AO SUBLIME LTD
💤Zombieactive
07333878 · ltd · incorporated 2010-08-03
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 Jan 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
77/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 47910Retail sale via mail order houses or via Internet
- 53202Unlicenced Carrier
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 77/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 10.6y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 10.6 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: medium (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 3 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed
75
Lenders & charges
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
37 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
77/100Strong
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
100
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 | 2025-01-31 | 2024-01-31 |
|---|
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
0
filings
Last 90 days
2
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (19 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-10📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-04-09📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2025-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2017-10-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-10-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-08📄mortgage-satisfy-charge-fullmortgage · MR04
- 2016-02-08🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2015-10-15📄mortgage-create-with-deed-with-charge-number-charge-creation-datemortgage · MR01
- 2015-10-15🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC
- 2015-08-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2010-08-03🏢Company incorporatedAs AO SUBLIME LTD
- 2010-08-03➕LONG, Carl Anthony 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Carl Anthony Long Individual · British · DOB 10/1975 · age 51 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Joseph Anthony Longceased 01/04/2026· 25-50% shares
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · LL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9BRAND FOODS LIMITED→ 10253130 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A & B AIR HIRE LIMITED→ 03233225 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| A & B AIR SYSTEMS LIMITED→ 03228121 · est 1996 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 29y | — | — |
| ABACUS FURNITURE FITTINGS LIMITED→ 03105007 · est 1995 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 30y | — | — |
| AGERA INNOVATIONS LTD→ 16994295 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AK BARGAIN STORE LIMITED→ 16916460 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ANCHIN RUGS LIMITED→ 09209661 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ANDERTON & DAVIES LTD→ 13685981 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| ANGLESEY FINE FOODS LTD→ 10694029 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ANGLESEY SOAP LTD→ 12271736 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ANSICCA LTD→ 16985336 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| APCA UNITED KINGDOM LIMITED→ 04257463 · est 2001 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 24y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2010-08-03
Jurisdictionwales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade
Registered office
Bryn Y Coed
Crabtree Green
Wrexham
LL13 0YF
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-10-31
Last made up to: 2025-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-14
Last: 2025-07-31
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
LONG, Carl Anthony→
Activedirector · ~51y · appointed 2010-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | Hitachi Capital (UK) Hitachi Capital (UK) PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 15/10/2015 | 08/02/2016 |
Recent filings (37 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-04-10
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2026-04-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-10-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-10-23
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-10-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-10-31