JAMES & JOHN GRAHAM LTD
💤Zombieactive
11138690 · ltd · incorporated 2018-01-08
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 Jan 2026
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: Non-specialised wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco
Sector: Wholesale & retail
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 47290Other retail sale of food in specialised stores
Investor take
PursueActive trading company with a 71-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 71). 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, 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
20 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
76/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
65
Adequate — check latest filings for context.
Acquirability
70
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
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 · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2026-01-31 | 2025-01-31 |
|---|
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
2
filings
- • 1 accounts
- • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (14 events)Click to expand
- 2026-02-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2025-11-06📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-10-17📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2024-10-20📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2023-10-05📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2022-09-22📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-10-04📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2021-01-29📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-05-29📄change-person-director-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH01
- 2019-04-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-dormantaccounts · AA
- 2019-04-15📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2018-01-08🏢Company incorporatedAs JAMES & JOHN GRAHAM LTD
- 2018-01-08➕READING, Alan David appointeddirector
- 2018-01-08📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
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 71 — succession pressure is live.
- +No director turnover: Company is 9 years old with no director changes — suggests a very tight-knit founder team never broadened.
Succession & seller-readiness
75/100
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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
- primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
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 Alan David Reading Individual · British · DOB 12/1955 · age 71 | 75–100% | 75–100% | board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control | 08/01/2018 |
From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.
Similar companies
Active · Wholesale & distribution · CA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| H.A.C AGRI SERVICES LIMITED→ 10286017 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
| HANDPICKED PRELOVED LTD→ 16446693 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| HARVEST PARTS LIMITED→ 08084372 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 13y | — | — |
| HORSEBOXES-UK LIMITED→ 14646091 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| HOUSE OF MALT LIMITED→ 15378637 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| I'M BIOTECHNOLOGY LIMITED→ 16696838 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| IGNITE WHOLESALE ELECTRICAL LIMITED→ 07093724 · est 2009 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 16y | — | — |
| JACKSON & BROWN LIMITED→ 14677130 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| JACKSONS TIMBER LIMITED→ 03831955 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| JAK & ELLIS ICES LIMITED→ 16299601 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| JAZZPOWER LIMITED→ 03778112 · est 1999 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 26y | — | — |
| JB NUTRITION (CARLISLE) LIMITED→ 08539730 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2018-01-08
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46390 — Non-specialised wholesale of food, beverages and tobacco
Registered office
6-7 Market Square
Penrith
Cumbria
CA11 7BS
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2027-10-31
Last made up to: 2026-01-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-01-24
Last: 2026-01-10
Officers (1 active · 0 resigned)
READING, Alan David→
Activedirector · ~71y · appointed 2018-01-08
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (20 total)
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2026-02-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-01-16
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-11-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2025-10-17
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-01-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-10-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-01-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-10-05
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-01-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-09-22
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-10-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-01-29
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2021-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-01-15