D.B CLEARANCES LTD

💤Zombieactive
13233185 · ltd · incorporated 2021-02-27
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 Feb 2026
Net worth
£98
book net assets
Opportunity
76/100
Strong
🔔
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 38110
Sector: Water supply & waste
Investor take
Pursue
Asset-holding vehicle with a 74-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 76/100 (strong), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 74). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -91% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. 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
2 officers (1 active, 2 linked, 2 with DOB)
90
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
16 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.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Positive net assets
Net assets £98
Net assets shrinking
Down £167 YoY
Cash draining
Cash down 91% YoY
Cash YoY
-91%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£100
↓ 91% YoY
Net Worth
£98
↓ 63% YoY
Current Assets
£6k
↑ 58% YoY
Current Liabilities
£0£1k£2k£3k£4k£6kFeb 2025Feb 2026

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2026-02-282025-02-28
Total assets£235£273
Current assets£5.5k£3.5k
Cash£100£1.1k
Debtors£5.4k£2.4k
Net assets£98£265

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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
1
filing
  • 1 accounts
Last 180 days
2
filings
  • 1 accounts
  • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (14 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2025-11-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-09-06
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  4. 2024-02-29
    📄
    notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
  5. 2024-02-29
    📄
    appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP01
  6. 2024-02-29
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  7. 2024-02-29
    📄
    cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
    persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
  8. 2024-02-12
    FRENCH, Ronald John appointed
    director
  9. 2024-02-12
    BLAKE, Danny Lee resigned
    director
  10. 2023-08-07
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  11. 2022-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
    accounts · AA
  12. 2021-02-27
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As D.B CLEARANCES LTD
  13. 2021-02-27
    BLAKE, Danny Lee appointed
    director
  14. 2021-02-27
    📄
    incorporation-company
    incorporation · NEWINC

Owner dependency

90/100
Critical — business is the founder

The 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 74 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

75/100
Likely off-market candidate

Strong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 70+: Senior director is approximately 74 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

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%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr Ronald John French
Individual · British · DOB 01/1952 · age 74
75100%
75–100%75-100% shares · 75-100% voting12/02/2024
1 historic (ceased) PSC
  • Mr Danny Lee Blakeceased 12/02/2024· 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control

From Companies House Persons with Significant Control filings. Share ranges are banded per the public PSC regime.

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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
Incorporated2021-02-27
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC38110 — SIC 38110

Registered office

The Old Barn
Wood Street
Swanley
BR8 7PA
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-11-30
Last made up to: 2026-02-28
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-03-14
Last: 2026-02-28

Officers (1 active · 1 resigned)

FRENCH, Ronald John
director · ~74y · appointed 2024-02-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
BLAKE, Danny Lee
director · ~37y · appointed 2021-02-27 · resigned 2024-02-12
Resigned

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

Recent filings (16 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2026-04-21
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-03-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-11-03
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2024-09-06
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-29
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2024-02-29
appoint-person-director-company-with-name-date
officers · AP01
2024-02-29
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2024-02-29
cessation-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC07
2024-02-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-26
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2023-08-07
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-dormant
accounts · AA
2022-04-20
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-03-07