ABLE SHIPPING AGENCY CO., LTD
💤Zombieactive
07184618 · ltd · incorporated 2010-03-10
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 52220
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 60). 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 1 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
38 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 accountsCash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|
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
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-11➖KETU, Stephen resignedsecretary
- 2026-03-11📄termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM02
- 2025-05-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-19📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-08-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2024-07-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-07-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-05-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-11📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-04-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2010-03-10🏢Company incorporatedAs ABLE SHIPPING AGENCY CO., LTD
- 2010-03-10➕KETU, Stephen appointeddirector
- 2010-03-10➕KETU, Stephen appointedsecretary
Owner dependency
93/100
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.
- +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.
Succession & seller-readiness
78/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 16 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 16 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 lowMultiple registered office changes
lowMultiple address changes in a short period can indicate operational instability or admin disorder.
Shareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Stephen Ketu Individual · Ghanaian · DOB 10/1966 · age 60 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 07/03/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A B VICTORIA REMOVALS LIMITED→ 09051299 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
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| AAK REMOVALS LIMITED→ 11573156 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| AALMAR SURVEYS LIMITED→ 01330551 · est 1977 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 48y | — | — |
| AARON LOGISTICS 21 LTD→ 13731975 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| AAYAAN AYMAN PREMIUM CARS LTD→ 16867634 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AB BUSINESS SERVICES LTD→ 12616590 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AB CLASSIC CHAUFFEURS LIMITED→ 11755010 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ABEL LOGISTIC LTD→ 16491788 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ABI CARS LIMITED→ 09821012 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ABM DELIVERY LTD→ 15781805 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ABN CARS LTD→ 12819083 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-03-10
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC52220 — SIC 52220
Registered office
Flat 107 25 Indescon Square
London
E14 9DG
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-20
Last: 2026-03-06
Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)
KETU, Stephen→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2010-03-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
KETU, Stephen→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2010-03-10 · resigned 2026-03-11
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (38 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-11
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-03-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-07
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-19
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2024-08-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-07-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-03-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-03-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-04-10