ALEXANDER STERLING (UK) LTD
💤Zombieactive
08635958 · ltd · incorporated 2013-08-02
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 Nov 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Sector: Real estate
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: property-backed borrower with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 80/100. High owner-dependency — earn-out structure likely required for clean transition. 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 (58/100).
🏦
Refinance opportunity
1 live charge · oldest 11.9y
45/100
under pressure
Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.
- · Oldest live charge is 11.9 years old — likely at or near maturity.
- · Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
- · 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
1 charges (1/1 with lender, 1/1 with type)
90
Directors & officers
3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 3 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
3 connected companies via shared directors
54
Filing history
34 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
55
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
100
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 | 2025-11-30 | 2024-11-30 |
|---|
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
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2026-03-19📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-17📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-11-11📄dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspendeddissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
- 2023-10-31📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-03-29📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2022-07-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-03-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2020-10-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-02-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-31➖FISHER, Charlotte resigneddirector
- 2016-03-31➖SMALLWOOD, Maurice resigneddirector
- 2014-07-01🔒Charge registered #1Lender: Hsbc Bank PLC
- 2013-12-10➕SMALLWOOD, Maurice appointeddirector
- 2013-08-02🏢Company incorporatedAs ALEXANDER STERLING (UK) LTD
- 2013-08-02➕SMALLWOOD, Stephen James appointeddirector
- 2013-08-02➕FISHER, Charlotte appointeddirector
Owner dependency
75/100
High — earn-out structure requiredMaterial founder dependency. Consider a 2-3 year earn-out and build in a handover plan before completion.
FACTORS
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
Succession & seller-readiness
58/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
- secondary12+ year tenure: Director in role 13 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 Stephen James Smallwood Individual · British · DOB 12/1982 · age 44 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 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 · Property · CA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 104 HOLDINGS UK LTD→ 14087431 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| 47 SPENCER STREET MANAGEMENT COMMITTEE LIMITED→ 12405712 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| A HYDE & CO LTD→ 16273825 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AARDVARK RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT LTD→ 12389387 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AARR PROPERTIES LIMITED→ 16063529 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AJJ PROPERTY MANAGEMENT LTD→ 16443180 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AJT PROPERTIES (CUMBRIA) LTD→ 15077072 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| AJW RENTALS LTD→ 17109494 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALBIUS GROUP LIMITED→ 11347619 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ALCAMAN LTD→ 10726268 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| ALIYAH THOMPSON PROPERTIES CUMBRIA LIMITED→ 15643093 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALMO GROUP LIMITED→ 11907753 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2013-08-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC68209 — Other letting and operating of own or leased real estate
Registered office
1 Barclay Court
Water Street
Wigton
Cumbria
CA7 9ER
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-08-31
Last made up to: 2025-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-16
Last: 2025-08-02
Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)
SMALLWOOD, Stephen James→
Activedirector · ~44y · appointed 2013-08-02
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FISHER, Charlotte→
Resigneddirector · ~48y · appointed 2013-08-02 · resigned 2016-03-31
SMALLWOOD, Maurice→
Resigneddirector · ~83y · appointed 2013-12-10 · resigned 2016-03-31
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Mortgages & charges
1
Total charges
1
Outstanding
1
Active lenders
Status:Lender:1 of 1 shown
| Type | Properties | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| outstanding | HSBC Hsbc Bank PLC | A registered charge | 1 property | 01/07/2014 | — |
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.
Recent filings (34 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-03-19
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-08-03
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-08-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-14
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-08-14
dissolved-compulsory-strike-off-suspended
dissolution · DISS16(SOAS)
2023-11-11
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2023-10-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-02
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-07-01
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-08-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-03-02