ADFORCE U.K. LIMITED

💤Zombieactive
03476855 · ltd · incorporated 1997-12-05
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 Dec 2024
Net worth
—
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
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What this business does
Primary activity: Agents specialised in the sale of other particular products
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 69-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 69). 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
7 officers (2 active, 7 linked, 3 with DOB)
79
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
72 filings on record
85
Gazette notices
No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)
60
Opportunity Score
80/100Exceptional
PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional 

Strong composite across quality, acquirability, and risk. High-priority target — progress to serious diligence.

Business quality
70
Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.
Acquirability
80
Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.
Risk profile
85
Few red flags.
Signal strength
90
Good data coverage for analysis.

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts
Cash
—
Net Worth
—
Current Assets
—
Current Liabilities
—
£0£0£0£0£0£0Dec 2023Dec 2024

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · FRS 102
Metric2024-12-312023-12-31
Average employees100100

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (28 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  3. 2024-06-24
    📄
    administrative-restoration-company
    restoration · RT01
  4. 2024-05-14
    📄
    gazette-dissolved-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ2
  5. 2024-02-27
    📄
    gazette-notice-compulsory
    gazette · GAZ1
  6. 2023-09-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  7. 2022-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  8. 2021-09-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  9. 2020-10-03
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  10. 2019-09-27
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  11. 2018-09-26
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  12. 2017-09-30
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
    accounts · AA
  13. 2017-09-14
    ➕
    CORBISHLEY, Peter Allan appointed
    secretary
  14. 2017-09-14
    ➖
    JEFFERS, Ann Elizabeth resigned
    secretary
  15. 2017-09-14
    📄
    appoint-person-secretary-company-with-name-date
    officers · AP03
  16. 2017-09-14
    📄
    termination-secretary-company-with-name-termination-date
    officers · TM02
  17. 2017-04-10
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  18. 2009-10-30
    ➖
    CORBISHLEY, Kenneth Malcolm resigned
    director
  19. 2004-02-06
    ➕
    CORBISHLEY, Peter Allan appointed
    director
  20. 1999-08-25
    ➖
    CAILES, Nicholas John resigned
    director
  21. 1999-08-25
    ➕
    CORBISHLEY, Kenneth Malcolm appointed
    director
  22. 1997-12-05
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As ADFORCE U.K. LIMITED
  23. 1997-12-05
    ➕
    JEFFERS, Ann Elizabeth appointed
    secretary
  24. 1997-12-05
    ➕
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  25. 1997-12-05
    ➖
    TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED resigned
    corporate-nominee-secretary
  26. 1997-12-05
    ➕
    CAILES, Nicholas John appointed
    director
  27. 1997-12-05
    ➕
    COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED appointed
    corporate-nominee-director
  28. 1997-12-05
    ➖
    COMPANY 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 22 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Founder age: Director aged approximately 69 — succession pressure is live.

Succession & seller-readiness

95/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 69. Approaching typical UK retirement age — succession thinking likely.
  • primarySole active director: Only one director in control. No visible successor — buyers solve the succession problem.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 22 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 28 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

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 Peter Allan Corbishley
Individual · British · DOB 03/1957 · age 69
75–100%
—75-100% shares05/12/2016

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
Incorporated1997-12-05
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46180 — Agents specialised in the sale of other particular products

Registered office

22 Beacon House 1 Willow Walk
Skelmersdale
Lancashire
WN8 6UR
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-12-19
Last: 2025-12-05

Officers (2 active · 5 resigned)

CORBISHLEY, Peter Allan→
secretary · appointed 2017-09-14
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CORBISHLEY, Peter Allan→
director · ~69y · appointed 2004-02-06
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
JEFFERS, Ann Elizabeth→
secretary · appointed 1997-12-05 · resigned 2017-09-14
Resigned
TEMPLE SECRETARIES LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-secretary · appointed 1997-12-05 · resigned 1997-12-05
Resigned
CAILES, Nicholas John→
director · ~56y · appointed 1997-12-05 · resigned 1999-08-25
Resigned
CORBISHLEY, Kenneth Malcolm→
director · ~98y · appointed 1999-08-25 · resigned 2009-10-30
Resigned
COMPANY DIRECTORS LIMITED→
corporate-nominee-director · appointed 1997-12-05 · resigned 1997-12-05
Resigned

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

Recent filings (72 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-10
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-28
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-06-24
administrative-restoration-company
restoration · RT01
2024-06-24
gazette-dissolved-compulsory
gazette · GAZ2
2024-05-14
gazette-notice-compulsory
gazette · GAZ1
2024-02-27
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-09-28
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-02
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-09-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-01-22
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-09-29
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-04
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-10-03