4 S (UK) LTD
💤Zombieactive
09057418 · ltd · incorporated 2014-05-27
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 Mar 2025
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
73/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 47300Retail sale of automotive fuel in specialised stores
Investor take
PursueStrong opportunity: active trading company with strong profile and bankable structure.
Opportunity 73/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. 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).
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, 2 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
44 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
73/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
50
Some acquirability indicators.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
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 | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Average employees | 400 | 400 |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
- • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (21 events)Click to expand
- 2025-12-10📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2025-08-20📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2025-08-12📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2024-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-14📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2024-08-13📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2023-12-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2023-04-24📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-17📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2022-08-16📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2021-12-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-18📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2021-08-17📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2020-12-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-28📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2020-07-28📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-12-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-21📄gazette-filings-brought-up-to-dategazette · DISS40
- 2019-08-20📄gazette-notice-compulsorygazette · GAZ1
- 2014-05-27🏢Company incorporatedAs 4 S (UK) LTD
- 2014-05-27➕ARUMAINAYAGAM, Suthakaran appointeddirector
Owner dependency
80/100
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.
- +No director turnover: Company is 12 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
50/100
Moderate signalSome 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.
- 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 Suthakaran Arumainayagam Individual · British · DOB 09/1974 · age 52 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board controlsig. influence75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control · significant influence · firm interest | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Retail · SM postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13SALES LIMITED→ 16252139 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| 14948448 LTD→ 14948448 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| 2HA GROUP LTD→ 16683480 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2MOMS LIMITED→ 10452523 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| 381 LONDON ROAD LIMITED→ 16734933 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 40CAKES LIMITED→ 11762001 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| 4HUMANKIND CIC→ 16547587 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 6EME LTD→ 15845231 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A & A RETAIL & PO LIMITED→ 09991685 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A&B PREMIUM FASHION LIMITED→ 16380935 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A1 COLLECTABLES LIMITED→ 05710628 · est 2006 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| AA UNITED LTD→ 11090355 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2014-05-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC47110 — Retail sale in non-specialised stores with food, beverages or tobacco predominating
Registered office
8 Rose Hill Park West
Sutton
Surrey
SM1 3LB
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-06-10
Last: 2025-05-27
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
ARUMAINAYAGAM, Suthakaran→
Activedirector · ~52y · appointed 2014-05-27
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (44 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-12-10
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2025-08-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-08-19
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2025-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-12-27
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2024-08-14
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-08-13
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-12-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-08-08
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-04-24
gazette-filings-brought-up-to-date
gazette · DISS40
2022-08-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-08-16
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2022-08-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-28