AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
05462528 · ltd · incorporated 2005-05-25
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
£-4.38M
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Travel agency activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 75/100 (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: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -44% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

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
10 officers (1 active, 10 linked, 6 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
80 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
60
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £4,377,145
Cash draining
Cash down 44% YoY
Cash YoY
-44%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£285k
↓ 44% YoY
Net Worth
-£4.4m
↑ 2.0% YoY
Current Assets
£1.4m
↑ 121% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£4.5m-£3.3m-£2.1m-£962k£206k£1.4mDec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Total assets£-4.38M£-3.35M
Current assets£1.37M£621.6k
Cash£285.2k£513.9k
Net assets£-4.38M£-4.47M

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

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 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 (36 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-09-16
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2024-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-08-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2022-09-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-08-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-08-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-09-25
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-12-20
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  10. 2018-12-20
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  11. 2018-12-14
    ➖
    NDLOVU, Iris Sophia resigned
    secretary
  12. 2018-12-14
    ➖
    NDLOVU, Iris Sophia resigned
    director
  13. 2018-09-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-02-22
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  15. 2018-02-22
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2017-08-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  17. 2017-06-29
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC02
  18. 2016-07-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2014-06-30
    ➖
    ROY, Colin Thomas resigned
    director
  20. 2014-06-30
    ➖
    ROY, Sabina resigned
    director
  21. 2013-04-09
    ➕
    ROY, Colin Thomas appointed
    director
  22. 2013-04-09
    ➕
    ROY, Sabina appointed
    director
  23. 2010-07-11
    ➕
    NDLOVU, Iris Sophia appointed
    secretary
  24. 2010-07-11
    ➖
    SMITH, Christine resigned
    secretary
  25. 2010-07-11
    ➖
    SMITH, Paul Richard resigned
    director
  26. 2006-08-01
    ➖
    SMITH, Christine resigned
    director
  27. 2005-05-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AFRICAN BUSH CAMPS LIMITED
  28. 2005-05-25
    ➕
    NDLOVU, Bekezela Moreblessings appointed
    director
  29. 2005-05-25
    ➕
    SMITH, Christine appointed
    secretary
  30. 2005-05-25
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  31. 2005-05-25
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  32. 2005-05-25
    ➕
    NDLOVU, Iris Sophia appointed
    director
  33. 2005-05-25
    ➕
    SMITH, Christine appointed
    director
  34. 2005-05-25
    ➕
    SMITH, Paul Richard appointed
    director
  35. 2005-05-25
    ➕
    LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  36. 2005-05-25
    ➖
    LONDON LAW SERVICES 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 21 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 21 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 21 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.)

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert James Dow
Individual · British · DOB 06/1962 · age 64
——sig. influencesignificant influence22/02/2018
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • African Bush Camps Limited (Incorporated In Mauritius)ceased 22/02/2018· 75-100% shares

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

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14066253 · est 2022 · no financials extracted
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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
Incorporated2005-05-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC79110 — Travel agency activities

Registered office

Suite 1 Staple House
Eleanor's Cross
Dunstable
Bedfordshire
LU6 1SU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-08
Last: 2025-05-25

Officers (1 active · 9 resigned)

NDLOVU, Bekezela Moreblessings→
director · ~50y · appointed 2005-05-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
NDLOVU, Iris Sophia→
secretary · appointed 2010-07-11 · resigned 2018-12-14
Resigned
SMITH, Christine→
secretary · appointed 2005-05-25 · resigned 2010-07-11
Resigned
LONDON LAW SECRETARIAL LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2005-05-25 · resigned 2005-05-25
Resigned
NDLOVU, Iris Sophia→
director · ~48y · appointed 2005-05-25 · resigned 2018-12-14
Resigned
ROY, Colin Thomas→
director · ~64y · appointed 2013-04-09 · resigned 2014-06-30
Resigned
ROY, Sabina→
director · ~62y · appointed 2013-04-09 · resigned 2014-06-30
Resigned
SMITH, Christine→
director · ~67y · appointed 2005-05-25 · resigned 2006-08-01
Resigned
SMITH, Paul Richard→
director · ~79y · appointed 2005-05-25 · resigned 2010-07-11
Resigned
LONDON LAW SERVICES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2005-05-25 · resigned 2005-05-25
Resigned

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

Recent filings (80 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-16
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-09-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-06-27