THE WARDROBE LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

NI042979 · ltd · incorporated 2002-04-16

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 Aug 2025

Net worth

—

book net assets

Opportunity

72/100

Strong

🔒Generate AI memo →🔒Outreach pack →🔒Corporate story →📑 Reports →Sign in to watch

What this business does

Primary activity: Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores

Sector: Wholesale & retail

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 72/100 (strong), bankability 65/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 71). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Resolve: Confirmation statement overdue. Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

Data confidence

Overall: medium (76/100)

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

Lenders & charges

Confirmed no charges registered

Directors & officers

3 officers (1 active, 3 linked, 2 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared

Director network

Network not yet resolved

Filing history

67 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

72/100Strong

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

Solid opportunity signal. Worth a dedicated memo and management meeting.

Business quality

Adequate — check latest filings for context.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Some moderate concerns — review flags.

Signal strength

Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

—

Net Worth

—

Current Assets

—

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102

Metric	2025-08-31	2024-08-31
Average employees	400	500

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

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 90 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Last 180 days

filing

• 1 accounts

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand

2026-05-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-05-30
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-06-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-05-23
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-05-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-06-22
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2021-05-27
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-04-22
📄
change-person-director-company-with-change-date
officers · CH01
2020-09-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2019-06-05
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2018-05-31
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2017-05-22
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-05-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-04-19
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2016-04-19
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2015-06-02
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2009-05-19
➖
JONES, Lynne Anne resigned
secretary
2002-04-16
🏢
Company incorporated
As THE WARDROBE LIMITED
2002-04-16
➕
JONES, Heather appointed
director
2002-04-16
➕
JONES, Lynne Anne appointed
secretary
2002-04-16
➕
PALMER, Robert Desmond appointed
director
2002-04-16
➖
PALMER, Robert Desmond resigned
director

Owner dependency

100/100

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.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 24 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 71 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

100/100

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 71 years old. Natural succession window is now.
primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 24 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 24 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

1 high ·

Confirmation statement overdue

high

Annual confirmation statement not filed on time. Required statutory filing — overdue is a strong discipline signal.

Evidence: Next due: 2026-04-30

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Heather Jones Individual · British · DOB 07/1955 · age 71	75–100%	75–100%	75-100% shares · 75-100% voting	06/04/2016

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

Similar companies

Active · Retail · BT postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
LAMONT STONE LIMITED→ NI031454 · est 1996	£12.57M £9.43M–£15.71M	—	—	73	29y	87	74y
BLAIR'S CARAVANS LIMITED→ NI012772 · est 1978	£10.95M £8.21M–£13.69M	£13.81M	—	6400	48y	88	58y
BOLAN INVESTMENTS LIMITED→ NI030942 · est 1996	£5.21M £3.91M–£6.52M	—	—	18100	29y	84	72y
CREATIVE GARDENS (NI) LIMITED→ NI043559 · est 2002	£4.31M £3.23M–£5.39M	£13.07M	—	20900	23y	84	77y
MURDOCK HARDWOOD INDUSTRIES LIMITED→ NI015426 · est 1982	£3.94M £2.96M–£4.93M	£14.10M	—	3300	44y	87	63y
R & J FOODS LTD→ NI035741 · est 1999	£3.17M £2.38M–£3.96M	—	—	114	27y	84	64y
STEPHENS CATERING EQUIPMENT COMPANY LIMITED→ NI011092 · est 1975	£2.18M £1.63M–£2.72M	£19.96M	—	9500	50y	85	62y
BASIL KNIPE ELECTRICS LIMITED→ NI070354 · est 2008	£2.04M £1.53M–£2.56M	—	—	4300	17y	87	61y
CHARIOTEER LIMITED→ NI038821 · est 2000	£1.83M £1.37M–£2.29M	£16.58M	—	9400	25y	85	61y
JESROE (SERVICES) LIMITED→ NI033828 · est 1998	£1.19M £889.9k–£1.48M	—	—	3000	28y	87	69y
WINE INNS LIMITED→ NI008313 · est 1971	£1.15M £863.8k–£1.44M	—	—	12200	54y	85	80y
BELFAST TILES AND BATHROOM CENTRE LTD→ NI055324 · est 2005	£80.5k £60.4k–£100.7k	£373.4k	—	300	20y	85	62y

Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →

🔒Tailored diligence questions

9 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

Incorporated2002-04-16

Jurisdictionnorthern-ireland

Primary SIC47710 — Retail sale of clothing in specialised stores

Registered office

35 Main Street

Ballyclare

County Antrim

BT39 9AA

Northern Ireland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-05-31

Last made up to: 2025-08-31

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2026-04-30OVERDUE

Last: 2025-04-16

Officers (1 active · 2 resigned)

JONES, Heather→

director · ~71y · appointed 2002-04-16

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

JONES, Lynne Anne→

secretary · appointed 2002-04-16 · resigned 2009-05-19

Resigned

PALMER, Robert Desmond→

director · ~85y · appointed 2002-04-16 · resigned 2002-04-16

Resigned

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

Recent filings (67 total)

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2026-05-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2025-05-30

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2025-04-28

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2024-06-17

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2024-05-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2023-05-23

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2023-04-20

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2022-05-27

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2022-05-19

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2021-06-22

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2021-05-27

confirmation-statement-with-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2021-05-17

change-person-director-company-with-change-date

officers · CH01

2021-04-22

accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity

accounts · AA

2020-09-01

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates

confirmation-statement · CS01

2020-04-16