APE TRADER LTD
🌿Early-stageactive
14303591 · ltd · incorporated 2022-08-18
Investment thesis
Growth-phase business — story-led; valuation sensitive to momentum.
Why interesting: Trading is scaling; acquirers paying for trajectory get disproportionate leverage.
Why risky: Price often leads fundamentals; dependency on founder often high.
🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to Aug 2024
Net worth
£37.7k
book net assets
Opportunity
75/100
Strong
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 46342
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 65-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 75/100 (strong), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (60/100, director aged 65). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).
Data confidence
Overall: medium (79/100)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
4 officers (3 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
2 active PSC(s) of 2 total, 2 with control declared
90
Director network
1 connected companies via shared directors
48
Filing history
10 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
75/100Strong
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional
Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.
Business quality
60
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 · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £37,729
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£38k
↑ 27% YoY
Current Assets
£47k
↑ 894% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-08-31 | 2023-08-31 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £37.7k | £29.7k |
| Current assets | £46.8k | £4.7k |
| Net assets | £37.7k | £29.7k |
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
0
filings
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (13 events)Click to expand
- 2025-05-23📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-15📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-07-24📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-10-24📄termination-director-company-with-name-termination-dateofficers · TM01
- 2023-03-15📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2023-03-15📄notification-of-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC01
- 2022-08-18🏢Company incorporatedAs APE TRADER LTD
- 2022-08-18➕FORREST-JONES, Ian Russell appointedsecretary
- 2022-08-18➕FORREST-JONES, Beverley appointeddirector
- 2022-08-18➕FORREST-JONES, Ian Russell appointeddirector
- 2022-08-18➕FORREST-JONES, James Alexander appointeddirector
- 2022-08-18➖FORREST-JONES, James Alexander resigneddirector
- 2022-08-18📄incorporation-companyincorporation · NEWINC
Owner dependency
81/100
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
- +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
- +Founder age: Director aged approximately 65 — succession pressure is live.
- +Family involvement: Multiple officers share a surname — likely family business, which concentrates governance.
Succession & seller-readiness
56/100
Strong succession signalMultiple signals suggest succession is on the horizon. Candidate for proactive outreach.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 65. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
- secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
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 Ian Russell Forrest-Jones Individual · English · DOB 10/1961 · age 65 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 18/08/2022 |
Mrs Beverley Forrest-Jones Individual · English · DOB 08/1966 · age 60 | 25–50% | 25–50% | 25-50% shares · 25-50% voting | 18/08/2022 |
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 · Wholesale & distribution · TQ postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1305 LTD→ 15660177 · est 2024 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| A & T ANIMATIONS LTD→ 12132242 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 6y | — | — |
| AASALES17 LTD→ 16197500 · est 2025 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 1y | — | — |
| AOREUN GROUP LIMITED→ 16982351 · est 2026 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| AS ABOVE LTD→ 12964047 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| BRIXHAM SEAFOOD LIMITED→ 15090966 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| BUILDERS MARKET LTD→ 14588575 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| CEEWAY BIKE BUILDING SUPPLIES LTD→ 04694003 · est 2003 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 23y | — | — |
| CENTRE PASS APPAREL LTD→ 12607154 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| CHELSTON HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 15090211 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 2y | — | — |
| CLIMB GLOBAL SOLUTIONS HOLDINGS UK LTD→ 12929671 · est 2020 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 5y | — | — |
| COFFEE COUTURE WHOLESALE LIMITED→ 10234390 · est 2016 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 9y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2022-08-18
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46342 — SIC 46342
Registered office
Farthings Beacon Road
Kingswear
Dartmouth
Devon
TQ6 0BS
United Kingdom
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-05-31
Last made up to: 2024-08-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-08-26
Last: 2025-08-12
Officers (3 active · 1 resigned)
FORREST-JONES, Ian Russell→
Activesecretary · appointed 2022-08-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORREST-JONES, Beverley→
Activedirector · ~60y · appointed 2022-08-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORREST-JONES, Ian Russell→
Activedirector · ~65y · appointed 2022-08-18
View their other companies + combined net worth →
FORREST-JONES, James Alexander→
Resigneddirector · ~26y · appointed 2022-08-18 · resigned 2022-08-18
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (10 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-09-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-23
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-15
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-08-12
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2024-07-24
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-10-24
termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2023-10-24
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2023-03-15
notification-of-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC01
2023-03-15
incorporation-company
incorporation · NEWINC
2022-08-18