AD SERVICES (CARDIFF) LTD
💤Zombieactive
07287714 · ltd · incorporated 2010-06-17
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 Aug 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other activities of employment placement agencies
Sector: Administrative & support services
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 (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 (2 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
36 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 · FRS 102| Metric | 2025-08-31 | 2024-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | — | £988 |
| Current assets | — | £1.6k |
| Cash | — | £1.4k |
| Debtors | — | £112 |
| Net assets | — | £793 |
| Average employees | 1 | — |
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 90 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-05-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-10-28📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-28📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-10-28📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2025-10-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2025-05-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-05-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-05-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-04-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-07-29📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-05-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-06-17🏢Company incorporatedAs AD SERVICES (CARDIFF) LTD
- 2010-06-17➕DOWNES, Abbi appointedsecretary
- 2010-06-17➕DOWNES, Abbi appointeddirector
Owner dependency
90/100
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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 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 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
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Miss Abbi Downes Individual · British · DOB 01/1979 · age 47 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · CF postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AGERA CAPITAL LTD→ 13242227 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| AGILE PROPERTY CONSULTING LTD→ 12452536 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AGROJOB CORDON LTD→ 16388891 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AGS CONSULTING LIMITED→ 16513331 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AHZ LTD→ 09341594 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| AI ENERGY SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16449185 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AIR SERVICES (EUROPE) LTD→ 03441760 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| AIR WATER VENTURES LTD→ 14442057 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AISYMMETRIX LTD→ 11155221 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AJ BUSINESS CONSULTING LTD→ 14583154 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AJ CONSULTANTS CONNECT LTD→ 16722738 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AJB RESTRUCTURING AND INSOLVENCY LIMITED→ 11469880 · 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
Incorporated2010-06-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC78109 — Other activities of employment placement agencies
Registered office
Brookfield
Brynteg
Pontyclun
Rhondda Cynon Taff
CF72 8LR
Wales
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-05-31
Last made up to: 2025-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-01
Last: 2025-06-17
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
Active
DOWNES, Abbi→
Activedirector · ~47y · appointed 2010-06-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (36 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-05-21
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-10-28
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-10-28
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2025-10-28
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2025-10-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-04-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-03-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-05-24