AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT CENTRE LTD
Despite its name suggesting a focus on African development initiatives or consultancy, this appears to be a dormant shell company with no active trading, filing only minimal statutory accounts and confirmation statements with no updates since incorporation in 2013.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 79). 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.
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsHover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|
Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.
Recent activity
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Corporate timeline (23 events)Click to expand
- 2025-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-07-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-04-27📄appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-dateofficers · AP03
- 2022-04-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-04-27📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2022-04-26➕JAMES, Chris appointedsecretary
- 2022-04-26➖BELAI, Abbai resigneddirector
- 2022-04-26➖KETTLEWELL, Richard Gordon Wildman resigneddirector
- 2021-07-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-08📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AAMD
- 2021-01-08📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AAMD
- 2021-01-08📄accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AAMD
- 2020-10-21📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-18📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-07-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2017-05-02➕BELAI, Abbai appointeddirector
- 2017-05-02➕KETTLEWELL, Richard Gordon Wildman appointeddirector
- 2013-11-19🏢Company incorporatedAs AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT CENTRE LTD
- 2013-11-19➕JAMES, Chris appointeddirector
Owner dependency
The business appears inseparable from the founder. Acquisition without a serious earn-out or meaningful transition period would likely destroy value.
- +Sole director: Only one active director — all governance concentrated on one person.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 79 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 79 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
cleanShareholders & ownership
1 active beneficial owner| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Chris James Individual · British · DOB 01/1947 · age 79 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 19/11/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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 · Other · CW postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFFORD BOND GROUP LIMITED→ 11654760 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ANP AESTHETICS LTD→ 14186151 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ANTHONY BARKER LTD→ 16656329 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| APG DISPLAYS LIMITED→ 08774699 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| APG LEISURE LIMITED→ 08775464 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| APPY FLEET LIMITED→ 10387540 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| AQUAFLOW LIMITED→ 05821871 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| AQUEL PROJECTS LIMITED→ 09973027 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| ARCHITECTURAL PLANNING PARTNERSHIP LLP→ OC348695 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| ARDON (PAINTING CONTRACTORS) LIMITED→ 00402158 · est 1945 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 80y | — | — |
| ASSOCIATION OF BRITISH VETERINARY ACUPUNCTURISTS→ 06148838 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 19y | — | — |
| ASTON MARTIN DRIVERS CLUB LIMITED→ 06416806 · est 2007 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 18y | — | — |
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 →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
Registered office
Filing status
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.