WORLD TRAVEL DIRECT LTD.

💤Zombieactive
SC249222 · ltd · incorporated 2003-05-12
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.
Why now
Window closing · medium confidence
Getting harder to buy cheaply — 2 signals strengthening over the last 30 days.
  • · Hygiene score: 80 → 85
  • · PSC count: 0 → 1
What changed my view
Last 30 days

Picture improved over the last 30 days — 2 positive signals vs 0 negative.

  • ↑Hygiene score: 80 → 85
  • ↑PSC count: 0 → 1
Last 90 days

No snapshot from 90 days ago — start tracking from today.

Last 180 days

No snapshot from 180 days ago — start tracking from today.

🔒Estimated value
—
Upgrade to see
Turnover
—
year to May 2025
Net worth
£-21.4k
book net assets
Opportunity
78/100
Strong
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What this business does
Primary activity: Travel agency activities
Sector: Administrative & support services
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 (83/100, director aged 70). 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 (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
75
Lenders & charges
Confirmed no charges registered
85
Directors & officers
5 officers (1 active, 5 linked, 2 with DOB)
78
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
54 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
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
77
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · FRS 102
Negative net assets
Liabilities exceed assets by £21,449
Cash YoY
-24%
Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
£4k
↓ 24% YoY
Net Worth
-£21k
↓ 5.6% YoY
Current Assets
£4k
↓ 24% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
-£21k-£16k-£11k-£6k-£535£5kMay 2024May 2025

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2025-05-312024-05-31
Total assets£33.6k£34.7k
Current assets£3.6k£4.7k
Cash£3.6k£4.7k
Net assets£-21.4k£-20.3k

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
2
filings
  • • 2 officers
Last 180 days
3
filings
  • • 2 officers
  • • 1 accounts
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (26 events)Click to expand
  1. 2026-05-01
    ➖
    DOLAN, Vera Ann resigned
    secretary
  2. 2026-05-01
    ➖
    DOLAN, Vera Ann resigned
    director
  3. 2026-05-01
    📄
    termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM01
  4. 2026-05-01
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  5. 2026-01-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2025-02-10
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2024-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2023-02-08
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  9. 2022-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2021-02-11
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  11. 2020-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  12. 2019-02-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  13. 2018-02-16
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  14. 2017-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  15. 2016-06-01
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  16. 2016-02-19
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  17. 2015-05-31
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  18. 2015-02-12
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  19. 2003-05-12
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As WORLD TRAVEL DIRECT LTD.
  20. 2003-05-12
    ➕
    DOLAN, John Crawford appointed
    director
  21. 2003-05-12
    ➕
    DOLAN, Vera Ann appointed
    secretary
  22. 2003-05-12
    ➕
    EXCHEQUER SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  23. 2003-05-12
    ➖
    EXCHEQUER SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  24. 2003-05-12
    ➕
    DOLAN, Vera Ann appointed
    director
  25. 2003-05-12
    ➕
    EXCHEQUER DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  26. 2003-05-12
    ➖
    EXCHEQUER DIRECTORS LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-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 23 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 70 — 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 70 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 23 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 23 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.
  • supportingClean filings + long tenure: Disciplined long-tenure operator — classic lifestyle-business pattern that often sells quietly.

Red flags

1 med ·
2 director resignations in last 12 months
medium

Multiple recent departures can indicate governance disagreement, succession event, or preparation for sale/stress.

Evidence: DOLAN, Vera Ann resigned 2026-05-01; DOLAN, Vera Ann resigned 2026-05-01

Shareholders & ownership

1 active beneficial owner · dominant holder ≥75%
NameSharesVoting rightsNature of controlNotified
Mr John Crawford Dolan
Individual · British · DOB 06/1956 · age 70
75–100%
—75-100% shares12/05/2017

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

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STEWART TRAVEL LIMITED→
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£30.04M
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£109.39M—3600015y9168y
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SC057208 · est 1975
£9.61M
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£89.85M—5660051y8259y
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SC268032 · est 2004
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——590022y8569y
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————95y8375y
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 →
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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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated2003-05-12
Jurisdictionscotland
Primary SIC79110 — Travel agency activities

Registered office

26 Mansewood Road
Mansewood
Glasgow
G43 1TN

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2027-02-28
Last made up to: 2025-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-05-26
Last: 2025-05-12

Officers (1 active · 4 resigned)

DOLAN, John Crawford→
director · ~70y · appointed 2003-05-12
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
DOLAN, Vera Ann→
secretary · appointed 2003-05-12 · resigned 2026-05-01
Resigned
EXCHEQUER SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 2003-05-12 · resigned 2003-05-12
Resigned
DOLAN, Vera Ann→
director · ~66y · appointed 2003-05-12 · resigned 2026-05-01
Resigned
EXCHEQUER DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 2003-05-12 · resigned 2003-05-12
Resigned

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

Recent filings (54 total)

termination-director-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM01
2026-05-01
termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
officers · TM02
2026-05-01
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2026-01-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2025-02-10
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2024-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-05-12
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2023-02-08
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-06-16
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-02-16
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-06-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-02-11
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-05-13
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-02-18