A T COOMBES ASSOCIATES LIMITED
💤Zombieactive
08901061 · ltd · incorporated 2014-02-18
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
£27.6k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 02400
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 78-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 78). 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 2 total, 2 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 £27,649
Net assets shrinking
Down £405 YoY
Cash YoY
+0%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£100
~ YoY
Net Worth
£28k
↓ 1.4% YoY
Current Assets
—
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 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash | £100 | £100 |
| Net assets | £27.6k | £28.1k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2025-09-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-03-28📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2023-02-23📄cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC07
- 2022-12-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2020-12-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2019-07-01📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-09-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2018-02-27📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2017-09-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-03-18📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-09-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2014-02-18🏢Company incorporatedAs A T COOMBES ASSOCIATES LIMITED
- 2014-02-18➕COOMBES, Andrew Thomas 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 "COOMBES" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 78 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
88/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 78 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 12 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 Thomas Coombes Individual · British · DOB 04/1948 · age 78 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 06/04/2016 |
1 historic (ceased) PSC
- Mr Andrew Thomas Coombesceased 06/04/2016· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control
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 · Agriculture · NR postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| A & R THORNTON FARMING LTD→ 14862339 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| A. CLARK (TRUNCH) LIMITED→ 00975389 · est 1970 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 56y | — | — |
| A. FARRELL CONTRACTING LTD→ 11764597 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| A.& E.COOKE(FARMERS)LIMITED→ 00421127 · est 1946 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 79y | — | — |
| A.G. DREW ELECTRICAL LIMITED→ 07399958 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| A.H. SLATER & CO. LIMITED→ 01158577 · est 1974 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 52y | — | — |
| A.J. MCCALLUM LIMITED→ 04941743 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 22y | — | — |
| A.J. SHORTEN LIMITED→ 01517079 · est 1980 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 45y | — | — |
| A.SILLETT TREE SURGEON LTD→ 10576593 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| A.V.YOUNGS(FARMS)LIMITED→ 00635799 · est 1959 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 66y | — | — |
| ADAMSARBOR LTD→ 16756794 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AGNELO MARINE SERVICES LTD→ 16647768 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-02-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC02400 — SIC 02400
Registered office
C/O Larking Gowen 1st Floor Prospect House
Rouen Road
Norwich
Norfolk
NR1 1RE
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-04
Last: 2026-02-18
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
COOMBES, Andrew Thomas→
Activedirector · ~78y · appointed 2014-02-18
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-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-18
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-08-10
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-04-18
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-03-28
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2023-02-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-12-05
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-04-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-12-22
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-03-02