A J WATKINS LTD
💤Zombieactive
07908978 · ltd · incorporated 2012-01-13
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
£69.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Hairdressing and other beauty treatment
Sector: Other service activities
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, 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: medium (79/100)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
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
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
29 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
78/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
70
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 £69,625
Net assets shrinking
Down £6,588 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£70k
↓ 8.6% YoY
Current Assets
£77k
↓ 9.7% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-12-31 | 2023-12-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £69.6k | £76.2k |
| Current assets | £77.0k | £85.3k |
| Net assets | £69.6k | £76.2k |
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
- 2025-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-04📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2015-02-10📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2014-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-01-22📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2012-01-13🏢Company incorporatedAs A J WATKINS LTD
- 2012-01-13➕WATKINS, Andrew James 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 "WATKINS" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 14 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
- 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 14 years.
- 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 Andrew James Watkins Individual · British · DOB 08/1961 · age 65 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 01/08/2016 |
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 · SP postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 CLEVE ROAD FREEHOLD LIMITED→ 10440173 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 14LS SERVICES LIMITED→ 05517688 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| 35 SOUTH SECURITY COMPANY LTD→ 15321793 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 4CIS CONSULTANCY LIMITED→ 06561831 · est 2008 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
| A DOG'S TALE DOG TRAINING LTD→ 11454602 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A J DOLTON LTD→ 10626841 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A.C.T. PROPERTY HOLDINGS LTD→ 10476096 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A&B MASSAGE AND BEAUTY LTD→ 11975086 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AANRADEN ASSOCIATES LTD→ 05559120 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| ABBOTTS ANN DOWN RESIDENTIAL MANAGEMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ 12184524 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ABC FIRE & SAFETY LTD→ 15170016 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ABELIA LANDSCAPES LTD→ 11425350 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-01-13
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC96020 — Hairdressing and other beauty treatment
Registered office
Tower House
Sandley
Gillingham
SP8 5EA
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-16
Last: 2025-12-02
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
WATKINS, Andrew James→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2012-01-13
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (29 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-12-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-01-05