1ST4BOOKS LTD

💤Zombieactive
08167417 · ltd · incorporated 2012-08-03
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.
Why now
Window opening · high confidence
More negotiable than before — 4 signals weakening over the last 30 days.
  • · Hygiene score: 90 → 50
  • · Bankability: 75 → 55
  • · Deal-killer verdict: workable → complicated
  • · Opportunity score: 73 → 63
Opportunity decay
softening · 6-months
Softening — cumulative signals suggest this becomes more negotiable over the next 3–6 months.
  • · 4 recent signals weakening vs 0 strengthening
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture worsened over the last 30 days — 4 negative signals vs 0 positive.

  • Deal-killer verdict: workablecomplicated
  • Opportunity score: 7363
  • Hygiene score: 9050
  • Bankability: 7555
  • ·Distress / opportunity: avoidspeculative
Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
Upgrade to see
Turnover
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
63/100
Worth a look
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What this business does
Primary activity: Bookkeeping activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 63/100 (worth a look), bankability 55/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (38/100).

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, 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
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
28 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
63/100Worth a look
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Mixed signal. Worth opening the full target workup before deciding to pursue.

Business quality
55
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
67
Some moderate concerns — review flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
Net Worth
Current Assets
Current Liabilities
£0£0£0£0£0£0Aug 2023Aug 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-08-312023-08-31

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
2
filings
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 dissolution
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 gazette
  • 1 dissolution
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-19
    📄
    gazette-notice-voluntary
    gazette · GAZ1(A)
  2. 2026-05-06
    📄
    dissolution-application-strike-off-company
    dissolution · DS01
  3. 2025-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-05-31
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  5. 2023-05-02
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  6. 2022-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  7. 2021-04-22
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  8. 2020-04-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  9. 2019-04-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  10. 2018-05-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-05-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2016-06-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  13. 2015-09-02
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  14. 2015-04-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  15. 2014-08-05
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2012-08-03
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 1ST4BOOKS LTD
  17. 2012-08-03
    JAKHU, Ayisha appointed
    director

Owner dependency

80/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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.
  • +No director turnover: Company is 14 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.

Succession & seller-readiness

53/100
Moderate signal

Some succession indicators present. Worth watching; approach if sector/strategy fits.

SIGNALS
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 14 years.

Red flags

1 high ·
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-05-31

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Miss Ayisha Jakhu
Individual · British · DOB 02/1991 · age 35
sig. influencesignificant influence03/08/2016

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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.

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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2012-08-03
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC69202 — Bookkeeping activities

Registered office

26 Reansway Square
Wolverhampton
West Midlands
WV6 0EX

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-17
Last: 2025-08-03

Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)

JAKHU, Ayisha
director · ~35y · appointed 2012-08-03
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (28 total)

gazette-notice-voluntary
gazette · GAZ1(A)
2026-05-19
dissolution-application-strike-off-company
dissolution · DS01
2026-05-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-05-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-05-02
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-05-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-04-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-08-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2020-04-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-08-14