168 EXPRESS LTD

💤Zombieactive

09184897 · ltd · incorporated 2014-08-21

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.

Why now

Window steady · low confidence

Steady and stalled — no momentum either way. Needs an approach trigger.

What changed my view

Last 30 days

No material changes in the last 30 days.

Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value

—

Upgrade to see

Turnover

—

year to Aug 2025

Net worth

£-3.1k

book net assets

Opportunity

74/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Other retail sale of food in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

ALSO REGISTERED FOR

47520Retail sale of hardware, paints and glass in specialised stores
47749SIC 47749
47770SIC 47770

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 74/100 (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: distressed disposal / insolvency (65/100).

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 4 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

12 officers (1 active, 12 linked, 12 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 3 total, 3 with control declared

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

62 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

74/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Some acquirability indicators.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Negative net assets

Liabilities exceed assets by £3,076

Net assets shrinking

Down £146,936 YoY

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

-£3k

↓ 102% YoY

Current Assets

£1.9m

↓ 2.2% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-08-31	2024-08-31
Total assets	£70.5k	£217.3k
Current assets	£1.88M	£1.93M
Net assets	£-3.1k	£143.9k

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

filings

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (41 events)Click to expand

2026-04-29
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-10-06
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-10-06
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2023-10-04
➕
HU, Yan appointed
director
2023-10-04
➖
YANG, Haoyuan resigned
director
2023-08-02
➖
HU, Yan resigned
director
2023-08-02
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-05-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-08-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-02-14
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2022-02-01
➕
HU, Yan appointed
director
2021-11-11
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-11-11
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2021-11-10
➕
YANG, Haoyuan appointed
director
2021-11-10
➖
YANG, Yuanhong resigned
director
2021-08-25
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-03-22
➖
ZHANG, Yisheng resigned
director
2021-03-22
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2021-03-22
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2020-05-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-11-19
📄
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2019-11-18
➖
YANG, Haoyuan resigned
director
2019-08-15
📄
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2019-08-12
➕
YANG, Yuanhong appointed
director
2019-08-12
➖
YANG, Yuanhong resigned
director
2019-08-12
➕
ZHANG, Yisheng appointed
director
2019-08-03
➖
ZHANG, Chang Li resigned
director
2019-03-19
➖
HU, Yan resigned
director
2019-03-19
➕
YANG, Haoyuan appointed
director
2019-03-19
➖
YANG, Haoyuan resigned
director
2019-03-19
➕
YANG, Haoyuan appointed
director
2019-03-19
➕
ZHANG, Chang Li appointed
director
2018-10-10
➖
WAN, Shilong resigned
director
2018-10-10
➕
YANG, Yuanhong appointed
director
2018-08-06
➕
WAN, Shilong appointed
director
2018-08-06
➖
WAN, Shilong resigned
director
2018-03-28
➕
HU, Yan appointed
director
2014-08-21
🏢
Company incorporated
As 168 EXPRESS LTD
2014-08-21
➕
WAN, Shilong appointed
director

Owner dependency

75/100

High — earn-out structure required

Material 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

45/100

Moderate signal

Some 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.

Red flags

clean

No 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 Yuanhong Yang Individual · Chinese · DOB 11/1961 · age 65	75–100%	—	75-100% shares	03/10/2018

2 historic (ceased) PSCs

Ms Yan Huceased 03/10/2018· 75-100% shares
Mr Shilong Wanceased 25/09/2017· 75-100% shares

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 · NP postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
ASHLEEN & SONIYA LTD→ 16381153 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ASP CREATIVE CRAFTS LTD→ 16513233 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ASPIRE TRADING LTD→ 11170183 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—
ATOZ DEALS LTD→ 15165069 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AUBIN THOMPSON LTD→ 15152051 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AWAYDAYZ LTD→ 14288401 · est 2022 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	3y	—	—
AWESOME PAWSOME PET SUPPLIES LTD→ 14922495 · est 2023 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	2y	—	—
AY CAPITAL LTD→ 17092870 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AYAZ MART LTD→ 16995959 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AYRA COLLECTION LTD→ 17005422 · est 2026 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
AZEEMSATTAR LTD→ 16271154 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AZLAN & MINSA LTD→ 16512023 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—

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

Incorporated2014-08-21

Jurisdictionengland-wales

Primary SIC47290 — Other retail sale of food in specialised stores

Registered office

Forge Row The Pill

Severn Bridge Industrial Estate

Caldicot

NP26 5XG

United Kingdom

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-05-31

Last made up to: 2025-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-12-02

Last: 2025-11-18

Officers (1 active · 11 resigned)

HU, Yan→

director · ~51y · appointed 2023-10-04

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

HU, Yan→

director · ~51y · appointed 2022-02-01 · resigned 2023-08-02

Resigned

HU, Yan→

director · ~51y · appointed 2018-03-28 · resigned 2019-03-19

Resigned

WAN, Shilong→

director · ~47y · appointed 2018-08-06 · resigned 2018-10-10

Resigned

WAN, Shilong→

director · ~47y · appointed 2014-08-21 · resigned 2018-08-06

Resigned

YANG, Haoyuan→

director · ~39y · appointed 2021-11-10 · resigned 2023-10-04

Resigned

YANG, Haoyuan→

director · ~29y · appointed 2019-03-19 · resigned 2019-03-19

Resigned

YANG, Haoyuan→

director · ~39y · appointed 2019-03-19 · resigned 2019-11-18

Resigned

YANG, Yuanhong→

director · ~44y · appointed 2019-08-12 · resigned 2019-08-12

Resigned

YANG, Yuanhong→

director · ~65y · appointed 2018-10-10 · resigned 2021-11-10

Resigned

ZHANG, Chang Li→

director · ~64y · appointed 2019-03-19 · resigned 2019-08-03

Resigned

ZHANG, Yisheng→

director · ~44y · appointed 2019-08-12 · resigned 2021-03-22

Resigned

Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.

Recent filings (62 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2026-04-29

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-11-27

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-05-23

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-11-18

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2024-08-20

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-11-27

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-10-06

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2023-10-06

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2023-08-02

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full

accounts · AA

2023-05-26

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-11-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged

accounts · AA

2022-08-25

appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date

officers · AP01

2022-02-14

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-11-19

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date

officers · TM01

2021-11-11