ALAN J MASTERS LTD

💤Zombieactive

06309949 · ltd · incorporated 2007-07-11

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 Jul 2025

Net worth

£52.3k

book net assets

Opportunity

80/100

Exceptional

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pursue

Asset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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: medium (75/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 1 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

45 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

80/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Positive net assets

Net assets £52,310

Cash YoY

-16%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£43k

↓ 16% YoY

Net Worth

£52k

↑ 8.9% YoY

Current Assets

£49k

↓ 13% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-07-31	2024-07-31
Total assets	£55.2k	£48.5k
Current assets	£48.7k	£55.8k
Cash	£43.5k	£51.7k
Debtors	£5.2k	£4.1k
Net assets	£52.3k	£48.0k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filings

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand

2026-02-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-02-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-03-13
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-04-03
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-02-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-04-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-04-28
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2019-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2018-03-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2017-03-10
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-03-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-07-20
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2015-04-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2014-07-28
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-04-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2013-07-12
➖
MASTERS, Davina Jane resigned
secretary
2007-07-11
🏢
Company incorporated
As ALAN J MASTERS LTD
2007-07-11
➕
MASTERS, Alan John appointed
director
2007-07-11
➕
MASTERS, Davina Jane appointed
secretary
2007-07-11
➕
THORNE WIDGERY SERVICES LTD appointed
corporate-secretary
2007-07-11
➖
THORNE WIDGERY SERVICES LTD resigned
corporate-secretary
2007-07-11
➕
THORNE WIDGERY LTD appointed
corporate-director
2007-07-11
➖
THORNE WIDGERY LTD resigned
corporate-director

Owner dependency

100/100

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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "MASTERS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 66 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

88/100

Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS

primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 19 years.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 19 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 · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Alan John Masters Individual · British · DOB 12/1960 · age 66	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · HR postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
AILIYANGYANG LTD→ 16532324 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AIMOLY INTERNATIONAL TRADE LIMITED→ 16880001 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AIRECOO LTD→ 16521028 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AKC SOLUTION LIMITED→ 14001703 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	4y	—	—
AKIZO LTD→ 16530383 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ALBION FUTURE TECHNOLOGIES LTD→ 15580330 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
ALBO FINANCE LIMITED→ 09384196 · est 2015 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ALEATYAL LTD→ 16675868 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ALEXANDER AND DUNCAN,LIMITED→ 00119918 · est 1912 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	114y	—	—
ALGONQUIN VORSTEARL LTD→ 16582025 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ALITA TRADING CO., LTD→ 16325808 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ALLEGRO COMMERCE CO., LTD→ 16914307 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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 →

🔒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

Incorporated2007-07-11

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC46190 — Agents involved in the sale of a variety of goods

Registered office

2 Wyevale Business Park

Kings Acre

Hereford

Herefordshire

HR4 7BS

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-04-30

Last made up to: 2025-07-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-07-25

Last: 2025-07-11

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

MASTERS, Alan John→

director · ~66y · appointed 2007-07-11

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

MASTERS, Davina Jane→

secretary · appointed 2007-07-11 · resigned 2013-07-12

Resigned

THORNE WIDGERY SERVICES LTD→

corporate-secretary · appointed 2007-07-11 · resigned 2007-07-11

Resigned

THORNE WIDGERY LTD→

corporate-director · appointed 2007-07-11 · resigned 2007-07-11

Resigned

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