A. HOLT & SONS LIMITED

🌳Matureactive
00175385 · ltd · incorporated 1921-06-25
Investment thesis
Well-run mature business — low negotiation leverage; premium likely.
Why interesting: Textbook target; clean filings, stable trading.
Why risky: No pressure on seller; any deal likely at full price.
Opportunity decay
hardening · 12-months
Already tight — no obvious softening catalysts on the horizon.
  • · Thesis: well-run, low negotiation leverage
🔒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: Wholesale of textiles
Sector: Wholesale & retail
Investor take
Pursue
Active trading company with a 60-year-old founder — textbook succession opportunity.

Opportunity 80/100 (exceptional), bankability 70/100. Strong seller-intent signal (62/100, director aged 60). Share purchase looks the cleaner deal structure. Most likely exit: share sale to pe / searcher (65/100).

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
10 officers (3 active, 10 linked, 6 with DOB)
82
Ownership & PSC
1 active PSC(s) of 1 total, 1 with control declared
90
Director network
Network not yet resolved
30
Filing history
102 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 employees13001400

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
0
filings
Last 90 days
0
filings
Last 180 days
1
filing
  • • 1 confirmation-statement
Counts from Companies House filing history.
Corporate timeline (29 events)Click to expand
  1. 2025-09-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  2. 2024-09-17
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  3. 2023-06-29
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  4. 2023-06-06
    📍
    change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
    address · AD01
  5. 2022-05-04
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  6. 2021-06-18
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  7. 2020-04-21
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  8. 2019-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  9. 2018-05-24
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
    accounts · AA
  10. 2017-04-20
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
    accounts · AA
  11. 2017-02-03
    📄
    change-person-director-company-with-change-date
    officers · CH01
  12. 2016-05-18
    📄
    accounts-amended-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AAMD
  13. 2016-04-28
    📄
    accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-small
    accounts · AA
  14. 2016-02-24
    📄
    annual-return-company-with-made-up-date-full-list-shareholders
    annual-return · AR01
  15. 2015-12-14
    📄
    capital-name-of-class-of-shares
    capital · SH08
  16. 2015-12-10
    ➕
    HOLT, Matilda appointed
    secretary
  17. 2015-12-10
    ➖
    PATERSON HOLT, Lucy Constance Brymer resigned
    secretary
  18. 2015-05-01
    ➕
    CURRY, Anna Victoria appointed
    director
  19. 2005-01-01
    ➕
    PATERSON HOLT, Lucy Constance Brymer appointed
    secretary
  20. 2004-12-31
    ➖
    HOLT, Graeme David Mark resigned
    secretary
  21. 2001-11-29
    ➖
    HOLT, Brian Philip resigned
    director
  22. 2000-09-14
    ➖
    HOLT, Jacqueline Delia resigned
    director
  23. 1995-06-21
    ➖
    SMOLKA, Thomas Gordon resigned
    director
  24. 1995-04-18
    ➖
    HOLT, Brian Philip resigned
    secretary
  25. 1995-04-18
    ➕
    HOLT, Graeme David Mark appointed
    secretary
  26. 1995-04-10
    ➕
    HOLT, Brian Philip appointed
    director
  27. 1995-04-05
    ➕
    HOLT, Simon Philip Mark appointed
    director
  28. 1995-04-05
    ➖
    HOLT, Brian Philip resigned
    director
  29. 1921-06-25
    🏢
    Company incorporated
    As A. HOLT & SONS LIMITED

Owner dependency

91/100
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
  • +Two-director setup: Only two active directors — typical of owner-managed SMEs but limits succession.
  • +Founder name in company name: Company name contains director surname "HOLT" — strong identity link between founder and business.
  • +Long-tenure founder: Senior director has been in place 31 years — deep operational knowledge concentrated in one person.
  • +Senior director age: Director aged approximately 60 — approaching natural succession window.

Succession & seller-readiness

76/100
Likely off-market candidate

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

SIGNALS
  • secondaryFounder aged 58+: Senior director is approximately 60. Early succession window.
  • secondaryTwo-director governance: Small-team governance. Succession depth is thin but not absent.
  • primary20+ year tenure: Director in role 31 years. Very long tenure is a classic succession signal.
  • secondaryStable-but-static management: Company is 105 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 Simon Philip Mark Holt
Individual · British · DOB 12/1966 · age 60
75–100%
75–100%board control75-100% shares · 75-100% voting · board control06/04/2016

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

6 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
Incorporated1921-06-25
Jurisdictionengland-wales
Primary SIC46410 — Wholesale of textiles

Registered office

115 Whitecross Street
London
EC1Y 8JQ
England

Filing status

Accounts
Next due: 2026-09-30
Last made up to: 2024-12-31
Confirmation statement
Next due: 2027-02-17
Last: 2026-02-03

Officers (3 active · 7 resigned)

HOLT, Matilda→
secretary · appointed 2015-12-10
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
CURRY, Anna Victoria→
director · ~59y · appointed 2015-05-01
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOLT, Simon Philip Mark→
director · ~60y · appointed 1995-04-05
View their other companies + combined net worth →
Active
HOLT, Brian Philip→
secretary · resigned 1995-04-18
Resigned
HOLT, Graeme David Mark→
secretary · appointed 1995-04-18 · resigned 2004-12-31
Resigned
PATERSON HOLT, Lucy Constance Brymer→
secretary · appointed 2005-01-01 · resigned 2015-12-10
Resigned
HOLT, Brian Philip→
director · ~92y · appointed 1995-04-10 · resigned 2001-11-29
Resigned
HOLT, Brian Philip→
director · ~92y · resigned 1995-04-05
Resigned
HOLT, Jacqueline Delia→
director · ~84y · resigned 2000-09-14
Resigned
SMOLKA, Thomas Gordon→
director · ~90y · resigned 1995-06-21
Resigned

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

Recent filings (102 total)

confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2026-02-24
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2025-09-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2025-03-06
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2024-09-17
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2024-02-15
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2023-06-29
change-registered-office-address-company-with-date-old-address-new-address
address · AD01
2023-06-06
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2023-02-03
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2022-05-04
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2022-02-07
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2021-06-18
confirmation-statement-with-no-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2021-02-11
accounts-with-accounts-type-unaudited-abridged
accounts · AA
2020-04-21
confirmation-statement-with-updates
confirmation-statement · CS01
2020-02-17
accounts-with-accounts-type-total-exemption-full
accounts · AA
2019-05-24