ALAN FRANCE MANAGEMENT LIMITED

💤Zombieactive

SC111549 · ltd · incorporated 1988-06-09

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 2025

Net worth

£-184.5k

book net assets

Opportunity

82/100

Exceptional

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What this business does

Primary activity: Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Sector: Administrative & support services

Investor take

Pass (distressed without resilience)

Distressed active trading company — structural issues outweigh the discount.

Opportunity 82/100 (exceptional), bankability 80/100. Strong seller-intent signal (93/100, director aged 73). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Biggest value-creation lever: Cash flow review and working-capital discipline. Cash down -71% YoY — forensic review of receivables, stock turns, and creditor days. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (73/100).

🏦

Refinance opportunity

4 live charges · oldest 25.0y

45/100

under pressure

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

· Oldest live charge is 25.0 years old — likely at or near maturity.
· Single lender — cleanest path to refinance.
· Distress signals active — lender appetite narrows.

Data confidence

Overall: high (80/100)

Strong data coverage across all sections. AI outputs should be trusted with minimal caveats.

Company profile

address, 1 SIC codes, incorporation date

100

Financials

2 years of iXBRL accounts extracted (YoY deltas available) + narrative notes parsed

Lenders & charges

4 charges (4/4 with lender, 4/4 with type)

Directors & officers

4 officers (2 active, 4 linked, 3 with DOB)

Ownership & PSC

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

Director network

2 connected companies via shared directors

Filing history

96 filings on record

Gazette notices

No matching gazette notices (standard for active companies)

Opportunity Score

82/100Exceptional

PassWatchWorth a lookStrongExceptional

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

Business quality

Active, clean filings, stable charge profile.

Acquirability

Strong succession / seller-readiness signals.

Risk profile

Few red flags.

Signal strength

100

Good data coverage for analysis.

Signals from accounts

Derived from iXBRL accounts · accounting standard not declared

Negative net assets

Liabilities exceed assets by £184,460

Cash draining

Cash down 71% YoY

Cash YoY

-71%

Year on year

Key financials

2 years extracted from filed iXBRL accounts

Cash

£287

↓ 71% YoY

Net Worth

-£184k

↓ 9.6% YoY

Current Assets

£22k

↓ 32% YoY

Current Liabilities

—

Hover to see exact values · click legend to toggle series

Financials

Extracted from Companies House accounts · accounting standard unknown

Metric	2025-11-30	2024-11-30
Total assets	£-183.2k	£-167.1k
Current assets	£21.8k	£32.1k
Cash	£287	£993
Debtors	£21.5k	£31.1k
Net assets	£-184.5k	£-168.3k

Amounts extracted automatically from iXBRL. Fields left blank were not reported or not mapped. Values in GBP unless stated.

🔒Filing-note intelligence

2 signals 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

filings

• 1 accounts
• 1 confirmation-statement

Counts from Companies House filing history.

Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand

2026-03-26
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-05-08
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-04
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-01
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2022-06-20
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2021-08-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-19
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2020-08-03
📍
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2019-08-21
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2018-08-15
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2017-08-17
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-07-18
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2016-01-15
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date
annual-return · AR01
2015-09-07
📄
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
accounts · AA
2015-01-27
📄
annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
annual-return · AR01
2014-12-04
🔓
Charge satisfied #4
2014-03-28
➖
FRANCE, Brian Peter resigned
director
2004-09-06
🔒
Charge registered #4
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2004-08-25
🔒
Charge registered #3
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2003-09-19
🔓
Charge satisfied #2
2003-09-19
🔓
Charge satisfied #1
2001-04-16
🔒
Charge registered #2
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
2001-04-16
🔒
Charge registered #1
Lender: The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC
1992-07-08
➕
FRANCE, Brian Peter appointed
director
1991-08-16
➖
RICHARDSON, Kathryn Ann resigned
director
1988-06-09
🏢
Company incorporated
As ALAN FRANCE MANAGEMENT LIMITED
1988-06-09
➕
FRANCE, Alan Robert appointed
secretary
1988-06-09
➕
FRANCE, Alan Robert appointed
director
1988-06-09
➕
RICHARDSON, Kathryn Ann appointed
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.
+Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "FRANCE" — strong identity link between founder and business.
+Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 38 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
+Founder age: Director aged approximately 73 — 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 73 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 38 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 38 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%

Name	Shares	Voting rights	Nature of control	Notified
Mr Alan Robert France Individual · British · DOB 10/1953 · age 73	75–100%	75–100%	board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control	31/12/2016

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 · Trade services · ML postcode area

Company	Est. value	Turnover	Net worth	Staff	Age	Opp	Director
A. WALKER SERVICES LTD→ SC302028 · est 2006 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	19y	—	—
ANUBIS CROWD MANAGEMENT & EVENTS LTD→ SC821816 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
APL BUSINESS INTELLIGENCE LTD→ SC431534 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	13y	—	—
ARDBLAIR ASSOCIATES LTD.→ SC212154 · est 2000 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	25y	—	—
ASSURE IT LIMITED→ SC489501 · est 2014 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	11y	—	—
ASTHTX LIMITED→ SC832444 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
ATHOLL HOMES (SCOTLAND) LTD.→ SC415254 · est 2012 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	14y	—	—
ATMOS BARBERING LTD→ SC850485 · est 2025 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
ATRIUM FM LIMITED→ SC370732 · est 2010 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	16y	—	—
AUDRA J MACPHEE LTD→ SC813328 · est 2024 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	1y	—	—
AULDHOUSE MANAGEMENT SERVICES LIMITED→ SC131348 · est 1991 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	34y	—	—
AURAM LTD→ SC589827 · est 2018 · no financials extracted	—	—	—	—	8y	—	—

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

Incorporated1988-06-09

Jurisdictionscotland

Primary SIC82990 — Other business support service activities n.e.c.

Registered office

3 The Square

Hartree

Tweeddale

ML12 6JJ

Scotland

Filing status

Accounts

Next due: 2027-08-31

Last made up to: 2025-11-30

Confirmation statement

Next due: 2027-01-14

Last: 2025-12-31

Officers (2 active · 2 resigned)

FRANCE, Alan Robert→

secretary · appointed 1988-06-09

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FRANCE, Alan Robert→

director · ~73y · appointed 1988-06-09

View their other companies + combined net worth →

Active

FRANCE, Brian Peter→

director · ~69y · appointed 1992-07-08 · resigned 2014-03-28

Resigned

RICHARDSON, Kathryn Ann→

director · ~62y · appointed 1988-06-09 · resigned 1991-08-16

Resigned

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

Mortgages & charges

Total charges

Outstanding

Active lenders

Status:Lender:4 of 4 shown

		Type	Properties
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Standard security	1 property	06/09/2004	04/12/2014
outstanding	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Bond & floating charge	1 property	25/08/2004	—
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Standard security	1 property	16/04/2001	19/09/2003
satisfied	Lloyds Banking Group The Royal Bank of Scotland PLC	Standard security	1 property	16/04/2001	19/09/2003

Click column headers to sort. Use filters above to narrow by status and lender.