. 2026-01-13
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  3. 2025-12-10
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  4. 2025-11-19
    JAMES, Richard Douglas appointed
    director
  5. 2025-11-19
    JAMES, Richard Douglas resigned
    director
  6. 2025-11-19
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2025-10-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2024-10-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2023-09-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2022-11-04
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  11. 2022-09-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  12. 2022-08-16
    📄
    mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
    mortgage · MR01
  13. 2022-08-16
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
  14. 2021-10-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2021-01-26
    📄
    mortgage-satisfy-charge-full
    mortgage · MR04
  16. 2021-01-26
    🔓
    Charge satisfied #1
  17. 2020-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  18. 2020-04-15
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  19. 2020-04-06
    JAMES, Edward Robert resigned
    director
  20. 2019-11-13
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  21. 2019-11-13
    📄
    change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
  22. 2019-10-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  23. 2018-11-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  24. 2016-02-01
    JAMES, Gaye Evelyn resigned
    secretary
  25. 2011-12-01
    JAMES, Thomas Anthony appointed
    director
  26. 2011-12-01
    JAMES, Edward Robert appointed
    director
  27. 2010-11-02
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
  28. 2003-11-11
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As CASWELL COMMERCIALS LIMITED
  29. 2003-11-11
    GRAEME, Dorothy May appointed
    nominee-secretary
  30. 2003-11-11
    GRAEME, Dorothy May resigned
    nominee-secretary
  31. 2003-11-11
    JAMES, Gaye Evelyn appointed
    secretary
  32. 2003-11-11
    GRAEME, Lesley Joyce appointed
    nominee-director
  33. 2003-11-11
    GRAEME, Lesley Joyce resigned
    nominee-director
  34. 2003-11-11
    JAMES, Richard Douglas appointed
    director

Owner dependency

75/100
High — earn-out structure required

Material founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.

FACTORS
  • +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

68/100
Strong succession signal

Multiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 15 years.
  • 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 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: JAMES, Richard Douglas resigned 2026-01-13; JAMES, Richard Douglas resigned 2025-11-19

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Thomas Anthony James
Individual · British · DOB 07/1985 · age 41
5075%
50–75%50-75% shares · 50-75% voting06/04/2016

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 →

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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
Incorporated2003-11-11
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC45200 — SIC 45200

Registered office

Tickenham Garage Stone-Edge Batch
Tickenham
Clevedon
North Somerset
BS21 6SE
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-18
Last: 2025-11-04

Officers (1 active · 6 resigned)

JAMES, Thomas Anthony
director · ~41y · appointed 2011-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GRAEME, Dorothy May
nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-11-11 · resigned 2003-11-11
Resigned
JAMES, Gaye Evelyn
secretary · appointed 2003-11-11 · resigned 2016-02-01
Resigned
GRAEME, Lesley Joyce
nominee-director · ~73y · appointed 2003-11-11 · resigned 2003-11-11
Resigned
JAMES, Edward Robert
director · ~37y · appointed 2011-12-01 · resigned 2020-04-06
Resigned
JAMES, Richard Douglas
director · ~70y · appointed 2025-11-19 · resigned 2026-01-13
Resigned
JAMES, Richard Douglas
director · ~70y · appointed 2003-11-11 · resigned 2025-11-19
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

2
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Bank PLC
A registered charge16/08/2022
satisfied
Lloyds Banking Group
Lloyds Tsb Bank PLC
Debenture1 property02/11/201026/01/2021
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (77 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-01-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-12-11
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2025-12-10
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-10-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-11
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-04
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2022-11-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-15
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2022-08-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-08