A E LANGFORD & CO LTD
💤Zombieactive
07314237 · ltd · incorporated 2010-07-14
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 Jul 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Sector: Administrative & support services
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 65). 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: high (81/100)Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.
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
10 connected companies via shared directors
75
Filing history
33 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
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 | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-04-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-04-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-03-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-01📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-05-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-04-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-04-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-08-06📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2014-08-07📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2010-07-14🏢Company incorporatedAs A E LANGFORD & CO LTD
- 2010-07-14➕LANGFORD, Adrian Edward appointedsecretary
- 2010-07-14➕LANGFORD, Adrian Edward 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 "LANGFORD" — 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 65 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 16 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. 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 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Adrian Edward Langford Individual · British · DOB 05/1961 · age 65 | 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.
🔒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 · Trade services · RG postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A H EALES LIMITED→ 04529742 · est 2002 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| A.D.P. SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 03443066 · est 1997 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 28y | — | — |
| ACORN INTERIOR FURNISHINGS LTD→ 05709139 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ACTIVE FACILITIES MANAGEMENT LTD.→ 03764475 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| AD2 SOLUTIONS LTD→ 16111617 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADAM OPTICS LTD→ 10795561 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ADDISON GARDENS MANAGEMENT COMPANY NEWBURY LTD→ 11635075 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ADIT CAPITAL ADVISERS LIMITED→ 16372718 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ADM4DYN HOLDING LIMITED→ 07478093 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ADMINWORKS LTD→ 06790223 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| ADMR PROPERTY SERVICES LTD→ 14861864 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ADORN AESTHETICS HAMPSHIRE LTD→ 12871113 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-07-14
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.
Registered office
Rivermore House 3 Summerlea Court
Herriard
Basingstoke
RG25 2PN
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-28
Last: 2025-07-14
Officers (2 active · 0 resigned)
LANGFORD, Adrian Edward→
Activesecretary · appointed 2010-07-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
LANGFORD, Adrian Edward→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2010-07-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (33 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-07-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-04-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-07-19
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-04-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-07-25
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-03-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-30
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-12-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-07-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-05-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-07-23