1-2-4 SERVICES LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
06542841 · ltd · incorporated 2008-03-25
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.
Why now
Window steady · low confidence
Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.
What changed my view
Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Mar 2025
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: Agents specialised in the sale of other particular products
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 79/100 (strong), 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 (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
3 officers (2 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)
83
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
47 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

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

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
82
Few red 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£0Mar 2024Mar 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown
Metric2025-03-312024-03-31
Average employees1100

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
1
filing
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (20 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-12-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-10-23
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  3. 2025-05-16
    📍
    move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
    address · AD03
  4. 2025-05-15
    📍
    change-sail-address-company-with-new-address
    address · AD02
  5. 2024-11-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  6. 2024-03-27
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  7. 2023-11-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2022-10-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2021-10-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2020-11-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2019-10-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-07-02
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2019-01-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  14. 2018-01-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-12-23
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  16. 2008-08-13
    COOPER, Robert Paul appointed
    director
  17. 2008-08-13
    SHATLIFF, Terence Wayne resigned
    director
  18. 2008-03-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1-2-4 SERVICES LIMITED
  19. 2008-03-25
    COOPER, Robert Paul appointed
    secretary
  20. 2008-03-25
    SHATLIFF, Terence Wayne appointed
    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 18 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 18 years.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 18 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 low
Multiple registered office changes
low

Multiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Robert Paul Cooper
Individual · British · DOB 11/1960 · age 66
75100%
75-100% shares25/03/2017

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 →
🔒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
Incorporated2008-03-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46180 — Agents specialised in the sale of other particular products

Registered office

10 Wolfs Fell Close
Chipping
Preston
Lancashire
PR3 2DR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-06
Last: 2026-02-20

Officers (2 active · 1 resigned)

COOPER, Robert Paul
secretary · appointed 2008-03-25
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
COOPER, Robert Paul
director · ~66y · appointed 2008-08-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
SHATLIFF, Terence Wayne
director · ~64y · appointed 2008-03-25 · resigned 2008-08-13
Resigned

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

Recent filings (47 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-12-18
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-23
move-registers-to-sail-company-with-new-address
address · AD03
2025-05-16
change-sail-address-company-with-new-address
address · AD02
2025-05-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-11-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-27
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-11-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-10-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-25