ASHFORD VALVES & MANIFOLDS LTD
💤Zombieactive
07515116 · ltd · incorporated 2011-02-03
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 Feb 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale trade
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 62-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 62). 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 (80/100)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
1 officers (1 active, 1 linked, 1 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
31 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 | 2025-02-28 | 2024-02-29 |
|---|
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-10-07📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-11📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-05-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-05-16📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-06-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-16📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-03-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2011-02-03🏢Company incorporatedAs ASHFORD VALVES & MANIFOLDS LTD
- 2011-02-03➕NICHOL, Jeffrey John appointeddirector
Owner dependency
98/100
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 15 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
- +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 62 — approaching natural succession window.
- +No director turnover: Company is 15 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
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 62. 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 15 years.
- secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 15 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
2 active beneficial owners · dominant holder ≥75%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Jeffery John Nichol Individual · British · DOB 11/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 10/04/2016 |
Mr Jeffery John Nichol Individual · British · DOB 11/1964 · age 62 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 07/04/2016 |
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 · Wholesale & distribution · TN postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEGEAN GOLD DESIGNS LTD→ 09495934 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| ANEO TRADE LIMITED→ 16221118 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| APEX ELECTRONICS LIMITED→ 02502622 · est 1990 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 35y | — | — |
| ASAP SAFETY LIMITED→ 12435263 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ASHFORD GLASS SUPPLIES LTD→ 07279667 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ASIANBEAUTYWHOLESALE UK LIMITED→ 15177550 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AT & P LIMITED→ 10029050 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ATELIER13 LIMITED→ 11286046 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ATKIN CLOTHING LIMITED→ 17036910 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ATLAS BAGGING EQUIPMENT LIMITED→ 11219606 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AUREUS TRADING LIMITED→ 03739343 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 27y | — | — |
| AUROCH WORLDWIDE LTD→ 09089993 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-02-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46900 — Non-specialised wholesale trade
Registered office
Unit 2 Fairview Industrial Park
Hamstreet Road, Ruckinge
Ashford
Kent
TN26 2PL
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-11-30
Last made up to: 2025-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-17
Last: 2026-02-03
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
NICHOL, Jeffrey John→
Activedirector · ~62y · appointed 2011-02-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (31 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-12-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-10-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-21
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2019-11-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-02-14