02144435 LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
02144435 · ltd · incorporated 1987-07-02
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
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Turnover
not disclosed
Net worth
book net assets
Opportunity
46/100
Watch
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What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 4521
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pass (distressed without resilience)
Distressed admin-neglect survivor — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 46/100 (watch), bankability 2/100. Strong seller-intent signal (78/100, director aged 70). Asset purchase likely safer than share purchase given structural signals. Biggest value-creation lever: File overdue accounts. Clears statutory overdue flag — immediate bankability uplift for refinance conversations. Most likely exit: asset disposal / carve-out (80/100). Current lenders should be on immediate intervention.

🏦

Refinance opportunity

5 live charges · 4 lenders · oldest 33.2y

15/100
under pressure

Refinance would be pressure-driven, not opportunity-driven. Expect tighter margins and covenant scrutiny.

  • · Oldest live charge is 33.2 years old — likely at or near maturity.
  • · 4 lenders named — inter-creditor friction likely.
  • · Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: low (50/100)

Sparse data coverage. Treat AI-generated outputs as preliminary. Manual diligence essential.

Company profile
address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date
100
Financials
No iXBRL financials extracted
0
Lenders & charges
5 charges (5/5 with lender, 5/5 with type)
90
Directors & officers
4 officers (1 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)
85
Ownership & PSC
No PSCs filed (unusual — worth investigating)
35
Director network
5 connected companies via shared directors
60
Filing history
80 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
46/100Watch
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Not actionable now, but monitor — distressed, succession, or structural changes could flip this into a real opportunity.

Business quality
15
Concerning — overdue filings or status flags present.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
20
Multiple red flags — proceed with caution.
Signal strength
100
Good data coverage for analysis.

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 (37 events)Click to expand
  1. 2022-09-15
    📄
    restoration-order-of-court
    restoration · AC92
  2. 2022-09-15
    ✏️
    certificate-change-of-name-company
    change-of-name · CERTNM
  3. 2010-12-08
    ⚠️
    gazette-dissolved-liquidation
    gazette · GAZ2
  4. 2010-12-08
    🏁
    Company dissolved
  5. 2010-09-08
    ⚠️
    liquidation-in-administration-progress-report-with-brought-down-date
    insolvency · 2.24B
  6. 2010-09-08
    ⚠️
    liquidation-in-administration-move-to-dissolution-with-case-end-date
    insolvency · 2.35B
  7. 2010-03-26
    ⚠️
    liquidation-in-administration-progress-report-with-brought-down-date
    insolvency · 2.24B
  8. 2009-10-31
    ⚠️
    liquidation-in-administration-proposals
    insolvency · 2.17B
  9. 2009-09-09
    ⚠️
    liquidation-in-administration-appointment-of-administrator
    insolvency · 2.12B
  10. 2009-09-09
    📍
    legacy
    address · 287
  11. 2009-02-18
    📄
    legacy
    officers · 288b
  12. 2009-02-18
    📄
    legacy
    officers · 288b
  13. 2009-02-13
    WHEALE, Janice resigned
    secretary
  14. 2009-02-13
    WHEALE, Ben resigned
    director
  15. 2009-01-21
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  16. 2008-05-07
    📄
    legacy
    mortgage · 395
  17. 2008-05-01
    📄
    legacy
    officers · 288a
  18. 2008-04-30
    🔒
    Charge registered #5
    Lender: Barcalys Bank PLC C/O Barclays Mercantile Business Finance Limited
  19. 2008-04-25
    📄
    legacy
    mortgage · 395
  20. 2008-04-23
    WHEALE, Ben appointed
    director
  21. 2008-04-23
    🔒
    Charge registered #4
    Lender: Alan Williams & Thomas Williams
  22. 2008-04-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  23. 2008-01-25
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  24. 2007-04-05
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  25. 2007-01-23
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  26. 2006-04-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  27. 2006-01-25
    📄
    legacy
    annual-return · 363a
  28. 2006-01-25
    📍
    legacy
    address · 190
  29. 2006-01-25
    📍
    legacy
    address · 353
  30. 2006-01-25
    📍
    legacy
    address · 287
  31. 2005-04-01
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-medium
    accounts · AA
  32. 2001-11-05
    🔒
    Charge registered #3
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  33. 2001-07-24
    MERRIGAN, John resigned
    director
  34. 2001-01-17
    🔒
    Charge registered #2
    Lender: Haydock Finance Limited
  35. 1995-01-01
    WHEALE, William appointed
    director
  36. 1993-02-08
    🔒
    Charge registered #1
    Lender: Barclays Bank PLC
  37. 1987-07-02
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As 02144435 LIMITED

