AJB FUNERALS LTD
💤Zombieactive
05258953 · ltd · incorporated 2004-10-13
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
£79.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
71/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Funeral and related activities
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and acceptable with review structure.
Opportunity 71/100 (strong), bankability 57/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Consolidate lender relationships. 3 distinct lenders creates friction — refinance into single-lender structure for cleaner diligence. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
6 live charges · 3 lenders · oldest 9.3y
15/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 9.3 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · 3 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
- · 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
6 charges (6/6 with lender, 6/6 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 5 total, 5 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
74 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
71/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
82
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £78,987
Net assets shrinking
Down £159,500 YoY
Cash YoY
-2%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£24k
↓ 1.9% YoY
Net Worth
£79k
↓ 67% YoY
Current Assets
£165k
↓ 23% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £717.9k | £745.9k |
| Current assets | £164.9k | £215.5k |
| Cash | £23.8k | £24.3k |
| Debtors | £135.9k | £186.2k |
| Net assets | £79.0k | £238.5k |
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 (31 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2025-11-26➖BEWLEY, Kathleen Ann resigneddirector
- 2025-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-09📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-10-09📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-10-04🔒Charge registered #6Lender: Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited
- 2024-10-04🔒Charge registered #5Lender: Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited
- 2024-07-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-05-16📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2024-05-16🔒Charge registered #4Lender: Lloyds Bank PLC
- 2023-11-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2023-11-08📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-11-08📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2023-10-31➖BEWLEY, Jonathon resignedsecretary
- 2023-10-31➖BEWLEY, Jonathon resigneddirector
- 2023-10-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-09-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-01-21📄resolutionresolution · RESOLUTIONS
- 2019-11-08📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2019-11-08📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-11-08📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2017-08-04🔒Charge registered #3Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2017-08-04🔒Charge registered #2Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2017-03-17🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
- 2014-04-06➕BEWLEY, Aaron Daniel appointeddirector
- 2004-10-13🏢Company incorporatedAs AJB FUNERALS LTD
- 2004-10-13➕BEWLEY, Jonathon appointedsecretary
- 2004-10-13➕BEWLEY, Jonathon appointeddirector
- 2004-10-13➕BEWLEY, Kathleen Ann appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial 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 signalMultiple 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 12 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
1 low6 live charges
lowHeavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.
Shareholders & ownership
2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Kathleen Ann Bewley Individual · British · DOB 01/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2017 |
Mr Aaron Daniel Bewley Individual · British · DOB 04/1979 · age 47 | — | — | sig. influencesignificant influence | 06/04/2017 |
3 historic (ceased) PSCs
- Mr Jonathon Bewleyceased 31/10/2023· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Mr Jonathon Bewleyceased 07/04/2017· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
- Mr Aaron Daniel Bewleyceased 07/04/2017· significant influence
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 →Similar companies
Active · Trade services · SN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ADORABLE DOGS LTD→ 05740680 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| AERIAL TARGET SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 02912992 · est 1994 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 32y | — | — |
| AESTHETICS BY A.M LIMITED→ 12773466 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AESUM LIMITED→ 10956644 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AF WINDOWS LIMITED→ 06787456 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| AFRO CUTS 1 BARBERSHOP LTD→ 17115915 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGI CORPORATE FINANCE LIMITED→ 03290460 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| AGRICRUIT LTD→ 14606772 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AIRBNB CLEANS LTD→ 16848631 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AJ SECURITY SOUTH WEST LTD→ 15680548 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AKWAABA BARBER SHOP LIMITED→ 11249882 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALANA'S HAIR DESIGN LIMITED→ 09651229 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2004-10-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96030 — Funeral and related activities
Registered office
57a Pickwick Road
Corsham
Wiltshire
SN13 9BS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-28
Last: 2025-11-14
Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)
BEWLEY, Aaron Daniel→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2014-04-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
BEWLEY, Jonathon→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2004-10-13 · resigned 2023-10-31
BEWLEY, Jonathon→
Resigneddirector · ~73y · appointed 2004-10-13 · resigned 2023-10-31
BEWLEY, Kathleen Ann→
Resigneddirector · ~66y · appointed 2004-10-13 · resigned 2025-11-26
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
6
Total charges
6
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:6 of 6 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | Cambridge & Counties Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited | A registered charge | 2 properties | 04/10/2024 | — | |
| outstanding | Cambridge & Counties Cambridge & Counties Bank Limited | A registered charge | 2 properties | 04/10/2024 | — | |
| outstanding | Lloyds Banking Group Lloyds Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 16/05/2024 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 04/08/2017 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 04/08/2017 | — | |
| outstanding | Barclays Barclays Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 17/03/2017 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (74 total)
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2025-11-27
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-11-15
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-10-09
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-10-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-23
mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-date
mortgage · MR01
2024-05-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-20
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-11-08
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-11-08
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2023-11-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-16
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-11-11