ALCHEM PHARMA LTD
💤Zombieactive
08260751 · ltd · incorporated 2012-10-19
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 Sept 2024
Net worth
£181.0k
book net assets
Opportunity
79/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Dispensing chemist in specialised stores
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 67-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 79/100 (strong), bankability 85/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 67). 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).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
2 live charges · 2 lenders · oldest 12.9y
30/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 12.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Two lenders — manageable, but coordination required.
- · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.
Data confidence
Overall: high (81/100)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
2 charges (2/2 with lender, 2/2 with type)
90
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
4 connected companies via shared directors
57
Filing history
53 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
79/100Strong
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
100
Good data coverage for analysis.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £180,976
Cash YoY
+153%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£3k
↑ 153% YoY
Net Worth
£181k
↑ 25% YoY
Current Assets
£412k
↑ 21% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-09-26 | 2023-09-26 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £204.3k | £175.3k |
| Current assets | £412.0k | £340.9k |
| Cash | £3.2k | £1.3k |
| Debtors | £408.7k | £339.6k |
| Net assets | £181.0k | £144.9k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-01-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-24📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-06-27📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2022-12-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-22📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2021-06-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-02-23📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2020-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-12-16📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2019-06-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-03-19📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-12-20📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-07-03📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-07-03📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-07-02📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-04-24🔓Charge satisfied #2
- 2015-02-10🔓Charge satisfied #1
- 2014-12-22🔒Charge registered #2Lender: National Westminster Bank PLC
- 2013-08-07🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Santander UK PLC
- 2012-10-19🏢Company incorporatedAs ALCHEM PHARMA LTD
- 2012-10-19➕LANE, Andrew appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 67 — 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 67. 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 Lane Individual · British · DOB 11/1959 · age 67 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
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 · Retail · OX postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A M GREENAWAY LTD→ 10835887 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AFRICAN CHILDREN'S FUND LTD→ 05708741 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| AHY MEDYA LTD→ 17118990 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AIDI DZ LTD→ 14674467 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| AJ BEAUTY SUPPLIES LIMITED→ 13033597 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALAM DISTRIBUTION LTD→ 15175987 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALAM MART LTD→ 17095902 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALB COLLECTIONS APPAREL LTD→ 17036147 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALBION ART SERVICES LTD→ 11104541 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| ALBIONWEAVE LIMITED→ 16752312 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALCHESTER TILES LIMITED→ 07280682 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ALFIND LTD→ 15061600 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2012-10-19
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47730 — Dispensing chemist in specialised stores
Registered office
Sandy Lane House Sandy Lane
Boars Hill
Oxford
OX1 5HN
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-26
Last made up to: 2024-09-26
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-02
Last: 2025-10-19
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
LANE, Andrew→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2012-10-19
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
2
Total charges
0
Outstanding
0
Active lenders
Status:Lender:2 of 2 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| satisfied | National Westminster Bank National Westminster Bank PLC | A registered charge | — | 22/12/2014 | 24/04/2018 | |
| satisfied | Santander Santander UK PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 07/08/2013 | 10/02/2015 |
Recent filings (53 total)
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-10-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-01-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-10-22
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-09-24
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-11-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-09-26
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2023-06-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-10-24
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-12-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-06-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2021-02-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-10-21