ACTION 4 BUSINESS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05121772 · ltd · incorporated 2004-05-07
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 99999
Sector: Extraterritorial bodies
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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: high (81/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

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
8 officers (2 active, 8 linked, 4 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
68 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.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Average employees100100

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (30 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  2. 2025-05-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-03-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-02-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-03-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-05-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-02-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-03-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-09-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-02-18
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2016-08-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-05-21
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-07-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2015-05-27
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2014-07-01
    TRANT, Nigel John resigned
    director
  17. 2010-12-01
    ALLEN, Bruce John appointed
    secretary
  18. 2010-12-01
    ALLEN, Bruce John appointed
    director
  19. 2010-12-01
    TRANT, John Arthur resigned
    secretary
  20. 2010-12-01
    MELLOR, John Edward resigned
    director
  21. 2007-06-01
    MELLOR, John Edward appointed
    director
  22. 2005-05-02
    BARNETT, Trevor Andrew resigned
    director
  23. 2005-05-01
    BARNETT, Trevor Andrew appointed
    director
  24. 2005-02-28
    TRANT, John Arthur appointed
    secretary
  25. 2005-02-28
    @UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 2004-09-12
    TRANT, Nigel John appointed
    director
  27. 2004-09-12
    @UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD resigned
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 2004-05-07
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ACTION 4 BUSINESS LIMITED
  29. 2004-05-07
    @UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  30. 2004-05-07
    @UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD appointed
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

93/100
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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

78/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • 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 22 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.)

Group structure

Nicholas Associates Group Limited is the ultimate parent — holding 75%+ shares. This company sits inside their group.

🏛️
Nicholas Associates Group Limited
Corporate parent · holds 75-100% shares
ultimate parent
ACTION 4 BUSINESS LIMITED
This company · 05121772

Parent relationships inferred from Persons with Significant Control filings. Full subsidiary tree requires reverse-lookup (coming).

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Nicholas Associates Group Limited
Corporate entity
75100%
75-100% shares06/04/2016

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
Incorporated2004-05-07
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC99999 — SIC 99999

Registered office

8 Europa View
Sheffield
S9 1XH
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-05-07
Last: 2026-04-23

Officers (2 active · 6 resigned)

ALLEN, Bruce John
secretary · appointed 2010-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
ALLEN, Bruce John
director · ~60y · appointed 2010-12-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
TRANT, John Arthur
secretary · appointed 2005-02-28 · resigned 2010-12-01
Resigned
@UKPLC CLIENT SECRETARY LTD
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-05-07 · resigned 2005-02-28
Resigned
BARNETT, Trevor Andrew
director · ~67y · appointed 2005-05-01 · resigned 2005-05-02
Resigned
MELLOR, John Edward
director · ~58y · appointed 2007-06-01 · resigned 2010-12-01
Resigned
TRANT, Nigel John
director · ~66y · appointed 2004-09-12 · resigned 2014-07-01
Resigned
@UKPLC CLIENT DIRECTOR LTD
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-05-07 · resigned 2004-09-12
Resigned

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

Recent filings (68 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-04-23
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-04-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-03-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-02-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-05-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-04-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-04-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-02-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-04-23