CABLES TRAVEL LTD
💤Zombieactive
07704108 · ltd · incorporated 2011-07-13
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
£64.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 49320
Sector: Transportation & storage
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 61-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (70/100, director aged 61). 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 3 total, 3 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
44 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £64,361
Cash YoY
+367%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£29k
↑ 367% YoY
Net Worth
£64k
↑ 7682% YoY
Current Assets
£225k
↑ 65% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-07-31 | 2024-07-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £116.3k | £69.6k |
| Current assets | £224.7k | £135.8k |
| Cash | £28.5k | £6.1k |
| Debtors | £196.2k | £129.7k |
| Net assets | £64.4k | £827 |
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
🔒Filing-note intelligence
2 signals 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
0
filings
Last 180 days
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2026-04-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2026-03-04📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-21📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2025-10-10📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2025-09-30📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2025-05-09📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2025-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-30📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-07-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-02📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2024-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-03📄second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-dateconfirmation-statement · RP04CS01
- 2022-12-20📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-12-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-19📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-12-19📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2022-11-10📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2022-10-04📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2021-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2011-07-13🏢Company incorporatedAs CABLES TRAVEL LTD
- 2011-07-13➕WATSON, John Anthony 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 61 — 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 61. 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| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr John Anthony Watson Individual · British · DOB 09/1965 · age 61 | 50–75% | 50–75% | board control50-75% shares · 50-75% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
Mrs Elham Watson Individual · British · DOB 12/1975 · age 51 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 06/04/2021 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mrs Dianne Watsonceased 07/07/2017· 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting
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 · Transport & logistics · DL postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUCKLAND TAXIS LTD→ 16544511 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BJ'S TAXIS LIMITED→ 12158011 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BN TRANS LTD→ 12220791 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| BRETT COCKBURN LOGISTICS LTD→ 16880454 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BRIAN WRAGG HAULAGE LTD→ 06655782 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 17y | — | — |
| BRIDGE DALES TRANSPORT LTD→ 13757889 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| BULK LOGISTICS GROUP LTD→ 10079595 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| BURNSIDE LOGISTICS NORTH EAST LTD→ 16483747 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| BYRON ROBINSON LOGISTICS LTD→ 16807985 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| C-CUBED LOGISTICS LIMITED→ 12967651 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| C-GINN LTD→ 16044957 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| CALLIA LOGISTICS LTD→ 16892814 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2011-07-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC49320 — SIC 49320
Registered office
43 Coniscliffe Road
Darlington
Co Durham
DL3 7EH
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-04-30
Last made up to: 2025-07-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-07-27
Last: 2025-07-13
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
WATSON, John Anthony→
Activedirector · ~61y · appointed 2011-07-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (44 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-04-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-03-04
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-10-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-20
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2025-10-10
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-09-30
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2025-05-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-04-30
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-07-30
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-07-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-07-29
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-07-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-30
second-filing-of-confirmation-statement-with-made-up-date
confirmation-statement · RP04CS01
2023-07-03