DONKEY WORKS LTD
💤Zombieactive
10009701 · ltd · incorporated 2016-02-17
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
£-8.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Wholesale of clothing and footwear
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.
Opportunity 78/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (68/100, director aged 67). 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 (70/100)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
1 year of iXBRL accounts extracted (no YoY comparison) + narrative notes parsed
50
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
28 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 · FRS 105 (micro)Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £8,159
Key financials
1 year extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
-£8k
Current Assets
£46k
Current Liabilities
—
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 105 (micro)| Metric | 2024-12-31 |
|---|---|
| Total assets | £-8.2k |
| Current assets | £45.6k |
| Net assets | £-8.2k |
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
1
filing
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (18 events)Click to expand
- 2025-10-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2025-09-22📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2024-12-18📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-09-23📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2023-09-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-12-06📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-12-13📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-09-27📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2020-12-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-11-28📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-09-26📄change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortenedaccounts · AA01
- 2018-10-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2018-04-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2018-04-06📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2018-04-05📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2017-12-12📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2016-02-17🏢Company incorporatedAs DONKEY WORKS LTD
- 2016-02-17➕COOKE, Clare appointeddirector
Owner dependency
95/100
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 age: Director aged approximately 67 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 10 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
70/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 67. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mrs Clare Cooke Individual · British · DOB 01/1959 · age 67 | 75–100% | — | 75-100% shares | 06/04/2016 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DGM LIMITED→ 05495385 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| EURO-GAS MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ 00602329 · est 1958 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 68y | — | — |
| FASTASK LIMITED→ 16793001 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| FG HOSPITALITY LIMITED→ 13554364 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| FIRST INTERIORS BATHROOMS LTD→ 11884387 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| FURNISH LTD→ 05555196 · est 2005 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 20y | — | — |
| G.D.AGENCIES LIMITED→ 09527426 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
| GBE AGENCY LTD→ 13875495 · est 2022 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| GEK SOLUTIONS LIMITED→ 11454550 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| GIBBINS QUALITY MEATS LIMITED→ 13278395 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| GILLBAC LIMITED→ 01886673 · est 1985 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 41y | — | — |
| GILLMORESPACE LIMITED→ 04088221 · est 2000 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 25y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2016-02-17
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46420 — Wholesale of clothing and footwear
Registered office
West Corndon Farm
Chagford
Newton Abbot
Devon
TQ13 8EE
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-27
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-02
Last: 2026-02-16
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
COOKE, Clare→
Activedirector · ~67y · appointed 2016-02-17
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (28 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-10-22
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2025-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-02-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-12-18
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2024-09-23
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-12
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-20
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-12-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-12-13
change-account-reference-date-company-previous-shortened
accounts · AA01
2021-09-27
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-05-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-12-15