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 31 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 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 39 years old and no new directors in the last 3 years — succession not yet being planned internally.

Red flags

3 high · 1 med · 1 low
Accounts overdue
high

Statutory accounts have not been filed by their due date. Can indicate admin breakdown, cash preservation, or deliberate delay.

Evidence: Next due: 2009-03-31

Confirmation statement overdue
high

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

Evidence: Next due: 2017-01-14

6 insolvency-related filings on record
high

Filings relating to insolvency, liquidation, or administration exist in the company's history. Review before proceeding.

Evidence: 2010-12-08: gazette-dissolved-liquidation; 2010-09-08: liquidation-in-administration-progress-report-with-brought-down-date

Has insolvency history
medium

Companies House flags prior insolvency events. Review the insolvency filings for context.

5 live charges
low

Heavily leveraged with multiple live security positions — understand the capital structure before proceeding.

🔒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 →

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Peers ranked by estimated value, then turnover, then opportunity score.See all →
🔒Tailored diligence questions

14 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.

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Company details

Statusactive
Typeltd
Incorporated1987-07-02
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC4521 — SIC 4521

Registered office

BEGBIES TRAYNOR
340 Deansgate
Manchester
M3 4LY

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2009-03-31OVERDUE
Last made up to: 2007-05-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2017-01-14OVERDUE
Last:

Officers (1 active · 3 resigned)

WHEALE, William
director · ~70y · appointed 1995-01-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
WHEALE, Janice
secretary · resigned 2009-02-13
Resigned
MERRIGAN, John
director · ~79y · resigned 2001-07-24
Resigned
WHEALE, Ben
director · ~41y · appointed 2008-04-23 · resigned 2009-02-13
Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

5
Total charges
5
Outstanding
3
Active lenders
Status:Lender:5 of 5 shown
TypeProperties
outstanding
Barclays
Barcalys Bank PLC C/O Barclays Mercantile Business Finance Limited
Mortgage1 property30/04/2008
outstanding
Alan Williams & Thomas Williams
Debenture1 property23/04/2008
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Guarantee & debenture1 property05/11/2001
outstanding
Haydock Finance
Haydock Finance Limited
Chattels mortgage1 property17/01/2001
outstanding
Barclays
Barclays Bank PLC
Debenture1 property08/02/1993
Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.

Recent filings (80 total)

restoration-order-of-court
restoration · AC92
2022-09-15
certificate-change-of-name-company
change-of-name · CERTNM
2022-09-15
gazette-dissolved-liquidation
gazette · GAZ2
2010-12-08
liquidation-in-administration-progress-report-with-brought-down-date
insolvency · 2.24B
2010-09-08
liquidation-in-administration-move-to-dissolution-with-case-end-date
insolvency · 2.35B
2010-09-08
liquidation-in-administration-progress-report-with-brought-down-date
insolvency · 2.24B
2010-03-26
liquidation-in-administration-proposals
insolvency · 2.17B
2009-10-31
liquidation-in-administration-appointment-of-administrator
insolvency · 2.12B
2009-09-09
legacy
address · 287
2009-09-09
legacy
officers · 288b
2009-02-18
legacy
officers · 288b
2009-02-18
legacy
annual-return · 363a
2009-01-21
legacy
mortgage · 395
2008-05-07
legacy
officers · 288a
2008-05-01
legacy
mortgage · 395
2008-04-25