AFRICAN TRAILS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06387577 · ltd · incorporated 2007-10-02
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
£-115.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
🔔
Follow this company (free)
Email alerts on filings, charges, director changes, gazette notices. No account needed.

Unsubscribe any time from any email. GDPR-respectful.

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 68). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -74% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

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
5 officers (2 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
54 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £115,707
Cash draining
Cash down 74% YoY
Cash YoY
-74%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£4k
↓ 74% YoY
Net Worth
-£116k
↓ 8.5% YoY
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
-£116k-£90k-£64k-£38k-£12k£14kDec 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
Total assets£2.4k£13.0k
Cash£3.6k£13.8k
Net assets£-115.7k£-106.7k

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 (24 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-12-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2022-12-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2021-10-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  6. 2020-10-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2019-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2018-08-15
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2017-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2016-09-14
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  11. 2015-10-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  12. 2015-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  13. 2014-10-17
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2014-09-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2013-11-07
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2011-11-01
    ➖
    O'NEILL, John resigned
    director
  17. 2007-10-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AFRICAN TRAILS LIMITED
  18. 2007-10-02
    ➕
    GEE, Christopher appointed
    secretary
  19. 2007-10-02
    ➕
    GEE, Christopher appointed
    director
  20. 2007-10-02
    ➕
    OCS CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  21. 2007-10-02
    ➖
    OCS CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  22. 2007-10-02
    ➕
    O'NEILL, John appointed
    director
  23. 2007-10-02
    ➕
    OCS DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  24. 2007-10-02
    ➖
    OCS DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-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.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 19 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 68 — 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 68. 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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Christopher Gee
Individual · British · DOB 09/1958 · age 68
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Trade services · PR postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
AAMS SOLUTIONS LTD→
16450746 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
ABRAXAS INVESTMENTS LIMITED→
03876636 · est 1999 · no financials extracted
————26y——
ACCIDENT REPLACEMENT LTD→
17104449 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
AEGIS CROWD SAFETY LIMITED→
17077645 · est 2026 · no financials extracted
———————
AG PAVING AND LANDSCAPING LTD→
13122656 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
AH GROUNDWORK LIMITED→
04934378 · est 2003 · no financials extracted
————22y——
AHA PROPERTY MAINTENANCE LIMITED→
16271570 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AICM TRUSTEES LIMITED→
16270696 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AINCITE LIMITED→
12149158 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
AINSCOUGH TRAINING SERVICES LIMITED→
04260389 · est 2001 · no financials extracted
————24y——
AINSDALEHAIR LIMITED→
08318835 · est 2012 · no financials extracted
————13y——
AINSWORTH HURST LIMITED→
02240932 · est 1988 · no financials extracted
————38y——
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
Incorporated2007-10-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

Black Bull House 353-355 Station Road
Bamber Bridge
Preston
Lancashire
PR5 6EE

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-10-16
Last: 2025-10-02

Officers (2 active · 3 resigned)

GEE, Christopher→
secretary · appointed 2007-10-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
GEE, Christopher→
director · ~68y · appointed 2007-10-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
OCS CORPORATE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2007-10-02 · resigned 2007-10-02
Resigned
O'NEILL, John→
director · ~62y · appointed 2007-10-02 · resigned 2011-11-01
Resigned
OCS DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2007-10-02 · resigned 2007-10-02
Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-28
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-15
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-10-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-14
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-10-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2018-10-23