ALAN DEAN SYSTEMS LTD
💤Zombieactive
09422791 · ltd · incorporated 2015-02-04
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
£8.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Other engineering activities
Sector: Professional, scientific & technical
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 75-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 75). 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 (78/100)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
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
25 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 £8,208
Net assets shrinking
Down £6,011 YoY
Cash YoY
+1494%
Year on year
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
£9k
↑ 1494% YoY
Net Worth
£8k
↓ 42% YoY
Current Assets
£9k
↓ 54% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2025-03-31 | 2024-03-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £8.2k | £14.2k |
| Current assets | £8.5k | £18.4k |
| Cash | £8.5k | £534 |
| Debtors | — | £17.9k |
| Net assets | £8.2k | £14.2k |
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
0
filings
Last 180 days
3
filings
- • 2 persons-with-significant-control
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (17 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-10📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2026-02-09📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-09-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-09📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2023-09-27📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2022-07-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2021-07-25📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2020-07-03📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2018-11-02📄accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridgedaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-14📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-fullaccounts · AA
- 2016-09-08📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-23📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2016-02-02📄change-account-reference-date-company-current-extendedaccounts · AA01
- 2015-02-04🏢Company incorporatedAs ALAN DEAN SYSTEMS LTD
- 2015-02-04➕DEAN, Alan James appointeddirector
- 2015-02-04📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
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 "DEAN" — strong identity link between founder and business.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 75 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 11 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
80/100
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 75 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- 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
2 active beneficial owners| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Alan James Dean Individual · British · DOB 02/1951 · age 75 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 04/02/2017 |
Nicola Dean Individual · British · DOB 01/1972 · age 54 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 04/02/2017 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Professional services · B postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ALCOCK ARCHITECTURE LTD→ 16926224 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALCS CONSULTANCY LTD→ 14442378 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALEXANDER MOR & ASSOCIATES LIMITED→ 13214189 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| ALF ACCOUNTANTS LIMITED→ 14983313 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| ALICE KINDER LEGAL SERVICES LIMITED→ 14521075 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALIGN ARCHITECTURE LIMITED→ 08981288 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ALIGN WORKFORCE LIMITED→ 16765465 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALIVE AUDIO LIMITED→ 12123400 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| ALIYSF LTD→ 15751071 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| ALL ROUND CARE AND SUPPORT LIMITED→ 16558221 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| ALL ROUND CARE SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 14059730 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| ALL SEASON CAR HIRE LTD→ 14333921 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2015-02-04
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC71129 — Other engineering activities
Registered office
29 Hunt End Lane
Redditch
Worcestershire
B97 5UW
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-12-31
Last made up to: 2025-03-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-18
Last: 2026-02-04
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
DEAN, Alan James→
Activedirector · ~75y · appointed 2015-02-04
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (25 total)
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-09
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2026-02-09
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-09-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-09-09
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-07-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-07-25
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-07-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-05