ABC COSTUME HIRE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05133252 · ltd · incorporated 2004-05-19
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 Sept 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
67/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 67/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).

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
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 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
59 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
67/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review 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£0Sept 2024Sept 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-09-302024-09-30
Average employees100100

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

Recent activity

Last 30 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (27 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-06-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-05-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-03-30
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
    accounts · AA01
  6. 2022-03-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-01-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-01-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-12-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-03-26
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  11. 2018-03-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-03-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2016-05-20
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2016-05-20
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2016-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  16. 2015-05-28
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  17. 2008-10-01
    ➕
    GILES, Graham appointed
    secretary
  18. 2008-10-01
    ➖
    FARNFIELD, Susanne Elisabeth resigned
    secretary
  19. 2008-10-01
    ➖
    FARNFIELD, Susanne Elisabeth resigned
    director
  20. 2004-05-19
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ABC COSTUME HIRE LIMITED
  21. 2004-05-19
    ➕
    HANNELL, Nicola Jane appointed
    director
  22. 2004-05-19
    ➕
    FARNFIELD, Susanne Elisabeth appointed
    secretary
  23. 2004-05-19
    ➕
    JPCORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2004-05-19
    ➖
    JPCORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 2004-05-19
    ➕
    FARNFIELD, Susanne Elisabeth appointed
    director
  26. 2004-05-19
    ➕
    JPCORD LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  27. 2004-05-19
    ➖
    JPCORD LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-director

Owner dependency

85/100
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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

70/100
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.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 22 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: 2026-06-02

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Miss Nicola Jane Hannell
Individual · British · DOB 12/1971 · age 55
75–100%
—75-100% shares19/05/2017

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

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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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2004-05-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47710 — Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores

Registered office

Equity House
23 The Paddock
Chalfont St Peter
Buckinghamshire
SL9 0JJ
United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-06-30
Last made up to: 2025-09-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-02OVERDUE
Last: 2025-05-19

Officers (2 active · 4 resigned)

GILES, Graham→
secretary · appointed 2008-10-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HANNELL, Nicola Jane→
director · ~55y · appointed 2004-05-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
FARNFIELD, Susanne Elisabeth→
secretary · appointed 2004-05-19 · resigned 2008-10-01
Resigned
JPCORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2004-05-19 · resigned 2004-05-19
Resigned
FARNFIELD, Susanne Elisabeth→
director · ~64y · appointed 2004-05-19 · resigned 2008-10-01
Resigned
JPCORD LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2004-05-19 · resigned 2004-05-19
Resigned

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

Recent filings (59 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2026-06-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-05-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-25
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extended
accounts · AA01
2023-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-03-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-01-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-01-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-05-23