ADVANCED WOODLAND SERVICES LTD
💤Zombieactive
04596902 · ltd · incorporated 2002-11-21
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 Nov 2024
Net worth
£734.2k
book net assets
Opportunity
80/100
Exceptional
What this business does
Primary activity: SIC 02200
Sector: Agriculture, forestry & fishing
ALSO REGISTERED FOR
- 02400SIC 02400
- 43110Demolition
- 43120Site preparation
Investor take
PursueAsset-holding vehicle with a 66-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.
Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 75/100. Strong seller-intent signal (83/100, director aged 66). 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 (78/100)Adequate coverage. AI outputs are reliable for the sections scored high; verify the rest in diligence.
Company profile
address, 4 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 (2 active, 4 linked, 2 with DOB)
80
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
2 connected companies via shared directors
51
Filing history
55 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.
Signals from accounts
Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declaredPositive net assets
Net assets £734,205
Net assets shrinking
Down £177,430 YoY
Key financials
2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accountsCash
—
Net Worth
£734k
↓ 19% YoY
Current Assets
£880k
↓ 8.8% YoY
Current Liabilities
—
Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series
Financials
Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown| Metric | 2024-11-30 | 2023-11-30 |
|---|---|---|
| Total assets | £734.2k | £911.6k |
| Current assets | £880.5k | £965.4k |
| Net assets | £734.2k | £911.6k |
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
3
filings
- • 1 confirmation-statement
- • 1 officers
- • 1 persons-with-significant-control
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (22 events)Click to expand
- 2025-11-14📄change-person-secretary-company-with-change-dateofficers · CH03
- 2025-11-14📄change-to-a-person-with-significant-controlpersons-with-significant-control · PSC04
- 2025-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2024-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2023-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2022-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2021-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2020-11-26📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2019-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2018-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2017-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2016-11-03📍change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-addressaddress · AD01
- 2016-08-31📄accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entityaccounts · AA
- 2015-11-27📄annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholdersannual-return · AR01
- 2015-08-30📄accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-smallaccounts · AA
- 2005-11-20➕DAY, Tracy appointedsecretary
- 2005-11-20➖HARDY, Isabel resignedsecretary
- 2005-10-01➖HARDY, Andrew Quentin resigneddirector
- 2004-08-30➕DAY, Steven John appointeddirector
- 2002-11-21🏢Company incorporatedAs ADVANCED WOODLAND SERVICES LTD
- 2002-11-21➕HARDY, Isabel appointedsecretary
- 2002-11-21➕HARDY, Andrew Quentin appointeddirector
Owner dependency
100/100
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
- +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 66 — succession pressure is live.
Succession & seller-readiness
95/100
Likely off-market candidateStrong acquirability signals converging. Worth approaching directly — this is how off-market deals start.
SIGNALS
- primaryFounder aged 63+: Senior director is approximately 66. 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 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
cleanNo 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%| Name | Shares | Voting rights | Nature of control | Notified |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Mr Steven John Day Individual · British · DOB 10/1960 · age 66 | 75–100% | 75–100% | 75-100% shares · 75-100% voting | 21/11/2016 |
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 · Agriculture · BA postcode area| Company | Est. value | Turnover | Net worth | Staff | Age | Opp | Director |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2ND CHANCE PETTING FARM LTD→ 13739704 · est 2021 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 4y | — | — |
| A & SRD GLASSONBURY LTD→ 14664868 · est 2023 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 3y | — | — |
| A H GREEN & SON LIMITED→ 07268242 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| A J ROBERTS & SON LIMITED→ 09560890 · est 2015 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 10y | — | — |
| A.J. AND R.G.BARBER LIMITED→ 00551460 · est 1955 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 70y | — | — |
| ACADEMY FOR WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION LIMITED→ 07334905 · est 2010 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 15y | — | — |
| ACARA HOLDINGS LIMITED→ 11854215 · est 2019 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 7y | — | — |
| ACREMAN FORESTRY LTD→ 08692688 · est 2013 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 12y | — | — |
| ACRNSW LIMITED→ 10747690 · est 2017 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AGRI-ELEMENTAL LIMITED→ 11173621 · est 2018 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 8y | — | — |
| AJ & WL TURNER LIMITED→ 07954932 · est 2012 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 14y | — | — |
| AJ LUKE CONTRACTING LTD→ 09102087 · est 2014 · no financials extracted | — | — | — | — | 11y | — | — |
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
Incorporated2002-11-21
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC02200 — SIC 02200
Registered office
Roundabout Cottage
Nunney Catch
Frome
BA11 4NX
England
Filing status
Accounts
Next due: 2026-08-31
Last made up to: 2024-11-30
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2026-11-28
Last: 2025-11-14
Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)
Active
DAY, Steven John→
Activedirector · ~66y · appointed 2004-08-30
View their other companies + combined net worth →
HARDY, Isabel→
Resignedsecretary · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2005-11-20
HARDY, Andrew Quentin→
Resigneddirector · ~71y · appointed 2002-11-21 · resigned 2005-10-01
Click a director name to see their full track record across all companies.
Recent filings (55 total)
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-11-14
change-person-secretary-company-with-change-date
officers · CH03
2025-11-14
change-to-a-person-with-significant-control
persons-with-significant-control · PSC04
2025-11-14
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2025-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-12-18
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2024-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-12-05
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2023-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-12-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2022-08-31
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-11-30
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2021-08-30
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-12-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-micro-entity
accounts · AA
2020-11-26
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2019-11-26