A J MEAD CATERING LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
06578293 · ltd · incorporated 2008-04-28
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 Apr 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Event catering activities
Sector: Accommodation & food service
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
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: 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 (58/100).
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
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
38 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.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-04-30 | 2024-04-30 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
Last 30 days
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-02-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-02-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-06-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-01📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2020-03-31📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2019-01-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-05-25📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-01-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2008-04-28🏢Company incorporatedAs A J MEAD CATERING LIMITED
- 2008-04-28➕MEAD, Alan John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
Critical — business is the founderThe 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 "MEAD" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 18 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +No director turnover: Company is 18 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
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 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
cleanNo 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 Mead Individual · British · DOB 05/1970 · age 56 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 28/04/2016 |
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 · Hospitality · SP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19-21 HIGH ST LTD→ 14631937 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 27HILMI MALBOROUGH LTD→ 13913257 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| 30 EASTFIELD ROAD LIMITED→ 05840296 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| 4 HIGH SPIRITS LTD→ 16427774 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AATHIDDAN LTD→ 16380681 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AC&CA LTD→ 14326649 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALBION TEA LIMITED→ 09317144 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ALLWYN'S KITCHEN LTD→ 15878583 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALTERN8 EVENTS LTD→ 16486852 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMESBURY GROUP LIMITED→ 16719966 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AMIGO REDLYNCH LIMITED→ 12999252 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AMIGO TAVERNS LIMITED→ 11433740 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2008-04-28
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC56210 — Event catering activities
Registered office
103 Wool Grove
Andover
Hampshire
SP10 2QG
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-01-31
Last made up to: 2025-04-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-12
Last: 2025-04-28
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
MEAD, Alan John→
Activedirector · ~56y · appointed 2008-04-28
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (38 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-02-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-02-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-01-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-05-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-02-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-06-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-12
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2020-04-01
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2020-03-31