AJ WILLS LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
07289236 · ltd · incorporated 2010-06-18
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
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: SIC 46480
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 76-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 76). 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 (70/100)

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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
41 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.

Key financials

1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-03-31
Average employees100

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 confirmation-statement
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-07-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-05-19
    📄
    change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
    accounts · AA01
  3. 2024-09-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-10-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-09-26
    📄
    capital-alter-shares-subdivision
    capital · SH02
  6. 2023-01-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-09-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-10-13
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-12-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-03-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-03-29
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2018-03-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  13. 2018-02-09
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-10-16
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  15. 2017-07-01
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  16. 2010-06-18
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As AJ WILLS LIMITED
  17. 2010-06-18
    ➕
    WILLS, Andrew John appointed
    director
  18. 2010-06-18
    ➕
    KAHAN, Barbara appointed
    director
  19. 2010-06-18
    ➖
    KAHAN, Barbara resigned
    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.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "WILLS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 16 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 76 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

98/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 76 years old. Natural succession window is now.
  • 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

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
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Andrew Wills
Individual · British · DOB 08/1950 · age 76
25–50%
—25-50% shares30/06/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Wholesale & distribution · N postcode area
CompanyEst. valueTurnoverNet worthStaffAgeOppDirector
ADVANCE GLOBAL COMMUNICATION LIMITED→
15035999 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
AF FRAGRANCES LTD→
12363513 · est 2019 · no financials extracted
————6y——
AGAM TRADING LIMITED→
16604640 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
———————
AGRO FUSION LTD→
16130088 · est 2024 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AHB HOUSEHOLD LTD→
16254326 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AISE SPORTSWEAR LTD→
14622043 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————3y——
AJK CONSTRUCTION (JOINERY) LTD→
13003202 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————5y——
AK PACKAGING LTD→
16371035 · est 2025 · no financials extracted
————1y——
AK&G TRADE LONDON LTD→
14844077 · est 2023 · no financials extracted
————2y——
AKAN ORGANICS LIMITED→
13283590 · est 2021 · no financials extracted
————5y——
AKAR (U.K.) LIMITED→
03290658 · est 1996 · no financials extracted
————29y——
AKBANA'S JEWELLERY LTD→
12441928 · est 2020 · no financials extracted
————6y——
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
Incorporated2010-06-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46480 — SIC 46480

Registered office

20-22 Wenlock Road
London
N1 7GU

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-07-02
Last: 2026-06-18

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

WILLS, Andrew John→
director · ~76y · appointed 2010-06-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
KAHAN, Barbara→
director · ~95y · appointed 2010-06-18 · resigned 2010-06-18
Resigned

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

Recent filings (41 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-06-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-07-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-06-27
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-05-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-17
capital-alter-shares-subdivision
capital · SH02
2023-09-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-06-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-01-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-10-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-06-30